Longitudinal associations between prenatal internalizing symptoms and mindfulness traits with postnatal bonding difficulties.

Purpose: Mothers' reported connection, or bond, with their infants develops across the early postnatal period and is relevant to mother and offspring functioning. Little is known, however, about early predictors of bonding difficulties over time. The present study examined prenatal anxiety, depressive symptoms, and trait mindfulness and variation in bonding difficulties in mothers across the first two months postnatal.

Characterizing the heterogeneity of disruptions in the resolution of trauma among women exposed to childhood maltreatment.

The previously observed heterogeneity in developmental and intergenerational trajectories of childhood trauma may root from interindividual differences in the way trauma-exposed individuals have resolved these experiences. The current study explored whether distinctive patterns of impaired mentalization in relation to trauma could be identified in a sample of 825 pregnant women who experienced childhood maltreatment and whether these heterogeneous patterns were marked by significant differences in internalized and externalized problems during pregnancy, intimate partner violence, personality dysfunctions, and antenatal attachment. A latent profile analysis applied to the seven subscales of the unraveled interindividual variability in mentalizing impairments among pregnant women exposed to childhood maltreatment by identifying five distinctive types of psychological responses to trauma, each being associated in cross-sectional analyses with a specific set of symptoms and dysfunctions.

Links between early and concurrent attachment and reflective functioning in young adulthood.

Links between reflective functioning (RF; the ability to conceive of mental states and to interpret human behavior accordingly) and concurrent attachment security have been found in both childhood and adulthood. However, the respective contributions of early and concurrent attachment security in adult RF remain unknown. This study examines the contributions of attachment security to the mother in early childhood and of concurrent attachment security to each parent in young adults' RF.

Spillover effects on the relationship with the partner of a mentalization-based intervention for pregnant women.

The birth of a child has been associated with a decline in couple satisfaction, which has implications for the child's social-emotional development. This study investigated the potential spillover effect on pregnant women's perceptions of their relationships with their partners of the Supporting the Transition to and Engagement in Parenthood (STEP) program, a brief trauma-informed mentalization-based prenatal group intervention. Participants (94% White) were recruited in prenatal clinics and through online advertisements in Quebec, Canada.

Caregiving relationships are a cornerstone of developmental psychopathology.

The interdisciplinary field of developmental psychopathology has made great strides by including context into theoretical and empirical approaches to studying risk and resilience. Perhaps no context is more important to the developing child than their relationships with their caregivers (typically a child's parents), as caregivers are a key source of stimulation and nurturance to young children. Coupled with the high degree of brain plasticity in the earliest years of life, these caregiving relationships have an immense influence on shaping behavioral outcomes relevant to developmental psychopathology.

A deeper look at the association between childhood maltreatment and reflective functioning.

Childhood maltreatment is theorized as impeding the development of reflective functioning (RF; ability to perceive and interpret oneself and others in terms of mental states). However, previous research typically failed to support this association or yielded small sized and mixed associations. This study aims to provide a deeper look at the association between childhood maltreatment and RF by characterizing two non-mentalizing categories.

STEP-COVID: a pilot study of a prenatal intervention for pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a global increase in psychological distress in pregnant women. This study evaluated the effects of STEP-COVID, a six-session mentalization-based prenatal group program offered online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 100 participants were allocated to STEP-COVID or to the natural trajectory of prenatal care.

Socioemotional development in infants of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of prenatal and postnatal maternal distress.

Background: An upsurge in psychological distress was documented in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated with a longitudinal design whether prenatal and postnatal maternal distress during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with lower infant socioemotional development.

Methods: Pregnant women (N = 468, M = 30,00, 97.

Childhood Trauma May Increase Risk of Psychosis and Mood Disorder in Genetically High-risk Children and Adolescents by Enhancing the Accumulation of Risk Indicators.

Background: Genetically high-risk children carry indicators of brain dysfunctions that adult patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder display. The accumulation of risk indicators would have a higher predictive value of a later transition to psychosis or mood disorder than each individual risk indicator. Since more than 50% of adult patients report having been exposed to childhood trauma, we investigated whether exposure to trauma during childhood was associated with the early accumulation of risk indicators in youths at genetic risk.

