This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/
This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/
Note: Mothers and Toddlers Program was not responsive to the CEBC's request for information about their program. The following information was obtained from publicly available sources (websites, articles, etc.).
Scientific Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-5
Relevance to Child Welfare Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-3
Brief Description:
The Mothers and Toddlers Program has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of Infant and Toddler Mental Health (0-3), but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given either a Scientific Rating or a Child Welfare Relevance Rating. The Mothers and Toddlers Program is 12-24 week intervention targeted towards mothers in outpatient substance abuse treatment and their children 1 to 3 years of age. The program is based on psychosocial and neurobiological theories of attachment and addiction. Therapy is aimed at helping mothers learn to understand and regulate their own emotions in response to parental stress. They also receive guidance in improving their understanding of their child's behavior and emotions and their interactions with their children. The program may include help with concrete needs such as supplies, assistance in obtaining services, and transportation.
Manual and Training section:
The publicly available information indicates that there is a manual available for Mothers and Toddlers Program.
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research:
Mothers and Toddlers Program has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 - 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.
Suchman, N., DeCoste, C., Castiglioni, N., Legow, N., & Mayes, L. (2008). The Mothers and Toddlers Program: Preliminary findings from an attachment-based parenting intervention for substance-abusing mothers. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 25(3), 499-517.
Type of Study: Pretest/Posttest
Number of participants: 14 women and their toddlers
Population:
Location/Institution: New Haven, CT
Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations) At intake, mothers were assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI), which assessed mothers' mental representations of their child. The Maternal Attribution Scale-Toddler Version (MAS-T) was used to measure mothers' views about the positive and negative intentions of their children, and the Parent Development Interview was used to assess mothers' capacity for reflection on her own and her child's mental states and their relationship with behavior. Mother-child interactions rated using the Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training (NCAST) Teaching Scales. Mothers were also assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory and were screened for drug use. Mothers completing the intervention program showed improvements in representation of caregiving and reflective functioning and in sensitivity to their children's cues and needs. Mothers also showed improved psychosocial adjustment and decreased drug use. The authors note that lack of a control group suggests that these results should be interpreted with caution.
Length of post-intervention follow-up: 4 weeks.
References:
Suchman, N., DeCoste, C., & Mayes, L. (in press). The Mothers and Toddlers Program: An attachment-based intervention for mothers in substance abuse treatment. In C. Zeanah (Ed.), Handbook of infant mental health, 3rd edition. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Suchman, N. E., Mayes, L., Conti, J., Slade, A., & Rounsaville, B. (2004). Rethinking parenting interventions for drug dependent mothers: Fostering maternal responsiveness to children's emotional needs. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 27, 179-185.
Suchman, N. E., Pajulo, M., DeCoste, C., & Mayes, L. C. (2006). Parenting interventions for drug dependent mothers and their young children: The case for an attachment-based approach. Family Relations, 55, 211-226.
Contact Information
Name: Nancy E. Suchman, PhD
Affiliation/Agency: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University
E-mail: nancy.suchman@yale.edu
Phone: 207-937-3486 X7430
Fax: 203-937-3472
Date review compiled: December 2009