Practitioner Review: Engaging fathers – recommendations for a game change in parenting interventions based on a systematic review of the global evidence - Panter‐Brick, Catherine; Burgess, Adrienne; Eggerman, Mark; McAllister, Fiona; Pruett, Kyle; Leckman, James F. (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2014)
Keywords: fatherhood; parenting interventions; policy development; responsive parenting

COVID-19: 24/7 Parenting - ParentingForLifelongHealth (Parenting for Lifelong Health, 2020)
24/7 parenting resources in 70 languages! Parenting for Lifelong Health provides open-access online parenting resources during COVID-19. We are working with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, the Internet of Good Things, USAID and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Keywords: COVID-19; Parenting

A Parental Bonding Instrument - Parker, Gordon; Tupling, Hilary; Brown, L. B. (British Journal of Medical Psychology, 1979)

Transitioning mental health & psychosocial support: from short-term emergency to sustainable post-disaster development. Humanitarian Action Summit 2011 - Patel, P. P.; Russell, J.; Allden, K.; Betancourt, T. S.; Bolton, P.; Galappatti, A.; Hijazi, Z.; Johnson, K.; Jones, L.; Kadis, L.; Leary, K.; Weissbecker, I.; et al. (Prehosp Disaster Med, 2011)
INTRODUCTION: The Working Group (WG) on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support participated in its second Humanitarian Action Summit in 2011. This year, the WG chose to focus on a new goal: reviewing practice related to transitioning mental health and psychosocial support programs from the emergency phase to long-term development. The Working Group's findings draw on a review of relevant literature as well as case examples. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the Working Group was to identify factors that promote or hinder the long term sustainability of emergency mental health and psychosocial interventions in crisis and conflict, and to provide recommendations for transitioning such programs from relief to development. METHODS: The Working Group (WG) conducted a review of relevant literature and collected case examples based on experiences and observations of working group members in implementing mental and psychosocial programming in the field. The WG focused on reviewing literature on mental health and psychosocial programs and interventions that were established in conflict, disaster, protracted crisis settings, or transition from acute phase to development phase. The WG utilized case examples from programs in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, Sierra Leone, Aceh (Indonesia), Sri Lanka, and New Orleans (United States). RESULTS: The WG identified five key thematic areas that should be addressed in order to successfully transition lasting and effective mental health and psychosocial programs from emergency settings to the development phase. The five areas identified were as follows: Government and Policy, Human Resources and Training, Programming and Services, Research and Monitoring, and Finance. CONCLUSIONS: The group identified several recommendations for each thematic area, which were generated from key lessons learned by working group members through implementing mental health and psychosocial support programs in a variety of settings, some successfully sustained and some that were not.
Patel, P P Russell, J Allden, K Betancourt, T S Bolton, P Galappatti, A Hijazi, Z Johnson, K Jones, L Kadis, L Leary, K Weissbecker, I Nakku, J eng 2012/05/09 06:00 Prehosp Disaster Med. 2011 Dec;26(6):470-81. doi: 10.1017/S1049023X1200012X.
Keywords: *Social Support; Accreditation; Congresses as Topic; Developing Countries; Disaster Planning/*organization & administration/standards; Emergencies; Humans; Leadership; Mental Health Services/*organization & administration/standards; Program Development; Program Evaluation

Promoting child and adolescent mental health in low and middle income countries. - Patel, Vikram; Flisher, Alan J; Nikapota, Anula; Malhotra, Savita (J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2008)
Children and adolescents in low and middle income countries (LAMIC) constitute 35-50% of the population. Although the population in many such countries is predominantly rural, rapid urbanisation and social change is under way, with an increase in urban poverty and unemployment, which are risk factors for poor child and adolescent mental health (CAMH). There is a vast gap between CAMH needs (as measured through burden of disease estimates) and the availability of CAMH resources. The role of CAMH promotion and prevention can thus not be overestimated. However, the evidence base for affordable and effective interventions for promotion and prevention in LAMIC is limited. In this review, we briefly review the public health importance of CAM disorders in LAMIC and the specific issues related to risk and protective factors for these disorders. We describe a number of potential strategies for CAMH promotion which focus on building capacity in children and adolescents, in parents and families, in the school and health systems, and in the wider community, including structural interventions. Building capacity in CAMH must also focus on the detection and treatment of disorders for which the evidence base is somewhat stronger, and on wider public health strategies for prevention and promotion. In particular, capacity needs to be built across the health system, with particular foci on low-cost, universally available and accessible resources, and on empowerment of families and children. We also consider the role of formal teaching and training programmes, and the role for specialists in CAMH promotion.
Keywords: Adolescent; Child; Developing Countries; Global Health; Health Promotion; Humans; Mental Disorders; Mental Health Services; Socioeconomic Factors

