The prevention of violence in childhood through parenting programmes: a global review

Figures & data

Figure 1. PRISMA flowchart of the search strategy.

Table 1. Summary of findings.

Article	Programme type	Papers reviewed	Outcomes assessed	Summary of main findings	AMSTAR
Alderdice et al. (2013)	Multi modal	32	Maternal mental health and well being	Postnatal nursing home visits (at risk mothers) was protective in first 6 weeks postpartum Group parenting participants had less depression, anxiety/stress, self-esteem and relationship adjustment	6
Avellar and Supplee (2013)	Home Visitation	207	Child maltreatment	Five programmes showed reduction in child maltreatment in parent and official reports	7
Barlow et al. (2014)	Group parenting programmes	48	Parental mental health	Improved psychosocial health post intervention for mothers Reduced parental stress for fathers in the short term Effects were non significant at one year	9
Barlow et al. (2002)	Group Parenting Programmes	15	Maternal mental health	Improved the mental health of parents from high and lower SES groups in the short term	6
Barlow et al. (2006)	Multi modal	15	Documented or reported abuse or neglect, parenting attitudes and practices, anger and stress levels.	Limited evidence about improving objective measures of physical abuse or neglect Modest benefits in improving parental and family functioning Media intervention and perinatal coaching were ineffective for high risk groups	7
Barlow et al. (2011)	Individual and Group	9	Parental Psychosocial health, Child health and development, parent–child relationship	No evidence regarding parental attitudes to child rearing Positive effect on parent interactions with infants 19/47 individual studies had statistically significant effect sizes for the intervention group	9
Bennett, Barlow, Huband, Smailagic, and Roloff (2013)	Group Parenting Programmes	48	Parental psychosocial health	Small short-term reduction in depression, anxiety, stress, anger and guilt and improvement in confidence and satisfaction with the partner relationship Effects became non – significant one year post intervention	8
Bilukha et al. (2005)	Home Visiting	20	Parental violence, Intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, child violence	Some evidence of effectiveness that home visitation prevents of child maltreatment Insufficient evidence for all other outcomes	7
Chen and Chan (2016)	Multi modal	37	Child maltreatment, parental risk factors, parental protective factors	A small but positive effect in reducing the number of substantiated child maltreatment reports, psychological aggression, harsh discipline, corporal punishment, neglect Reduction of inappropriate parenting attitudes regarding corporal punishment Small positive effect re: reduction of parental depression Effect size was larger for developing countries (.627 vs. .200)	8
Euser et al. (2015)	Multi modal	23	Child maltreatment, parent–child attachment	5/20 programmes were effective in reducing or preventing child maltreatment Programmes more effective at reducing maltreatment than preventing it	6
Filene et al. (2013)	Home visitation	51	Child maltreatment	In general, home visiting programs had no significant effects on child maltreatment	5
Geeraert et al. (2004)	Multi modal	40	Child Maltreatment, parent child interaction	Significant reduction in abusive and neglectful acts Reduced risk of negative family functioning and parent child interaction	7
Kendrick et al. (2008)	Multi modal	15	Unintentional injuries, maternal psychosocial functioning	Programmes effective in preventing unintentional injuries in young children by increasing parental knowledge	8
Kendrick et al. (2000)	Home visits	34	Unintentional injuries, maternal health, postnatal depression	Home visiting was found to significantly increase the quality of the home environment	9
Kendrick et al. (2013)	Multi modal	22	Maternal psychosocial health, unintentional injuries	Home visiting reduced unintentional injuries and improved home safety practices for at risk parents	10
Knerr et al. (2013)	Multi modal	12	Parent–child interaction, parental attitudes and knowledge	Two studies assessed harsh punishment and both studies showed significant reduction in harsh or dysfunctional parenting from two months to six years Two of the three studies showed an increase in parental attitude and knowledge	7
Howard and Brooks-Gunn (2009)	Home visiting	9	Child abuse and neglect, maternal mental health	Little evidence that home visiting programmes decreased child abuse and neglect and some evidence that home visiting positively affects parenting practices	N/A
MacMillan et al. (2009)	Parent interventions	N/A	Child maltreatment, Exposure to IPV	Nurse Family Partnership and Triple P were shown to reduce child maltreatment	N/A
Mikton and Butchart (2009)	Multi modal	26	Child maltreatment, child abuse, hospitalization, parental stress	4/7 studies showed evidence of reducing child maltreatment; 3/7 reduced risk factors associated with child maltreatment One study showed improvement in abusive head trauma Inadequate evidence regarding media interventions	8
Olds et al. (2007)	Home visiting	31	Punishment, child abuse, neglect	Lower rates of emergency room visits, injuries, and verified rates of child abuse 2 years post intervention Lower rates of official child abuse and neglect for participating mothers 15 years post Healthy Families America – greater use of non-violent methods of discipline	N/A
			Maternal mental health (depression, stress, anxiety) and well being.
Olds (2008)	Home visiting	N/A	Child maltreatment Unintentional injuries.	Lower rates of emergency room visits and verified rates of child abuse up to 15 years post intervention Fewer injuries from partner violence	N/A
Olds et al. (2000)	Home visiting	9	Child maltreatment, injuries	Lower rates of emergency room visits and verified rates of child abuse up to 15 years post intervention	N/A
Peacock, Konrad, Watson, Nickel, and Muhajarine (2013)	Home visiting	15	Child abuse and neglect	Paraprofessional home visiting was associated with decreases in harsh parenting	6
Persily (2003)	Home visiting	14	Child abuse and neglect	No difference in rates of child abuse. Argued that paraprofessional services may not be best for working with families at risk	N/A
Poole et al. (2014)	Media	17	Child maltreatment rates	Two studies found reductions in injuries and child maltreatment cases Reduced parental anger and stress, improvements in the use of positive discipline	5
			Parental stress, parental care giving abilities.
Reynolds et al. (2009)	Multi modal	15	Child maltreatment	6/ 12 found no preventive effects on maltreatment while 4/ 12 studies found significantly lower rates of substantiated child maltreatment	N/A
Sandler et al. (2011)	Multi modal	13	Parent behaviour and skills.	3/4 of studies reported improvement in parenting skills and reductions in child abuse and neglect Reduced reports of IPV Reductions in child injuries and ingestion of toxic substances Lower rates of abuse and neglect at 4 years (Nurse Family Partnership), stronger effects for at risk mothers	N/A
Sweet and Appelbaum (2004)	Home visitation	60	Child abuse, parent stress, child outcomes	Studies targeting low-income parents were more successful Para- professional home visitors were more effective than professionals or non-professionals Studies targeting low-income parents were more successful in preventing potential child abuse Targeted programmes more effective than universal programmes Overall, home visiting is not effective in reducing child abuse or parent stress as an indicator of potential child abuse	6

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