Promoting Socioemotional Development in Early Childhood: Implementation and Evaluation of the VIPP-SD Parenting Intervention in Portugal

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

VIPP-SD: Consists of four sessions (with the option of one or two additional booster sessions), held biweekly, depending on the family's needs and availability. Specifically, VIPP-SD addresses disciplinary strategies alongside sensitivity themes through: (1) the differentiation between attachment and exploration behaviors; interpretation of child's behavior and significance of a sensitive response to it; and the importance of sharing emotions (2) the application of distraction and induction as non-coercive techniques in response to challenging child behaviours or conflict-prone situations; (3) the utilization of positive reinforcement, whereby parents praise adaptive behaviours and ignore maladaptive, attention-seeking actions; (4) the implementat of a sensitive interaction pause to de-escalate conflict or temper tantrums; and (5) the demonstration of empathy towards the child in conjunction with consistent disciplinary approaches and explicit boundary-setting

Study summary

The Video-feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) is an attachment-based intervention aimed at promoting parental sensitivity and the use of developmentally appropriate, non-coercive discipline strategies (ref). The VIPP-SD intervention integrates the enhancement of parental sensitive responsiveness (Ainsworth et al., 1974) with parent coaching aimed at preventing coercive parent-child interaction cycles (Patterson, 1982) and facilitating sensitive limit-setting practices.ase parental sensitivity and sensitive discipline of the primary parent

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Parental sensitivity: Erickson Scales of Parental Sensitivity (ESPS, Egeland, et al., 1990) — Data will be collected at pretest, posttest (14 weeks) .
  Parental sensitivity will be assessed using the the revised Erickson 7-point rating scales for Supportive Presence (from 1 = parent completely fails to be supportive to the child to 7 = parent skilfully provides support throughout the session) and Intrusiveness (from 1 = parent allows the child sufficient time to explore and to attempt to solve tools on her/his own to 7 = parent is highly intrusive; her agenda clearly has precedence over the child's wishes; Egeland et al., 1990). Supportive presence is defined as the consistent emotional, physical, and psychological availability of a mother, characterized by both verbal expressions and nonverbal behaviors. High sensitivity is associated with positive developmental outcomes in children, including secure attachment and better emotional regulation. Intrusiveness reflects the extent to which a parent disregards or interferes with the child's autonomy, wishes, interests, or behaviors.

Trial sites (1)

More ISPA - Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Psicologicas, Sociais e da Vida trials in Portugal