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Modified ABC: A Home-based Parenting Program for Opioid-dependent Mothers and Their Infants

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Parent-Child Relations
Parenting
Opioid-Related Disorders
Infant Development
Interventions
Behavioral: Modified Developmental Education for Families
Behavioral: Modified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up
Registration Number
NCT03891628
Lead Sponsor
University of Delaware
Brief Summary

This study will assess the efficacy of the modified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up Intervention, adapted for use with peripartum mothers receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. The investigators expect that mothers who receive the modified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up Intervention will show more nurturing and sensitive parenting and more adaptive physiological regulation than parents who receive a control intervention. The investigators expect that infants whose mothers receive the modified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up will show better outcomes in attachment, behavior, and physiological regulation compared to infants of parents who receive the control intervention.

Detailed Description

Peripartum mothers will be randomly assigned to receive the modified ABC intervention or the control intervention (modified DEF). Hypotheses relate to parent and child outcomes associated with the intervention.

Hypothesis 1: Compared to mothers who receive the control intervention, mothers who receive the ABC intervention will show more nurturing and sensitive parenting, enhanced neural activity during parenting-relevant tasks, and more normative patterns of DNA methylation, autonomic nervous system activity, and cortisol production.

Hypothesis 2: Compared to infants of mothers who receive the control intervention, infants of mothers who receive the ABC intervention will show more organized and secure attachment patterns, better behavioral regulation during stressors, more advanced social-emotional development, and more normative patterns of DNA methylation, autonomic nervous system activity, and cortisol production.

Hypothesis 3: Enhanced maternal sensitivity will mediate effects of the ABC intervention on improved infant outcomes.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
65
Inclusion Criteria
  • In third trimester of pregnancy or up to one month postpartum
  • Receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder
Exclusion Criteria
  • None

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Modified DEFModified Developmental Education for FamiliesModified Developmental Education for Families (14 session in-home intervention with parents and infants present) and Safe Environment for Every Kid (1 to 2 in-home resource visits)
Modified ABCModified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-upModified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (14 session in-home intervention with parents and infants present) and Safe Environment for Every Kid (1 to 2 in-home resource visits)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Maternal neural activity (EEG) - Own child-other child taskInfant age 12 months

Maternal event-related potentials will be assessed using electroencephalogram (EEG) while viewing photos of their own infants, familiar infants, and unfamiliar infants.

Infant diurnal cortisol productionInfant age 12 months

Infant diurnal cortisol production will be assessed through salivary cortisol levels collected at wake-time and bed-time.

Infant behavioral regulation - Still Face ParadigmInfant age 6 months

Behavioral coding of emotion reactivity and regulation will be conducted from video recordings of the Still Face Paradigm, a mild social stressor.

Infant behavioral regulation - Arm Restraint TaskInfant age 12 months

Behavioral coding of emotion reactivity and regulation will be conducted from video recordings of the Arm Restraint Task, a mild stressor.

Infant social-emotional problemsInfant age 12 months

Infant social-emotional problems will be assessed through maternal report on the Brief Infant-Toddler Social Emotional Assessment.

Maternal neural activity (EEG) - Child emotion taskInfant age 12 months

Maternal event-related potentials will be assessed using electroencephalogram (EEG) while viewing images of children crying, laughing, and showing neutral expressions.

Maternal parasympathetic nervous system activityInfant age 12 months

Maternal parasympathetic nervous system activity will be assessed using respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

Infant cognitive developmentInfant age 12 months

Infant cognitive development will be assessed through maternal report on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire.

Maternal sensitivityInfant age 12 months

Maternal sensitivity will be coded observationally from mother-infant play interactions, in which mothers will be given toys and asked to play as they normally would. Mothers will be coded for sensitivity, nurturance, intrusiveness, detachment, and positive regard, on 5 point scales from 1-Not at all characteristic to 5-Highly characteristic. Higher scores on sensitivity, nurturance, and positive regard represent more positive parenting, whereas higher scores on nurturance and detachment represent less positive parenting.

Maternal methylation of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) geneInfant age 12 months

Maternal methylation will be assessed using direct bisulfite sequencing of DNA extracted from saliva.

