Karine Dubois‐comtoi
Biographic Data
| ID | 4414966 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Karine Dubois‐comtoi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Karine |
| FAMILY NAME | Dubois‐comtoi |
| SIGNATURE | COMTOI K D |
| AFFILIATIONS | Université du Québec à Montréal |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4009-9861 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 46 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Practitioner Review: Clinical insights from attachment theory and research for professionals working with young children and their families
Attachment theory, with its core concepts, perspectives, and insights developed over the past five decades, is influential for professionals working with young children. However, practitioners face challenges translating attachment theory and research into practical applications. This manifests in attachment myths, theoretical misinterpretations, and inconsistency of application. This state‐of‐the‐art review is authored by 47 attachment researche…
Initial validation of an observational coding system to assess child-professional caregiver relationship quality in residential care children aged 6–12
Professional caregivers serve both a secure base for exploration and a safe haven for comfort. • Maltreatment/placement chronicity links to more child disrupted engagement. • Higher caregiver conflict resolution support, but not sensitivity, links to less child disrupted engagement. • Boys display more disrupted engagement with professional caregivers. • Observing child-caregiver interaction with SORCE may inform residential care practice. Relati…
Parent–child contact during placement and mental health: A meta‐analysis
Implantation de l’intervention relationnelle en protection de l’enfance: Bâtir Des Ponts Entre Recherche Et Pratique
Un programme pour soutenir la sensibilité parentale en protection de l’enfance
L’intervention relationnelle est particulièrement adaptée pour répondre aux cas de négligence car elle repose sur les réactions de l’enfant comme guide pour ajuster les comportements parentaux. Grâce au visionnement commenté de courts échanges filmés entre l’enfant et son parent, ce dernier peut, avec l’aide de l’intervenant, apprendre à repérer le caractère plus ou moins sensible de ses agissements (ou absence d’agissements) à travers les répons…
Longitudinal associations between the quality of family interactions and school‐age children's narrative abilities in the context of financial insecurity
This longitudinal study investigates whether the quality of family interactions at 3–5 years of age predicts narrative abilities in 7–9‐year‐old children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. The sample consists of 67 children and their parents receiving social welfare. Family interactions were filmed during mealtime at home and coded using the Mealtime Interaction Coding System . Children's narrative abilities were measured based on the…
What Is Vulnerability? Quebec Community Family Workers' Perceptions of Family Situations in Cases of Child Neglect
Although vulnerability is a somewhat nebulous concept, the term is widely used in child protection, and child protection workers often refer to vulnerability when describing the situations of families they work with. Because perceiving families as vulnerable or as living in vulnerable conditions may impact interventions, it is important to know what child protection workers mean when they talk about vulnerability. To this end, we explored communi…
Hostile‐helpless states of mind: A scoping review of risk factors, correlates, and consequences
Chronic relational trauma can lead to the formation of pervasively unintegrated attachment representations in adulthood, referred to as Hostile‐Helpless (HH) states of mind. Individuals with this type of attachment disorganization evidence conflicting evaluations of caregivers and have difficulty reflecting on their traumatic childhood experiences. This scoping review is the first to systematically integrate the results of all empirical studies o…
Relations between Child and Parent Fears and Changes in Family Functioning Related to Covid-19
In adults, higher anxiety level related to COVID-19 has been associated with having a pre-existing medical or mental health condition and poor sleep quality. However, no study yet has looked at these links in children. The present study's main aim was to assess family changes associated with child and parent fears and concerns about COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 144 families with children aged 9-12 years during the COVID-19…
Are children and adolescents in foster care at greater risk of mental health problems than their counterparts? A meta-analysis
This meta-analysis aims at comparing mental health problems of children in foster care to those living with their biological parents while taking in consideration different protective and risk factors. Across 41 studies with a total of 72 independent effect sizes, a significant but small effect size was found between foster care placement and psychopathology (d = 0.19). Children in foster care showed higher levels of psychopathology compared to t…
Sleep Difficulties in Preschoolers with Psychiatric Diagnoses
Background: Sleep problems among preschoolers are highly prevalent. Given the impact of poor sleep quality on development, this relationship is particularly relevant in vulnerable populations but is less documented. This study aims to document parental perception of sleep problems in preschoolers assessed in a psychiatric clinic, as a function of diagnosis type. Methods: Children (14-71 months, n = 228) were evaluated by a psychiatrist, and diagn…
Poor Quality of Sleep in Foster Children Relates to Maltreatment and Placement Conditions
