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Strength-based Parenting
Lea Waters (Ph.D)
@ProfLeaWaters
www.leawaters.com
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Crea%ng resources: Paren%ng website
www.the-‐strengths-‐exchange.com.au
@ProfLeaWaters | @laramossman
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“Ideally, psychology should be able to
help document what kind of families
result in the healthiest children.” (American Psychologist, 1999 , 54, p.560)
The early calls: 1998
@ProfLeaWaters
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“Raising children…is about iden%fying and nurturing their strongest quali%es,
what they own and are best at.” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 6)
@ProfLeaWaters
The early calls: 2000
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“The study of the strengths that
foster beXer communi%es, such
as jus%ce, responsibility, civility,
paren%ng, nurturance” (IPPA website)
IPPA’s statement
@ProfLeaWaters
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Paren%ng is neglected in PP
Rusk, R., & Waters, L. (2013). Tracing the size, reach, impact and breadth of posi%ve psychology. Journal of Posi.ve Psychology 8(3), 207-‐221
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• Conducted an extensive review of the posi%ve psychology movement.
• Paren%ng = absent.
Paren%ng is neglected in PP
@ProfLeaWaters
Donaldson, S., Dollwet, M., & Rao., M. (2015) Happiness, excellence, and op%mal human func%oning revisited: Examining the peer-‐reviewed literature linked to posi%ve psychology.
The Journal of Posi.ve Psychology, 10(3), 185-‐195.
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Journal of Posi%ve Psychology
Year Total number articles published % published on parenting
2014 51 (6 editions) 2% 2013 49 (6 editions) 0% 2012 42 (6 editions) 5% 2011 49 (6 editions) 0% 2010 36 (6 editions) 0% 2009 50 (6 editions) 4% 2008 20 (4 editions) 0% 2007 24 (4 editions) 0% 2006 19 (4 editions) 5%
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A missing piece of the PP puzzle
@ProfLeaWaters
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Paren%ng • Authoritarian • Aggressive • Hos%le • Negleceul • Mentally ill • Parental conflict • Parental stress
What can we learn from other fields?
Children • Depression • Anxiety • Low esteem • Risk taking • Substance abuse • Poor rela%onships • Heart aXacks • Disease
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Research has shown parents what we should not do?
@ProfLeaWaters
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“Raising children…is about iden%fying and nurturing their strongest quali%es,
what they own and are best at.” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 6)
@ProfLeaWaters
The early calls: 2000
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“Raising children…is vastly more than fixing what is wrong with them. It is about iden%fying and nurturing their strongest quali%es, what they own and are best at, and helping them find
niches in which they can best live out these strengths.”
(Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 6)
@ProfLeaWaters
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Paren%ng • Authorita%ve
• Responsive • Autonomy gran%ng
What do we already know about posi%ve paren%ng?
Children • Secure aXachment • Life sa%sfac%on • Self esteem • Educa%on success • Career outcomes
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“Raising children…is about iden%fying and nurturing their strongest quali%es,
what they own and are best at.” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 6)
@ProfLeaWaters
The early calls: 2000
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Strength-‐based paren%ng: A new research program
@ProfLeaWaters
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Your child is stronger than you think
@ProfLeaWaters
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Personality – Talents – Capaci%es
Everyone has strengths
@ProfLeaWaters
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What is strength-‐based paren%ng?
@ProfLeaWaters
“A style of parenting that seeks to deliberately identify and cultivate positive states, positive processes and
positive qualities in children” (Waters , 2015)
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Two-‐factor Theory of Strengths
Strengths knowledge A person’s
awareness and recogni%on of their strengths
Strengths use How much a person uses
their strengths in a variety of sekngs
Govindji and Linley (2007)
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A style of paren%ng that seeks to deliberately iden%fy & cul%vate strengths
Strengths knowledge
Strengths use
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What happens when parents help their kids to see and use their strengths?
@ProfLeaWaters
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Waters, L. (2015). Strength-‐Based Paren%ng and Life Sa%sfac%on in Teenagers, Advances in Social
Sciences, 2, 158-‐173.
Does SBP add beyond authorita%ve paren%ng?
@ProfLeaWaters
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Explaining Teenager Life Sa0sfac0on
Authorita%ve paren%ng
Other aspect of life sa%sfac%on
16%
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How teens rated their parents
Strengths Knowledge “My parents easily see the strengths in me (my personality, abili%es, talents, and skills).” Strengths Use “My parents show me how to use my strengths in different situa%ons.”
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Explaining Teenager Life Sa0sfac0on
Authorita%ve Paren%ng
Strength-‐based paren%ng
Other aspects of life sa%sfac%on
16%
19%
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Life sa%sfac%on Time 1
Life Sa%sfac%on Time 2
SBP predicts life sa%sfac%on one year later
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Life sa%sfac%on Time 1
SBP Time 1
Life sa%sfac%on Time 2
SBP predicts life sa%sfac%on one year later
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Why does SBP increase life sa%sfac%on?
@ProfLeaWaters
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Strengths knowledge A parent’s
awareness and recogni%on of their child’s strengths
Strengths use How much a
parent encourages their child to uses his/her strengths in a variety of sekngs
Teen’s strengths knowledge
Teen’s strengths
use
Life Sa%sfac%on
Posi%ve Affect
Nega%ve Affect
Sun, Jach, Loton, Chin and Waters (submitted)
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Waters, L. (2015). Strength-‐Based Paren%ng and Life Sa%sfac%on in Teenagers, Advances in Social
Sciences, 2, 158-‐173.
@ProfLeaWaters
Matched parent-‐teen dyad study
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Matched parent-‐teen dyad
Parent reported Knowledge of their teens strengths
Parent reported
encouragement of teen
strengths use
Teen’s strengths knowledge
Teen’s strengths use
Life sa%sfac%on
Waters, L. (2015). Strength-‐Based Paren%ng and Life Sa%sfac%on in Teenagers, Advances in Social Sciences, 2, 158-‐173.
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Does mindset maXer?
Teen’s Subjec%ve wellbeing
Strength-‐based
paren%ng
Teen’s mindset
Teen’s strengths
use
Jach, Sun, Loton, Chin and Waters (submitted)
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What about SBP for younger kids?
Waters, L. (2015). The Rela%onship between Strength-‐Based Paren%ng with Children’s Stress Levels and Strength-‐Based Coping
Approaches, Psychology, 6, 689-‐699
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SBP and stress in children
Child’s Stress levels
Strength-‐based
paren%ng
Child’s strengths
use
Waters, L. (2015). The Relationship between Strength-Based Parenting with Children’s Stress Levels and Strength-Based Coping Approaches, Psychology, 6, 689-699
Child’s strengths COPING
Rela%onship stress
Task-‐related stress
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What about the parents themselves?
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Quasi-‐experimental, waitlist-‐control design
Pre-‐test 137 parents
Posi%ve emo%ons towards children
Self-‐efficacy in parent role
N = 72 4 week
interven%on
N = 65 Waitlist group
Post-‐test 126 parents
Posi%ve emo%ons towards children
Self-‐efficacy in parent role
Waters and Sun (in prep)
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SBP changes the way parents see themselves and their kids
@ProfLeaWaters
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Strengths surveys
Strengths spokng
Strengths role models
Strengths leXer
The Strengths Exchange website
Ac%on steps for parents
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The Strong Child: Building Op4mism, Resilience & Achievement
New book available 2017
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Thanks!
@ProfLeaWaters