Indigenous parent wellbeing: Implications for early intervention parenting programs in Indigenous communities

While there are several subjective self-report parenting measures developed to measure effectiveness of early interventions parenting programs, these outcome measures are largely normed on non-Indigenous populations and may not reflect parental wellbeing and parenting practices that are specific to First Nations communities. The use of a non-Indigenous perspective of parental wellbeing in the design and application of early intervention parenting programs can be fundamentally misleading, as it may not account for cultural values, ways of life and caregiving styles. This project involves interviews and focus group discussions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents in the Cherbourg community to explore: 1) their conception of their own wellbeing; and 2) factors which promote their wellbeing from their own subjective and cultural perspective. Semi-structured questions will be informed by attachment, social learning and developmental theories and Indigenous cultural models. Key themes will be synthesised to develop and validate a culturally-appropriate Indigenous parent wellbeing measure. Such a measure will assist in the evaluation of family support programs, and in designing programs and resources to promote parents’ wellbeing and parenting practices that are unique to Indigenous families.