Genetic and subjective sensitivity, relationship dynamics, and psychological distress in couples.

Positive and negative aspects of intimate relationships influence mental health and well-being in couples. According to the environmental sensitivity framework, individuals differ in how strongly they are affected by their environment, with some individuals being more or less sensitive to both negative and positive experiences. The present study examined the longitudinal associations between positive and negative relationship dynamics, including marital satisfaction, positive bonding, and negative communication, and psychological distress as well as the extent to which individual differences in genetic and subjective measures of environmental sensitivity moderated the association between relationship dynamics and psychological distress in a sample of couples in the U.

Mindfulness Intervention Improves Coping and Perceptions of Children's Behavior among Families with Elevated Risk.

Mindfulness-informed interventions (MIIs) are increasingly common but have not been extensively studied among families with elevated levels of risk (e.g., those involved in child protective services and/or receiving financial assistance).

Relations Between Stress-Adapted Communication Skills and Toxic Social Networks Among Young Adults with Childhood Adversity.

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with deleterious outcomes across the lifespan. However, some individuals who grow up in adverse environments may develop stress-adapted skills or resilience factors that enable them to function in their current lived environments. This study explored whether communication is a stress-adapted skill among young adults with co-occurring forms of childhood adversity and the extent to which these communication skills are implicated in toxic social networks.

Tailored Nurse Support Program Promoting Positive Parenting and Family Preservation.

Background: Public health nurse home visiting is a promising approach for addressing the complex needs of families at risk of child maltreatment. The Colorado Nurse Support Program advances service provision by using evidence-based practices to provide tailored assessment and intervention to low-income, primiparous, and multiparous families with children under 18 years of age identified as high risk by county human service systems.

Objectives: This study aimed to test the effects of the Nurse Support Program on child protective services case characteristics between Nurse Support Program families and a demographically comparable reference group of families and evaluate changes in parenting outcomes from pre- to postprogram involvement for Nurse Support Program families.

Adverse and Benevolent Childhood Experiences Predict Prenatal Sleep Quality.

The objective of the study was to investigate whether adverse and benevolent childhood experiences were associated with trajectories of sleep quality throughout pregnancy. The study was conducted at obstetrics and gynecology clinics in the Rocky Mountain region of the USA. The participants of the study were pregnant individuals ( = 164).

Child Maltreatment Severity and Sleep Variability Predict Mother-Infant RSA Coregulation.

Regulatory processes underlie maternal-infant interactions and may be disrupted in adverse caregiving environments. Child maltreatment and sleep variability may reflect high-risk caregiving, but it is unknown whether they confer vulnerability for poorer mother-infant parasympathetic coordination. The aim of this study was to examine mother-infant coregulation of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in relation to child maltreatment severity and night-to-night sleep variability in 47 low-income mother-infant dyads.

Associations between childhood maltreatment and behavioral sleep disturbances across the lifespan: A systematic review.

Childhood maltreatment has a range of long-term developmental and health consequences. Emerging research suggests that sleep disturbances may be a key behavioral health risk factor implicated in the relationship between maltreatment and poor health across the lifespan. This systematic review examined the association between maltreatment and behavioral sleep disturbances in childhood and adulthood.

Relationships among Early Adversity, Positive Human and Animal Interactions, and Mental Health in Young Adults.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor mental health. Emerging research demonstrates the protective role of positive childhood experiences, including a positive sense of self and relationships with both humans and animals, in mitigating the impacts of early life adversity on mental health outcomes. This study examined whether benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) or relationships and interactions with pets during childhood moderated the link between ACEs and current mental health symptoms in a sample of young adults.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child Protection System Referrals and Responses in Colorado, USA.

Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has amplified risk factors known to increase children's vulnerability to abuse and neglect, emerging evidence suggests declines in maltreatment reporting and responding following COVID-19 social distancing protocols in the United States. Using statewide administrative data, this study builds on the current state of knowledge to better understand the volume of child protection system (CPS) referrals and responses in Colorado, USA before and during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine whether there were differences in referral and response rates by case characteristics. Results indicated an overall decline in referrals and responses during COVID-19 when compared to the previous year.

The Co-Occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Intimate Partner Violence in Families: Effects on Children's Externalizing Behavior Problems.

Children exposed to maltreatment are at risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and behavioral problems. This study examined different forms of family violence that co-occur and their relationship to children's externalizing behaviors across developmental stages (early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence). Longitudinal data ( = 1,987) at baseline and 18 months and 36 months post-baseline from the NSCAW II were used.

Parental buffering in the context of poverty: positive parenting behaviors differentiate young children's stress reactivity profiles.

