Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up – Early Childhood

Target Population

ABC-EC is designed for caregivers of infants ages 24–48 months who have experienced early adversity.  

Dosage

Parent coaches deliver ABC-EC services over the course of 10 weekly sessions, with each session lasting 1 hour. 

Location/Delivery Setting

Recommended Locations/Delivery Settings

Parent coaches deliver ABC-EC in the home. 

Location/Delivery Settings Observed in the Research

• Home

Education, Certifications and Training

To become an ABC-EC parent coach, skilled clinicians are screened by ABC Parenting Institute through a half-hour virtual interview. Parent coaches are expected to have strong interpersonal skills. Initial training for parent coaches involves a 2-day, in-person or virtual meeting. The event is held at ABC Parenting Institute or onsite at other locations for larger groups. Supplemental training in ABC-EC is also offered to parent coaches who have already been trained in the ABC-Infant version of the program. Training includes theoretical and practical orientation to the intervention, practice of core ABC program skills, review of session content, consultation around any issues specific to the parent coaches’ site or organization, and supervision planning. Parent coaches undergo at least 6 months of weekly supervision via videoconferencing before becoming certified parent coaches.

Program or Service Documentation

Book/Manual/Available documentation used for review

Dozier, M., & the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up Team. (2024). Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up for early childhood (ABC-EC): ABC-EC manual. University of Delaware, Newark.  

Available languages

The ABC-EC manual is available in English. Other ABC-EC materials are available in English, German, Mandarin, Norwegian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. 

Other supporting materials

Coaching Parents of Vulnerable Infants: The Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up Approach  

For More Information

Website: https://www.abcparenting.org/   

Phone: (302) 405-5022

Contact form: https://www.abcparenting.org/contact-page/  

 

Note: The details on Dosage; Location; Education, Certifications, and Training; Other Supporting Materials; and For More Information sections above are provided to website users for informational purposes only. This information is not exhaustive and may be subject to change.

Results of Search and Review	Number of Studies Identified and Reviewed for Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up – Early Childhood
Identified in Search	5
Eligible for Review	1
Rated High	1
Rated Moderate	0
Rated Low	0
Reviewed Only for Risk of Harm	0

Outcome	Effect Size	95% Confidence Interval	Implied Percentile Effect	N of Studies (Findings)	N of Participants	Summary of Findings
Child well-being: Behavioral and emotional functioning	0.46	[0.09, 0.84]	17	1 (1)	114	Favorable: 1 No Effect: 0 Unfavorable: 0
Child well-being: Cognitive functions and abilities	0.37	[-0.06, 0.79]	14	1 (1)	88	Favorable: 0 No Effect: 1 Unfavorable: 0
Adult well-being: Positive parenting practices	0.36	[-0.08, 0.80]	14	1 (2)	81	Favorable: 1 No Effect: 1 Unfavorable: 0

Note: For the effect sizes and implied percentile effects reported in the table, a positive number favors the intervention condition and a negative number favors the comparison condition. A range of comparison conditions, including no intervention, minimal intervention, placebo or attention, treatment as usual, and head-to-head comparison conditions are eligible for review (see Section 4.1.7 of the Handbook Version 2.0). Different types of comparison conditions may affect the magnitude of the effect sizes across studies. For example, an intervention compared to a no treatment comparison condition may produce a larger effect size than the same intervention compared to another intervention because the other intervention may itself be effective. The effect sizes shown may be derived from samples that overlap across studies. See the Individual Study Findings table for information about the specific comparison conditions used in each study and the Studies Reviewed section for information about any overlapping samples. The effect sizes presented here are provided for informational purposes only and are not used in determining a program or service rating.

Outcome	Effect Size	Implied Percentile Effect	Months after treatment when outcome measured	Number of Participants
Child well-being: Behavioral and emotional functioning
Study 10603 - ABC-T vs. Developmental Education for Families (Family Analyses) (Lind, 2017)
Child Behavior Checklist: Attention Problems	0.46 *	17	16	114
Child well-being: Cognitive functions and abilities
Study 10603 - ABC-T vs. Developmental Education for Families (Child Analyses) (Raby, 2019)
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Third Edition	0.37	14	21	88
Adult well-being: Positive parenting practices
Study 10603 - ABC-T vs. Developmental Education for Families (Child Analyses) (Gaudreau, 2024)
Conversational Turns	0.10	4	1	81
Child-led Questions	0.61 *	23	1	81

*p <.05

Note: For the effect sizes and implied percentile effects reported in the table, a positive number favors the intervention condition and a negative number favors the comparison condition. Effect sizes and implied percentile effects were calculated by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse as described in the Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Version 2.0, Sections 6.4 and 6.5 and may not align with effect sizes reported in individual publications. The Prevention Services Clearinghouse uses information reported in study documents and, when necessary, information provided by study authors in response to author queries to assign study ratings and calculate effect sizes (see Section 8.4.2 in the Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Version 2.0). The Prevention Services Clearinghouse typically relies on study-reported p-values to form the basis of the assessment of statistical significance for a finding, but will perform its own statistical test of a finding using any available information in study documents or author queries, as needed (see Section 6.3 in the Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Version 2.0). As a result, the effect sizes and statistical significance reported in the table may not align with the estimates as they are reported in study documents.

Only publications with eligible contrasts that met design and execution standards are included in the individual study findings table.

Full citations for the studies shown in the table are available in the "Studies Reviewed" section.

