{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T18:24:14Z","timestamp":1787250254539,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Social and emotional skills develop within cultural contexts and shape parenting behaviors, yet little work has examined the specific skills parents themselves consider important for parenting, or the factors they perceive as supporting these skills, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Centering parents\u2019 own conceptualizations, this two-phase descriptive qualitative study with 54 parents living in Colombia combined an initial phase of focus groups and individual interviews with a second phase of targeted individual interviews, and used thematic analysis to explore the social and emotional skills parents identify as relevant to parenting and the risk and protective factors perceived to hinder or enhance their development. Our findings highlight the importance of emotional awareness, self-regulation, communication, cooperation, and problem-solving skills in adulthood for nurturing parenting and promoting children\u2019s social and emotional development. Parents\u2019 upbringing and support networks emerged as significant factors shaping skill development and child-rearing practices. These findings emphasize the need for policies and interventions, grounded in caregivers\u2019 own perspectives, to promote social and emotional skills for parents in LMIC contexts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0355716","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T17:29:24Z","timestamp":1787246964000},"page":"e0355716","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Social and emotional skills for nurturing parenting: A qualitative examination"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Luciana","family":"Beccassino","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juliana","family":"Borb\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0451-3298","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jorge","family":"Cuartas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Catalina","family":"Rey-Guerra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3852-936X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Maria Alejandra","family":"Guti\u00e9rrez-Torres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melissa","family":"Guerra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helen","family":"Baker-Henningham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0355716.ref001","article-title":"Neurobiology of fetal and infant development: implications for infant mental health.","volume-title":"Handbook of infant mental health","author":"AE Berens","year":"2019"},{"issue":"10064","key":"pone.0355716.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(16)31390-3","article-title":"Nurturing care: promoting early childhood development","volume":"389","author":"PR Britto","year":"2017","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"180","DOI":"10.1111\/cdev.13646","article-title":"The effect of spanking on early social-emotional skills","volume":"93","author":"J Cuartas","year":"2022","journal-title":"Child Dev"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecresq.2017.07.001","article-title":"Pathways between paternal and maternal education, caregivers\u2019 support for learning, and early child development in 44 low- and middle-income countries","volume":"41","author":"J Jeong","year":"2017","journal-title":"Early Child Res Q"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0355716.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"324","DOI":"10.1016\/S2352-4642(22)00076-1","article-title":"Estimates of a multidimensional index of nurturing care in the next 1000 days of life for children in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study","volume":"6","author":"DC McCoy","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet Child Adolesc Health"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref006","unstructured":"Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. Fundamentals of SEL [Internet]. CASEL. [cited 2026 Jun 22]. Available from: https:\/\/casel.org\/fundamentals-of-sel\/"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0355716.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1002\/icd.2375","article-title":"Publishing child development research from around the world: An unfair playing field resulting in most of the world\u2019s child population under\u2010represented in research","volume":"32","author":"CE Draper","year":"2022","journal-title":"Infant Child Dev"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0355716.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.1003602","article-title":"Parenting interventions to promote early child development in the first three years of life: A global systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"18","author":"J Jeong","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS Med"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0355716.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"199","DOI":"10.1007\/s40609-018-0121-0","article-title":"Parenting programs for underserved populations in low- and middle-income countries: issues of scientific integrity and social justice","volume":"6","author":"AA Baumann","year":"2019","journal-title":"Glob Soc Welf"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0355716.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"630","DOI":"10.1007\/s11121-016-0671-2","article-title":"Different strokes for different folks? Contrasting approaches to cultural adaptation of parenting interventions","volume":"18","author":"A Mejia","year":"2017","journal-title":"Prev Sci"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355716.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1004","DOI":"10.1007\/s10826-014-9911-x","article-title":"Examining Delivery Preferences and Cultural Relevance of an Evidence-Based Parenting Program in a Low-Resource Setting of Central America: Approaching Parents as Consumers","volume":"24","author":"A Mejia","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Child Fam Stud"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref012","unstructured":"World Health Organization. WHO guidelines on parenting interventions to prevent maltreatment and enhance parent\u2013child relationships with children aged 0\u201317 years. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023."},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref013","unstructured":"Gobierno de Colombia. Lineamiento t\u00e9cnico para la prevenci\u00f3n de las violencias contra ni\u00f1as y ni\u00f1os en primera infancia. Bogot\u00e1: Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar. 2023. Available from: https:\/\/www.icbf.gov.co\/publicacion-de-lineamiento-tecnico-para-la-prevencion-de-las-violencias-contra-nn-en-primera"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1002\/9780470147658.chpsy0114","article-title":"The bioecological model of human development.","author":"U Bronfenbrenner","year":"2007","journal-title":"Handbook of child psychology"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0355716.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/desc.13404","article-title":"Family play, reading, and other stimulation and early childhood development in five low-and-middle-income countries","volume":"26","author":"J Cuartas","year":"2023","journal-title":"Dev Sci"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355716.