Cumulative childhood trauma and complex psychiatric symptoms in pregnant women and expecting men.

Background: Women and men having been exposed to childhood trauma would be at high risk of various mental health symptoms while awaiting a child. This study aimed to evaluate the association between cumulative childhood trauma and the accumulation of symptoms belonging to different psychiatric problems in pregnant women and expecting men.

Methods: We first examined prevalence rates of childhood trauma across our samples of 2853 pregnant women and 561 expecting men from the community.

Evaluation of the Acceptability of a Prenatal Program for Women With Histories of Childhood Trauma: The Program STEP.

Childhood trauma would negatively affect pregnant women's mental health and would have intergenerational repercussions. However, there is a paucity of prenatal interventions specifically designed for women exposed to childhood trauma. The study aims to evaluate the acceptability of STEP, a manualized group intervention designed for pregnant women having experienced early life adversity.

Development and validation of a self-report measure assessing failures in the mentalization of trauma and adverse relationships.

Background: The way people process trauma and adverse relationships may be more predictive of subsequent adaptation than trauma exposure in itself. However, there is currently no self-report instrument assessing failures in the mentalization of trauma and adverse relationships.

Objective: We developed the Failure to Mentalize Trauma Questionnaire (FMTQ) and evaluated its psychometric properties.

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Objective: Examine the association between news media use frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic and the scale of psychological distress in pregnant women, considering this distress known harmful effects on the fetus development.

Method: Pregnant women living in Quebec province (N = 1014) have been recruited in April 2020 through social media, while a state of health emergency was declared. Participants were divided in 4 groups, according to self-reported frequency of news media consulting (little or none; one time a day; several times a day; constant).

Uptrend in distress and psychiatric symptomatology in pregnant women during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Introduction: Prenatal maternal distress has a negative impact on the course of pregnancy, fetal development, offspring development, and later psychopathologies. The study aimed to determine the extent to which the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may aggravate the prenatal distress and psychiatric symptomatology of pregnant women.

Material And Methods: Two cohorts of pregnant volunteer women were evaluated, one that was recruited before the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 496) through advertisements in prenatal clinics in Quebec, Canada, from April 2018 to March 2020; the other (n = 1258) was recruited online during the pandemic from 2 April to 13 April 2020.

Parental Cannabis Use: Contradictory Discourses in the Media, Government Publications, and the Scientific Literature.

Approximately 7% of Americans and 13% of Canadians older than 25 years old use cannabis, suggesting that millions of parents across North America are users. We hypothesize that parental cannabis use may affect children in two ways: by increasing personal exposure to the substance (eg, in utero exposure) and through its impact on parenting (Figure 1). Regarding direct exposure, scientific evidence suggests that using cannabis during pregnancy is unsafe and may lead to complications at birth, such as preterm delivery, lower birth weight, lower Apgar scores, and decreased fetal growth.

Prenatal Attachment, Parental Confidence, and Mental Health in Expecting Parents: The Role of Childhood Trauma.

Introduction: Exposure to childhood abuse or neglect may lead to negative outcomes during pregnancy in expecting parents, which may contribute to a negative experience of childbearing and have consequences for the developing fetus. This study examined the associations between exposure to childhood abuse or neglect, psychological symptoms, prenatal attachment, and perception of parental competence in expectant parents.

Methods: Individuals at low sociodemographic risk were recruited in community perinatal care settings and completed self-report assessment measures of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, dissociation, personality disorders, perception of parental competence, and prenatal attachment.

The protective role of mentalizing: Reflective functioning as a mediator between child maltreatment, psychopathology and parental attitude in expecting parents.

Background: Childhood maltreatment impacts parenting and has intergenerational consequences. It is therefore crucial to identify clinically responsive resilience-promoting factors in pregnant women and expecting men with history of childhood maltreatment. Mentalization, or reflective functioning, appears as a promising concept to understand risk and resilience in the face of childhood maltreatment.