Narrative story stems with high risk six year-olds: differential associations with mother- and teacher-reported psycho-social adjustment.

Children's responses on a Narrative Story Stem Technique (NSST) were coded using scales reflecting essential attachment constructs, specifically, attachment, exploratory, sociability, and caregiving behavioral systems, as originally conceived by Bowlby ( 1973 , 1982 ) and elaborated upon by his followers (Cassidy, 2008 ). NSST responses were examined in relation to both mother- and teacher-reported psycho-social adjustment and risk using the MacArthur Health & Behavior Questionnaire (HBQ). Forty-six children participated (average age 6 years 10 months), 19 of whom had high-risk backgrounds, and the rest demographically matched.

Implementation of a mental health consultation model and its impact on early childhood teachers' efficacy and competence.

Early childhood mental health (MH) consultants work closely with childcare teachers onsite to serve as a resource for childcare providers as they foster and enhance children's early development. The increase in the quality of care that can be supported through an early childhood MH consultation program makes this type of consultation an optimal tool for enhancing the childcare environment and overall child development. This article details the initial launch of the MH consultation program to childcare centers in the state of Louisiana.

Cumulative experiences of violence among high-risk urban youth.

This study examines type-specific and cumulative experiences of violence among a vulnerable population of youth. Sixty high-risk, shelter-dwelling, urban youth were interviewed regarding their history of childhood maltreatment, exposure to community violence (ECV), and experience with intimate partner violence (IPV). Results show a high prevalence and high degree of overlap among multiple types of violence exposure.

Predictors of permanent loss of custody for mothers of infants and toddlers in foster care.

The maltreating mothers of abused and neglected infants and toddlers were evaluated as part of an intensive intervention program. The purpose of this study was to examine cumulative risk versus specific risk factors that led to permanent loss of custody by mothers, predicated upon decisions by the Juvenile Court with regard to permanency planning. The following risk factors were analyzed as potential predictors of placement outcomes: maternal education, maternal history of abuse as a child, history of psychiatric difficulties, substance-abuse history, conviction history (excluding child-abuse charges), depressive symptomatology, degree of partner violence experienced, and cumulative number of risks the mother experienced.

The early promotion and intervention research consortium (E-PIRC): Five approaches to improving infant/toddler mental health in Early Head Start.

One planned consequence of the national Infant Mental Health Forum held in the United States in 2000 was the funding of five research projects conducted in Early Head Start (EHS) programs. Each project strengthened existing programs by integrating infant/toddler mental health approaches and testing the outcomes on infant/toddler development, behavior, and parent-child interactions. In two of the projects, the effect of offering enrichment for EHS staff was tested.

Risk for maternal depression and child aggression in Early Head Start families: A test of ecological models.

Current literature indicates that risk for maternal depression is substantial in low-income families. A large body of research also indicates that when mothers are depressed, children are at risk for a number of developmental difficulties. While mutual influence between child and parental difficulties has been noted, few studies examine risk factors for both depression and child aggression within ecological models.

Reactive attachment disorder in maltreated twins follow-up: from 18 months to 8 years.

The best means for the diagnosis and treatment of reactive attachment disorder of infancy and early childhood have not been established. Though some longitudinal data on institutionalized children is available, reports of maltreated young children who are followed over time and assessed with measures of attachment are lacking. This paper presents the clinical course of a set of maltreated fraternal twins who were assessed and treated from 19 months to 30 months of age and then seen in follow-up at 3 and 8 years of age.

Reactive attachment disorder in maltreated toddlers.

Objective: To determine if Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) can be reliably identified in maltreated toddlers in foster care, if the two types of RAD are independent, and to estimate the prevalence of RAD in these maltreated toddlers.

Methods: Clinicians treating 94 maltreated toddlers in foster care were interviewed regarding signs of attachment disorder at intake in an intervention program.

Results: Using categorical and continuous measures, both types of RAD can be reliably identified in maltreated toddlers.

Comparing criteria for attachment disorders: establishing reliability and validity in high-risk samples.

Objective: To determine whether published subtypes of attachment disorder can be reliably identified by trained clinicians reviewing data from high-risk populations and to investigate the relationship between disorder classification and standardized measures of attachment behavior.

Method: Twenty or more children aged 18 to 48 months and their primary caregivers were recruited from three sites: a treatment team for maltreated young children (n = 20), a homeless shelter (n = 25), and Head Start centers (n = 24). All dyads completed a semistructured clinical assessment and laboratory and home-based attachment measures.

Parent-infant relationship global assessment scale: a study of its predictive validity.

The Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale (PIRGAS; Zero to Three, 1994) provides a continuously distributed scale of infant-parent relationship adaptation, raging from 'well-adapted' to 'dangerously impaired'. The present study examines the predictive validity of the PIRGAS in a high-risk sample by coding relationship adaptation level from a single sample of 10 min of unstructured free play between mothers and their 20-month-old infants and examining its relationship to subsequent interaction with mothers and behavior problems at 24 months. Relationship adaptation assessed reliably from observations of only 10 min of free play between mothers and their infants at 20 months of age using PIRGAS predicted subsequent mother- infant interaction in a laboratory based problem-solving paradigm (Crowell procedure) at 24 months and internalizing symptomatology of Child Behavior Checklist at age 24 months.

Partner violence among homeless young adults: measurement issues and associations.

Purpose: The primary goal of this study was to test the reliability of the Partner Violence Interview and examine validity by measuring differential correlates of partner violence.

Methods: Sixty young adults (30 males and 30 females) housed in an urban shelter participated in this study. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 21 years and the majority were African-American.