New Beginnings (Intervention for Children of Divorce)
An Evidence-Based Practice
Description
New Beginnings is a group-based intervention program for divorced mothers and their children. The program focuses on changing environmental factors that directly affect the child and includes decreasing exposure to interparental conflict, improving mother-child relationships, and improving disciplinary strategies. The program consists of 10 two-hour sessions that involve learning skills through role-playing, presentations, and videotapes.
Goal / Mission
New Beginnings promotes resilience in children after parental divorce by providing mothers and their children with group and individual-based sessions.
Impact
The New Beginnings program improves post-divorce adjustment outcomes such as interparental conflict, mother-child relationships, and coping strategies by targeting predictive behaviors.
Results / Accomplishments
The mother program showed significant improvements compared to the control group on the following outcomes and mediators: internalizing and externalizing problems (Wolchik et al., 2000), child reported aggression (Wolchik et al., 1993), parent reported communication, positive routines, control, and willingness to change visitation (Wolchik at al., 1993), active coping, avoidant coping, support coping, and observed attending (compared to dual component program; Wolchik et al., 2000).
At the 6-month follow-up, the mother program showed significant improvements compared to the control group on externalizing problems and observed attending (Wolchik et al., 2000).
At the 6-year follow-up, compared to the control group, the mother program showed no significant main effects, while the mother and child program showed significant main effects on externalizing behaviors, number of sexual partners, and diagnosis of mental health disorders (Wolchik et al., 2002).
At the 15-year follow-up, the combined intervention groups (mother and dual component programs) showed improvements on internalizing disorders (Wolchik et al., 2013).
At the 6-month follow-up, the mother program showed significant improvements compared to the control group on externalizing problems and observed attending (Wolchik et al., 2000).
At the 6-year follow-up, compared to the control group, the mother program showed no significant main effects, while the mother and child program showed significant main effects on externalizing behaviors, number of sexual partners, and diagnosis of mental health disorders (Wolchik et al., 2002).
At the 15-year follow-up, the combined intervention groups (mother and dual component programs) showed improvements on internalizing disorders (Wolchik et al., 2013).
About this Promising Practice
Organization(s)
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development
Primary Contact
Sharlene Wolchik
Prevention Research Center
Psychology North, Suite 205
Arizona State University
sharlene.wolchik@asu.edu
http://www.blueprintsprograms.com/allPrograms.php
Prevention Research Center
Psychology North, Suite 205
Arizona State University
sharlene.wolchik@asu.edu
http://www.blueprintsprograms.com/allPrograms.php
Topics
Community / Social Environment
Organization(s)
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development
Date of implementation
2000
Location
Arizona
For more details
Target Audience
Children, Teens, Women