Increasing secure base script knowledge among parents with Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up

Abstract

This study evaluated whether Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), a parenting intervention, altered the attachment representations of parents (average age of 34.2 years) who had been referred to Child Protective Services (CPS) due to risk for child maltreatment when their children were infants. Approximately 7 years after completing the intervention, parents who had been randomized to receive ABC (n = 43) exhibited greater secure base script knowledge than parents who had been randomized to receive a control intervention (n = 51). Low-risk parents (n = 79) exhibited greater secure base script knowledge than CPS-referred parents who had received a control intervention. However, levels of secure base script knowledge did not differ between low-risk parents and CPS-referred parents who had received the ABC intervention. In addition, secure base script knowledge was positively associated with parental sensitivity during interactions with their 8-year-old children among low-risk and CPS-referred parents. Mediational analyses supported the idea that the ABC intervention enhanced parents’ sensitivity 7 years later indirectly via increases in parents’ secure base script knowledge.

Mothers’ Attachment Representations and Children’s Brain Structure

“…Central to attachment theory is the idea that mental representations of close relationships guide caregiving behavior and help organize the social-emotional development of the next generation ( Main et al, 1985 ; Steele et al, 2014 ). The present study integrates two caregiving literatures—one demonstrating that parents’ secure mental representations support sensitive caregiving and child social-emotional adaptation (e.g., Raby et al, 2021 ), particularly self-regulation (e.g., Madigan et al, 2007 ; Waters et al, 2015 ), and another demonstrating that parenting behaviors meaningfully shape child brain development, particularly neural structures involved in stress regulation circuitry (e.g., the amygdala; Callaghan and Tottenham, 2016a ). Our preliminary findings highlight a possible role of parents’ secure base script knowledge specifically in predicting amygdala development in early childhood; however, substantial questions remain regarding potential mechanisms, the role of developmental timing of caregiving experiences, and the generalizability of these findings to other populations (e.g., non-WEIRD samples) and ages (e.g., adolescents).…”

The impact of the “Attachment and Biobehavioural Catch‐Up” program on attachment related parent behavior—A systematic review

“…In addition, Raby et al. (2021) and Bernard et al. (2015) stated participants received one and two booster sessions respectively as part of their follow‐up studies.…”

“…Authors’ ratings were compared with 82% convergence. Differences between two raters on two studies (Raby et al., 2021; Yarger et al., 2020) were discussed. The discrepancy was regarding whether these papers were at low or unclear risk of bias.…”

“…Consensus was reached using the Cochrane Tool as a basis for discussion and determined Raby et al. (2021) at low risk of bias and Yarger et al. (2020) as unclear risk of bias.…”

An empirical test of prototype and revisionist models of attachment stability and change from middle childhood to adolescence: A 6‐year longitudinal study

“…For example, the middle childhood version has high interrater reliability and internal consistency along with moderate test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and associations with maternal caregiving quality and child behavior problems (e.g., Finet et al, 2020;Waters et al, 2015. The adolescent (and adult) version performs similarly well in terms of interrater reliability, internal consistency, convergent validity, and associations with caregiving experiences (or provision of care in the case of the adult version; Waters & Roisman, 2019; see also Raby et al, 2021). In consideration of age appropriateness and experimental fatigue, children were given different sets of ASAs at each wave.…”