NCT07153198

Promoting Socioemotional Development in Early Childhood: Implementation and Evaluation of the VIPP-SD Parenting Intervention in Portugal

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 120 (estimated)
• Sponsor: ISPA - Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Psicologicas, Sociais e da Vida · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 2 Years – 5 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The Video-feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) is an attachment-based intervention aimed at promoting parental sensitivity and the use of developmentally appropriate, non-coercive discipline strategies (ref). The VIPP-SD intervention integrates the enhancement of parental sensitive responsiveness (Ainsworth et al., 1974) with parent coaching aimed at preventing coercive parent-child interaction cycles (Patterson, 1982) and facilitating sensitive limit-setting practices.ase parental sensitivity and sensitive discipline of the primary parent

Detailed description

Aims and hypotheses 1. The primary aim of the Growing Minds - Strengthening Affective Bonds is to demonstrate the effect of the VIPP-SD on parental sensitivity and sensitive discipline of the primary parent, 8 weeks after the intervention and six months after the intervention. It is expected that sensitivity and sensitive discipline of parents in the intervention condition will significantly increase post-intervention, compared to sensitivity and sensitive discipline of parents in the control condition, who have a similar number of ('dummy') contacts with the interveners. 2. The secondary aim of the study is to examine the efficacy of the intervention in reducing children's behavioral problems, as a function of increased parental sensitivity and the use of sensitive discipline strategies. It is expected that improvements in parenting behaviors resulting from the VIPP-SD intervention will be associated with lower levels of behavioral difficulties in children over time. 3. A third objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of the intervention on broader parenting practices and parental well-being, specifically aiming to mitigate psychopathological symptomatology. The focus will be on reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety among participating parents, in line with evidence suggesting that improvements in parenting sensitivity may contribute to enhanced parental mental health. 4. Finally, the investigators will examine whether the intervention yields economic advantages for society at large. To do this, the investigators will use quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) as the unit of outcome, allowing to quantify health benefits. By comparing the QALYs associated with the intervention to those resulting from no intervention, the investigators aim to assess the cost-effectiveness and potential return on investment from a societal perspective. This analysis will help determine whether the intervention not only improves family relations but also contributes to economic efficiency by potentially reducing healthcare costs, improving productivity, and enhancing overall societal well-being

Conditions

• Parent-Child Relations

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	VIPP-SD	Consists of four sessions (with the option of one or two additional booster sessions), held biweekly, depending on the family's needs and availability. Specifically, VIPP-SD addresses disciplinary strategies alongside sensitivity themes through: (1) the differentiation between attachment and exploration behaviors; interpretation of child's behavior and significance of a sensitive response to it; and the importance of sharing emotions (2) the application of distraction and induction as non-coercive techniques in response to challenging child behaviours or conflict-prone situations; (3) the utilization of positive reinforcement, whereby parents praise adaptive behaviours and ignore maladaptive, attention-seeking actions; (4) the implementat of a sensitive interaction pause to de-escalate conflict or temper tantrums; and (5) the demonstration of empathy towards the child in conjunction with consistent disciplinary approaches and explicit boundary-setting

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-01
• Primary completion: 2026-12-31
• Completion: 2027-12-31
• First posted: 2025-09-03
• Last updated: 2026-01-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Portugal