Interventions for Childhood Aggression in a Cross-Cultural Context

Abstract

Negative outcomes associated with childhood aggression, including its relation to adult criminality and domestic violence, have led researchers in the developed world to create effective interventions aimed at reducing childhood aggression and minimising its long-term negative outcomes. This article addresses the implications of adapting these interventions in a developing world context by examining issues central to the discussion of these adaptations. These include (a) comparing correlates associated with childhood aggression in the developed world and developing world, (b) addressing some of the challenges in adapting interventions for childhood aggression in a cross-cultural context and (c) presenting general guidelines on designing interventions for childhood aggression that may be helpful to clinicians and community groups within the developing world. The adaptation of interventions for the reduction of childhood aggression may prove useful in areas in which exposure to violence and instability threaten the child’s development.

Integrating Evidence and Context to Develop a Parenting Program for Low-Income Families in South Africa

“…Non-Caucasian and low-income families in both HICs and LMICs often live in vastly different social and cultural circumstances than those who have participated in these studies (Kumpfer, Alvarado, Smith, & Bellamy, 2002). As a result, key components of parenting interventions developed for more privileged families may be perceived as culturally irrelevant or inappropriate by parents in LMICs or other ethnic and low-income populations (Martin-Storey, 2009). Furthermore, poverty and violence are far more widespread in low-income contexts, and both compromise parenting and increase the risk of harsh parenting (Kotchick & Forehand, 2002;Krug, Mercy, Dahlberg, & Zwi, 2002).…”