The effect of parent-child interaction course on separation anxietyin 2-6-year-old children

Objective To observe the intervention effect of parent-child interaction courses on children's high level of separation anxiety. Methods Completed the translation of The Joint Engagement Rating Inventory(JERI), 5 items were selected to evaluate the quality of parent-child interaction. 102 videos were encoded to verify the interrater reliability of the items. 20 children aged 2-6 from Beijing with separation anxiety emotional problems were selected and divided into experimental group and control group. The experimental group attended parent-child interaction courses for 5 times in 5 weeks through the Internet and submitted parent-child interaction video for weekly assignment, when the control group received regular family education. Both groups were evaluated by the interview scale of separation anxiety problems and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire before and after the intervention. JERI was used to code the parent-child interaction of the experimental group after the weekly course. Results The test difference of separation anxiety score before and after intervention in the experimental group was significantly greater than that in the control group(P< 0. 05). JERI's average score of the experimental group increased gradually with the progress of the course. Conclusion Parentchild interaction course can effectively reduce separation anxiety level of children and improve the quality of parent-child interaction.