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. 2022 Apr 9;19(8):4533.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19084533.

A Cohort Study on the Effect of Parental Mind-Mindedness in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Merlijn Meynen  1   2 , Cristina Colonnesi  3 , Mariëlle E Abrahamse  1   2 , Irma Hein  1   2 , Geert-Jan J M Stams  3 , Ramón J L L Lindauer  1   2
Affiliations

A Cohort Study on the Effect of Parental Mind-Mindedness in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Merlijn Meynen et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a short-term, evidence-based intervention for caregivers with children aged between 2 and 7 who exhibit behavioral problems. PCIT is effective, but has a high attrition rate ranging from 27% to 69%. We hypothesize that a low level of parental mind-mindedness-the parent's propensity to treat the child as an intentional agent with its own thoughts and emotions-might contribute to premature attrition or cause families to profit less from treatment. To test these hypotheses, we performed a retrospective cohort study in a time-limited, home-based PCIT sample (n = 19) and in a clinic-based PCIT sample (n = 25), to investigate whether parents with a medium-high level of mind-mindedness differ from parents with a medium-low level of mind-mindedness in the outcome measures of PCIT (child's behavioral problems, parenting skills and stress and mothers' anxious and depressed symptoms). Furthermore, we examined if mind-mindedness was related to attrition and (for clinic-based PCIT only) number of sessions. Repeated measures ANOVA showed that mothers with a medium-high level of mind-mindedness displayed more improvement in two parenting skills benefiting a positive parent-child interaction. Furthermore, we found a group effect of mind-mindedness in the PCIT-home sample, with mothers with a medium-high level of mind-mindedness showing better results on most outcome measures. Our findings suggest that adding a mind-mindedness improving intervention prior to or during PCIT could benefit mothers with a medium to low level of mind-mindedness.

Keywords: PCIT; disruptive behavioral problems; mind-mindedness; parenting skills.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PCIT-Home: group effects for ECBI Problem, OBVL, DPICS inappropriate behavior, non-compliance, praise, and interaction effect for DPICS demandingness. Note. MM-low = mothers with a medium-low level of mind-mindedness; MM-high = mothers with a medium-high level of mind-mindedness.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PCIT-Clinic: interaction effect for DPICS negative leading. Note. MM-low = mothers with a medium-low level of mind-mindedness; MM-high = mothers with a medium-high level of mind-mindedness.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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