Reducing risk factors for child maltreatment: The Parenting-STAIR open pilot study.

Wortham W, Sullivan KS, Ancharski K, Okosi M, Kaplan D, Timmer S, Cloitre M, Chemtob C, Lindsey MA. Reducing risk factors for child maltreatment: The Parenting-STAIR open pilot study. Child Abuse & Neglect. 2024 Aug 1; 154:106942.

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Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Despite a large body of evidence linking the impact of trauma, parenting, and child maltreatment recidivism, current child welfare services often do not target maternal trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Moreover, there is little evidence that traditional family preservation services (FPS) lower the rates of repeat incidences of child abuse and neglect. The novel intervention, Parenting-STAIR (P-STAIR), seeks to address maternal mental health and parenting skills in order to reduce punitive parenting behaviors. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes the effects of P-STAIR on child maltreatment risk. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: P-STAIR was administered to 112 child welfare-involved mothers in New York City (NYC). The mothers were between 18 and 52 years old (M  =  31.1, SD  =  6.6) and were referred from 4 child welfare preventive service agencies in NYC. METHODS: To evaluate change over time in indicators of maltreatment risk, two-tailed paired sample t-tests compared 1) pre- and post-treatment scores and 2) pre-treatment and 3-month follow-up scores. RESULTS: Among the 71 mothers who completed treatment, significant improvements from baseline to post-assessment and pre- to 3-month follow-up were observed across total scores on the CTSPC and the AAPI-2. Improvements were evident in nonviolent disciple, psychological aggression, expectations, empathy, and parent-child family roles at both the post-assessment and 3-month follow-up which are proximal outcomes of P-STAIR (CTSPC: pre-post nonviolent disciple d  =  0.70; pre-post psychological aggression d  =  0.34; pre-follow-up nonviolent disciple d  =  0.42; pre-follow-up psychological aggression d  =  0.36; AAPI-2; pre-post expectations d  =  0.31; pre-post empathy d  =  0.39; pre-post parent-child roles d  =  0.47; pre-follow-up expectations d  =  0.33; pre-follow-up empathy d  =  0.42; pre-follow-up parent-child roles d  =  0.66). CONCLUSIONS: The improvement in indicators of maltreatment risk demonstrates promising support for the utility of P-STAIR within the child welfare system.