Prenatal exposure to genocide and subsequent adverse childhood events are associated with DNA methylation of SLC6A4, BDNF, and PRDM8 in early adulthood in Rwanda.

We investigated associations between prenatal genocidal trauma, including maternal rape, and postnatal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on DNA methylation of genes associated with the stress response. In a comparative cross-sectional study of 91 Rwandan young adults, categorized by prenatal exposure to genocide and maternal rape, genocide without rape, and unexposed controls, we analyzed DNA methylation from dried blood spots and assessed ACEs and depression and anxiety symptoms at age 24. Prenatal exposure to maternal rape was associated with DNA methylation changes in BDNF and SLC6A4, with the association in BDNF attenuated after including ACE exposure in the model.

Young children's development after forced displacement: a systematic review.

Objectives: To examine the impact of displacement experiences on 0- to 6-year-old children's social-emotional and cognitive development, as well as influencing factors on reported outcomes.

Study Design: We systematically searched MEDline, Psyndex, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Elsevier, TandF, Oxford Journal of Refugee Studies, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, and Canada's Journal on Refugees for existing literature regarding social-emotional and cognitive outcomes in children directly exposed to forced displacement due to political violence. Results were synthesized in the discussion and displayed using harvest plots.

Longitudinal Patterns of Engagement and Clinical Outcomes: Results From a Therapist-Supported Digital Mental Health Intervention.

Objective: Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) are an effective treatment modality for common mental disorders like depression and anxiety; however, the role of intervention engagement as a longitudinal "dosing" factor is poorly understood in relation to clinical outcomes.

Methods: We studied 4978 participants in a 12-week therapist-supported DMHI (June 2020-December 2021), applying a longitudinal agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis to the number of days per week of intervention engagement. The proportion of people demonstrating remission in depression and anxiety symptoms during the intervention was calculated for each cluster.

Intergenerational trauma in Latinxs: A scoping review.

Rationale: Intergenerational trauma refers to emotional and psychological wounding that is transmitted across generations. Latinxs-individuals who have migrated from Latin America to the United States or Canada and their descendants-are particularly vulnerable to intergenerational trauma due to legacies of colonialism, political violence, and migration-related stressors.

Objective: This scoping review aims to survey and synthesize the extant literature on intergenerational trauma in Latinxs, the ways that the literature conceptualizes and operationalizes intergenerational trauma, and the mechanisms of transmission that it proposes.

Adverse childhood experiences and prenatal mental health: Type of ACEs and age of maltreatment onset.

Childhood adversity can have long-term deleterious effects on adulthood mental health outcomes, but more research is needed examining how type and timing of childhood adversity affect mental health specifically during pregnancy. The current study examined the effects of total adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during pregnancy, unpacked effects of total adversity into childhood maltreatment versus family dysfunction experiences, and assessed age of onset effects of child maltreatment-specific experiences. Participants were 101 low-income pregnant women (M = 29.

Positive childhood experiences predict less psychopathology and stress in pregnant women with childhood adversity: A pilot study of the benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) scale.

This pilot study examined the psychometric properties of the Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) scale, a new instrument designed to assess positive early life experiences in adults with histories of childhood maltreatment and other adversities. A counterpart to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire, the BCEs was developed to be multiculturally-sensitive and applicable regardless of socioeconomic position, urban-rural background, or immigration status. Higher levels of BCEs were hypothesized to predict lower levels of psychopathology and stress beyond the effects of ACES in a sample of ethnically diverse, low-income pregnant women.

Early Childhood Victimization and Physical Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy: A Developmental and Person-Oriented Approach.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization during pregnancy is a major public health concern, yet little is known about how risk factors for IPV during pregnancy may depend on whether women have histories of victimization dating back to early childhood (ages 0-5 years). This study examined whether risk factors for physical IPV victimization during pregnancy (a pregnancy that was not planned and prenatal substance use) differed for women with versus without early childhood victimization. Participants were 236 ethnically diverse, low-income biological mothers ( M = 30.