Common Questions About Triple P

How is Triple P different?
The program is based on a self-regulation framework. The goals are for children to develop emotional self-regulation and for parents to become resourceful, independent problem solvers. As they select their own goals, the program is tailored to families’ aspirations. Practitioners consult and guide through active skills training. Parents decide what they wish to take on.

How does Triple P add to programs already in place?
The prevention focus and flexible delivery options within the Triple P levels of intervention make it a cost-effective program, offering the minimal amount of contact and assistance parents need. It applies to a broad age range from birth to adolescence.

Will it work with all social groups?
Triple P has been well-received by many different social groups. All major validation studies have included high-risk, low-income families. Where mixed samples were used, socioeconomic status and parent education levels have not predicted outcome.

Does Triple P require a high level of literacy?
The parent materials are designed for the reading level of an average 11-year-old. Where literacy is a major difficulty, the program uses multi-media so that it can be delivered without reading materials at all, through use of videos and behavioral rehearsal.

Will it work with complex cases?
Randomized controlled trials have specifically evaluated Triple P with clinically depressed, maritally discordant, and highly distressed parents, and with stepfamilies, all with successful outcomes. Trials are in progress with maltreating parents and families of children with disabilities and challenging behavior, also with promising results to date.

Is Triple P an appropriate intervention in child protection cases?
Triple P has been widely used as an abuse prevention strategy. One of the major effects of the program is to reduce parents’ use of corporal punishment.

Is it culturally appropriate for ethnic minority groups?
The program is being translated into several community languages (e.g. Arabic, Mandarin and Malay), and is being used by indigenous groups in Australia. Ethnic variations have not changed any procedures, only examples. There is considerable evidence that Triple P procedures are well accepted by a diverse range of cultural groups.

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Media contact: Candace Chellew, Communications Coordinator
Building Connections Project
1334 Sumter Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803 978 7407
Fax: 803 978 7410
Email: chellew@gwm.sc.edu

This page last updated, October 11, 2006, by Candace Chellew (Email: tpinfo@sc.edu).
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This page © 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina.
URL: http://tpinfo.sc.edu