Peer-reviewed article
Supporting Syrian families displaced by armed conflict: A pilot randomized controlled trial of the Caregiver Support Intervention
Kenneth E. Miller, Gabriela V. Koppenol‐Gonzalez, Maguy Arnous, Fadila Tossyeh, Alexandra Chen et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This pilot study tested a nine-session group parenting intervention called the Caregiver Support Intervention (CSI) with 78 Syrian refugee families in Lebanon. The intervention aimed to reduce caregiver stress and improve parenting while teaching positive parenting skills. Parents who received the CSI showed significant improvements in warmth, responsiveness, and stress levels, while their children's psychosocial wellbeing also improved according to parent reports. The study found high rates of participation and completion, suggesting the approach is feasible and scalable for refugee communities.
Key points
- The CSI group showed significantly increased parental warmth and responsiveness, and decreased harsh parenting compared to control
- CSI parents reported lowered stress and distress, with improved psychosocial wellbeing and stress management
- CSI parents reported improved child psychosocial wellbeing, while control families showed no significant change
- Intervention completion rates were high (95% among women, 86% among men) with 99% retention
- Implementation fidelity was excellent, demonstrating the intervention can be delivered by non-specialist providers
Limitations
This is a pilot study with a small sample size, so findings require confirmation in a larger definitive RCT. The study relies on parent-reported child psychosocial wellbeing rather than direct child assessment, and the follow-up period is limited to post-intervention with no longer-term outcome data.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The impact of armed conflict and displacement on children's mental health is strongly mediated by compromised parenting stemming from persistently high caregiver stress. Parenting interventions for refugees emphasize the acquisition of parenting knowledge and skills, while overlooking the deleterious effects of chronic stress on parenting. War Child Holland's Caregiver Support Intervention (CSI) aims to strengthen parenting by lowering stress and improving psychosocial wellbeing among refugee parents, while also increasing knowledge and skill related to positive parenting. The CSI is a nine-session group intervention delivered by non-specialist providers. OBJECTIVE: We describe the findings of a two-arm pilot randomized controlled trial of the CSI with Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The primary aim was to test the feasibility of our study methodology prior to conducting a definitive RCT. METHODS: We recruited 78 families (151 parents), who were randomized to the CSI or a waitlist control group. Data were collected at baseline and post-intervention. RESULTS: Randomization was successful, retention was high (99 %), as was intervention completion (95 % among women, 86 % among men). Implementation fidelity was excellent. Blinding was largely, though not completely effective. The CSI group showed significantly increased parental warmth and responsiveness, decreased harsh parenting, lowered stress and distress, improved psychosocial wellbeing, and improved stress management. CSI parents reported increased child psychosocial wellbeing. Control families showed no significant change on any variable. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate the feasibility of our methodology for a definitive RCT, and suggest that the CSI shows promise as a scalable approach to strengthening parenting in refugee communities. Trial registration # ISRCTN33665023.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Caregiver Support Intervention (CSI): a nine-session group intervention delivered by non-specialist providers that aims to lower caregiver stress and improve psychosocial wellbeing while increasing knowledge and skills related to positive parenting
- Population
- Syrian refugee families (78 families, 151 parents) displaced in Lebanon
Key finding
CSI group showed significantly increased parental warmth and responsiveness compared to control