Adult Attachment and Intervention Efficacy With Preterms

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Premature birth is a major cause of developmental delay, and the need remains for cost effective, replicable methods to promote development in preterm children. Despite the success of first generation interventions, little is understood about why early intervention does not affect all parents and preterms to the same degree. This randomized clinical trial aims to 1) evaluate the efficacy of an integrated, replicable intervention designed to facilitate parent-infant interaction, infant physical development, mental and motor development, and socioemotional development in a group of infants at medical and environmental risk for developmental delay; and 2) explore the role of mothers' and fathers' states of mind with regard to attachment and parents' commitment to the intervention, as moderators of intervention efficacy. The study will recruit 240 urban, single, African-American mothers and fathers of preterm (