Postpartum anger among low-income women with high rates of trauma exposure.

Few studies have examined anger concerns among postpartum women despite their risk of mood dysregulation. This study examined the performance of the Dimensions of Anger Reactions-5 (DAR-5) scale, a brief screen for problematic anger, in a sample of 1,383 postpartum women in Wisconsin who received perinatal home visiting services. We aimed to analyze the discriminant validity and measurement invariance of the DAR-5, the occurrence of problematic anger symptoms and their co-occurrence with mental health concerns, and the association between elevated anger levels and exposure to potentially traumatic events in childhood and adulthood.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Sexual Orientation: An Intersectional Analysis of Nationally Representative Data.

Introduction: This study compared the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences across intersections of sexual orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, and economic status.

Methods: Data collected between 1994 and 2018 from 12,519 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health were analyzed in 2023 to generate adverse childhood experience prevalence estimates. Unadjusted 1-way ANOVAs and multivariate regressions were performed to compare differences in independent and cumulative adversity measures by sexual orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, and poverty status.

Impact of a family treatment court on child permanency and safety.

Background: Family Treatment Courts have been linked to promising effects on key child welfare outcomes, though few rigorous program evaluations have been conducted.

Objective: This study employs a robust quasi-experimental design to evaluate effects associated with Family Treatment Court participation on child permanency and safety.

Participants And Setting: The sample included 648 eligible adults who were referred to a Family Treatment Court in a Midwest metropolitan area, including 266 program participants and 382 non-participants.

Linking Adverse Experiences to Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes: A Life Course Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Low-Income Women.

Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes have persisted in the United States for decades, though the causes remain poorly understood. The life course perspective posits that poorer outcomes of Black birthing people stem from heightened exposure to stressors early in life and cumulative exposure to stressors over time. Despite its prominence, this perspective has seldom been investigated empirically.

Life-course adversity and sleep disturbance among low-income women with children.

Objectives: This study explored whether patterns of lifetime adversity are associated with sleep disturbance and tested whether adult adversity mediates the relationship between childhood adversity and sleep.

Methods: A sample of 1510 postpartum women in Wisconsin who received home visiting services completed assessments of childhood adversity, adult adversity, and sleep disturbance; 989 women completed another sleep assessment about one year later. Latent class analysis was used to identify classes of lifetime adversity, which were then used to predict later sleep ratings while controlling for earlier sleep ratings and demographic variables.

Adverse adult experiences and health outcomes: Racial and ethnic differences in a low-income sample.

Extending research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), this study aimed to investigate whether the prevalence of and outcomes associated with adverse adult experiences vary among racial and ethnic subgroups. Survey data were collected from 1566 low-income women in Wisconsin using the Adult Experiences Survey (AES). Ten major adult adversities were assessed, including items that reference an intimate partner or household member (e.

Quasinatural Experiment of Postnatal Home Visiting: An Independent Impact Study of Family Connects.

Introduction: Family Connects (FC) is a postnatal nurse home visiting program that has scale-up potential because it is brief, inexpensive, and universal. Three investigations have linked Family Connects to improved maternal and family outcomes, but no independent impact studies have been conducted to date.

Methods: This study investigates a FC program in Racine County, WI that was implemented by a multimunicipal health department in partnership with a local hospital.

Disparities in adverse childhood experiences by race/ethnicity, gender, and economic status: Intersectional analysis of a nationally representative sample.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are disturbingly common and consequential. Priority should be given to identifying populations that bear a disproportionate share of the burden of ACEs, but such disparities have received limited attention to date.

Objective: This study analyzes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a nationally representative sample in the U.

Prevalence and correlates of vaccine attitudes and behaviors in a cohort of low-income mothers.

The US is facing a rise in vaccine hesitancy, delay, and refusal, though little is known about these outcomes in socio-economically disadvantaged populations. This study examines the prevalence and correlates of vaccine attitudes and behaviors in a diverse cohort of low-income mothers receiving home visiting services. Survey data were collected from 813 recipients of evidence-based home visiting services in Wisconsin from 2013 to 2018.

Toward the assessment of adverse adult experiences: An initial validation study of the adult experiences survey.

Objective: The current investigation is a validation study of the Adult Experiences Survey, a seminal assessment of adverse adult experiences.

Method: Data were collected between July 2015 and June 2019 from a sample of 1,747 low-income women as part of a longitudinal study in Wisconsin, United States. Analyses of 10 adversities were conducted to assess item prevalence and internal consistency in the full sample and test-retest reliability in a subsample of 90 participants.

Home Visiting Effects on Breastfeeding and Bedsharing in a Low-Income Sample.

Background: Research suggests that home visiting interventions can promote breastfeeding initiation, though their effects on breastfeeding continuation are unclear. No known studies have assessed the impact of home visiting on bedsharing.

Aims: To test the effects of home visiting on breastfeeding and bedsharing in a low-income, urban sample in the United States.

Childhood polyvictimization and marijuana use trajectories.

Despite public sentiment to the contrary, recreational marijuana use is deleterious to adolescent health and development. Prospective studies of marijuana use trajectories and their predictors are needed to differentiate risk profiles and inform intervention strategies. Using data on 15,960 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, variable-centered approaches were used to examine the impact of childhood polyvictimization on marijuana onset, marijuana use from age 15 to 24 years, and marijuana dependence symptoms.

Translating and Implementing Evidence-Based Mental Health Services in Child Welfare.

Children in the child welfare system with mental health difficulties seldom receive evidence-based treatment (EBT) despite the abundance of validated interventions that exist. This manuscript describes two projects aimed at increasing access to EBTs. The first is a completed field trial of an adapted parent-child interaction therapy intervention with foster-parent child dyads.

Prevalence and Correlates of Maternal and Infant Sleep Problems in a Low-Income US Sample.

Objectives: This study examined the prevalence and correlates of maternal and infant sleep problems among low-income families receiving home visiting services.

Methods: The study sample includes 1142 mother-infant dyads in Wisconsin, United States. Women completed a survey when their infants were between two weeks and one year old.

Adverse childhood experiences and poor birth outcomes in a diverse, low-income sample.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are associated with an array of health consequences in later life, but few studies have examined the effects of ACEs on women's birth outcomes.

Methods: We analyzed data gathered from a sample of 1848 low-income women who received services from home visiting programs in Wisconsin. Archival program records from a public health database were used to create three birth outcomes reflecting each participant's reproductive health history: any pregnancy loss; any preterm birth; any low birthweight.

Client and Provider Discomfort With an Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey.

Introduction: Many service providers report concerns that questions about adverse events may upset clients. Studies indicate that most survey respondents answer sensitive questions without experiencing distress, although little is known about the prevalence or correlates of clients' discomfort when they are asked similar questions by direct care providers, such as home visitors.

Methods: This study used data collected between 2013 and 2018 from 1,678 clients and 161 providers in a network of home visiting programs in Wisconsin.