This mixed methods systematic review and meta-analysis sheds more light on the role parenting practices play in children’s adjustment after war exposure. Specifically, we quantitatively examined ...whether parenting behavior explained some of the well-known associations between war exposure and children’s adjustment. In addition, we meta-synthesized qualitative evidence answering when and why parenting practices might change for war-affected families. We searched nine electronic databases and contacted experts in the field for relevant studies published until March 2018, identifying 4,147 unique publications that were further screened by title and abstract, resulting in 158 publications being fully screened. By running a meta-analytic structural equation model with 38 quantitative studies (N = 54,372, M
age = 12.00, SD
age = 3.54), we found that more war-exposed parents showed less warmth and more harshness toward their children, which partly mediated the association between war exposure and child adjustment, that is, post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression and anxiety, social problems, externalizing behavior, and lower positive outcomes (e.g., quality of life). War exposure was not associated with parents’ exercise of behavioral control. By meta-synthesizing 10 qualitative studies (N = 1,042; age range = 0−18), we found that the nature of war-related trauma affected parenting differently. That is, parents showed harshness, hostility, inconsistency, and less warmth in highly dangerous settings and more warmth and overprotection when only living under threat. We conclude that it is both how much and what families have seen that shapes parenting in times of war.
A recent increase in the development of online parent programs calls for the need to understand how effective these strategies are for improving children’s mental health. We meta-analyzed the effects ...of online parent programs on children’s behavioral problems. Moreover, we explored the combinations of program components to yield stronger program effects. Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched. We included peer-reviewed randomized studies evaluating the effect of an online parent program. Effect sizes (Hedges’
g
) were calculated from post intervention means and standard deviations. We used Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to identify pathways to effectiveness and individual content and delivery components that seem sufficient or necessary for yielding high effectiveness. Of 2941 articles, 12 articles with a total of 2025 participants met the inclusion criteria. Online parent programs have significant effects on children’s behavioral problems (
g
= − 0.32; 95% CI, − 0.47 to − 0.17), emotional problems (
g
= − 0.22; 95% CI, − 0.31 to − 0.13), and parental mental health problems (
g
= − 0.30; 95% CI, − 0.42 to − 0.17). In the QCA, sending parents reminders to work on the program was the only one sufficient component. In conclusion, online support programs reduce children’s behavioral and emotional problems and improve parental mental health. Sending parents reminders to work on the program seems to contribute to high effectiveness.
Review Registration
This study was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017080051.
Child maltreatment and harsh parenting both include harmful actions by parents toward children that are physical (e.g., spanking, slapping) or emotional (e.g., threatening, yelling). The distinction ...between these two constructs, in meaning and measurement, is often unclear, leading to inconsistent research and policy. This study systematically identified, reviewed, and compared parent-reported child maltreatment (N = 7) and harsh parenting (N = 18) instruments. The overlap in parenting behaviors was 73%. All physical behaviors that were measured in harsh parenting instruments (e.g., spanking, beating up) were also measured in child maltreatment instruments. Unique physical behaviors measured in maltreatment instruments include twisting body parts and choking. All emotional behaviors in maltreatment instruments were included in harsh parenting instruments, and vice versa. Our findings suggest similar, but not identical, operationalizations of child maltreatment and harsh parenting. Our findings can help guide discussions on definitions, operationalizations, and their consequences for research on violence against children.
Purpose:
To synthesize evidence of parenting program effects on disruptive child behavior in China and compare three program approaches: behavioral, relational, and cognitive.
Methods:
We searched ...five databases (four English and one Chinese) and identified 45 studies; 29 studies were included in a multilevel meta-analysis (92 effect sizes; total Ntotal = 3,892; Mchild age = 6.12 years).
Results:
We found large overall effects on reduced disruptive child behavior (d = −1.28, 95% CI −1.86, −0.70, p < .001), reduced harsh and inconsistent parenting (d = −1.70, 95% CI −2.91, −0.49, p <.001), and improved parental warmth and positive behavioral management (d = 2.67, 95% CI 0.41, 4.93, p <.001). Behavioral programs were more effective than relational programs (Δd = .89, 95% CI −1.7, −0.13, p = .034), and cognitive programs were too rare to analyze separately.
