Valentino, K., Cummings, E. M., Borkowski, J., Hibel, L. C., Lefever, J., & Lawson, M. (2019). Efficacy of a Reminiscing and Emotion Training intervention on maltreating families with preschool-aged children. Developmental Psychology, 55(11), 2365–2378. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000792

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 248 parent-child dyads

Population:

• Age — Children: 3–6 years old (Mean=4.90 years); Caregivers: Average=approximately 30 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 40% African American, 34% Hispanic/Other, and 25% White; Caregivers: 44% African American, 40% White, and 19% Hispanic/Other
• Gender — Children: 50% Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were families from the Department of Child Services (DCS) with maltreatment cases as well as nonmaltreating families that were recruited from the community.

Location/Institution: Midwest, United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to report the results of a randomized controlled trial of a brief, relational intervention for maltreated preschool-aged children and their mothers, called Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET). Participants were maltreating families that were randomly assigned to RET or a Community Standard (CS) condition. A non-maltreatment control (NC) group was also included as an additional comparison group. Measures utilized include the Affect Knowledge Task (AKT), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (PPVT-4), and video conversations between parents and children. Results indicate that the key mechanisms targeted by the RET interventions were enhanced, such that mothers who participated in RET were significantly better in elaboration and sensitive guidance during reminiscing at the posttest than were maltreating mothers who did not receive the intervention, with medium to large effect sizes; additionally, mothers in the RET group were more elaborative than mothers from the non-maltreatment group. Children in the RET condition also contributed significantly more memories and had better emotional knowledge than did children in the CS condition, controlling for baseline values and language, and approximated the functioning of non-maltreated children. Limitations include that the results are limited to improvements in maternal behaviors observed in the laboratory setting and in the context of reminiscing, results are not generalizable to observable changes in other parenting behavior and parent–child relationships outside the context of reminiscing, and longitudinal follow-up of these families over time is necessary to assess the potential long-term benefits of the RET intervention.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 weeks.

Speidel, R., Wang, L., Cummings, E. M., & Valentino, K. (2020). Longitudinal pathways of family influence on child self-regulation: The roles of parenting, family expressiveness, and maternal sensitive guidance in the context of child maltreatment. Developmental Psychology, 56(3), 608–622. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000782

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 238 mother-child dyads

Population:

• Age — Children: 50% Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 40% African American, 34% Hispanic/Other, and 25% White; Caregivers: 44% African American, 40% White, and 19% Hispanic/Other
• Gender — Children: 50% Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were families from the Department of Child Services (DCS) with maltreatment cases as well as non-maltreating families that were recruited from the community.

Location/Institution: United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Valentino et al. (2019). The purpose of the study was to evaluate 4 mediators (positive parenting, positive and negative family expressiveness, and maternal sensitive guidance during reminiscing) as process variables through which maltreatment relates to 2 dimensions of child emotional self-regulation (adaptive emotion regulation and lability/negativity) measured across 3 time points (baseline, 2 months, and 6 months later) using longitudinal mediation analysis with latent growth modeling. Participants were maltreating families that were randomly assigned to Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET) or a Community Standard (CS) condition. A non-maltreatment control (NC) group was also included as an additional comparison group. Measures utilized include the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4), the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-Preschool Revision (APQ-PR), the Family Expressiveness Questionnaire (FEQ), the Autobiographical Emotional Events Dialogue protocol, and the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC). Results indicate that the primary analysis, maternal sensitive guidance at baseline mediated relations between early maltreatment and emotion regulation and lability/negativity at 6 months, and latent change in emotion regulation across the 3 time points. Additionally, RET predicted steeper positive change in emotion regulation. In the secondary analysis, there was evidence of indirect effects of RET on emotional self-regulation through maternal sensitive guidance, positive parenting, and positive family expressiveness. Limitations include reliance on parent report of child emotion regulation and the narrow time span of the study.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 weeks and 18 weeks.

