Preventive Group Training Improves Children's Outcomes after Divorce:A Dutch Quasi-experimental Study

Worldwide, many children experience parental separation and divorce. This has a significant impact on their well-being, and emotional and behavioral functioning, and calls for prevention. To assess the effects of the Children of Divorce Intervention Program in the Netherlands (CODIP-NL) on 6- to 8-year-olds, we performed a quasi-experimental effect study. The study compared children receiving CODIP-NL (intervention: I, n = 104), children not receiving CODIP-NL but having divorced parents (divorced control: DC, n = 37), and children belonging to non-divorced families (non-divorced control: NDC, n = 138). Outcomes pertained to children's positive functioning, emotional and behavioral problems, and well-being. We assessed pre- to post-test differences in change in mother-reported outcomes between the intervention and control groups, and pre- to post-test differences in group leader reports. The intervention led to increases in mother-reported positive functioning (d = 0.97 I vs. DC; d = 1.04 I vs. NDC), and well-being (d = 1.00 I vs. DC; d = 0.84 I vs. NDC). Mother-reported child emotional and behavioral problems decreased after participation (total difficulties, d = 0.73 I vs. DC; d = 0.49 I vs. NDC). Group leader-reported pre- to post-test differences (

Clustering of health and risk behaviour in immigrant and indigenous Dutch residents aged 19–40 years

Objectives\ud Studies on the co-occurrence, ‘clustering’ of health and other risk behaviours among immigrants from non-industrialised countries lack until now. The aim of this study was to compare this clustering in immigrant and indigenous adults.\ud \ud Methods\ud A representative sample (N = 2,982; response 71%) of the Dutch population aged 19–40, with 247 respondents from non-industrialized countries (Turkey, Morocco, Surinam, Netherlands Antilles), was asked about health behaviours (alcohol, smoking, drugs, unsafe sex, exercise, nutrition, sleep behaviour, traffic behaviour), and about rule-breaking behaviour and aggression. Data were collected using internet questionnaires, which excluded respondents unable to read Dutch.\ud \ud Results\ud Among indigenous adults, health and risk behaviours co-occur in three clusters (alcohol, health-enhancing behaviour, and rule-breaking behaviour), whereas among immigrant groups two clusters were found (alcohol and rule-breaking behaviour/smoking). Differences mostly concerned health-enhancing behaviours such as nutrition, which was not part of any cluster, and physical activity.\ud \ud Conclusions\ud This supports an integrated promotion of healthier lifestyles to immigrants who are able to read Dutch. Regarding potentially risky behaviours like alcohol use and rule-breaking behaviours, this could be similar to that for indigenous people\u

Preventieve steun aan 6-8 jarige kinderen van gescheiden ouders:Hoe succesvol is het groepsprogramma Dappere Dino’s?

Jaarlijks zijn naar schatting 70.000 thuiswonende Nederlandse kinderen betrokken bij de scheiding van hun ouders. Onderzoek toont aan dat scheidingskinderen gemiddeld minder presteren op school, meer gedragsproblemen vertonen en lager scoren op sociaal-emotioneel vlak. Preventief hulpaanbod ter ondersteuning van deze kinderen is beperkt, vooral voor kinderen tot 8 jaar. In een pilotonderzoek van 26 kinderen, verdeeld over zes interventiegroepen werd onderzocht of met de preventieve groepsinterventie Dappere Dino’s scheidingskinderen van 6-8 jaar succesvol ondersteund kunnen worden. Proces en impact van de interventie werden geëvalueerd door gesprekken met deelnemende kinderen en vragenlijsten door ouders, leerkrachten en trainers. Kinderen hadden naar eigen zeggen nieuwe vrienden gemaakt, geleerd problemen op te lossen en te praten over gevoelens. Ook ouders waren enthousiast. Ouders zagen een positieve reactie bij hun kind en vonden dat hun kind positief veranderd was na de interventie. Trainers werkten graag met het programma. Bovendien bleek uit de verschillen tussen voor- en nameting een toename in positief functioneren van de kinderen en een afname van problematiek (minder emotionele problemen, gedragsproblemen en totale problemen). De gevonden resultaten vormen de basis voor verdere implementatie van de interventie in de praktijk, en voor voortgaand effectonderzoek naar de uitkomsten van de interventie

Haalbaarheid en doelrealisatie van DivorceATLAS: Een kortdurende training voor preventieve ondersteuning van gescheiden ouders.

Preventive support can help prevent or limit problems for divorced parents and their children. The short-term Divorce ATLAS training, available in a face-to-face group variant and online variant, offers such support to parents during and after divorce. The feasibility and goal realization of DivorceATLAS were evaluated with information from the group trainers and participating parents: n = 141 in group training and n = 27 online. The results show that the Divorce ATLAS supports parents in an accessible way in their parenthood after divorce. Participants and trainers were enthusiastic. The Divorce ATLAS training gave parents new ideas for parenting after the divorce and an impulse to get started with thi

Feasibility and goal realization of ScheidingsATLAS:A short training for prevenitve support of divorced parents

Preventive support can help prevent or limit problems for divorced parents and their children. The short-term Divorce ATLAS training, available in a face-to-face group variant and online variant, offers such support to parents during and after divorce. The feasibility and goal realization of DivorceATLAS were evaluated with information from the group trainers and participating parents: n = 141 in group training and n = 27 online. The results show that the Divorce ATLAS supports parents in an accessible way in their parenthood after divorce. Participants and trainers were enthusiastic. The Divorce ATLAS training gave parents new ideas for parenting after the divorce and an impulse to get started with thi

Developmental monitoring: benefits of a preventive health care system

This study aims to assess the identification rates in a developmental monitoring system (i.e., preventive child healthcare, PCH system) regarding identification of emotional, behavioral (EB) problems, cognitive developmental and family problems in children, and the contribution of such a system to referral to (specialized) mental health and social care services. Over a predetermined period of 6 months, we retrieved data from a random sample of 1370 children aged 0 to 18 years from the registries of two PCH organizations in the Netherlands. We assessed the degree to which PCH professionals identify EB and cognitive developmental and family problems and invite children with these problems for follow-up PCH assessments or refer them to (specialized) mental health and social care services. Among preschool-aged children, we identified 22% with EB problems, cognitive developmental and/or family problems (mainly EB and family problems). Among school-aged children, numbers varied from 10 to 14% (mainly EB). PCH invited 3 to 10%, varying in proportions of child age, for a follow-up assessment, and referred 0 to 4% of the children to external services. CONCLUSION: A developmental monitoring system with only preventive tasks may help to identify children with EB, cognitive developmental, and/or family problems. This can lead to early support for most of these children, with low referral rates to (more specialized) mental health and social care services. Our findings deserve validation in comparable settings and in other countries. WHAT IS KNOWN: • Well-child care requires monitoring of the health and development of children for timely identification of problems and subsequent intervention. • The Dutch Preventive Child Healthcare system is an example of a developmental monitoring system with only preventive tasks. WHAT IS NEW: • A developmental monitoring system with only preventive tasks may help to identify children with problems, resulting in early support for the majority. • This may reduce referral rates to (more specialized) mental/social health services