Dyad as focus, triad as means: A family-centered approach to supporting parent-child interactions

Abstract

One factor that has been shown to differentiate more successful intervention efforts from less successful ones is the extent to which interventions are aimed at supporting and enhancing the roles of families as competent and confident caregivers of their young children. This article presents a triadic interaction model that builds on and expands the strengths of the parent-infant dyad by providing contextual and interpersonal support for their interactions. The model gives explicit attention to the interactions among the three members of the intervention triad: child, parent, and interventionist.