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Clinical Trial
. 2023 Feb 9;20(4):3078.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043078.

Impacts of the Attachment and Child Health (ATTACHTM) Parenting Program on Mothers and Their Children at Risk of Maltreatment: Phase 2 Results

Nicole Letourneau  1 , Lubna Anis  2 , Jason Novick  2 , Carrie Pohl  2 , Henry Ntanda  2 , Martha Hart  2
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Impacts of the Attachment and Child Health (ATTACHTM) Parenting Program on Mothers and Their Children at Risk of Maltreatment: Phase 2 Results

Nicole Letourneau et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Early adversity (e.g., family violence, parental depression, low income) places children at risk for maltreatment and negatively impacts developmental outcomes. Optimal parental reflective function (RF), defined as the parent's ability to think about and identify thoughts, feelings, and mental states in themselves and in their children, is linked to secure attachment and may protect against suboptimal outcomes. We present the results of Phase 2 randomized control trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies (QES) of the Attachment and Child Health (ATTACHTM) parental RF intervention for families with children at risk for maltreatment. Phase 2 parents experiencing adversity, along with their children aged 0-5 years (n = 45), received the 10-12-week ATTACHTM intervention. Building on completed Phase 1 pilot data, Phase 2 examined outcomes of long-standing interest, including parental RF and child development, as well as new outcomes, including parental perceived social support and executive function, and children's behavior, sleep, and executive function. RCTs and QES revealed significant improvements in parents' RF, perception of social support, and executive function, children's development (i.e., communication, problem-solving, personal-social, and fine motor skills), and a decrease in children's sleep and behavioral problems (i.e., anxiety/depression, attention problems, aggressive behavior, and externalizing problems), post-intervention. ATTACH™ positively impacts parental RF to prevent negative impacts on children at risk of maltreatment.

Keywords: ATTACHTM; child development; parental reflective function; parenting intervention.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare the following financial interests, which may be considered as potential competing interests: Drs. Nicole Letourneau and Martha Hart are co-owners of the not-for-profit company called ATTACH and Child Health Foundation and the for-profit company called ATTACH Ltd., both established to support community delivery of ATTACH™. All other authors have no competing financial interests.

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