Catherine Ward

The influence of perceived social norms on behaviour has been studied in a variety of domains. However, little research has examined their application to child discipline. This study explored social norms perceptions and their associations with parental discipline in greater Cape Town, South Africa. A cross-sectional study of 195 mothers (using convenience sampling) from two Early Childhood Development centres examined self-reported violent and non-violent parenting behaviour, and perceived descriptive (usual behaviour in a group) and injunctive (appraisal of such behaviour) group norms. Parents overestimated the prevalence of violent parenting. Perceived descriptive norms of violent parenting were associated with self-reported violent parenting behaviour; and perceived descriptive norms of non-violent parenting were associated with self-reported non-violent parenting behaviour. Estimation of support for violent and for non-violent parenting differed by centre, as did the relationship between perceived injunctive norms of non-violent parenting and self-reported non-violent parent-ing behaviour. We also found significant effects of social

Background: An estimated one billion children experience child abuse each year, with the highest rates in low-and middle-income countries. The Sinovuyo Teen programme is part of Parenting for Lifelong Health, a WHO/ UNICEF initiative to develop and test violence-prevention programmes for implementation in low-resource contexts. The objectives of this parenting support programme are to prevent the abuse of adolescents, improve parenting and reduce adolescent behavioural problems. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sinovuyo Teen compared to an attention-control group of a water hygiene programme.

Aims: This study aimed to explore how women who drank alcohol while pregnant understand and make sense of alcohol use. Methods: Using social representation theory and elements of Foucauldian discourse analysis, 14 narrative episodic interviews were conducted in a Western
Cape, South African community with women who drank alcohol while pregnant, and two focus group discussions with 13 members of the pregnant women’s community. The interview and focus group data were analysed using thematic decomposition analysis. Findings: Drinking
alcohol was represented by participants as a social activity, a way of coping with domestic problems, and also as connected to their experiences of motherhood. Access to social support through their partners and a desire to protect the fetus and care for their children helped some participants to cease drinking during their pregnancies. These representations highlight that alcohol use is not simply an individual decision but is embedded in a particular social context
and also framed by particular discourses. Conclusion: Interventions should prioritise the social context of drinking, include a component that works with both pregnant women and their partners, use a supportive and non-judgemental approach that capitalises on pregnancy and motherhood, and focus on empowering pregnant women to manage problems effectively

Children living in low-and middle-income countries, such as South Africa, face elevated risks of child maltreatment. Although evidence-based parenting programs have been shown to reduce rates of abuse in high-income countries, few studies have examined their effectiveness in low-and middle-income countries. Moreover, local cultural contexts may require the adaptation of evidence-based approaches in order to assure program acceptability and effectiveness. This study focused on the systematic development of an evidence-informed, locally relevant parenting program for socioeconomically disadvantaged families with parents of children aged 3–8 years, in Cape Town, South Africa. Intervention development took place over three stages: (a) identification of common core intervention components in evidence-based parenting programs (b) formative evaluation using qualitative in-depth interviews and semi-structured focus groups with local practitioners and low-income parents, and (c) development of intervention structure, format, and protocols. The process resulted in a manualized, group-based, 12-session parenting program that integrated existing evidence of effective components within a local, culturally relevant context. Recommended next steps are rigorous piloting to test feasibility and preliminary intervention effects followed by experimental trials to examine intervention effectiveness in a real-world setting.

Objective: This mixed-methods process evaluation examined the feasibility of a parenting program delivered by community facilitators to reduce the risk of child maltreatment in low-income families with children aged 3–8 years in Cape Town, South Africa (N ¼ 68). Method: Quantitative measures included attendance registers, fidelity checklists, satisfaction surveys, and engagement in home practice activities. Qualitative data included parent interviews, facilitator focus groups, and transcripts from parent groups and facilitator supervision sessions. Results: Quantitative results show high levels of participant involvement, implementation, and acceptability. Thematic analyses identified seven themes related to program feasibility: (a) supporting participant involvement, (b) engagement in collaborative learning, (c) strengthening facilitator competency, (d) delivering non-violent discipline skills, (e) contextualizing content, (f) receptivity to existing practices, and (g) resistance to new skills. Discussion: Findings suggest that parenting programs derived from evidence-based principles may be feasible in South Africa when situated within a culturally relevant context.

