Social Networks As an Engagement Strategy in Child Maltreatment Prevention Programs: A Scoping Review

Background and Purpose:
Globally, more than half of all children experience maltreatment each year (Hillis et al., 2016). One effective strategy for addressing child maltreatment is prevention—intervening before families enter the child welfare system. However, engaging parents in prevention programs remains a significant challenge, particularly among marginalized populations facing systemic barriers (Damashek et al., 2011). Social network strategies show promise for enhancing engagement, yet no comprehensive synthesis exists on their application or effectiveness in child maltreatment prevention contexts. This scoping review systematically examines: (1) how social network approaches are implemented to engage parents in child maltreatment prevention programs, and (2) the social network engagement outcomes associated with these approaches.

Methods:
Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, Social Work Abstracts, and Social Services Abstracts using terms related to social networks, engagement, and child maltreatment prevention. Four reviewers independently screened 1,308 records; 18 studies met the inclusion criteria: (1) participants were children and families without open child welfare cases; (2) interventions aimed at preventing child maltreatment; (3) parental engagement involved social network approaches; and (4) studies were published in peer-reviewed English-language journals between 2010 and 2023. A narrative synthesis was conducted, including descriptive quantitative analysis.

Results:
Among the 18 included studies, 83.3% were conducted in high-income countries, with 44.4% based in the U.S. Regarding implementation phases, 72.2% (n = 13) applied network strategies during implementation; 22.2% (n = 4) during pre-implementation; and 5.6% (n = 1) during post-implementation. In terms of strategy type, 77.8% (n = 14) created group formats to reshape social network contexts; 33.3% (n = 6) modified interpersonal ties to enhace engagement; and no studies used intrapersonal network strategies. Additionally, 22.2% (n = 4) implemented digital adaptations of social network strategies. Reported engagement outcomes included behavioral, attitudinal, and relational domains: eight studies reported improved behavioral engagement (e.g., attendance and retention increased by 37% in quasi-experimental designs); two studies focused on attitudinal outcomes (e.g., increased satisfaction and parenting confidence); and nine studies addressed relational engagement (e.g., new support ties formed). Notably, only 16.7% of studies explicitly referenced social network theory, and just 11.1% used randomized controlled trials. Most studies (n=17) used qualitative methods to evaluate social network engagement outcomes.

Conclusions and Implications:
Social network strategies are a promising means to enhance parental engagement in child maltreatment prevention, particularly through group-based approaches that reduce stigma and isolation. However, limited use in pre- and post-implementation phases and weak theoretical integration represent missed opportunities. This review highlights the need for theory-driven interventions leveraging constructs such as homophily and centrality, digital adaptations for hard-to-reach populations, and rigorous designs to assess causal mechanisms. For practice, findings support embedding social network engagement strategies across program stages and training practitioners in relational engagement techniques. Digital and group-based social network strategies, in particular, show strong potential for increasing parental engagement in prevention efforts.