Black or African American
66%
Demeusy, E. M., Handley, E. D., Manly, J. T., Sturm, R., & Toth, S. L. (2021). Building Healthy Children: A preventive intervention for high-risk young families. Development and Psychopathology, 33(2), 598–613. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579420001625
Peer Reviewed
Model(s): Building Healthy Children (BHC)
Reductions In Child Maltreatment
| Outcome Measure | Timing of Follow-Up | Rating | Direction of Effect | Effect Size (Absolute Value) | Stastical Significance | Sample Size | Sample Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Substantiated reports of child maltreatment (%) | 24 months old | High | 0.77 | Not statistically significant, p= 0.07 | 180 families | Building Healthy Children vs. referrals to community resources RCT, Rochester, NY, Study 1 |
This study included participants from the following locations:
- New York
Study Participants
- Families were recruited through pediatric and family medicine practices and were eligible for the study if they had a low income, no more than two children under the age of 3, no prior involvement with the child welfare system, and if the mother had given birth to her first child before age 21.
- A total of 316 mother-infant dyads were randomly assigned to either the Building Healthy Children (BHC) intervention group (166 dyads) or the comparison group (150 dyads).
- Outcomes were measured when the children were approximately 24 months old, 36 months old, and again when they were between 6 and 10 years old (three to seven years after the intervention ended).
- At enrollment, 56 percent of mothers had experienced maltreatment as a child. Mothers were 19 years old on average at enrollment. On average, children were 5 months old at enrollment, and 47 percent of children were female.
Setting
The study took place in Rochester, New York.
Intervention condition
Note: Navigate to the model page for more information about the home visiting model. See the source manuscript for more information about how the model was implemented in this study.
Comparison Conditions
- Families assigned to the comparison condition were not eligible to receive intervention services through BHC.
- Families were offered screenings and information on community resources related to housing, food, education, and community health services.
Funding Sources
Not reported
Study design characteristics contributing to rating
| Design | Random assignment compromised? | Attrition | Baseline equivalence | Confounding factors? | Valid, reliable measures? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randomized controlled trial | No | Low |
Not assessed for randomized controlled trials with low attrition |
No |
Yes |
Notes from the review of this manuscript
Findings from the long-term follow-up received a low rating because they were from a high-attrition RCT that did not satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement. Findings from the structural equation model mediated by mother's depressive symptoms (parenting stress, parenting self-efficacy, child internalizing behaviors, and child externalizing behaviors) were ineligible for review because the manuscript does not report a model with a direct pathway from the intervention to these outcomes. Information on sample attrition was obtained through correspondence with one of the manuscript's authors.