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Effectiveness of an attachment‐based intervention for the assessment of parenting capacities in maltreating families: A randomized controlled trial
Author(s) -
Asdonk Sabine,
Haan Whitney D.,
Berkel Sheila R.,
IJzendoorn Marinus H.,
Rippe Ralph C. A.,
Schuengel Carlo,
Kuiper Chris,
Lindauer Ramon J. L.,
Overbeek Mathilde,
Alink Lenneke R. A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/imhj.21874
Subject(s) - randomized controlled trial , intervention (counseling) , psychology , protocol (science) , clinical psychology , test (biology) , positive parenting , developmental psychology , medicine , psychiatry , alternative medicine , paleontology , biology , surgery , pathology
Even though Parenting Capacity Assessments (PCAs) are essential for child protection services to support placement decisions for maltreating families, presently no evidence‐based PCA protocols are available. In this randomized controlled trial, we tested the quality of an attachment‐based PCA protocol based on Video‐feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP‐SD). We recruited 56 parent‐child dyads ( M age children = 3.48 years) in Dutch family residential clinics that conduct PCAs to support placement decisions. After pretest, families were randomized to receive the Regular Assessment Procedure (RAP) ( n = 28), or an additional assessment based on VIPP‐SD ( n = 28). An immediate post‐test and a 10‐month follow‐up were conducted. Multilevel models showed that therapists felt equally confident about their recommendations regarding child placement for both groups and that they equally often modified their initial placement recommendations. Moreover, children in the VIPP‐SD group did not show fewer behavior problems and did not experience recurring child maltreatment less often than children in the RAP group. Thus, we found no evidence that PCAs incorporating the VIPP‐SD protocol outperformed PCAs as usual. We discuss possible explanations why in the current study VIPP‐SD did not seem to add to the quality of the RAP.