Affiliation:
1. Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
2. Polytechnic University Institute of Viseu, CI&DEI, ISAMB, Portugal
Abstract
This integrative review of the ACT Raising Safe Kids (ACT)—child maltreatment prevention program for parents—focuses on the program’s theoretical framework, examines the ACT studies about the effects on caregivers, and discusses the ACT’s implications for the practice and public policy. A systematic search of the PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Lilacs databases was performed, along with a search on the ACT Program website and contacting program researchers. Twenty-five studies evaluating the ACT Program were reviewed. The evaluation studies were conducted in the United States, Brazil, Portugal, and Peru. The program improved parenting practices in general and targeted populations such as incarcerated parents, mothers with a history of childhood violence, and mothers of preterm children. Additionally, the program was effective in decreasing child behavioral problems. Overall, the ACT Program effectively decreased hostile, aggressive, and coercive parenting and child behavior problems, which are key predictors of family violence.
Funder
Porticus
Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal
Bernard van Leer Foundation
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientófico e Tecnolígico
Subject
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health,Applied Psychology,Health (social science)