New research from the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) published in BMJ Global Health shows that parenting programmes delivered at scale can dramatically reduce violence against adolescent girls, while also improving parenting practices and mental health for both caregivers and young people.
Led by DSPI’s Professor Lucie Cluver and Professor Jamie Lachman and UCT’s Emeritus Professor Francesca Little and Professor Catherine Ward, the study examined the real-world effectiveness of World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF- endorsed parenting programmes delivered through government and non-governmental systems.
The researchers analysed data from 123,050 participants involved in Parenting for Lifelong Health for Teens parenting programmes, spanning eight years (2016 and 2022) and eight countries (Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe).
Parenting programmes are widely used to strengthen caregiver-child relationships, reduce violent discipline and improve child behaviour. However, until now, there has been limited evidence on their effectiveness when delivered at scale through routine government and NGO systems.
Key findings
The study, Are parenting programmes effective at scale? Associations with violence against adolescent girls, parenting, and mental health in real-world delivery across eight African countries: A meta-analysis of pre-post surveys, found that large-scale programmes delivered through routine NGO and government systems generate substantial and consistent benefits, including:
Reductions in violence and harmful practices experienced by adolescents
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65% reduction in physical abuse
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59% reduction in emotional abuse
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55% reduction in approval of corporal punishment
Improvements in parenting practices
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52% increase in positive parenting practices, such as talking openly with children, spending one-on-one time together, discussing friendships
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48% decrease in poor supervision and monitoring
Improvements in mental health
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25% reduction in caregiver depressive symptoms
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46% reduction in parenting stress
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22% reduction in adolescent depressive symptoms
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43% reduction in adolescent externalising behaviour problems
Relevance of research
This research is timely as Africa’s adolescent population – the world’s fastest growing – is expected to reach half a billion by 2050, and adolescence is a formative period that shapes lifelong health behaviours and values.
Professor Lucie Cluver, Professor of Child and Family Social Work at DSPI, described the findings as arriving at a crucial moment: “In 2024, more than 50 governments committed to expanding parent and caregiver support and, later this year, the Second Global Ministerial Conference will assess progress and future commitments. Our research shows that these parenting programmes have huge impact, can be delivered through existing systems, remain effective across diverse settings – including humanitarian and crisis situations – and are cost-effective. Together, this presents a strong case for governments to invest in and scale-up evidence-based parenting support.”
For organisations delivering support to parents and adolescents, the study brings together evidence-based research and community-led action. As Lisa Jamu, Executive Director and Founder of Stepping Stones International which delivered the parenting programme in Botswana, commented: “Our work has shown how parenting programmes can move out of the lab and into communities. We’ve seen real, large-scale impacts – such as reduced family violence and improved mental health – that prove this model is replicable, sustainable, and can be delivered by local facilitators through routine government partnerships. This is a green light to scale nationwide so more children can grow up in nurturing homes.”
Co-authors on the study include DSPI’s Professor Frances Gardner, Dr Inge Vallance, Dr Zuyi Fang and Dr Roselinde Janowski alongside researchers from partner academic institutions and colleagues from organisations that led programme delivery across the eight countries.
The Parenting for Lifelong Health for Teens parenting programmes were developed by charity Parenting for Lifelong Health which is based at DSPI and works in partnership with governments, NGOs, and international agencies, to deliver freely available, evidence-based parenting programmes designed for scale. Since its founding in 2012 in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF, and academic partners in the UK and South Africa, Parenting for Lifelong Health has reached more than eight million families in over 40 countries.
Read the full research at BMJ Global Health
Read about the experiences of child and parent participants in the PLH programmes
Find out more about Parenting for Lifelong Health
