Impact of Behavioral Feeding Intervention on Parent-Child Attachment in Young Children

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The primary objective of the proposed study is to determine whether behavioral feeding intervention impacts mother-child attachment in infants and toddlers with feeding problems. The investigators propose the following hypotheses: Behavioral feeding intervention will not significantly impact parent-child attachment. Behavioral feeding intervention will not significantly impact parent-child unstructured play interactions. Severity of feeding problems will decrease after behavioral feeding intervention is implemented. Behavioral feeding intervention will have either no significant effect or a significant positive effect on general child behavior.

Official Title
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Impact of Behavioral Feeding Intervention on Parent-Child Attachment in Young Children

Conditions
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Pediatric Feeding Disorders

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Behavioral feeding intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Caregiver Based Mothers Conducts feeding intervention ≥75% of the time at home Understands and speaks English Child Based 12-14 or 30-48 months old at initial assessment Clinically significant feeding problem Self-initiates movement Can be left alone in a room for 3 minutes Capable of initiating eye contact

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 12 Months
Maximum Age: 48 Months

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Behavioral feeding intervention<br>Behavioral feeding intervention will be conducted as usual. The intervention will not be altered for purposes of the study. | Behavioral: Behavioral feeding intervention<br>* Behavioral feeding intervention will include escape extinction.<br>|
| No Intervention: Waitlist control<br> | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in attachment status | The Strange Situation (SS) will be used to assess any changes in mother-child attachment status. The SS consists of a series of separations and reunions between a mother and her child. | Enrollment, 6 months, 1 year | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in infant social and emotional behavior | Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) will be used to assess any changes in the social and emotional behavior of children who are 12-36 months of age. | Enrollment, 6 months, 1 year | 
| Change in child externalizing and internalizing behavior. | The Child Behavior Checklist will be used to assess any changes in the internalizing and externalizing behavior of children who are 1.5 to 5 years of age. | Enrollment, 6 months, 1 year | 
| Change in maternal behavior when interacting with her child | Mother-child dyads will be given toys and asked to play as they normally would for 10 minutes. The purpose of this measure is to detect any changes in parent-child interaction patterns that may be more sensitive to short-term intervention than attachment status. | Enrollment, 6 months, 1 year | 
| Change in child feeding behavior. | The Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) will be used to measure any changes in the feeding behavior of children. | Enrollment, 6 months, 1 year |