Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) -Infant Meets HHS Criteria

Model effectiveness research report last updated: 2020

Effects shown in research

Positive parenting practices

Findings rated high

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) -Infant
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Outcome measure Effect Follow-up timing Sample Sample size Intervention group Comparison group Group difference Effect size Statistical significance Notes

D.O.T.S. Emotion Coding System - Parent-child mutual positive affect

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

24 months of age

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia

107 parent/child dyads Not reported Not reported Not reported Study reported = 0.42

Statistically significant, p= 0.03

Model does not include statistical controls.

D.O.T.S. Emotion Coding System - Parent-child mutual positive affect

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

24 months of age

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia

107 parent/child dyads Not reported Not reported Not reported Study reported = 0.46

Statistically significant, p= 0.02

Model controls for child risk, parent risk (0 to 24 months), and instability risk (0 to 24 months).

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) -Infant
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Outcome measure Effect Follow-up timing Sample Sample size Intervention group Comparison group Group difference Effect size Statistical significance Notes

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) - Affective communication errors

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months post-intervention

ABC-I vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

109 parents Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.21

Not statistically significant, p= 0.27

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) - Disrupted parenting

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months post-intervention

ABC-I vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

109 parents Unadjusted proportion = 0.50 Unadjusted proportion Unadjusted proportion = 0.61 Unadjusted proportion Mean difference = -0.11 HomVEE calculated = -0.27

Not statistically significant, p= 0.23

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) - Fearful/disorientation

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months post-intervention

ABC-I vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

109 parents Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.14

Not statistically significant, p= 0.46

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) - Intrusive/negativity

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months post-intervention

ABC-I vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

109 parents Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.09

Not statistically significant, p= 0.64

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) - Parental withdrawal

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months post-intervention

ABC-I vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

109 parents Unadjusted mean = 3.77 Unadjusted mean Unadjusted mean = 4.46 Unadjusted mean Mean difference = -0.69 HomVEE calculated = -0.44

Statistically significant, p= 0.02

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) - Role/boundary confusion

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months post-intervention

ABC-I vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

109 parents Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.04

Not statistically significant, p= 0.84

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) -Infant
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Outcome measure Effect Follow-up timing Sample Sample size Intervention group Comparison group Group difference Effect size Statistical significance Notes

Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment (ORCE) adapted scale - Intrusiveness

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7-37 months post-intervention (pooled)

ABC-I vs. DEF; international adoptions; Mid-Atlantic

120 parents Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = -0.32

Not statistically significant, p= 0.11

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment (ORCE) adapted scale - Parenting sensitivity

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7-37 months post-intervention (pooled)

ABC-I vs. DEF; international adoptions; Mid-Atlantic

120 parents Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.52

Statistically significant, p= 0.01

Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment (ORCE) adapted scale - Positive regard

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7-37 months post-intervention (pooled)

ABC-I vs. DEF; international adoptions; Mid-Atlantic

120 parents Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.36

Statistically significant, p= 0.05

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) -Infant
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Outcome measure Effect Follow-up timing Sample Sample size Intervention group Comparison group Group difference Effect size Statistical significance Notes
Growth in parental intrusiveness
FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect
16 to 19 weeks Delaware mothers 24 mothers Unadjusted mean = -1.22 Unadjusted mean = -0.26 Mean difference = -0.96 Study reported = 0.81 Statistically significant, p = 0.02
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Negative value is favorable to the intervention.
Growth in parental sensitivity
FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect
16 to 19 weeks Delaware mothers 24 mothers Unadjusted mean = 0.97 Unadjusted mean = 0.26 Mean difference = 0.71 Study reported = 0.70 Statistically significant, p = 0.04

Findings rated moderate

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) -Infant
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Outcome measure Effect Follow-up timing Sample Sample size Intervention group Comparison group Group difference Effect size Statistical significance
Parent positive regard
FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect
0-6 months International adoptions 108 caregivers Unadjusted mean = 4.32 Unadjusted mean = 3.76 Mean difference = 0.56 HomVEE calculated = 0.70 Statistically significant, p<0.01
Parent sensitivity
FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect
0-6 months International adoptions 108 caregivers Unadjusted mean = 3.56 Unadjusted mean = 2.93 Mean difference = 0.63 HomVEE calculated = 0.62 Statistically significant, p<0.01
Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) -Infant
Show findings details
Outcome measure Effect Follow-up timing Sample Sample size Intervention group Comparison group Group difference Effect size Statistical significance Notes

Parent sensitivity

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

1 month post-intervention

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

89 mother/child dyads Unadjusted mean = 2.49 Unadjusted mean = 1.94 Mean difference = 0.55 Study reported = 0.47

Statistically significant, p= 0.03

Authors used ANOVA to estimate the difference between the ABC and DEF groups; effect size is Cohen's D.

Parent sensitivity: duration (seconds)

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

36 months of age

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

101 mother/child dyads Unadjusted mean = 31.23 Unadjusted mean = 21.37 Mean difference = 9.86 Study reported = 0.40

Not statistically significant, p= 0.05

Authors used ANOVA to estimate the difference between the ABC and DEF groups; effect size is Cohen's D.

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) -Infant
Show findings details
Outcome measure Effect Follow-up timing Sample Sample size Intervention group Comparison group Group difference Effect size Statistical significance Notes

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) Scale - Disrupted parenting

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months after enrollment (1 month post-intervention)

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

105 mothers Unadjusted proportion = 0.52 Unadjusted proportion = 0.62 Mean difference = -0.10 HomVEE calculated = -0.24

Not statistically significant, p= 0.31

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) Scale - Parental affective communication errors

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months after enrollment (1 month post-intervention)

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

105 mothers Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.31

Not statistically significant, p = 0.33

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) Scale - Parental fearful/disoriented

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months after enrollment (1 month post-intervention)

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

105 mothers Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.12

Not statistically significant, p= 0.52

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Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) Scale - Parental intrusive/negativity

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months after enrollment (1 month post-intervention)

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

105 mothers Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = 0.10

Not statistically significant, p= 0.60

Submitted by user on

Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) Scale - Parental role/boundary confusion

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months after enrollment (1 month post-intervention)

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

105 mothers Not reported Not reported Not reported HomVEE calculated = -0.32

Not statistically significant, p= 0.74

Submitted by user on

Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE) Scale - Parental withdrawal

FavorableUnfavorable or ambiguousNo Effect

7 months after enrollment (1 month post-intervention)

ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Large mid-Atlantic city

105 mothers Unadjusted mean = 3.76 Unadjusted mean = 4.42 Mean difference = -0.66 Study reported = -0.42

Statistically significant, p= 0.03

Submitted by user on

Negative effect is favorable to the intervention.

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