eCONNECT: an online attachment-based intervention for parents to reduce adolescents’ attachment insecurity and behavioural problems.

Our contribution includes preliminary data on the effectiveness of the online version of the CONNECT program, an evidence-based attachment-focused parenting intervention to decrease adolescents' behavioural problems and improve parent-adolescent relationships (Barone et al., 2021). Participants were 24 parents (20 mothers; Mage = 49.33, SD = 5.32) of adolescents (Mage = 13.83 years, SD = 1.76, 45.8% girls). Parents rated their (mal)adaptive emotion regulation strategies and their adolescents' attachment insecurity and behavioural problems before participating in the eCONNECT program (t1), within two weeks after treatment (t2), and at 2-months follow-up (t3). Data highlight significant changes in parents' reports of adolescents' avoidant attachment (F(2) = 10.77, p < .01) between t1 and t2 and t1 and t3, but no significant change in anxious attachment. Moreover, results show significant changes in parents reports of adolescents’ internalizing symptoms (F(2) = 10.77, p < .05) between t1 and t2, and significant changes in externalizing symptoms (F(2) = 4.16, p < .05) between t1 and t2, and t1 and t3. Finally, data show a significant decrease in parents' maladaptive emotion regulation strategies after treatment. Overall, the results suggest the effectiveness of eCONNECT and stimulate discussion about identifying specific mechanisms of change in future studies.