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The importance of parenting in the development of disorganized attachment: evidence from a preventive intervention study in adoptive families
Author(s) -
Juffer Femmie,
BakermansKranenburg Marian J.,
IJzendoorn Marinus H.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00353.x
Subject(s) - intervention (counseling) , psychology , video feedback , developmental psychology , infant development , clinical psychology , randomized controlled trial , psychopathology , child development , parenting skills , psychiatry , medicine , physics , surgery , optics
Background: As infant disorganized attachment is a serious risk factor for later child psychopathology, it is important to examine whether attachment disorganization can be prevented or reduced. Method: In a randomized intervention study involving 130 families with 6‐month‐old adopted infants, two attachment‐based intervention programs were tested. In the first program, mothers were provided a personal book, and in the second program mothers received the same personal book and three home‐based sessions of video feedback. The third group did not receive intervention (control group). Results: The intervention with video feedback and the personal book resulted in enhanced maternal sensitive responsiveness ( d = .65). Children of mothers who received this intervention were less likely to be classified as disorganized attached at the age of 12 months ( d = .46), and received lower scores on the rating scale for disorganization than children in the control group ( d = .62). In the book‐only intervention group children showed lower disorganization ratings compared to the control group, but no effect on the number of infants with disorganized attachment classifications was found. Conclusion: Our short‐term preventive intervention program with video feedback and a book lowered the rate of disorganized attachment. The effectiveness of our intervention documents the importance of parenting in the development of infant attachment disorganization.