Locations
Myanmar, Thailand
Categories
Child/Family, Community-based, Immigrant and Refugee
Project Leads/PIs
Eve Puffer
Partners
Global Parenting Initiative, Sermpanya Foundation
Parenting on the Border Project Leads: Eve Puffer, PhD; Amanda Sim, PhD
Project Overview
Parenting on the Border is a film-based intervention designed to reduce child maltreatment and strengthen family functioning among displaced families from Myanmar living in Thailand’s Tak Province. Led by the Global Parenting Initiative and co-led by Eve Puffer, the project addresses the effects of conflict, instability, and displacement on family well-being. Centered on the film Being Family, the intervention promotes culturally grounded, evidence-based parenting strategies. A randomized trial with 2,249 caregivers across 44 communities showed improvements in positive parenting, family functioning, and social support, alongside reductions in physical violence and beliefs supporting harsh punishment.
Related Publications
Sim, A., Puffer, E., Eagling-Peche, S., Lwin, K. Z., Melendez-Torres, G. J., Vyas, S., Jirapramukpitak, T., Lachman, J., Soe, S. T., Moo, T., Soan, M., Chalk, J., & Van Vijfeijken, H. (2025). Parenting on the border: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a trauma-informed, edutainment-enhanced intervention to improve parenting and mental health among migrant and displaced caregivers in Thailand. SSM – Mental Health, 8, 100516.
Sim, A., Lwin, K. Z., Eagling-Peche, S., Melendez-Torres, G. J., Vyas, S., Calderon, F., Jirapramukpitak, T., Lachman, J., Punpuing, S., Gonzalez, A., Soan, M., Oo, N. N., Mitjans, I. C., Tyrosvoutis, G., & Puffer, E. (2025). Effectiveness of a universal film intervention in reducing violence against children and increasing positive parenting among migrant and displaced caregivers from Myanmar: A community-based cluster randomised trial. The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia, 33, 100526.
Johnson, S. L., Rieder, A. D., Rasmussen, J. M., Mansoor, M., Quick, K. N., Proeschold-Bell, R. J., Boone, W. J., Puffer, E. S., & Coping Together Team. (2024). A Pilot Study of the Coping Together Virtual Family Intervention: Exploring Changes in Family Functioning and Individual Well-Being. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 52(7), 1–16.
Sim, A., Jirapramukpitak, T., Eagling-Peche, S., Lwin, K. Z., Melendez-Torres, G. J., Gonzalez, A., Oo, N. N., Mitjans, I. C., Soan, M., Punpuing, S., Lee, C., Chuenglertsiri, P., Moo, T., & Puffer, E. (2023). A film-based intervention to reduce child maltreatment among migrant and displaced families from Myanmar: Protocol of a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 18(10), e0293623.
Puffer, E. S., Johnson, S. L., Quick, K. N., Rieder, A. D., Mansoor, M., Proeschold-Bell, R. J., Jones, S., Moore-Lawrence, S., Rasmussen, J. D., Cucuzzella, C., & Burwell, F., Dowdy, Moore, L., Rosales, F., Sanyal, N., Ramachandran, A., Duerr, P., & Tice, E., L., Ayuku, D., & Boone, W. J. (2022). Family strengthening in the context of COVID-19: adapting a community-based intervention from Kenya to the United States. Prevention Science.
Puffer, E. S., Healy, F., Green, E., Giusto, E. P. M., Kaiser, A. N., Patel, B., P., & Ayuku, D. (2020). Family functioning and mental health changes following a family therapy intervention in Kenya: a pilot trial. Journal of Child and Family Studies.
Puffer, E. S., Friis-Healy, E. A., Giusto, A., Stafford, S., & Ayuku, D. (2019). Development and implementation of a family therapy intervention in Kenya: a community-embedded Lay Provider Model. Global Social Welfare.
Puffer, E. S., Green, E. P., Sikkema, K. J., & Broverman, S. A., Ogwang-Odhiambo, R. A., & Pian, J. (2016). A church-based intervention for families to promote mental health and prevent HIV among adolescents In rural Kenya: Results of a randomized trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(6), 511–525.