Summary: This article reports on a study of 196 parents who received
telephone support over a period of 6 weeks. Children’s well-being was
assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and parental
well-being was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ).
Findings: The study showed that parents who used telephone support had
children with high levels of need as measured by the SDQ. Parents experienced a
range of barriers to accessing support for their children with corresponding high
scores on the GHQ. Parents reported that telephone support had improved their
parenting over a range of domains. Those who had received support also had
significantly lower scores on the GHQ, suggesting that they were less distressed.
Applications: The study suggests that telephone support may be a
cost-effective way of supporting and signposting parents.
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