Infant methylation of μ-opioid receptor (OPRM1) geneInfant age 12 months

Infant methylation will be assessed using direct bisulfite sequencing of DNA extracted from saliva.

Infant parasympathetic nervous system activityInfant age 12 months

Infant parasympathetic nervous system activity will be assessed using respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

Infant methylation of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) geneInfant age 12 months

Infant methylation will be assessed using direct bisulfite sequencing of DNA extracted from saliva.

Maternal neural activity (EEG) - Reward sensitivity taskInfant age 12 months

Maternal event-related potentials will be assessed using electroencephalogram (EEG) while viewing images from four categories: opioid-related images, baby pictures, positive images, and neutral images.

Maternal sympathetic nervous system activityInfant age 12 months

Maternal sympathetic nervous system activity will be assessed using pre-ejection period.

Infant sympathetic nervous system activityInfant age 12 months

Infant sympathetic nervous system activity will be assessed using pre-ejection period.

Infant social-emotional developmentInfant age 12 months

Infant social-emotional development will be assessed through maternal report on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional.

Maternal methylation of μ-opioid receptor (OPRM1) geneInfant age 12 months

Maternal methylation will be assessed using direct bisulfite sequencing of DNA extracted from saliva.

Maternal diurnal cortisol productionInfant age 12 months

Maternal diurnal cortisol production will be assessed through salivary cortisol levels collected at wake-time and bed-time.

Infant attachmentInfant age 12 months

Infant attachment will be assessed using the Strange Situation.

Infant motor developmentInfant age 12 months

Infant motor development will be assessed through maternal report on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire.

Maternal self-efficacyInfant age 12 months

Mothers will report on their parenting self-efficacy using the Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale. Mothers will rate their self-efficacy for each of ten items (nine discrete parenting behaviors and one global parenting item) on a 4-point scale from 1-not good at all to 4-very good. Scores are summed to form a total maternal self-efficacy composite (possible range = 10-40), where higher scores indicated more maternal self-efficacy.

Maternal emotion regulationInfant age 12 months

Mothers will report on their emotion regulation using the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form (DERS-SF). The DERS-SF consists of 18 items rated on a scale from 1-almost never to 5-almost always. The DERS-SF yields six subscales (strategies, non-acceptance, impulse, goals, awareness, and clarity), each of which range from 3 to 15, and one total score, which ranges from 18 to 90. Higher scores indicate greater emotion dysregulation.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Maternal depressive symptomsInfant age 12 months

Maternal depressive symptoms will be self-reported using the Beck Depression Inventory.

Maternal experiences during labor and deliveryInfant age 3 months

Mothers will report on their experiences during labor and delivery using the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised questionnaire (BSS-R). This measure consists of ten items rated on a 5-point scale from 1-Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly Agree. The total score ranges from 10-50, where higher scores represent more birth satisfaction.

Infant sleepInfant age 12 months

Mothers will report on their infant's sleep habits using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire.

Maternal substance use - interviewInfant age 12 months

The Timeline Followback Interview will be used to assess maternal use of opioids, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other substances.

Maternal sleepInfant age 12 months

Mothers will report on their sleep habits using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.

Maternal substance use - questionnaireInfant age 12 months

Mothers will report recent substance use using the NIDA Quick Screen questionnaire.

Infant physical growthInfant age 12 months

Infant physical growth will be assessed using weight, length, and head circumference.

Home environmentInfant age 3 months

The home environment will be assessed using the Cognitive Stimulation subscale of the HOME Short Form, a combination of observation (two items) and maternal report (seven items). Observation items are binary (yes/no), and mother-report items are rated on a Likert-type scale and dichotomized. Dichotomous items are summed to form a total score (range 0-9), with higher scores indicating more cognitive stimulation.

Maternal reward responsivenessInfant age 12 months

Mothers will report their reward responsiveness using the Reward Responsiveness Scale. This is an 8-item scale rated on a 4-point scale from 1-Strong Disagreement to 4-Strong Agreement. The total score ranges from 8 to 32, with higher scores representing greater reward responsiveness.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Delaware

🇺🇸

Newark, Delaware, United States

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