Measuring parent–infant interaction: the Parent−Infant Relational Assessment Tool (PIRAT).

The paper describes the genesis, construction and preliminary reliability testing of the Parent−Infant Relational Assessment Tool (PIRAT). PIRAT is a clinical assessment tool for the identification of risk in the early parent−infant relationship. The rationale was to design a flexible, reliable measure that would enable professionals working with infants and their caregivers to assess the parent−infant relationship as it appears in the consulting room, clinic or home environment and to pinpoint areas of concern at the earliest possible opportunity. The measure was developed in the Parent–Infant Project at the Anna Freud Centre and a subsequent study was undertaken to establish whether it could be successfully transferred to healthcare professionals for use in their workplace settings. A reliability study was conducted with a panel of health professionals, including midwives, health visitors, child protection social workers and clinical psychologists, using videotapes of their consultations in the home or clinic with mothers and infants of 0−2 years old. The results demonstrate good interrater reliability for the 10 participants in the study. Verbatim excerpts from the training sessions are included to elucidate the process of training and the ways in which participants engaged with and embedded the measure into their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]