Using repertory grid technique with participants in parenting programmes - A pilot study

Parenting programmes have become a core element of New Labour's approach to strengthening families. Although parenting programmes originally were focused on the parents of young children, they are now also seen as an important intervention to support parents of adolescents. This paper suggests that repertory grids can be an illuminating method for identifying the aspects of construing parenting of adolescents that are influenced through participation in parenting programmes, as well as an aid to reflection. Reporting on the use of repertory grids in one project, it was found that the parenting programme significantly influenced anxiety about parenting, and also affected other factors associated with inconsistent and harsh parenting. It is suggested that repertory grids can usefully be added by practitioners to the methods used to evaluate parenting programmes.