Correlates of Suicidal Ideation and Self-harm in Early Childhood in a Cohort at Risk for Child Abuse and Neglect - Paul, Elise; Ortin, Ana (Archives of Suicide Research, 2019)

The advisory group of experts report on the 2015 review of the United Nations - PeacebuildingArchitecture (Peacebuilding Architecture, 2015)

Effectiveness of community dissemination of parent–child interaction therapy. - Pearl, Erica; Thieken, Lacey; Olafson, Erna; Boat, Barbara; Connelly, Lisa; Barnes, Jaclyn; Putnam, Frank (Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2012)

Genomics. ENCODE project writes eulogy for junk DNA. - Pennisi, Elizabeth (Science, 2012)
Keywords: Animals; Cell Line; Conserved Sequence; DNA, Intergenic; DNA-Binding Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation; Gene Regulatory Networks; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genome; Genome, Human; Genomics; Humans; Mammals; RNA, Untranslated; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Transcription Factors

The role of nutrition in integrated early child development in the 21st century: contribution from the Maternal and Child Nutrition journal - Perez-Escamilla, R.; Moran, V. H. (Matern Child Nutr, 2017)
Even though it is widely recognized that early childhood development (ECD) is one of the most important predictors of future social capital and national productivity, the recently published ECD Lancet Series reports that about 250 million children under 5 years are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential, mainly as a result of poverty and social injustice. So why is this and what will it take to reverse this situation? The purpose of this special issue is to highlight important contributions from previously published articles in Maternal & Child Nutrition to the field of nutrition and ECD. The collection of papers presented in this special issue collectively indicates that although nutrition-specific interventions are essential for child development, they are not sufficient by themselves for children to reach their full developmental potential. This is because ECD is influenced by many other factors besides nutrition, including hand washing/sanitation, parenting skills, psychosocial stimulation, and social protection. Future research should focus on mixed-methods implementation science seeking to understand how best to translate evidence-based integrated ECD packages into effective intersectoral policies and programs on a large scale. In addition to health and nutrition, these programs need to consider and include responsive parenting (including responsive feeding), learning stimulation, education, and social protection. Future studies should also address if and how childhood obesity affects human physical, socioemotional, and cognitive development.
Perez-Escamilla, Rafael Moran, Victoria Hall eng Editorial Introductory England 2016/12/30 06:00 Matern Child Nutr. 2017 Jan;13(1):3-6. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12387.
Keywords: *Child Development; *Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; *child policies; *child programs; *early child development; *social protection; Child; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; Evidence-Based Medicine; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Infant; Nutrition Policy; Parenting; Periodicals as Topic

The costs and economic impact of violence against children - Pereznieto, P.; Montes, A.; Langston, L.; Routier, S. (Child Fund Alliance, Overseas Development Institute, 2014)
Keywords: child labor; child trafficking; psychosocial violence; sexual violence against children; violence against children; violence prevention

COVID-19, Violence & The Need To Act with Urgency - Perks, B (Benjamin Perks Blogsite, 2020)
Keywords: child online safety; child rights and protection; COVID-19; violence against children

