A randomized trial of the Caregiver Interaction Profile (CIP) training with childcare providers: the Copenhagen Daycare Project study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Most young children (0-3 years) attend formal childcare in Denmark, many of them fulltime. Yet recent reports of the quality of Danish childcare centers have shown that in more than one-third of nurseries, the interactions between caregivers and young children (0-3 years) are of "insufficient" quality, which constitutes a risk for affected children's well-being and development. Effective interventions to improve childcare providers' interactive skills are necessary. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, we test the effectiveness of the Caregiver Interaction Profile training, which focuses on improving six core interactive skills: sensitive responsiveness, respecting children's autonomy, structuring and limit setting, verbal communication, developmental stimulation, and fostering positive peer interactions. We will recruit N = 200 childcare providers from nursery groups in Copenhagen (n = 100 training group, n = 100 waiting-list control group). Our primary outcomes are childcare providers' six interactive skills named above, observed from video-recorded interactions in the nursery groups. The secondary goal of our study is to test whether the training boosts children's social-emotional and linguistic development. To this end we aim to recruit N ≈ 500 children from participating childcare providers' nursery groups (n ≈ 250 training group, n ≈ 250 waiting-list control group). We measure social-emotional and linguistic development with various standardized questionnaires, filled out by parents and childcare providers. DISCUSSION: If the training is effective at improving childcare providers' interactive skills, then this will be an important foundation for implementation efforts, such as offering the training as part of the educational program of childcare providers. Future research should also evaluate whether the Caregiver Interaction Profile training is effective for childcare providers of older children (3-5 years) in Danish kindergartens. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as "Testing the Effects of the Caregiver Interaction Profile Training on the Interactive Skills of Daycare Providers (CDP)" with registry ID NCT05654116. Registration date: 12/01/2022.

Changes in coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior across COVID-19 and the moderating role of parent-child attachment relationship quality.

Research indicates increases in coercive parenting towards children and increases in child externalizing behavior during COVID-19 as compared to the pre-pandemic period. In this preregistered study, we extended previous knowledge by investigating to what extent, and under what conditions, changes in coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior are interrelated. Ninety-five mothers and fathers of children (of age 3 prior to the pandemic) reported on coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior before and during the pandemic, and trained assistants observed the quality of mother-child and father-child attachment relationship prior to the pandemic. We employed latent change score modeling to test the extent to which changes in maternal and paternal coercive parenting and changes in child externalizing behavior across the pre-pandemic period and the onset of the first COVID-19 lockdown are interrelated. Moreover, we tested whether these linkages are moderated by changes in the other parent's coercive parenting and the quality of parent-child attachment relationship. Specifically, we tested the moderation by mother-child (father-child) attachment relationship quality in the relation between changes in mothers' (fathers') coercive parenting and changes in child externalizing behavior. We found that changes in mothers', but not fathers' coercive parenting were positively associated with changes in child externalizing behavior. We found no moderation by changes in the other parent's parenting or by parent-child attachment relationship quality. Our findings provide support for the transactional processes underlying mothers' and children's behavior in the context of non-normative stressful conditions. We recommend incorporating evidence-based (parenting) support for mothers, fathers, and young children in prevention strategies and recovery tools employed during and after future lockdowns and non-normative stressful events.

