Studies on the effectiveness of mindful parenting interventions predominantly focused on self-report measures of parenting, whereas observational assessments of change are lacking. The present... Show moreStudies on the effectiveness of mindful parenting interventions predominantly focused on self-report measures of parenting, whereas observational assessments of change are lacking. The present study examined whether the Mindful with your baby/toddler training leads to observed changes in maternal behavior and mother-child interaction quality. Mindful with your baby/toddler is a 8- or 9-week mindful parenting training for clinically referred mothers of young children (aged 0-48 months), who experience parental stress, mother-child interaction problems, and/or whose children experience regulation problems. The study involved a quasi-experimental non-random design including a sample of 50 mothers who were diagnosed with a mood disorder (n = 21, 42%), an anxiety disorder (n = 7, 14%), post-traumatic stress disorder (n = 6, 12%), or other disorder (n = 7, 14%). Mothers completed a parental stress questionnaire and participated in home observations with their babies (n = 36) or toddlers (n = 14) during a waitlist, pretest, and posttest assessment. Maternal sensitivity, acceptance, and mind-mindedness were coded from free-play interactions and dyadic synchrony was coded from face-to-face interactions. Sensitivity and acceptance were coded with the Ainsworth's maternal sensitivity scales. Mind-mindedness was assessed by calculating frequency and proportions of appropriate and nonattuned mind-related comments. Dyadic synchrony was operationalized by co-occurrences of gazes and positive facial expressions and maternal and child responsiveness in vocal interaction within the dyad. Coders were blind to the measurement moment. From waitlist to pretest, no significant improvements were observed. At posttest, mothers reported less parenting stress, and were observed to show more accepting behavior and make less nonattuned comments than at pretest, and children showed higher levels of responsiveness. The outcomes suggest that the Mindful with your baby/toddler training affects not only maternal stress, but also maternal behavior, particularly (over)reactive parenting behaviors, which resulted in more acceptance, better attunement to child's mental world, and more "space" for children to respond to their mothers during interactions. Mindful with your baby/toddler may be a suitable intervention for mothers of young children with (a combination of) maternal psychopathology, parental stress, and problems in the parent-child interaction and child regulation problems. Show less
Raising a child is no easy task. Nevertheless Dutch parents do not get offered help with childrearing untill they ask for it or demonstrable problems have developed – at the expense of the child.... Show moreRaising a child is no easy task. Nevertheless Dutch parents do not get offered help with childrearing untill they ask for it or demonstrable problems have developed – at the expense of the child. Particularly parents with ‘excess bagage’ – for instance a troubled childhood, personal problems or a small social network – may benefit from preventive childrearing support to avoid psychosocial problems in their children or even child maltreatment. Such support, consisting of six homevisits during the first 18 months after birth, provided to families with an increased risk for childrearing difficulties by a trained nurse from a Well Baby Clinic has been researched in this study. Through a brief questionnaire 14% of all 9000 parents were found to be at risk. A total of 500 families participated, half of them received home visits, the other half received regular care. After two years both parents and children display better outcomes due to the home visits and the risk for child maltreatment has decreased. One mother said: “It is liberating to discuss your problems with a stranger in the safe environment of your own home. I am now seeing a psychologist which has very positive consequences both for me ánd my family”. Show less
