Pilot randomized controlled trial of an attachment- and trauma-focused intervention for kinship caregivers

Pasalich, Dave S.; Moretti, Marlene M.; Hassall, Alison; Curcio, Angela L.

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105178

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Given that secure grandparent–grandchild attachment appears to be a crucial ingredient for grandchild resilience (B. Hayslip & Smith, 2012), interventions that aim to promote secure attachment within this dyad (e.g., Pasalich et al, 2021) may improve child functioning in a variety of domains. To promote attachment security with adolescents in particular, custodial grandmothers should encourage grandchild autonomy and exploration while remaining available as a sensitive and attuned “secure base” (Allen et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational patterns of attachment in custodial grandfamilies.

Blake,

Infurna,

Castro

et al. 2023

Journal of Family Psychology

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The present study aimed to identify intergenerational patterns of attachment insecurity among grandmothers, adolescent grandchildren, and birth mothers in custodial grandfamilies and to test the relations among triadic attachment patterns and grandchild socioemotional outcomes. Prior research with custodial grandfamilies has found distinct "profiles" reflecting patterns of closeness between grandmothers, grandchildren, and birth mothers. However, no studies have tested patterns of attachment insecurity among members of the triad, despite the likelihood of attachment disruption in grandfamilies. Moreover, previous studies have only examined links between profile and grandmother outcomes or rudimentary grandchild outcomes. In a sample of 230 grandmother-grandchild dyads from a larger randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of an online social intelligence training program for grandfamilies, latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify profiles of intergenerational attachment insecurity, using grandmother and grandchild reports. Profile differences in grandchild internalizing and externalizing problems, social skills, self-esteem, and prosocial behavior were examined. We identified three profiles: isolated mother, grandchild-linked, and disconnected. Overall, grandchildren in disconnected families (in which attachment insecurity between all three members of the triad was high) fared worst. Grandchildren in isolated mother families (in which only grandmother-grandchild attachment insecurity was low) fared best. A secure attachment relationship between grandmother and adolescent grandchild may buffer effects of attachment insecurity between the grandchild and birth mother. These findings inform intervention efforts and highlight the utility of family-and attachment-focused research for building understanding of custodial grandfamilies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational patterns of attachment in custodial grandfamilies.

Blake,

Infurna,

Castro

et al. 2023

Journal of Family Psychology

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“…Moreover, most of the available programs are not directly focused on the adolescence phase, except for the Connect Parent Group (CPG ® ) developed by Moretti and Obsuth (2009) , Moretti et al (2015) , and Moretti et al (2017) who recently implemented a trauma-informed adaptation for foster and adoptive parents ( Moretti et al, 2020 ; Pasalich et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sessions are designed to engage parents through role plays and reflection exercises that promote emotion-based learning ( Barone et al, 2020 ). Research conducted over 15 years proved CPG ® as effective in building targeted parenting skills, reducing parental stress, increasing the attachment security of adolescents, and improving the quality of parent–adolescent relationships, as well as decreasing the levels of internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents ( Moretti and Obsuth, 2009 ; Moretti et al, 2015 ; Högström et al, 2017 ; Moretti et al, 2017 ; Osman et al, 2017a , b ; Ozturk et al, 2019 ; Barone et al, 2020 ; Moretti et al, 2020 ; Pasalich et al, 2021 ; Pasalich and Palfrey, 2021 ), with positive outcomes up to 2 years after the intervention ( Högström et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, when the standard in-person CPG ® was used with foster parents, they did not find it as beneficial as biological parents. Therefore, based on foster parents’ suggestions, Moretti et al developed a trauma-informed adaptation for foster parents of teens ( Moretti et al, 2020 ; Pasalich et al, 2021 ). In this adaptation, each session integrates a part that can help caregivers understand the impact of pre-placement adverse experiences on adolescents’ behavior and deal with obstacles and feelings posed by the relationship with childcare services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supporting adoptive and foster parents of adolescents through the trauma-informed e-Connect parent group: a preliminary descriptive study

