Enhancing Parent-Child Relationships with PriCARECARIO to Reduce Child Maltreatment and Stress

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of PriCARECARIO, a caregiver training program, to reduce child maltreatment, improve parent-child interactions, and decrease harsh or neglectful parenting, parent stress, and child behavior problems. This randomized controlled trial involves children aged 18 months to 6 years and their caregivers, focusing on reducing Child Protective Services investigations and child maltreatment risk measured by the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory BCAP. Participants are randomly assigned to either the PriCARECARIO plus usual care group or the usual care group. Those in the intervention group attend weekly group sessions for six weeks, each lasting about 80 minutes, led by trained mental health professionals. Caregivers learn skills to praise positive behaviors, give effective commands, and manage stress. They are encouraged to practice these skills with their children between sessions. The usual care group receives standard care without the additional intervention. Throughout the study, caregivers and children undergo assessments at baseline and 6 to 8 months after starting, measuring child behavior, parenting stress, parent-child relationship quality, and parenting tactics. Child Protective Services investigations are tracked from 4 months after enrollment up to 52 months. The study measures various outcomes using validated tools like the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, and Parenting Stress Index. Participation lasts up to several years for long-term monitoring of child safety and family dynamics.

Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement in Primary Care (PriCARE) / Criando Niños Con CARIÑO (CARIÑO)