This exploratory study investigated child sleep in a sample of maltreated children living in foster care and examined its associations with placement conditions and history of maltreatment. Participants included 25 foster children and their foster caregiver. Children were on average 60.24 months of age ( SD = 18.70). Foster mothers completed questionnaires assessing parenting stress and quality of child sleep while maltreatment/placement history …
Attachment-based intervention for maltreating families
This article presents attachment theory-based intervention strategies as a means of addressing the core parent-child interaction deficits that characterize homes in which children are exposed to maltreatment. The article outlines the socioemotional and cognitive outcomes of maltreatment and proposes that although many prevention programs target different parental and family characteristics, few address the core relationship issues that are at sta…
Stability of Attachment During the Preschool Period
Children's attachment patterns at early preschool age and 2 years later as well as factors related to stability-instability were examined in a diverse socioeconomic status French Canadian sample of 120 children. Attachment was assessed during 2 laboratory visits using separation-reunion procedures when the children were approximately 3.5 (J. Cassidy & R. S. Marvin, 1992) and 5.5 (M. Main & J. Cassidy, 1988) years old. Overall, stability of attach…
Attachment at Early School Age and Developmental Risk: Examining Family Contexts and Behavior Problems of Controlling-Caregiving, Controlling-Punitive, and Behaviorally Disorganized Children
Preschool to school-age trajectories of 242 children, including 37 with insecure-disorganized and 66 with insecure-organized attachment patterns, were examined. Child attachment and stressful life events (the latter retrospectively) were measured at ages 5-7, and mother-child interactive quality, parenting stress, marital satisfaction, and teacher-reported behavior problems were evaluated concurrently and 2 years earlier. Results indicated that a…
Stability of Attachment During the Preschool Period
Children's attachment patterns at early preschool age and 2 years later as well as factors related to stability-instability were examined in a diverse socioeconomic status French Canadian sample of 120 children. Attachment was assessed during 2 laboratory visits using separation-reunion procedures when the children were approximately 3.5 (J. Cassidy & R. S. Marvin, 1992) and 5.5 (M. Main & J. Cassidy, 1988) years old. Overall, stability of attach…
Attachment at Early School Age and Developmental Risk: Examining Family Contexts and Behavior Problems of Controlling-Caregiving, Controlling-Punitive, and Behaviorally Disorganized Children
Preschool to school-age trajectories of 242 children, including 37 with insecure-disorganized and 66 with insecure-organized attachment patterns, were examined. Child attachment and stressful life events (the latter retrospectively) were measured at ages 5-7, and mother-child interactive quality, parenting stress, marital satisfaction, and teacher-reported behavior problems were evaluated concurrently and 2 years earlier. Results indicated that a…
Are children and adolescents in foster care at greater risk of mental health problems than their counterparts? A meta-analysis
This meta-analysis aims at comparing mental health problems of children in foster care to those living with their biological parents while taking in consideration different protective and risk factors. Across 41 studies with a total of 72 independent effect sizes, a significant but small effect size was found between foster care placement and psychopathology (d = 0.19). Children in foster care showed higher levels of psychopathology compared to t…
What Is Vulnerability? Quebec Community Family Workers' Perceptions of Family Situations in Cases of Child Neglect
Although vulnerability is a somewhat nebulous concept, the term is widely used in child protection, and child protection workers often refer to vulnerability when describing the situations of families they work with. Because perceiving families as vulnerable or as living in vulnerable conditions may impact interventions, it is important to know what child protection workers mean when they talk about vulnerability. To this end, we explored communi…
Attachment at Early School Age and Developmental Risk: Examining Family Contexts and Behavior Problems of Controlling-Caregiving, Controlling-Punitive, and Behaviorally Disorganized Children
Preschool to school-age trajectories of 242 children, including 37 with insecure-disorganized and 66 with insecure-organized attachment patterns, were examined. Child attachment and stressful life events (the latter retrospectively) were measured at ages 5-7, and mother-child interactive quality, parenting stress, marital satisfaction, and teacher-reported behavior problems were evaluated concurrently and 2 years earlier. Results indicated that a…
Stability of Attachment During the Preschool Period
Children's attachment patterns at early preschool age and 2 years later as well as factors related to stability-instability were examined in a diverse socioeconomic status French Canadian sample of 120 children. Attachment was assessed during 2 laboratory visits using separation-reunion procedures when the children were approximately 3.5 (J. Cassidy & R. S. Marvin, 1992) and 5.5 (M. Main & J. Cassidy, 1988) years old. Overall, stability of attach…
Attachment-based intervention for maltreating families
This article presents attachment theory-based intervention strategies as a means of addressing the core parent-child interaction deficits that characterize homes in which children are exposed to maltreatment. The article outlines the socioemotional and cognitive outcomes of maltreatment and proposes that although many prevention programs target different parental and family characteristics, few address the core relationship issues that are at sta…
Poor Quality of Sleep in Foster Children Relates to Maltreatment and Placement Conditions
