Maternal symptomatology and parent-child relationship functioning in a diverse sample of young children exposed to trauma.

Children under the age of 6 years are disproportionately exposed to interpersonal trauma. Research describing type and frequency of exposure to trauma among this young population is limited. Additionally, few studies have assessed the role of multiple indicators of parental functioning on children's behavior following trauma exposure.

A Longitudinal Study of the Relation Between Depressive Symptomatology and Parenting Practices.

This longitudinal study examined whether mothers' depressive symptomatology predicted parenting practices in a sample of 199 mothers of 3-year-old children with behavior problems who were assessed yearly until age 6. Higher maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher overreactivity and laxness and lower warmth when children were 6 years old. Higher maternal depressive symptoms were also related to increases in overreactivity across the preschool years.

Predicting attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder from preschool diagnostic assessments.

The present study examined the power of measures of early preschool behavior to predict later diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)/conduct disorder (CD). Participants were 168 children with behavior problems at age 3 who underwent a multimethod assessment of ADHD and ODD symptoms and were followed annually for 3 years. Fifty-eight percent of 3-year-old children with behavior problems met criteria for ADHD and/or ODD/CD 3 years later.

How health care setting affects prenatal providers' risk reduction practices: a qualitative comparison of settings.

Background: We sought to understand how systemic factors might facilitate or impede providers' ability to screen for and intervene on prenatal behavioral risks.

Methods: We convened eight focus groups of 60 prenatal care providers to explore methods for assessing and counseling pregnant women about tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use. Because practice setting was often mentioned as either an inducement or barrier to risk prevention, we conducted a re-analysis of focus group transcripts to examine systemic factors.