Proteger a la infanciaapoyando y asistiendo a las familias

Abstract

Research carried out in recent decades has identified risk factors and relevant processes in the dynamics of child abuse. Such re-search has highlighted the importance of assisting families, with a view to intervening in dysfunctional parent-child relations and pro-moting positive parenting, especially for younger children. The present paper focuses on the family context as a target of intervention,especially in the area of early detection and prevention. We consider good parenting practices and support for families in child-rear-ing as protective factors. The �Servicio Especializado de Atención a la Familia e Infancia� programme is presented as an illustrationof intervention. Two evidence-based programmes are also presented as illustrations of prevention strategies: �Apoyo Personal y Fa-miliar� (APF) and Parent Child Psychologycal Support Program (PCPS). The main goals of these programmes are to provide supportfor parents in their child-rearing and to promote children�s well-being. Our paper highlights the importance of primary preventionand family intervention, which are particularly relevant in times of economic crisis, because those factors affect family life and in-crease the risk situation for children.