Search

Background: Encouraging positive parenting practices through evidence-based interventions is vital for the achievement of SDG target 16.2, which aims to eradicate all forms of violence against children while promoting their safety and mental wellbeing. As low- and middle- income countries increasingly adopt parenting programs, policymakers and implementers face the challenge of efficiently transporting, adapting, and implementing them across multiple settings., Purpose: This study seeks to evaluate the real-world experiences, challenges, and best practices in implementing parent support programs in Botswana., Method: A series of interviews with program implementers and stakeholders from governmental and non-governmental organizations were conducted. Key informants from governmental and non-governmental institutions were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling and 17 practitioners participated in the study. Data collection was carried out through online Zoom video conferencing at a convenient time and location for participants., Findings: The findings indicate several factors that contribute to the successful implementation of parenting programs in Botswana, including (a) enabling factors such as supportive policies, regulations and guidelines, (b) innovative factors such as capacity building, program adaptation and mixed method program delivery, (c) bridging factors through collaborations with skilled organizations, and (d) intra-organizational factors such as organizational resources, program sustainability, and support for program staff., Conclusion: No single organization or strategy can sustainably foster positive parenting support in Botswana. Instead, a collective and collaborative learning approach is necessary to develop lasting and scalable solutions., Competing Interests: JR, SJ, LJ, and NM were employed by Stepping Stones International. LC, CW, and JL were involved in the development of the PLH programs. YS and JL worked on the PLH trials in South Africa and based their doctoral work on these. Further, JL is the former Executive Director of Clowns Without Borders South Africa and also receives income as a master trainer for PLH programs. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Gwebu, Mutembedza, Kilby, Rieff, Jamu, Jamu, Monare, Mosenke, Nonong, Ncaagae, Shenderovich, Lachman, Cluver and Ward.)

The quality of parenting program implementation significantly affects the extent to which a program is delivered effectively as well as the likelihood of it becoming embedded in everyday services. The group based Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children (PLH-YC) program for parents of children aged 2-9 years was developed specifically for implementation in low- and middle-income contexts, has been tested in five randomized trials, and incorporates a number of strategies to encourage fidelity of delivery. This paper reports on the introduction of PLH-YC to Montenegro, including initial work to engage government agencies and service providers, adapt the program and, following initial evidence of effectiveness, implement strategies to promote effective delivery and embed the program. Following program adaptation and initial facilitator training, eight groups were run, supported with resources and supervision and independently evaluated. The successful pilot led to program training accreditation by national professional agencies and a series of steps to successfully further embed it into routine settings in Montenegro, including by recognizing the program in national policy documents. This led to further facilitator trainings, now numbering 97 facilitators and the certification of ten coaches and two trainers. By the end of 2023, 1278 parents, across 13 municipalities (half of all municipalities in Montenegro) and a range of service providers, have received the program. The paper describes the project phases and key fidelity components that underpinned the successful introduction and embedding of the program in Montenegro. The plan has resulted in Montenegro having its own domestic resources to continue to implement the program effectively and further plan for widespread dissemination., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

We explore how organisations working on parenting programmes and other types of family support and violence prevention in low-resource settings experienced the pandemic. In August 2020-May 2021, we interviewed (1) staff from three community-based organisations delivering evidence-informed parenting interventions and other psychosocial services for families in Cape Town, South Africa, (2) staff from a parenting programme training organisation and (3) staff from two international organisations supporting psychosocial services in South Africa. Interviews (22) were thematically analysed, with findings in three areas. First, respondents noted changes in the context, including the job losses, food insecurity, and stress experienced by local communities, and reductions in organisational funding. Second, we found that in response to these context changes, the organisations shifted their focus to food provision and COVID prevention. Parenting and psychosocial programmes were adapted - e.g. by changing the physical delivery settings, reducing group sizes, and taking up digital and phone implementation. Participants reported improved perceptions of remote delivery as a feasible approach for working with families - but internet and phone access remained challenging. Third, the pandemic brought new responsibilities for staff, and both the challenges of working from home and the health risks of in-person work.

