A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in El Salvador of an intervention (‘Thula Sana’) previously shown to enhance maternal sensitivity and infant security of attachment in a South African sample. In El Salvador, trained community workers delivered the intervention from late pregnancy to 6 months postpartum as part of a home-visiting programme. The sample comprised 64 pregnant adolescent women, aged 14–19 years, living in predominantly rural settings. They were randomised to receive either the intervention or normal care. Demographic information was collected at baseline and, immediately post-intervention, blind assessments were made of parental sensitivity and infant emotion regulation. The intervention was found to have a substantial positive impact on maternal sensitivity. Further, compared to control group, infants in the intervention group showed more regulated behaviour: in a social challenge task they showed more attempts to restore communication, and in a non-social challenge task they showed more social and goal-directed behaviour. This replication and extension of the South African findings in a small El Salvador sample shows promise and justifies the conduct of a large-scale RCT in a Central or South American context.

中文翻译：

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母婴干预对育儿和婴儿应对挑战的影响：萨尔瓦多青少年母亲的随机对照试验

在萨尔瓦多进行的一项随机对照试验 (RCT) 先前表明，一项干预措施 ('Thula Sana') 可提高南非样本中的母体敏感性和婴儿依恋安全性。在萨尔瓦多，受过培训的社区工作者从怀孕后期到产后 6 个月提供干预措施，作为家访计划的一部分。样本包括 64 名年龄在 14-19 岁之间的怀孕少女，主要生活在农村地区。他们被随机分配接受干预或正常护理。在基线时收集人口统计信息，并在干预后立即对父母敏感性和婴儿情绪调节进行盲目评估。研究发现，干预对产妇的敏感性产生了实质性的积极影响。此外，与对照组相比，干预组的婴儿表现出更规范的行为：在社会挑战任务中，他们表现出更多的恢复沟通的尝试，在非社会挑战任务中，他们表现出更多的社会和目标导向的行为。这种在萨尔瓦多小样本中对南非发现的复制和扩展显示出希望并证明在中美洲或南美洲进行大规模 RCT 是合理的。