Enhancing positive parent-child interactions and family functioning in a poverty sample: a randomized control trial

• Main Author: Negrão, Mariana
• Publication Date: 2014
• Other Authors: Pereira, Mariana, Soares, Isabel, Mesman, Judi
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/86710
• topic: attachment; intervention; parenting; poverty; parent-child interaction; family functioning; Ciências Sociais::Psicologia; Social Sciences; Saúde de qualidade

This study tested the attachment-based intervention program Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) in a randomized controlled trial with poor families of toddlers screened for professional's concerns about the child's caregiving environment. The VIPP-SD is an evidence-based intervention, but has not yet been tested in the context of poverty. The sample included 43 families with 1- to 4-year-old children: mean age at the pretest was 29 months and 51% were boys. At the pretest and posttest, mother-child interactions were observed at home, and mothers reported on family functioning. The VIPP-SD proved to be effective in enhancing positive parent-child interactions and positive family relations in a severely deprived context. Results are discussed in terms of implications for support services provided to such poor families in order to reduce intergenerational risk transmission.