Science, practice, and policy related to adverse childhood experiences: Framing the conversation.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) detrimentally affect health outcomes in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Over the past 2 decades, the recognition of ACEs by scientists and professionals across disciplines, policymakers, and the public has evolved and expanded. Although the initial articulation of ACEs in Felitti et al.

The Association between Having a Preterm Birth and Later Maternal Mental Health: An Analysis of U.S. Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System Data.

Introduction: Although previous studies have found a relationship between having a preterm birth and maternal depression, methodologic issues may have limited the generalizability of results. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between having a preterm birth and postpartum depressive symptoms using a large, population-based sample of U.S.

Pediatric Inpatient Nurses' Perceptions of Child Maltreatment.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of child maltreatment among inpatient pediatric nurses.

Design And Methods: A cross-sectional survey was used to obtain responses to an online survey designed to examine perceptions of child maltreatment from inpatient pediatric nurses.

Results: Many nurses surveyed (41.

Trauma Center Youth Violence Screening and Brief Interventions: A Multisite Pilot Feasibility Study.

Every day, 16 American youths between the ages of 10 and 24 years are murdered; 84% of these fatalities involve a firearm. Nearly half of traumatic youth deaths result from violence-related injuries. In 2013, 580,250 youth suffered nonfatal, assault-related injuries, necessitating emergency department treatment.

Psychological Science and Innovative Strategies for Informing Health Care Redesign: A Policy Brief.

Recent health care legislation and shifting health care financing strategies are transforming health and behavioral health (a broad term referring to mental health, substance use, and health behavior) care in the United States. Advances in knowledge regarding effective treatment and services coupled with incentives for innovation in health and behavioral health care delivery systems make this a unique time for mobilizing our science to enhance the success of health and behavioral health care redesign. To optimize the potential of our current health care environment, a team was formed composed of leaders from the Societies of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, Pediatric Psychology, and Child and Family Policy and Practice (Divisions 53, 54, and 37 of the American Psychological Association).

Risk factors of smoking among health care professionals.

Background: Health care professionals (HCPs) play a vital role at various levels of smoking cessation programs to reduce tobacco use in general populations. However, their smoking habits may limit their ability to intervene with their patients who smoke.

Aims: To determine prevalence rates of current smoking and examine sociodemographic and work-related factors associated with current smoking among HCPs.

Data sharing to inform school-based asthma services.

Background: This article examines results and lessons learned from a collaborative project involving a large urban school district, its county health department, multiple community partners, and the local university to establish an effective system for data sharing to inform monitoring and evaluation of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) Asthma Education Program (AEP).

Methods: Databases maintained by nurses, program staff, and school personnel were integrated into a single AEP Evaluation Database.

Results: There were a number of positive findings, including evidence that students with an elevated level of need received priority from AEP.

An evaluation of the Adults and Children Together (ACT) Against Violence Parents Raising Safe Kids program.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Adults and Children Together (ACT) Against Violence Parents Raising Safe Kids program, developed by the American Psychological Association in collaboration with the National Association for the Education of Young Children, as an economical primary prevention intervention for child maltreatment. Using an experimental design with random assignment to groups, program impact on participating parents' knowledge, behavior, and attitudes compared to those of a comparison group of parents receiving standard community-based support services was examined. As hypothesized, the ACT Parents Raising Safe Kids program achieved positive results in several areas related to effective parenting, including a reduction in the use of harsh verbal and physical discipline and an increase in nurturing behavior.

Responding to violence against women: social science contributions to legal solutions.

Violence against women represents a serious problem in America. Not only does intimate partner violence represent a significant threat to women, but it also counts among its victims, children living in the violent household. By its very nature, intimate partner or domestic violence may be approached as either a legal or a social problem.

Influencing policymaking for maltreated children and their families.

Public policy can be a powerful tool for children and their families. Accordingly, this article addresses how psychologists and other child-oriented researchers can leverage this tool to ensure that child and family issues, specifically issues related to child abuse and neglect, receive adequate attention. We encourage a bidirectional relationship between policymakers and experts in child maltreatment through which policymakers solicit and employ relevant expertise, and psychologists, in turn, provide useful information to policymakers.

YouthFriends: outcomes from a school-based mentoring program.

This evaluation explores the effectiveness of school-based mentoring as a universal prevention strategy. The impact of mentoring on students displaying risk factors is also addressed. The evaluation of YouthFriends, a school-based mentoring program, employed a pretest-posttest control group design.