What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: Supported and therapeutic playgroups aim to support and strengthen vulnerable children and families by increasing parenting capacity, parent-child interaction, enhancing child outcomes and promoting community net...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Armstrong, J., Paskal, K., Elliott, Catherine, Wray, J., Davidson, E., Mizen, J., Girdler, Sonya
Format: Journal Article
Published: Informa Healthcare 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72979
_version_ 1848762891669340160
author Armstrong, J.
Paskal, K.
Elliott, Catherine
Wray, J.
Davidson, E.
Mizen, J.
Girdler, Sonya
author_facet Armstrong, J.
Paskal, K.
Elliott, Catherine
Wray, J.
Davidson, E.
Mizen, J.
Girdler, Sonya
author_sort Armstrong, J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: Supported and therapeutic playgroups aim to support and strengthen vulnerable children and families by increasing parenting capacity, parent-child interaction, enhancing child outcomes and promoting community networks. This review aimed to comprehensively scope the literature to identify the “active ingredients” of supported and therapeutic playgroups. Method: A systematic search of grey and scholarly literature was conducted using Medline, PyschINFO, EMBASE, ERIC, CINAHL, MedNar, Informit, Scopus, Libraries of Australia and Trove. Articles were included if they: i) defined playgroup as a group of children and actively involved caregivers; ii) described a therapeutic playgroup or supported playgroup model; iii) targeted children prior to school age; and iv) measured the impact of playgroups. A total of 36 articles met the inclusion criteria. Qualitative data was synthesised using a meta-ethnography approach with findings charted against a conceptual model of engagement. Quantitative data was synthesised using descriptive statistics. Results: The findings identified that emotional, practical and informational components of playgroups strongly reflect family centred practice, self-efficacy theory and peer-support principles. Conclusion: Therapeutic and supported playgroups are complex interventions, with numerous interacting components that make them beneficial for children and families. This review is the first to identify the “active ingredients” of playgroups with findings informing the design of future playgroups for vulnerable children and families.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:54:46Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-72979
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:54:46Z
publishDate 2018
publisher Informa Healthcare
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-729792018-12-13T09:33:08Z What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups Armstrong, J. Paskal, K. Elliott, Catherine Wray, J. Davidson, E. Mizen, J. Girdler, Sonya © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: Supported and therapeutic playgroups aim to support and strengthen vulnerable children and families by increasing parenting capacity, parent-child interaction, enhancing child outcomes and promoting community networks. This review aimed to comprehensively scope the literature to identify the “active ingredients” of supported and therapeutic playgroups. Method: A systematic search of grey and scholarly literature was conducted using Medline, PyschINFO, EMBASE, ERIC, CINAHL, MedNar, Informit, Scopus, Libraries of Australia and Trove. Articles were included if they: i) defined playgroup as a group of children and actively involved caregivers; ii) described a therapeutic playgroup or supported playgroup model; iii) targeted children prior to school age; and iv) measured the impact of playgroups. A total of 36 articles met the inclusion criteria. Qualitative data was synthesised using a meta-ethnography approach with findings charted against a conceptual model of engagement. Quantitative data was synthesised using descriptive statistics. Results: The findings identified that emotional, practical and informational components of playgroups strongly reflect family centred practice, self-efficacy theory and peer-support principles. Conclusion: Therapeutic and supported playgroups are complex interventions, with numerous interacting components that make them beneficial for children and families. This review is the first to identify the “active ingredients” of playgroups with findings informing the design of future playgroups for vulnerable children and families. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72979 10.1080/11038128.2018.1498919 Informa Healthcare restricted
spellingShingle Armstrong, J.
Paskal, K.
Elliott, Catherine
Wray, J.
Davidson, E.
Mizen, J.
Girdler, Sonya
What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups
title What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups
title_full What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups
title_fullStr What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups
title_full_unstemmed What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups
title_short What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups
title_sort what makes playgroups therapeutic? a scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72979