Valentino, K., Speidel, R., & Lawson, M. (2021). Developmental and intervention‐related change in autobiographical memory specificity in maltreated children: Indirect effects of maternal reminiscing. Child Development, 92(5), e977–e996. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13556

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 232 mother-child dyads

Population:

• Age — Children: 36–86 months (Mean=59.08 months); Caregivers: Average= Approximately 30 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 40% African American, 35% Latinx/Other, and 26% White; Caregivers: 44% African American, 40% White, and 19% Hispanic/Other
• Gender — Children: 50% Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were families from the Department of Child Services (DCS) with maltreatment cases as well as non-maltreating families that were recruited from the community

Location/Institution: Midwest, United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Valentino et al. (2019). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the development of autobiographical memory specificity (AMS) in a longitudinal randomized controlled trial of the Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET) intervention with maltreated and nonmaltreated children and their mothers. Participants were maltreating families that were randomly assigned to RET or a Community Standard (CS) condition. A non-maltreatment control (NC) group was also included as an additional comparison group. Measures utilized include the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT-PV), the Maternal Maltreatment Classification Interview (MMCI), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition. Results indicate that the RET intervention improvement in maternal sensitive guidance 6-month postintervention related to greater autobiographical memory specificity (AMS) among maltreated children 1 year later. Limitations include that maltreatment subtype was not examined due to the sample not being powered adequately to compare maltreatment subtypes, and results may not generalize to abusing families.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 weeks, 18 weeks, and 10.5 months.

Valentino, K., Hibel, L. C., Speidel, R., Fondren, K., & Ugarte, E. (2021). Longitudinal effects of maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and Reminiscing and Emotion Training on children's diurnal cortisol regulation. Development and Psychopathology, 33(3), 868–884. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457942000019X

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 237 mother-child dyads

Population:

• Age — Children: 36–86 months (Mean=59.08 months); Caregivers: Average=Approximately 30 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 40% African American, 34% Latinx/Other, 26% White, and 25% Hispanic; Caregivers: 44% African American, 40% White, and 19% Hispanic/Other
• Gender — Children: 50% Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were families from the Department of Child Services (DCS) with maltreatment cases as well as non-maltreating families that were recruited from the community.

Location/Institution: Midwest, United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Valentino et al. (2019). The purpose of the study was to evaluate associations between maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and the Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET) intervention with changes in children’s diurnal cortisol regulation across the 1 year following the intervention; and examine the extent to which improvements in maternal elaborative reminiscing differed between intervention groups and mediated change in children’s physiological functioning. Participants were maltreating families that were randomly assigned to RET or a Community Standard (CS) condition. A non-maltreatment control (NC) group was also included as an additional comparison group. Measures utilized include the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition, the Maternal Maltreatment Classification Interview (MMCI), the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale—Short Form, and saliva samples were collected to test diurnal cortisol levels. Results indicate that the RET intervention was associated with significant positive change in elaborative reminiscing, which was sustained over time. Mothers’ elaboration immediately after the intervention served as a mediator of RET’s effects on improvements in children’s diurnal cortisol regulation (steeper diurnal slopes) from baseline to 1 year following intervention. Limitations include limited statistical power to evaluate more complex models such as considering interactions among IPV, maltreatment, and RET on these processes over time, did not incorporate measurement of the sensitive guidance with which mothers’ engaged in reminiscing into the models, the study exclusively focused on biological mothers with substantiated maltreatment, and concerns about generalizability to populations other than child welfare.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 18 weeks and 10.5 months

Valentino, K., Speidel, R., Fonder, K., Behrens, B., Edler, K., Cote, K., & Cummings, E. M. (2022). Longitudinal effects of Reminiscing and Emotion Training on child maladjustment in the context of maltreatment and maternal depressive symptoms. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 50(1), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-021-00794-0

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 242 mother-child dyads

Population:

• Age — Children: 36– 86 months (Mean=59.08 months); Caregivers: Average=approximately 30 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 40% African American, 34% Latinx/Other, 26% White, and 25% Hispanic; Caregivers: 44% African American, 40% White, and 19% Hispanic/Other
• Gender — Children: 50% Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were families from the Department of Child Services (DCS) with maltreatment cases as well as non-maltreating families that were recruited from the community.

