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Parental acceptance‐rejection theory (PARTheory) and attachment theory evolved independently but along parallel lines, creating many similarities but also significant differences. This article is the first attempt to describe these similarities and differences, and to test expected linkages between theories using attachment theory's Preschool Strange Situation procedures. Results of analyses showed that PARTheory's parental behavior measures were highly correlated with a number of attachment theory's parental behavior measures. Included here was a strong positive correlation between PARTheory's main construct of parental acceptance, and attachment theory's main construct of maternal sensitivity. In addition, expected linkages between parental behavior and child attachment classifications were shown using measurements drawn from PARTheory. Results provide strong support for the value of continuing to explore conceptual and empirical links between theories.

Although home visiting has been used in many populations in prevention efforts, the impact of scaled-up home-visiting programs on abuse and neglect remains unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of voluntary participation in an established statewide home-visiting program for socially high-risk families on child maltreatment as identified by Child Protective Services (CPS). Propensity score matching was used to compare socially high-risk families with a child born between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011 who participated in Connecticut's home-visiting program for first-time mothers and a comparison cohort of families who were eligible for the home-visiting program but did not participate. The main outcomes were child maltreatment investigations, substantiations, and out-of-home placements by CPS between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2013. In the unmatched sample, families who participated in home-visiting had significantly higher median risk scores (P < .001). After matching families on measured confounders, the percentages of families with CPS investigations (21.1% vs. 20.9%, P = .86) were similar between the two groups. However, there was a 22% decreased likelihood of CPS substantiations (hazard ratio [HR] 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.64-0.95) for families receiving home visiting. First substantiations also occurred later in the child's life among home-visited families. There was a trend toward decreased out-of-home placement (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.53-1.02, P = .06). These results from a scaled-up statewide program highlight the potential of home visiting as an important approach to preventing child abuse and neglect.

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