Connect to Baby: A Pilot Study of a Parenting and Coparenting Program for New Parents

项目摘要 这项拟议的随机对照试验是一项技术增强的共同育儿和育儿干预措施， 解决了现有育儿计划中的三个主要弱点：1)针对父母，而不是 不只关注母亲；2)关注夫妻关系和亲子关系，而不仅仅是亲子关系 互动；以及3)使用技术来提高计划的保留率和参与度。我们的团队利用 来自两个基于证据的干预措施的内容与独特的技术特征相结合，以创建 新颖的干预：连接到婴儿(CTB)，一个6个疗程的手动干预。育儿和共同育儿 质量被选为对婴幼儿发展具有战略影响的目标： 父母和婴儿之间的响应性互动与更好的终身社会情感和 认知结果。同样，支持性的合作关系和协调与 增强父母的心理健康、育儿质量，以及孩子的社会情感和认知结果。一个 CTB的关键创新之处在于引入和演练了四种互动技巧--注意、跟随、 交谈和鼓励--促进与婴儿的服务和回报互动，以及支持， 母亲和父亲之间的合作伙伴互动。最大限度地扩大计划覆盖范围并 可持续发展，CTB旨在早期Head Start(EHS)内交付，EHS是一家为父母提供服务的家庭机构 已经在使用和信任。最后，CTB使用面对面和远程混合交付方式，同时使用视频- 支持平板电脑和定制的应用程序来安排会议和共享数字内容，以促进计划 留存和参与。使用随机对照试验，CTB作为EHS的一部分交付的疗效 (EHS-CTB混合)将与仅包含数字内容的EHS进行比较(仅限EHS-数字内容)；两组都将 允许访问CTB提供的定制应用程序和数字内容，但仅限EHS-CTB混合体 小组将接受关于NiFTE技能发展的指导练习和反馈的计划会议。这项研究 将在3个月和6个月时评估项目对合作沟通质量和育儿质量的影响 后随机分配，以区分计划的即时影响和持续影响。分析将包括 意向治疗(ITT)和治疗后治疗(TOT)分析，以确定计划的重要性 计划疗效的剂量。CTB还将接受关于父母心理健康(育儿压力)的评估 和抑郁)和儿童的社会情感和语言结果。如果被证明是有效的，CTB将 为美国最大的联邦资助的早期教育项目之一的EHS提供简短、成本效益高、 可与EHS中心和家访结合使用的人性化预防性干预 改善育儿质量和合作关系的服务，让父亲参与规划和照顾，以及， 最终，促进儿童发展。这项研究也将提供一些关于可行性的初步证据。 在干预的每个阶段都要在育儿计划中保留父亲。

Project Abstract The proposed randomized control trial of a technology-enhanced coparenting and parenting intervention, addresses three key weaknesses in existing parenting programs by 1) targeting mothers and fathers, rather than mothers alone; 2) focusing on both the coparenting and parent-infant relationship, not just parent-infant interactions; and 3) using technology to enhance program retention and engagement. Our team leveraged content from two evidence-based interventions in combination with unique technological features to create a novel intervention: Connect to Baby (CTB), a 6-session manualized intervention. Parenting and coparenting quality are selected as targets for their strategic influence on infant and child development: contingent, responsive interactions between parents and infants are associated with better lifelong socioemotional and cognitive outcomes. Similarly, supportive coparenting relationships and coordination are associated with enhanced parent mental health, parenting quality, and children’s socioemotional and cognitive outcomes. A key innovation of CTB lies in the introduction and rehearsal of four interaction skills –– Noticing, Following, Talking, and Encouraging –– to foster serve and return interactions with infants as well as supportive, cooperative coparenting interactions between mothers and fathers. To maximize program reach and sustainability, CTB is designed to be delivered within Early Head Start (EHS), a family-serving agency parents already use and trust. Finally, CTB uses a hybrid in-person and remote delivery modality using both video- enabled tablets and a custom-built application to schedule sessions and share digital content to boost program retention and engagement. Using a randomized controlled trial, the efficacy of CTB delivered as part of EHS (EHS-CTB hybrid) will be compared to EHS with the digital content only (EHS-digital only); both groups will be given access to the customized application and digital content that CTB offers, but only the EHS-CTB hybrid group will receive program sessions with guided practice and feedback on NiFTE skill development. The study will assess program impacts on coparenting communication quality and parenting quality at 3- and 6-months post-random assignment to distinguish immediate from sustained effects of the program. Analyses will include both intent-to-treat (ITT) and treatment-on-the-treated (TOT) analyses to determine the importance of program dosage for program efficacy. CTB will also be assessed with regard to parent mental health (parenting stress and depression) and child socioemotional and language outcomes. If demonstrated to be efficacious, CTB will provide EHS, among the nation’s largest federally-funded early education programs, with a brief, cost-effective, manualized preventive intervention that could be used in conjunction with EHS center and home-visiting services to improve parenting quality and coparenting, engage fathers in programming and caregiving, and, ultimately, enhance child development. This study will also offer some of the first evidence as to the feasibility of retaining fathers in parenting programs at every stage of an intervention.