Promoting reflective practice in an infant and early childhood training program.

Reflective practices provide a supportive base through which preservice infant and early childhood teachers and allied professionals can achieve knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions to support young children and their families. This paper is a program description that describes the rationale for infusing reflective practices into the learning goals for preservice early childhood training, highlighting the specific reflection skills from the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Competency Guidelines. We describe how one university early childhood training program promotes student reflection skills referencing three distinct perspectives: (1) why reflection is essential to developing knowledge and skills; (2) the role group reflection plays in sustaining deep knowledge and skill development for students and faculty; (3) how faculty promote students' awareness of the connection between personal experience and professional dispositions through reflection during practicum experiences.

On the complex and dimensional relationship of maternal posttraumatic stress disorder during early childhood and child outcomes at school-age.

Background: Several studies have shown associations between maternal interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), child mental health problems, and impaired socioemotional development. However, the existing literature lacks evidence linking constellations of risk factors such as maternal interpersonal-violence-related PTSD, psychopathology, and interactive behavior with toddlers and outcome measures at school-age.

Methods: This study involved a prospective, longitudinal investigation of 62 mothers and examined the relationship between maternal variables measured when children were in early childhood (mean age 27 months), and child outcomes when children were school-age (age mean = 83.

Improving Child Health and Healthcare Use Outcomes: How Risk and Resilience Intersect in Pediatric Care.

More nuanced and comprehensive approaches are needed in preventive healthcare to have a larger impact on the social determinants of health that influence health and well-being over the life course. Using data from a nine-site study of pediatric health care innovations focused on screening, referring, and linking families of infants to services for social needs, we examined the clustering of risk and resilience reported by 888 parents at infant age birth to 6 months using latent profile analysis (LPA). We then examined how risk and resilience profiles were associated with children's health status and family unmet need for social supports 1 year later.

Professional quality of life in home visitors: Core components of the reflective supervisory relationship and IMH-E Endorsement engagement.

Infant and early childhood home visiting models are gaining prominence as effective programs for families. Most U.S.

Sparking collaboration and instilling core competencies through training a statewide workforce in Infant Mental Health: Report from the field.

Fostering collaboration and instilling core competencies across the diverse Infant Mental Health systems and understanding their training needs are crucial endeavors to support the delivery of evidence-based care and treatment continuity for infants and their families. This paper details the Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health's use of a comprehensive infant mental health training series as a vehicle to achieve these aims. The training series, and the steps taken to execute and evaluate it are described to provide a framework for future collaborative training initiatives.

The association between toddlerhood empathy deficits and antisocial personality disorder symptoms and psychopathy in adulthood.

The present study examined empathy deficits in toddlerhood (age 14 to 36 months) as predictors of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) symptoms and psychopathy measured by the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995) in adulthood (age 23 years) in 956 individuals from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study. Consistent with the hypothesis that antisocial behavior is associated with "active" rather than "passive" empathy deficits, early disregard for others, not lack of concern for others, predicted later ASPD symptoms. Early disregard for others was also significantly associated with factor 1 of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, which includes items assessing interpersonal and affective deficits, but not with factor 2, which includes items assessing impulsivity and poor behavioral control.

A Longitudinal and Multidimensional Examination of the Associations Between Temperament and Self-Restraint During Toddlerhood.

Developing self-restraint, or the inhibition of behavior in response to a prohibition, is an important process during toddlerhood. The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of individual differences in the development of self-restraint during toddlerhood by examining stable elements and growth of temperament (i.e.

IS REFLECTIVE SUPERVISION ENOUGH? AN EXPLORATION OF WORKFORCE PERSPECTIVES.

Infant mental health practice requires the performance of intense emotional labor. Professionals comprising the infant mental health (IMH) field are largely women at seminal points in adult life-span development. The purpose of this article is to explore the day-to-day challenges faced by clinical infant mental health professionals and their perspectives on the supports available for effective job performance.

Correlates of Positive Parenting Behaviors.

The present study examined the influence of maternal and child characteristics on parenting behaviors in a genetically informative study. The participants were 976 twins and their mothers from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study and the Twin Infant Project. Indicators of positive parenting were coded during parent-child interactions when twins were 7-36 months old.

The Association Between Toddlerhood Self-Control and Later Externalizing Problems.

Lower self-control is a significant correlate or predictor of a wide range of adult outcomes, and this association may be due to more general tendencies toward childhood externalizing problems. The present study examined the association between toddlerhood self-control expressed within a "don't" compliance task (at 14-36 months) and later externalizing problems (parent-reported externalizing problems from age 4 to 12 years, teacher-reported externalizing problems from age 7 to 12 years, and self-reported conduct disorder symptoms at age 17 years) in a longitudinal, genetically informative study. The slope of self-control, but not its intercept, predicted later teacher-reported, but not parent- or self-reported, externalizing problems.

Increase in Oxytocin From Skin-to-Skin Contact Enhances Development of Parent-Infant Relationship.

Objective: To examine changes that occur in infant and parent salivary oxytocin (OT) and salivary cortisol (SC) levels during skin-to-skin contact (SSC) and whether SSC alleviates parental stress and anxiety while also supporting mother-father-infant relationships.

Methods: This randomized crossover study was conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with a sample of 28 stable preterm infants and their parents. Saliva samples were collected from infants, mothers, and fathers on Days 1 and 2 (1/parent) for OT and cortisol measurement pre-SSC, during a 60-min SSC session, and a 45-min post-SSC.

An examination of the developmental propensity model of conduct problems.

