"We're helping with the grandparents' own mental health, and – at the same time – we’re also helping to reduce the child behavior problems,” says James Kirby, the study's lead author, and a research fellow at the Parenting and Family Support Centre, University of Queensland, Australia.

The new program is an adaptation of the Triple P - Positive Parenting Program.. The version for grandparents lasts nine weeks and consists of seven group and two phone sessions, taking about 15 hours in total to complete.

Unlike other programs for older people who gain custody of their grandchildren, the new program is the first to focus on those who provide regular child care.

Many of the results observed at the end of the study held true six months later.

Read the Reuters story here

The published research paper appears in the November 2013 issue of Behavior Research and Therapy. (Abstract only – full article available to buy or for registered institutions):

The full paper is available here.