Effects of the Video-feedback intervention to promote positive parenting and sensitive discipline on mothers’ neural responses to child faces: A randomized controlled ERP study including pre- and post-intervention measures

Laura Kolijn, Rens Huffmeijer*, Bianca G. Van Den Bulk, Claudia I. Vrijhof, Marinus H. Van IJzendoorn, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Parenting interventions have proven to be effective in enhancing positive parenting behavior and child outcomes. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms explaining the efficacy remain largely unknown. We tested effects of the Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) on mothers’ neural processing of child faces. Our primary focus was on the N170 and the secondary focus on the LPP. We expected the intervention to enhance the amplitudes of both ERP components in response to emotional compared to neutral faces. A total of 66 mothers visited the lab for two identical sessions separated by 4.28 months (SD = 0.86) during which a random 33% of the mothers received the VIPP-SD. During both pre- and post-intervention sessions, mothers’ electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in response to photographs of children’s neutral, happy and angry facial expressions were acquired. In contrast to our expectations, we found smaller (less negative) N170 amplitudes at post-test in the intervention group. There was no intervention effect on the LPP, although overall LPP amplitudes were more positive for neutral and angry compared to happy faces. Our study shows that the N170 is affected by the VIPP-SD, suggesting that the intervention promotes efficient, less effortful face processing. Trial registration: Dutch Trial Register: NTR5312; Date registered: 3 January 2017.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)108-122
Number of pages15
JournalSocial Neuroscience
Volume15
Issue number1
Early online date9 Sept 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2020

Funding

The Leiden Consortium on Individual Development (L-CID) is funded through the Gravitation program of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO grand number 024.001.003). Additional funding was provided by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (MJBK: VICI Grant no. 453-09-003; MHvIJ: NWO SPINOZA prize. The authors thank the families for their participation in the longitudinal twin study ‘Samen Uniek’ and the researchers involved in the data collection, especially Sarah Rokach and Lianne van Setten.

FundersFunder number
Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science
MJBK453-09-003
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme669249
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek024.001.003

    Keywords

    • ERP
    • face processing
    • intervention
    • N170
    • parenting
    • RCT

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