Specialized services for high-risk birth parents

描述（由申请人提供）：经历过早期虐待的幼儿通常会在行为和生理上以对其照顾者具有挑战性的方式适应。儿童的应对策略使本已脆弱的父母尤其难以提供足够的照顾。他们的父母需要帮助发展技能，以便他们能够提供足够的照顾。此外，他们经常需要帮助来应对许多其他挑战，包括精神健康问题、药物滥用和其他基本需求。本研究将测试在支持性社区服务的背景下，对受虐待儿童的亲生父母进行干预的有效性。这一干预措施的目标是确定为关键的几个关键需求。首先，帮助父母重新解读孩子的行为信号。其次，父母被教导要“超越”自己的倾向，以不一致或拒绝的方式回应孩子。第三，帮助父母以不会让孩子害怕的方式行事。最后，帮助父母提供一个人际互动的环境，这有助于孩子发展调节能力。家长将被随机分配接受实验性干预或接受替代治疗。这两个群体的父母都将获得支持服务，帮助他们获得心理健康和药物滥用治疗，以及其他必要的服务。结果将包括对父母行为的评估，以及对儿童行为、情感和神经内分泌功能的评估。在干预后的评估中，接受实验干预的父母被期望比对照组的父母对孩子更有教养、更敏感、更少恐惧。实验组儿童的行为和生物行为调节能力明显优于对照组儿童。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Young children who experience early maltreatment often adapt behaviorally and physiologically in ways that are challenging to their caregivers. Children's coping strategies make it especially difficult for already vulnerable parents to provide adequate caregiving. Their parents need help in developing skills such that they can provide adequate care. In addition, they often need help managing a host of other challenges, including mental health problems, substance abuse, and other basic needs. This study will test the effectiveness of an intervention for birth parents of maltreated children in the context of supportive community services. This intervention targets several key needs identified as critical. First, parents are helped to re-interpret children's behavioral signals. Second, parents are taught to "over-ride" their own propensities to respond in inconsistent or rejecting ways to children. Third, parents are helped to behave in ways that are not frightening to their children. Finally, parents are helped to provide an interpersonally responsive environment, which helps children develop regulatory capabilities. Parents will be randomly assigned to receive the experimental intervention or receive an alternative treatment. Parents in both groups will receive support services that help them access mental health and substance abuse treatment, and other services as needed. Outcomes will include assessments of parenting behaviors, as well as assessments of child behavioral, emotional, and neuroendocrine functioning. In post-intervention assessments, parents receiving the experimental intervention are expected to be more nurturing, sensitive, and less frightening to children than control group parents. Children of experimental group parents are expected to show better behavioral and biobehavioral regulation than children of control group parents.