Background: Childhood adversities, such as poor parental practices, exposure to violence, and risk behaviours strongly impact children's future mental and behavioural problems. Adversities affect families living in disadvantaged environments and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to a greater extent than in high-income countries. Parenting programmes are an effective way to alleviate them, although their outreach and scalability is still limited in LMICs., Methods/design: A multi-site randomised controlled trial will be conducted in North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova and Romania to test the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an optimised version of the promising Parenting for Lifelong Health Programme for Young Children (PLH-YC, 5 sessions), against a standard lecture on parenting issues (control group, 1 session). At least 864 participants who report having children between 2 and 9 years old who display elevated levels of behavioural difficulties will be randomised on a 1:1 basis to the intervention and control groups. The primary outcome will consist of parent report of child oppositional aggressive behaviour. Post-test (four months) and follow-up (12 months) assessments will provide information on short- and longer-term effects of PLH-YC compared to the parenting lecture in the control group., Discussion: This randomised trial will test the efficacy of PLH-YC in alleviating child behavioural problems and assess the cost-effectiveness, transportability across three different cultural contexts, and potential for scalability of the programme., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ., Registration number: NCT04721730 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04721730 ). Registered 13.01.2021., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Rates of child maltreatment are higher in low- and middle-income countries due to risk factors such as social inequities, economic adversity, and sociocultural norms. Given the evidence showing the effectiveness of parenting interventions to prevent child maltreatment, this study embarked on a cultural adaptation of an evidence-based parenting program with the eventual goal of integrating it within a nationwide conditional cash transfer program for low-income Filipino parents with children aged 2-6 years. We document the systematic adaptation of the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children program that was developed and tested in South Africa, for low-resource Filipino families using the heuristic framework for the cultural adaptation of interventions. We underscore the merits of conducting a multistage top-down and bottom-up process that uses a participatory approach among cultural insiders and outsiders to develop a parenting intervention that reflects the contextual realities and cultural values of end users. The adapted program, Masayang Pamilya Para sa Batang Pilipino, is the product of a delicate and deliberate effort to balance Filipino childrearing goals and values with the scientific evidence on components of parenting interventions known to promote positive parenting and prevent child maltreatment., (© 2021 The authors. Family Process published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Family Process Institute.)

Background: This feasibility pilot of the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children program in Thailand aimed to: 1) explore the feasibility of study evaluation approaches; 2) assess the feasibility of delivering an adapted program; 3) report indicative effects on child maltreatment and related outcomes; and 4) examine intervention content associated with key mechanisms of change perceived by caregivers and facilitators., Method: Sixty primary caregivers of children aged 2-9 years were recruited for an 8-week parenting program embedded within the local health system. Mixed-methods approaches included quantitative caregiver-report and observational data from standardized instruments, and qualitative data from individual and group interviews with caregivers and program facilitators. Analyses involved Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, paired t-tests, Friedman's ANOVA, and thematic analysis., Results: Participants reported that most (65%) were grandparents or great-grandparents. Study retention and response rates were high, and enrolled caregivers attended an average of 93% of sessions. Primary outcomes showed caregiver-reported pre-post reductions in overall child maltreatment (d = - 0.58, p < 0.001), as well as reductions in physical (d = - 0.58, p < 0.001) and emotional abuse (d = - 0.40, p < 0.001). Combined caregiver report and observational assessments using the HOME Inventory showed reductions in abusive and harsh parenting (d = - 0.52, p < 0.001). Secondary outcomes demonstrated decreases in child neglect; dysfunctional parenting; poor child monitoring and supervision; parental sense of inefficacy; child behavior problems; daily report on child problem behavior; parent overall depression, anxiety, and stress; and attitudes supporting physical punishment and harsh discipline. There were increases in overall positive parenting, daily positive parenting behavior, as well as HOME Inventory assessments on parent-child relationships. Thematic analyses from interviews and focus group data identified six key program themes associated with strengthened parent-child relationships, reduced child behavior problems, improved attitudes and strategies toward discipline, and improved management of parental stress., Conclusions: This study represents one of few evaluations to test the feasibility of an evidence-based parenting program embedded within routine public health service delivery in a low- or middle-income country. Findings show preliminary effectiveness in reducing child maltreatment, improvements on 22 of 24 secondary outcomes, and perceived mechanisms of change that support quantitative findings. Prospects are promising for program scalability, pending randomized controlled trial results., Trial Registration: 11/01/2019, ClinicalTrials.gov, ID# NCT03539341 .

Harsh parenting attitudes and behaviors negatively impact children's behavior and development, and are linked to heightened levels of violence in children. Parent training programs are effective preventive interventions, but only reach caregivers who attend them. In this study, programs were implemented alongside a community mobilization process, intended to use caregivers' social networks to disseminate new parenting skills community wide. We used social network analysis to explore whether this intervention, first, increased positive parenting, second, changed social networks of female caregivers (selection), and, third, influenced parenting behavior via connections (socialization), while controlling for psychiatric morbidity, parenting stress, alcohol misuse, and child's age. "Colored" Afrikaans-speaking female caregivers (N = 235; mean age 35.92 years) in a rural community in South Africa, with children between 1½ and 18 years old, were included in the study; two waves of data were collected (January-April 2016 and June-October 2017). We detected community-wide increases in positive parenting behavior (involvement, supervision, consistent discipline, and reduced corporal punishment). Attending at least one session of a parenting skills training program (n = 51; 21.7%) significantly predicted increases in network centrality (i.e., outdegree and indegree). Caregivers appeared to use similar parenting behavior to other caregivers they were connected to within the network, especially when those others attended a parenting skills training program. Overall, the results suggest that the information in the intervention was spread throughout the community through social interactions with program attendees and the community mobilization process. The results also illustrate the value of social network analysis for ascertaining the processes by which the intervention achieved its impact.

