Is it possible to improve early childhood development with a video-feedback intervention directed at the mother-father-child triad?

Res Psychother. 2019 Jul 30;22(2):324. doi: 10.4081/ripppo.2019.324. eCollection 2019 Aug 9.

Abstract

Relationships with primary caregivers provide the context for early childhood development, and evaluating those relationships during the early years can detect difficulties that may influence future mental health. Video feedback is a valuable intervention tool in early childhood, both for family relationships and child development. An intervention was implemented using this technique, focused on mother-father-child triads that were experiencing difficulties in social-emotional development. Participants were 80 mother-fatherinfant triads (experimental group, EG=40, control group, CG=40), with children between 1 and 3 years old. Socio-emotional difficulties decreased significantly in the children who received the intervention (Wilks λ=0.930, F (1, 78)=5.907; P=.017). There was also an increase in psychomotor development in communication (Wilks λ=0.948, F (1, 78) =4.284; P=.042) and fine motor skills (Wilks λ=0.875, F (1, 78)=11.185; P=.001) in children in the EG compared with children in the CG.

Keywords: Child development; Early intervention; Socio-emotional development; Triadic interaction; Video-feedback intervention.

Grants and funding

Funding: this work was supported by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research, CONICYT (Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica), Chile; the Fondecyt Initiation Project No. 11140230; the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism (Ministerio de Economía, Fomento y Turismo); and finally, the Millennium Institute for Research on Depression and Personality, MIDAP (Instituto Milenio para la Investigación en Depresión y Personalidad), Project IS130005.