Location/Institution: Midwest, United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Valentino et al. (2019). The purpose of the study was to evaluate associations between maltreatment, maternal depressive symptoms, and the Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET) intervention with changes in children’s maladjustment across one year following the intervention and examine the extent to which intervention-related improvement in maternal emotion socialization mediated change in children’s maladjustment. Participants were maltreating families that were randomly assigned to RET or a Community Standard (CS) condition. A non-maltreatment control (NC) group was also included as an additional comparison group. Measures utilized include the Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CES-D), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results indicate that RET intervention-related improvement in maternal sensitive guidance mediated the effects of RET on reduced child maladjustment among maltreated children one year later. By comparison, poor sensitive guidance mediated the effects of maltreatment on higher child maladjustment among families that did not receive the RET intervention. Direct effects of maternal depressive symptoms on child maladjustment were also observed. Limitations include the limited statistical power to evaluate more complex models such as considering interactions among maternal depressive symptoms, maltreatment, and RET on these processes over time; did not evaluate ethnicity, or other demographic factors as a moderator of associations between emotion socialization and child adjustment; and the reliance on maternal report for child maladjustment symptoms over time.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 18 weeks and 10.5 months.

Behrens, B., Edler, K., Cote, K., & Valentino, K. (2022). Child internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among maltreating and non-maltreating families: Examining the effects of family resources and the Reminiscing and Emotion Training intervention. Child Abuse & Neglect, 130(Part 1), Article 105375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105375

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 137 mother-child dyads

Population:

• Age — Children: 5–13 years (Mean=9.08 years); Caregivers: Average=Approximately 30 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: Not specified; Caregivers: 64% Black, Latinx, or Multi-Racial and 37% White
• Gender — Children: 75 Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were families from the Department of Child Services (DCS) with maltreatment cases as well as non-maltreating families that were recruited from the community.

Location/Institution: Midwest, United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Valentino et al. (2019). The purpose of the study was to investigate how family resources during the pandemic, race, maltreatment, and pre-pandemic involvement in an emotion socialization intervention, Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET) were associated with child internalizing symptoms during the pandemic. Participants were maltreating families that were randomly assigned to RET or a Community Standard (CS) condition. A non-maltreatment control (NC) group was also included as an additional comparison group. Measures utilized include the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CES-D), the Family Resource Scale (FRS), and the adapted Pregnancy and Risk Assessment Monitoring Symptoms (PRAMS). Results indicate that family resources during the pandemic were significantly and inversely associated with child internalizing symptoms. There was a significant indirect effect of RET on child internalizing symptoms through sensitive reminiscing and a prior assessment of child maladjustment. Limitations include the study used only a subset of the original RCT; the sample size for this study limits more complex analyses; assessment was limited to children’s internalizing symptoms and did not allow for identification of clinical levels of symptoms or impairment, and instead provided a continuous measure of symptomatology; findings may not fully capture the impact of the pandemic on financial and psychological well-being due to government provided stimulus checks; and maternal emotion socialization behaviors were not assessed during the pandemic.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 18 weeks, 10.5 months, and 50.2 months.

McClaine, R. N., Edler, K., Lawson, M., & Valentino, K. (2023). Maternal autonomy support in a randomized controlled trial of the Reminiscing and Emotion Training intervention. Mental Health & Prevention, 32, Article 200304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2023.200304

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 248 mother-child dyads

Population:

• Age — Children: 3–6 years old (Mean=4.90 years); Caregivers: Average= approximately 30 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 40% African American, 34% Hispanic/Other, and 25% White; Caregivers: 44% African American, 40% White, and 19% Hispanic/Other
• Gender — Children: 50% Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were families from the Department of Child Services (DCS) with maltreatment cases as well as non-maltreating families that were recruited from the community.