Background: Parenting programs suitable for delivery at scale in low-resource contexts are urgently needed. We conducted a randomized trial of Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) for Young Children, a low-cost 12-session program designed to increase positive parenting and reduce harsh parenting and conduct problems in children aged 2-9., Methods: Two hundred and ninety-six caregivers, whose children showed clinical levels of conduct problems (Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Problem Score, >15), were randomly assigned using a 1:1 ratio to intervention or control groups. At t 0 , and at 4-5 months (t 1 ) and 17 months (t 2 ) after randomization, research assistants blind to group assignment assessed (through caregiver self-report and structured observation) 11 primary outcomes: positive parenting, harsh parenting, and child behavior; four secondary outcomes: parenting stress, caregiver depression, poor monitoring/supervision, and social support., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02165371); Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR201402000755243); Violence Prevention Trials Register (http://www.preventviolence.info/Trials?ID=24)., Results: Caregivers attended on average 8.4 sessions. After adjustment for 30 comparisons, strongest results were as follows: at t 1 , frequency of self-reported positive parenting strategies (10% higher in the intervention group, p = .003), observed positive parenting (39% higher in the intervention group, p = .003), and observed positive child behavior (11% higher in the intervention group, p = .003); at t 2, both observed positive parenting and observed positive child behavior were higher in the intervention group (24%, p = .003; and 17%, p = .003, respectively). Results with p-values < .05 prior to adjustment were as follows: At t 1 , the intervention group self-reported 11% fewer child problem behaviors, 20% fewer problems with implementing positive parenting strategies, and less physical and psychological discipline (28% and 14% less, respectively). There were indications that caregivers reported 20% less depression but 7% more parenting stress at t 1 . Group differences were nonsignificant for observed negative child behavior, and caregiver-reported child behavior, poor monitoring or supervision, and caregiver social support., Conclusions: PLH for Young Children shows promise for increasing positive parenting and reducing harsh parenting., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.)

Background: Child mental health problems continue to be a major global concern, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Parenting interventions have been shown to be effective for reducing child behavior problems in high-income countries, with emerging evidence supporting similar effects in LMICs. However, there remain substantial barriers to scaling up evidence-based interventions due to limited human and financial resources in such countries., Methods: This protocol is for a multi-center cluster randomized factorial trial of an evidence-based parenting intervention, Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children, for families with children ages 2-9 years with subclinical levels of behavior problems in three Southeastern European countries, Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, and Romania (8 conditions, 48 clusters, 864 families, 108 per condition). The trial will test three intervention components: length (5 vs. 10 sessions), engagement (basic vs. enhanced package), and fidelity (on-demand vs. structured supervision). Primary outcomes are child aggressive behavior, dysfunctional parenting, and positive parenting. Analyses will examine the main effect and cost-effectiveness of each component, as well as potential interaction effects between components, in order to identify the most optimal combination of program components., Discussion: This study is the first factorial experiment of a parenting program in LMICs. Findings will inform the subsequent testing of the optimized program in a multisite randomized controlled trial in 2021., Trial Registration: NCT03865485 registered in ClinicalTrials.gov on March 5, 2019., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Families in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) face multiple challenges (eg, poverty and adverse childhood experiences) that increase the risk for child mental health problems, while the context may provide them with few resources. Existing prevention-oriented parenting programmes have been shown to be effective in reducing child behaviour problems and associated risk factors. This project has the overall goal of adapting, implementing and testing a parenting intervention in three Southeastern European LMIC and uses the Multiphase Optimisation Strategy and dimensions of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance framework. It is implemented over three phases: (1) preparation, (2) optimisation and (3) evaluation. The preparation phase, the subject of this paper, involves the adaptation and feasibility piloting of the parenting programme., Methods and Analysis: This protocol describes the assessment of an evidence-informed indicated prevention programme for families with children aged 2-9 years (Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children) for implementation in FYR of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova and Romania. In this phase, officials, experts, parents and practitioners are interviewed to explore their views of suitability and needs for further adaptation. In addition, a small pre-post pilot study will test the feasibility of the programme and its implementation as well as the evaluation measures in the three countries with 40 families per country site (n=120). Quantitative data analysis will comprise a psychometric analysis of measures, testing pre-post differences using ANCOVA, χ 2 tests and regression analysis. For qualitative data analysis, a thematic approach within an experiential framework will be applied., Ethics and Dissemination: The ethics review board of the Alpen-Adria University Klagenfurt and ethical review boards in the three LMIC sites have approved the study., Trial Registration Number: NCT03552250., Competing Interests: Competing interests: AB, XF, HMF, EJ, GL, MR, and MEW have nothing to disclose. IF reports personal fees from Hamburg University, and other institutions offering education for psychotherapy in Germany outside the submitted work; IF is a certified trainer of the Triple P program. FG is a co-developer