Hands and Hearts Together

NCT ID: NCT05834907

Last Updated: 2025-07-03

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

249 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-03-27

Study Completion Date

2027-06-30

Brief Summary

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Growing evidence demonstrates that secure attachment in childhood predicts children's healthy social, biological, and behavioral functioning, whereas insecure attachment predicts behavior problems and physiological dysregulation; thus, efforts to foster secure attachment are crucial for promoting the healthy development of children and families. This proposal describes a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an innovative intervention program that can be widely implemented designed to foster children's secure attachment, promote healthy physiological regulation, and reduce the risk for behavior problems: The Circle of Security ® Parenting (COS-P) intervention. To this end, investigators will conduct an RCT with 249 parent-child dyads enrolled or are eligible but not yet enrolled in two diverse Early Head Start (EHS) programs.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Parent-Child Relations Development, Infant Parenting Development, Child

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P)

These participants will receive the Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P) intervention, an attachment-based, manualized, 8-session (90 minutes/session), home visiting intervention.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Circle of Security Parenting

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

COS-P is an attachment-based, home visiting intervention intended to supporting parents in serving as "a secure base" from which their children can explore the world, and to which their children can return in times of distress (Bowlby, 1988). Such secure base parenting increases the likelihood of children's secure attachment. COS-P also targets parental responses to children's expression of their needs (e.g., crying), and is designed to help parents understand the ways in which their own (parental) dysregulated emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses to children's emotions and behaviors can limit their responsiveness to their children's attachment needs.

Little Talks

These participants will receive the Little Talks intervention, a manualized, 8-session (90 minutes/session) early literacy home visiting intervention.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Little Talks

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Little Talks is an early literacy home visiting intervention developed for low-income, racial and ethnic minority infants and toddlers, and has been tested in Early Head Start contexts (Manz et al., 2016; Manz et al. 2017). Little Talks uses book sharing to promote early literacy and has been adapted in both English and Spanish. The intervention utilizes modular treatments during home visits, teaching parents how to facilitate language interactions with their children through book sharing. Age appropriate books are given to parents to share with their children during the intervention.

Interventions

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Circle of Security Parenting

COS-P is an attachment-based, home visiting intervention intended to supporting parents in serving as "a secure base" from which their children can explore the world, and to which their children can return in times of distress (Bowlby, 1988). Such secure base parenting increases the likelihood of children's secure attachment. COS-P also targets parental responses to children's expression of their needs (e.g., crying), and is designed to help parents understand the ways in which their own (parental) dysregulated emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses to children's emotions and behaviors can limit their responsiveness to their children's attachment needs.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Little Talks

Little Talks is an early literacy home visiting intervention developed for low-income, racial and ethnic minority infants and toddlers, and has been tested in Early Head Start contexts (Manz et al., 2016; Manz et al. 2017). Little Talks uses book sharing to promote early literacy and has been adapted in both English and Spanish. The intervention utilizes modular treatments during home visits, teaching parents how to facilitate language interactions with their children through book sharing. Age appropriate books are given to parents to share with their children during the intervention.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Parents whose children (age 8 to 36 months) are enrolled or are eligible to be enrolled in Harrisburg PA and Lehigh Valley PA Early Head Start programs

Exclusion Criteria

* Parents who are not sufficiently fluent in the language in which COS-P intervention will be conducted (Spanish or English)
Minimum Eligible Age

8 Months

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Lehigh University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Maryland, College Park

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Jude Cassidy

Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Jude Cassidy, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Maryland, College Park

Susan Woodhouse, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Lehigh University

Locations

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University of Maryland, College Park

College Park, Maryland, United States

Site Status ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Jude Cassidy, Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

301-405-4973

Susan Woodhouse, Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

610-758-3269

Facility Contacts

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Susan Woodhouse, Ph.D.

Role: primary

610-758-3269

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Other Identifiers

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1R01HD105676-01A1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

1857396-18

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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