Manuscript Details

Lind, T. (2017). Intervening to enhance emotion regulation: Early childhood adversity, parent-child mutual positive affect, and later child regulation capabilities (Publication No. 1972774602) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Delaware]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

High rating
Study reviewed under: Handbook of Procedures and Standards, Version 1
Study design characteristics contributing to rating
Design Attrition Baseline equivalence Confounding factors? Valid, reliable measures?
Randomized controlled trial Low

Established on race/ethnicity and SES; outcomes not feasible to assess at baseline

None

Not assessed in manuscripts reviewed under Handbook of Procedures and Standards, Version 1
Notes from the review of this manuscript

Information on attrition and baseline equivalence was based on correspondence with the author. In addition to the findings that received a high rating, findings assessed at age 8 received a moderate rating due to high attrition.

Child Development and School Readiness
Outcome Measure Timing of Follow-Up Rating Direction of Effect Effect Size (Absolute Value) Stastical Significance Sample Size Sample Description
Emotion Regulation Checklist - Child emotion lability/negativity Age 8 Moderate
0.10 Not statistically significant, p= 0.67 80 children ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Emotion Regulation Checklist - Child emotion lability/negativity Age 8 Moderate
0.04 Not statistically significant, p= 0.87 80 children ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Emotion Regulation Checklist - Child emotion lability/negativity Age 8 Moderate
0.08 Not statistically significant, p= 0.73 80 children ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Emotion Regulation Checklist - Child emotion lability/negativity Age 8 Moderate
0.04 Not statistically significant, p= 0.85 80 children ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Emotion Regulation Checklist - Child positive emotion regulation Age 8 Moderate
0.07 Not statistically significant, p= 0.75 80 children ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Emotion Regulation Checklist - Child positive emotion regulation Age 8 Moderate
0.05 Not statistically significant, p= 0.83 80 children ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Emotion Regulation Checklist - Child positive emotion regulation Age 8 Moderate
0.16 Not statistically significant, p= 0.48 80 children ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Emotion Regulation Checklist - Child positive emotion regulation Age 8 Moderate
0.13 Not statistically significant, p= 0.55 80 children ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Effect rating key
Favorable finding / Statistically significant
Unfavorable finding / Statistically significant
Ambiguous finding / Statistically significant
No effect / Not statistically significant
Positive Parenting Practices
Outcome Measure Timing of Follow-Up Rating Direction of Effect Effect Size (Absolute Value) Stastical Significance Sample Size Sample Description
D.O.T.S. Emotion Coding System - Parent-child mutual positive affect 24 months of age High
0.42 Statistically significant, p= 0.03 107 parent/child dyads ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
D.O.T.S. Emotion Coding System - Parent-child mutual positive affect 24 months of age High
0.46 Statistically significant, p= 0.02 107 parent/child dyads ABC-Infant vs. DEF; Philadelphia
Effect rating key
Favorable finding / Statistically significant
Unfavorable finding / Statistically significant
Ambiguous finding / Statistically significant
No effect / Not statistically significant

This study included participants with the following characteristics at enrollment:

Race/Ethnicity

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if Hispanic ethnicity was reported separately or respondents could select two or more race or ethnicity categories.

Black or African American
63%
Hispanic or Latino
21%
White
12%
Two or more races
5%

Maternal Education

Less than a high school diploma
63%
High school diploma or GED
30%
Some college or Associate's degree
6%
Bachelor's degree or higher
2%

Other Characteristics

Data not available

This study included participants from the following locations:

  • Pennsylvania
Study Participants

In this study, parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to ABC-Infant or a comparison group that also received home visits. The study recruited parents who had been referred to Child Protective Services for potential maltreatment of a child less than 24 months old and were still living with their child through a foster care diversion program. A total of 212 children were enrolled and randomized to the treatment and comparison groups. The analytic sample for this study was 107 parent-child dyads who participated in a follow-up assessment when the child was 24 months old and 81 who participated in a follow-up assessment when the child was 8 years old. Children were mostly African American (about 60 percent) and were an average of 9.9 months old at baseline. At baseline, most mothers in the study did not have a high school diploma (60 percent in the ABC-Infant group; 65 percent in the comparison group) and had household incomes less than $10,000 (68 percent ABC-Infant; 77 percent comparison). At the 24-month follow-up, the average age of mothers was 28.8 years old (ABC-Infant) and 26.7 years old (comparison group).

Setting

Philadelphia, PA

Comparison Conditions

Comparison families received Developmental Education for Families (DEF) in home visits that were the same duration (10 hour-long sessions) and frequency (weekly) as ABC-Infant. DEF was designed to enhance cognitive and linguistic development. For this study, DEF was adapted to exclude components related to parental sensitivity.

Author Affiliation

The author’s dissertation advisor is Mary Dozier, who is a developer of the ABC home visiting model.

Funding Sources

This research was supported by Award Number RO1MH074374 from the National Institute of Mental Health.