of PLH for Young Children, which is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Non-commercial No Derivatives license, and one of the co-founders of the Parenting for Lifelong Health initiative. FG has participated (and is participating) in a number of research studies involving the program, as an investigator, and the University of Oxford receives research funding for these. LML reports personal fees from Clowns Without Borders South Africa, grants from University of Oxford, and other from Parenting for Lifelong Health, outside the submitted work; NH reports grants and non-financial support from Technische Universität Braunschweig, during the conduct of the study; personal fees from other academic institutions offering continued education for psychotherapy education in Germany, outside the submitted work; and NH serves as an international advisory board member for the Triple P program. JH is a co-developer of PLH for Young Children, which is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Non-commercial No Derivatives license, and one of the co-founders of the Parenting for Lifelong Health initiative. She is the director of the Children’s Early Intervention Trust, a non-profit institution responsible for the dissemination of the program in Europe. She receives occasional fees for providing training and supervision to facilitators and coaches. JH has participated (and is participating) in a number of research studies involving the program, as an investigator, and Bangor University receives research funding for these. JH contributed to the initial trial in South Africa, the trial in the Philippines and led the evaluation of the program in a pre-post trial in Montenegro. CLW reports grants from World Childhood Foundation, and grants from UBS Optimus Foundation via the Philippine Ambulatory Pediatric Association, outside the submitted work; CLW is a co-developer of PLH for Young Children, which is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Non-commercial No Derivatives license, and one of the co-founders of the Parenting for Lifelong Health initiative. CLW has participated (and is participating) in a number of research studies involving the program, as an investigator, and the University of Cape Town receives research funding for these. She receives no direct personal income from this work., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Parenting programs in high-income countries have been shown to reduce the risk of child maltreatment. However, there is limited evidence of their effectiveness in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this study was to examine the initial effects of a parenting program in reducing the risk of child maltreatment in highly-deprived and vulnerable communities in Cape Town, South Africa. Low-income parents (N=68) with children aged three to eight years were randomly assigned to either a group-based parenting program or a wait-list control group. Observational and parent-report assessments were taken at baseline and at immediate post-test after the intervention was delivered. Primary outcomes were parent-report and observational assessments of harsh parenting, positive parenting, and child behavior problems. Secondary outcomes were parent-report assessments of parental depression, parenting stress, and social support. Results indicated moderate treatment effects for increased frequency of parent-report of positive parenting (d=0.63) and observational assessments of parent-child play (d=0.57). Observational assessments also found moderate negative treatment effects for less frequent positive child behavior (d=-0.56). This study is the first randomized controlled trial design to rigorously test the effectiveness of a parenting program on reducing the risk of child maltreatment in sub-Saharan Africa using both observational and self-report assessments. Results provide preliminary evidence of effectiveness of reducing the risk of child maltreatment by improving positive parenting behavior. Further development is required to strengthen program components regarding child behavior management and nonviolent discipline strategies. Future research would benefit from a larger trial with sufficient power to determine program effectiveness., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: An estimated one billion children experience child abuse each year, with the highest rates in low- and middle-income countries. The Sinovuyo Teen programme is part of Parenting for Lifelong Health, a WHO/UNICEF initiative to develop and test violence-prevention programmes for implementation in low-resource contexts. The objectives of this parenting support programme are to prevent the abuse of adolescents, improve parenting and reduce adolescent behavioural problems. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sinovuyo Teen compared to an attention-control group of a water hygiene programme., Methods/design: This is a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial, with stratified randomisation of 37 settlements (rural and peri-urban) with 40 study clusters in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Settlements receive either a 14-session parenting support programme or a 1-day water hygiene programme. The primary outcomes are child abuse and parenting practices, and secondary outcomes include adolescent behavioural problems, mental health and social support. Concurrent process evaluation and qualitative research are conducted. Outcomes are reported by both primary caregivers and adolescents. Brief follow-up measures are collected immediately after the intervention, and full follow-up measures collected at 3-8 months post-intervention. A 15-24-month follow-up is planned, but this will depend on the financial and practical feasibility given delays related to high levels of ongoing civil and political violence in the research sites., Discussion: This is the first known trial of a parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in a low- or middle-income country. The study will also examine potential mediating pathways and moderating factors., Trial Registration: Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR201507001119966. Registered on 27 April 2015. It can be found by searching for the key word 'Sinovuyo' on their website or via the following link: http://www.pactr.org/ATMWeb/appmanager/atm/atmregistry?&#95;nfpb=true&&#95;windowLabel=BasicSearchUpdateController&#95;1&BasicSearchUpdateController&#95;1&#95;actionOverride=%2Fpageflows%2Ftrial%2FbasicSearchUpdate%2FviewTrail&BasicSearchUpdateController&#95;1id=1119.