Experiencing poverty increases vulnerability for dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning and compromises long-term health. Positive parenting buffers children from HPA axis reactivity, yet this has primarily been documented among families not experiencing poverty. We tested the theorized power of positive parenting in 124 parent-child dyads recruited from Early Head Start (Mage = 25.

Stress and parenting during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Stress and compromised parenting often place children at risk of abuse and neglect. Child maltreatment has generally been viewed as a highly individualistic problem by focusing on stressors and parenting behaviors that impact individual families. However, because of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), families across the world are experiencing a new range of stressors that threaten their health, safety, and economic well-being.

Sociodemographic and substance use characteristics associated with typologies and composition of social support networks among youth experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, USA.

Youth experiencing homelessness are a vulnerable population with increased behavioural health risks. Social networks are a consistent correlate of youths' substance use behaviours. However, less is known about the reciprocal relationships among these constructs.

Child, Family, and Case Characteristics Associated With Reentry Into Out-of-Home Care Among Children and Youth Involved With Child Protection Services.

Many children and youth with child protection services (CPS) involvement enter out-of-home care. The aims of this study were to examine rates of reentry and risk factors associated with reentry into out-of-home care among children and youth involved in the child protection (reported for abuse/neglect) and youth-in-conflict (reported for behavioral issues) programs. This study used administrative data from Colorado's Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, which contains information on all children and youth who enter Colorado's CPS.

Pregnancy Attitudes and Contraceptive Use among Young Adults with Histories of Foster Care.

Introduction: This study examined pregnancy attitudes and contraceptive use among young adults with histories of foster care.

Methods: 209 female and male young adults, aged 18-22, with histories of foster care were interviewed about their intentions and feelings towards pregnancy. Respondents were then categorized as having pro-pregnancy (i.

Adverse childhood experiences and their relationship to complex health profiles among child welfare-involved children: A classification and regression tree analysis.

Objective: To identify the clustering of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that best characterize child welfare-involved children with known complex health concerns.

Data Source: Multi-informant data were obtained from Wave I of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II).

Study Design: This study used a cross-sectional design and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses.

The co-occurrence of adverse childhood experiences among children investigated for child maltreatment: A latent class analysis.

Children investigated for maltreatment are particularly vulnerable to experiencing multiple adversities. Few studies have examined the extent to which experiences of adversity and different types of maltreatment co-occur in this most vulnerable population of children. Understanding the complex nature of childhood adversity may inform the enhanced tailoring of practices to better meet the needs of maltreated children.

Prospective Associations Between Peer Victimization and Dispositional Mindfulness in Early Adolescence.

Peer victimization is associated with several mental health and behavioral problems during childhood and adolescence. Identifying prospective associations between victimization and factors known to protect against these problems may ultimately contribute to more precise developmental models for victimization's role in behavioral and mental health. This study tested prospective associations between peer victimization and dispositional mindfulness, defined by non-judgmental and accepting awareness of the constant stream of lived experience, during early adolescence.

Childhood adversity and the risk of substance use and delinquency: The role of protective adult relationships.

Youth involved in the child welfare system experience multiple early adversities that can contribute to increased risk of substance use and delinquency. Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with poorer behavioral outcomes among youth, less is known about the possible protective factors that may influence the relationship between early adversity and risk-taking behavior. This study examined whether protective adult relationships moderated the link between cumulative ACEs and substance use and delinquency after controlling for demographic characteristics in child welfare-involved youth.

Thought suppression as a mediator of the association between depressed mood and prescription opioid craving among chronic pain patients.

Emerging research suggests that prescription opioid craving is associated with negative mood and depression, but less is known about cognitive factors linking depressive symptoms to opioid craving among adults with chronic pain. The present cross-sectional study examined thought suppression as a mediator of the relation between depression and prescription opioid craving in a sample of chronic pain patients receiving long-term opioid pharmacotherapy. Data were obtained from 115 chronic pain patients recruited from primary care, pain, and neurology clinics who had taken prescription opioids daily or nearly every day for ≥90 days prior to assessment.

An Exploratory Factor Analysis of Coping Styles and Relationship to Depression Among a Sample of Homeless Youth.

The extent to which measures of coping adequately capture the ways that homeless youth cope with challenges, and the influence these coping styles have on mental health outcomes, is largely absent from the literature. This study tests the factor structure of the Coping Scale using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and then investigates the relationship between coping styles and depression using hierarchical logistic regression with data from 201 homeless youth. Results of the EFA indicate a 3-factor structure of coping, which includes active, avoidant, and social coping styles.