Francis Taja, Packer Dania, Baker-Henningham Helen
Caribbean Institute For Health Research, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.
School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK.
Child Care Health Dev. 2023 May;49(3):579-590. doi: 10.1111/cch.13074. Epub 2022 Nov 9.
Violence against children (VAC) is a global public health problem, and parenting programmes are a key strategy to reduce VAC at home. We developed and evaluated a preschool-based, early childhood, violence prevention, parenting programme (the Irie Homes Toolbox) in Jamaica and reported significant reductions in parents' use of VAC [Effect size (ES) = -0.29] and increases in parents' positive practices (ES = 0.30). This study presents qualitative findings on the mechanisms of action of the programme.
As part of a cluster randomized trial, 115 parents from nine preschools participated in the Irie Homes Toolbox parenting programme. The programme consisted of eight 90-min sessions with groups of six parents and focussed on strengthening parent-child relationships, understanding children's behaviour, using appropriate discipline strategies and understanding and managing emotions. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a stratified random sample of 28 parents (two to four parents per school) and with nine preschool teachers (one teacher per preschool). Topic guides were developed to explore participants' perspectives of the mechanisms of action of the programme. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, and data were analysed using the framework approach.
The most salient direct pathways to reduced VAC by both parent and teacher reports were through parents' use of alternative strategies to manage child misbehaviour and through improved parent well-being, especially parents' self-management skills. Other factors leading to reduced VAC by parents, reported by both parents and teachers, included self-identification as an 'Irie parent', use of proactive parenting strategies and improved child behaviour. Parents reported that the main factors leading to continued use of VAC were their inconsistency in using positive discipline strategies and poor emotional self-regulation.
Reports from participating parents and preschool teachers indicate that contents related to parental self-management and how to use positive discipline strategies to manage child misbehaviour were important factors on the pathway to reduced VAC.
暴力侵害儿童行为是一个全球性的公共卫生问题，育儿项目是减少家庭中暴力侵害儿童行为的关键策略。我们在牙买加开发并评估了一个以幼儿园为基础的幼儿期暴力预防育儿项目（“irie家园工具箱”），并报告称家长对暴力侵害儿童行为的使用显著减少[效应量（ES）=-0.29]，家长的积极行为有所增加（ES=0.30）。本研究呈现了该项目作用机制的定性研究结果。
作为一项整群随机试验的一部分，来自九所幼儿园的115名家长参与了“irie家园工具箱”育儿项目。该项目包括八个90分钟的课程，每组有六名家长，重点是加强亲子关系、理解儿童行为、使用适当的管教策略以及理解和管理情绪。我们对28名家长（每所学校两至四名家长）和九名幼儿园教师（每所幼儿园一名教师）进行了分层随机抽样的深入半结构化访谈。制定了主题指南，以探讨参与者对该项目作用机制的看法。所有访谈都进行了录音和转录，并使用框架方法对数据进行了分析。
家长和教师报告中减少暴力侵害儿童行为最显著的直接途径是家长使用替代策略来管理儿童的不当行为，以及通过改善家长的幸福感，特别是家长的自我管理技能。家长和教师报告的导致家长减少暴力侵害儿童行为的其他因素包括自我认同为“irie家长”、使用积极的育儿策略以及儿童行为改善。家长报告称，导致继续使用暴力侵害儿童行为的主要因素是他们在使用积极管教策略方面的不一致以及情绪自我调节能力差。
参与项目的家长和幼儿园教师的报告表明，与家长自我管理以及如何使用积极管教策略来管理儿童不当行为相关的内容是减少暴力侵害儿童行为途径中的重要因素。