Background: No known studies have tested the effectiveness of child abuse prevention programmes for adolescents in low- or middle-income countries. 'Parenting for Lifelong Health' ( http://tiny.cc/whoPLH ) is a collaborative project to develop and rigorously test abuse-prevention parenting programmes for free use in low-resource contexts. Research aims of this first pre-post trial in South Africa were: i) to identify indicative effects of the programme on child abuse and related outcomes; ii) to investigate programme safety for testing in a future randomised trial, and iii) to identify potential adaptations., Methods: Two hundred thirty participants (adolescents and their primary caregivers) were recruited from schools, welfare services and community-sampling in rural, high-poverty South Africa (no exclusion criteria). All participated in a 12-week parenting programme, implemented by local NGO childcare workers to ensure real-world external validity. Standardised pre-post measures with adolescents and caregivers were used, and paired t-tests were conducted for primary outcomes: abuse (physical, emotional abuse and neglect), adolescent behaviour problems and parenting (positive and involved parenting, poor monitoring and inconsistent discipline), and secondary outcomes: mental health, social support and substance use., Results: Participants reported high levels of socio-economic deprivation, e.g. 60 % of adolescents had either an HIV-positive caregiver or were orphaned by AIDS, and 50 % of caregivers experienced intimate partner violence. i) indicative effects: Primary outcomes comparing pre-test and post-test assessments showed reductions reported by adolescents and caregivers in child abuse (adolescent report 63.0 % pre-test to 29.5 % post-test, caregiver report 75.5 % pre-test to 36.5 % post-test, both p < 0.001) poor monitoring/inconsistent discipline (p < .001), adolescent delinquency/aggressive behaviour (both p < .001), and improvements in positive/involved parenting (p < .01 adolescent report, p < .001 caregiver report). Secondary outcomes showed improved social support (p < .001 adolescent and caregiver reports), reduced parental and adolescent depression (both p < .001), parenting stress (p < .001 caregiver report) and caregiver substance use (p < .002 caregiver report). There were no changes in adolescent substance use. No negative effects were detected. ii) Programme acceptability and attendance was high. There was unanticipated programme diffusion within some study villages, with families initiating parenting groups in churches, and diffusion through school assemblies and religious sermons. iii) potential adaptations identified included the need to strengthen components on adolescent substance use and to consider how to support spontaneous programme diffusion with fidelity., Conclusions: The programme showed no signs of harm and initial evidence of reductions in child abuse and improved caregiver and adolescent outcomes. It showed high acceptability and unexpected community-level diffusion. Findings indicate needs for adaptations, and suitability for the next research step of more rigorous testing in randomised trials, using cluster randomization to allow for diffusion effects.

Objective: This study investigated the opinions of mothers living in battered women's shelters about the acceptability of programme materials, preferences for delivery methods, and barriers to use of the Positive Parenting Programme (Triple P)., Method: Thirty-two mothers of three- to eight-year-olds were recruited from three shelters in Cape Town, South Africa. These mothers received Triple P tip-sheets and watched a Triple P DVD which described the strategies used by the programme. Thereafter, they completed a questionnaire and participated in a focus group discussion. Basic descriptive statistics were obtained from the questionnaire data while qualitative data were analysed using template analysis., Results: Participants typically viewed the Triple P strategies, materials and delivery methods as acceptable. Time constraints and living within a shelter were emphasised as the greatest barriers to implementing strategies; no Internet access and financial cost were considered the most significant barriers to programme access. Participants liked both self-directed and group-based formats., Conclusions: Mothers in shelters are eager for parenting support and shelters provide an ideal opportunity for delivering such support to this high-risk population. This study shows that the strategies taught in such programmes, and the delivery methods used, are acceptable to mothers living in these settings.