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1058","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-8624.2011.01614.x","article-title":"Trajectories of the home learning environment across the first 5 years: associations with children\u2019s vocabulary and literacy skills at prekindergarten","volume":"82","author":"ET Rodriguez","year":"2011","journal-title":"Child Dev"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref017","first-page":"55","article-title":"Children\u2019s parents.","author":"MH. Bornstein","year":"2015","journal-title":"Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: ecological settings and processes"},{"issue":"14","key":"pone.0355716.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8582","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19148582","article-title":"The Apapacho Violence Prevention Parenting Program: Conceptual Foundations and Pathways to Scale","volume":"19","author":"Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar Icbf Early Childhood Team","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appdev.2016.02.008","article-title":"Assessing early childhood social and emotional development: key conceptual and measurement issues","volume":"45","author":"SM Jones","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Appl Dev Psychol"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355716.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"518","DOI":"10.1111\/cfs.12834","article-title":"Emotion\u2010oriented coping and parental competency: An evidence\u2010based parenting intervention for parents of children with special educational needs","volume":"26","author":"MY Ho","year":"2021","journal-title":"Child Fam Social Work"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"192","DOI":"10.1037\/pspp0000401","article-title":"An integrative framework for conceptualizing and assessing social, emotional, and behavioral skills: The BESSI","volume":"123","author":"CJ Soto","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355716.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"364","DOI":"10.1017\/S1463423612000060","article-title":"Parenting self-efficacy, parenting stress and child behaviour before and after a parenting programme","volume":"13","author":"L Bloomfield","year":"2012","journal-title":"Prim Health Care Res Dev"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355716.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"399","DOI":"10.1017\/S0954579417000931","article-title":"Parenting cognitions \u2192 parenting practices \u2192 child adjustment? The standard model","volume":"30","author":"MH Bornstein","year":"2018","journal-title":"Dev Psychopathol"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2214.2005.00487.x","article-title":"The relationship between maternal self-efficacy and parenting practices: implications for parent training","volume":"31","author":"MR Sanders","year":"2005","journal-title":"Child Care Health Dev"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1177\/01650254211051086","article-title":"Parent emotional regulation: a meta-analytic review of its association with parenting and child adjustment","volume":"46","author":"MJ Zimmer-Gembeck","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Behav Dev"},{"issue":"11","key":"pone.0355716.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3430","DOI":"10.1007\/s10826-016-0484-8","article-title":"Facets of adult social competence as predictors of parenting style","volume":"25","author":"NA Egeli","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Child Fam Stud"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref027","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2524.2005.00527.x","article-title":"A qualitative study exploring the experiences and views of mothers, health visitors and family support centre workers on the challenges and difficulties of parenting","volume":"13","author":"L Bloomfield","year":"2005","journal-title":"Health Soc Care Community"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref028","article-title":"Modeling the effects of war exposure and daily stressors on maternal mental health, parenting, and child psychosocial adjustment: a cross-sectional study with Syrian refugees in Lebanon","volume":"5","author":"A Sim","year":"2018","journal-title":"Glob Ment Health"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0355716.ref029","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"950","DOI":"10.1007\/s10578-016-0626-7","article-title":"Effects of war, terrorism and armed conflict on young children: a systematic review","volume":"47","author":"M Slone","year":"2016","journal-title":"Child Psychiatry Hum Dev"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref030","first-page":"95","article-title":"Parents in poverty.","volume-title":"Handbook of parenting: social conditions and applied parenting","author":"KA Magnuson","year":"2002","edition":"2"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"336","DOI":"10.1257\/pandp.20231017","article-title":"The Mental health of caregivers and young children in conflict-affected settings","volume":"113","author":"J S\u00e1nchez-Ariza","year":"2023","journal-title":"AEA Pap Proc"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106661","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2022.106661","article-title":"A longitudinal examination of the family stress model of economic hardship in seven countries","volume":"143","author":"S Zietz","year":"2022","journal-title":"Child Youth Serv Rev"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2019.02.003","article-title":"Civil conflict, domestic violence, and poverty as predictors of corporal punishment in Colombia","volume":"90","author":"J Cuartas","year":"2019","journal-title":"Child Abuse Negl"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref034","author":"J S\u00e1nchez-Ariza","year":"2022","journal-title":"Conflict, parenting, and early childhood mental health in conflict-affected settings: evidence from Colombia. 34. SSRN"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0355716.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.1177\/1524838013487805","article-title":"Resilience, trauma, context, and culture","volume":"14","author":"M Ungar","year":"2013","journal-title":"Trauma Viol Abuse"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref036","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-psych-120710-100356","article-title":"Child development in the context of disaster, war, and terrorism: pathways of risk and resilience","volume":"63","author":"AS Masten","year":"2012","journal-title":"Annu Rev Psychol"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0355716.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"703","DOI":"10.1007\/s00038-019-01248-7","article-title":"The invisible wounds of five decades of armed conflict: inequalities in mental health and their determinants in Colombia","volume":"64","author":"J Cuartas Ricaurte","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int J Public Health"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref038","unstructured":"Unidad de Implementaci\u00f3n del Acuerdo de Paz. Cambios y continuidades en el conflicto: a diez a\u00f1os de la Comisi\u00f3n Hist\u00f3rica del Conflicto y sus V\u00edctimas. Bogot\u00e1: Unidad de Implementaci\u00f3n del Acuerdo de Paz; 2024."