Assessment Of Parent-child Interaction Research Articles

Psychometric properties of the Marschak Interaction Method of Psychometrics and the Assessment of Parent-Child Interaction within residential care and non-referred settings.

Assessment and identification of children with developmental needs and their interaction with primary caregivers are critical for emotional and social development. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is a scarcity of valid observation-based tools that guide the work with family communication, which is essential for the child's healthy development. The Marschak Interaction Method of Psychometrics (MIM-P) and Assessment of Parent-Child Interaction (APCI) are both interaction and observation-based assessment tool, and they were explored for their validity and reliability in assessing caregiver-child interaction. The study included 30 trained and certified professionals who recruited referred and non-referred caregiver-child dyads over 11 months. Assessment data was collected from 139 caregiver-child dyads for the MIM-P with 278 individuals (100 referred and 178 non-referred) and 129 caregiver-child dyads for the APCI with 257 individuals (95 referred and 162 non-referred). The psychometric analyses show that both the MIM-P and APCI presents relevant sources of reliability and validity for assessing caregiver-child interaction including interrater reliability, internal consistency, test re-test reliability as well as concurrent and construct validity. The study highlights the need for observation-based assessment tools within social work and contributes to the understanding of the importance of relationships and interaction in children's emotional and social development. However, further research is needed to explore norms and further strengthen implementation and quality of the tools.

Diagnostic of Parent-Child-Interaction andTheir Relationship: Results from a Multiprofessional and Task Specific Survey

The assessment of parent-child interactions and relationships (PCIR) plays an important role for many diagnostic purposes in child and adolescent psychology and psychological health care. While child and adolescent psychology has been intensively researched, the field still faces a lack of knowledge about health care practice. To offer knowledge about practical routine needs and derived needs in these domains, we aimed to obtain information from professionals who routinely assess PCIR.We aimed to gain a basic description of task-specific diagnostic fields, professional staff and their education, their clients, key diagnostic questions, observational settings, guidelines used in assessing PCIR and professionals' personal understanding of PCIR. To gain information on how professionals assess PCIR, we used an online survey containing multiple choice questions and rating scales.We describe differences between task-specific diagnostic fields of inpatient and outpatient settings, consulting and officially appointed surveyors for court decision. Only responses from professionals performing PCIR are analyzed (N = 166). PCIR is regularly used for more than a half of children between 0-12 years of age and for more than a third of adolescents for answering a broad spectrum of diagnostical questions. We describe differences for nearly all facets of PCIR except for the content related domain. Based on these differences between task-specific fields, we give suggestions for standardized documentation of PCIR and how findings from this study can be used for scientific development.

Factors Determining Child Custody in Taiwan after Patriarchy's Decline: Decision Tree Analysis on Family Court Decisions

AbstractThe doctrine of ‘best interests of the child’ has guided courts in determining post-divorce child custody cases in Taiwan since 1996 amendments to the Civil Code. Amended Article 1055-1 requires judges to consider factors such as ‘the age, sex, and wishes of the child’ and ‘the age, occupation, character, health condition, economic condition, and lifestyle of the parents.’ However, previous studies have not clarified which factors judges consider primary. This article collects Taiwanese family court decisions from 2012 to 2017, involving 1,126 children whose parents were both Taiwanese and who both sought to acquire custody, in which Taiwanese district courts granted sole custody to the husband or wife. The article employs decision tree methodology, a commonly used machine learning technology. The article concludes that the three most significant factors considered by Taiwanese judges are first, which parent is the child's current primary caregiver, followed by the wishes of the child and the judge's assessment of parent-child interaction. This result runs counter to widely held beliefs that parental gender and parents’ occupations and economic resources are still prime factors in judges’ contemplation. Decision tree learning, we suggest, can assist parents’ and lawyers’ case evaluations and speed up extrajudicial custody determination arrangements.

