Abstract Worldwide, parental divorce and separation rates are high. These include impactful experiences to all involved, posing risks on well-being and functioning of parents and their children, and leading to increased professional care seeking. The Dutch ‘Divorce ATLAS’ training aims at informing and empowering parents after divorce or separation. The intervention offers preventive support and psychoeducation in a 2-sessions group program. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of Divorce ATLAS for parents in the Dutch setting. We performed a quasi-experimental study in which we compared parents participating in Divorce ATLAS groups ( n = 187) and parents on a waiting list for online support ( n = 111). Outcomes included well-being of parents and their children, parental sense of competence and social support, and children’s prosocial behavior. We performed regression analyses to assess differences in outcomes between intervention and control group. Additionally, we measured and reported parental knowledge and trigger to act after the intervention. As compared with routine family support of parents in the control group, the Divorce ATLAS group intervention led to increases in parents’ sense of parenting incompetence (Hedges’ g = 0.19), and in perceived social support (Hedges’ g = 0.23). Moreover, most parents indicated that Divorce ATLAS had increased their knowledge and had triggered them to act accordingly. Hence, the increased sense of parenting incompetence in the intervention group may be due to increased participants’ awareness of their parenting behaviors. In sum, Divorce ATLAS is promising for educating and supporting parents after divorce.
The methodological pitfalls were described and the effectiveness of various types of intervention studies presented, with the somewhat unexpected conclusion that the most intensive, broadband interventions do not necessarily lead to the highest gains in sensitivity or attachment security. The implementation of VIPP and VIPP-R in a Dutch study seems to have the features of a home game. This chapter focuses on the short-term effects of the intervention. There is a large number of interventions that successfully enhance parental sensitivity, and prevent or alter insecure attachments in young children, but there are only a few intervention studies that implicitly or explicitly address the issue of changing parental mental representations of attachment. VIPP and VIPP-R were effective in enhancing maternal sensitivity to infants, but failed to produce a significant effect on infant attachment security. Differences between VIPP and VIPP-R may also become apparent in the long run.
This chapter describes the process of translating, adapting, and disseminating the Children of Divorce Intervention Program (CODIP), a play-based preventive intervention developed in the United States, to fit the needs of young children in the Netherlands who are dealing with parental separation and divorce. The chapter describes goals, objectives, and key components of the intervention and offers detailed examples of play activities and approaches tailored to the cultural and developmental characteristics of young Dutch children. Results of the pilot project in the Netherlands replicate outcomes found in controlled studies of CODIP in the United States. Implications for replication and global transportability are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)
Abstract Background Many children experience parental separation and divorce. This experience is likely to negatively affect their wellbeing, conduct, psychological adjustment and social relations. Prevention of these problems thus has major priority but effective intervention programmes are still rare. This study therefore aimed to assess the effects of a 12-session preventive group intervention “Dappere Dinos™” for 6 to 8 year old children. Methods We performed a quasi-experimental study (registered as NTR 6788) on 105 children participating in the intervention group, 37 children with separated parents not participating (’divorce controls’) and 138 children from intact families (’intact controls’). Outcomes regarded children’s positive functioning (Parent Evaluation Form; Pedro-Carroll & Cowen, 1989), emotional and behavioral problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; Goodman, 1997), and wellbeing (Cantril ladder, Cantril, 1965). Results Analyses showed that children’s positive functioning after participating in Dappere Dino’s increased according to mothers (MΔpre-post(SD) = 0.26 (0.32); p < .001). Also, children’s overall emotional and behavioral problems decreased after participation (MΔpre-post_mother(SD) = -2.02 (4.55); p < .01; MΔpre-post_trainer(SD) = -1.07 (4.34); p < .05; MΔpre-post_teacher(SD) = -1.64 (3.54); p < .01). Children’s wellbeing increased after participation (MΔpre-post_mother(SD) = 0.77 (1.02); p < .001; MΔpre-post_trainer(SD) = 0.69 (0.94); p < .001), or stayed the same (MΔpre-post_teacher(SD) = 0.19 (1.03); p = n.s.). No such changes were found in the two comparison groups. Conclusions After parental divorce, a 12-session preventive group intervention Dappere Dino’s™ for 6- to 8-year-olds can be efficacious in promoting children’s emotional well-being and positive functioning, and reducing their emotional and behavioral problems. Key messages Given the high prevalence of divorce and the potential risk for child well-being and functioning, prevention of problems for these children and helping them adapt to the divorce are major priorities. After parental divorce, preventive group support can be efficacious in promoting children’s emotional well-being and positive functioning, and reducing their emotional and behavioral problems.
In this chapter, the authors take a closer look at the processes of the intervention programs VIPP and VIPP-R as implemented in the Leiden intervention study. The VIPP-R focused on enhancing Sarah's sensitive parenting and her child's security by providing her with four sessions of video feedback and four parenting brochures, and additionally aimed at restructuring Sarah's insecure mental representation of attachment by discussing her past and present attachment experiences. The authors aim to illustrate the intervention process of the VIPP and VIPP-R programs in the Leiden intervention study through a case study and a first process evaluation by the home visitors and the mothers involved. Limitations of the current study pertain to the modest sample size and to the absence of information in logbooks or questionnaires about the control group. In future intervention studies it would be interesting to compare process evaluations of intervention and control mothers.
