A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluated the efficacy of the intervention and concluded that the program had heterogeneous effects depending on the gender of the caregiver. While, on the one hand, it increased stress and anxiety among men, among women, it reduced violence against children by 18% [1].
The RCT was conducted at the individual level, with 3,103 caregivers of children aged 0 to 8 years. A group of researchers partnered with the NGO Glasswing to conduct the impact evaluation.
Caregivers in the treatment group received up to four messages (SMS/WhatsApp) per week for eight consecutive weeks. Prior to the intervention, data was collected on caregivers’ mental health, impulsivity, caregiver-child interactions, attitudes toward violent parenting, perpetration of violent acts, and other sociodemographic characteristics. One month after the end of the program, caregivers were reassessed.
Through an RCT, it was found that the intervention increased the stress and anxiety of male caregivers, while decreasing their interactions with the children under their care. Meanwhile, no changes were detected in the mental health of female caregivers, and a decrease in the physical violence exercised by them against the children under their care was observed. These results differ from those generated by the original face-to-face interventions, but are in line with theories linking economic deprivation and family structure to cognitive overload and caregiver mental health.
The authors believe that the unexpected effect found in relation to stress is associated with the pandemic context, in which the introduction of an additional task into the routine generated additional challenges.