Over many years many psychologists and clinicians have developed theories of childhood development. These include theories relating to the parent child giver relationship with theories of attachment as well as theories of cognitive development and theories of social development. Many of these theories demonstrate how
childhood development can be effected by the primary caregivers. The works of Bowlby and Ainsworth have been particularly important in the development of the concept of sensitive and responsive caregiving, which impacts positively on child’s attachment. Further to this, newer concepts are being developed including the work of Fonagy and his theory of reflective functioning.
When evaluating why a parent may need support, it is clear that there is a strong evidence base to show the positive link between sensitive and responsive caregiving approaches and the overall development of the child. Parents must be supported in their ability to demonstrate these skills. Upon completion of this review it is also clear that reflective parenting appears to demonstrate some promising links with child attachment and a parent’s ability to demonstrate responsive and sensitive caregiving. The evidence to support this is somewhat limited to that conducted by the initial research team and it will be interesting to see if further research in this area is carried out in the future as more counties like Merseyside adopt reflective parenting into their parenting programmes.
There is some evidence to suggest that sensitive, responsive and reflective caregiving could all occur naturally. Although having a new born baby can be a stressful time on top of which everyday modern day stressors will impact a parents caregiving abilities and all parents will at some point require some form of additional support or advice. Sensitive, responsive and reflective parenting are important concepts and when a parent’s natural ability is influenced negatively by external factors, support may be needed. Parental interventions can be used to improve upon these skills and have been shown to have a positive impact for improving a parent’s sensitive, responsive and reflective caregiving when targeted to parent’s specific needs. There is limited evidence to demonstrate their effectiveness when designed for the
The type of support available in the UK and Merseyside outlined in government policy involves specific early childcare support from Midwives, Health Visitors and children’s centres. The National Association of Parenting Research also provides a database to aid commissioners and parents in finding parental interventions specific to their child’s age and needs and highlights programmes such as the Family Nurse Partnership which should be available to all parents across the UK. However for those universal parents in Merseyside it is not clear if any of these parenting interventions are easily available as internet searches suggests that they are not always provided. This consequently leads me to question, who do parents turn to for additional parenting support, are government services enough, do they use the internet or are they turning to friends and family for advice and support?
When establishing what type support parent’s value evidence is limited and focuses on particular services rather than the general picture of parenting support. Very few studies were also found to evaluate general opinions of parents in the UK, exploring why they need support, where they go for support and what they think about the support they receive.
The questions that have emerged from the literature review now lead me to the aims of my study:
To understand how caregivers from different backgrounds in Merseyside know and learn to be responsive, sensitive and reflective to their babies. Where they go to for support and what services do they value.
In order to achieve this aim the following objectives have also been set:
A: To understand through caregivers experiences why they require support with their responsive, sensitive and reflective care.
B: To understand through caregivers perspectives how they are being supported with their responsive, sensitive and reflective care.
C: To understand through caregivers opinions what they value when being supported with their responsive, sensitive and reflective care.
Chapter Three
Qualitative Research Methods in the Context of the Research Proposal
When deciding upon the research methods for this project it was important to pick an appropriate technique in order to fully address the aims of the research question, which were;
To understand how caregivers from different backgrounds in Merseyside know and learn to be responsive, sensitive and reflective to their babies. Where they go to for support and what services do they value.
Qualitative approaches are particularly relevant when exploring the participant’s views and opinions. As my literature review has shown, those studies which also attempted to make sense of, or explore the opinions and views of their participants tended to be qualitative in nature or take the form of a survey.
A quantitative survey was considered as a data collection method. Well-designed surveys can be completed quickly by the participants, and can provide a lot of information. However it would be hard to formulate an appropriate survey that encompassed all the possible avenues of support that a parent may use in
Merseyside. It would also limit the ability for them to express their true views and opinions in detail.
To undertake this work, a decision has therefore been made to utilise qualitative research methods, as these techniques have been identified as being best for allowing the research team to understand the views and opinions of parents in Merseyside. Within this chapter I will discuss the details and chosen techniques of qualitative methods that will be used in the study. I will first outline the benefits of using this methodology as well as my rationale for utilising the specific methods chosen in my qualitative study. Then I will move on to discuss the approaches used to maintain quality assurance within qualitative studies and for ensuring the validity of my results.