Collaborative development of a scoping review protocol to map instruments assessing the parent–infant relationship: An International Initiative from COST Action TREASURE

Early relational health during the first 24 months of life is a key determinant of child development and wellbeing. During this postnatal period, the parent-infant relationship plays a central role in emotional regulation, bonding, and developmental trajectories. Although the broader early relational health framework encompasses the first 1,000 days of life, this scoping review focuses specifically on the postnatal phase, where parent-infant interactions are directly observable and measurable. However, existing assessment instruments vary widely in their conceptual focus, scope, and characteristics, and no comprehensive review has systematically mapped tools used to assess the parent-infant relationship during early infancy. In response to this gap, a transdisciplinary working group within the COST Action CA22114 - TREASURE collaboratively developed a scoping review protocol to systematically map instruments assessing the parent-infant relationship from birth to 24 months of age. This Brief Report describes the collaborative methodological process underpinning the protocol's development. The process followed an iterative, consensus-driven approach involving multidisciplinary experts from multiple COST member countries. Through structured online meetings, the group clarified core constructs and established the age range using the Population-Concept-Context (PCC) framework. The JBI methodology for scoping reviews was adopted and aligned with PRISMA-ScR standards to ensure transparency and reproducibility. Progressive drafting, internal peer review, and iterative refinement led to the final protocol, which was registered on the Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/HRVX9).The resulting protocol provides a replicable methodological framework for mapping instruments that assess the parent-infant relationship in the first two years of life. This Brief Report presents a framework for collaborative protocol development in international research networks, promoting shared knowledge generation in early relational health research and offering potential applicability to other COST initiatives.

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Journal
Open Research Europe
Published
2026-01-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.21700.2
Primary Topic
Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Type
article
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article

Collaborative development of a scoping review protocol to map instruments assessing the parent–infant relationship: An International Initiative from COST Action TREASURE

Özlem Şensoy, Bahar Aksoy, Ewa Gieysztor, Gilberta Sousa et al.
Open Research Europe
Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
article

Collaborative development of a scoping review protocol to map instruments assessing the parent–infant relationship: An International Initiative from COST Action TREASURE

Özlem Şensoy, Bahar Aksoy, Ewa Gieysztor, Gilberta Sousa, Özlem ÖZEN KOÇ, Patrícia A. Gonçalves, Nicola Carone, Rosa Maria Marques Católico Silva, Carmen Power, Hazal Özdemir Koyu, Otília da Silva Freitas, Elif Gunay Bulut, Alena Lochmannová, Kristiina Uriko, Andreia Soares Gonçalves, Dora d'Orsi, Edanur Tar Bolacali, Semra Pinar, Mirlinda Markaj, Pinar Gencpinar, Esra Ardahan Akgül, Margarida Reis Santos, Tania Brandao, Remziye Can, Aycin Ezgi Onel, Anna-Lena Zietlow, Seda Ardahan Sevgili, Lence Miloseva, Diana Azevedo, Rajesh Shigdel, Wilson Abreu, Burcu Kömürcü Akik, Mario Santos, Sónia Brandão, Paula Prata, Rafael Caparros-Gonzalez, Patrícia Souto, Tuğçe Sönmez, Demet Gülaldı
article en

Abstract

Early relational health during the first 24 months of life is a key determinant of child development and wellbeing. During this postnatal period, the parent-infant relationship plays a central role in emotional regulation, bonding, and developmental trajectories. Although the broader early relational health framework encompasses the first 1,000 days of life, this scoping review focuses specifically on the postnatal phase, where parent-infant interactions are directly observable and measurable. However, existing assessment instruments vary widely in their conceptual focus, scope, and characteristics, and no comprehensive review has systematically mapped tools used to assess the parent-infant relationship during early infancy. In response to this gap, a transdisciplinary working group within the COST Action CA22114 - TREASURE collaboratively developed a scoping review protocol to systematically map instruments assessing the parent-infant relationship from birth to 24 months of age. This Brief Report describes the collaborative methodological process underpinning the protocol's development. The process followed an iterative, consensus-driven approach involving multidisciplinary experts from multiple COST member countries. Through structured online meetings, the group clarified core constructs and established the age range using the Population-Concept-Context (PCC) framework. The JBI methodology for scoping reviews was adopted and aligned with PRISMA-ScR standards to ensure transparency and reproducibility. Progressive drafting, internal peer review, and iterative refinement led to the final protocol, which was registered on the Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/HRVX9).The resulting protocol provides a replicable methodological framework for mapping instruments that assess the parent-infant relationship in the first two years of life. This Brief Report presents a framework for collaborative protocol development in international research networks, promoting shared knowledge generation in early relational health research and offering potential applicability to other COST initiatives.

Open Research EuropeVol. 5
University of Rome Tor Vergata (IT), Üsküdar University (TR), University of Leeds (GB), Ankara University (TR), Universidad de Granada (ES), Universidade do Porto (PT), Universidade Politécnica de Viana do Castelo (PT), Tallinn University (EE), Akdeniz University (TR), Ahi Evran University (TR), Charles University (CZ), Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi (TR), Izmir Kâtip Çelebi University (TR), Kırklareli University (TR), Wroclaw Medical University (PL), Ege University (TR), Independent Dance (GB), Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (PT), ISPA - Instituto Universitário (PT), Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ES), Tarsus University (TR), Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services (IL), Goce Delcev University (MK), Oldham Council (GB), Universidade Politécnica de Portalegre (PT), Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden – University of Applied Sciences (DE), University of Bergen (NO), Mustafa Kemal University (TR), Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University (TR), Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra (PT), Universidade da Madeira (PT), Istanbul University (TR), Comenius University Bratislava (SK), Technische Universität Dresden (DE), Gazi University (TR)
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Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
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