Randomized Video-Feedback Intervention in Home-Based Childcare: Improvement of Children's Wellbeing Dependent on Time Spent with Trusted Caregiver

Universal crisis psychoeducational interventions in schools: A scoping review

In times of crisis, schools are expected to help students deal with the situation and any help offered should consider the social and emotional problems arising from the critical event. Therefore, school-based activities enabling children to recognize the experience and work through it are essential to sustain their normal development and prevent academic and mental health problems. This paper provides an overview of the literature on universal school crisis interventions. We performed a scoping literature search in Scopus, ERIC, and Psych Info for articles published between January 2000 and May 2021 and identified 32 universal school-based crisis interventions based on three main crisis types (armed conflict, natural disaster, and Covid-19). Analysis of the methodologies and theoretical backgrounds generated six key psychoeducational factors commonly adopted. Comparing the different programmes in terms of topics, course content, duration, and methodology can help administrators and educators select the most appropriate crisis intervention for their school and situation. We also discuss the collaboration between mental health care specialists, school teams, and other important factors needed to implement these programmes and ensure their effectiveness under real-life conditions.

Intervention Programs to Promote the Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions in Childcare: A Systematic Literature Review

Sensitive caregiver–child interactions appear fundamental throughout childhood, supporting infants’ wellbeing and development not only in a familial context but in professional caregiving as well. The main aim of this review was to examine the existing literature about Early Childhood Education Context (ECEC) intervention studies dedicated to caregiver–child interaction, fostering children’s socioemotional developmental pathways. Studies published between January 2007 and July 2021 were identified in four electronic databases following PRIMSA guidelines. The initial search yielded a total of 342 records. Among them, 48 studies were fully reviewed. Finally, 18 of them met all inclusion criteria and formed the basis for this review. Main factors characterizing implemented programs were recorded (e.g., intervention and sample characteristics, dimensions of the teacher–child interaction targeted by the intervention, outcome variables, main results) in order to frame key elements of ECE intervention programs. Our review points to a range of fundamental issues that should consider to enhance ECEC interventions’ efficacy, supporting children’s socioemotional development and caregiver–child interaction. Reflections and considerations for future research are provided.

Early Parenting Intervention - Biobehavioral Outcomes in infants with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (EPI-BOND): study protocol for an Italian multicentre randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Neurodevelopmental disability (ND) represents an adverse condition for infants' socio-emotional and behavioural development as well as for caregiving (eg, parental sensitivity) and mother-infant interaction. Adverse exposures are associated with altered neuroendocrine hormones concentrations (eg, oxytocin and cortisol) and epigenetic regulation (eg, methylation of stress-related genes), which in turn may contribute to less-than-optimal mother-infant interaction. Parental sensitivity is a protective factor for childrens' development and early parental interventions (eg, video-feedback intervention) can promote parental caregiving and better developmental outcomes in children. The present multi-centric and longitudinal randomised controlled trial aims to assess if and to which extent early VFI could benefit both infants and mothers in terms of behavioural outcomes as well as neuroendocrine and epigenetic regulation.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Dyads will be randomly assigned to the video-feedback Intervention Group or Control Group ('dummy' intervention: telephone calls). Infants with ND aged 3 to 18 months will be recruited from three major child neuropsychiatric units in northern Italy. A multi-layer approach to intervention effects will include videotapes of mother-infant interaction, maternal reports as well as saliva samples for hormones concentrations and target-gene methylation analysis (eg, BDNF, NR3C1, OXTR and SCL6A4) that will be obtained at each of the four assessment sessions: T₀, baseline; T₁, post-intervention; T₂, short-term follow-up (3 month); T₃, long-term follow-up (6 month). Primary effectiveness measures will be infant socio-emotional behaviour and maternal sensitivity. Neuroendocrine hormones concentrations and DNA methylation status of target genes will be secondary outcomes. Feasibility, moderation and confounding variables will be measured and controlled between the two groups.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval has been obtained in all three participating units. Results of the main trial and each of the secondary endpoints will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03853564; Pre-results.

Video feedback for parental sensitivity and attachment security in children under five years

BACKGROUND

Children who are securely attached to at least one parent are able to be comforted by that parent when they are distressed and explore the world confidently by using that parent as a 'secure base'. Research suggests that a secure attachment enables children to function better across all aspects of their development. Promoting secure attachment, therefore, is a goal of many early interventions. Attachment is mediated through parental sensitivity to signals of distress from the child. One means of improving parental sensitivity is through video feedback, which involves showing a parent brief moments of their interaction with their child, to strengthen their sensitivity and responsiveness to their child's signals.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of video feedback on parental sensitivity and attachment security in children aged under five years who are at risk for poor attachment outcomes.

