A contribution to the Italian validation of the Parenting Interaction with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcome (PICCOLO).

Introduction: PICCOLO (Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes) is an observational instrument designed to assess four domains of parenting interactions that promote early child development (Affection, Responsiveness, Encouragement, and Teaching). Although PICCOLO has been validated in the United States for children as young as 4 months of age, the current focus is on parents with children aged between 10 and 47 months. This study contributes to the validation of the Italian translation of the PICCOLO by testing its psychometric properties and examining whether factors such as the child's age and child's sex are related to the four domains of parenting interactions. Methods: To these aims, 152 mothers of children aged 10-47 months from three Italian regions participated in the study. Results: Results indicate that the PICCOLO Italian version has acceptable inter-rater agreement, split-half reliability, and stability over time. Furthermore, the Italian version confirmed the robustness of the factor structure proposed in the original version. While there were no significant differences by child gender on the domains of parenting interactions, the Affection scores decreased with age. Discussion: Overall, these results demonstrate that the Italian version of the PICCOLO is a reliable measure of maternal interactions with children. The psychometric properties of the instrument make it appropriate for general research purposes and for assessment of parenting before and after support interventions.

The Home Visit Rating Scales: Revised, restructured, and revalidated.

The Home Visit Rating Scales (HOVRS) were initially developed from field-based descriptions of successful home visits and are supported by home-visiting research in multiple disciplines. Four home-visiting practices scales include indicators of relationship building with families, responsiveness to family strengths, facilitation of parent-child interaction, and collaboration with parents. Three family engagement scales include indicators of parent-child interaction, parent engagement, and child engagement in the visit. The original version, the HOVRS-1, was validated using video and data from two Early Head Start home-visiting programs. Conceptual and structural changes for the HOVRS-3 were designed to improve readability, usability, and clarity. Newly trained observers used the HOVRS-3 to observe archived videos from the original measurement sample. The HOVRS-3 showed good interrater reliability, scale internal consistency, convergent validity, predictive validity, practical significance, and version stability. When the HOVRS-3 home-visit quality scores were higher, it was twice as likely for parenting scores to be average or better and for child language to be at age level or better at age 3 years, over and above parenting and child language at age 1 year. The HOVRS can guide observations of home-visit quality in infant-toddler and early childhood programs to improve home-visiting practices and family engagement.

Las Escalas de Evaluación de Visitas a Casa inicialmente se desarrollaron a partir de las descripciones sobre el campo de exitosas visitas a casa y las mismas están apoyadas por la investigación sobre la visita a casa en múltiples disciplinas. Las escalas de prácticas de cuatro visitas a casa incluyen indicadores de relaciones establecidas con familias, sensibilidad hacia los puntos fuertes de la familia, el facilitar la interacción entre progenitor y niño, y la colaboración con los progenitores. Las escalas de participación de tres familias incluyen indicadores sobre la interacción entre progenitor y niño, la participación del progenitor, y la participación del niño en la visita. Se validó la versión original, HOVRS-1, usando un video e información de dos programas de visitas a casa de Un Comienzo Temprano (Early Head Start). Se diseñaron cambios conceptuales y estructurales para HOVRS-3 para mejorar la legibilidad, la disponibilidad para el uso y la claridad. Nuevos observadores entrenados usaron HOVRS-3 para observar videos archivados acerca de las medidas de la muestra original - HOVRS-3 mostró buena confiabilidad entre los evaluadores, consistencia interna de la escala, validez convergente, validez de predicción, importancia práctica y estabilidad de la versión. Cuando los puntajes de calidad de HOVRS-3 sobre la visita a casa fueron más altos, la inclinación de los puntajes de crianza de ser promedio o mejores fue dos veces mayor, así como también fue el lenguaje del niño de estar al nivel de la edad o mejor a los 3 años, muy por encima del lenguaje de crianza y del niño a la edad de un año. Las Escalas de Evaluación de Visitas a Casa pueden guiar las observaciones de la calidad de la visita a casa en programas para infantes y niños pequeñitos y en la temprana niñez para mejorar las prácticas de visitas a casa y la participación de la familia.

