| Popis: |
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of Make the Connection (MTC), an attachment focused parent training program, in fostering positive maternal attitudes thought to underlie sensitive responding. Background: Effective early intervention programs for ‘at risk’ parents are likely to promote healthy development and mitigate various negative outcomes associated with insecure attachment in infancy. Negative maternal attitudes and cognitions are thought to underlie insensitive parenting behaviour, and thus constitute a promising target for intervention.Methods: 180 mothers of infants between 3 and 8 months of age were assigned to experimental or waitlist control groups based on program availability in their region. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing parental attitudes at baseline, and again either after participating in MTC or after a 9-week waitlist period.Results: Participants who completed MTC showed significant improvement in overall attitude with a medium effect size relative to the waitlist control group, which showed no change. A small but significant interaction with infant age was noted, such that mothers of younger infants showed slightly more attitude improvement relative to those with older infants. Relative to the control group, participation in Make the Connection was associated with significant improvement in all attitudes except for self efficacy as a parent, which improved with time regardless of program participation.Conclusion: Make the Connection is effective in promoting positive parent-to-infant attachment and is a strong candidate for public health initiatives targeting parenting skills. |
