Trajectories of Change in Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch‐up Among High‐risk Mothers: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Using an intensive short-term longitudinal design, this study first examined whether there were significant differences in maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness after completion of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC; Dozier & the Infant-Caregiver Project Lab, 2013) when compared to a control condition. The second aim was to explore the rate and shape of change in parenting behaviors. Participants were 24 mothers and their biological children, who were randomly assigned to ABC (n = 13) or a control condition (n = 11). A structured play assessment with each mother and her child was video-recorded prior to randomization into the study, before each intervention session, and at a follow-up visit. A total of 270 videos were coded for sensitivity and intrusiveness. Hierarchical linear growth models were used to estimate the total change in parenting qualities across the 10 intervention sessions when comparing ABC to a control condition. Piecewise hierarchical linear growth models were used to investigate patterns of change across the intervention for mothers within ABC. Mothers in the ABC condition showed greater increases in sensitivity and decreases in intrusiveness than mothers in the control condition. There was evidence for nonlinear patterns of change in sensitivity and intrusiveness among mothers in ABC. These results support the effectiveness of ABC in changing sensitivity quickly.

Infant mental health home visiting in the context of an infant—toddler court team: Changes in parental responsiveness and reflective functioning

“…Approximately half of the families enrolled in the court team demonstrated improvements in emotional and behavioral responsiveness and positive affect which represented moderate to large effects. Our findings build on the research suggesting that relationship‐based treatments are effective at improving parenting in families with young children (Bick & Dozier, ; Hoffman, Marvin, Cooper, & Powell, ; Moss et al., ; Suchman et al., ; Suchman et al., ; Yarger, Hoye, & Dozier, ) and support the findings from previous court‐team evaluations (Casanueva et al., ; Chinitz et al., ). Our findings also raise questions and implications for future research, including how treatment engagement, fidelity to the model, and other family risks are associated with improvements in parenting.…”

Enhancing the language development of toddlers in foster care by promoting foster parents’ sensitivity: Results from a randomized controlled trial

“…The original intervention was designed for infants between 6 and 24 months old. Multiple randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that ABC results in improvements in sensitive caregiving among foster parents (Bick & Dozier, 2013) and parents living in high-risk settings (Yarger, Hoye, & Dozier, 2016). ABC also leads to improvements in key developmental outcomes for children, including infant attachment security, diurnal cortisol production, emotional development, and executive functioning skills (Bernard, Dozier, Bick, & Gordon, 2015;Bernard et al, 2012;Bernard, Hostinar, & Dozier, 2015;Lewis-Morrarty, Dozier, Bernard, Terracciano, & Moore, 2012;Lind, Bernard, Ross, & Dozier, 2014).…”

Promoting Compliance in Children Referred to Child Protective Services: A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…ABC has been found to be effective in changing parenting behavior and improving child outcomes among children who have experienced different forms of early adversity, including foster care placement and referral to Child Protective Services (CPS). Specifically, parents who received ABC were better able to follow their children's lead than parents who received a control intervention (Bick & Dozier, ; Yarger, Hoye, & Dozier, ), and children who received ABC showed higher rates of secure and organized attachments (Bernard et al., ; Dozier et al., ), more normal diurnal cortisol levels (Bernard, Dozier, Bick, & Gordon, ; Bernard, Hostinar, & Dozier, ), better executive functioning (Lewis‐Morrarty, Dozier, Bernard, Terracciano, & Moore, ; Lind, Raby, Caron, Roben, & Dozier, ), and less negative affect expression (Lind, Bernard, Ross, & Dozier, ), than children who received a control intervention.…”