Six session attachment-based group intervention: Feasibility study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility and acceptability study of the attachment-based intervention for professionals and co-professionals supporting children who are looked after.
IRAS ID
316069
Contact name
Jac Airdrie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University- Research and Innovation Services
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
There is a higher proportion of children who have experience developmental trauma in the looked after child population with 80% having experienced a traumatic event. It is therefore essential that those supporting these children understand developmental trauma and how it manifests to inform how care is provided. Developmental trauma impacts children in numerous ways, including difficulties with emotional regulation and in developing attachments. Enfys is a multi-professional NHS-based service for children who are looked after or on the edge of care. As their first level of support, they offer a six-session group, to professionals and adopting, foster and kinship parents (co-professionals) caring for children who are looked after. It is an attachment-based intervention which aims is to help those caring for children who are looked after to gain an understanding of what is needed to create positive and supportive environments essential for children to grow physically, emotionally, and psychologically. There is little research into attachment-based interventions that are offered to the wider system e.g. professionals, beyond parents and carers.
The proposed research aims to understand the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention for both professionals and co-professionals through both questionnaires and interviews.
Attendees will be invited to complete a range of outcome and process questionnaires at multiple time points in the study. Those on the waitlist will also complete measures at the same time points to provide a control comparison. In addition, participants will be interviewed 6 months after the intervention. Primary and secondary outcomes will be addressed through descriptive statistics. The interviews will be analysed using thematic analysis.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/WM/0168
Date of REC Opinion
11 Sep 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion