"It opened a new door for me": A qualitative study of forcibly displaced parents' experiences of an attachment-based parenting program.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore forcibly displaced parents' experiences of how an online attachment-based parenting program (eConnect) impacted their relationships with their teens. Data was collected from four focus group discussions with 28 parents who participated in the eConnect program. Data was analyzed using network thematic analysis. A global theme emerged from the analysis: Strengthened Parent-Teen Relationships. Four underpinning organizing themes described the process through which the parent-teen relationship was strengthened: Knowledge Served as the Foundation for Change, Increased Parental Self-Efficacy, Improved Emotional Attunement Facilitates Dyadic Affect Regulation, and Shifted Power Dynamics and Emerging Mutual Parent-Teen Partnership. Findings suggest that eConnect is promising intervention for strengthening parent-teen relationships and supporting forcibly displaced families.