Discuss the research regarding programs aimed at improving parenting skills. What will be an ...

Two reviews capture the broad-scale effectiveness of family-based prevention programs. The first one involved a meta-analysis of the effects of early prevention programs that included parents and children up to age 5.
 Eleven high-quality studies were included that covered a variety of program modalities, such as home visitation, family support services, and parental education (improvement of core parenting skills).
 Results showed significant effects across a number of important domain outcomes, including educational success, delinquency, cognitive development, involvement in the justice system, and family well-being. Program duration and intensity were associated with larger effects, but not multicomponent programs.
 This latter finding goes against much past research, including the latest results on the effectiveness of the Fast Track multicomponent, multisite prevention program.
 The second one involved a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of early family/parent training programs for children up to age 5 on antisocial behavior and delinquency.
 It included 55 randomized controlled experiments and investigated the full range of these programs, including home visits, parent education plus daycare, and parent training. Results indicated that early family/parent training is an effective intervention for reducing antisocial behavior and delinquency.
 These programs also produce a wide range of other important benefits for families, including improved school readiness and school performance on the part of children and greater employment and educational opportunities for parents.
 Significant differences were not detected across program types, such as traditional parent training versus home visiting.