Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38082344›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of mental health systems2023

Family UNited: piloting of a new universal UNODC family skills programme to improve child mental health, resilience and parenting skills in Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Karin Haar, Aala El-Khani, Narendra Narotama, Amir Hussain, Eva Fitri, Aip Badrujaman, Eka Wahyuni, Shah Mohammad Naheeaan, Ali Yassine, Wadih Maalouf

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of mental health systems, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. A Systematic Review of Parenting Programs for Southeast Asian Families.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.

Karin HaarPrevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section (PTRS), Drugs, Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch (DLSSB), Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs (DPA), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Wagramer Strasse 5, 1400, Vienna, Austria.
Aala El-KhaniPrevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section (PTRS), Drugs, Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch (DLSSB), Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs (DPA), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Wagramer Strasse 5, 1400, Vienna, Austria.
Narendra NarotamaDrug Demand Reduction Division, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Menara Thamrin Building 10th Floor, Central Jakarta, 10250, Indonesia.
Amir HussainClinical Psychologist, Nasirullah Psychotherapy Unit (NPU), Dhaka Clinical Psychology Department, University of Dhaka, Room 5017, Arts Building, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Eva FitriDrugs Prevention Campaigner, Advocacy Directorat at Deputy of Prevention, National Narcotics Board of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Aip BadrujamanGuidance and Counselling Department, State University of Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Eka WahyuniGuidance and Counselling Department, State University of Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Shah Mohammad NaheeaanUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Ali YassinePrevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section (PTRS), Drugs, Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch (DLSSB), Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs (DPA), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Wagramer Strasse 5, 1400, Vienna, Austria.
Wadih MaaloufPrevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section (PTRS), Drugs, Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch (DLSSB), Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs (DPA), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Wagramer Strasse 5, 1400, Vienna, Austria. wadih.maalouf@un.org.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime · ATState University of Jakarta · IDUniversity of Dhaka · BDUniversity of Manchester · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFamily is one of the most influential social institutions and caregivers act as the main protective factors for children's mental health and resilience skills. Family skills programmes support caregivers to be better parents and strengthen positive age-specific and age-appropriate family functioning and interactions. We developed a universal, brief and light programme for implementation in low-resource settings, the Family UNited (FU) programme, and conducted a pilot study to show feasibility of implementation, replicability and effectiveness in improving family functioning, child behaviour and resilience.

methodsWe recruited caregivers with children aged 8-14 years through schools in East Java, Indonesia and Dhaka, Bangladesh to the FU programme. Demographic data, emotional and behavioural difficulties of children, child resilience and parental skills and family adjustment measures were collected from children and caregivers before, 2 and 6 weeks after the intervention. Outcome was assessed through the SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), PAFAS (Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales) and CYRM-R (Child and Youth Resilience Measure).

resultsWe enrolled 29 families in Bangladesh and allocated 37 families to the intervention and 33 to the control group in Indonesia. Overall, there was no effect over time in the control group on any of the PAFAS subscales, whereas significant reductions in scores were found on six of the seven subscales in either country in the intervention group, most prominently in caregivers with higher scores at baseline. We found highly significant reductions in total SDQ scores in the intervention group in both countries, whereas there was no effect over time in the control group in Indonesia. Boys in the intervention group in Indonesia and in Bangladesh seemed to have benefitted significantly on the SDQ as well as the total resilience scale. Overall, on the CYRM-R, particularly children below the 33rd percentile at pre-test benefitted substantially from the programme.

conclusionsThe implementation of a brief family skills programme was seemingly effective and feasible in resource-limited settings and positively improved child mental health, resilience and parenting practices and family adjustment skills. These results suggest the value of such a programme and call for further validation through other methods of impact assessment and outcome evaluation.

trial registrationClinical Trial Registration: ISRCTN99645405, retrospectively registered, 22 September, 2022.

Indexed as

BangladeshChild mental healthChild resilienceIndonesiaParenting skillsUniversal family skills programme

Identifiers

PMID38082344
PMCPMC10712186
OpenAlexW4389559861

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.