Les Echelles d'Evaluation de la Visite à Domicile ont été initialement développées à partir de descriptions sur le terrain de visites à domicile réussies et sont soutenues par les recherches sur les visites à domicile dans de multiples disciplines. Quatre échelles de pratique de visites à domicile incluent des indicateurs de développement de la relation avec les familles, la réaction aux forces familiales, la facilitation de l'interaction parent-enfant, et la collaboration avec les parents. Trois échelles d'engagement de la famille incluent des indicateurs d'interaction parent-enfant, d'engagement parental, et d'engagement de l'enfant durant la visite. La version originale, abrégée en anglais HOVRS-1, a été validée en utilisant des vidéos et des données de deux programmes de visites à domiciles américains dans le cadre du programme d'aide aux enfants défavorisés de Early Head Start. Les changements conceptuels et structurels du HOVRS-3 ont été faits afin d'améliorer sa lisibilité, sa facilité d'utilisation et sa clarté. De nouveaux observateurs fraîchement formés ont utilisé les afin d'observer des vidéos mises en archive de l'échantillon original de mesure. Les HOVRS-3 ont fait preuve d'une bonne fiabilité d'inter-évaluateur, d'une bonne cohérence interne à l'échelle, de validité convergente et de stabilité de version. Lorsque les scores de qualité de la visite à domicile HOVRS-3 étaient plus élevés il était deux fois plus probable que les scores de parentage soient moyens ou mieux et pour le langage de l'enfant qu'il soit au niveau de l'âge ou mieux à l'âge de 3 ans, bien au dessus du parentage et du langage de l'enfant à l'âge de 1 ans. Les Echelles d'Evaluation de la Visite à Domicile peuvent guider des observations de la qualité de la visite à domicile chez les nourrissons-petits-enfants et de programmes de la petite enfance afin d'améliorer les pratiques de visites à domicile et d'engagement de la famille.

Observing home-visit quality with the home visit rating scales: Introduction to the special section.

Evidence-based home-visiting programs aim to address one of the most important challenges facing our species-setting the next generation on a healthy path of development that prepares them for a future that is simultaneously uncertain and promising. Diverse research literatures have pointed to practices to effectively meet this challenge and better achieve the unfulfilled promise of home visiting by more effectively engaging parents in supporting their children's early development and well-being. Measures of home-visit quality practices drawn from social work, pediatric nursing, early childhood, and early intervention research literatures have identified building relationships with families and focusing on their strengths as effective, practices that are particularly important for vulnerable families. The articles in this special section used the Home Visit Rating Scales to examine stability in home-visit quality over time, study specific home-visiting processes linked with quality, validate a supervisor checklist of home-visiting implementation, and consider the home visit in relation to an array of indicators reflecting overall home-visiting program strength and stability. These articles exemplify progress in home-visiting research over recent decades, including advances in direct observational methods and measurement as well as examinations of home visiting as an observable process across various home-visiting program models and populations.

Los programas de visita a casa con base en la evidencia están dirigidos a uno de los más importantes retos que enfrenta nuestra raza humana - poner a la próxima generación en una trayectoria de desarrollo saludable que les prepare para un futuro que es simultáneamente incierto y prometedor. Las diversas informaciones investigativas impresas apuntan a las prácticas como un modo de efectivamente lograr este reto y alcanzar mejor la no cumplida promesa de la visita a casa por medio de una más efectiva participación de los padres en el apoyo del temprano desarrollo y bienestar de sus niños. Medidas de las prácticas de calidad de las visitas a casa identificadas en el trabajo social, la enfermería pediátrica, la temprana niñez, y en la información investigativa impresa sobre la temprana intervención: promover las relaciones con familias y enfocarse en sus puntos fuertes, prácticas que son particularmente importantes para familias vulnerables. Los ensayos en esta sección especial usaron las Escalas de Puntuación de Visitas a Casa para examinar la estabilidad de la calidad de las visitas a casa a lo largo del tiempo, estudiar específicos procesos de visitas a casa en conexión con la calidad, validar una lista de chequeo para el supervisor sobre la implementación de visitas a casa, y considerar la visita a casa en relación con un número de indicadores que reflejan en general la fuerza y la estabilidad del programa de visita a casa. Estos ensayos ejemplifican el progreso en la investigación sobre las visitas a casa a lo largo de las décadas recientes, incluyendo los adelantos en métodos y medidas de observación directa, así como también las revisiones de la visita a casa como un proceso observable a lo largo de varios modelos de programas de visita a casa y grupos de población.

