Efficacy of an Attachment-Based Intervention Model on Health Indices in Children with Chronic Disease and Their Mothers

• Published in: Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research 2018-11, Vol.45 (6), p.900-910
• Main Authors: Dehghani-Arani, Fateme, Besharat, Mohammad Ali, Fitton, Victoria A., Aghamohammadi, Asghar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis of covariance; Attachment; Child; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Children; Children & youth; Chronic Disease - psychology; Chronic Disease - therapy; Chronic illnesses; Clinical Psychology; Control groups; Dummy; Efficacy; Female; Health Administration; Health Informatics; Health Status Indicators; Humans; Intervention; Male; Medical treatment; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health care; Mother-Child Relations - psychology; Mothers; Multivariate analysis; Object Attachment; Original; Original Article; Psychiatry; Psychology; Psychosocial factors; Psychotherapy - methods; Public Health; Questionnaires; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0894-587X; 1573-3289
• DOI: 10.1007/s10488-018-0873-y

Studies have shown significant relationship between health conditions and attachment. This study aimed to examine an attachment-based intervention model named mother–child-disease triangle (MCDT) on health indices in children with chronic disease and their mothers. This randomized trial study included 22 volunteer children aged 12–18 years undergoing medical treatment for a chronic disease and their mothers. After evaluation by 28-form General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), inventory of parent and peer attachment (IPPA), 28-form Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ-28) and Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ), the mother–child dyads were paired on the basis of IPPA scores. These pairs were then randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The experimental group received ten 90-min sessions of MCDT over a 7-week period. Meanwhile, the control group received ten simple conversational sessions as a dummy intervention. In accordance with this study’s pre-test/post-test design, both groups were evaluated once again after completing their respective treatment. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed members of the experimental group to have significantly stronger attachment and better physiological and psychosocial health than those in the control group. These findings suggest that attachment-based interventions can be used to improve the effectiveness of treatment among children with chronic disease and their mothers.