This study examines the feasibility of a culturally adapted parenting intervention (MaPa Teens) within the national cash transfer system to reduce violence against adolescents, the first such program in the Philippines. Thirty caregiver-adolescent dyads who were beneficiaries of a government conditional cash transfer program participated in a pilot of a locally adapted version of the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Parents and Teens program. Primary outcomes of reducing child maltreatment and associated risk factors were evaluated using a single-group, pre-post design. Focus group discussions explored the perceptions of participants and facilitators regarding program acceptability and feasibility. Significant and moderate reductions were reported in overall child maltreatment and physical abuse (caregiver and adolescent reports) and in emotional abuse (adolescent report). There were significant reductions in neglect, attitudes supporting punishment, parenting stress, parental and adolescent depressive symptoms, parent-child relationship problems, and significant improvement in parental efficacy in managing child behavior. Adolescents reported reduced behavior problems, risk behavior, and witnessing of family violence. Participants valued learning skills using a collaborative approach, sustained their engagement between sessions through text messages and phone calls, and appreciated the close interaction with caring and skilled facilitators. Program areas of improvement included addressing barriers to attendance, increasing adolescent engagement, and revising the sexual health module. The study provides preliminary support for the effectiveness and feasibility of the program in reducing violence against Filipino adolescents. Findings suggest potential adaptations of the program, and that investment in more rigorous testing using a randomized controlled trial would be worthwhile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study assessed the psychometric properties of three versions of the Parenting Scale (PS; original PS, 13‐item version, and 10‐item version) in three European middle‐income countries. Background: The PS is one of the most frequently used questionnaires for measuring dysfunctional discipline strategies. Although its validity has been extensively investigated in American samples, there are mixed results regarding the recommended number of items and subscales, raising the question of replicability across European middle‐income countries. Method: Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) and item response theory (IRT) were applied to N = 835 parents from North Macedonia, Moldova, and Romania. Results: All three versions were significantly correlated with parental‐ and child‐related variables. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the best model fit for the 10‐item version, and configural and partial metric invariance across countries could be established for this version. Item response theory analyses also supported this measure. Conclusions: Our findings show that the 10‐item version performed better than the 13‐item version and the original PS both overall and on the country level. Reliability values were somewhat lower than reported in studies from the United States. Implications: The 10‐item version constitutes a promising short measure for assessing dysfunctional parenting in European middle‐income countries for researchers and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggressogenic parenting styles are associated with increased rates of callous and unemotional traits, and in turn, with antisocial behaviours. Traumatic brain injury is also associated with antisocial behaviour, but not callous and unemotional traits specifically. No study has previously investigated these three variables, aggressogenic parenting, traumatic brain injury, and callous and unemotional traits, in a single study. The study setting was Cape Town, South Africa. The sample included high school boys (N = 54), aged 13–21 years in an observational, descriptive study. We hypothesised that boys who reported that they had sustained a traumatic brain injury and who had been exposed to aggressogenic parenting would display increased levels of callous and unemotional traits, and that those with traumatic brain injury but had experienced positive parenting would display lower levels of such traits. The main measures included the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool, the Inventory of Callous/Unemotional traits, and the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire. Results show that almost 41% (22/54) of participants reported sustaining a traumatic brain injury. Aggressogenic parenting significantly moderated callous and unemotional traits only in participants with traumatic brain injury, F(1.46) = 4.76, p = .03, while positive parenting and substance use did not. In conclusion, traumatic brain injury in the presence of aggressogenic parenting is associated with greater callous and unemotional traits in this sample of adolescent boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence against children is a widespread problem with devastating consequences, and corporal punishment is a risk factor for more serious forms of physical abuse. One reason for the persistence of corporal punishment may be the lack of awareness of positive disciplinary alternatives. Nonviolent options offered to caregivers and teachers must be effective in addressing challenging behavior, or they may be rejected in favor of a return to physical punishment. There is an urgent need to determine which discipline options are evidence-supported and what that evidence says so that robust alternatives to corporal punishment can be made available. The primary objective of this research was to find, and explore the state of the science on, individual nonviolent interventions for challenging behavior, in so doing forming a "tool kit" for use by caregivers and teachers. A systematic overview of systematic reviews was conducted. Included systematic reviews were peer-reviewed and published in English between 1999 and 2018. Screening, quality assessment using AMSTAR, and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. A total of 223 reviews were included, covering data from 3,921 primary studies. A wide range of evidence-supported interventions exist, many of which have been found effective with severely challenging behavior. Important positive outcomes shown suggest that the use of these tools should be promoted not only for the prevention of violence but also for optimum child development. More research is needed on the use of these methods in home situations and on de-escalation skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of perceived social norms on behaviour has been studied in a variety of domains. However, little research has examined their application to child discipline. This study explored social norms perceptions and their associations