Judith Lebiger-Vogel

Early Motherhood in Migration: A First Report from FIRST STEPS - An Integration Project for Infants with an Immigrant Background

Background: Children with an immigrant background tend to underachieve in German education with respect to their German peers. Furthermore they are more likely to live in high-risk environments. Quite a number of projects for the integration of these children exist. However most of them are hardly scientifically evaluated. The project FIRST STEPS focuses on the earliest integration of children with an immigrant background by supporting parenting capacities in the critical phase of migration and early parenthood. Furthermore it serves as a scientifically evaluated model project. Methods: By using a prospective randomized comparison group design the effectiveness of a psychoanalytically oriented early prevention program (intervention A) is compared to the outcomes of groups offered by paraprofessionals with an immigrant background (intervention B). Both interventions begin during pregnancy and last until the commencement of kindergarten when the children are about three years old. Over 270 families have already been recruited in Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. A variety of different instruments is applied during as well as after the intervention in order to assess social and family stressors, the quality of the parent-child-interaction, child attachment security, the affective, cognitive and social-emotional development as well as language development of the children, the children’s stress level and the social integration of the families. Results and Conclusion: The project is still on-going and aims at evaluating the implementation as well as the short- and long-term effectiveness of the psychoanalytically oriented intervention. A compared to the outcomes of intervention B (comparison group). First preliminary results show that FIRST STEPS is accepted by these “difficult to reach” immigrant families and indeed can support the early motherhood in migration.

FIRST STEPS – a randomized controlled trial on the evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of two early prevention programs for promoting the social integration and a healthy development of children with an immigrant background from 0–3

BackgroundThe social integration of children with an immigrant background has become one of the most urgent social responsibilities in Germany. They are more likely to live in high-risk environments and are disadvantaged with respect to health related variables as well as educationally. Quite a number of projects supporting their integration into the German society exist although many are hardly scientifically evaluated. Most of them focus on the acquisition of German language and therefore address older children (and adults). However, international experts agree that social integration is not only a matter of language but also of earlier developmental processes of children in their first months of life connected to adequate early parenting.Methods/DesignThe model project FIRST STEPS focuses on earliest prevention for children with an immigrant background, supporting their parents in the critical phase of migration and early parenthood. In a prospective randomized comparison group design the effectiveness of a psychoanalytically oriented early prevention program (intervention A) is compared to the outcomes of groups offered by paraprofessionals with an immigrant background (intervention B). Intervention A is a professional offer supporting immigrant families based on developmental psychological and on knowledge on early parenting. 180 families are randomly assigned to intervention A or B. They are supported during the first 3 years of the children’s lives. Social and family stressors, the quality of the parent–child-interaction, child attachment security, the affective, cognitive and social-emotional development of the children and the social integration of the families are assessed during and after the intervention.DiscussionThe project aims at evaluating the implementation as well as the short- and long-term effectiveness of psychoanalytically oriented intervention A compared to the outcomes of intervention B. It is expected that professionally supported early parenting (intervention A) improves the social-emotional, cognitive and language development of immigrant children as well as the social integration of their families to a greater extent than in the comparison groups. In case the model project proves to be effective, a rollout across Germany is possible. Due to the “difficult-to-reach” immigrant families challenges in recruitment, uptake and retention of participants are anticipated.Trial registrationDRKS-ID: DRKS00004632, trial registration date: 05.02.2013

Transition to Kindergarten: Negative Associations between the Emotional Availability in Mother–Child Relationships and Elevated Cortisol Levels in Children with an Immigrant Background

Background: The transition to child care is a challenging time in a child’s life and leads to elevated levels of cortisol. These elevations may be influenced by the quality of the mother–child relationship. However, remarkably little is known about cortisol production in response to the beginning of child care among children-at-risk such as children with an immigrant background. However, attending kindergarten or any other child day-care institution can for example have a compensating effect on potential language deficits thus improving the educational opportunities of these children. Method: Data of a subsample of N = 24 “hard-to-reach” mother–child dyads was collected in the context of the psychoanalytic early prevention project FIRST STEPS. The project focuses on the earliest integration of children with an immigrant background by supporting parenting capacities in the critical phase of migration and early parenthood. Children’s hair cortisol concentration (HCC) was assessed 1 week before (mean age = 38.77 months) and 3 months after kindergarten entry (mean age = 42.26 months). Hair analysis was conducted for both times of measurement, reflecting the first 3 months after kindergarten entry and 3 months prior. Furthermore, the emotional quality of the mother–child relationship was assessed with the help of the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS; Biringen, 2008) shortly before kindergarten entry when the children were about 3 years old (mean age = 37.2). Results and Conclusion: Children’s mean cumulated HCC was higher after kindergarten entry than before. The increase correlated negatively with several dimensions of the EAS. Repeated measures ANCOVA revealed that particularly responsive children and children who had experienced less intrusive mother–child relationships demonstrated lower elevations in HCC after kindergarten entry. Furthermore, a decreased EA score was found in all EA dimensions, besides the dimension “mother’s non-hostility,” indicating problematic EA within the mother–child relationships of the sample. The results suggest that children with an immigrant background who experience more emotional available mother–child relationships seem to regulate stress induced by kindergarten entry more effectively, indicated by lower cortisol elevations after entry. This implicates that supporting early mother–child relationships by intervention may have a positive effect on the children’s ability to regulate stress induced by kindergarten entry thus promoting child development.