A study of the effectiveness of self-video interventions on parent-child interaction and children's verbal communication skills and the experience of video interaction guidance for parents of children with communication difficulties

Abstract

It is widely believed that positive parent-child interaction fosters child development. Interventions involving participants viewing videos of their own interactions (self- video interventions) can support the development of interaction skills. The systematic literature review focused on the effectiveness of self-video interventions on parent- child interaction and the verbal communication skills of children. The study focused on nine published, empirical studies. Findings suggested some positive outcomes relating to parents‘ interaction skills and aspects of children‘s expressive and receptive language skills. Whilst there is some evidence that self-video interventions can have a positive effect on parent-child interactions and children‘s verbal communication skills, less is known about the parental experience of self-video interventions (Lomas, 2011). One specific self-video intervention, video interaction guidance (VIG) was then investigated in a practitioner research project. The project aimed to uncover the parental experience of VIG. Three participants took part in one cycle of VIG and one interview with the researcher who was a trainee VIG guider. Interview data were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The findings indicated parents valued the opportunity for reflection using video and they felt empowered to make positive changes in their relationships with their children through one cycle of VIG. The findings also raised questions about parents‘ experiences of control and feelings of being judged during VIG. Participants felt the VIG experience involved a degree of professional judgement of their parenting skills and their children‘s verbal communication skills. This is discussed within the wider socio-cultural context of practitioner-client relationships. Understanding of the function of the relationship between the guider and the VIG client was identified as a key area for future research.