Background

Kinship care placements are increasing in many Western countries, however families in kinship care are underserved partly due to the lack of evidence-based interventions addressing their unique needs.

Objective

We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine research feasibility and the acceptability, fidelity, and preliminary outcomes of an attachment- and trauma-focused intervention for kinship caregivers in Australia.

Participants and setting

Participants included 26 kinship caregivers (M_age = 55.00 years; 54% grandparents) with youth (M_age = 10.58 years; 38% female), and 19 practitioners from child protection, out-of-home care and other services.

Method

Kinship caregivers were randomized to Connect for Kinship Parents (Connect-KP) or care-as-usual (CAU), and completed assessments at baseline, post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up. Placement changes were evaluated at 6-month follow-up. A subset of practitioners received both training and supervision in implementing Connect-KP, and their videorecorded sessions were coded for fidelity.

Results

Practitioners rated the training highly and demonstrated excellent fidelity to program content and process. Results supported the research feasibility and all kinship caregivers reported high levels of program satisfaction and had very high attendance and completion rates. Direction of effects favored Connect-KP vs. CAU for all nine caregiver and youth outcomes, with the largest effects observed for significant reductions in caregiver strain, caregiver psychological aggression, and youth affect suppression following intervention. At 6-month follow-up, more youth from CAU (15%) vs. Connect-KP (0%) experienced an unplanned placement change.

Conclusions

Our findings show promise of Connect-KP as a potentially effective intervention that can be successfully implemented in child welfare services, and provide impetus for a larger-scale RCT.

中文翻译：

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针对亲属关系照顾者的以依恋和创伤为重点的干预的试点随机对照试验

背景

在许多西方国家，亲属照料的安置正在增加，但亲属照料的家庭服务不足，部分原因是缺乏满足其独特需求的基于证据的干预措施。

客观的

我们进行了一项试点随机对照试验 (RCT)，以检查研究可行性以及澳大利亚亲属照顾者以依恋和创伤为重点的干预措施的可接受性、保真度和初步结果。

参与者和设置

参与者包括 26 名亲属照顾者（M_年龄 = 55.00 岁；54% 祖父母）和青少年（M_年龄 = 10.58 岁；38% 女性），以及 19 名儿童保护、户外护理和其他服务的从业人员。

方法

亲属照顾者被随机分配到亲属关系父母联系 (Connect-KP) 或照常护理 (CAU)，并在基线、干预后和 6 个月的随访中完成评估。在 6 个月的随访中评估放置变化。一部分从业者在实施 Connect-KP 时接受了培训和监督，并且他们的视频录制会议被编码为保真度。

结果

从业者对培训给予了高度评价，并表现出对课程内容和过程的出色忠诚度。结果支持了研究的可行性，所有亲属照顾者都报告了高水平的计划满意度，并具有非常高的出勤率和完成率。对于所有九个照顾者和青年结果，效果方向有利于 Connect-KP 与 CAU，观察到的最大影响是显着减少照顾者压力、照顾者心理攻击和干预后的青年影响抑制。在 6 个月的随访中，来自 CAU (15%) 与 Connect-KP (0%) 的更多青年经历了计划外的安置变化。

结论

我们的研究结果表明，Connect-KP 有望成为一种潜在有效的干预措施，可以在儿童福利服务中成功实施，并为更大规模的 RCT 提供动力。