Proposição e avaliação do Programa Parental “Família que Protege” promoção de práticas positivas e prevenção da violência contra crianças em Belém

Abstract

Violence against children and adolescents is a serious public health problem in Brazil and worldwide, and has consequences for the development of children into adulthood. Among the various factors that are relevant to this reality are those related to parenting. Therefore, parenting programs that aim to encourage more positive parenting practices can help prevent violence against children. Therefore, the objective of this thesis was to propose and evaluate the effects, probability, and acceptability of a parenting program aimed at promoting positive parenting practices and increasing parents' knowledge about child abuse in Belém do Pará, in order to generate evidence for the prevention of child abuse. To this end, four studies with different methodological designs were conducted, but they are related to each other. The first study aimed to analyze the occurrence of violence against children, the associated parental practices, and the level of knowledge of parents about the different types of violence against children in Belém do Pará. To this end, a descriptive-exploratory study was conducted involving the participation of 157 parents of children aged zero to six years, in which four assessment instruments were applied. The results indicated that the vast majority of participants (91.1%) said they had used some violent practice to teach their child at least once in their lives. Psychological violence was reported as the most frequent, followed by physical violence and neglect. There were no reports of clinical practices such as sexual abuse in this sample. Personal and contextual factors influence disciplinary practices, with higher-income parents using more physical and psychological discipline, while lower-income parents demonstrated greater positive encouragement and parental adjustment. Parents who had other adults to support childcare also had better parental adjustment. Participants scored, on average, 16 out of 20 questions on the violence questionnaire, with 36.9% scoring below average and 63.1% scoring above average. The study provided an overview of these data in a context of social vulnerability. The second study involved an integrative review that aimed to analyze the level of scientific evidence, methodological quality, and ecological validity of publications on the use of parenting programs aimed at preventing violence against children. The search was carried out in the Bireme, SCielo, Psycinfo, and Scopus databases and included studies published between 2019 and 2023, in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Protocols and category analyses were applied to assess the proposed variables. Ten articles that covered the research were found. The results indicated that, although there is evidence to prove the effectiveness of these programs, most of the studies were presented in good positions at the level of scientific evidence (RCT), but the methodological quality of the studies is often moderate to weak. Furthermore, none of the articles mentioned an ecological validity analysis, and this was compromised in most studies. Study three sought to describe the proposal of a parenting program that aimed to promote positive and protective educational practices that contribute to the prevention of violence against children. The Family that Protects Parenting Program was developed, with two versions, one online and one hybrid, and lasting 15 and 30 days, respectively. The content includes information on child development, parenting, emotional regulation, setting limits, among others. Finally, the last study aimed to evaluate the effects, probability, and acceptability of an online parenting program that had as its main objective the prevention of violence against children, in Belém do Pará. A longitudinal design was used, with pre- and post-intervention assessment measures. The results indicated that there was a significant reduction in coercive practices (p=0.005) and in the use of psychological discipline (p=0.005) after the intervention. No significant difference was found between the participants' level of knowledge about violence against children after participating in the program. Quantitative and qualitative data indicated that the program generated significant effects on reported parenting practices, as well as proving to be feasible and highly acceptable to the participants who completed the intervention. Based on the theoretical and empirical findings presented in the studies conducted, the thesis was that if parents have adequate support, with the support of parenting programs that encourage information and practical proposals, they can improve their parenting. This, in turn, will contribute to the reduction and prevention of violence against children, even in contexts of social vulnerability.