Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 02/2012

Parenting and the prevention of child maltreatment in low- and middle-income countries

Wendy Knerr, Frances Gardner, Lucie Cluver

December 2011

The Sexual Violence Research Initiative

Abstract

Child maltreatment is a global phenomenon. While definitions of child physical and psychological maltreatment may differ across cultures and countries, poor or harsh parenting is a critical risk factor for maltreatment worldwide, particularly in the early years. Most research on child maltreatment comes from high-income countries, but there have been increasing calls to address the issue in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, there is increasing interest in adapting evidence-based parenting interventions to low- and middle-income countries. This review investigates the effectiveness of parenting interventions for reducing harsh or abusive parenting, increasing positive parenting practices, attitudes and knowledge, and improving parent–child relationships in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, the discussion section considers the potential for adapting parenting interventions from high- to low-/middle-income countries; and the potential role of parenting interventions in addressing current and future violent behaviour among boys and men. A range of electronic databases were searched, including The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Global Health and ERIC, from inception to May 2010. Unpublished reports were sought through: searches of Google Scholar, websites of relevant organisations and theses and dissertation databases; hand-searching reference lists of relevant documents; and personal contacts with experts.