Conclusions:
Parenting programs for disruptive child behavior can effectively support Chinese families, especially those adopting a behavioral approach.
Children's disruptive behavior problems place children at high risk for oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, and carry a high burden for individuals and society. Policy makers and ...service providers aiming to reduce children's disruptive behavior problems must often choose between importing an intervention developed abroad or instead developing or using a "homegrown" (i.e., local) intervention. No comprehensive comparison of these interventions exists.
We performed a multilevel meta-regression of 129 randomized trials (374 effect sizes) of transported and homegrown parenting interventions. We identified trials by searching the included trials lists of systematic reviews, found through searches in 6 databases (e.g., MEDLINE, EMBASE). Trials that had not yet been reviewed were found by searching the same databases. Primary outcome was the mean difference in effectiveness between transported and homegrown interventions to reduce disruptive child behavior. We also compared this differential effectiveness for various intervention "brands" (e.g., Incredible Years and Triple P Positive Parenting Program) and geographical regions (e.g., North America and Europe).
Transported and homegrown interventions did not differ in their effectiveness to reduce disruptive child behavior (d = 0.10, not significant). Results were robust across intervention brands and geographical regions. Six trials on transported interventions in Hong Kong, Iran, and Panama suggest promising results for transporting interventions to "nonwestern" countries, whereas one trial in Indonesia does not.
Parenting interventions based on the same principles led to similar outcomes, whether transported or homegrown. This finding supports the selection of interventions based on their evidence base rather than on cultural specificity.
The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) is an established parent rating scale to measure disruptive behavior problems in children aged between 2 and 16 years. The present study examined the ...psychometric properties of the Dutch translation, including analysis on the one-dimensional structure of the ECBI scales using item response theory. Data from two samples from the Netherlands were used, a community sample (
N
= 326; 51 % boys) and a multi-ethnic clinical sample (
N
= 197; 62 % boys). The one-dimensional structure of the ECBI Intensity and Problem Scales were confirmed in both of these samples. The results also indicated good internal consistency, test-retest reliability (community sample), and good convergent and divergent validity. The ECBI Intensity Scale was able to differentiate between diagnostic groups (no diagnosis, ADHD, ODD, and CD symptoms), demonstrating good discriminative validity. Findings support the use of the ECBI as a reliable measure for child disruptive behavior problems in a Dutch population. Suggestions for the optimal use of the both ECBI scales for research and screening purposes are made. Also, cultural issues regarding the use of the ECBI are discussed and additional research into the validity of the ECBI is recommended.
Many universal school-based interventions aim to stimulate students’ intrapersonal (e.g., self-esteem) and interpersonal (e.g., school climate) domains. To improve our understanding of why some of ...these interventions yield stronger effects than others, we identified intervention components that are related to stronger or weaker intervention effects. We systematically searched four databases (i.e., PsycINFO, PubMed, ERIC, CENTRAL) for controlled evaluations of universal school-based interventions. In total, 104 included studies (529 included effect sizes) reported on 99 unique interventions. Interventions showed small positive effects on the intrapersonal (
d
= 0.19) and interpersonal (
d
= 0.15) domains. Focusing on self-awareness and problem solving, using more active learning approaches, and using more extensive interventions predicted stronger intervention effects on aspects of both domains. In contrast, efforts to improve emotion regulation, assertiveness, cognitive coping, and using group discussions predicted weaker intervention effects. Furthermore, commonly implemented components were not necessarily related to stronger intervention effects and components that were related to stronger effects were not necessarily often implemented. Our findings highlight the need to carefully select components for inclusion in interventions.
PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42019137981.
