The ACT Against Violence Parents Raising Safe Kids program (ACT-PRSK) is an interactive violence prevention program developed by the American Psychological Association for parents of young children. The program teaches and supports parents in the areas of child development, roots and consequences of violence, anger management for adults and children, social problem solving, positive discipline, and the impact of media violence on children. Ninety-two parents/caregivers of young children participated in a study of the effects of the program on parenting behaviors. The first 50 participants were assigned to the intervention group and completed the ACT-PRSK program, and the remaining 42 parents/caregivers served as comparisons. Results indicated reduced spanking and reduced rate of hitting children with objects for the ACT-PRSK participants. Furthermore, the ACT-PRSK group evidenced improved knowledge, behaviors, and beliefs regarding violence prevention and parenting. Results provide support for the efficacy of this brief intervention for preventing child maltreatment.
The present study involves an evaluation of the effect of the American Psychological Association's ACT Raising Safe Kids (RSK) program on parenting outcomes for families served by Community Health Centers. The ACT-RSK program is a primary family violence and child physical abuse prevention program for parents of young children. Parents were trained in effective parenting including nonviolent discipline, child development, anger management, social problem-solving skills, effects of violent media on children, and methods to protect children from exposure to violence. Results indicate improved nurturing and positive parenting behaviors and lower rates of psychologically and physically aggressive behavior toward children. These improvements occurred independent of children's age and prior levels of aggression. Use of this model within healthcare settings has the potential to more effectively address parents' needs for parenting guidance while reducing the likelihood of child maltreatment. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Child maltreatment, characterized by physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect, is a serious public health problem in the United States. In 2007, 3.2 million reports
Eighty‐seven parents and primary caregivers of children aged 10 years or younger participated in a study examining the effects of the ACT Raising Safe Kids program on children's behavior. It was hypothesized that children of caregivers who complete ACT‐RSK would demonstrate reduced behavior problems compared to children of caregivers in a treatment‐as‐usual comparison group. Results indicated that the behavior of children of treated caregivers improved significantly more than comparisons on a measure of conduct problems. Although further research is needed, these results suggest that ACT‐RSK may contribute to the prevention of behavior problems in early childhood.
Psychiatric disorders are becoming more frequently diagnosed within the pediatric primary care setting. Despite increased diagnosis within primary care, only a minority of patients receive further psychiatric or specialty care. The integrated/collaborative care treatment model was designed to improve access within primary care. The purpose of this review is to identify randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies that have investigated whether increased access improves treatment engagement, satisfaction, and improved mental health outcomes. Six studies met inclusion criteria. Studies reviewed indicated increased access to behavioral health treatment through use of the integrated/collaborative care model and improved mental health outcomes. Recommendations for screening and treatment are provided. Limitations of the reviewed studies include lack of generalizability to urban populations, minority youth, and youth younger than 4 years of age. Practice recommendations to address these limitations are identified.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.