Infant-mother attachment can be improved through group intervetiona preliminary evaluation in Spain in a non-randomized controlled trial

  1. Torres Gómez de Cádiz, Bárbara 1
  2. Alonso Arbiol, Itziar 1
  3. Cantero López, María José 3
  4. Abubakar, Amina 2
  1. 1 Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
    info

    Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

    Lejona, España

    ROR https://ror.org/000xsnr85

  2. 2 Tilburg University
    info

    Tilburg University

    Tilburgo, Holanda

    ROR https://ror.org/04b8v1s79

  3. 3 Universitat de València
    info

    Universitat de València

    Valencia, España

    ROR https://ror.org/043nxc105

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Zeitschrift:
The Spanish Journal of Psychology

ISSN: 1138-7416

Datum der Publikation: 2011

Ausgabe: 14

Nummer: 2

Seiten: 630-638

Art: Artikel

DOI: 10.5209/REV_SJOP.2011.V14.N2.11 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen Access editor

Andere Publikationen in: The Spanish Journal of Psychology

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

Zusammenfassung

The quality of infant-mother attachment has been linked to competence in different domains of child development. Research indicates that early intervention can enhance the quality of infant-mother attachment, though its efficacy in a group format has yet to be evaluated. The current study is aimed at examining the usefulness of a group intervention in enhancing infant-mother attachment. An intervention aimed at addressing aspects such as maternal responsivity, sensitivity and childrearing behaviour was developed by the researchers and experienced psychologists. The intervention spanned a period of 14 months starting from the third quarter of pregnancy. The intervention was evaluated among 24 mothers from the Basque region of Spain. The sample consisted of children of both genders in a similar proportion: 45.8% were boys and 54.2% were girls. The children in this sample were full-term born and did not present symptoms of any serious pre- or postnatal complications. The intervention had a statistically non-significant medium effect. Infants whose mothers had received the intervention showed higher rates of secure attachment compared to children from the control group, as assessed by the Strange Situation observation procedure. A potentially significant confounding variable, maternal attachment, was balanced across the intervention and comparison groups. We can tentatively point out that a group intervention may enhance the quality of infant-mother attachment. Nevertheless, because the study design was not randomized, the results of this study remain preliminary and need replication in a full randomized controlled trial designed study.

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Informationen zur Finanzierung

This research was supported by two grants from Vicerrectorado de Investigación de la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV05/111; GIU08/09), by two mobility grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Eduación to the second author (JC2008-00012; JC2009-00225), and by the financial support of Ayuntamiento de San Sebastian to carry out the intervention. The intervention programme was designed by the first author, and by C. Achúcarro, C. Herce, and A. Rivero (Centro LAUKA de Estudios e Intervenciones Psicológicas, S.L., de San Sebastián). A. Iglesias and R. Izaguirre (also from the same centre) implemented the programme under C. Achúcarro’s surpervision. We would like to thank these professionals for their involvement and collaboration in this work. We would also like to thank the families who took part in this study, and the health workers who facilitated participants’ recruitment.

Geldgeber

    • UPV05/111
    • JC2008-00012

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