Can typical US home visits affect infant attachment? Preliminary findings from a randomized trial of Healthy Families Durham.
Abstract
US government-funded early home visiting services are expanding significantly. The
most widely implemented home visiting models target at-risk new mothers and their
infants. Such home visiting programs typically aim to support infant-parent relationships;
yet, such programs' effects on infant attachment quality per se are as yet untested.
Given these programs' aims, and the crucial role of early attachments in human development,
it is important to understand attachment processes in home visited families. The current,
preliminary study examined 94 high-risk mother-infant dyads participating in a randomized
evaluation of the Healthy Families Durham (HFD) home visiting program. We tested (a)
infant attachment security and disorganization as predictors of toddler behavior problems
and (b) program effects on attachment security and disorganization. We found that
(a) infant attachment disorganization (but not security) predicted toddler behavior
problems and (b) participation in HFD did not significantly affect infant attachment
security or disorganization. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential for
attachment-specific interventions to enhance the typical array of home visiting services.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15854Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1080/14616734.2017.1339359Publication Info
Berlin, Lisa J; Martoccio, Tiffany L; Appleyard Carmody, Karen; Goodman, W Benjamin;
O'Donnell, Karen; Williams, Janis; ... Dodge, Kenneth A (2017). Can typical US home visits affect infant attachment? Preliminary findings from a randomized
trial of Healthy Families Durham. Attach Hum Dev, 19(6). pp. 559-579. 10.1080/14616734.2017.1339359. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15854.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Kenneth A. Dodge
William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy Studies
Kenneth A. Dodge is the William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy
and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. He is also the founding
and past director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, as well as the founder
of Family Connects International.
Dodge is a leading scholar in the development and prevention of aggressive and violent
beha
Ben Goodman
Research Scientist
Ben Goodman is a research scientist at the Center for Child and Family Policy. His
research interests focus broadly on the implementation and evaluation of population-based
interventions to reduce child maltreatment and improve parent and child health and
well-being, including the evidence-based Family Connects postpartum nurse home visiting
program. His research also examines how sources of stress and support shape the quality
of parent-child relationships, parents’ own well- being, an
Robert A. Murphy
Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Murphy is a licensed clinical psychologist focused on child traumatic stress,
including its treatment and prevention and development and dissemination of evidence-based
interventions. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Murphy serves as Executive Director
for the Center for Child & Family Health (CCFH), a community and three university
partnership (Duke University, the University of North Carolina
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