Analysing empowerment-oriented email consultation for parents

Online consultation is increasingly offered by parenting practitioners, but it is not clear if it is feasible to provide empowerment‐oriented support in a single session email consultation.

Based on the empowerment theory, we developed the Guiding the Empowerment Process model (GEP model) to evaluate text‐based consultation. By content analysis of the email advice (n = 129; 5997 sentences in total), we investigated the feasibility of the newly developed model (inter‐observer agreement, internal consistency and factor structure) and its validity. Concurrent validity was evaluated by comparing coding results using the GEP model and a Social Support model that partially intersects with empowerment. Results showed good inter‐observer reliability and internal consistency of the GEP model. The results provided evidence for its concurrent validity by a significant correlation of the coding results from the GEP model with the Social Support model, although it was also distinctive. All described techniques which practitioners may employ to guide the parental process towards empowerment were observed in the sample. Also, guidance was provided in all components of the empowerment process. Feasibility of the GEP model for content analysis of email consultation in parental support from a theoretical empowerment perspective has been demonstrated.