Increased methylation of glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) in adults with a history of childhood maltreatment: a link with the severity and type of trauma. - Perroud, N; Paoloni-Giacobino, A; Prada, P; Olié, E; Salzmann, A; Nicastro, R; Guillaume, S; Mouthon, D; Stouder, C; Dieben, K; Huguelet, P; Courtet, P; et al. (Transl Psychiatry, 2011)
Childhood maltreatment, through epigenetic modification of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1), influences the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis). We investigated whether childhood maltreatment and its severity were associated with increased methylation of the exon 1(F) NR3C1 promoter, in 101 borderline personality disorder (BPD) and 99 major depressive disorder (MDD) subjects with, respectively, a high and low rate of childhood maltreatment, and 15 MDD subjects with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Childhood sexual abuse, its severity and the number of type of maltreatments positively correlated with NR3C1 methylation (P=6.16 × 10(-8), 5.18 × 10(-7) and 1.25 × 10(-9), respectively). In BPD, repetition of abuses and sexual abuse with penetration correlated with a higher methylation percentage. Peripheral blood might therefore serve as a proxy for environmental effects on epigenetic processes. These findings suggest that early life events may permanently impact on the HPA axis though epigenetic modifications of the NR3C1. This is a mechanism by which childhood maltreatment may lead to adulthood psychopathology.
Keywords: Adult; Child; Child Abuse, Sexual; Depressive Disorder, Major; DNA Methylation; Female; Humans; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Male; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Receptors, Glucocorticoid; Severity of Illness Index; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Recent meta-analytic findings - Pettigrew, T.G.; Tropp, L.R.; Oskamp, S. (Reducing prejudice and discrimination, 2000)
Keywords: intergroup contact; intergroup prejudice; Meta-analysis

Sense of coherence and its association with exposure to traumatic events, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - Pham, P. N.; Vinck, P.; Kinkodi, D. K.; Weinstein, H. M. (J Trauma Stress, 2010)
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the scene of some of the worst atrocities in recent history. However, in the face of traumatic experience, only a minority of people develops symptoms that impair their functioning. The sense of coherence proposed by Antonovsky (1987) is a theoretical construct reflecting an individual's overall wellbeing and ability to cope with stress. This study explores the relationships between sense of coherence, exposure to traumatic events, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. Results suggest an association between a high sense of coherence and high education levels, high income, and positive social relationships. Furthermore, the study found that sense of coherence is inversely correlated with cumulative exposure to violence and symptoms of PTSD and depression.
Pham, Phuong N Vinck, Patrick Kinkodi, Didine Kaba Weinstein, Harvey M eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2010/06/22 06:00 J Trauma Stress. 2010 Jun;23(3):313-21. doi: 10.1002/jts.20527.
Keywords: *Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Depression/etiology/*physiopathology; Female; Humans; Internal-External Control; Linear Models; Male; Middle Aged; Personal Satisfaction; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiology/*physiopathology; Violence/*psychology; Young Adult

Human rights, transitional justice, public health and social reconstruction - Pham, P. N.; Vinck, P.; Weinstein, H. M. (Soc Sci Med, 2010)
Mass violence, armed conflict, genocide, and complex humanitarian emergencies continue to create major social and public health disasters at the dawn of the 21st Century. Transitional justice, a set of policies designed to address the effects of war on traumatized communities and bring justice, lies at the nexus of public health, conflict, and social reconstruction. Despite the paucity of empirical evidence, advocates of transitional justice have claimed that it can alleviate the effects of trauma, deter future violence, and bring about social reconstruction in war-affected communities. Empirical evidence--including new data and analyses presented in this article--suggests a link between trauma, mental health and attitudes towards and responses to transitional justice programs, but there has been little theoretical discussion about the intersection between public health and transitional justice, and even less empirical research to generate discussion between these two fields. Yet, public health professionals have an important role to play in assessing the impact of transitional justice on communities affected by mass violence. In this paper, we offer a conceptual model for future research that seeks to examine the relationship between transitional justice programs and their potential value to the fields of medicine and public health and discuss the methodological issues and challenges to a comprehensive evaluation of this relationship. To illustrate the discussion, we examine new data and analyses from two cases of contemporary conflicts, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and northern Uganda.
Pham, Phuong Ngoc Vinck, Patrick Weinstein, Harvey M eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2009/10/17 06:00 Soc Sci Med. 2010 Jan;70(1):98-105. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.09.039. Epub 2009 Oct 14.
Keywords: *Human Rights; *Politics; *Public Health; *Social Justice; Adult; Attitude; Cluster Analysis; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Female; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Male; Social Support; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Stress, Psychological; Uganda; Violence/statistics & numerical data; Warfare

