Identifying treatment moderators of a trauma-informed parenting intervention with children in foster care: Using model-based recursive partitioning

Abstract

BackgroundTrauma-informed parenting interventions have been used in child welfare to help caregivers respond to children in trauma-informed ways that can mitigate the effects of maltreatment and build strong caregiver-child relationships. Existing studies support their effectiveness with children and youth involved in the child welfare system. However, to further advance the effectiveness of evidenced-based intervention for child welfare populations, one key step is to identify subgroups of individuals who have different intervention responses or outcomes. ObjectiveTo identify pre-treatment moderators that can distinguish subgroups of caregivers and children who benefit differently from an intervention. Participants and setting414 children in foster care (age 3 or younger) and their caregivers (birth, adoptive, kin, and nonkin) were randomly assigned to receive a trauma-informed parenting intervention in the Illinois Birth through Three Title IV-E waiver demonstration or foster care services as usual. MethodsModel-based Recursive Partitioning (MOB) was used to identify treatment moderators and moderator interactions. MOB fits a parametric model and uses a data-driven method to find subgroups for which the specified parametric model has different parameters. Two parametric models (logistic and linear regression) were used in accordance with two outcomes: reunification (binary) and caregiver-child attachment (continuous). We examined 21 potential pre-treatment moderators in both models. ResultsFor the reunification outcome, the MOB produced the following three treatment moderators, which identified subgroups of participants who responded differently to the intervention: (a) caregivers’ relationship with the child (kin vs. non-kin/permanent caregivers), (b) caregiver-child attachment, and (c) case history of physical abuse. For the attachment outcome, caregivers’ age was found to be a treatment moderator. Future developments of trauma-informed interventions should consider these moderators.