Aus Klinik und Praxis / From Clinic and Practice. Die Erweiterung der psychotherapeutischen Perspektive durch bifokale Young Child Observation. Methodisches und Kasuistisches zur Konzeption der Vienna Parent-Toddler Group Study.

Expanding the Psychotherapeutic PerspectiveThrough Bifocal Young Child Observation. Methodological and Case-Related Considerations on the Design of the Vienna Parent-Toddler Group Study The parent-toddler group concept was developed at the Anna Freud Centre in London. Since 2021 it has also been used at the Child Guidance Clinic in Vienna.The Vienna Parent-Toddler Group (PTG) study investigates the significance of participation in such a therapeutic group for changes in children's relational experiences and developmental problems in their families. Among other research tools, the bifocal use of Young Child Observation according to the Tavistock concept is used:The children are observed as continuously as possible in their interactions and relations both in the group and at home.The article first describes the background and the design of the research project. Subsequently, with reference to accounts from the observation of a child with eating problems, it is shown in which respect this observation design provides a deeper understanding of the eating problem. Finally, the arguments for and against an early exchange of considerations between the observers and the psychotherapists are discussed.

Coparenting Intervention for Expectant Parents Affects Relationship Quality: A Pilot Study.

Research has shown that the transition to parenthood is a particularly challenging period of life which is often associated with a decline in relationship quality and an increase in mental health problems. Emerging parents often experience difficulties in coping with new tasks and challenges in the relationship, resulting in inadequate mutual support, stress, conflicts and even depressive symptoms. To support expectant parents in establishing an effective and strong coparenting alliance, we have employed an educational coparenting intervention to teach important coparenting skills. The intervention was a non-randomized case-control study with 126 expectant parents. The intervention group participated in a five-session intervention, whereas the control group received an information booklet and had an optional meeting postpartum. The purpose of this study was to ease the transition to parenthood in order to prevent postpartum conflict and depression. Parents in the intervention group (n = 34 couples) showed significantly fewer conflicts postpartum than before (Z = -3.28, p = 0.00), and scored better in postnatal delegated dyadic coping (ß = 0.25, p = 0.00, R2 = 0.32), a form of mutual support. Neither the intervention group (Z = -0.83, p = 0.40) nor the control group (Z = -0.86, p = 0.38) showed a significant increase in depression scores after childbirth. Although conflicts during the transition to parenthood declined and postnatal delegated dyadic coping strengthened, the study design does not allow to draw conclusion on group effects. Nevertheless, the promising results of this pilot intervention are a base for future studies.

Toddlers' transition to out-of-home day care: settling into a new care environment.

This study investigates toddlers' initial reaction to day care entry and their behaviour change over the first few months in care. One hundred and four toddlers (10-33 months of age) in Viennese childcare centres participated in the study. One-hour video observations were carried out at 3 time points during the first 4 months in the setting and coded into a total of 36 5-min observation segments. Multilevel models (observation segments nested within children) with an autoregressive error structure fitted data well. Two weeks after entry into care, toddlers' levels of affect and interaction were low. Overall, changes in all areas of observed behaviour were less than expected. There were considerable individual differences in change over time, mostly unrelated to child characteristics. Significant associations between children's positive affect, their dynamic interactions and their explorative and investigative interest were found.