Correlates of disrupted behaviors in high‐risk and maltreating parents: A comparison of the AMBIANCE‐Brief and full versions

No study has yet examined the convergence between the AMBIANCE-Brief's assessment of disrupted behavior and the full AMBIANCE version and its associations with child attachment and parental sensitivity among parents reported for maltreatment. Based on a sample of 71 parents and their young children receiving child protection or community services in Canada due to maltreatment or elevated risk for maltreatment, this study showed a moderate convergence between scores of the brief and full versions of the AMBIANCE, but the correspondence between the disrupted/non-disrupted classifications was weak. The AMBIANCE-Brief score was significantly associated with two subscales of the full version-affective communication errors and withdrawal. The AMBIANCE-Brief was significantly associated with child attachment. Parents of securely attached children exhibited the lowest levels of disrupted behaviors, while parents of disorganized children showed higher levels of disrupted behaviors than those of secure children. Also, the overall score and dimensions of the AMBIANCE full version were not significantly associated child attachment. Moreover, neither the brief nor the full version significantly correlated with parental sensitivity, suggesting these constructs may be distinct. These findings support the relevance of using the AMBIANCE-Brief with highly vulnerable and maltreating parents.