The Effectiveness of Family and Schools Together (FAST) Intervention on Maternal Self-Efficacy and Parental Stress in Children with Externalized Behavioral Problems

Externalized behavioral problems in children present numerous challenges and difficulties for their parents and caregivers. This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the Home-School Collaboration Intervention on maternal self-efficacy and parental stress in children with externalized behavioral problems. The research design employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group. The target population consisted of all mothers of 8-10-year-old children with externalized behavioral problems in Isfahan city in the year 2021. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, a sample of 30 participants was selected using multi-stage cluster random sampling and randomly assigned to the experimental group (15 participants) and control group (15 participants). The Home-School Collaboration Intervention was implemented in eight 150-minute sessions for the experimental group. The research instruments consisted of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001), Parental Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Dumka, 1996), and Parental Stress Scale (Abidin, 1995). The results of repeated measures ANOVA analysis showed a significant increase in maternal self-efficacy (F = 10.30, p < 0.001) and a significant decrease in parental stress (F= 23.51, p < 0.001) in the experimental group, indicating the effectiveness of the Home-School Collaboration Intervention. These effects were maintained in the follow-up stage. Based on the research findings, the Home-School Collaboration Intervention can be considered an effective intervention for mothers of children with externalized behavioral problems.