Promoting early childhood development through nurturing parenting: Feasibility of the ASCENDI program for adolescent mothers in the Dominican Republic
- 1Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University
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 Organizations Nurturing Care Framework, addressed ECD, affective care, positive discipline, and maternal well-being. We calculated effect sizes using Cohens 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.
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BibTeX
@misc{badouirodriguez2026promoting,
title = {{Promoting early childhood development through nurturing parenting: Feasibility of the ASCENDI program for adolescent mothers in the Dominican Republic}},
author = {N. Badoui-Rodriguez and L. Perez and H. Fortuna-Mejia and L. V. Sanchez-Vincitore and A. Castro},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.15.26362692},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.26362692v1},
note = {CC BY-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Promoting early childhood development through nurturing parenting: Feasibility of the ASCENDI program for adolescent mothers in the Dominican Republic
AU - N. Badoui-Rodriguez
AU - L. Perez
AU - H. Fortuna-Mejia
AU - L. V. Sanchez-Vincitore
AU - A. Castro
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.15.26362692
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.26362692v1
AB - 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 Organizations Nurturing Care Framework, addressed ECD, affective care, positive discipline, and maternal well-being. We calculated effect sizes using Cohens 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.
ER -