3-052 - The Effectiveness of Maltreatment Interventions: From at-Risk Families to out-of-Home Placements

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Child maltreatment is a pervasive problem that occurs throughout the world (Stoltenborgh Bakermans-Kranenburg, Alink, & Van IJzendoorn, 2014). It may have devastating consequences for the victims (Alink, Cicchetti, Kim, & Rogosch, 2012; Norman et al., 2012), including the risk of maltreating their own children once maltreated individuals become parents themselves (Egeland, 1993). In order to prevent huge personal and economical costs, evidence-based interventions rooted in theory are needed. Even though the number of interventions in this area has increased rapidly in the past decades, thorough research on the effectiveness of these programs seems to lag behind.

The papers in this symposium all present randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of interventions in the area of child maltreatment at several stages in the trajectory, from maltreatment risk to out-of-home placement in foster care. The first paper presents meta-analytic findings on the effectiveness of interventions aimed at preventing maltreatment in at-risk families or reducing child maltreatment in already maltreating families. The second paper discusses the use of an evidence-based intervention program for the assessment of child maltreatment in the context of out-of-home placement decisions. The third paper will then address the situation for children placed in foster care; it presents findings on the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at enhancing the foster parents’ sensitivity. Results will be integrated and discussed by a discussant who is a renowned expert in the field of child maltreatment interventions.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg, Leiden University

Discussant

• Sheree L Toth, University of Rochester

Individual Presentations

• Are Interventions Effective In Preventing or Reducing Maltreatment? Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials - Presenting Author: Lenneke Alink, Leiden University; Saskia Euser, Leiden University; M Stoltenborgh, Leiden University; Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg, Leiden University; Marinus H. Van IJzendoorn, Leiden University

• An Attachment-Based Intervention Protocol for the Assessment of Parenting Capacities in Child Welfare Cases - Presenting Author: Chantal Cyr, Université du Québec à Montreal; Daniel Paquette, University of Montreal; Karine Dubois-Comtois, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières; Leonor Lopez, Université du Québec à Montreal

• Efficacy of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up With Toddlers in Foster Care - Presenting Author: Elizabeth Meade, University of Delaware; Mary Dozier, University of Delaware; Diana Barsky, University of Delaware; Teresa Lind, University of Delaware; Elizabeth Allen, University of Delaware