with parental discipline in greater Cape Town, South Africa. A cross‐sectional study of 195 mothers (using convenience sampling) from two Early Childhood Development centres examined self‐reported violent and non‐violent parenting behaviour, and perceived descriptive (usual behaviour in a group) and injunctive (appraisal of such behaviour) group norms. Parents overestimated the prevalence of violent parenting. Perceived descriptive norms of violent parenting were associated with self‐reported violent parenting behaviour; and perceived descriptive norms of non‐violent parenting were associated with self‐reported non‐violent parenting behaviour. Estimation of support for violent and for non‐violent parenting differed by centre, as did the relationship between perceived injunctive norms of non‐violent parenting and self‐reported non‐violent parenting behaviour. We also found significant effects of social identification, parent educational attainment and parent‐reported child misbehaviour. Parents' perceptions of group norms of parental discipline may be mistaken yet influence their own behaviour, providing the potential basis for violence prevention interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigated process and outcomes of the Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) for Young Children and for Adolescents programs implemented as part of routine service delivery in postconflict settings. Methods: These group-based programs were delivered by trained facilitators to 97 caregivers (PLH for Young Children) and 108 caregiver–adolescent dyads (PLH for Adolescents) over 12 or 14 (respectively) weekly sessions. Routine monitoring data were collected by the implementing partners using standardized self-report measures. Reducing harsh discipline was specified as the primary outcome, with secondary outcomes including improvements in positive parenting and reductions in poor parental supervision and parental inefficacy. Results: Analyses were intention to treat. Both PLH programs retained effectiveness in routine conditions in a postwar setting, with moderate to large effect sizes. The programs also had high enrollment and attendance rates, indicating high acceptability. Conclusions: Findings suggest promising viability for the implementation of evidence-based parenting programs in challenging postconflict contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This mixed-methods process evaluation examined the feasibility of a parenting program delivered by community facilitators to reduce the risk of child maltreatment in low-income families with children aged 3–8 years in Cape Town, South Africa (N = 68). Method: Quantitative measures included attendance registers, fidelity checklists, satisfaction surveys, and engagement in home practice activities. Qualitative data included parent interviews, facilitator focus groups, and transcripts from parent groups and facilitator supervision sessions. Results: Quantitative results show high levels of participant involvement, implementation, and acceptability. Thematic analyses identified seven themes related to program feasibility: (a) supporting participant involvement, (b) engagement in collaborative learning, (c) strengthening facilitator competency, (d) delivering nonviolent discipline skills, (e) contextualizing content, (f) receptivity to existing practices, and (g) resistance to new skills. Discussion: Findings suggest that parenting programs derived from evidence-based principles may be feasible in South Africa when situated within a culturally relevant context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Violence against children increases in adolescence, but there is a research and practice gap in research-supported child abuse prevention for the adolescent years. A pilot program for low-resource settings was developed in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations, government, and academics in South Africa, using research-supported principles. Method: This study used a pre-post design to test initial effects of a 10-session parenting program with 60 participants (30 caregiver-adolescent dyads) in high-poverty rural South Africa. Areas requiring further testing and adaptation were also identified. Results: Pre-post findings show medium to large program effects in reducing child abuse and adolescent problem behavior, as well as large effects in improvements of positive parenting, and perceived parent and adolescent social support. Discussion: There is potential to reduce child abuse, improve parenting, and reduce adolescent problem behavior in rural South Africa through parenting programs. Further development, testing and longer term follow-up are required to ascertain potential for scale-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is aimed at investigating unders tanding emotions in relation to aspects of antisocial behavior and substance use with respect to parenting styles. The sample were 397 early adolescents from two countries (Slovakia and South Africa). We examined if similarities or differences existed when comparing both national groups. A number of research studies document that antisocial behavior (e. g. bullying) is connected to the attitudes towards antisocial behavior so that specific attitudes predicted bullying behavior and other phenomena such as school and academic performance. The necessity of investigating the field of antisocial behavior and its moderators (such as parenting styles and emotional competencies) is not based only on prevalence rates of different types of antiso cial behavior during early adolescence, but also on the fact that risk behavior, in general, is directly or indirectly involved with health, well-being, school success and healthy development of personality. Currently, most scientific research on emotional intelligence focused more on emotional intelligence from the perspective of a trait (emotional self-efficacy), so the purpose of this study was to shed light more on the ability concept of emotional intelligence. We focused on one particular skill of emot ional intelligence; understanding of emotions, as this ability forms the basic skills of emotional intelligence. The majority of the studies of early adolescent emotional intelligence skills have been conducted in Western societies, but processes underlyin g the formation of behavior and ability emotional intelligence factors and their manifestations may differ across cultures. There is an obvious influence of tradition, culture, ethnicity and society on the experience and expression of emotions, strategies for dealing with stressful situations, and behavior itself. Our study tries therefore to fill the gap in the literature by investigating the relationships between the ability to understand emotions as an emotional intelligence skill and antisocial behavior in early adolescents from very different countries; namely South Africa and Slovakia. Two groups were studied - one in Bratislava, Slovakia (Eastern