Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2009

Open Access 01-12-2009 | Research

Parents' assessment of parent-child interaction interventions – a longitudinal study in 101 families

Authors: Kerstin Neander, Ingemar Engström

Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health | Issue 1/2009

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The aim of the study was to describe families with small children who participated in parent-child interaction interventions at four centres in Sweden, and to examine long term and short term changes regarding the parents' experience of parental stress, parental attachment patterns, the parents' mental health and life satisfaction, the parents' social support and the children's problems.

Methods

In this longitudinal study a consecutive sample of 101 families (94 mothers and 54 fathers) with 118 children (median age 3 years) was assessed, using self-reports, at the outset of the treatment (T1), six months later (T2) and 18 months after the beginning of treatment (T3). Analysis of the observed differences was carried out using Wilcoxon's Signed-Rank test and Cohen's d.

Results

The results from commencement of treatment showed that the parents had considerable problems in all areas examined. At the outset of treatment (T1) the mothers showed a higher level of problem load than the fathers on almost all scales. In the families where the children's problems have also been measured (children from the age of four) it appeared that they had problems of a nature and degree otherwise found in psychiatric populations. We found a clear general trend towards a positive development from T1 to T2 and this development was also reinforced from T2 to T3. Aggression in the child was one of the most common causes for contact. There were few undesired or unplanned interruptions of the treatment, and the attrition from the study was low.

