Helping families help themselves: The (Un)intended impacts of a digital parenting program

Resource type
Journal Article
Authors/contributors
Title
Helping families help themselves: The (Un)intended impacts of a digital parenting program
Abstract
Parenting practices play a crucial role in child development. We evaluate the impact of a free digital stress management and positive parenting intervention designed to improve caregiver’s mental health and positive caregiver–child interactions in El Salvador. Drawing on the prior success of in-person interventions, we study the effects of digital intervention delivery and examine differential treatment effects by caregiver’s sex. Using an individual-level experiment, we find that the intervention increased stress and anxiety and lowered caregiver–child interactions among male caregivers. In contrast, among female caregivers, we did not detect changes in mental health and observed a decrease in the use of physical violence against children. We also find that family structure and the severity of economic deprivation greatly moderated the intervention’s impact, especially among male caregivers. Our findings indicate that one-size-fits-all digital parenting interventions may not serve all caregivers effectively, emphasizing the need for thorough evaluations prior to extensive implementation.
Publication
Journal of Development Economics
Volume
166
Pages
103181
Date
2024-01-01
Journal Abbr
Journal of Development Economics
ISSN
0304-3878
Short Title
Helping families help themselves
Accessed
26/02/2024, 14:40
Library Catalogue
ScienceDirect
Citation
Amaral, S., Dinarte-Diaz, L., Dominguez, P., & Perez-Vincent, S. M. (2024). Helping families help themselves: The (Un)intended impacts of a digital parenting program. Journal of Development Economics, 166, 103181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103181