Providing Parental Education to Mothers with Immigrant Backgrounds in Sweden - Course Leaders’ Views of the Self-Assured Parents Programme

Prevention programmes targeting parents with ethnic minority backgrounds and aiming to strengthen their parenting practices is a developing field of intervention. The aim of this study was to gain understanding of how course leaders perceive working with Self-Assured Parents (SAP), a Swedish culturally informed parenting programme targeting immigrant mothers with teenage children living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. We conducted four focus groups with 17 course leaders and analysed the interviews with Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis approach. Four themes were identified: general assessment of SAP, language issues, cultural adaptation, and emotional energy. Course leaders reported a high degree of programme acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness. They found recruitment and use of interpreters the main challenges and perceived few challenges regarding cultural adaptation beyond language issues. The work with the programme and the social interactions with participants were described as producing feelings of enthusiasm comparable to the concept of emotional energy. The findings suggest the importance of creating social bonds and safe spaces in parenting programmes, which plausibly may lead to an increased motivation for immigrant mothers to engage in positive parenting practices. We suggest that attention to emotional energy on both practical and theoretical levels may further development of parenting programmes. The study explores course leaders’ experiences with the Self-Assured Parents (SAP) programme for immigrant mothers in Sweden. Four themes identified: general assessment, language issues, cultural adaptation, and emotional energy. High programme acceptability and feasibility reported; recruitment and interpreter use were main challenges. Emotional energy from social interactions was crucial for motivation and engagement in the programme. Creating social bonds and safe spaces in parenting programmes may enhance positive parenting practices among immigrant mothers.