Evaluation report
Promoting early childhood development through nurturing parenting: Feasibility of the ASCENDI program for adolescent mothers in the Dominican Republic
Nora Badoui-Rodríguez, Lourdes A. Pérez, Hilcemery Fortuna-Mejía, Laura Virginia Sánchez-Vincitore, Arachu Castro ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001The ASCENDI program is a 12-session group-based intervention designed to help adolescent mothers in the Dominican Republic provide better care for their young children. The program teaches skills in early childhood development, positive discipline, and maternal well-being based on WHO guidance. Among 11 adolescent mothers who completed the program, parental confidence and cognitive stimulation activities increased significantly, with high satisfaction reported.
Key points
- 78.6% of participants completed both pretest and posttest assessments
- Parental efficacy improved from 3.38 to 3.84 on a 1-4 scale (Cohen's d = 0.99, p = .008)
- Cognitive stimulation activities increased from 0.42 to 0.65 on a 0-1 scale (Cohen's d = 0.81, p = .036)
- Improvements were observed in protective, formative, and bonding competencies
- Participant satisfaction was high at 4.64 on a 5-point scale
Limitations
This was a small one-group feasibility study with no comparison group and only 11 participants, limiting generalisability. The study cannot determine whether observed improvements would persist over time or compare effectiveness to alternative approaches.
Abstract
Abstract This study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a 12-session group-based nurturing care intervention for adolescent mothers in the Dominican Republic. We conducted a one-group pretest-posttest feasibility study in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. Participants were adolescent mothers under 20 years of age with a child enrolled in an early childhood development (ECD) center operated by the National Institute for Early Childhood Comprehensive Care. The intervention, based on the World Health Organization’s Nurturing Care Framework, addressed ECD, affective care, positive discipline, and maternal well-being. We calculated effect sizes using Cohen’s d . Of 14 adolescent mothers who started the program, 11 completed both assessments (78.6% retention). Participants had a mean age of 16.91 years ( SD = 1.35), with children averaging 1.15 years ( SD = 0.84). Two outcomes showed statistically significant improvements. Parental efficacy (1–4 scale) increased from M = 3.38 to M = 3.84 ( d = 0.99, p = .008), with significant gains observed in three subdomains: protective ( d = 1.21, p = .003), formative ( d = 0.90, p = .014), and bonding competencies ( d = 0.81, p = .023). Cognitive stimulation activities (0–1 scale) increased from M = 0.42 to M = 0.65 ( d = 0.81, p = .036). Participant satisfaction was high ( M = 4.64 on a 5-point scale). ASCENDI demonstrated feasibility and preliminary effectiveness in improving parental efficacy and cognitive stimulation among adolescent mothers. Large effect sizes and high retention and satisfaction support the potential of group-based nurturing care interventions for adolescent mothers in resource-limited settings.