International child abuse prevention: insights from ACT Raising Safe Kids

Abstract

Evidence-based practices are often viewed as lofty goals endorsed by wealthy academics in developed nations, but impossible to implement in other contexts. This article will provide evidence suggesting that, to the contrary, we can indeed scale up western-developed parenting interventions that can be both effective and warmly received by parents in diverse cultural and economic contexts. This paper gives a brief overview of the ACT Raising Safe Kids Program and summarizes the results of evaluation studies done with parents around the world. It discusses specific strategies facilitators use to modify the program as necessary to fit cultural contexts while also maintaining fidelity, implementing the manualized curriculum under varied, and complex circumstances. It is hoped that the lessons learned from our work will inspire practitioners to adapt ACT or other programs to diverse contexts, evaluate those programs, and thereby improve the mental health and life trajectories of children and families around the world.