Preventing Child Abuse Through a Brief Parenting Intervention: 2.5-Year Outcomes From the Safer Kids Randomized
Livia van Leuven1, Pia Enebrink1, Maria Lalouni2
1Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
The Safer Kids parenting program showed promising results in reducing child abuse reports and improving child mental health over 30 months. This intervention offers potential preventive effects for families with suspected child abuse.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Public Health Interventions
- Family Support Services
Background:
- Child abuse is linked to long-term psychiatric risks.
- Parenting programs can mitigate these risks.
- Early intervention is crucial for child welfare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the 30-month effectiveness of the Safer Kids parenting program.
- To assess the program's impact on child abuse reports and caregiver risk.
- To examine effects on child mental health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- An open-label, randomized controlled trial involving 112 families across 26 Swedish child welfare agencies.
- Families were randomized to the Safer Kids program or intervention as usual (IAU).
- Primary outcomes included child abuse reports and caregiver risk (BCAP); secondary outcome was child mental health (SDQ).
Main Results:
- Safer Kids was associated with a lower cumulative number of new child abuse reports (IRR = 1.79, p = 0.028).
- Significant improvements in child mental health (SDQ) were observed at 30 months (d = 0.60, p = .001).
- Caregiver risk (BCAP) showed a positive effect in non-imputed analyses (d = 0.41, p = .044), but this was not supported in sensitivity analyses.
Conclusions:
- The Safer Kids program did not reduce the time to the first new abuse report.
- However, it was linked to fewer total reports and enhanced child mental health at 30 months.
- Findings suggest the Safer Kids program has preventive effects for families with suspected child abuse.
Objective:
Child abuse is associated with lifetime risks for psychiatric disorders. This study evaluated 30-month effects of Safer Kids, a parenting program designed for rapid implementation after suspected child abuse.
Method:
In an open-label, randomized controlled trial, families reported for child abuse to 26 Swedish child welfare agencies were randomized to Safer Kids or intervention as usual. Primary outcomes were official child abuse reports (time to first new report and total number of reports) and caregiver abuse risk (the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory). The secondary outcome was child mental health (the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). The trial was preregistered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04163367).
Results:
The trial included 112 families (194 parents). The cumulative number of new child abuse reports was lower for Safer Kids compared with intervention as usual (incidence rate ratio 1.79; 95% CI 1.06-3.02; p = .028), although there was no difference in time to first new report (hazard ratio 0.74; 95% CI 0.31-1.76; p = .50). At 30 months, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire showed a consistent effect favoring Safer Kids across analytical approaches (nonimputed data: d = 0.60; 95% CI 0.11-1.09; p = .001). For the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory, an effect was observed in nonimputed analyses (d = 0.41; 95% CI -0.08-0.89; p = .044) but was not supported in sensitivity analyses.
Conclusion:
Safer Kids did not reduce the time to the first new abuse report but was associated with somewhat fewer total reports and better child mental health at 30 months, suggesting preventive effects in families with suspected abuse.
Clinical Trial Registration Information:
A Randomized Controlled Study of Safer Kids: A Manualized Intervention to Prevent Child Abuse; https://clinicaltrials.gov; NCT04163367.
Diversity And Inclusion Statement:
We worked to ensure sex and gender balance as well as ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
01:24Operant Conditioning Intervention
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
01:27Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative Parenting
This...
01:30Preventive Healthcare Services
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...