Play With Me: Effects of a shared activities parenting intervention on parenting and relative reinforcing value of food.

This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated impacts of a novel shared activities intervention designed to promote positive parent-child interactions, which may function as an alternative reinforcer to food. The 4-week, at-home Play With Me intervention combines didactic parenting videos and play kits with materials for parent-child activities to practice skills. Aims of the present study were to examine the intervention's acceptability and its effects on parenting and the relative reinforcing value (RRV) of food versus parent-child activity at post-intervention.

Effects of prenatal opioid exposure on infant sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity.

Prenatal opioid exposure has been associated with developmental problems, including autonomic nervous system dysregulation. However, little is known about the effects of prenatal opioid exposure on the autonomic nervous system beyond the first days of life, particularly across both the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches, and when accounting for exposure to other substances. The present study examined the effects of prenatal exposure to opioid agonist therapy (OAT, e.

Effects of an attachment-based intervention on autonomic regulation among opioid-exposed infants.

Little is known about whether postnatal intervention enhances autonomic regulation among infants at risk for dysregulation due to prenatal opioid exposure. The present study evaluated the effects of modified Attachment Behavioral Catch-up (mABC) on autonomic regulation for opioid-exposed infants in a pilot randomized clinical trial. We hypothesized that, compared to a control intervention (modified Developmental Education for Families [mDEF]), mABC would be associated with higher resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and pre-ejection period (PEP) as well as greater reactivity to and recovery from a social stressor (Still-Face Paradigm).

Development of a measure of the relative reinforcing value of food versus parent-child interaction for young children.

The relative reinforcing value (RRV) of food captures individual differences in the motivation to eat and is associated with weight status among infants, children, and adults. Currently, there is no concurrent measure of the RRV of food versus a non-food alternative for 4-to-5-year-old children. The present study aimed to develop and validate a measure of the RRV of food versus time spent interacting with a parent in the context of reading among 4-to-5-year-old children.

Cannabis use during pregnancy in the United States: The role of depression.

Background: Cannabis use is increasing in the United States. Prior work suggests tobacco use in pregnancy is much more common among those with depression. It is not known whether cannabis use is also more common among this especially vulnerable group.

Sociodemographic differences and infant dietary patterns.

Objectives: To identify dietary patterns in US infants at age 6 and 12 months, sociodemographic differences in these patterns, and their associations with infant growth from age 6 to 12 months.

Methods: We analyzed a subsample (760 boys and 795 girls) of the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (2005-2007). Mothers reported their infants' intakes of 18 types of foods in the past 7 days, which were used to derive dietary patterns at ages 6 and 12 months by principal component analysis.

Prenatal cocaine exposure and trajectories of externalizing behavior problems in early childhood: examining the role of maternal negative affect.

This study examined the association between prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) and developmental trajectories of externalizing behavior problems from 18 to 54 months of child age. A hypothesized indirect association between PCE and externalizing trajectories via maternal negative affect was also examined. Caregiving environmental risk and child sex were evaluated as moderators.

Trajectories of Reinforcement Sensitivity During Adolescence and Risk for Substance Use.

Developmental neuroscience models suggest that changes in responsiveness to incentives contribute to increases in adolescent risk behavior, including substance use. Trajectories of sensitivity to reward (SR) and sensitivity to punishment (SP) were examined and tested as predictors of escalation of early substance use in a community sample of adolescents (N=765, mean baseline age 11.8 years, 54% female).

The interaction between self-regulation and motivation prospectively predicting problem behavior in adolescence.

A large literature suggests associations between self-regulation and motivation and adolescent problem behavior; however, this research has mostly pitted these constructs against one another or tested them in isolation. Following recent neural-systems based theories (e.g.

Behaviour problems in 18- to 36-month old children of alcoholic fathers: secure mother-infant attachment as a protective factor.

This study examined the relationship between paternal alcoholism and toddler behavior problems from 18 to 36 months of age, as well as the potential moderating effects of 12-month infant-mother attachment security on this relationship. Children with alcoholic fathers had higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior than children of nonalcoholic fathers. Simple effects testing of an interaction effect of child age, group, and attachment security with mothers on externalizing behaviour suggested that at 24 and 36 months of age mother-infant attachment security moderated the relationship between alcohol group status and externalizing behaviour.

The relationship between sexual abuse during childhood and parenting outcomes: modeling direct and indirect pathways.

Objective: This study examined the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and parenting outcomes including parenting stress, feelings of competence and discipline strategies. Maternal depression and current partner violence were hypothesized to be mediators of the association between CSA and parenting.

Method: This study is based on secondary data analysis of archived data.

The development of motor asymmetries in 1-month-old infants who were prenatally exposed to cocaine.

The development of motor asymmetries was assessed in 20 infants who were prenatally exposed to cocaine and 23 comparison infants. Asymmetries in stepping, grasping, and head orientation were assessed at 1 month of age. As expected based on the findings of previous research with high-risk infants, infants who were prenatally exposed to cocaine performed a grasping task with their right hand for significantly shorter durations than comparison infants and were less likely to show a dominant hand preference than comparison infants.

The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on infant mental development: a meta-analytical review.

Aims: Although research on fetal alcohol exposure has had a significant effect on social norms and public policy, there has been little quantitative review of this literature.

Methods: Meta-analysis was used to examine the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on infant mental development, assessed using the Mental Development Index (MDI) from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, a widely used, standardized measure. The current study examined the effects of three levels of average daily exposure during pregnancy: less than 1 drink per day, 1-1.

Cognitive functioning among infants of alcoholic fathers.

Although there is considerable evidence that suggests that children of alcoholic fathers are at risk for maladaptive developmental outcomes, there is a large amount of heterogeneity in these outcomes. This study examined this hypothesis using broad measures of mental and language development during the toddler period as a function of fathers' alcoholism and associated risk factors. Participants included 102 families in which the father was alcoholic, 20 families in which the father was alcoholic and the mother was a heavy drinker and 104 control families matched in terms of maternal education, race/ethnicity, child gender, marital status and number of children.

The Effects of Alcohol in Breast Milk on Infant Behavioral State and Mother-Infant Feeding Interactions.

The short-term impact of infant exposure to alcohol in breast milk on mother-infant interactions and infant arousal was examined. Fourteen mother-infant dyads were tested on 2 occasions that consisted of an alcohol administration and a nonalcohol condition. Mother-infant interactions during feeding were videotaped and coded for dyadic reciprocity, maternal noncontingency, and dyadic conflict.

Mother-infant and father-infant attachment among alcoholic families.

This study examined the association between fathers' alcoholism and other risk factors such as parental depression, family conflict, infant temperament, and parent-infant attachment. The quality of parent-infant interactions was hypothesized to be a proximal mediator of the associations among alcoholism and other risk factors and attachment. The participants were 223 families (104 nonalcoholic families and 119 alcoholic families) with 12-month-old infants recruited through birth records.

TEMPERAMENT AND BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AMONG INFANTS IN ALCOHOLIC FAMILIES.

This study examined the association between paternal alcoholism and 12-month infant temperament and 18-month behavior problems. The role of associated parental psychopathology and maternal drinking in exacerbating risk for maladaptive behavioral outcomes was also examined. Participants were 213 families (102 control families, 94 paternal alcoholic families, and 17 families with alcoholic fathers and heavy drinking mothers) who were assessed when their child was 12 months old and reassessed again when their child was 18 months old.