Maltreatment and Parent-Child Attachment as Predictors of Dating Violence and Risky Sexual Behaviour Among High-Risk Teens.

A history of maltreatment can increase risk for dating violence (DV) and risky sexual behaviour (RSB) among adolescents. Secure parent-child attachment may reduce this risk, yet few studies have examined this as a protective factor. This study differentiated developmentally appropriate, exploratory sexual behaviours from RSB and examined whether maltreatment experiences and parent-child attachment in adolescence predicted DV and RSB reported five years later in a high-risk sample.

A systematic review of callous-unemotional traits and attachment in children and adolescents.

Methods: The systematic review and meta-analysis included 17 research articles from 1994 to 2022. Results were summarized by developmental periods.

Results: Attachment insecurity was associated with CU traits across development (r = .

Supporting adoptive and foster parents of adolescents through the trauma-informed e-Connect parent group: a preliminary descriptive study.

Introduction: Adolescents in adoption and foster care are likely to show internalizing and externalizing problems and affective dysregulation, leading to a lower quality of parent-adolescent attachment relationships and high levels of strain for parents. This study describes the results of the first application of the trauma-informed attachment-based Connect Parent Group in an online form (e-Connect) with Italian adoptive and foster parents. In this study, we describe (1) trends in the aforementioned variables between pre- (T1) and post- (T2) intervention and (2) parents' feedback and suggestions about the intervention.

Parent-Youth Attachment Insecurity and Informant Discrepancies of Intrafamilial Aggression.

This study investigated how youth attachment anxiety and avoidance are associated with informant discrepancies of intrafamilial aggression within families where youth have clinically significant mental health challenges (N = 510 youth-parent dyads). Using polynomial regressions, we tested whether youth attachment avoidance and anxiety moderated the absolute magnitude of the association between youth- and parent-reports of aggression toward each other. Furthermore, difference scores were computed to test whether youth attachment was associated with the direction of youths' reports of the frequency of aggression relative to parents (i.

"It opened a new door for me": A qualitative study of forcibly displaced parents' experiences of an attachment-based parenting program.

The aim of the study was to explore forcibly displaced parents' experiences of how an online attachment-based parenting program () impacted their relationships with their teens. Data was collected from four focus group discussions with 28 parents who participated in the program. Data was analyzed using network thematic analysis.

Attachment and trauma-informed programme to support forcibly displaced parents of youth in Sweden: feasibility and preliminary outcomes of the programme.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility, acceptability and the impact of an online parenting programme for forcibly displaced parents of adolescents.

Design: The study was a single-arm feasibility study using pre-intervention post-intervention and follow-up assessments.

Setting: Participants were recruited from municipality-based activities for refugee parents in a small city in the south of Sweden.

eConnect: implementation and preliminary evaluation of a virtually delivered attachment-based parenting intervention during COVID-19.

Connect, an attachment-based and trauma-informed parenting group intervention, has been demonstrated to improve adolescent mental health, parental wellbeing, and family functioning. We report on the online adaptation and delivery of Connect (eConnect) and pre-post treatment changes in parent, family and youth functioning in a clinical sample (N= 190) of parents of youth with serious mental health challenges. Consistent with research evaluating in-person Connect, parents reported significant reductions in youth internalizing and externalizing problems, attachment anxiety and avoidance, and aggression toward parents.

eCONNECT Parent Group: An Online Attachment-Based Intervention to Reduce Attachment Insecurity, Behavioral Problems, and Emotional Dysregulation in Adolescence.

During adolescence, a secure parent-adolescent relationship promotes youths' adjustment and psychological well-being. In this scenario, several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the CONNECT program, a 10-session, attachment-based parenting intervention that helps parents understand and reframe their parent-adolescent interactions, reducing adolescents' insecure attachment and behavioral problems. Furthermore, recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the implementation of effective online versions of psychological interventions, emphasizing the opportunity for more agile and easier dissemination of evidence-based protocols.

Parent Emotion Regulation, Mindful Parenting, and Youth Attachment: Direct and Indirect Associations with Internalizing and Externalizing Problems.

The direct associations between two dimensions of parent emotion regulation within the parent-youth relationship (dysregulation; suppression), mindful parenting, and youth internalizing and externalizing problems were examined among 759 parents of youth with significant behavioural or emotional problems. The indirect associations of parent emotion regulation and mindful parenting with youth functioning through youth attachment anxiety and avoidance were also investigated. Parent dysregulation was associated with internalizing symptoms both directly and through attachment anxiety, and with externalizing symptoms directly and through attachment anxiety and avoidance.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Affect Regulation Checklist: Clinical and Community Samples, Parent-Reports and Youth Self-Reports.

The Affect Regulation Checklist (ARC) was designed to capture affect dysregulation, suppression, and reflection. Importantly, affect dysregulation has been established as a transdiagnostic mechanism underpinning many forms of psychopathology. We tested the ARC psychometric properties across clinical and community samples and through both parent-report and youth self-report information.

Transforming Connections: A Trauma-Informed and Attachment-Based Program to Promote Sensitive Parenting of Trans and Gender Non-conforming Youth.

Gender non-conforming and trans youth experience high rates of bullying and victimization, placing them at risk for serious mental health challenges. Parent support is one of the most significant protective factors in this population, and yet few programs are specifically developed to promote parenting sensitivity, understanding, and acceptance. , a trauma-informed and attachment-based group program for caregivers of at-risk adolescents, has been shown to reduce parent stress and depressed mood, increase parents' sense of efficacy and satisfaction, and reduce parent-teen conflict.

Effect of a parenting intervention on decreasing adolescents' behavioral problems via reduction in attachment insecurity: A longitudinal, multicenter, randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Secure attachment in adolescence, related to caregiving quality, is a robust predictor of positive behavioral adjustment in early adulthood and beyond. Nevertheless, few attempts have been made to develop treatments to promote parent-adolescent attachment security.

