WITHDRAWN: South-to-South Collaboration: Adaptation of a Parenting Program from South Africa for Low-Income Families in the Philippines

Parenting programs have shown particular promise in preventing child maltreatment and improving child and parental outcomes. However, there are currently few programs that are both evidence-based and affordable for low-and-middle-income countries where the need is greatest. This study aims to fill this gap by culturally adapting a parenting program developed in South Africa to reduce the risk of child maltreatment while improving child socio-emotional development, child behavior, and parental mental health in the Philippines.

We will present the process and results of a cultural adaptation of a parenting program for low-income Filipino families with children ages 2 to 6. The original intervention is a 12-session, group-based parenting program developed and tested in Cape Town, South Africa. The study follows a cultural adaptation framework proposed by Barrera et al. (2013), which proceeds in four consecutive stages: 1) information gathering, 2) preliminary adaptation design, 3) preliminary adaptation tests, and 4) program refinement.

The “information gathering” phase assessed parental beliefs and practices for consideration in program content. Filipino mothers (n=27) and fathers (n=20), all of whom were recipients of the government’s conditional cash transfer program, participated in focus group discussions and interviews. Seven themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the data. These themes revolved around: parents’ discipline strategies, household management strategies and beliefs, typical activities with children, parenting challenges and anxieties, sources of happiness, cultural values that influence parenting, and parenting goals. The themes illustrate multiple parental needs that may be addressed in program adaptation. Finally, the parenting goals that were articulated are important in low-income Filipino contexts where community risks intensify the challenges that parents face in raising their children.

The “preliminary adaptation design” phase involves the adaptation of the original program based on results from the first phase. An intervention development workgroup was convened in June 2016. Program structure, content, and delivery protocols were then adapted. The “preliminary adaptation tests” phase, which is currently underway, is a mixed-methods pilot study to assess the cultural acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effects of the adapted program. This is composed of a trial run of the adapted program (n=30), qualitative research with parents and service providers, and quantitative assessments on parenting and child outcomes, program participation, and acceptability. Finally, the fourth phase, “program refinement,” will further adapt program content based on the findings from the previous phase. Results from these stages of the cultural adaptation study will be available in February 2017.