Effects of the Attachment Video-feedback Intervention (AVI) on parents and children at risk of maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in situations of risk of child abuse and neglect. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine whether the Attachment Video-feedback Intervention (AVI) program can improve protective factors (decrease parental stress and household chaos, increase parent-child emotional availability and parental reflective functioning) that may diminish child maltreatment in a group of families at risk for child abuse and neglect during the COVID-19 pandemic. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The sample consisted of 41 children aged between 0 and 5 years (M(age) = 35.36 months, SD = 14.65; 85.4 % boys) and their parents (M(age) = 35.44, SD = 6.04; 75.6 % mothers). METHODS: The study design incorporated two randomized groups (Intervention group: AVI; Control group: treatment as usual) with pre- and post-test evaluations. RESULTS: In comparison to the control group, parents and children exposed to the AVI showed increases in emotional availability. Parents in the AVI group also presented increases in certainty regarding their child's mental states and reported lower levels of household chaos compared to those of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The AVI program is a valuable intervention for increasing protective factors in families at risk of child abuse and neglect in times of crisis.