Contingency enables the formation of social expectations about an artificial agent.

What environmental regularities support infant communicative learning from social interactions? We propose that infants allocate their attention toward and learn from external events that are contingent on their own behaviors. We tested the robustness of the influence of contingency on communicative learning by using a non-biological stimulus, a remote-controlled car, as the social partner. The car approached infants and produced a speech sound either contingently to infants' vocalizations or on a yoked schedule.

The future of childhood maltreatment research: Diversity and equity-informed perspectives for inclusive methodology and social justice.

A long-standing practice in clinical and developmental psychology research on childhood maltreatment has been to consider prospective, official court records to be the gold standard measure of childhood maltreatment and to give less weight to adults' retrospective self-reports of childhood maltreatment, sometimes even treating this data source as invalid. We argue that both formats of assessment - prospective and retrospective - provide important information on childhood maltreatment. Prospective data drawn from court records should not necessarily be considered the superior format, especially considering evidence of structural racism in child welfare.

A systematic review of positive childhood experiences and adult outcomes: Promotive and protective processes for resilience in the context of childhood adversity.

Background: Research on positive childhood experiences (PCEs) as counterparts to childhood adversity has surged in the last five years. A systematic review of the additive and interactive effects of childhood adversity and PCEs across adult outcomes is needed that contextualizes the long-term correlates of childhood experiences within a developmental perspective.

Objective: The current review synthesizes the empirical evidence for PCEs as resilience factors for a range of adult outcomes.

A multisystem, dimensional interplay of assets versus adversities: Revised benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) in the context of childhood maltreatment, threat, and deprivation.

This study expanded the Benevolent Childhood Experiences scale (termed the "BCEs-Original" scale) with 10 new multisystem items and identified a subset of items (termed the "BCEs-Revised" scale) that are systematically less commonly reported across samples. Total BCEs-Revised scores were tested against total BCEs-Original scores and three dimensions of childhood adversity (maltreatment, threat, and deprivation) as predictors of young adulthood mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms). Hypotheses expected stronger inverse associations of BCEs-Revised scores than BCEs-Original scores with all mental health problems.

Adverse and Benevolent Childhood Experiences Predict Prenatal Sleep Quality.

The objective of the study was to investigate whether adverse and benevolent childhood experiences were associated with trajectories of sleep quality throughout pregnancy. The study was conducted at obstetrics and gynecology clinics in the Rocky Mountain region of the USA. The participants of the study were pregnant individuals ( = 164).

Risk and resilience factors for psychopathology during pregnancy: An application of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP).

Pregnancy is a time of increased vulnerability to psychopathology, yet limited work has investigated the extent to which variation in psychopathology during pregnancy is shared and unshared across syndromes and symptoms. Understanding the structure of psychopathology during pregnancy, including associations with childhood experiences, may elucidate risk and resilience factors that are transdiagnostic and/or specific to particular psychopathology phenotypes. Participants were 292 pregnant individuals assessed using multiple measures of psychopathology.

In Search of Cognitive Promotive and Protective Factors for Word Reading.

This study examined whether strong cognitive skills (i.e. vocabulary, rapid naming, verbal working memory [VWM], and processing speed [PS]) contributed to resilience in single-word reading skills in children at risk for reading difficulties because of low phonological awareness scores (PA).

Adverse and Benevolent Childhood Experiences Predict Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poorer adult mental health, and benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) are associated with better adult mental health. This study aims to test whether ACEs and BCEs predict adult mental health above and beyond current stress and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from undergraduate and graduate students ( = 502) at an urban private university in the Western United States.

Parent-Child Relationship Quality in the Family of Origin and Later Romantic Relationship Functioning: A Systematic Review.

A large and diverse literature has shown that parent-child relationship quality shapes development to affect later romantic relationship functioning. Guided by the developmental psychopathology framework, the current systematic review aimed to characterize the links between two major subtypes of parent-child relationship quality (parent-child attachment security and interaction quality) and several romantic relationship outcomes (i.e.

Intergenerational transmission and prevention of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

In recent years, research and practice on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have shifted from delineating effects of ACEs on adulthood health problems to preventing ACEs in children. Nonetheless, little attention has focused on how parents' own childhood experiences, adverse or positive, may influence the transmission of ACEs across generations. Children's risk for ACEs and potential for resilience may be linked to the early child-rearing experiences of their parents carried forward into parenting practices.

Pregnancy as a period of risk, adaptation, and resilience for mothers and infants.

The pregnancy period represents a unique window of opportunity to identify risks to both the fetus and mother and to deter the intergenerational transmission of adversity and mental health problems. Although the maternal-fetal dyad is especially vulnerable to the effects of stress during pregnancy, less is known about how the dyad is also receptive to salutary, resilience-promoting influences. The present review adopts life span and intergenerational perspectives to review four key areas of research.

Maternal Pregnancy Wantedness and Perceptions of Paternal Pregnancy Wantedness: Associations with Perinatal Mental Health and Relationship Dynamics.

Objectives: This study examined maternal pregnancy wantedness and perceptions of paternal wantedness, and their associations with maternal perinatal mental health symptoms and relationship dynamics.

Methods: Low-income, ethnically-diverse pregnant women (N = 101, M = 29.10 years, SD = 6.

Perinatal promotive and protective factors for women with histories of childhood abuse and neglect.

Background: Integrative research summarizing promotive and protective factors that reduce the effects of childhood abuse and neglect on pregnant women and their babies' healthy functioning is needed.

Objective: This narrative systematic review synthesized the quantitative literature on protective and promotive factors that support maternal mental health and maternal-infant bonding among women exposed to childhood adversity, including childhood abuse and neglect.

Methods: Using a comprehensive list of key terms related to the perinatal period, childhood adversity, and protective/promotive factors, 8423 non-duplicated articles were identified through database searches in PsychInfo and Web of Science, and references in retrieved articles.

Adverse childhood experiences and prenatal mental health: Type of ACEs and age of maltreatment onset.

Childhood adversity can have long-term deleterious effects on adulthood mental health outcomes, but more research is needed examining how type and timing of childhood adversity affect mental health specifically during pregnancy. The current study examined the effects of total adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during pregnancy, unpacked effects of total adversity into childhood maltreatment versus family dysfunction experiences, and assessed age of onset effects of child maltreatment-specific experiences. Participants were 101 low-income pregnant women (M = 29.

Protective factors that buffer against the intergenerational transmission of trauma from mothers to young children: A replication study of angels in the nursery.

This replication study examined protective effects of positive childhood memories with caregivers ("angels in the nursery") against lifespan and intergenerational transmission of trauma. More positive, elaborated angel memories were hypothesized to buffer associations between mothers' childhood maltreatment and their adulthood posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, comorbid psychopathology, and children's trauma exposure. Participants were 185 mothers (M age = 30.

Infant Attachment Insecurity and Baseline Physiological Activity and Physiological Reactivity to Interpersonal Stress: A Meta-Analytic Review.

This meta-analytic review (k = 5-10; N = 258-895) examined links between attachment insecurity and physiological activity at baseline and in response to interpersonal stress elicited by separation-reunion procedures in the early life course (1-5 years). Insecurity was trivially, nonsignificantly associated with baseline physiological activity (heart rate [HR]: g = -.06; respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]: g = -.

Positive childhood experiences predict less psychopathology and stress in pregnant women with childhood adversity: A pilot study of the benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) scale.

This pilot study examined the psychometric properties of the Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) scale, a new instrument designed to assess positive early life experiences in adults with histories of childhood maltreatment and other adversities. A counterpart to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire, the BCEs was developed to be multiculturally-sensitive and applicable regardless of socioeconomic position, urban-rural background, or immigration status. Higher levels of BCEs were hypothesized to predict lower levels of psychopathology and stress beyond the effects of ACES in a sample of ethnically diverse, low-income pregnant women.

Risk and Adversity, Parenting Quality, and Children's Social-Emotional Adjustment in Families Experiencing Homelessness.

A multimethod, multi-informant design was used to examine links among sociodemographic risk, family adversity, parenting quality, and child adjustment in families experiencing homelessness. Participants were 245 homeless parents (M  = 31.0, 63.

ASSESSING ANGELS IN THE NURSERY: A PILOT STUDY OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF BENEVOLENT CAREGIVING AS PROTECTIVE INFLUENCES.

This pilot study provides the first empirical test of the concept of "Angels in the Nursery" by examining whether childhood memories of benevolent caregiving experiences protect against heightened levels of psychopathology in high-risk mothers. The study hypothesized that (a) elaborated childhood memories of feeling loved by a caregiver ("angel memories") would moderate adulthood posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in mothers with childhood maltreatment histories, and (b) spontaneous traumatic intrusions ("ghost memories") would mediate childhood maltreatment and adulthood PTSD symptoms. Participants were 54 mothers (M = 32.

The legacy of early childhood violence exposure to adulthood intimate partner violence: Variable- and person-oriented evidence.

This study examined prospective pathways from exposure to interparental violence (EIPV) during infancy (ages 0-24 months) and toddlerhood/preschool (ages 25-64 months) to intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization in adulthood (ages 23, 26, and 32 years) using 2 complementary approaches. Building on past findings, a variable-oriented approach was used to examine the effects of developmental timing of EIPV in infancy versus toddlerhood/preschool to IPV involvement in early adulthood, at age 23 years. A person-oriented approach next examined whether continuity and change in IPV (persisting, increasing, and decreasing vs.

Executive function and parenting in the context of homelessness.

There is mounting evidence that maternal executive function (EF) plays a critical role in parenting behavior. However, the majority of the research on this topic has been conducted in low-risk samples. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether individual differences in maternal EF are associated with parenting behavior in the high-risk, high adversity context of family homelessness.