Author

Balsa, Ana ; López Boo, Florencia ; Bloomfield, Juanita ; Cristiá, Alex ; Cid, Alejandro ; Ferro, María Paz ; Valdés, Rosario ; González, María del Luján

Editor

Universidad de Montevideo, Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales y Economía

Date

2020

Extensión

31 p

Abstract

We assess the effects of the Crianza Positiva text and audio e-messaging program on caregiver-child language interaction patterns. The program is a six-month-long intervention for families with children aged 0-2 aimed at improving parental competences. Its design exploits behavioral tools such as reminders, suggestions of action, and messages of encouragement to reinforce and sustain positive parenting practices. Families in 24 early childhood center in Uruguay that completed an 8-weeks workshop were randomized into receiving or not receiving mobile messages. After the program, we videotaped 10-minutes-sessions of free play between the caregiver and the child, and decoded language patterns using automated techniques. The intervention was successful at influencing parental behavior: increasing the quality of parental vocalizations, as measured by the parent’s pitch range. We also find less robust evidence of increases in the duration of adult vocalizations. These results are consistent with increases in parental self-reported involvement in reading, telling stories and describing things to the child. Regarding the child, we find a non-robust decrease in the duration of vocalizations, which we attribute to a crowding-out effect by the caregiver in the context of a fixed 10-minute suggested activity and a more proactive parental role.

Keyword

e-messages Parenting Behavioral economics Language Early childhood

Tipo

Reporte técnico

Derechos

Abierto

Versión

Aceptada

Financiadores

Reaching U Foundation, Inter-American Development Bank, and Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación (ANII, Uruguay). Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-17-CE28-0007 LangAge, ANR-16-DATA-0004 ACLEW, ANR-14-CE30-0003 MechELex, ANR-17-EURE-0017); J. S. McDonnell Foundation. The RCT design for this project was registered in the AEA RCT registry with RCT ID number AEARCTR-0003585. The project was approved by the Institutional Ethics Review Board at Universidad Católica del Uruguay, resolution A 22-08-17.

Collections

• Documentos de trabajo [74]