Peer-reviewed article
What is the role of video feedback in supporting parents experiencing mental health problems?
Barlow J ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines how video feedback—showing parents recordings of their interactions with their child—can help parents with mental health problems improve their caregiving. Parental mental health issues significantly affect child development during the postnatal period. A meta-analysis of 20 studies with over 1,700 parent-child pairs found that video feedback improved parental sensitivity compared to control groups up to six months after the intervention. The paper explores how this approach might support secure attachment in infants whose parents face mental health challenges.
Key points
- Parental mental health problems have significant impact on multiple aspects of parental caregiving in the postnatal period
- Video feedback uses videotaped parent-child interactions to promote parental sensitivity
- Meta-analysis of 20 studies (1,757 dyads) found video feedback improved parental sensitivity compared with control or no intervention
- Effects were sustained up to six months' follow-up
- Video feedback may help parents with mental health problems support secure attachment development in infants
Limitations
This is a conceptual paper examining the potential role of video feedback rather than reporting new empirical findings. The document does not provide detailed analysis of which types of parental mental health problems are most responsive to the intervention, or whether benefits persist beyond six months.
Abstract
Abstract Body Parental mental health problems have been found to have a significant impact on a range of aspects of parental caregiving during the postnatal period, with significant implications in terms of key aspects of the child’s development. Video feedback is a generic term that refers to the use of videotaped interactions of the parent and child to promote parental sensitivity, and a recent meta‐analysis of 20 studies (1757 parent‐child dyads) found that video feedback can improve parental sensitivity compared with a control or no intervention up to six months’ follow‐up. This paper will examine the ways in which video feedback might contribute to the ability of parents with mental health problems to provide the type of caregiving that will promote the development of a secure attachment in the infant. Disclosure No significant relationships.