title: Promoting secure attachment: evaluation of the effectiveness of an early intervention pilot programme with mother-infant dyads in Santiago, Chile.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research indicates that the early attachment patterns of babies could influence their socio-emotional development and prevent the emergence of problematic behaviours in the child later in life. Many studies in the field of early attachment interventions have promoted a secure attachment bond between mother and infant. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an early pilot intervention programme designed to promote a secure attachment bond in mother-infant dyads belonging to a population seeking regular treatment at urban health centres in Santiago, Chile.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primipara mothers were randomly assigned to two intervention conditions: a secure attachment promotion programme (experimental group = 43) or an educational talk (control group = 29). The Strange Situation Assessment was used to collect data on the attachment patterns of babies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that after the intervention, there were more babies with secure attachment in the experimental group than in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings represent a preliminary step towards evaluating interventions aimed at promoting secure attachment in Chilean mother-child dyads. While the effect of the intervention is not significant, the effect size obtained is respectable and consistent with other meta-analytic findings.
authors.affiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. msanteli@uc.cl
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Santelices
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guzmán G
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aracena
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Armijo
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Pérez-Salas
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borghini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education; D009769:Object Attachment; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D055815:Young Adult