Pace,

Muzi,

Moretti

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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IntroductionAdolescents in adoption and foster care are likely to show internalizing and externalizing problems and affective dysregulation, leading to a lower quality of parent–adolescent attachment relationships and high levels of strain for parents. This study describes the results of the first application of the trauma-informed attachment-based Connect Parent Group in an online form (e-Connect) with Italian adoptive and foster parents. In this study, we describe (1) trends in the aforementioned variables between pre- (T1) and post- (T2) intervention and (2) parents’ feedback and suggestions about the intervention.MethodParticipants were 10 adoptive and 10 foster parents (53% females, Mage = 53.48; SDage = 4.93) who attended e-Connect, an attachment-focused and trauma-informed 10-session online group intervention. This intervention aims at increasing caregiver awareness of attachment and trauma concerning adolescents’ problem behaviors and sensitive responsiveness, thereby leading to improvements in parent–adolescent relationship quality, decreases in adolescents’ problems, and reductions in caregiver strain. One e-Connect group was offered for adoptive parents and one for foster parents. Parents completed questionnaires 1 week before (T1) and after (T2) the intervention and responded to a feedback interview following program completion.ResultsOnly at the descriptive level, scores of adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems, affective dysregulation, and caregivers’ strain show decreasing trends. Parents reported high satisfaction with the program, declaring changes in parent–adolescent relationships both currently (94.7%) and anticipated in the future (100%). All parents indicated that they would recommend e-Connect to other parents.DiscussionGiven promising parents’ feedback, the feasibility of e-Connect supporting adoptive and foster parents of adolescents can be further empirically investigated.

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“…“Foster care” comprises situations where children are placed by a competent authority for the purpose of alternative care in the domestic environment of a family other than the children’s own family that has been selected, qualified, approved and supervised for providing such care (Petrowski et al, 2017 ). Foster care is the preferred type of out-of-home placement for children and youth when they are not able to live with their own parents (Konijn et al, 2018 ), and when kinship care placements with members of the child’s extended family are not possible (Pasalich et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Mediates the Link Between Foster Parents’ Sensitivity Towards Child Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Job Satisfaction? The Role of Compassion Fatigue and Foster Parent-Child Relationship

Teculeasa

Golu

Gorbănescu

2022

Journ Child Adol Trauma

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Purpose: It is very likely that many children who enter the foster care system have experienced at least one traumatic event, and can develop symptoms of PTSS. Consequently, foster parents’ level of sensitivity towards child symptoms of PTSS plays a significant role in child development, but the link between sensitivity and several professional characteristics is not well understood. The current study aims to explain the effect foster parents’ sensitivity towards child trauma exert on their job satisfaction, via foster parents’ compassion fatigue and the quality of their relationship with the children in care. This study is one of the few to investigate foster parents’ sensitivity towards child trauma, and the direct and indirect effects on other variables. Methods: Structural equation modeling was used to test a mediating model on this sample ( N = 165) after using an online survey to collect the cross-sectional data. Results: The model produced good fit (RMSEA = 0.087; CFI = 0.899). The direct effects between variables are significant. The relationship between foster parents’ sensitivity towards trauma and their job satisfaction can be better understood with the contribution of compassion fatigue. Conclusion: Findings confirm the mediation effect of compassion fatigue and reveal more aspects of the sensitivity towards trauma concept. These results could be implemented by considering more accurate measurements for the caregiver’s sensitivity towards child trauma. The importance of considering interventions for increasing foster parents’ trauma knowledge and skills is highlighted.

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Pilot randomized controlled trial of an attachment- and trauma-focused intervention for kinship caregivers

Cited by 18 publications

References 39 publications

Intergenerational patterns of attachment in custodial grandfamilies.

Intergenerational patterns of attachment in custodial grandfamilies.

Supporting adoptive and foster parents of adolescents through the trauma-informed e-Connect parent group: a preliminary descriptive study

What Mediates the Link Between Foster Parents’ Sensitivity Towards Child Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Job Satisfaction? The Role of Compassion Fatigue and Foster Parent-Child Relationship

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