Les programmes factuel de visites à domicile ont pour but de régler les défis les plus importants auxquels font face nos espèces - mettre la génération suivante sur un chemin de développement sain qui les prépare pour le future qui est à la fois incertain et prometteur. De nombreuses recherches mettent en évidence des pratiques afin de relever ce défi et de tenir la promesse non réalisée de la visite à domicile en engageant plus efficacement les parents afin qu'ils soutiennent le développement précoce et le bien-être de leurs enfants. Des mesures de pratiques de visite à domicile de qualité ont été identifiées dans le service social, les soins pédiatriques, la petite enfance et les recherches d'intervention précoce : construire des relations avec les familles et mettant l'accent sur leurs forces, des pratiques qui sont particulièrement importantes pour les familles vulnérables. Les articles présentés dans cette section spéciale ont utilisé les Echelles d'Evaluation de la Visite à Domicile afin d'examiner la stabilité de la qualité de la visite à domicile au fil du temps, d'étudier les processus spécifiques de la visite à domicile qui sont liés à la qualité, de valider une checklist d'un(e) superviseur pour la mise en place de la visite à domicile, de considérer la visite à domicile en relation avec un éventail d'indicateurs reflétant la force et la stabilité générales du programme de visites à domicile. Ces articles exemplifient le progrès dans les recherches sur les visites à domicile depuis les trente dernières années, y compris les avancées faites dans les méthodes observationnelles directes et les mesures ainsi que l'examen de la visite à domicile en tant que processus observable au travers de modèles de programme de visite à domicile variées et de populations diverses.

HOME VISIT QUALITY VARIATIONS IN TWO EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS IN RELATION TO PARENTING AND CHILD VOCABULARY OUTCOMES.

Home-visiting programs aiming to improve early child development have demonstrated positive outcomes, but processes within home visits to individual families are rarely documented. We examined family-level variations in the home-visiting process (N = 71) from extant video recordings of home visits in two Early Head Start programs, using an observational measure of research-based quality indicators of home-visiting practices and family engagement, the Home Visit Rating Scales (HOVRS). HOVRS scores, showing good interrater agreement and internal consistency, were significantly associated with parent- and staff-reported positive characteristics of home visiting as well as with parenting and child language outcomes tested at program exit. When home-visiting processes were higher quality during the program, home visit content was more focused on child development, families were more involved in the overall program, and most important, scores on measures of the parenting environment and children's vocabulary were higher at the end of the program. Results showed that home visit quality was indirectly associated with child language outcomes through parenting outcomes. Observation ratings of home visit quality could be useful for guiding program improvement, supporting professional development, and increasing our understanding of the links between home-visiting processes and outcomes.

Testing maternal depression and attachment style as moderators of Early Head Start's effects on parenting.

This study examined maternal depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety as moderators of Early Head Start's effects on four parenting outcomes assessed at age three. Participants (N = 947) were drawn from six sites of the Early Head Start National Research and Evaluation Project, a multi-site randomized trial. Findings suggest more positive program effects for mothers with less initial attachment avoidance or attachment anxiety. First, baseline attachment avoidance moderated Early Head Start program effects on observed maternal supportiveness, such that program mothers with lower baseline attachment avoidance were rated as more supportive of their three-year-olds than program mothers with higher baseline attachment avoidance. Second, program effects on spanking varied depending on mothers' baseline attachment anxiety.

Adult attachment and preparing to provide care for older relatives.

A normative developmental task of middle-aged adults is to consider older family members' care needs. Preparing for future caregiving responsibilities may be an important way to prevent excessive stress responses when the caregiver role is taken on. The present study investigates the extent to which attachment style and dimensions of attachment insecurity predict whether middle-generation adults prepare for possible future caregiving responsibilities, feel prepared for these responsibilities and are satisfied with their preparation activities. Middle-generation parents of undergraduate students (N = 141) were sent questionnaires assessing adult attachment style, attachment insecurity, preparation for future care activities, feelings of preparedness, and satisfaction with preparation. Results suggest that secure attachment style and lower attachment insecurity had limited associations with preparation activities, whereas the associations with feelings of preparedness were more robust. Moreover, attachment variables predict feelings of preparedness even after controlling for the influence of actual preparation behaviors. Separate analyses for individuals already providing care vs. those not yet providing care suggest that secure attachment may be more important in predicting preparation activities for individuals not yet providing care.