Research that Benefits Children and Families- Uplifting Stories

I’ve recently become interested in home visiting as an early intervention process for children and families with “at risk” characteristics. While I have done home visiting as a teacher, the home visits I had were short (30-60 minutes), happened only once or twice per year, and I basically just reviewed the child’s progress with the parent. Also, the home visits I had were not only home visits; they were visits away from school. I would often meet with families at tee-ball games or the ice cream parlor. My recent interest is in home visits as an early intervention. These home visits give families the training, ideas, and tools they need to provide their child with experiences that can prevent them from lagging behind their peers simply based on their “risk factors” that often include poverty. The home visits are provided weekly for an hour or more. This interest developed as I began to supervise home visitors for early head start. Their strong belief in the benefits of the program made me want to know more. My craving for more information on the topic led me to a couple of articles that relate with research the benefits of home visiting programs for “at risk” children and families.

The first article by Reynolds, Mathieson, and Topitzes (2009) is a review of research on the prevention of child abuse and maltreatment as a result of professional home visits as an early intervention process. After reviewing fifteen studies, the authors concluded that home visit early intervention was responsible for a 31% reduction in the incidence of child abuse or maltreatment in the program areas. While the authors found this to be significant, it was determined that more long term studies need to be conducted for the research to be conclusive. Young children see the benefits of these home visits as their families learn of new ways to handle their child’s behaviors or their own emotions.

The second article cautiously determines that home visits for depressed mothers can assist the mothers in enhancing their maternal sensitivity. Maternal sensitivity in infant years is critical in maximizing a child’s further development. Home visits gave these mothers the information and training they need to understand what they need to give to their infants and how they can help themselves (Kersten-Alvarez, Hosman, Riksen-Walraven, Van Doesum, & Hoefnagels, 2010). Determining that home visiting has such big impacts on young children and their families helps me to understand the importance of the programs that offer home visits as part of the program plan.  

References:

Kersten-Alvarez, L. E., Hosman, C. M. H., Riksen-Walraven, J. M., Van Doesum, K. T. M., & Hoefnagels, C. (2010). Long term effects of home-visiting interventions for depressed mothers and their infants. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(10), 1160-1170. doi: 10.1111/j.14697610.2010.02268.x Retrieved from Walden University Library EBSCOHost.

Reynolds, A. J., Mathieson, L. C., & Topitzes, J. W. (2009). Do early childhood interventions prevent child                maltreatment?. Child Maltreatment, 14(2), 182-206. doi: 10.1177/1077559508326223 Retrieved  from Walden University Library SAGE Publishing.