},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref039","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1177\/1524838019833001","article-title":"Parenting in times of war: a meta-analysis and qualitative synthesis of war exposure, parenting, and child adjustment","volume":"22","author":"H Eltanamly","year":"2021","journal-title":"Trauma Viol Abuse"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref040","unstructured":"Gobierno de Colombia. Estrategia nacional pedag\u00f3gica y de prevenci\u00f3n del castigo f\u00edsico, tratos crueles, humillantes o degradantes contra ni\u00f1os, ni\u00f1as y adolescentes. Bogot\u00e1: Gobierno de Colombia; 2021."},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355716.ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"334","DOI":"10.1002\/1098-240X(200008)23:4<334::AID-NUR9>3.0.CO;2-G","article-title":"Focus on research methods: whatever happened to qualitative description?","volume":"23","author":"M Sandelowski","year":"2000","journal-title":"Res Nurs Health"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref042","first-page":"65","article-title":"Mindfulness and social emotional learning (SEL): a conceptual framework.","author":"MS. Lawlor","year":"2016","journal-title":"Handbook of mindfulness in education: integrating theory and research into practice. New York: Springer"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref043","first-page":"214","article-title":"COREQ (consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies)","author":"A Booth","year":"2014","journal-title":"Guidelines for reporting health research: a user\u2019s manual"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref044","volume-title":"Integrando teor\u00eda, evidencia y contexto para informar el dise\u00f1o de programas de prevenci\u00f3n de violencia en la primera infancia","author":"J Cuartas","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref045","unstructured":"Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar. Resoluci\u00f3n No. 2082: por la cual se adoptan los grupos y niveles del Sisb\u00e9n IV para el ingreso a los programas del ICBF y se dictan otras disposiciones. Bogot\u00e1: ICBF; 2021."},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0355716.ref046","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"693","DOI":"10.1080\/13645579.2017.1281601","article-title":"Comparing focus groups and individual interviews: findings from a randomized study","volume":"20","author":"G Guest","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int J Soc Res Methodol"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355716.ref047","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2648.2007.04559.x","article-title":"Combining individual interviews and focus groups to enhance data richness","volume":"62","author":"SD Lambert","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Adv Nurs"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355716.ref048","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa","article-title":"Using thematic analysis in psychology","volume":"3","author":"V Braun","year":"2006","journal-title":"Qual Res Psychol"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355716.ref049","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1123\/jtpe.2017-0084","article-title":"A practical guide to collaborative qualitative data analysis","volume":"37","author":"KAR Richards","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Teach Phys Educ"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref050","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1177\/160940690600500107","article-title":"Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development","volume":"5","author":"J Fereday","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int J Qual Methods"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355716.ref051","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1893","DOI":"10.1007\/s11135-017-0574-8","article-title":"Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization","volume":"52","author":"B Saunders","year":"2018","journal-title":"Qual Quant"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355716.ref052","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.18401\/2016.6.2.2","article-title":"A qualitative exploration of an eight-week mindful parenting program for parents","volume":"6","author":"Y Ma","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Asia Pac Couns"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355716.ref053","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.37745\/ijhpr.13\/vol10n4122","article-title":"Systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationships between family social support and parenting stress, burden, beliefs and practices","volume":"10","author":"CJ Dunst","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Health Psychol Res"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref054","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1007\/s40653-021-00400-x","article-title":"A systematic review of the effect of parental adverse childhood experiences on parenting and child psychopathology","volume":"15","author":"T Rowell","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Child Adolesc Trauma"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0355716.ref055","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"409","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pedhc.2020.03.003","article-title":"A qualitative metasynthesis of mothers\u2019 adverse childhood experiences and parenting practices","volume":"34","author":"K Herbell","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Pediatr Health Care"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref056","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"671988","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2021.671988","article-title":"Supporting child development through parenting interventions in low- to middle-income countries: an updated systematic review","volume":"9","author":"L Zhang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"pone.0355716.ref057","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"152483","DOI":"10.1016\/j.comppsych.2024.152483","article-title":"Parenting and family interventions in lower and middle-income countries for child and adolescent mental health: a systematic review","volume":"132","author":"T Bosqui","year":"2024","journal-title":"Compr Psychiatry"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355716.ref058","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"334","DOI":"10.1111\/famp.12381","article-title":"A culturally adapted intervention for mexican-origin parents of adolescents: the need to overtly address culture and discrimination in evidence-based practice","volume":"58","author":"R Parra-Cardona","year":"2019","journal-title":"Fam Process"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355716.ref059","first-page":"86","article-title":"Effectiveness and cultural adaptation of parenting interventions for south asian families: a mixed-methods systematic review using Bernal\u2019s ecological validity model","volume":"13","author":"A Syed","year":"2026","journal-title":"Children (Basel)"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0355716","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T17:29:37Z","timestamp":1787246977000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0355716"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Taiwo Opeyemi","family":"Aremu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"references-count":59,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0355716","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]}}}