In Sierra Leone, poverty and challenges with family functioning can lead to family separation, and children may go to live on the street or enter residential care institutions/orphanages. Helping Children Worldwide (HCW), a non-profit organization with over 20 years of experience in Sierra Leone, has developed a two-part Family Strengthening Program delivered by their program partners in Sierra Leone, the Child Reintegration Centre, to improve families financial literacy and attachment between caregivers and children, with the ultimate goal of preventing family separation. The hypothesis of this study is that the Family Strengthening Program program is effective at (1) changing parenting behaviors, (2) improving emotional regulation, (3) improving caregiver-child attachment, and (4) improving financial literacy in dyads consisting of children ages 9-13 and their caregivers.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
226
Phase I: 2-day Family Strengthening Workshop. The specific topics included in the workshop include: emotions, Body Progressive Muscle Relaxation, body stretch, self care, apologizing, routines to promote attachment, teamwork, saving, delayed gratification, anticipating unexpected expenses, identifying family strengths and values. Phase II: Case management with family strengthening curriculum. Curriculum is delivered over the course of four visits (about 3 months), some of which involve both caregiver and child while others are just for the caregiver. Topics included are using appropriate discipline, effective communication for family problem-solving, and home budgeting.
the Child Reintegration Centre
Bo, Sierra Leone
Caregiver and child change in emotional regulation as measured by the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation (DERS) scale
Time frame: Baseline: Up to 2 months before intervention; Endline: Up to 2 months after intervention
Change in child attachment as measured by the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA)
Time frame: Baseline: Up to 2 months before intervention; Endline: Up to 2 months after intervention
Change in caregiver- and child-reported use of punishment by caregiver
Measures developed for this study tailored for context; e.g., flogging child with hand or cane, public shaming, withholding food
Time frame: Baseline: Up to 2 months before intervention; Endline: Up to 2 months after intervention
Change in self-reported economic well-being
Measures developed for this study tailored for context and intervention content; e.g., awareness of income/spending, saving and budgeting behaviors, ability to pay for unexpected expense
Time frame: Baseline: Up to 2 months before intervention; Endline: Up to 2 months after intervention
Change in child- and caregiver-reported parenting behaviors by caregiver
Measures developed for this study tailored for context and intervention content; e.g., asking child about their life, spending one-on-one time with child, physically showing affection, giving compliments/praise, using a routine, apologizing, providing emotional support
Time frame: Baseline: Up to 2 months before intervention; Endline: Up to 2 months after intervention
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