Training parents to adolescents' challenges: The CONNECT parent program

Abstract

Adolescents' challenges could be effectively addressed by treating their parents. Prior evaluations of CONNECT, an attachment-based program intervention for parents of adolescents at risk, indicated that improving parenting skills and the quality of parent-adolescent relationship may result in decrease of adolescents' behavioural problems. The present study is part of a longitudinal research involving three Italian centres (Pavia, Milan, Pisa) aimed at investigating whether helping parents reduce their reliance on coercive or unproductive parenting strategies and understand changes occurring during adolescence from an attachment-based perspective would reduce their adolescents' externalizing and internalizing symptoms. One-hundred and eighteen parents of adolescents (Mage = 15.26 years, SD = 1.49; 64% boys), randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 66) or to the wait-list control group (n = 52), reported on their perceptions of their adolescents' externalizing and internalizing symptoms (using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire-parent version; Goodman, 1997), as well as attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety (using the Adolescent Attachment Anxiety & Avoidance Inventory; Moretti and Obsuth, 2009) prior to treatment (t0), within a two-week period following the final treatment session (t1) and at a four months follow-up (t2). Parents attending the CONNECT program reported significant reductions in their adolescents' externalizing symptoms, and slightly significant reductions in their adolescents' internalizing symptoms by a reduction of anxiety and avoidance attachment strategies. The findings add evidence to the importance of investigating mechanisms of change underlying the effectiveness of CONNECT program, providing further indications on its application in therapeutic contexts.

eCONNECT Parent Group: An Online Attachment-Based Intervention to Reduce Attachment Insecurity, Behavioral Problems, and Emotional Dysregulation in Adolescence

“…Thus, eCONNECT promoted a decrease in avoidant strategies characterized by deactivating strategies and affective distancing. Again, this finding is in line with previous studies on the same intervention [ 43 , 47 ].…”

“…First, based on available research [ 45 , 47 ], we expected parental reports of adolescents’ anxious and avoidant attachment behaviors to decrease over time after the eCONNECT intervention. Second, as suggested by previous contributions [ 38 , 43 ], we expected parental reports of adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors to decrease after the intervention. Finally, we expected significant improvement in parental dyadic affect regulation strategies after participation in the program.…”

“…More specifically, the CONNECT intervention focuses on improving parenting behaviors that are related to attachment security; indeed, it promotes sensitive parenting behaviors that are characterized by responsive, supportive, and attuned interactions with adolescents that can help create a secure attachment relationship. Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown that CONNECT effectively reduces adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems and attachment insecurity [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, no contribution provided preliminary data on the CONNECT program about improving dyadic affect regulation strategies.…”

Effect of a parenting intervention on decreasing adolescents’ behavioral problems via reduction in attachment insecurity: A longitudinal, multicenter, randomized controlled trial

“…Unsurprisingly, under these circumstances, adolescents may not be ready to face their behavioral difficulties alone, and their direct involvement in treatment may be challenging. Furthermore, parents often struggle to find support for the specific difficulties involved in raising adolescent offspring (Barone et al, 2020). The present findings indicate that helping mothers to see, understand, and respond sensitively to the attachment nuances of their adolescents' behavior, as well as to reframe their understanding of conflict in the mother–adolescent interaction, can be enormously beneficial in reducing behavioral problems in their offspring.…”

“…Furthermore, previous research from different countries (i.e., Canada, Italy, Sweden) has shown significant improvements post‐intervention corresponding to medium‐to‐large effect sizes in a number of domains for adolescents with pre‐intervention levels of externalizing symptoms in clinical and sub‐clinical ranges, as reported by parents; these results have been consistent, irrespective of adolescent gender (Moretti et al, 2015, 2018). Upon completing Connect, parents have reported reduced adolescent oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior (Barone et al, 2020; Osman et al, 2017a; Ozturk et al, 2019), as well as reduced anxiety and depression, compared to a waitlist group (Barone et al, 2020; Moretti & Obsuth, 2009; Osman et al, 2017b); increased parenting satisfaction and efficacy (Moretti & Obsuth, 2009; Osman et al, 2017b); decreased parenting stress (Ozturk et al, 2019); decreased adolescent overuse of wine and beer (Giannotta et al, 2013); and a shift in parenting representations toward greater mutuality, positivity, and security (Moretti et al, 2012).…”