potential benefits of parent child interaction therapy (pcit)

Conditions: Autonomic Dysregulation; Anxiety; Depression; Parent-Child Relations

Summary: the goal of this study is to explore possible benefits of parent-child interaction therapy (pcit). the main goals of the study are: * to investigate whether pre-survey measures of autonomic reactivity relate to the overall functioning of participants. * to examine the effects of pcit to identify individual characteristics that influence the effects of pcit. participants will: * complete 5 online surveys (1x pre-pcit, 3x during pcit, and 1x post-pcit) * complete the pcit program

it is the specific intent of this proposal to experimentally explore the possible benefits and mechanisms through which pcit can influence self-reported stress and autonomic and neuroendocrine functioning in parents. this will be accomplished by our team by using well-validated self-report measures of mental health, autonomic reactivity, parental stress and attachment, and non-invasive measurements of levels of oxytocin. specific aim 1: to investigate whether pre-intervention measures of ans reactivity and the neuropeptides oxytocin relate to the overall functioning of the participants. * the investigators will examine how measures of autonomic reactivity and levels of oxytocin relate to prior mental/medical health. * hypothesis: participants with lower levels of oxytocin and/or increased autonomic reactivity will report being more impacted by their prior adversity and having more emotional/physical symptoms. specific aim 2: to investigate the impact of pcit * the investigators will explore whether pcit leads to improvements in parental stress, parent-child attachment, and parental neuroendocrine functioning. * hypothesis: parents will show a significant decrease in perceived stress and improvement in emotional wellbeing oxytocin levels following cdi. they will also show a decrease in perceived stress, and improvement in attachment and emotional wellbeing following the entire pcit intervention. specific aim 3: to identify individual characteristics that influence the effectiveness of pcit. * the investigators will explore the impact of specific vulnerability and resiliency factors (e.g., stress, prior adversity) on how well parents benefit from pcit * hypothesis: parental stress and prior mental/medical adversity will negatively impact the effectiveness of intervention

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * parents of children aged 2-7 years old who are eligible for parent-child interaction therapy (pcit) based on behavioral concerns. * the primary caregiver of the child and be actively involved in the child's daily care. * willing to attend all pcit sessions and complete pre-, mid- and post-intervention assessments. * fluent in english to ensure comprehension of the intervention and assessment materials. exclusion criteria: * parents with diagnosed severe mental health disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) that may interfere with participation in pcit. * children with conditions that require interventions other than pcit (e.g., severe developmental disabilities). * parents who have previously participated in pcit are excluded to avoid confounding results.

Keywords: polyvagal theory adversity parent-child interaction therapy attachment autonomic reactivity oxytocin