In this issue, I would like to talk about parent-child and attachment.
We all have parents, and we may have had the experience of relying on them for our own security.It is said that by doing so, we can make our own actions more positive, but there are times when a parent's lack of attachment to the child or lack of attachment to the child can undermine the child's sense of security.
In order to support the child's growth, it is necessary for children who have parents to increase the attention their parents give to them.The review I will introduce is of such parent-child related research.
The study
This review will evaluate the effects of video feedback on parental sensitivity and attachment stability in children under the age of five, compared to no intervention (no treatment) and simulated treatment (e.g., telephone) or usual care.
The review included 22 studies consisting of parent-child pairs, or family units, randomized in 1889.
Not all of these could be combined in a meta-analysis.
We combined data from 20 studies (consisting of 1757 parent-child pairs) to examine the effect of video feedback on parental sensitivity.Data from a small number of studies were combined to examine attachment stability, parental stress, parental anxiety, and child behavior.The included studies were conducted primarily in Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
A single study was conducted in Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, and Portugal.
Most studies reported receiving external funding from either charitable organizations (n = 7) and/or public entities (n = 18).The results of these studies show evidence of improvement in parental sensitivity following the use of video feedback.However, results for stabilizing attachment were mixed.
One meta-analysis found that the intervention group showed a more solid attachment, but a second meta-analysis that measured attachment strength in a different way showed no evidence of impact.
There was no evidence of an effect on parental anxiety or stress.
No studies have measured parental reflective function.
There was no evidence of effects on children's behavior.
Reviewer's conclusions
There is evidence of moderate certainty that video feedback may improve the sensitivity of parents of children at risk for poor attachment outcomes due to a variety of difficulties. Currently, there is very little evidence of very low certainty regarding the impact of video feedback on attachment security compared to controls. Results varied depending on the type of measurement used, and the follow-up period was limited. There is no evidence that video feedback affects parental stress or anxiety (low certainty and very low certainty evidence, respectively). More evidence is needed on the long-term effects of video feedback on attachment, and on more distal outcomes such as child behavior (very low certainty evidence). Further research is needed on the effects of video feedback on paternal sensitivity and parental reflective functioning. Because no studies measured these outcomes. This review is limited by the fact that the majority of parents included were mothers.
O'Hara L, Smith ER, Barlow J, Livingstone N, Herath NINS, Wei Y, Spreckelsen TF, Macdonald G. Video feedback for parental sensitivity and attachment security in children under five years. security in children under five years. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD012348. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012348. pub2.
Conclusion
Could video feedback work? But what is video feedback? You may be wondering, "What is video feedback?In this study, video feedback refers to a filmed interaction between parent and child.In this study, video feedback refers to images of parent-child interaction, such as home videos of the child and parent together.It's hard to say how effective it is for attachment, but it seems to be promising for sensitivity to children.
If you are a parent who is worried about your relationship with your child, for example, you are no longer interested in what your child has to say, it might be a good idea to look back at your home videos.
The study was conducted on parents with children under 5 years old, so it's not clear if it works the same for older children, but it's better than worrying about it alone.It was a method that could be used in limited conditions, but I would definitely recommend it.
