The Unique and Combined Effects of Prenatal and Early Childhood Programming on Child Maltreatment: Examining Mechanisms of Change

Women who receive the PMEP complete a structured set of sessions delivered over the course of 5 weeks, each session lasts 2 hours in duration: (1) becoming a group \& safety planning, (2) identifying and understanding sources of stress, (3) strategies to build resilience and resolve conflict, (4) perinatal health and infant care, and (5) positive parenting.

Each of the 5 RET sessions are 1 hour in duration. The program is manualized and each session includes teaching/review of skills, instructions/activity with rationale, reminiscing practice, and immediate video feedback by a family coach.

Women who are not randomized to the PMEP participate in a contact-equivalent, nondirective social support group.

Families randomized to this attentional control condition will receive enhanced case management. They will be mailed a kit containing 5 packets to be opened weekly. Each packet includes a family activity and a newsletter with parenting materials (e.g., Adventures in Parenting curriculum developed by NICHD) that were selected to not overlap with RET content (e.g., reading together, fitness, etc.). Using mothers' responses regarding access to resources on the Family Resource Scale (Dunst \& Leet, 1987), which is completed during the baseline visit, mothers will also receive referrals to community resources for items rated as inadequate.