Methods: Using a longitudinal, multicenter, randomized controlled trial design, two questionnaire-based studies were run in Italy (Study 1: n = 100 mothers of adolescents, 60% boys, M = 14.

Pilot randomized controlled trial of an attachment- and trauma-focused intervention for kinship caregivers.

Background: Kinship care placements are increasing in many Western countries, however families in kinship care are underserved partly due to the lack of evidence-based interventions addressing their unique needs.

Objective: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine research feasibility and the acceptability, fidelity, and preliminary outcomes of an attachment- and trauma-focused intervention for kinship caregivers in Australia.

Participants And Setting: Participants included 26 kinship caregivers (M = 55.

Reflections of parents of children with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome on the experience of receiving psychiatric genetic counseling: 'Awareness to Act'.

Individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDS) have a 25%-41% risk for a psychotic disorder. Although early intervention for psychiatric conditions leads to the best long-term outcomes, healthcare providers often provide inadequate information about these issues and psychiatric services are underused by this population.

Patterns and Predictors of Different Youth Responses to Attachment-Based Parent Intervention.

Objective: Few studies have evaluated attachment-based parent interventions for pre-teens and teens, and in particular, differential adolescent trajectories of response. This study examined distinct patterns, and multi-level predictors, of intervention response among youth with serious behavioral and mental health problems whose parents participated in , an attachment- and trauma-informed parent program.

Method: Participants included 682 parents ( = 42.

Network Structure of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Conduct Disorder Symptoms Among At-Risk Youth: Multi-Informant Reports and Gender Differences.

Network analytic techniques examine how items used to measure underlying constructs are related to one another and identify core characteristics. While many studies have examined the covariance of callous-unemotional (CU) traits or features and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms, the inter-item relations of these constructs and the core characteristics of the CU construct are unclear. The present study aimed to examine the network connectivity of, and between, CU features and CD symptoms.

Attachment goes to court: child protection and custody issues.

Attachment theory and research are drawn upon in many applied settings, including family courts, but misunderstandings are widespread and sometimes result in misapplications. The aim of this consensus statement is, therefore, to enhance understanding, counter misinformation, and steer family-court utilisation of attachment theory in a supportive, evidence-based direction, especially with regard to child protection and child custody decision-making. The article is divided into two parts.

The Mediational Effect of Affect Dysregulation on the Association Between Attachment to Parents and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents.

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a childhood disorder, commonly occurring in early school aged children with some symptoms becoming normative in adolescence (e.g., irritability, disagreeing).

Attachment insecurity accounts for the relationship between maternal and paternal maltreatment and adolescent health.

Objectives: Maltreatment is linked with poor health outcomes. Attachment and affect regulation may mitigate the long-term impact of these adverse experiences on health outcomes. Little is known about the relative impact of maternal versus paternal maltreatment and interparental violence (IPV) on general health status of female and male youth.

Maltreatment, attachment, and substance use in adolescence: Direct and indirect pathways.

Past research indicates that maltreatment increases risk for adolescent substance use; however, research is limited on how attachment between adolescents and their parents influences this relationship. The present study examined psychological and physical maltreatment, attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety, and substance use (i.e.

Profiles of primary and secondary callous-unemotional features in youth: The role of emotion regulation.

There is increasing evidence for multiple pathways in the development of callous-unemotional (CU) features, including primary and secondary profiles. Understanding affect regulation strategies among variants may provide further insight to the development and treatment of CU features. This study evaluated whether profiles of CU features could be identified within a clinical sample of youth using measures of affect dysregulation, affect suppression, anxiety, and maltreatment.

An attachment-based intervention for parents of adolescents at risk: mechanisms of change.

Mechanisms that account for treatment effects are poorly understood. The current study examined processes that may underlie treatment outcomes of an attachment-based intervention (Connect) for parents of pre-teens and teens with serious behavior problems. Parents (N = 540) in a non-randomized trial reported on their teen's functioning prior to and following treatment.

Assessing psychopathy among justice involved adolescents with the PCL:YV: an item response theory examination across gender.

This study used an item response theory (IRT) model and a large adolescent sample of justice involved youth (N = 1,007, 38% female) to examine the item functioning of the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL: YV). Items that were most discriminating (or most sensitive to changes) of the latent trait (thought to be psychopathy) among adolescents included "glibness/superficial charm," "lack of remorse," and "need for stimulation," whereas items that were least discriminating included "pathological lying," "failure to accept responsibility," and "lacks goals." The items "impulsivity" and "irresponsibility" were the most likely to be rated high among adolescents, whereas "parasitic lifestyle," and "glibness/superficial charm" were the most likely to be rated low.

Maternal versus paternal physical and emotional abuse, affect regulation and risk for depression from adolescence to early adulthood.

Objective: Current research has established that depression is a common outcome of child abuse. The current study extends previous research by examining the relationship between parental emotional and physical abuse and adolescents' depressive symptoms using a prospective longitudinal design. We anticipated that this relationship would be mediated through problems in affect regulation, consistent with the view that the presence of abuse in the parent-child relationship would derail the development of adaptive affect regulation.

Comparing the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL-YV) among offending girls.

Using a multimeasure longitudinal research design, we measured psychopathy with the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL-YV) among 122 offending girls. We examined the psychometric properties of the YPI, investigated the association between the YPI and the PCL-YV, and assessed their concurrent and longitudinal association with externalizing problems on the Youth/Adult Self-Report and violent and delinquent behaviors on the Self-Report of Offending. Alphas for the YPI were adequate and there were small to moderate correlations between the YPI and PCL-YV, suggesting that each assesses distinctive personality features.