Location/Institution: Midwest, United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Valentino et al. (2019). The purpose of the study was to assess whether the Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET) intervention was associated with improved maternal autonomy support during reminiscing and whether improved autonomy support was associated with enhanced child emotion knowledge after RET. Participants were maltreating families that were randomly assigned to RET or a Community Standard (CS) condition. A non-maltreatment control (NC) group was also included as an additional comparison group. Measures utilized include the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4), the 25-item Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Family Resource Scale (FRS), and a five-item measure adapted from the Pregnancy and Risk Assessment Monitoring Symptoms (PRAMS). Results indicate that mothers displayed significantly less baseline autonomy support during reminiscing than nonmaltreating mothers. Contrary to hypotheses, RET did not significantly improve autonomy support. However, baseline autonomy support was significantly and positively correlated with children’s emotion knowledge at baseline and follow-up. Limitations include the RET and CS groups were collapsed into a single maltreating group and maternal autonomy support was coded on a single Likert scale from 1 to 9 (autonomy supportive).

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 weeks

Edler, K., Behrens, B., Jacques, K. P., & Valentino, K. (2023). Preventing child welfare reinvolvement: The efficacy of the Reminiscing and Emotion Training intervention. Development and Psychopathology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579423000809

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 248 mother-child dyads

Population:

• Age — Children: 3–6 years old (Mean=4.90 years); Caregivers: Average=approximately 30 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 40% African American, 34% Hispanic/Other, and 25% White; Caregivers: 44% African American, 40% White, and 19% Hispanic/Other
• Gender — Children: 50% Male; Caregivers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were families from the Department of Child Services (DCS) with maltreatment cases as well as non-maltreating families that were recruited from the community,

Location/Institution: Midwest, United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Valentino et al. (2019). The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET) was associated with reductions in child welfare reinvolvement over the course of two years. Participants were maltreating families that were randomly assigned to RET or a Community Standard (CS) condition. A non-maltreatment control (NC) group was also included as an additional comparison group. Measures utilized include the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Fourth Edition (PPVT-4). Results indicate that comparing CS and RET dyads, there was a significant effect of RET on frequency of child welfare reinvolvement (substantiations and unsubstantiated assessments) during the two years following dyads’ enrollment in the intervention. There was a significant indirect effect of RET on child welfare reinvolvement through maternal sensitive guidance during reminiscing. Limitations include the indirect effect of RET on frequency of child welfare involvement through post-intervention maternal sensitive guidance during reminiscing was not significant when controlling for maternal receptive language on all variables in the model; not all child maltreatment is identified by authorities, and so records may underrepresent all new instances of child maltreatment in the sample; and the sample was not nationally or globally representative in terms of race, ethnicity, and culture.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 22.5 months.

The following studies were not included in rating RET on the Scientific Rating Scale...

Valentino, K., Comas, M., Nuttall, A. K., & Thomas, T. (2013). Training maltreating parents in elaborative and emotion-rich reminiscing with their preschool-aged children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(8), 585–595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.02.010

The purpose of the study was to examine effects of training maltreating parents and their preschool-aged children in elaborative and emotion-rich reminiscing. Participants were randomly assigned to a Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET) or waitlist (control) condition. Measures utilized include the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (PPVT-4) and video conversations between parents and children. Results indicate that at follow-up assessment, maltreating parents in the RET condition provided more high-elaborative utterances, references to children’s negative emotions, and explanations of children’s emotion during reminiscing than did parents in the control condition. Children in the RET condition had richer memory recall and made more emotion references than did children in the control condition during reminiscing with their mothers, but not with an experimenter. Limitations include the inability to examine long-term effects of the training as all families were ultimately offered RET, unable to attribute differences between groups to the RET specifically, or to the provision of opportunities for professional guidance more generally, as the wait-list comparison group did not receive comparable face-to-fact contact, and longitudinal research with a randomized controlled design is necessary in order to determine whether maltreating parents are able to maintain improvements in reminiscing, and whether maltreated children show the associated improvements in cognitive and emotional skills. Note: This article was not used in the rating process since it does not report on the entire version of Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET).