Exposure to maltreatment during childhood (CM) can have deleterious effects throughout the life span of an individual. A parent's history of child maltreatment can also impact his or her own ...parenting behavior. Theoretically, parents who experienced maltreatment as children may have fewer resources to cope with the challenges of childrearing and may adopt more problematic parenting behaviors. However, empirical studies examining the association between CM and later parenting behavior have yielded mixed results. The aim of this study is to conduct a meta-analysis of studies that have examined the association between exposure to CM and the subsequent parenting outcomes of mothers of 0- to 6-year-old children. A secondary aim is to examine the potential impact of both conceptual and methodological moderators. A total of 32 studies (27 samples, 41 effect sizes, 17,932 participants) were retained for analysis. Results revealed that there is a small but statistically significant association between maternal exposure to CM and parenting behavior (r = –.13, p < .05). Moderator analyses revealed that effect sizes were larger when parenting measures involved relationship-based or negative, potentially abusive behaviors, when samples had a greater number of boys compared to girls, and when studies were older versus more recent. Results are discussed as they relate to the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment and abuse.
Birthweight is an important predictor of newborn health and has been linked to maternal psychological stress during pregnancy. However, it is unclear whether prenatal stress affects birthweight ...similarly for both male and female infants. We used a well-established pregnancy cohort to investigate the impact of high maternal psychological stress during pregnancy on birthweight as a function of infant sex. Overall, 5702 mother-newborn pairs were analysed. Of these, 198 mothers reported high levels of stress using the Psychological Stress Measure (nine-items version; PSM-9). Maternal psychological stress was assessed between the 24th and 28th week of gestation and analyses were performed jointly and independently as a function of neonatal sex (separate analyses for male and female infants). Newborns exposed to high maternal psychological stress during pregnancy (a score above 26 measured using the PSM-9 questionnaire, corresponding to >97.5th percentile) were compared to newborns of mothers who reported lower stress. ANCOVAs revealed that high levels of maternal stress during pregnancy were linked to infant birthweight as a function of infant sex. Male infants of mothers who reported high levels of stress had a greater birthweight whereas female infants had a lower birthweight under the same conditions, in comparison to mothers who did not report greater levels of stress. Although the effect size is small, these results underline the possibility that male and female fetuses may use different strategies when adapting to maternal adversity and highlight the need to consider infant sex as a moderator of the association between maternal psychological stress during pregnancy and infant birthweight.
The efficacy of a short-term attachment-based intervention for changing risk outcomes for children of maltreating families was examined using a randomized control trial. Sixty-seven primary ...caregivers reported for maltreatment and their children (1-5 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. The intervention group received 8 weekly home visits directed at the caregiver-child dyad and focused on improving caregiver sensitivity. Intervention sessions included brief discussions of attachment-emotion regulation-related themes and video feedback of parent-child interaction. Comparison of pre- and posttest scores revealed significant improvements for the intervention group in parental sensitivity and child attachment security, and a reduction in child disorganization. Older children in the intervention group also showed lower levels of internalizing and externalizing problems following intervention. This is the first study to demonstrate the efficacy of short-term attachment-based intervention in enhancing parental sensitivity, improving child security, and reducing disorganization for children in the early childhood period.
Whereas most biological parents have some form of contact with their children following foster placement, the outcomes of parental visitation for child adjustment remain unclear. We conducted a ...systematic review of the literature to document associations between parent-child contact and foster child's adjustment. Research databases for social services and psychology were systematically searched for relevant studies. Of 174 potential studies explored, 18 empirical studies were retained. Analysis revealed that parental contact is associated with attachment to the biological parent, but not with academic functioning or attachment to the foster parent. On the other hand, the results on associations between parental contact and behavioral adjustment are more contradictory, and they generally indicate an absence of association between those variables. These findings suggest that other factors are more salient for understanding the adjustment of foster children.
•Interest in studying the verbal (e.g., MM) and non-verbal (i.e., PEM) dimensions of parental mentalization simultaneously is relatively recent.•Both parental embodied mentalizing and mind-mindedness ...were associated with maternal sensitivity.•Parental embodied mentalizing contributed to infant attachment security via maternal sensitivity.•This study provides a deeper understanding of the mechanisms involved in infant attachment security by specifying the roles played by parental embodied mentalizing, mind-mindedness and maternal sensitivity.
Interest in studying the relative contributions of verbal (e.g., maternal mind-mindedness MM) and non-verbal dimensions (i.e., parental embodied mentalizing PEM) of parental mentalization to child socio-emotional development is relatively recent. To date, only one study has addressed this issue in relation to child attachment security, suggesting a complementary and unique contribution of each one. The purpose of the present study was to further examine the specific contribution of PEM to infant attachment security by considering MM. In addition, this study aimed to explore the mediating role of maternal sensitivity linking PEM, MM to infant attachment security within 110 mother-infant dyads at moderate psychosocial risk. The two dimensions of parental mentalization (PEM and MM) were assessed on the basis of observations made during a videorecorded sequence of mother-child interactions in a context of free play with and without toys when the infants were 8 months old. The Maternal Behavior Q-Sort was used to measure the mothers’ sensitivity in a natural setting based on observations of daily mother-child interactions, also when the infants were about 8 months old. Attachment security was measured using The Strange Situation Procedure at infant age 16 months. The results showed positive correlations between maternal sensitivity and both verbal and non-verbal measures of parental mentalization. The mediation analyses first revealed that PEM had a significant indirect effect on attachment security, with sensitivity being identified as a mediator in this association. No indirect effect linking MM and attachment security via sensitivity was observed. These results highlight the contribution of PEM to maternal sensitivity and show maternal sensitivity to be a factor that partly explains the influence of PEM on attachment security in children.
Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the impact of prenatal maternal stress on birth weight using a large cohort of predominantly White women living in an urban area. Method: Women were recruited ...between 2005 and 2010. Data collection took place between the 24th and the 28th week of gestation. The Measure of Psychological Stress (MSP-9), a validated tool to assess stress symptoms, was used to collect data on prenatal maternal stress (independent variable). Birth weight (dependent variable) was classified as low birth weight (<2,500 g), normal birth weight (2,500-4,000 g), and macrosomia (>4,000 g). Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were obtained after performing multivariate logistic regressions adjusted for potential cofounders. At the final stage, 5,721 women were included in analysis. Results: When compared with women experiencing low stress, participants with high stress scores were at increased risk of delivering a newborn with low birth weight before adjustment (OR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.04, 4.09), but after adjustment, only a nonsignificant trend remained. However, women experiencing intermediate and high levels of stress were at increased risk of delivering a newborn with macrosomia, even after adjustment (aOR = 1.23, 1.02, 1.49) and (aOR = 1.76, 1.11, 2.77) compared to those who scored low on the psychological stress scale. Conclusion: Women exposed to high psychological stress during the second trimester (24th to 28th weeks) of pregnancy have a 1.8-fold increased risk for delivering a newborn with macrosomia when compared to women exposed to low psychological stress.
COVID-19 has become a worldwide pandemic impacting child protection services (CPSs) in many countries. With quarantine and social distancing restrictions, school closures, and recreational venues ...suspended or providing reduced access, the social safety net for violence prevention has been disrupted significantly. Impacts include the concerns of underreporting and increased risk of child abuse and neglect, as well as challenges in operating CPSs and keeping their workforce safe.
The current discussion paper explored the impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment reports and CPS responses by comparing countries using available population data.
Information was gathered from researchers in eight countries, including contextual information about the country’s demographics and economic situation, key elements of the CPS, and the CPS response to COVID-19. Where available, information about other factors affecting children was also collected. These data informed a discussion about between-country similarities and differences.
COVID-19 had significant impact on the operation of every CPS, whether in high- income or low-income countries. Most systems encountered some degree of service disruption or change. Risk factors for children appeared to increase while there were often substantial deficits in CPS responses, and in most countries there was at a temporary decrease in CM reports despite the increased risks to children.
The initial data presented and discussed among the international teams pointed to the way COVID-19 has hampered CPS responses and the protection of children more generally in most jurisdictions, highlighting that children appear to have been at greater risk for maltreatment during COVID-19.
Little attention has been given to intergenerational transmission of risk, mainly whether caregivers’ history of childhood maltreatment is linked to behavioral symptoms in their children and which ...protective/risk factors are involved in this transmission process.
This study examined if parental Hostile/Helpless (H/H) state of mind with respect to attachment moderated the association between parental childhood trauma and behavior problems in maltreated children.
The sample included 61 parents and their children victims or at very high risk of maltreatment, aged between 1 and 6 years old.
Parents retrospectively reported their childhood trauma and completed a measure of their children’s behavior problems. Independent observers assessed H/H attachment representations.
Among parents with H/H states of mind, more severe traumatic childhood experiences were associated with more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in their children. Among non-H/H parents, associations between parental childhood trauma and child behavior problems were not significant.
In the context of trauma, this study suggests that the absence of a H/H state of mind in parents (i.e., the presence of an organized attachment state of mind) is a protective factor for child adjustment. H/H mental representations of self and attachment experiences as targets of intervention for parents with histories of maltreatment may help reduce the transmission of risk in maltreating families.
We investigated the association between antidepressant and anxiolytic exposure during the first and early second trimester of pregnancy (< 16 weeks), and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy ...(including preeclampsia and gestational hypertension) in women with singleton pregnancy.
This study is based on a large prospective cohort of 7866 pregnant women. We included pregnant women aged 18 years or older without chronic hepatic or renal disease at the time of recruitment. Participants lost to the follow-up, with multiple pregnancies and pregnancy terminations, miscarriages or fetal deaths before 20 weeks of gestation were excluded from the study, as well as women with no data on the antidepressant/anxiolytic medication use during pregnancy. Information concerning antidepressant or anxiolytic medication use was extracted from hospital records after delivery. The associations between their use and the risk of gestational hypertension or preeclampsia were calculated.
The final sample for analysis included 6761 participants including 218 (3.2%) women who were exposed to antidepressant and/or anxiolytic medication before the 16th week of gestation. Forty-one women had a non-medicated depression or anxiety during the pregnancy. Moreover, 195 (2.9%) and 122 (1.8%) women developed gestational hypertension and preeclampsia respectively. When compared to women unexposed to antidepressant/anxiolytic medication, depression and anxiety, those using antidepressant and/or anxiolytic drugs before the 16th week of gestation were at increased risk of preeclampsia (adjusted odd ratio (aOR) 3.09 CI
1.56-6.12), especially if they continued their medication after the 16th week (aOR 3.41 CI
1.66-7.02) compared to those who did not (1.60 CI
0.21-12.34).
Women exposed to antidepressant and/or anxiolytic medication before the 16th week of pregnancy have a 3-fold increased risk for preeclampsia when compared to women unexposed to antidepressant/anxiolytic medication, depression and anxiety. Also, our results suggested that women who stopped their medication before the 16th week of pregnancy could be benefit from reduced preeclampsia risk.
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