Interrelated changes in parental stress, parenting, and coparenting across the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parental stress is a known risk factor for coercive parenting and for lower coparenting quality. In the present study, we examined whether and how changes in parental stress of mothers and fathers from the pre-COVID-19 period (T1) into the height of the first lockdown in the Netherlands (T2) were linked to changes in coercive parenting of mothers and fathers and to changes in coparenting quality. A total of 96 families (46.9% lower or medium and 53.1% higher educational background), with mother, father, and child (53.1% girls; T1: M age = 3.44 years, SD = 0.32; T2: M age = 4.72 years, SD = 0.61) participated. To examine interrelations between parental stress (reported using the Parental Stress Scale), coparenting, and coercive parenting (both reported using the Parenting And Family Adjustment Scales), a multivariate Latent Change Score (LCS) model was employed. Higher initial levels of parental stress were associated with higher initial levels of coercive parenting and lower initial levels of coparenting quality. Similarly, stronger increases in parental stress were associated with stronger increases in coercive parenting and with stronger decreases in coparenting quality. Directions of associations and effect sizes were similar for mothers and fathers in all analyses. The results from the present study indicate the importance of a family systems perspective in prevention and intervention programs. Promotion of systematic family-based preventive and intervention activities by the government might support families during challenging times, as during the novel COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceived Quality of the Mother-Adolescent and Father-Adolescent Attachment Relationship and Adolescents' Self-Esteem.

There is consensus in the literature that self-esteem stems from relationships with others. In particular, it is assumed that parents play an important role in the development of children's self-esteem, also in adolescence. Despite the importance of parent-child attachment relationships for adolescents' self-esteem, we know very little about the extent to which fathers and mothers uniquely contribute to adolescents' self-esteem. The current study aims to contribute to acquiring knowledge in this research area in three ways. First, by separating the potential influences of father-child and mother-child attachment relationships on sons' and daughters' self-esteem, the current study is able to investigate the individual contribution of the father-child and mother-child attachment relationship to female and male adolescent's self-esteem. Second, by controlling for changes in the quality of the parental relationship and peer relationships the current study is able to isolate linkages between changes in adolescents' perceived quality of the parent-child attachment relationships and changes in adolescents' self-esteem. Third, by using longitudinal data and solely analyzing within-person variation, the current study is able to rule out stable confounding factors as alternative explanations. Self-reports of 542 adolescents (mean age at T1 = 13.6 years, percentage female = 0.51) from all three waves of the Dutch cohort study Social Development of Adolescents were used. The longitudinal fixed effects models showed that, for both sons and daughters, changes in the perceived quality of the mother-adolescent attachment relationship and changes in the perceived quality of the relationship between adolescents' parents were positively linked with changes in self-esteem. Changes in the perceived quality of the attachment relationship with father were only significantly linked to changes in daughters' self-esteem, not in that of sons. Contrary to the expectations, changes in peer relationships were not associated with changes in adolescents' self-esteem. These findings suggest that even though adolescents may be increasing their time spent with friends and romantic partners, perceived changes in the attachment relationships with fathers and mothers and in the wider family system are highly important for how adolescents think of and judge themselves.

Effects of the Caregiver Interaction Profile Training on Caregiver-Child Interactions in Dutch Child Care Centers: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies underscore the need to improve caregiver-child interactions in early child care centers. OBJECTIVE: In this study we used a randomized controlled trial to examine whether a 5-week video feedback training can improve six key interactive skills of caregivers in early child care centers: Sensitive responsiveness, respect for autonomy, structuring and limit setting, verbal communication, developmental stimulation, and fostering positive peer interactions. METHOD: A total of 139 caregivers from 68 early child care groups for 0- to 4-year-old children in Dutch child care centers participated in this RCT, 69 in the intervention condition and 70 in the control condition. Caregiver interactive skills during everyday interactions with the children were rated from videotape using the Caregiver Interaction Profile (CIP) scales at pretest, posttest, and follow-up 3 months after the posttest. RESULTS: Results at posttest indicate a significant positive training effect on all six caregiver interactive skills. Effect sizes of the CIP training range between d = 0.35 and d = 0.79. Three months after the posttest, caregivers in the intervention group still scored significantly higher on sensitive responsiveness, respect for autonomy, verbal communication, and fostering positive peer interactions than caregivers in the control group with effect sizes ranging between d = 0.47 and d = 0.70. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the quality of caregiver-child interactions can be improved for all six important caregiver skills, with a relatively short training program. Possible ways to further improve the training and to implement it in practice and education are discussed.