The Influence of the Parent-Child Attachment Relationship on Future Behavioural and Emotional Outcomes of Children with Intellectual Disabilities.

For children with intellectual disabilities, parental sensitivity is recognised as an important component towards their attachment security and future psychological outcomes. Research has found that parenting of children with intellectual disabilities is more likely to be negative (intrusive, harsh) than positive (warm, close relationship) (Norona & Baker, 2017). Similarly, where parents are more critical or, engage in harsh discipline, this can lead to behavioural problems worsening over time (Totsika et al., 2014).

Video-feedback interventions have been tested internationally to promote sensitive parenting and positive parent-child relationships specifically for children with intellectual disabilities. VIPP-SD is an adaptable attachment-focused intervention to enhance parental sensitivity by providing video feedback on responsiveness and parent-child interactions (Hodes et al., 2014; Poslawsky et al., 2014). Findings suggest that VIPP-SD can enhance parental insight into the needs of their child and improve parental responsiveness (Schuengel et al., 2021). However, no research has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of video-feedback interventions to promote parent-child relationships in families of young children with intellectual disabilities in the UK.

The following research questions will be examined in a series of linked research studies:
1. Does the quality of parent-child relationship affect the behavioural and emotional outcomes of children with intellectual disabilities across childhood?
2. a. Are there different trajectories of mother-child closeness in families of children with intellectual disabilities?
b. What factors are associated with trajectories of mother-child closeness in families of children with intellectual disabilities?
3. Is it feasible to deliver and evaluate Video-Feedback intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) for families of children with intellectual disability in the UK?

Research question 1: Longitudinal data from the 1000 Families Study (Hastings et al., 2020) will be used to carry out two studies. First, bidirectional associations between parent-child relationship quality and the behavioural and emotional problems of children with ID will be examined using Waves 1 -3 of the study data. Second, mediational models will be used to examine how parent-child relationship quality at Wave 2 of the study may mediate the impact of risk factors from Wave 1 on Wave 3 child behavioural and emotional outcomes.

Research question 2a/b: Longitudinal data from the 1000 Families Study (Hastings et al., 2020) will also be used to address the proposed research questions. We will conduct growth mixture modelling to initially explore whether there are different trajectories of mother-child closeness in families of children with intellectual disabilities, using data collected across three waves (RQ2a). We will then examine what factors (child, mother, and environmental factors) are associated with trajectories of motherchild closeness across childhood (RQ2b).

Research question 3: A small pilot study will be conducted and then a mixed methods feasibility study of the video-feedback intervention, VIPP-SD. The study will include a randomised controlled trial and process evaluation including qualitative interviews with families and practitioners delivering the intervention (Skivington et al., 2021).

The proposed project will contribute to existing understandings of how the quality of the parent-child relationship influences future behavioural and emotional outcomes of children with intellectual disabilities across childhood. The research will also offer novel insights into whether mother-child closeness varies within families of children with intellectual disabilities over time, while considering what factors influence mother-child closeness. In addition, whether a video feedback intervention can effectively enhance the outcomes of children