Music, families and interaction (MUFASA): a protocol article for an RCT study

BackgroundGeneral mental health and interpersonal skills of families are crucial to children's development and future. Research suggests a link between participation in music activities and individuals' own sense of mental health, as well as an effect in objective measures of health such as quality of life, social skills, and rehabilitation of various kinds. However, in Denmark there are not many services for families with school-aged children (7–12 years) that focus on prevention and strengthening family interaction hereby minimising the risk of children not thriving and developing optimally in terms of social and emotional skills and competences. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of shared music activities on family interaction, parental stress, and child well-being.MethodsThe study is a controlled effect study where 40 family dyads from Aalborg and Aarhus are randomized into 4 different groups including music therapy activities, community music, family concerts and a control group. Measurements of family interaction (Assessment of Parent Child Interaction, APCI) and mental health (Parental Stress Scale, PSS, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ) will be made at baseline/pre intervention, at post intervention and a follow-up measurement 12 month after baseline (month 1, 3 and 12) 3 times in total. Furthermore, data about the family dyad’s regular participation in music events as part of every-day life at the same measure points (month 1, 3 and 12). Since this is a planned prospective study, results are not yet available, but clinical experience from a feasibility study in 2021 were promising and expected challenges and changes are discussed in the article.DiscussionFindings of this study will be relevant for all fields where music is applied for families, such as education, mental health, social work and for basic research on the study of music and interaction. Music used as a resource for families is crucial in understanding how different modalities can influence the family interaction including emotional communication and attachment.Trial registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN17290015, Registered 03 March 2022, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17290015Date and protocol versionJuly 2022, version 1. Protocol is planned to be updated after finalized recruitment during second data collection point and again after the third and last data collection point (see Additional file 1: SPIRIT Checklist).

Achieving Behavioural Advancement through the Dynamic Maturation Model and the Assessment of Parent-Child Interactions in a Music Therapy Context.

Using concise and valid assessment tools before embarking on therapy with clients not only provides key information on areas of concern, but it can also focus the ongoing therapy, giving a greater chance of positive outcomes. This article discusses the use of the Dynamic Maturational Model (DMM) and the Assessment of Parent–Child Interactions (APCI) as a framework for assessment with adoptive families in a music therapy service. It is proposed that using a Screening Family Formulation (SFF) as detailed through the DMM alongside the APCI can provide this secure foundation for assessment. It is proposed that the DMM promotes the use of the professional–parent relationships as a useful outline for the parent–child relationship alongside a thorough understanding of the issues faced by the family. In addition, the APCI enhances the assessment process by providing clinical and therapeutic evidence of areas of development for the family.

Assessment of Parent-Child Interaction Is Important With Infants in Rehabilitation and Can Use High-Tech or Low-Tech Methods.

Parents are their infant's first teachers and play a very important role in early development. Early intervention strives to enhance infant participation in the family, and regulations require the engagement of families in assessment and intervention. Infants born preterm or with motor impairments demonstrate altered social engagements that can influence parent-child interaction and the efficacy of therapy services. However, in research focused on the efficacy of interventions or in clinical practice, therapists rarely assess or report on the quality of parent-infant interaction. Understanding these interactions can help determine what perceptual motor opportunities parents provide that can enhance learning. This Perspective article will: (1) present evidence on the need for early assessment and ongoing measurement of parent-infant interaction; (2) describe an example of each of 3 methods for assessment of parent-child interaction-low-tech, low-resource (Dyadic Mutuality Code), low-tech, high-resource (Parent Children Early Relational Assessment), and high-tech, high-resource (customized behavioral coding); (3) compare 3 approaches theoretically highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each assessment; and (4) reflect on the challenges and value of adding these measures to future research on the efficacy of interventions and clinical practice.

