Teaching Young Mothers to Identify Developmental Milestones

Inappropriate parental expectations of age-appropriate behaviors and unawareness of developmental milestones can increase instances of child maltreatment. Additionally, experiences of child maltreatment can have a negative impact on the developmental trajectory of a child. The present research describes a parental aide, the tDevelop, delivered to parents at risk for child maltreatment through SafeCare Parent-Child Interaction (PCI) training with the aim of increasing identification of developmental milestones and age-appropriate activities. Two high-risk families with children close to 24-months of age were recruited from a residential program for young mothers working to develop self-sufficiency skills. The families were presented with the tDevelop along with traditional PCI information, including Planned Activities Training and age-appropriate activities. Data from a multiple-probe, single-case experimental design, suggest that mothers are able to recognize developmental milestones with increased accuracy upon intervention with the tDevelop. These findings suggest that the enhanced PCI protocol may enhance parental identification of developmental milestones. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am beyond grateful to my committee chair, Dr. John R. Lutzker, for his motivation, guidance, and patience. His time commitment and personal investment in pushing me to grow as a researcher made this experience all the more worthwhile. Thanks also to my committee, Dr. Daniel Crimmins and Dr. Jenelle Shanley, for their time investment and generous feedback. I am particularly grateful to my fellow GRAs who provided continuous encouragement and support, but most importantly endless laughs throughout the thesis process. I am also genuinely grateful for the continuous love and support from my friends and family who have endured endless hours of complaints, excitement, stress, and preparation. In presenting this thesis as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the Library of the University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote from, to copy from, or to publish this thesis may be granted by the author or, in his/her absence, by the professor under whose direction it was written, or in his/her absence, by the Associate Dean, College of Health and Human Sciences. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without written permission of the author. All theses …