Confía en mí, Confío en ti: Applying developmental theory to mitigate sociocultural risk in Latinx families

Abstract

Ed Zigler was a champion for underprivileged youth, one who worked alongside communities to fight for long-lasting systemic changes that were informed by his lifespan and ecological perspective on the development of the whole child. This paper reports on the development, implementation, and preliminary outcomes of an intervention that embodied the Zigler approach by adopting a community participatory research lens to integrate complementary insights across community-based providers (promotoras), Latinx immigrant families, and developmental psychologists in the service of promoting parent–child relationship quality and preventing youth aggression and violence. Analyses from the first 112 Latinx mother–youth dyad participants (46% female children, ages 8–17) in the resultant, Confía en mí, Confío en ti, eight-week intervention revealed significant pre–post increases in purported mechanisms of change (i.e., attachment security, reflective functioning) and early intervention outcomes (i.e., depressive, anxiety, and externalizing problems). Treatment responses varied by youth age. A case analysis illustrated the lived experiences of the women and children served by this intervention. We discuss future directions for the program, as well as challenges to its sustainability. Finally, we consider Ed's legacy as we discuss the contributions of this work to developmental science and our understanding of attachment relationships among low-income immigrant Latinx families.

Attachment and the Development of Psychopathology: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…This work is consistent with the findings of other attachment-based interventions, such as relational savoring [ 18 ], which have as their goal helping clients recall memories of positive relational experiences (ideally, times when they provided or received sensitive care to/from an attachment figure) and engaging in deep emotional and cognitive processing of these memories. In line with attachment priming studies, relational savoring increases positive emotion, relationship satisfaction, and reflective functioning, while reducing psychopathology in parents and youth [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. It will be interesting to see in future research whether attachment-based therapies focusing on creating corrective attachment experiences can be boosted using such more positive and stimulating intervention strategies as secure attachment priming and savoring.…”

Paternal incarceration and children's reading achievement: The role of maternal caregiving quality

“…Thus, we encourage collaborative, culturally responsive intervention development approaches (cf. Borelli et al, 2020). We must also advocate for policy makers and community‐based organizations to provide material and emotional supports that reduce stress on custodial caregivers so they can provide the best possible care to their PI‐affected child(ren).…”

Barreras y Soluciones: Lessons learned from integrating research‐based clinical techniques into a community agency serving low‐income Latinx immigrant families

“…This project implements an eight‐week attachment‐based family intervention, co‐created by University of California, Irvine (UCI), psychologists and LHA promotores, aimed at strengthening parent–child relationships, improving mental health, and reducing youth aggression in low‐income, Latinx families [MASKED]. This intervention draws from core principles that highlight the importance of the parent–child relationships in youth's socioemotional development (Ein‐Dor et al, 2016), the social determinants of health (including a focus on youth violence exposure), and relational savoring (Borelli, Yates, et al, 2021). Intervention development involved more than a year of psychologists and promotores working together to develop a curriculum that was consistent with the values of the community and also grounded in evidence‐based practice.…”