The present study tested specific hypotheses advanced by the developmental propensity model of the etiology of conduct problems in the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study, a prospective, longitudinal, genetically informative sample. High negative emotionality, low behavioral inhibition, low concern and high disregard for others, and low cognitive ability assessed during toddlerhood (age 14 to 36 months) were examined as predictors of conduct problems in later childhood and adolescence (age 4 to 17 years). Each hypothesized antisocial propensity dimension predicted conduct problems, but some predictions may be context specific or due to method covariance.

Longitudinal pathways from early maternal depression to children's dysregulated representations: a moderated mediation analysis of harsh parenting and gender.

There is some evidence linking maternal depression, harsh parenting, and children's internal representations of attachment, yet, longitudinal examinations of these relationships and differences in the developmental pathways between boys and girls are lacking. Moderated mediation growth curves were employed to examine harsh parenting as a mechanism underlying the link between maternal depression and children's dysregulated representations using a nationally-representative, economically-vulnerable sample of mothers and their children (n = 575; 49% boys, 51% girls). Dysregulation representations were measured using the MacArthur Story Stem Battery at five years of age (M = 5.

Longitudinal Influence of Paternal Distress on Children's Representations of Fathers, Family Cohesion, and Family Conflict.

A parent's distress is known to color children's experiences of their families. Studies, however, have rarely focused on the levels of distress experienced by fathers, and in particular, as they affect the emotional experiences of their children. We examine the impact that fathers' experience of distress throughout their children's early years has on children's emerging narrative representations of father-child relationships and of family conflict and cohesion.

Testing alternative hypotheses regarding the association between behavioral inhibition and language development in toddlerhood.

Studies have reported an inverse association between language development and behavioral inhibition or shyness across childhood, but the direction of this association remains unclear. This study tested alternative hypotheses regarding this association in a large sample of toddlers. Data on behavioral inhibition and expressive and receptive language abilities were collected from 816 twins at ages 14, 20, and 24 months.

Effect of holding on co-regulation in preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine whether kangaroo holding of healthy preterm infants over the first eight weeks of an infant's life facilitates co-regulation of salivary cortisol between mother and infant.

Study Design: Randomized control trial. Infants were assigned to receive 1h of daily kangaroo (skin-to-skin contact on the chest of mother) or blanket holding (dressed and held in mother's arms).

Effects of home visits by paraprofessionals and by nurses on children: follow-up of a randomized trial at ages 6 and 9 years.

Importance: The Nurse-Family Partnership delivered by nurses has been found to produce long-term effects on maternal and child health in replicated randomized trials. A persistent question is whether paraprofessional home visitors might produce comparable effects.

Objective: To examine the impact of prenatal and infancy/toddler home visits by paraprofessionals and by nurses on child development at child ages 6 and 9 years.

Parent adaptation and family functioning in relation to narratives of children with chronic illness.

Background: This study assessed the experience of parents who have a child diagnosed with chronic illness and whether children's narratives mirror these experiences.

Method: A total of 66 parents completed assessments about adaptation and family functioning. Children with type 1 diabetes or asthma participated in a story-stem narrative task.

Autonomic correlates of children's concern and disregard for others.

Psychophysiological research on empathy and prosociality in children has focused most often on cardiac activity, heart rate (HR), and HR deceleration in particular. We examined these processes in 7-year-old children during two empathy mood inductions. We independently assessed children's responses to others' distress in two different contexts: structured probes (simulated pain) and maternal interviews.

Influence of holding practice on preterm infant development.

Purpose: The purpose of this randomized, controlled trial was to determine if nurse-supported kangaroo holding of healthy preterm infants in the first 8 weeks of the infant's life facilitates early behavioral organization and development.

Methods: We randomized 87 infants born between 32 and 35 weeks gestation and their mothers to one of three holding groups: kangaroo (skin-to-skin between mother's breasts), blanket (held in mother's arms), or control (no holding restrictions). Nurse-supported groups (kangaroo and blanket) received 8 weekly visits from a registered nurse who encouraged holding and provided education about infant development.

Maternal distress influences young children's family representations through maternal view of child behavior and parent-child interactions.

Distress of a parent is a key influence on the quality of the child's experience in the family. We hypothesized that maternal distress would spill over into more negative views of their children's behaviors and less emotional availability in their relationships. Further, we investigated whether these cumulative experiences contributed to children's emerging narratives about mothers and family life.

Early concern and disregard for others as predictors of antisocial behavior.

Background: Prediction of antisocial behavior is important, given its adverse impact on both the individuals engaging in antisocial behavior and society. Additional research identifying early predictors of future antisocial behavior, or antisocial propensity, is needed. The present study tested the hypothesis that both concern for others and active disregard for others in distress in toddlers and young children predict antisocial behavior during middle childhood and adolescence.

Generational differences and learning style preferences in nurses from a large metropolitan medical center.

Nursing educators face the challenge of presenting educational programs to meet the learning needs of four diverse generational groups of nurses. This cross-sectional survey examined if there is a relationship between staff nurses' generation and their learning styles. Results show that a combination of years in practice, time lapsed since last educational program ended, current school enrollment, degree earned, and generation influences preferred learning style.

The magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on parental and observational measures of behavioral inhibition and shyness in toddlerhood.

Behavioral inhibition is a temperamental trait that refers to slow approach to novel items, shyness towards new people, and fearfulness in new situations, and individuals may develop inhibited response styles by as early as 2 years of age. There are important methodological considerations in the assessment of early temperament, with parental report and observational measures providing both corroborative and unique data. The present study examined behavioral inhibition measured by parental report and observational measures in a genetically informative sample to delineate the agreement between the methods and the uniqueness of each method, and to estimate the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on the common and unique variance.