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

Sofia Amaral, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Patricio Dominguez and Santiago Perez-Vincent

Journal of Development Economics, 2024, vol. 166, issue C

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.

Keywords: Mental health; Positive parenting; Parental stress; Child maltreatment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I24 J12 J13 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Helping Families Help Themselves? The (Un)intended Impacts of a Digital Parenting Program (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:166:y:2024:i:c:s0304387823001372

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103181

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