Evaluation of Parenting Interventions to Prevent Violence Against Children in Colombia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Abstract

The effects of the International Child Development Programme (ICDP) and the specific addition of a violence prevention module were observed in a preidentified population in Colombia where children are experiencing high levels of violence. Participants were 176 parents of 3- to 4-year-olds attending child centers who were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: organized Community Activities at child centers and ICDP (CA + ICDP), CA, ICDP, and a preventive Violence Curriculum (CA + ICDP + VC), or a comparison group with only CA. The parents completed questionnaires about corporal punishment, intimate partner violence, community violence, and mental health at baseline and at 6 months follow-up. Univariate logistic regressions were used to examine uses of child violence, predictors of intimate partner violence, and prevalence of mental health problems. McNemar tests were used to assess differences between intervention groups and comparison group at two different time points. Participants were mostly female (78.5%) and had an average age of 32 years. Among these, 58.5% had been exposed to community violence and 98.3% reported using physical assault to discipline their children. Reported prevalence of child violence decreased in all groups whereas the reduction of severe forms of violence was larger for the intervention groups, and especially for the CA + ICDP + VC group. There was a significant reduction of victimization of intimate partner violence in both intervention groups as well as a decrease in mental health problems, especially for the CA + ICDP group (from 22.4% to 5.1%). The general ICDP seems effective in reducing violence. The addition of a specific violence intervention component seemed to reduce intimate partner violence, but not violence related to children. The comparison group attending the child center and other social activities also reported reduced violence but to a lesser extent than the groups who attended specific interventions.

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Identification of child maltreatment with the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales: development and psychometric data for a national sample of American parents.

M A Straus, S L Hamby, D Finkelhor … (1998)

To create a parent-to-child version of the Conflict Tactics Scales, the CTSPC. Description of the conceptual and methodological approaches used and psychometric data for a nationally representative sample of 1,000 U.S. children. (1) Improved Psychological Aggression and Physical Assault scales. (2) New Nonviolent Discipline scale, supplementary scale for Neglect, and supplemental questions on discipline methods and sexual abuse. (3) Reliability ranges from low to moderate. (4) Evidence of discriminant and construct validity. The CTSPC is better suited to measuring child maltreatment than the original CTS. It is brief (6 to 8 minutes for the core scales) and therefore practical for epidemiological research on child maltreatment and for clinical screening. Methodological issues inherent in parent self-report measures of child maltreatment are discussed.

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Child development: risk factors for adverse outcomes in developing countries.

Susan P. Walker, Theodore Wachs, Julie Meeks Gardner … (2007)

Poverty and associated health, nutrition, and social factors prevent at least 200 million children in developing countries from attaining their developmental potential. We review the evidence linking compromised development with modifiable biological and psychosocial risks encountered by children from birth to 5 years of age. We identify four key risk factors where the need for intervention is urgent: stunting, inadequate cognitive stimulation, iodine deficiency, and iron deficiency anaemia. The evidence is also sufficient to warrant interventions for malaria, intrauterine growth restriction, maternal depression, exposure to violence, and exposure to heavy metals. We discuss the research needed to clarify the effect of other potential risk factors on child development. The prevalence of the risk factors and their effect on development and human potential are substantial. Furthermore, risks often occur together or cumulatively, with concomitant increased adverse effects on the development of the world's poorest children.