Search

Background: Systematic reviews have shown attachment-based parenting programs to lead to improvements in parenting sensitivity and infant attachment, but none have focused specifically on the impact of attachment-based parenting programs on externalizing symptoms in young children. Objective: The objective of this study was to review published randomized controlled trial evidence regarding the impact of attachment-based early parenting interventions on externalizing behaviors in children aged 1-5 years. Methods: A systematic search of published literature available through to May 2020 was conducted. Seven published papers reporting results from trials testing six attachment-based parenting interventions were identified. Results: Three of the seven programs were shown to be associated with statistically significant improvements in child externalizing behavior (Helping Encourage Affect Regulation, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy--Toddlers). For one program (Child-Parent Psychotherapy), there was also evidence in one study that improvements in child externalizing behaviors were sustained at 6-month follow-up. A number of methodological limitations were present among the studies identified, most commonly reliance on parent-report measures of externalizing behavior. Conclusions: Taken together, results indicate that parenting interventions designed to promote secure parent-child attachment relationships may be effective in reducing externalizing behaviors in children aged 1-5 years of age. Further research is required to test programs in different populations and with longer follow-up times.

Language ability has been associated with emotion regulation (ER) ability. Children on the autism spectrum have greater rates of language delays and lower ER ability. Despite this, autism traits have not been considered or controlled for in past research. This study therefore examined the association between language ability and ER in young children with and without autism traits. An exploratory analysis was also conducted to examine the types of ER strategies used by young children with autism traits compared with young children without such traits. Ninety mother–toddler dyads participated in the study. Results showed greater receptive language ability was significantly associated with greater parent-reported ER ability both when children with, and children without, autism traits were included in the sample. Furthermore, greater expressive language ability was significantly associated with greater observed ER but only when children with autism traits were excluded from the analysis. These findings have clinical implications for early intervention development for both children with and without autism traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate a Quiz designed to enhance communication and understanding in expectant parents. A supportive and understanding relationship is associated with better maternal mental health outcomes. Many services therefore advocate that couples should communicate openly with each other, particularly about worries or concerns either have. To facilitate this a quiz (The Great Pregnancy Quiz) was developed and evaluated in this project. English-speaking women (N = 442) and men (N = 146) were recruited from antenatal clinics or classes and were given the 'Great Pregnancy Quiz' to complete at home. Approximately 2–4 weeks (T2) later they participated in either a phone interview, an online survey, or a face-face interview, still during the pregnancy, concerning the impact of the Quiz. Data were available from 90 women and 46 men. Data were analysed using a mixed-methods single group post-test only design. Most women (78 of the 90: 87%) and men (35 of the 46: 76%) reported that the Quiz had positively impacted either their understanding or knowledge of each other. For 30 of the 90 women (33%) and 3 of the 46 men (7%) one or other had implemented some new supportive behaviour due to the Quiz. Qualitative comments highlight the impacts of the Quiz. Most couples who did the Quiz reported positive impacts on their communication and understanding. While the issue of low T2 contact rates may have skewed the results, the benefits associated with the quiz make this resource an inexpensive and easily implemented health promotion strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up to 27% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience clinically significant externalizing behavior. Child emotional dysregulation is thought to be one of the main reasons for the manifestation of externalizing behaviors during toddlerhood and has also been associated with insecure and disorganized parent-child attachment relationships. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Toddlers (PCIT-T) is an attachment and behavioral based parent training program targeted at children aged 12 to 24 months with externalizing behavior. This study assessed the effectiveness of PCIT-T in reducing child externalizing behavior as well as improving child emotional regulation and the parent-child attachment relationship in a child with moderate-to-severe ASD traits, low intellectual and adaptive functioning, externalizing behaviors within the clinical range, and a disorganized/insecure mother-child attachment relationship. The intervention occurred over a 12-week period and focused on improving positive parenting skills, parent emotional regulation, and child emotional regulation. Treatment progress was tracked using the Child Behavior Checklist Externalizing Behavior subscale, the Deverux Early Childhood Assessment for Toddlers Attachment/Relationship and Self-Regulation subscales, the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, version 4, and the Strange Situation Procedure. Study results provide preliminary support for the use of PCIT-T in reducing externalizing behavior, improving the parent-child attachment relationship and child emotional regulation. These results indicate that PCIT-T can be beneficial for children with ASD traits, however, further research with a larger sample size is needed to strength these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Men who experience eating disorders are underrepresented in the body of research into eating disorders. Even less is known about men who may experience a troubled relationship with eating and their bodies but whose reported symptoms are subclinical. How do these men understand their experiences? And what does it mean for them to locate their experiences as either problematic or within the eating disorder discourse? This study is an in-depth qualitative exploration into the experiences of a community group of six men, all of whom self-identified as being concerned with their body, eating, and exercise habits. This study provides insight into some of the ways these men constructed and understood their relationship with their eating and their bodies and negotiated their identities in relation to these difficulties. These men struggled to find a language to position their experiences as problematic and frequently engaged in processes of minimization of these problems' significance, despite the problematic effects on their lives. These processes worked as restraints for these men in seeking assistance for their struggles. These findings have implications for ways to engage men who experience these struggles through tailored prevention or treatment programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]