The participant characteristics display is an initial version. We encourage those interested in providing feedback to send suggestions to preventionservices@abtglobal.com.

The table below displays locations, the year, and participant demographics for studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution and that reported the information. Participant characteristics for studies with more than one intervention versus comparison group pair that received moderate or high ratings are shown separately in the table. Please note, the information presented here uses terminology directly from the study documents, when available. Studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution that did not include relevant participant demographic information would not be represented in this table.

For more information on how Clearinghouse reviewers record the information in the table, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings.

Characteristics of the Participants in the Studies with Moderate or High Ratings
Study Location	Study Year	Age or Grade-level	Race, Ethnicity, Nationality	Gender	Populations of Interest*	Household Socioeconomic Status
Study 10603 - ABC-T vs. Developmental Education for Families (Family Analyses)
Characteristics of the Children and Youth
Delaware, USA	--	Average age: 48 months; Age range: 31-74 months	56% African American 26% White 11% Biracial 5% Hispanic 1% Asian American	53% Male 47% Female	100% Children in foster care; 20% Experienced physical or sexual abuse; 50% Experienced neglect	--
Characteristics of the Adults, Parents, or Caregivers
Delaware, USA	--	Average age: 46 years; Age range: 24-77 years	46% African American 44% White 5% Biracial 4% Hispanic	95% Female 5% Male	100% Foster parents	--
Study 10603 - ABC-T vs. Developmental Education for Families (Child Analyses)
Characteristics of the Children and Youth
Delaware, USA	--	Average age: 52 months	49% African American 28% Caucasian 15% Other 8% Hispanic	--	100% Foster children; Reason for removal: 50% Physical or sexual abuse, 50% Neglect, 50% Caregiver unable to care for the child, 50% Caregiver mental healthcare problems, 50% Domestic violence, 49% Caregiver substance abuse, 48% Parent incarceration; Average child placements: 2 placements	--
Characteristics of the Adults, Parents, or Caregivers
Delaware, USA	--	Average age: 47 years	47% African American 42% Caucasian 6% Other 6% Hispanic	92% Female	100% Foster parents	23% Foster parent household income ≥$100,000 27% Foster parent household income $60,000–$99,999 12% Foster parent household income $40,000–$59,999 12% Foster parent household income $30,000–$39,999 9% Foster parent household income $20,000–$29,999 11% Foster parent household income $10,000–$19,999 6% Foster parent household income <$10,000

“--” indicates information not reported in the study.

* The information about disabilities is based on initial coding. For more information on how the Clearinghouse recorded disability information for the initial release, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings. The Clearinghouse is currently seeking consultation from experts, including those with lived experience, and input from the public to enhance and improve the display.

Note: Citations for the documents associated with each 5-digit study number shown in the table can be found in the “Studies Reviewed” section below. Study settings and participant demographics are recorded for all studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution and that reported the information. Studies that did not report any information about setting or participant demographics are not displayed. For more information on how participant characteristics are recorded, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings.

Sometimes study results are reported in more than one document, or a single document reports results from multiple studies. Studies are identified below by their Prevention Services Clearinghouse study identification numbers. To receive a rating of supported or well-supported, the favorable evidence for a program or service must have been obtained from research conducted in a usual care or practice setting.

Studies Rated High

Study 10603

Lind, T., Raby, K. L., Caron, E. B., Roben, C. K. P., & Dozier, M. (2017). Enhancing executive functioning among toddlers in foster care with an attachment-based intervention. Development and Psychopathology, 29(2), 575-586. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579417000190

Raby, K. L., Freedman, E., Dozier, M., Yarger, H. A., & Lind, T. (2019). Enhancing the language development of toddlers in foster care by promoting foster parents' sensitivity: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Developmental Science, 22(2), Article e12753. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12753

Gaudreau, C., Delgado, A., Confair-Jones, R., Flambaum, S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Raby, K. L., Dozier, M., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2024). The unanticipated side effects of an attachment intervention: Parents ask higher quality questions. Developmental Psychology, 60(3), 456-466. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001707

This study was conducted in a usual care or practice setting (Handbook Version 2.0, Section 7.2.2)

Studies Not Eligible for Review

Study 14277

Sprang, G. (2009). The efficacy of a relational treatment for maltreated children and their families. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 14(2), 81-88. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-3588.2008.00499.x

This study is ineligible for review because it is not a study of the program or service under review (Handbook Version 2.0, Section 4.1.9)

Study 14278

Caron, E. B., Weston-Lee, P., Haggerty, D., & Dozier, M. (2016). Community implementation outcomes of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up. Child Abuse & Neglect, 53, 128-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.11.010

This study is ineligible for review because it does not use an eligible study design (Handbook Version 2.0, Section 4.1.5)

Study 14279

Yarger, H. A., Bernard, K., Caron, E. B., Wallin, A., & Dozier, M. (2019). Enhancing parenting quality for young children adopted internationally: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 49(3), 378-390. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1547972

This study is ineligible for review because it is not a study of the program or service under review (Handbook Version 2.0, Section 4.1.9)

Study 15332

Bard, E., Becker, J., Malgioglio, K., & Sieger, M. L. (2024). Attachment & biobehavioral catchup participation and reunification in a family treatment court. Child Abuse and Neglect, 158, Article 107145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107145

This study is ineligible for review because it is not a study of the program or service under review (Handbook Version 2.0, Section 4.1.9)