Effects of a short video feedback intervention on enhancing maternal sensitivity and infant development in low-income families

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the effects of a short video feedback intervention aimed at enhancing maternal sensitivity and the development of infants from low-income families in a randomized controlled trial. Forty-four mother–infant dyads living in low-income communities from Salvador, Brazil were randomly assigned between intervention and control groups. Maternal sensitivity was assessed during free-play and infant development was evaluated with a standardized scale. Intervention took place in eight home visits between the infant’s third and tenth month. Results showed mothers in the intervention group interpreted the meaning of their infants’ behavior more often (r = 0.33), asked babies more questions (r = 0.39), and were less intrusive (r = 0.47) when compared to controls on posttest. The absence of significant intervention effects on infant development suggests the need for additional intervention strategies and a greater time lag between maternal sensitivity and infant development assessments to detect possible delayed effects.

KEYWORDS:

• Maternal sensitivity
• infant development
• video feedback
• intervention
• low-income

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank data collectors, interveners and coders for their invaluable collaboration to this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, P. A. The data are not publicly available due to information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brazil (CAPES), Finance Code 001, and by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – Brazil (CNPq), Grant numbers 305514/2012-1 and 307263/2015-0.