Negative and distorted attributions towards child, self, and primary attachment figure among posttraumatically stressed mothers: what changes with Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Sessions (CAVES).

This study found that within a non-referred community pediatrics clinic sample, the severity of mothers' trauma-related psychopathology, in particular, their interpersonal violence-related (IPV) posttraumatic stress, dissociative, and depressive symptoms predicted the degree of negativity of mothers' attributions towards their preschool age children, themselves, and their own primary attachment figure. Results also showed that mothers with IPV-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as compared to non-PTSD controls showed a significantly greater degree of negativity of their attributions toward their child, themselves and their primary attachment figure during childhood. The study finally found a significant reduction in the degree of negativity of mothers' attributions only towards their child following a three-session evaluation-protocol that included a form of experimental intervention entitled the "Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Session(s)" (CAVES), for mothers with IPV-PTSD as compared to control-subjects.

Autonomic functioning in mothers with interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder in response to separation-reunion.

This study characterizes autonomic nervous system activity reactive to separation-reunion among mothers with Interpersonal Violence-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (IPV-PTSD). Heart-rate (HR) and high frequency heart-rate-variability (HF-HRV) were measured in 17 IPV-PTSD-mothers, 22 sub-threshold-mothers, and 15 non-PTSD mother-controls while interacting with their toddlers (12-48 months). Analyses showed IPV-PTSD-mothers having generally lower HR than other groups.

The relationship of violent fathers, posttraumatically stressed mothers and symptomatic children in a preschool-age inner-city pediatrics clinic sample.

This study aims to understand if greater severity of maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), related to maternal report of interpersonal violence, mediates the effects of such violence on (a) child PTSS as well as on (b) child externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Study participants were mothers (N = 77) and children 18 to 48 months recruited from community pediatric clinics. Data were analyzed continuously via bivariate correlations and then multiple linear regression.

An fMRI study of the brain responses of traumatized mothers to viewing their toddlers during separation and play.

This study tested whether mothers with interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (IPV-PTSD) vs healthy controls (HC) would show greater limbic and less frontocortical activity when viewing young children during separation compared to quiet play. Mothers of 20 children (12-42 months) participated: 11 IPV-PTSD mothers and 9 HC with no PTSD. During fMRI, mothers watched epochs of play and separation from their own and unfamiliar children.

Subjective and objective measures of parent-child relationship dysfunction, child separation distress, and joint attention.

The literature suggests an adverse impact of maternal stress related to interpersonal violence on parent-child interaction. The current study investigated associations between a mother's self-reported parent-child relationship dysfunction and what she does in response to her child's cues. It also examined whether maternal perception of parent-child dysfunctional interaction and child behavior when stressed by separation, along with maternal behavior in response to child distress, predicted impaired joint attention (JA) during play.

Is maternal PTSD associated with greater exposure of very young children to violent media?

This study examined media viewing by mothers with violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related media exposure of their preschool-age children. Mothers (N = 67) recruited from community pediatric clinics participated in a protocol involving a media-preference survey. Severity of maternal PTSD and dissociation were significantly associated with child exposure to violent media.

Distorted maternal mental representations and atypical behavior in a clinical sample of violence-exposed mothers and their toddlers.

Objective: To determine whether maternal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reflective functioning (RF), and/or quality of mental representations of her child predict maternal behavior within a referred sample of interpersonal violence-exposed mothers and their children (ages 8-50 months).

Method: Forty-one dyads completed two videotaped visits including measures of maternal mental representations and behavior.

Results: Negative and distorted maternal mental representations predicted atypical behavior (Cohen's d>1.

Child mental representations of attachment when mothers are traumatized: The relationship of family-drawings to story-stem completion.

This study examines the relationship between child play-narratives and family drawings by children of violence-exposed mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Family Attachment Drawing Task (FAD-T) and MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB) were administered. Of the 23 children (ages 4-7 years), 16 (70%) created drawings that were coded as being representative of insecure attachment.

Traumatized mothers can change their minds about their toddlers: Understanding how a novel use of videofeedback supports positive change of maternal attributions.

This study explored the use of a brief experimental intervention that integrates principles of infant-parent psychotherapy, videofeedback, controlled exposure to child distress in the context of parental posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and stimulation of parental reflective functioning (RF). The Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Session (CAVES) was applied to 32 interpersonal violence-exposed mothers of very young children (8-50 months) with respect to change of maternal perception of her child. While we found no significant reduction over two videotaped assessment visits with a mental health professional, we did find a significant reduction in the degree of negativity of maternal attributions towards her child following the videotaped visit focused on the CAVES (p<.

Caregiver traumatization adversely impacts young children's mental representations on the MacArthur Story Stem Battery.

The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of maternal exposure to family violence, maltreatment, and related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on young children's mental representations of self and caregivers. Participant mothers (n=24) and children (n=25) were recruited from a referred sample when they were 4-7 years old. Maternal report and child story stem narratives were used.