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ABSTRACT
Research finds that parents’ knowledge and practices exert significant influence on the developmental outcomes of children and youth. Formal parenting programs that improve parenting knowledge and practices can positively impact children’s development and behavior; however, these programs tend to be limited in terms of their scope and size of the populations they serve. We conducted an experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Positive Parenting Newsfeed project – a wide-reaching parenting initiative that features rigorous research-based strategies and recommendations for parents through monthly TV news reports in English and Spanish. In a sample of 381 parents, we evaluated outcomes such as parents’ knowledge about the topics covered in the reports, intent to adopt, and adoption of research-based parenting behaviors. Compared to a control group, we find that parents exposed to the 1–1.5-minute Positive Parenting TV news segments report higher knowledge about research-based parenting topics, are more likely to report intention to adopt the behaviors featured in the segments, and implement more behaviors that follow the featured advice, one week and one month after watching the segments.
IMPACT SUMMARY
Prior State of Knowledge. Public education campaigns, specifically public health education campaigns, have found success in modifying mass population opinions and behaviors, but rarely focus on child development topics.
Novel Contributions. This study is the first experimental evaluation to examine the effectiveness of communicating research-based parenting strategies to parents through videos displayed in local TV news segments, on parents’ knowledge, intent to adopt, and adoption of behaviors.
Practical Implications. News producers and policymakers need to address global challenges and promote positive child outcomes, and television news can be an effective medium to provide important information to parents – the most important adults in children’s lives
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2023.2187426
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Gabriel Piña
Gabriel Piña, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist II in the Youth Development research area at Child Trends. He has served as the Principal Investigator and Quantitative Analysis lead for projects funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Institute of Education Sciences. He has extensive experience in quantitative analysis, particularly econometrics, quasi-experimental methods, and impact evaluation.
Alicia Torres
Alicia Torres, PhD, holds a PhD in Communication. She is an expert in the field of public understanding of science. Dr. Torres serves as the senior director of communication science at Child Trends, a child development research center—expanding the use of communication research to inform effective engagement and communication. She served as principal investigator for a large National Science Foundation-funded project, the Child Trends News Service, among other grants.
Isabel Griffith
Isabel Griffith is a research analyst in Child Trends’ sexual and reproductive health program area and was the previous program manager for the Child Trends News Service project. Her research interests include the effective translation and communication of evidence-based research to parents and families. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.