Development is characterized by quantitative and qualitative changes that occur in a predetermined sequence. However, development could be affected by adversities, which change its typical course. The present study aimed to carry out a review of the concept of toxic stress, used in the Shonkoff’s Ecobiodevelopmental Theory, and to analyze its impact on human development. A search was conducted in the PubMed database, which yielded 12 conceptual articles from 2000 to 2013. The results were categorized into themes. The theory proposed by Shonkoff aims to elucidate the impact of stress on child development, based on other developmental theories. Toxic stress pertains to the prolonged activation of the body as a response to the stress system that can provoke neurobiological and psychological damages. The interventions proposed in the reviewed studies were effective in minimizing the negative effects of this type of stress, as well as in providing support to the caregivers of children.

Child maltreatment is a severe worldwide public health problem because of its negative consequences and should therefore be prevented through parenting programs to improve parental behavior and practices. The present review aimed to update a published review of 5 years of empirical studies on universal parenting programs to strengthen positive parenting and prevent child maltreatment. A systematic search of the PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Lilacs, and SciELO databases was performed to identify the studies of group-based structured parenting programs published from 2015 to 2019. Eighteen studies were found that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results showed that 14 different parenting programs were conducted in high-, medium-, and low-income countries, showing an increase in the number of studies in low-income countries compared with the previous review. In 89% of the studies, the parenting outcomes improved in the post-intervention. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that these programs also improved other parental outcomes such as mental health, couple relationships, coparenting, and coping ability of parents. From 18 studies, nine child variables were evaluated, and eight of them showed a decrease in behavior problems. Regarding the methodological quality of the studies, 55%, 28%, and 17% were classified as moderate, weak, and strong, respectively. In conclusion, the positive changes in parenting and child behavior outcomes encourage the implementation of parenting programs as a universal prevention strategy. Further research should increase the methodological quality of the design study.

Avaliação da efetividade de um programa de intervenção em práticas educativas maternas para prevenção de violência contra crianças incluindo medidas observacionais.