Conclusion

This study has shown that it is possible to reach mothers as well as fathers with parenting problems and to create an intervention program with very low dropout levels – which is of special importance for families with small children displaying aggressive behaviour. The parents taking part in this study showed clear improvement trends after six months and this development was reinforced a year later. This study suggests the necessity of clinical development and future research concerning the role of fathers in parent-child interaction interventions.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Shonkoff JP, Meisels SJ: Preface. Handbook of early childhood intervention. Edited by: Shonkoff JP, Meisels SJ. 2000, New York: Cambridge University Press, XVII-XVIII. 2CrossRef
2.
Meisels SJ, Shonkoff JP: Early Childhood Intervention: A Continuing Evolution. Handbook of early childhood intervention. Edited by: Shonkoff JP, Meisels SJ. 2000, New York: Cambridge University Press, 3-31. 2CrossRef
3.
Peterander F: Preparing practitioners to work with families in early childhood intervention. Educational and Child Psychology. 2004, 21: 89-101.
4.
Bowlby J: Attachment and loss: Attachment. 1969, New York: Basic Books, 1.
5.
Ainsworth MDS: Object relations dependency and attachment: A theoretical review of the mother-infant relationship. Child Dev. 1969, 40: 969-1025.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Ainsworth MDS: Infancy in Uganda: infant care and the growth of attachment. 1967, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press
7.
Bronfenbrenner U: Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Dev Psychol. 1986, 22: 723-742.CrossRef
8.
Garbarino J, Ganzel B: The human ecology of early risk. Handbook of early childhood intervention. Edited by: Shonkoff JPE, Meisels SJE. 2000, New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press, 76-93. 2CrossRef
9.
Sameroff AJ: Ports of Entry and the Dynamics of Mother-Infant Interventions. Treating parent-infant relationship problems Strategies for intervention. Edited by: Sameroff AJE, McDonough SCE, Rosenblum KLE. 2004, New York, NY, US: Guilford Press, 3-28.
10.
Hadadian A, Merbler J: Mother's stress: Implications for attachment relationships. Early Child Dev Care. 1996, 125: 59-66.CrossRef
11.
Benoit D, Parker KC: Stability and transmission of attachment across three generations. Child Dev. 1994, 65: 1444-1456.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Belsky J: The Developmental and Evolutionary Psychology of Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment. Attachment and bonding A new synthesis. Edited by: Carter CS, Grossmann KE, Hrdy SB, Lamb ME. 2005, Cambridge, MA, US: MIT Press, 169-198.
13.
Speranza AM, Ammaniti M, Trentini C: An overview of maternal depression, infant reactions and intervention programmes. Clinical Neuropsychiatry: Journal of Treatment Evaluation. 2006, 3: 57-68.
14.
Cochran M, Walker SK: Parenting and Personal Social Networks. Parenting: An ecological perspective. Edited by: Luster T, Okagaki L, Mahwah NJ. 2005, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 235-273.
15.
Osofsky JD, Thompson MD: Adaptive and Maladaptive Parenting: Perspectives on Risk and Protective Factors. Handbook of early childhood intervention. Edited by: Shonkoff JP, Meisels SJ. 2000, New York Cambridge University Press, 54-75. 2CrossRef
16.
Stern DN: The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A view from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology. 1985, New York: Basic Books
17.
Stern DN: The Motherhood Constellation: A Unified View of Parent-Infant Psychotherapy. 1995, New York: Basic Books
18.
Stern DN: The Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life. 2004, New York: Norton
19.
Stern DN: The Motherhood Constellation: Therapeutic Approaches to Early Relational Problems. Treating parent-infant relationship problems Strategies for intervention. Edited by: Sameroff AJ, McDonough SC, Rosenblum KL. 2004, New York: Guilford Press, 29-42.
20.
van Ijzendoorn MH, Juffer F, Duyvesteyn M: Breaking the intergenerational cycle of insecure attachment: a review of the effects of attachment-based interventions on maternal sensitivity and infant security. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1995, 36: 225-248.CrossRefPubMed
21.
van Ijzendoorn M: Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant attachment: A meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview. Psychol Bull. 1995, 117: 387-403.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Egeland B, Weinfeld NS, Bosquet M, Cheng VK: Remembering, repeating, and working through: Lessons from attachment-based interventions. Handbook of infant mental health Infant mental health in groups at high risk. Edited by: Osofsky JD, Fitzgerald HE. 2000, New York: Wiley, 4: 35-89.
23.
Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, van Ijzendoorn MH, Juffer F: Less is more: Meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. Psychol Bull. 2003, 129: 195-215.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Dickie JR, Gerber SC: Training in social competence: The effect on mothers, fathers, and infants. Child Dev. 1980, 51: 1248-1251.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Metzl MN: Teaching parents a strategy for enhancing infant development. Child Dev. 1980, 51: 583-586.CrossRef
26.
Scholz K, Samuels CA: Neonatal bathing and massage intervention with fathers, behavioural effects 12 weeks after birth of the first baby: The Sunraysia Australia Intervention Project. Int J Behav Dev. 1992, 15: 67-81.CrossRef
27.
Ziv Y: Attachment-Based Intervention Programs: Implications for Attachment Theory and Research. Enhancing early attachments Theory, research, intervention, and policy. Edited by: Berlin LJ, Ziv Y, Amaya-Jackson L, Greenberg MT. 2005, New York: Guilford Press, 61-78.
28.
