Impact of a Parenting Program in Liberia to Improve Parenting, Education, and Health Outcomes for Children in Liberia

Parenting Behavior Assessment (adapted from multiple scales for this context)

This is a caregiver-report survey measures including items on various parenting practices, including: caregiver-child communication; discipline and behavior management practices; caregiver-child affection and shared activities; caregiver involvement in child's school and educational activities. These items will yield several subscores for these different domains. Some items may also be analyzed as single items, as they measure specific and important outcomes (e.g., use of a harsh discipline strategy)

Time frame: 1 month

Parenting Self-Efficacy and Beliefs Assessment (adapted from other scales for this context; includes unique items developed for this context)

These items assess parents' confidence in their parenting abilities and their beliefs about caregiving practices. This measure will yield separate scores for self-efficacy and beliefs about caregiving practices. Some items may also be analyzed as single items, as they measure specific and important outcomes (e.g., parents' belief about an aspect of harsh discipline)

Time frame: 1 month

Child Behavior Assessment (items adapted from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire)

This tool assess children's behaviors and emotional well-being in the domains of hyperactivity, anger, aggression, mood, and peer relationships. They will be analyzed as an overall score, and single items may be analyzed for certain behaviors or indicators of emotional well-being.

Time frame: 1 month

Parent-Child Interaction Observation

Caregivers and children in the study will be asked to engage in a play interaction for five minutes, and their verbal interactions will be audio-recorded. Recordings will be coded for specific behaviors. The coding system is adapted from the Dyadic Parent Child Interaction Coding System.

Time frame: 1 month

Child Cognitive / Pre-Academic Abilities and Emotional Well-being

Children will be administered activity-based items to assess a range of cognitive and learning skills, including verbal and language skills (as measured by several activities), numeracy, and pattern recognition. Items will be combined into composite scores but may also be analyzed separately to measure outcomes on specific abilities (e.g., counting). Children will also be asked five questions related to their emotional well-being adapted from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. These items will be analyzed as a sum score, and individual items may be analyzed for specific indicators of emotional well-being.

Time frame: 1 month