Effects of a Financial Literacy and Gender-Transformative Couples Intervention on Parenting Practices in India

NCT07651670 | Active Not Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: ECOVI2023-569-SECOVI 101115963
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 4,552
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 4

Brief Summary

Many families in India experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and financial stress, both of which can harm the way parents interact with and discipline their children. When parents are under stress, they may be more likely to use harsh physical discipline or be less involved and warm with their children. Improving how couples communicate, manage money together, and relate to each other more fairly may help parents raise their children in healthier and more nurturing ways. This study examines whether a couples-based programme, "Let Us Grow Together: Economic Wellbeing for Families," improves parenting practices among married couples in India. The programme consists of six group sessions attended by husbands and wives together. Sessions cover financial skills such as budgeting, saving, and joint financial planning, alongside topics on respectful relationships, communication, and shared decision-making in the household. Sessions are delivered over approximately five months by trained male and female facilitators, with text message reminders sent between sessions to reinforce key messages. The study is nested within a larger randomised controlled trial called ECOVI (Disentangling and Preventing Economic Violence against Women), conducted across three Indian states: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan, involving 2,276 married couples. Villages or community groups are randomly assigned to either receive the programme or continue as usual. This random assignment means the study can reliably measure whether the programme, rather than some other factor, caused any changes in parenting. Parenting is assessed at the end of the study (endline) using questions from the s-EMBU-P Questionnaire, a widely used and validated tool. These questions ask mothers and fathers separately about three aspects of parenting: rejection/harsh parenting, emotional warmth/positive parenting and overprotection/control. The study also examines whether any improvements in parenting occur because the programme reduces violence between partners, improves parents' mental health, reduces family financial stress, or improves their relationship. All of these mediators are measured at baseline and endline. Both mothers and fathers are asked about their own parenting practices separately, making this one of the few studies to examine how such a programme affects fathers' and mothers' parenting practices in this context.

Conditions

Parenting Practices; Intimate Partner Violence (IPV); Mental Health; Empowerment; Relationship, Marital; Financial Wellbeing

Keywords

Couples Intervention; Economic Empowerment; Gender Transformation; Parenting Practices; Mental Health; GHQ-6; India; Intimate Partner Violence

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Parenting practices

  Parenting practices will be assessed using a 10-item subset of the 23-item long s-EMBU P. The following are statements about things that may happen in a family. Please select how often each typically occurs in your home. Think about \[your youngest child\] when answering. Response scale: 1 = No to 4 = Yes, most of the time I get angry with my child without letting him/her know the reason. I use physical punishment to discipline my child. I criticize my child and tell him/her how lazy and useless he/she is in front of others. I punish my child hard, even for small offences. I try to comfort and encourage my child if things go badly for him/her. I use words and gestures to show that I like my child. I praise my child. I am proud when my child succeeds in something he/she has undertaken. I put strict limits on what my child is and is not allowed to do, to which I then adhere rigorously. When my child comes home, he/she has to account for what he/she had been doing to me.

  6 months after intervention - at study Endline. Approximate start August 2026

Other Outcomes (4)

• Mediator Variables

  Baseline (July to September 2025) and at endline (approximately August to October 2026), 6 months after intervention ends

• Mediator Variables

  Baseline (July to September 2025) and at endline (approximately August to October 2026), 6 months after intervention ends

• Mediator Variables

  Baseline (July to September 2025) and at endline (approximately August to October 2026), 6 months after intervention ends

Study Arms (2)

Let'sGrow Together

EXPERIMENTAL

Married couples in clusters assigned to the intervention receive a structured program of six community-based sessions. Each session lasts between 2.5 and 3 hours and includes participatory activities, discussions, and exercises. All six sessions would be conducted by the same two facilitators - one male and one female. The content integrates financial literacy (e.g., household budgeting, saving practices, joint financial planning) with gender-transformative training (e.g., equitable household roles, communication skills, conflict resolution, and fostering empathy between spouses). Sessions are delivered by trained facilitators in a group setting with 15 couples, approximately every 2-4 weeks. Some sensitive content to address the economic violence context would be done in a gender-segregated manner, separately to encourage reflections, ensure safety, and reduce defensiveness. Between sessions, SMS reminders and tips are sent to participants' mobile phones to reinforce key messages.

Behavioral: Let us Grow Together: Economic Wellbeing for Families

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Married couples in clusters assigned to the control arm do not receive the special couples training during the study period. This control condition represents the status quo against which the intervention's added effect can be measured. After the conclusion of the study, control clusters may be offered the intervention materials or sessions via NGO partners if investigators find overall positive treatment effects, ensuring ethical considerations are met.

Interventions

Let us Grow Together: Economic Wellbeing for Families BEHAVIORAL

Married couples in clusters assigned to the intervention receive a structured program of six community-based sessions. Each session lasts between 2.5 and 3 hours and includes participatory activities, discussions, and exercises. All six sessions would be conducted by the same two facilitators - one male and one female. The content integrates financial literacy (e.g.,household budgeting, saving practices, joint financial planning) with gender-transformative training (e.g., equitable household roles, communication skills, conflict resolution, and fostering empathy between spouses). Sessions are delivered by trained facilitators in a group setting with fifteen couples, approximately every 2-4 weeks. Some sensitive content to address the economic violence context would be done in a gender-segregated manner, separately to encourage reflections, ensure safety, and reduce defensiveness. Between sessions, SMS reminders and tips are sent to participants' mobile phones to reinforce key messages.

Let'sGrow Together

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 49 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Female: 18 - 49 years, Male: 18+
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Women: 18 - 49 years, Men: 18+
• Couples: Married and cohabitating, husband-wife pairs, who regard the selected cluster in the states Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, or Rajasthan of India as their primary residence for the study period.
• Consent: Both partners provide written informed consent and agree to six sessions,baseline and endline surveys, and SMS follow-ups.
• Education: Primary schooling (4th grade) complete
• Comprehension: Both partners understand the local language used in sessions.
• Availability: No plans for relocation or prolonged absence before endline.

You may not qualify if:

• Either partner \< 18 years
• Refusal of consent or unwillingness to participate in sessions or data collection byeither partner.
• Serious physical or mental condition that prevents safe, active participation (e.g., severemental illness, debilitating disease).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Shruti Shukla: lead
• Sambodhi Research and Communication Pvt., Ltd.: collaborator

Study Sites (4)

Vayam

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

Location

Vayam

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Location

Vayam

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Location

Sambodhi Research and Communication Pvt Ltd

Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Location

Related Links

• Project Website

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being; Empowerment

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior; Social Behavior

Study Officials

• Janina Steinert, PhD

  Technical University of Munich

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Postdoc Researcher

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 1, 2026
• First Posted: June 16, 2026
• Study Start: July 29, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2027
• Last Updated: June 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IN (4)