SEARCH METHODS

In November 2018 we searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, nine other databases and two trials registers. We also handsearched the reference lists of included studies, relevant systematic reviews, and several relevant websites SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs that assessed the effects of video feedback versus no treatment, inactive alternative intervention, or treatment as usual for parental sensitivity, parental reflective functioning, attachment security and adverse effects in children aged from birth to four years 11 months.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane.

MAIN RESULTS

This review includes 22 studies from seven countries in Europe and two countries in North America, with a total of 1889 randomised parent-child dyads or family units. Interventions targeted parents of children aged under five years, experiencing a wide range of difficulties (such as deafness or prematurity), or facing challenges that put them at risk of attachment issues (for example, parental depression). Nearly all studies reported some form of external funding, from a charitable organisation (n = 7) or public body, or both (n = 18). We considered most studies as being at low or unclear risk of bias across the majority of domains, with the exception of blinding of participants and personnel, where we assessed all studies as being at high risk of performance bias. For outcomes where self-report measures were used, such as parental stress and anxiety, we rated all studies at high risk of bias for blinding of outcome assessors. Parental sensitivity. A meta-analysis of 20 studies (1757 parent-child dyads) reported evidence of that video feedback improved parental sensitivity compared with a control or no intervention from postintervention to six months' follow-up (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20 to 0.49, moderate-certainty evidence). The size of the observed impact compares favourably to other, similar interventions. Parental reflective functioning. No studies reported this outcome. Attachment security. A meta-analysis of two studies (166 parent-child dyads) indicated that video feedback increased the odds of being securely attached, measured using the Strange Situation Procedure, at postintervention (odds ratio 3.04, 95% CI 1.39 to 6.67, very low-certainty evidence). A second meta-analysis of two studies (131 parent-child dyads) that assessed attachment security using a different measure (Attachment Q-sort) found no effect of video feedback compared with the comparator groups (SMD 0.02, 95% CI -0.33 to 0.38, very low-certainty evidence). Adverse events. Eight studies (537 parent-child dyads) contributed data at postintervention or short-term follow-up to a meta-analysis of parental stress, and two studies (311 parent-child dyads) contributed short-term follow-up data to a meta-analysis of parental anxiety. There was no difference between intervention and comparator groups for either outcome. For parental stress the SMD between video feedback and control was -0.09 (95% CI -0.26 to 0.09, low-certainty evidence), while for parental anxiety the SMD was -0.28 (95% CI -0.87 to 0.31, very low-certainty evidence). Child behaviour. A meta-analysis of two studies (119 parent-child dyads) at long-term follow-up found no evidence of the effectiveness of video feedback on child behaviour (SMD 0.04, 95% CI -0.33 to 0.42, very low-certainty evidence). A moderator analysis found no evidence of an effect for the three prespecified variables (intervention type, number of feedback sessions and participating carer) when jointly tested. However, parent gender (both parents versus only mothers or only fathers) potentially has a statistically significant negative moderation effect, though only at α (alpha) = 0.1 AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is moderate-certainty evidence that video feedback may improve sensitivity in parents of children who are at risk for poor attachment outcomes due to a range of difficulties. There is currently only little, very low-certainty evidence regarding the impact of video feedback on attachment security, compared with control: results differed based on the type of measure used, and follow-up was limited in duration. There is no evidence that video feedback has an impact on parental stress or anxiety (low- and very low-certainty evidence, respectively). Further evidence is needed regarding the longer-term impact of video feedback on attachment and more distal outcomes such as children's behaviour (very low-certainty evidence). Further research is needed on the impact of video-feedback on paternal sensitivity and parental reflective functioning, as no study measured these outcomes. This review is limited by the fact that the majority of included parents were mothers.

Relations Among Maternal Life Satisfaction, Shared Activities, and Child Well-Being

Maternal well-being is assumed to be associated with well-being of individual family members, optimal parenting practices, and positive developmental outcomes for children. The objective of this study was to examine the interplay between maternal well-being, parent-child activities, and the well-being of 5- to 7-year-old children. In a sample of N = 291 mother-child dyads, maternal life satisfaction, the frequency of shared parent-child activities, as well as children's self-regulation, prosocial behavior, and receptive vocabulary were assessed using several methods. Data were collected in a special study of the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), a representative longitudinal survey of private households in Germany. Using structural equation modeling, significant positive direct and indirect relations between maternal life satisfaction, frequency of shared parent-child activities, children's self-regulation, prosocial behavior, and receptive vocabulary were found. The more satisfied the mother was, the more she shared activities with her child and the more the child acted prosocially. Furthermore, the higher the frequency of shared parent-child activities, the higher the child scored in all three analyzed indicators of children's well-being: self-regulation, prosocial behavior, and receptive vocabulary. The current study supports the assumption of maternal well-being as the basis of positive parenting practices and child well-being.