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Intervening with Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up to decrease disrupted parenting behavior and attachment disorganization: The role of parental withdrawal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2019

Heather A. Yarger Open the ORCID record for Heather A. Yarger [Opens in a new window] ,
Elisa Bronfman ,
Elizabeth Carlson  and
Mary Dozier
Heather A. Yarger*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Elisa Bronfman
Affiliation:
Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Elizabeth Carlson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Mary Dozier
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
*
Author for Correspondence: Heather Yarger, Department of Psychology, 0112 Biology-Psychology Building, College Park, MD20742; E-mail: Hyarger@umd.edu.
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Abstract

This randomized controlled trial investigated the efficacy of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC; Dozier, Bick, & Bernard, 2011) in reducing disrupted parenting behavior (affective communication errors, role/boundary confusion, fearful/disoriented, intrusive/negativity, and withdrawal) and its association with disorganized attachment. Participants were 105 mother–child dyads randomized to receive either ABC or a control intervention (a 10-session home-visiting intervention focused on improving children's cognitive abilities, gross and fine motor abilities, and language development). At the time of study enrollment, mothers were approximately 26.7 years old (SD = 7.8) and predominantly Black or African American (73.9%). At the first follow-up visit, children were approximately 20.7 months old (SD = 6.3) and most were identified as Black or African American (61.9%). Fifty-two percent of children were male (n = 55). Assessments of disrupted parenting behavior and child attachment quality were assessed approximately 7 months postintervention (SD = 5.8). A one-way analysis of variance revealed that parents who received ABC demonstrated lower levels of parental withdrawal than parents who received the control condition. A structural equation model revealed a significant indirect effect of intervention group on attachment quality through lower levels of parental withdrawal. Results add to the efficacy of the ABC intervention and identified parental withdrawal as a mediator of change.

Keywords

attachmentdisrupted parenting behaviorinterventionparentingwithdrawal
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , August 2020 , pp. 1139 - 1148
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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