Review
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Madelyn H. Labella, Rina D. Eiden, Caroline K. P. Roben, Mary Dozier
Summary: The paper describes a home-visiting intervention adapted to enhance sensitive caregiving for mothers with opioid dependence. The intervention, mABC, provides support and guidance for mothers to respond sensitively to their infants and overcome developmental risks associated with opioid exposure. Case examples illustrate the challenges and gains made by mothers in nurturing their distressed infants.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
K. Lee Raby, Theodore E. A. Waters, Alexandra R. Tabachnick, Lindsay Zajac, Mary Dozier
Summary: This study found that the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) intervention improved parents' secure base script knowledge, which in turn increased parental sensitivity during interactions with their children, particularly in families involved with CPS.
DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Social Work
Hans Bugge Bergsund, Tonje Naas Kullerud, Cathrine Abbasi Krakenes, Filip Drozd, Tore Wentzel-Larsen, Vibeke Moe, Heidi Jacobsen
Summary: This study examined the fidelity and parent behavior when implementing the U.S.-developed ABC intervention in Norwegian child welfare services. The results showed that the fidelity of ABC increased during training and supervision, and parent behavior improved as families were exposed to the intervention. These findings suggest that transporting an EBP to a new cultural setting can achieve promising fidelity and intervention outcomes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Madelyn H. Labella, Marta Benito-Gomez, Emma T. Margolis, Jingchen Zhang, Mary Dozier
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant changes in the delivery and evaluation of attachment-based home-visiting services. A pilot study on modified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (mABC) had to shift to telehealth delivery. The transition to telehealth was feasible and acceptable, with comparable participation rates to pre-pandemic levels.
ATTACHMENT & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Karen Appleyard Carmody, Kathryn J. J. Murray, Breanna Williams, Allison Frost, Cheri Coleman, Kelly Sullivan
Summary: Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) is a promising home-visiting intervention aimed at promoting sensitive caregiving and secure parent-child attachment in families with young children. This study examined a learning collaborative approach to disseminating ABC in a community setting, and the results demonstrated successful dissemination and positive outcomes.
INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Alexandra R. Tabachnick, Yunqi He, Lindsay Zajac, Elizabeth A. Carlson, Mary Dozier
Summary: The study found that children who were securely attached in infancy exhibited less task-incongruent affect and better negative affect regulation during parent-child interactions at age 9 compared to insecurely attached children. Secure children also showed more appropriate emotion expression, highlighting attachment as a promising intervention target for children at risk for emotion dysregulation.
Article
Family Studies
Caroline E. Chandler, Meghan E. Shanahan, Carolyn T. Halpern
Summary: This study examines the relationship between early child maltreatment and development in middle childhood, finding that maltreatment is associated with lower baseline scores in activities of daily living and externalizing behavior, but not with changes over time. However, maltreatment is linked to increases in internalizing behavior over time, highlighting the importance of examining developmental domains individually for intervention targets.
CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Janin Zimmermann, Saskia Nemeth, Heinz Kindler
Summary: The Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up Intervention (ABC) aims to promote secure attachment relationships in foster families by addressing the critical needs of foster children. The efficacy of the intervention was tested in Germany, showing that trained foster parents exhibited higher levels of sensitivity, reported an increase in secure attachment behaviors in their foster children, and had attachment relationships comparable to biological, middle class samples. This suggests that the ABC program may be an effective tool to support the development of secure attachment relationships in foster families.
PRAXIS DER KINDERPSYCHOLOGIE UND KINDERPSYCHIATRIE
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Martine W. F. T. Verhees, Eva Ceulemans, Chloe Finet, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, Guy Bosmans
Summary: This study explored the dynamics of secure state attachment expectations in middle childhood and found that daily fluctuations in state attachment are (partially) self-predictive. The study also found that experiencing effective support during distress is associated with increases in secure state attachment.
DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Family Studies
Allison L. West, Lisa J. Berlin, Alyssa Goodman, Katherine Endy, Chelsea Manzon, Brenda Jones Harden
Summary: This study assessed the implementation of an attachment-based parenting intervention from the perspectives of home visitors and parent coaches. The findings demonstrated that the intervention was acceptable, appropriate, and feasible, and it enhanced the Early Head Start program. The study provided specific suggestions for improving the intervention in future implementations and research.
JOURNAL OF CHILD AND FAMILY STUDIES
(2022)
Article
Family Studies
Stevie S. Schein, Caroline K. P. Roben, Amanda H. Costello, Mary Dozier
Summary: During the COVID-19 pandemic, home visiting services shifted to virtual platforms, and the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) program successfully increased parental sensitivity when delivered through telehealth or a hybrid format. Ongoing supervision, fidelity maintenance checks, and the flexibility of families and parent coaches contributed to the significant change in parental sensitivity from pre- to post-intervention during the transition to virtual services.
CHILD MALTREATMENT
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Leen Van Vlierberghe, Guy Diamond, Guy Bosmans
Summary: In middle childhood, early signs of mental health problems can indicate future issues in adolescence. Strengthening the parent-child attachment can help reduce this risk, but evidence-based interventions are currently lacking for this age group.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Audrey-Ann Deneault, Jean-Francois Bureau, Kim Yurkowski
Summary: Previous research has shown that both child-father and child-mother attachment insecurity are associated with children's externalizing behaviors. However, little is known about how different types of insecure attachment independently and jointly predict the development of externalizing behaviors over time. This study investigated the impact of child-father attachment, child-mother attachment, and their interaction on boys' and girls' externalizing behaviors in middle childhood. The findings suggest that child-father and child-mother attachment independently and jointly contribute to the development of externalizing behaviors.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Maryam Ba-Break, Bridgette Bewick, Reinhard Huss, Tim Ensor, Asma Abahussin, Hamdi Alhakimi, Helen Elsey
Summary: The objective of this study was to identify the approaches and strategies used for ensuring cultural appropriateness, intervention functions, and theoretical constructs of school-based smoking prevention interventions in low-income and middle-income countries. The study found that deep cultural adaptation, raising awareness of smoking consequences, improving refusal skills, and using role models and peer educators were key factors in effective smoking prevention interventions.
Article
Social Work
Hans Bugge Bergsund, Filip Drozd, Heidi Jacobsen
Summary: There is a pressing need for evidence-based programs for young children who have experienced early adversity in the Nordic countries. The Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) program was implemented in seven Norwegian child welfare services, and this study aimed to explore the experiences of families, CWS workers, and leaders in implementing ABC and provide recommendations for future use. The findings highlighted the importance of ABC's core elements and the strengths-based approach, while also suggesting the need for adaptations to suit individual families. Coaches viewed ABC as a valuable addition to their services, but also suggested an expanded age limit for recruitment. Future implementation should address recruitment challenges and issues beyond the scope of ABC sessions.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK
(2022)