‘Make the Connection’ parenting skills programme: a controlled trial of associated improvement in maternal attitudes

Abstract

Make the Connection is effective in promoting positive parent-to-infant attachment and is a strong candidate for public health initiatives targeting parenting skills.

Improving Attachment Security in Early Childhood Intervention: A Framework From Constructivist Grounded Theory

“…Next, four professionals with expertise in interventions or tools which target parent–child relationships (Sample type B, Table 1) were approached directly to participate in interviews with the consent of their organizations. The interventions or tools participants utilized included Parenting Interactions with Children—Checklist of Observations (PICCOLO) (Innocenti et al, 2013), Make the Connection (O’Neill et al, 2018), Parent–Child Mother–Goose (Scharfe, 2011), and Tuning in to Kids (Havighurst et al, 2009). PICCOLO is a tool designed to measure parent–child interactions in the domains of affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching (Innocenti et al, 2013).…”

“…Creating enjoyable parent-child engagement-playing games and having fun, using rhymes and songs, telling stories, and doing things together. This strategy was used in formal programs such as Make the Connection (O'Neill et al, 2018) and Parent-Child Mother-Goose (Terrett et al, 2013) as well as in individual work with families as depicted in the following quote: So, we really want to foster that relationship and, yes, so the way to start that for me, was really "How can we have fun together?" And it was when we started talking about that, that I think Mum was then reflecting on "Actually yeah, I don't have fun with her at all."…”

“…ECI professionals have used mainstream attachment intervention programs. Examples include Make the Connection (O’Neill et al, 2018), on which there is no published research including children with DD; Parent–Child Mother Goose (Koohi et al, 2016), which has one publication including children with hearing impairment; and Circle of Security (Powell et al, 2014), which has two publications including children with DD (Fardoulys & Coyne, 2016; Muddle et al, 2021). There does not appear to be literature regarding how ECI professionals can improve the attachment security of children with DD within the context of best practice ECI.…”

Giving psychology away: The Psychology Foundation of Canada (50 years, 1974–2023).

“…The past few years have been critical for the mental health sector. Mounting evidence about the prevalence of mental illnesses and their O'Neill et al, 2018;Toronto Public Health, 2011;Watson et al, 2009).…”

“…It engaged trainers to deliver the program (Make the Connection 0–1, Make the Connection 1–2, and Make the Connection 0–3 Activities). The program used a “train the trainer” approach, and the 0–1 program has been evaluated by Toronto Public Health and the research published (see O’Neill et al, 2018; Toronto Public Health, 2011; Watson et al, 2009).…”