Community-Based Conscious Discipline Program in Grenada

A Community-based Conscious Discipline Program to Reduce Corporal Punishment in the Caribbean

To improve neurocognitive outcomes in 2-year-old children by implementing a community-based intervention program that follows the principles of Conscious Discipline.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Development, Child; Behavior, Child; Neurocognition, Child
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Conscious Discipline-Based Environmental Enrichment Intervention

Detailed Description

We aimed to introduce Conscious Discipline (CD) in Grenada as a means of improving neurodevelopment in 2-year-old children. The CD intervention promotes improved social-emotional connections between parents/guardians and children that reduces harsh discipline and corporal punishment and provides an ideal environment for the development of higher cognitive functioning (e.g. working memory, inhibition, emotional regulation).

The intervention is implemented by using a distributed local, train-the-trainer model in partnership with the Grenada Roving Caregiver Program, managed by GRENCASE. CD training was provided to 85 existing Roving Caregivers, 70 of whom were certified as Conscious Discipline Paraprofessionals (CDPPs). Certified CDPPs traveled out to communities and villages throughout Grenada, to impart knowledge and skills to new and expecting parents.

Following the intervention, parents who received CD training were assessed in their ability to implement CD skills with their child(ren). Neurocognition was assessed in children post-intervention using the INTERGROWTH 21st Neurodevelopmental Assessment (INTERNDA). Neurocognitive outcomes were compared between the intervention arm and the waitlist control arm of the study.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 333
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Grenada
  • Saint George's, Grenada
    • Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 year to 2 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants actively enrolled in the Roving Caregiver Program (0-2-year-olds living with parents in at-risk communities served by the RCP)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not enrolled in the Roving Caregiver Program

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Conscious Discipline Intervention Group; Participants in this group received one-on-one Conscious Discipline classes with a Roving Caregiver. These classes consisted of the dissemination of Conscious Discipline Skills and fun songs, games, and activities to foster connections between the infant and caregiver. Both the infant and caregiver received the intervention simultaneously.	Behavioral: Conscious Discipline-Based Environmental Enrichment Intervention; Conscious Discipline, a social-emotional skills-based learning program that draws on current brain research and fosters enhanced connections between parents and their children.
No Intervention: Control; Participants in this group did not receive the intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
INTERGROWTH 21st Neurodevelopment Assessment (INTER-NDA)	The INTER-NDA is a measure of cognition, motor skills (fine and gross motor), language (expressive and receptive), behavior, executive function, attention and social-emotional reactivity for 2-year-olds. The measure is comprised of 30 items scored across a spectrum, with higher scores indicating better outcomes.	22-30 Months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation
• Collaborators: Grand Challenges Canada; St. George's University; GRENCASE
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Randall Waechter, PhD, Windard Islands Research and Education Foundation

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 2, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 18, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): August 18, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 4, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 4, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): January 6, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 7, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 5, 2021
• Last Verified: January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: SGUSavingBrainsI

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No