This exploratory study investigated child sleep in a sample of maltreated children living in foster care and examined its associations with placement conditions and history of maltreatment. Participants included 25 foster children and their foster caregiver. Children were on average 60.24 months of age ( SD = 18.70). Foster mothers completed questionnaires assessing parenting stress and quality of child sleep while maltreatment/placement history …
Sleep Difficulties in Preschoolers with Psychiatric Diagnoses
Background: Sleep problems among preschoolers are highly prevalent. Given the impact of poor sleep quality on development, this relationship is particularly relevant in vulnerable populations but is less documented. This study aims to document parental perception of sleep problems in preschoolers assessed in a psychiatric clinic, as a function of diagnosis type. Methods: Children (14-71 months, n = 228) were evaluated by a psychiatrist, and diagn…
Relations between Child and Parent Fears and Changes in Family Functioning Related to Covid-19
In adults, higher anxiety level related to COVID-19 has been associated with having a pre-existing medical or mental health condition and poor sleep quality. However, no study yet has looked at these links in children. The present study's main aim was to assess family changes associated with child and parent fears and concerns about COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 144 families with children aged 9-12 years during the COVID-19…
Are children and adolescents in foster care at greater risk of mental health problems than their counterparts? A meta-analysis
This meta-analysis aims at comparing mental health problems of children in foster care to those living with their biological parents while taking in consideration different protective and risk factors. Across 41 studies with a total of 72 independent effect sizes, a significant but small effect size was found between foster care placement and psychopathology (d = 0.19). Children in foster care showed higher levels of psychopathology compared to t…
Hostile‐helpless states of mind: A scoping review of risk factors, correlates, and consequences
Chronic relational trauma can lead to the formation of pervasively unintegrated attachment representations in adulthood, referred to as Hostile‐Helpless (HH) states of mind. Individuals with this type of attachment disorganization evidence conflicting evaluations of caregivers and have difficulty reflecting on their traumatic childhood experiences. This scoping review is the first to systematically integrate the results of all empirical studies o…
Un programme pour soutenir la sensibilité parentale en protection de l’enfance
L’intervention relationnelle est particulièrement adaptée pour répondre aux cas de négligence car elle repose sur les réactions de l’enfant comme guide pour ajuster les comportements parentaux. Grâce au visionnement commenté de courts échanges filmés entre l’enfant et son parent, ce dernier peut, avec l’aide de l’intervenant, apprendre à repérer le caractère plus ou moins sensible de ses agissements (ou absence d’agissements) à travers les répons…
Longitudinal associations between the quality of family interactions and school‐age children's narrative abilities in the context of financial insecurity
This longitudinal study investigates whether the quality of family interactions at 3–5 years of age predicts narrative abilities in 7–9‐year‐old children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. The sample consists of 67 children and their parents receiving social welfare. Family interactions were filmed during mealtime at home and coded using the Mealtime Interaction Coding System . Children's narrative abilities were measured based on the…
What Is Vulnerability? Quebec Community Family Workers' Perceptions of Family Situations in Cases of Child Neglect
Although vulnerability is a somewhat nebulous concept, the term is widely used in child protection, and child protection workers often refer to vulnerability when describing the situations of families they work with. Because perceiving families as vulnerable or as living in vulnerable conditions may impact interventions, it is important to know what child protection workers mean when they talk about vulnerability. To this end, we explored communi…
Parent–child contact during placement and mental health: A meta‐analysis
Implantation de l’intervention relationnelle en protection de l’enfance: Bâtir Des Ponts Entre Recherche Et Pratique
Practitioner Review: Clinical insights from attachment theory and research for professionals working with young children and their families
Attachment theory, with its core concepts, perspectives, and insights developed over the past five decades, is influential for professionals working with young children. However, practitioners face challenges translating attachment theory and research into practical applications. This manifests in attachment myths, theoretical misinterpretations, and inconsistency of application. This state‐of‐the‐art review is authored by 47 attachment researche…
Initial validation of an observational coding system to assess child-professional caregiver relationship quality in residential care children aged 6–12
Professional caregivers serve both a secure base for exploration and a safe haven for comfort. • Maltreatment/placement chronicity links to more child disrupted engagement. • Higher caregiver conflict resolution support, but not sensitivity, links to less child disrupted engagement. • Boys display more disrupted engagement with professional caregivers. • Observing child-caregiver interaction with SORCE may inform residential care practice. Relati…
Psychology (12 works) · Developmental psychology (8 works) · Psychiatry (8 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (7 works) · Child Welfare and Adoption (7 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (6 works) · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development (6 works) · Clinical Psychology (6 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Attachment theory (4 works)