Europe), and the other in Cape Town, South Africa. In Slovakia, all 6th graders from five state primary s chools that agreed to participate were approached for research matters. From that group, 155 learners were enrolled in study. The average age of this sample was 12.09 (SD 0.75). In South Africa, 242 students were chosen from three state schools which agreed to participate. The mean age of these students was 11.21 (SD=0.62). The schools were picked from different areas of Cape Town so that different ethnic groups were represented in the sample. All 6th grade students in the selected schools of Cape Town and Bratislava (N=397) were invited to participate, and were allowed to do so if their parents provided written consent and they themselves provided written assent. To measure the emotion understanding as a component of emotional intelligence, a performance test - Situational Test of Emotional Understanding (STEU, MacCann & Roberts, 2008) was used. The STEU is based on Roseman's model of the emotions system. According to this model, the 17 most common emotions can be explained by a combination of seven appra isal dimensions. Antisocial and risk behavior and attitudes towards antisocial behavior were measured using subscales taken from The Social and Health Assessment Questionnaire (SAHA, Ruchkin, Schwab-Stone & Vermeiren, 2004). For our research purpose we selected several subscales: school attachment, academic motivation, affiliation with delinquent peers, victimization, parenting scales (inconsistent parenting, parental involvement, parental supervision, parental warmth), prosocial beliefs, alcohol use, substance use, cigarette use, antisocial behavior scales (conduct problem, less severe delinquency, severe antisocial behavior, legal consequences), beliefs legitimizing aggression, "hard to say no" scale and expectations about the future. Our study is focused on exploring associations between attitudes towards antisocial behavior, emotion understanding and parenting styles. According to the existing research it was possible to hypothesize: 1. There is a link between higher level of ability to understand emotions with less frequency of involvement in antisocial behavior as well as stronger attitudes against participation in antisocial behavior. 2. The parenting styles including parental involvement, supervision and warmth are connected with less involvement in antisocial and risk behavior. 3. Individuals with higher ability to understand emotions have a better parental background (especially warmth and involvement) in comparison with individuals with lower understanding of emotions. We applied exploratory analysis, calculating Spearman correlations and Mann-Whitney U-test in SPSS (since not all variables were normally distributed) and linear regression (in R) with quasi-poisson distribution, in order to examine associations between ability to understand emotions, antisocial behavior and other variables. A Generalized Linear Model UNIANOVA with quasi-poisson distribution was the most suitable for our data as they were not normally distributed, and did not fulfill the condition of the Poisson model (where mean must be equal to its variance). The analyses were conducted separately in samples of Slovak and South African early adolescents with regard to examining the relationships between key variables in both groups separately, and then to study the differences between them. The obtained results only partly support expected significant associations between higher level of emotion understanding and lower level of involvement in antisocial behavior. On the contrary the linkage between lower level of understanding of emot ions and higher rate of negative forms of behavior was manifest. These relations were only evident with Slovak adolescents, but not with their South African counterparts. Findings also revealed the importance of parenting styles in different areas of early adolescent's behavior. Parental involvement and warmth diminished the expressed involvement in antisocial behavior as well as substance use and increased pro-social beliefs. Regarding the method used to measure emotional intelligence, we conclude that the performance test of emotion understanding (STEU) is only partly a suitable tool for exploring this construct. First, the STEU - even though modified for this population - had some problems with internal consistency; and secondly, the degree to which these instruments serve as indicators of real life behavior is also questionable. Although our findings support only some relationships we expected to find, we believe that even these findings of associations of ability to understand emotions with some aspects of behavior and influence of parenting style in early adolescence could assist as baseline facts and offer new ideas and inspirational base for further research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective parenting programmes are central to successful violence prevention efforts. Although parenting programmes are available in South Africa, few are evidence-based. This lack of evaluation makes it impossible to know whether programmes are helpful or harmful and whether they use resources efficiently. This article outlines a process for gauging the extent to which parenting programmes incorporate evidence-based practices, which may then assist in identifying promising programmes. This involves the application of two interlinked instruments -- an interview schedule and rating metric. It was applied to 21 group-based parenting programmes in South Africa that were identified via convenience and snowball sampling. Results indicated that the use of evidence-based practices was low, especially in terms of monitoring and evaluation. Findings highlight clear areas where programme strengthening is needed. A similar process could be used to identify other promising violence prevention interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting has a considerable impact on children's behaviour and mental health. Improving child health and behaviour requires an understanding of the relationship between parenting practices; contexual factors such as parental mental health, intimate partner violence, substance abuse and poverty; and children's behaviour. In this article the authors report the findings of a survey of parenting and child behaviour in a small rural South African community. The findings show that corporal punishment, the stress of parenting and parental mental health are significantly associated with both children's internalising (depression and anxiety) and externalising (rulebreaking and aggression) symptoms. Intimate partner violence in the home was also associated with children's externalising symptoms. These findings imply that parent support and training, and an increase in services to address intimate partner violence and mental health problems, should be prioritised as part of a national violence reduction strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]