Objective: In a context of disturbing rates of violent crime, this pilot study initiated examination of the association between empathy and aggressive behaviour in young Western Cape children. Establishing which empathy measures are appropriate for our context was a primary concern.
Method: To capture various aspects of empathy in young children we adopted a multi-method approach. We examined empathy scores in 65 lower middle socio-economic status (SES) English speaking Grade 1 pupils (6.0–8.0 years old) and their association with aggressive externalising behaviour.
Results: Parent report measures of callous-unemotional traits and aggression performed well, however, the Griffith Empathy Measure, a well-established parent report scale, proved problematic. Empathy scores, particularly those for callous-unemotional traits, were associated with aggression. We also
found several associations between aspects of empathy, consistent with the international literature. Cognitive empathy, as measured by first-order false belief reasoning, was not well established, suggesting that other more complex social cognitive tasks were inappropriate for this age group in our
context.
Conclusion: The association between empathy and aggression warrants further investigation in this context. Appropriate measures for the South African context must be utilised.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, many children are at high risk for maltreatment because they are living in poverty and/or in families affected by intimate partner violence (IPV), substance misuse, or HIV/AIDS. Parenting programs have been shown to be effective in reducing child abuse and neglect for children ages 3 to 8. However, there are no known evidence-based parenting interventions to prevent child abuse in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: This feasibility pilot study was part of a small-scale, pilot randomized controlled trial (n = 68 parents of children aged 3 to 8 with behavioral problems) of the Sinovuyo Caring Families Program – a locally developed parenting program in Cape Town, South Africa. Derived from evidence-based social learning principles (Kaminski, 2008), the program used a collaborative approach to engage parents in positive parent-child relationship building and effective, nonviolent discipline strategies. Locally trained paraprofessional facilitators delivered ...

Parenting has a considerable impact on children’s behaviour and mental health. Improving child health and behaviour requires an understanding of the relationship between parenting practices; contexual factors such as parental mental health, intimate partner violence, substance abuse and poverty; and children’s behaviour. In this article the authors report the findings of a survey of parenting and child behaviour in a small community. The findings show that corporal punishment, the stress of parenting, and parental mental health are significantly associated with both children’s internalising (depression and anxiety) and externalising symptoms (rule-breaking and aggression).  Intimate partner violence in the home was also associated with children’s externalising symptoms. These findings imply that parent support and training, and an increase in services to address intimate partner violence and mental health problems, should be prioritised as part of a national violence reduction strategy.

To assess the effectiveness of brief motivational intervention for alcohol and drug use in young adult primary care patients in a low-income population and country. A randomized controlled trial in a public-sector clinic in Delft, a township in the Western Cape, South Africa recruited 403 patients who were randomized to either single-session, nurse practitioner-delivered Brief Motivational Intervention plus referral list or usual care plus referral list, and followed up at 3 months. Although rates of at-risk alcohol use and drug use did not differ by treatment arm at follow-up, patients assigned to the Brief Motivational Intervention had significantly reduced scores on ASSIST (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test) for alcohol-the most prevalent substance. Brief Motivational Intervention may be effective at reducing at-risk alcohol use in the short term among low-income young adult primary care patients; additional research is needed to examine long-term outcomes.

Life-course persistent offending contributes greatly to violent offending in any country. South Africa has high rates of violence; this study investigated what proportion of young South African offenders might be identified as life-course persistent, and what risk factors identified this group. Offenders aged 12 to 25 years (N = 395) were selected from eight different correctional facilities in four provinces of South Africa. Latent class analysis identified 164 offenders (41.5%) with distinctly earlier starts and more serious offending. These (probably life-course persistent) offenders were distinguished from others by male gender, violence at home, other victimization, familial crime, school performance, violence at school, and alcohol abuse and gang membership. Correctional services should be specifically targeted at this large subgroup of offenders to prevent recidivism. Primary prevention efforts should be targeted at preventing violence at home and school, at promoting school attachment, at substance abuse treatment, and at gang membership.

Preventing and reducing violence by supporting parents is critical to national development. This policy brief explains how positive parenting relates to violence prevention and national development, and why the national implementation of evidence-based programmes to support positive parenting is both necessary and achievable.