Increasing parent help-seeking for child mental health: A study protocol for the growing minds check-in, an online universal screening tool.

Background: Early identification and intervention for mental health (MH) problems in childhood offers lifelong benefits. Many children with MH problems do not receive appropriate help. To address this need, an online universal MH screening tool, the Growing Minds Check-In for parents/caregivers (GMCI-P), was developed to provide feedback to parents on their children's MH, identify children at risk of MH problems, and link parents to evidence-based online programs/information, with the goal of facilitating parent help-seeking, and ultimately reducing the prevalence of child MH problems.

Practitioners' Use and Acceptability of Time-Out.

Time-out is an empirically supported component of parenting interventions for child conduct problems; however, it is receiving increasing criticism among parents and some practitioners. This study aimed to investigate practitioners' use and acceptability of time-out for child conduct problems; examine whether perceived effectiveness and knowledge of evidence-based parameters of time-out implementation influence use and acceptability of time-out; and explore practitioners' perceptions about alternatives to time-out. One hundred and ten Australian and New Zealand practitioners who have worked with children and families completed an online survey investigating their use and acceptability of time-out for children with conduct problems.

When Is the Still-Face Not the Still-Face: Mothers' Behavior in the Face-to-Face Still-Face Procedure and Its Relationship to Infant Arousal.

The Face-to-Face Still-Face (FF-SF) procedure has been a popular paradigm to understand infant behavior. The current study examines the validity of mothers' behavior during the Still-Face phase of the FF-SF, especially the quality of her neutral face and its impact on infant arousal (N = 358 ethnically-diverse mother-infant dyads, Mean infant age = 223 days, SD = 27 days). Results showed that more than half of the mothers in the sample breached one or more Still-Face phase instructions; however, mothers' breaches of the Still-Face instructions were unrelated to infant arousal (Skin Conductance Responses) during the FF-SF.

An online, father-inclusive parenting intervention for reducing child conduct problems: a randomised controlled trial of family man.

Background: Parenting interventions are effective for improving child conduct problems (CPs), but online self-directed interventions are required to improve reach and impact. Mothers are the main users of such programmes; fathers show low participation rates despite evidence of increased efficacy when they participate.

Methods: This randomised controlled trial examined the efficacy of Family Man, a brief, self-directed online parenting intervention for fathers and mothers of children with CPs.

Universal Child Mental Health Screening for Parents: a Systematic Review of the Evidence.

Childhood represents a critical window for the emergence and treatment of mental health disorders, yet many are not being identified, or are identified too late to receive adequate intervention. This systematic review (Prospero registration: CRD42022299560) aimed to determine the effectiveness and acceptability of parent reported universal mental health screening (UMHS) to improve the early identification of children at-risk of mental health difficulties, and to identify barriers and enablers that may influence parental engagement. Six databases were searched in February 2022 for peer-reviewed, primary research.

Commentary: Early intervention for conduct problems as a child protection strategy - reflections on Nobakht et al. (2023).

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and interparental aggression, are known to have far-reaching consequences for mental health across the lifespan. Emerging evidence, such as that reported by Nobakht et al. (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2023), indicates that child conduct problems (e.

Cognitive and affective perspective taking amongst adolescent offenders with variants of callous-unemotional traits.

Evidence suggests that associations between antisocial behaviour, callous-unemotional (CU) traits and cognitive empathy (e.g. perspective taking) vary depending on more fine-grained dimensions of these constructs.

Core features of callous-unemotional traits: a cross-cultural comparison of youth in four countries.

With considerable debate concerning the impact of culture on the expression of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, it is unclear whether the core features of CU traits generalize to youth across cultures. This study aimed to examine whether cultural differences are reflected in the core features of CU traits and the associations among these features. Network analysis was employed to identify the core features and to examine the network structure of CU traits operationalized by the Inventory of Callous Unemotional traits (ICU) in four community youth samples from different nations (Australia, N = 190; the UK, N = 437; the USA, N = 330; China, N = 503).

Ten recommendations for reducing the long-term costs of conduct problems: A commentary on the economic analysis of Goulter et al. (2023).

The economic analysis of Goulter et al. (2023) identifies the long-term financial costs arising from conduct problems in the kindergarten period, including those associated with later criminal activity, lost offender productivity, victim costs and government and medical services. These costs are substantial and provide policymakers with a compelling argument for investing in early intervention and prevention of conduct problems.

Clinical utility of diagnosing limited prosocial emotions in young children using the Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions (CAPE).

This study evaluated the interrater reliability, convergent and divergent validity, incremental validity, and clinical prognostic utility of the Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions (CAPE; Frick, 2013) for assessing limited prosocial emotions (LPE). Participants were 232 young children ( = 3.94 years, = 1.

Practitioner Review: A core competencies perspective on the evidence-based treatment of child conduct problems.

Background: The effective treatment of child conduct problems is understood to rely on a range of therapist competencies, yet these have rarely been an explicit focus of research. In this practitioner review, we examine core competencies for the delivery of evidence-based parenting interventions for conduct problems in early-to-middle childhood. These are examined in light of research into the common elements shared by these interventions, literature regarding common challenges in these interventions, and conceptualisations of such competencies in other fields of mental health.

Dimensions of Warm Parenting Attributions Differentiate Conduct Problem Subtypes in Young Children.

