The quality of the parenting relationship has a significant impact on a child's safety, but how can youth care professionals evaluate this? Educational scientist Mirte Forrer, child development specialist and manager at Jeugdbescherming (Child Protection), developed an observation tool for parental sensitivity as part of her PhD research.
Parental sensitivity – noticing, understanding, and appropriately responding to a child's signals – contributes to secure attachment and healthy development. “Parental sensitivity is a key predictor of children's development, including attachment, social competence, academic skills, and behavioural problems”, says educational scientist Mirte Forrer. Alongside her work as a manager and child development specialist at Jeugdbescherming (Child Protection), she pursued a PhD at VU Amsterdam, focusing on parental sensitivity.
The World Health Organization and the Health Council of the Netherlands, among others, recommend supporting families in providing parental sensitivity. To determine which families may need such support, professionals in youth care and child protection require effective observation tools. “However, existing tools are not suitable for everyday practice”, Forrer explains. For her dissertation, she aimed to develop a practical, user-friendly observation tool for parental sensitivity. Additionally, she sought to explore whether observing parental sensitivity alone is sufficient or whether professionals should also assess other aspects of parenting, such as warmth, autonomy support, and hostility.
“Initial tests showed that an illustrated decision tree could be a promising format”, says Forrer. Building on this, she designed the Opvoeder-Kind Interactie (Caregiver-Child Interaction; OK!) app and e-learning package. The OK! app enables professionals to observe parental sensitivity quickly and systematically using a visual decision tree. The accompanying e-learning course teaches them how to use the tool, interpret the results, and discuss findings with caregivers, including a reliability assessment. Research confirmed that the OK! package provides a reliable ad valid method for observing parent-child interaction.
Forrer also researched whether other parenting behaviours should be observed. Her research revealed that parental sensitivity is a significant predictor of children’s development, and other parenting behaviours do not additionally show a predictive role or consistent predictive role.
With the OK! app and e-learning, youth care professionals now have a practical tool to quickly and reliably assess parent-child interaction. Forrer states, “This strengthens support for children and families and enhances shared decision-making.”