Peer-reviewed article
Nurturing attachments group: A virtual group intervention for adults caring for traumatised children in the context of COVID-19
Matthew Lewis, Steven Stirk, Harriet Collie, Yasmin Ansbro, Rachel Johnson et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study evaluated a virtual group intervention called the Nurturing Attachments Group, designed to help professionals and co-professionals (such as foster carers and kinship carers) support children who have experienced developmental trauma. The intervention was tested during the COVID-19 pandemic with 140 participants, of whom 51 completed both before and after measurements. The results showed that participants reported improvements in parental self-efficacy and caregiving capacity, suggesting the virtual format could be effective for this purpose.
Key points
- 140 individuals attended eight virtual Nurturing Attachments Groups, with 51 (36%) completing both pre- and post-measures
- Statistically significant positive increases on the Brief Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (d = .55) and Care Questionnaire (d = .62)
- Statistically significant decrease on the Pre-mentalising subscale of the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire
- The intervention was successfully delivered virtually during COVID-19 lockdowns
- Both professionals and co-professionals (e.g. foster carers) could participate together in the same groups
Limitations
The study was a pilot feasibility study with only 36% of attendees completing both pre- and post-measures, which limits the generalisability of findings. The document does not report longer-term follow-up or comparison with a control group, so we cannot determine whether improvements persist over time or are attributable to the intervention specifically.
Abstract
Background: Evidence indicates that the more traditional and behavioural parenting strategies are ineffective when parenting a child who has experienced developmental trauma. Recognising the need to parent with an attachment focus, the current paper evaluates the effectiveness of running the [Enfys] Nurturing Attachments Group, virtually, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A pilot feasibility study evaluated eight bespoke groups. Consenting professionals and co-professionals completed the Brief Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (BFSS), Care Questionnaire (CQ) and the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ). Results: One hundred forty individuals attended the groups, with 51 (36%) completing both pre-and post-measures. The results provide evidence that professionals and co-professionals reported statistically significant positive increases on both the BPSS ( d = .55) and CQ ( d = .62). For the PRFQ, the results showed a statistically significant decrease on the Pre-mentalising sub scale, a non-significant mid-range score for Certainty about Mental States and a non-significant increase for Parental Interest and Curiosity in Mental States. Conclusion: The study has demonstrated initial viability of effectively facilitating the [Enfys] Nurturing Attachments Group, virtually. Importantly, it has also shown that the group can be run with professionals alongside co-professionals.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- The Enfys Nurturing Attachments Group: a virtual group-based intervention providing attachment-focused parenting support to professionals and co-professionals during COVID-19
- Population
- 140 professionals and co-professionals (e.g. foster carers, kinship carers) caring for traumatised children, with 51 completing pre- and post-measures
Key finding
Brief Parental Self-Efficacy Scale showed statistically significant improvement (d = .55)