Navigating Cultural Adaptation: Refugee Parents' Perspectives on the SafeCare Parenting Program

As the number of forcibly displaced persons worldwide increases, the number of children either forcibly displaced or born as refugees also multiplies. In addition to struggling with basic needs upon resettlement, disruption of daily life can lead to numerous stressors for forcibly displaced parents that may cause friction in the relationship between parent and child. Evidence-based parenting programs may help forcibly displaced parents reconceptualize parenting upon resettlement, strengthen the parent-child bond, and promote positive biopsychological outcomes for children. This study aims to understand refugee parents' experience with a culturally adapted, evidence-based positive parenting program called SafeCare. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 refugee parents of Afghan, Burmese, or Congolese descent who completed SafeCare. Open-ended questions focused on understanding parents' experiences, likes, and dislikes of the adapted curriculum. We applied thematic analysis to analyze the data. The authors identified six themes related to the experiences of refugee parents: expectations and reasons for engaging with SafeCare, guidance for program implementation, learning active parenting, physical learning materials that help parents acquire new skills, the utility of in-person and virtual learning methods, and provision of tailored support for navigating cultural differences. These findings demonstrate success in adapting parenting programs to a refugee context and suggest that delivering such educational programs for forcibly displaced parents may result in better outcomes for both parent and child.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12134-025-01299-1.