This study is a randomized controlled trial of a 12-week community-based group parenting intervention ("CASITA") in Lima, Peru. CASITA improved neurodevelopment in a pilot study of 60 Peruvian children and subsequently scaled to 3,000 households throughout the district. The objective of this study was to assess intervention effectiveness…

This study evaluated the impact of a parenting intervention on children's cognitive and socioemotional development in a group of caregivers and their 21-to-28-month-old children in a low-income South African township. A randomized controlled trial compared an experimental group (n = 70) receiving training in dialogic book-sharing (8 weekly group…

In some areas of rural Africa, long-standing cultural traditions and beliefs may discourage parents from verbally engaging with their young children. This study assessed the effectiveness of a parenting program designed to encourage verbal engagement between caregivers and infants in Wolof-speaking villages in rural Senegal. Caregivers (n = 443)…

Evaluated an intervention designed to influence mothers' sensitive responsiveness toward their infant by presenting information about the newborn's competence to interact and promoting affectionate handling and interaction. Found that the enhancement group showed greater frequency of co-occurrences involving vocal exchanges, looking to the…

This study examined the effect of a mother-baby intervention on the quality of mother-child interaction, infant-mother attachment security, and infant socioemotional functioning in a group of depressed mothers with infants aged 1-12 months. A randomized controlled trial compared an experimental group (n = 35) receiving the intervention (8-10 home…

Investigated whether directing mothers to make weekly appointments to visit the neonatal intensive care unit would generalize to increase the frequency of independent maternal visiation and affect maternal perceptions of the infant and infants' length of hospitalization. (Author/RH)

Studied the effects of experimentally manipulated maternal social support on the development of infant attachment in low SES mothers. Examined the possibility that the influence of maternal support varies depending on infant irritability and maternal ego level. Findings provide experimental evidence regarding the importance of social support on…

Reviewed the medical and school records of 230 adolescent mothers to determine the effects of an alternative public school for pregnant teenagers. Found that pregnant mothers who did not attend the school until later in their pregnancy were more likely to deliver a preterm, low-birthweight infant than were mothers who began attending earlier. (MDM)

Experimental group mothers reported significantly greater self-confidence and satisfaction with mothering and more favorable perception of infant temperament than did control group mothers. Differences between children on cognitive scores became significant at 36 and 48 months of age, when the experimental group caught up with normal children. (RH)

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of the Brazelton exam as a parent education tool for mothers and fathers. Target parents in treatment groups were taught to perform the Brazelton exam on their own infant, with attention being drawn to the infant's most positive interactive and physical abilities. (Author/RH)

Infants of depressed mothers who were visited at home outperformed infants of depressed mothers who received no intervention services by an average of 10 points on the Bayley Mental Scale and were twice as likely to be classified as securely attached. Unserved, high-risk infants showed a high rate of insecure-disorganized attachments. (RH)

Compared dyads of mothers and low-birthweight infants who participated in a comprehensive early intervention program during the infant's first three years with dyads who received pediatric follow-up. Intervention group mothers had higher ratings than follow-up mothers on quality of assistance. Intervention children had higher ratings on…

Explored within-group effects of mother-infant attachment and day care on children's social and emotional development in a high-risk, low income sample of mothers and infants who entered day care early, and a home-reared, middle-class sample of infants and their mothers. Found that the effects of early day care are influenced by security of…