Enhancing resilience is one way to prevent future mental illnesses and encourage recovery in the face of adversity. To develop and test the acceptability and feasibility (A&F) of a combined family and individual resilience intervention in two rural/semi-rural low-income settings in India and Kenya. We developed a five-session intervention including Life Skills Education (LSE) and a model of family resiliency. Among adolescents aged 14–16 years and their families in India and Kenya, we collected socio-demographics and audio records of delivery and undertook a process evaluation. Due to COVID-19, we developed a hybrid intervention. The facilitators and participants preferred the in-person model. India: Of 17 families, 10 fully completed the intervention. They identified three critical components: 1) story-telling, 2) cooperation and working together and 3) expressing feelings. Kenya: All 15 families completed the intervention. Critical elements were 1) seeing social value in learning to make good decisions, 2) promoting an optimistic view of life, 3) hearing stories that resonated with their situation and 4) enhancing family performance through knowledge-building. We mapped the active ingredients, showing fidelity and acceptability. The intervention showed promising A&F parameters. Flexibility and local adaptation were important for delivery.

This study aims to develop a nutrition education intervention to promote healthy eating, and to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention on healthy eating knowledge, attitude and behaviour among elementary students. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in two elementary schools in Taiwan. The intervention course design included simulation videos, lectures, and the after-school learning worksheet designed for parental involvement. A total of 4 courses along with 4 simulation videos were given to the intervention group. The four course themes were Sugar patrol, Balanced Diet during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Rainbow Fruit and Vegetables, and Smart Dine Out. The study recruited 35 3rd grade students for the intervention group and 30 for the control group. Data were collected from the pre- and post-test questionnaires. The nutrition intervention had significant effects on improving participants’ knowledge about tips for making healthy choices and the necessity of balanced diet, and on attitude toward healthy eating. There was no significant improvement in participants’ healthy eating behaviours. This nutrition education intervention, which utilized simulation videos and encouraged parental involvement, could be recommended for teaching practice in elementary schools to improve healthy eating knowledge and attitude among students.

Worry is a common symptom that can become excessive and is related to several negative health outcomes. Our research group recently developed an online treatment for teenagers with excessive worry with a parallel programme for their parents. The treatment is characterized by a specific focus on exposure to uncertainty and other avoided stimuli, and includes a substantial amount of parental involvement. The aim of this study was to explore how teenagers and their parents experienced the treatment, especially how they perceived working independently with exposure tasks, parental involvement in the treatment programme, and a fixed treatment format. An experienced, independent clinical psychologist interviewed eight teenagers and nine parents in total. The verbatim transcripts were analysed with thematic analysis and two main themes emerged: ‘Seeing the worry in a new light’ and ‘Changing within a set format’, which both consisted of three subthemes. Based on the analysis, we concluded that teenagers can work actively with exposure and experience it as helpful even though it can be difficult and strange at first, and that parental involvement can be perceived as beneficial by both teenagers and their parents. While the online format placed a substantial responsibility on the families, and some would have wanted additional therapist support, working independently with one’s difficulties was acceptable.

Section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989 establishes a statutory presumption that ‘involvement’ of both parents in their children's lives after divorce or separation is in children's best interests. This paper sets out to examine what effect this had had. The aim of the legislation was to improve the transparency and clarity of judges’ reasoning. This would help to reduce the numbers of parents litigating and would placate fathers’ rights groups who were damaging confidence in the family justice system. Drawing on a sample of reported cases, this paper concludes that, at the higher levels, courts are not implementing the presumption. Nor has the presumption succeeded in placating fathers’ rights groups or significantly reducing the number of cases coming to court. It appears that the presumption has had little impact and the government's aims have not been realised. However, where it is having some impact, the presumption may be putting mothers and children at risk.

This article examines developments in parenting and family support services in France. Drawing on qualitative empirical studies, the article considers two types of initiatives ‒ the Programmes for Educational Success (PRE) and parenting interventions delivered alongside child protection services. Both of these services are examples of new types of parenting and family support interventions in the French context targeted at ‘children at risk’, seeking to address and prevent problems of educational underachievement, youth offending, poor health in children and young people and child neglect and maltreatment. The article critically reviews tensions between principles of more responsive, partnership-based family support and more prescriptive parenting education and family interventions. Drawing on empirical findings, the article examines frontline practice and professional‒family relationships, highlighting the significance of ‘parental involvement’ practice and conflicting professional and parental perspectives about children's needs, family support and professional–client relationships.

This article reports on findings from a one-year national evaluation of the Primary School/Primary Care Health Links (PS/PC HL) initiative, commissioned in 2003 by the National Drug Prevention Development Team, on behalf of the Department of Health (DH). The primary aim of the PS/PC HL initiative was to develop links between primary and community health care professionals and primary school children in order to increase the children’s knowledge and understanding of a range of health issues. This involved developing innovative ways in which parents could engage in the health education of their children at primary school level. As part of the evaluation, a questionnaire was sent to parents (n = 69) and children (n = 464) to discover to what extent discussions about health issues, in particular substance misuse, were held at home and what messages children were receiving. In this context, substance misuse includes drugs, alcohol and tobacco. This article also examines children’s attitudes towards smoking and alcohol, and considers how parental influence affects children’s ideas about the acceptability of these substances. The findings indicated that whilst over 65% of parents thought that their children knew a lot about exercise and healthy eating, only 20% thought that their children were well informed about alcohol and drug misuse. Despite 80% of children in our survey reporting that they would prefer to discuss health problems with their parents, substance misuse appeared to be a topic rarely discussed at home. The findings confirm, (i) the need for family and community cohesiveness and (ii) reinforces the need for an increase in parents’ knowledge and motivation in order to (iii) raise their confidence in their conversations with their children about substance misuse. Partnership working between teachers, health professionals and parents would appear to be the ideal in effectively reinforcing health messages to children; however, the authors suggest that the culture of accountability both in the teaching and health professions often hinders this process.