Quality of social and emotional wellbeing services for families of young Indigenous children attending primary care centers; a cross sectional analysis

BackgroundThe quality of social and emotional wellbeing services for Indigenous families of young children is not known, in many settings especially services provided by primary care centers.MethodsOur primary objective was to assess delivery of social and emotional wellbeing services to the families of young (3–11 months) and older (12–59 months) Indigenous children attending primary care centers. Our secondary objective was to assess if delivery differed by geographic location. Two thousand four hundred sixty-six client files from 109 primary care centers across Australia from 2012 to 2014 were analysed using logistic regression and generalised estimating equations.ResultsThe proportion of families receiving social and emotional wellbeing services ranged from 10.6% (102) (food security) to 74.7% (1216) (assessment of parent child interaction). Seventy one percent (71%, 126) of families received follow up care. Families of children aged 3–11 months (39.5%, 225) were more likely to receive social and emotional wellbeing services (advice about domestic environment, social support, housing condition, child stimulation) than families of children aged 12–59 months (30.0%, 487) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.68 95% CI 1.33 to 2.13). Remote area families (32.6%, 622) received similar services to rural (29.4%, 68) and urban families (44.0%, 22) (aOR 0.64 95% CI 0.29, 1.44).ConclusionsThe families of young Indigenous children appear to receive priority for social and emotional wellbeing care in Australian primary care centers, however many Indigenous families are not receiving services. Improvement in resourcing and support of social and emotional wellbeing services in primary care centers is needed.

Optimal or Typical Performance? The Impact of Instructional Set on the Behavioral Assessment of Parent-Child Interactions

The behavioral assessment of parent-child interactions is an important component of treatment planning and evaluation in many evidence-based parent training programs. However, numerous factors unrelated to the parent-child interaction may add error to the assessment. This study investigated the impact of task instructions on parents’ behaviors during the analogue parent-child interaction observation, the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS). Forty-eight mother-child dyads were randomly assigned to one of two conditions that differed on level of specificity of instructions. Significant differences were observed between groups, with parents who received specific instructions using more praises during the DPICS tasks. Specific instructions may shift parents’ behaviors toward optimal, rather than typical, interaction patterns and should be considered in the context of the assessment goals.

The Contribution of the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS) Warm-Up Segments in Assessing Parent-Child Interactions

This study evaluated the inclusion of uncoded segments in the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, an analogue observation of parent-child interactions. The relationships between warm-up and coded segments were assessed, as well as the segments’ associations with parent ratings of parent and child behaviors. Sixty-nine non-referred parent-child dyads engaged in the observation. Parents completed measures about their parenting and children's behaviors. Significant differences were observed between the first situation's warm-up and coded segments, whereas minimal differences were found for the second situation. Findings suggest that the second warm-up segment may not be necessary for optimal assessment of parent-child interactions.

Handbook of Pediatric Primary Care

Part I: Assessment and management of the healthy child. Child health assessment. Immunizations. Nutrition in infancy and childhood. Assessment of parent-child interaction. Health care of the infant (0-12 months). Health care of the toddler and preschooler (1-4 years). Health care of the school age child (5-10 years). Health care of the adolescent (11-18 years). Parenting in special circumstances. Health education in primary care. Part II: Assessment and management of common clinical problems. Approach to minor acute illness. Approach to chronic illness. Approach to medications in childhood. The skin. The eye. The mouth and teeth. The respiratory system. The heart. The hematopoietic system. The gastrointestinal system. The urinary system. The genitalia. The skeletal system. The neuromuscular system. Language and learning disabilities. Allergies. Infectious disease. Emergencies. Genetics. Sudden infant death syndrome. Failure to thrive. Child abuse. Appendix. Index.

Structured laboratory observation in the behavioral assessment of parent-child interactions: A methodological critique

Structured observation situations have been frequently used in the behavioral assessment of parent-child interaction. These assessment situations have been used to assess the effects of behavioral intervention, to design behavioral intervention strategies, and as a method of assessing interaction differences between classes of subjects (e.g., clinic vs nonclinic subjects). This paper reviews the target subjects, target behaviors, structure, and observation procedures of structured observation situations and considers methodological issues such as content validity, criterion-related validity, and threats to validity.