Cook CR, Little SG, Akin-Little A: Interventions based on attachment theory: A critical analysis. J Early Child Infant Psychol. 2007, 3: 61-73.
29.
Brodén M: Psykoterapeutiska interventioner under spädbarnsperioden. [Psychotherapeutic interventions during infancy]. Doctoral Dissertation. 1992, Lund University
30.
Wadsby M, Sydsjo G, Svedin CG: Evaluation of an intervention programme to support mothers and babies at psychosocial risk: assessment of mother/child interaction and mother's perceptions of benefit. Health Soc Care Community. 2001, 9: 125-133.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Heiervang E, Goodman A, Goodman R: The Nordic advantage in child mental health: Separating health differences from reporting style in a cross-cultural comparison of psychopathology. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2008, 49: 678-685.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Kerns K: Attachment in middle childhood. Handbook of attachment: theory, research, and clinical applications. Edited by: Cassidy J, Shaver PR. 2008, New York: Guilford Press, 366-382. 2
33.
Ainsworth MDS: Some considerations regarding theory and assessment relevant to attachments beyond infancy. Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention. Edited by: Greenberg MT, Cicchetti D, Cummings EM. 1990, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 463-488.
34.
Antonovsky A: Unraveling the mystery of health: how people manage stress and stay well. 1987, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
35.
36.
Aarts M: Marte Meo: Basic manual. 2000, Harderwijk: Aarts Productions
37.
Hafstad R, Ovreeide H: Med barnet som fasit – Marte Meo-metoden. Barn og unge i psykoterapi Vol 2 Terapeutiska fremgangsmåter og forandring [Children and young persons in psychotherapy]. Edited by: Haavind H, Ovreeide H. 2007, Oslo: Gyldendal, 2: 145-170.
38.
Fonagy P, Target M: Attachment and reflective function: Their role in self-organization. Dev Psychopathol. 1997, 9: 679-700.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Cassidy J, Woodhouse SS, Cooper G, Hoffman K, Powell B, Rodenberg M: Examination of the Precursors of Infant Attachment Security: Implications for Early Intervention and Intervention Research. Enhancing early attachments Theory, research, intervention, and policy. Edited by: Berlin LJ, Ziv Y, Amaya-Jackson L, Greenberg MT. 2005, New York: Guilford Press, 34-60.
40.
Fraiberg S, Adelson E, Shapiro V: Ghosts in the nursery: A psychoanalytic approach to the problems of impaired infant-mother relationships. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1975, 14: 387-422.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Lieberman AF, Padron E, Van Horn P, Harris WW: Angels in the nursery: The intergenerational transmission of benevolent parental influences. Infant Ment Health J. 2005, 26: 504-520.CrossRef
42.
Ostberg M, Hagekull B, Wettergren S: A measure of parental stress in mothers with small children: dimensionality, stability and validity. Scand J Psychol. 1997, 38: 199-208.CrossRefPubMed
43.
Abidin RR: Parenting stress index (PSI)-manual. 1990, Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources Inc
44.
Bartholomew K, Horowitz LM: Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1991, 61: 226-244.CrossRefPubMed
45.
Backstrom M, Holmes BM: Measuring adult attachment: A construct validation of two self-report instruments. Scand J Psychol. 2001, 42: 79-86.CrossRefPubMed
46.
Goldberg DP: General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Handbook of psychiatric measures. Edited by: Task Force for the Handbook of Psychiatric Measures. 2000, Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 75-79.
47.
Lindstrom M, Moghaddassi M, Merlo J: Individual and contextual determinants of self-reported poor psychological health: a population-based multilevel analysis in southern Sweden. Scand J Public Health. 2006, 34: 397-405.CrossRefPubMed
48.
Cantril H: The patterns of human concerns. 1965, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press
49.
Atkinson T: The stability and validity of quality of life measures. Soc Indic Res. 1982, 10: 113-132.CrossRef
50.
Henderson S, Byrne DG, Duncan-Jones P: Neurosis and the social environment. 1981, Sydney: Academic Press
51.
Unden AL, Orth-Gomer K: Development of a social support instrument for use in population surveys. Soc Sci Med. 1989, 29: 1387-1392.CrossRefPubMed
52.
Eklund M, Bengtsson-Tops A, Lindstedt H: Construct and discriminant validity and dimensionality of the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI) in three psychiatric samples. Nord J Psychiatry. 2007, 61: 182-188.CrossRefPubMed
53.
Goodman R: Psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2001, 40: 1337-1345.CrossRefPubMed
54.
Smedje H, Broman JE, Hetta J, von Knorring AL: Psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the "Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire". Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999, 8: 63-70.CrossRefPubMed
55.
Malmberg M, Rydell A-M, Smedje H: Validity of the Swedish version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Swe). Nord J Psychiatry. 2003, 57: 357-363.CrossRefPubMed
56.
Cohen J: Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 1988, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2
57.
Ostberg M: Parental stress, psychosocial problems and responsiveness in help-seeking parents with small (2–45 months old) children. Acta Paediatr. 1998, 87: 69-76.CrossRefPubMed
58.
Olsson M: Unpublished work. Faculty of Social Sciences. 2008, Göteborg University, Sweden
59.
Hälsa på lika villkor Resultat från nationella folkhälsoenkäten 2005. [Health on equal terms. Results from the national public health survey 2005]. 2006, Swedish National Institute of Public Health
60.
