Abstract
Objective
Therapeutic alliance has been little investigated in infant and toddler therapy, with no tools specifically adapted to this population. However, we have developed the Infant-Toddler Working Alliance Inventory-Short form (IT-WAI-S) which is based on the Working Alliance Inventory. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of this original French tool, in its two versions: for parent (IT-WAI-SP) and for therapist (IT-WAI-STh).
Method
This study included 227 families consulting with their 18–48-month-old child for emotional or behavioral disorders. The scales were filled in at the first three therapy sessions. The IT-WAI-S acceptability, internal validity, reliability and predictive validity (association with child and mother’s outcomes) were evaluated.
Results
Confirmatory then exploratory factor analyses revealed a three-factor structure for the both scales: Negative Experience of Care Relationship, Positive Alliance and Alliance with the Child. Acceptability, reproducibility and construct validity were satisfactory for both versions. The two versions predicted the child's outcome. The IT-WAI-SP predicted also the mother’s outcome. The IT-WAI-STh gave more reproducible results, whereas the IT-WAI-SP was a better predictor of the child's progress.
Conclusion
The two IT-WAI-S versions showed good psychometric properties and could be used to study the therapeutic alliance in young children.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all the centers in France and Switzerland, and all the participants for their contribution to this study, as well as A.O. Horvath, who authorized us to translate and adapt the WAI.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Supplemental data
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed doi:10.1080/10503307.2024.2378026.