Effects of video-feedback intervention on harmonious parent–child interaction and sensitive discipline of parents with intellectual disabilities: A randomized controlled trial

Background: This study tested whether video-feedback intervention based on attachment and coercion theory increased harmonious parent–child interaction and sensitive discipline of parents with mild intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning. Methods: Observer ratings of video-recorded structured interaction tasks at home formed pretest, post-test, and 3-month follow-up outcome data in a randomized controlled trial with 85 families. Repeated measures analyses of variance and covariance were conducted to test for the intervention effect and possible moderation by IQ and adaptive functioning. Results: The intervention effect on harmonious parent–child interaction was conditional on parental social adaptive behaviour at pretest, with lower adaptive functioning associated with stronger intervention benefit at post-test and follow-up compared to care as usual. Intervention effects were not conditional on parental IQ. Intervention effects for sensitive discipline were not found. Conclusion: Although the video-feedback intervention did not affect observed parenting for the average parent, it may benefit interaction between children and parents with lower parental adaptive functioning.