Van Zeijl J, Mesman J, Van IMH, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, Juffer F, Stolk MN, Koot HM, Alink LR: Attachment-based intervention for enhancing sensitive discipline in mothers of 1- to 3-year-old children at risk for externalizing behavior problems: a randomized controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006, 74: 994-1005.CrossRefPubMed
61.
Axberg U, Hansson K, Broberg AG: Evaluation of the incredible years series. An open study of its effects when first introduced in Sweden. Nord J Psychiatry. 2007, 61: 143-151.CrossRefPubMed
62.
Malmberg M, Ingstedt Jarl B: Att mäta barns psykiska hälsa [Measuring children's health]. 2000, Uppsala University, Department of Psychology
63.
Berlin LJ: Interventions to Enhance Early Attachments. The State of the Field Today. Enhancing early attachments: Theory, research, intervention, and policy. Edited by: Berlin LJ, Ziv Y, Amaya-Jackson L, Greenberg MT. 2005, New York: The Guilford Press, 3-33.
64.
Gray R, McCormick MC: Early Childhood Intervention Programs in the US: Recent Advances and Future Recommendations. J Prim Prev. 2005, 26: 259-275.CrossRefPubMed
65.
Kazdin AE: Dropping out of child psychotherapy: Issues for research and implications for practice. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1996, 1: 133-156.CrossRef
66.
Wierzbicki M, Pekarik G: A meta-analysis of psychotherapy dropout. Prof Psychol Res Pr. 1993, 24: 190-195.CrossRef
67.
Miller LM, Southam-Gerow MA, Allin RB: Who stays in treatment? Child and family predictors of youth client retention in a public mental health agency. Child & Youth Care Forum Vol. 2008, 37: 153-170.CrossRef
68.
Staudt M: Treatment engagement with caregivers of at-risk children: Gaps in research and conceptualization. J Child Fam Stud. 2007, 16: 183-196.CrossRef
69.
Asay TP, Lambert MJ: The empirical case for the common factors in therapy: Quantitative findings. The heart and soul of change What works in therapy. Edited by: Hubble MAE, Duncan BLE, Miller SDE. 1999, Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association, 23-55.CrossRef
70.
Kazdin AE, Wassell G: Predictors of barriers to treatment and therapeutic change in outpatient therapy for antisocial children and their families. Ment Health Serv Res. 2000, 2: 27-40.CrossRefPubMed
71.
Axberg U, Hansson K, Broberg AG, Wirtberg I: The Development of a Systemic School-Based Intervention: Marte Meo and Coordination Meetings. Fam Process. 2006, 45: 375-389.CrossRefPubMed
72.
Lipsey MW, Derzon JH: Predictors of violent or serious delinquency in adolescence and early adulthood: A synthesis of longitudinal research. Serious & violent juvenile offenders Risk factors and successful interventions. Edited by: Loeber R, Farrington DP. 1998, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 86-105.
73.
Wilson SJ, Lipsey MW, Derzon JH: The effects of school-based intervention programs on aggressive behavior: A meta-analysis. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2003, 71: 136-149.CrossRefPubMed
74.
Greenberg MT: Attachment and psychopathology in childhood. Handbook of attachment Theory, research, and clinical applications. Edited by: Cassidy J, Shaver PR. 1999, New York: Guilford Press, 469-496.
75.
Munson JA, McMahon RJ, Spieker SJ: Structure and variability in the developmental trajectory of children's externalizing problems: Impact of infant attachment, maternal depressive symptomatology, and child sex. Dev Psychopathol. 2001, 13: 277-296.CrossRefPubMed
76.
van Ijzendoorn MH, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ: Intergenerational transmission of attachment: A move to the contextual level. Attachment and psychopathology. Edited by: Atkinson L, Zucker KJ. 1997, New York: Guilford Press, 135-170.
77.
Anderson NE: The relationship between mothers' stress level and anxiety ratings of their children. 2007, Anderson, Nicole E.: U Arizona, US
78.
Green BL, Furrer C, McAllister C: How do relationships support parenting? Effects of attachment style and social support on parenting behavior in an at-risk population. Am J Community Psychol. 2007, 40: 96-108.CrossRefPubMed
79.
Neander K, Skott C: Bridging the Gap – the Co-creation of a Therapeutic Process. Reflections by Parents and Professionals on their Shared Experiences of Early Childhood Interventions. Qualitative Social Work. 2008, 7: 289-309.CrossRef
80.
Ford T, Collishaw S, Meltzer H, Goodman R: A prospective study of childhood psychopathology: Independent predictors of change over three years. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2007, 42: 953-961.CrossRefPubMed
81.
Zaslow MJ, Weinfield NS, Gallagher M, Hair EC, Ogawa JR, Egeland B, Tabors PO, De Temple JM: Longitudinal prediction of child outcomes from differing measures of parenting in a low-income sample. Dev Psychol. 2006, 42: 27-37.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Parents' assessment of parent-child interaction interventions – a longitudinal study in 101 families
Authors
Kerstin Neander
Ingemar Engström
Publication date
01-12-2009
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health / Issue 1/2009
Electronic ISSN: 1753-2000
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-2000-3-8

Other articles of this Issue 1/2009

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2009 Go to the issue

Research

Drug monitoring in child and adolescent psychiatry for improved efficacy and safety of psychopharmacotherapy

Editorial

Early intervention: Bridging the gap between practice and academia

Research

The Imperforate Anus Psychosocial Questionnaire (IAPSQ): Its construction and psychometric properties

Research

A 13-hour laboratory school study of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate in school-aged children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Research

Martial arts as a mental health intervention for children? Evidence from the ECLS-K

Commentary

Facts, values, and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): an update on the controversies