Understanding the developmental psychopathology of child conduct problems (CP) has been advanced by differentiating subtypes based on levels of internalizing problems (INT) and/or callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., low empathy/guilt, poor motivation, shallow/deficient affect).

A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Introduction to the Special Issue.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and other adversities in the home context and beyond (e.g., witnessing domestic violence; parental mental illness; parental separation; living in a disadvantaged neighborhood) are prevalent in the population and often covary together.

Oppositional defiant disorder.

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a disruptive behaviour disorder involving an ongoing pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behaviour and vindictiveness. Onset is typically before 8 years of age, although ODD can be diagnosed in both children and adults. This disorder is associated with substantial social and economic burden, and childhood ODD is one of the most common precursors of other mental health problems that can arise across the lifespan.

Corporal punishment of children in Australia: The evidence-based case for legislative reform.

Objective: Across all of Australia's states and territories, it is legal for a parent or carer to hit their child. In this paper, we outline the legal context for corporal punishment in Australia and the argument for its reform.

Methods: We review the laws that allow corporal punishment, the international agreements on children's rights, the evidence on the effects of corporal punishment, and outcomes of legislative reform in countries that have changed their laws to prohibit corporal punishment.

Assessment of childbirth-related post traumatic stress disorder in Australian mothers: Psychometric properties of the City Birth Trauma Scale.

Background: The City Birth Trauma Scale (BiTS; Ayers, Wright & Thornton, 2018) is self-report measure of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms following childbirth, based on DSM-5 criteria. We report on the first study of the psychometric properties of the BiTS in the Australian population.

Methods: Participants were mothers of infants aged 0-12 months (N = 705), who completed the BiTS and measures of related constructs.

Commentary: Global perspectives on resilience and callous-unemotional traits - a reflection on Obando et al. (2022).

Obando, Wright and Hill's (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2022) study of young children exposed to community violence in Colombia is a most welcome addition to the literature on risk and protective pathways related to callous and unemotional (CU) traits. The key contributions of this study can be viewed in light of calls for a new wave of global research into resilience in children and youth. These contributions also highlight the need for further research into CU traits in diverse sociocultural contexts, and in particular, research addressing questions concerning (a) multiple pathways to CU traits; (b) community violence and other forms of adversity; and (c) the developmental timing of adversity.

Facial reactions to emotional films in young children with conduct problems and varying levels of callous-unemotional traits.

Background: Elevated levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits have proven useful for identifying a distinct subgroup of children whose conduct problems (CP) are early emerging, severe, persistent, and underpinned by aberrant emotional processing. The early childhood emotional experiences and expressions of CP subtypes are poorly understood, despite their importance to understanding the problematic attachments and atypical social affiliation experienced by children with elevated CU traits. The current study aimed to test for differences in facial emotional reactions to mood-inducing film clips in children with CP and varying levels of CU traits.

Using Time-out for Child Conduct Problems in the Context of Trauma and Adversity: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.

Importance: Exposure to adverse childhood experiences substantially increases the risk of chronic health problems. Originally designed to treat child conduct problems, parent management training programs have been shown to be effective in preventing children from being exposed to further adversity and supporting children's recovery from adversity; however, there are increasing concerns that a core component of these programs, the discipline strategy time-out, may be harmful for children with a history of exposure to adversity.

Objective: To investigate the comparative benefits and potential harms to children exposed to adversity that are associated with parenting programs that include time-out.

Debate: Conduct disorder and the segregation of child mental health.

Should conduct disorder (CD) be classified as a psychiatric diagnosis? The model of CD found in current diagnostic systems is not without its flaws. The criteria for CD have often been criticised for lacking developmental sensitivity with regard to young children, and questions concerning the subtyping of the disorder and its overlap with comorbid conditions remain contentious. Compelling evidence nonetheless supports the view that this 'behaviour disorder' represents a complex mental health issue that belongs in these diagnostic systems.

Attachment- and Emotion-Focused Parenting Interventions for Child and Adolescent Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis.

Attachment- and emotion-focused parenting interventions (AE) have grown in popularity as an alternative to behavioral parent training (BPT) for children and adolescents. AE go beneath behavior by helping parents understand and respond to their child's underlying attachment and emotional needs. Past reviews have examined their effects on attachment security and caregiver sensitivity, though less is known regarding their effects on child mental health symptoms.

Towards Preventative Psychiatry: Concurrent and Longitudinal Predictors of Postnatal Maternal-Infant Bonding.

Maternal-infant bonding is important for children's positive development. Poor maternal-infant bonding is a risk factor for negative mother and infant outcomes. Although researchers have examined individual predictors of maternal-infant bonding, studies typically do not examine several concurrent and longitudinal predictors within the same model.

Oral language skills, callous and unemotional traits and high-risk patterns of youth offending.

Extensive research has associated adolescent delinquent behavior with verbal deficits, yet for some subgroups of youth offenders better verbal ability has been associated with increased risk. This study examined associations between specific oral language skills and established markers of high-risk youth offending comprising callous and unemotional (CU) traits, early age of the first offence, and violent offending. Measures of language, CU traits, anxiety, as well as official youth justice data, were collected for adolescent male offenders and non-offenders (n = 130; aged 13-19 years; 62% youth offenders).