What are the parenting behaviors that shape child compliance? Most research on parent-child interactions relies on correlational research or evaluations of "package deal" interventions that ...manipulate many aspects of parenting at the same time. Neither approach allows for identifying the specific parenting behaviors that shape child compliance. To overcome this, we systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed available evidence on the effects of experimentally manipulated, discrete parenting behaviors-a niche in parent-child interaction research that contributes unique information on the specific parenting behaviors that shape child behavior.
We identified studies by systematically searching databases and through contacting experts. Nineteen studies (75 effect sizes) on four discrete parenting behaviors were included: praise, verbal reprimands, time-out, and ignore. In multilevel models, we tested for each parenting behavior whether it increased child compliance, including both observed and parent-reported measures of child compliance.
Providing "time-out" for noncompliance robustly increased both observed and parent-reported child compliance (ds = 0.84-1.72; 95% CI 0.30 to 2.54). The same holds for briefly ignoring the child after non-compliance (ds = 0.36-1.77; 95% CI 0.04 to 2.90). When observed and parent-reported outcomes were combined, but not when they were examined separately, verbal reprimands also increased child compliance (d = 0.72; 95% CI 0.26 to 1.19). Praise did not increase child compliance (ds = -0.27-1.19; 95% CI -2.04 to 1.59).
Our findings suggest that of the discrete parenting behaviors that are experimentally studied in multiple trials, especially time-out and ignore, and to some extent verbal reprimands, shape child compliance.
Conduct problems can develop into behavior disorders and put children at risk for other mental health problems. Parenting interventions have been shown to successfully reduce conduct problems and are ...often expected to prevent the development of broader mental health problems. Few studies have evaluated the longer-term and broader effects of these interventions. To what extent are parenting intervention effects sustained in the years after the intervention? And do effects pertain to conduct problems specifically, or do they also affect broader aspects of children’s mental health? We used a randomized controlled trial to assess the longer-term (2.5 years) effects of the Incredible Years parenting intervention on children’s conduct problems in an indicated prevention setting (
N
= 387; 79% retention rate). Using a multi-method (survey and computerized tasks) and multi-informant (parents, teachers, and children) approach, we tested whether initial effects on conduct problems were sustained, and whether Incredible Years had broader effects on children’s peer problems, emotional problems, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, attention and inhibition deficits, and service use. Incredible Years, relative to control (no intervention), led to sustained reductions in parent-reported conduct problems (Cohen’s
d
= 0.31), but not teacher- and child-reported conduct problems. There were no broader benefits: Incredible Years did not reduce children’s peer problems, emotional problems, ADHD-symptoms, attention and inhibition deficits, or their service use. Improvements in parents’ perceptions of child conduct problems sustained until 2.5 years later. Our findings do not show benefits of Incredible Years as a preventive intervention for children’s broader mental health.
Relevant initiatives are being implemented in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) aimed at strengthening a culture of prevention. However, cumulative contextual factors constitute significant ...barriers for implementing rigorous prevention science in these contexts, as defined by guidelines from high-income countries (HICs). Specifically, disseminating a culture of prevention in LMICs can be impacted by political instability, limited health coverage, insecurity, limited rule of law, and scarcity of specialized professionals. This manuscript offers a contribution focused on strengthening a culture of prevention in LMICs. Specifically, four case studies are presented illustrating the gradual development of contrasting prevention initiatives in northern and central Mexico, Panamá, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The initiatives share the common goal of strengthening a culture of prevention in LMICs through the dissemination of efficacious parenting programs, aimed at reducing child maltreatment and improving parental and child mental health. Together, these initiatives illustrate the following: (a) the relevance of adopting a definition of culture of prevention characterized by national commitments with expected shared contributions by governments and civil society, (b) the need to carefully consider the impact of context when promoting prevention initiatives in LMICs, (c) the iterative, non-linear, and multi-faceted nature of promoting a culture of prevention in LMICs, and (d) the importance of committing to cultural competence and shared leadership with local communities for the advancement of prevention science in LMICs. Implications for expanding a culture of prevention in LMICs are discussed.
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