Strategic Documentation of Violence against Healthcare: Towards a Methodology for Accountability - Pham, P. N.; Vinck, P.; Grace, R.; Fricke, A.; VanRooyen, M. (World Health Popul, 2016)
The valuable efforts that have arisen in recent years to document attacks against healthcare workers and infrastructure during armed conflicts have brought this issue to the forefront of the policy agendas of many health, public health, humanitarian and human rights organizations. However, although professionals and activists have highlighted the importance of accountability in deterring these attacks, considerations of international criminal responsibility in data-gathering efforts remain underexplored. This paper suggests an approach that could direct further accountability efforts for organizations interested in engaging in documentation. Such non-governmental organizations should aim to gather not only information about the nature of the attack but also data that help establish specific characteristics about the victim, the intent of the attacker and the patterns of violence. Additionally, these efforts to document attacks on healthcare workers, facilities and patients should involve a systematic, rigorous and demonstrable methodology.
Pham, Phuong N Vinck, Patrick Grace, Rob Fricke, Adrienne VanRooyen, Michael eng Canada 2016/07/01 06:00 World Health Popul. 2016;16(4):31-7.

Uganda: Population-based Survey on Peace and Education - Pham, P. N.; Gibbons, N.; HarvardHumanitarianInitiativeandUNICEF (2015)

Technology, conflict early warning systems, public health, and human rights - Pham, P. N.; Vinck, P. (Health Hum Rights, 2012)
Public health and conflict early warning are evolving rapidly in response to technology changes for the gathering, management, analysis and communication of data. It is expected that these changes will provide an unprecedented ability to monitor, detect, and respond to crises. One of the potentially most profound and lasting expected change affects the roles of the various actors in providing and sharing information and in responding to early warning. Communities and civil society actors have the opportunity to be empowered as a source of information, analysis, and response, while the role of traditional actors shifts toward supporting those communities and building resilience. However, by creating new roles, relationships, and responsibilities, technology changes raise major concerns and ethical challenges for practitioners, pressing the need for practical guidelines and actionable recommendations in line with existing ethical principles.
Pham, Phuong N Vinck, Patrick eng 2012/01/01 00:00 Health Hum Rights. 2012 Dec 15;14(2):106-17.
Keywords: *Access to Information; *Human Rights; *Information Systems; *Public Health; Disaster Planning; Humans

Indicators framework for peacebuilding, education and social cohesion - Pham, P.N.; Vinck, P. (Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and UNICEF, 2017)

From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development - Phillips, D. A.; Shonkoff, J. P.; CISECDevelopment; DBSSEducation; IMedicine; YFBoardonChildren (National Academies Press, 2000)
How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

Socio-emotional Programme Promotes Positive Behaviour in Preschoolers - Pickens, Jeffrey (Child Care in Practice, 2009)

World Report on Violence against Children - Pinheiro, P.S.; United Nations (United Nations, 2006)
Keywords: violence against children; violence prevention

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature - Pinker, S. (Penguin Publishing Group, 2003)
Our conceptions of human nature affect every aspect of our lives, from the way we raise our children to the political movements we embrace. Yet just as science is bringing us into a golden age of understanding human nature, many people are hostile to the very idea. They fear that discoveries about innate patterns of thinking and feeling may be used to justify inequality, to subvert social change, to dissolve personal responsibility, and to strip life of meaning and purpose. In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, bestselling author of The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works, explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. He shows how many intellectuals have denied the existence of human nature by embracing three linked dogmas: the Blank Slate (the mind has no innate traits), the Noble Savage (people are born good and corrupted by society), and the Ghost in the Machine (each of us has a soul that makes choices free from biology). Each dogma carries a moral burden, so their defenders have engaged in desperate tactics to discredit the scientists who are now challenging them. Pinker injects calm and rationality into these debates by showing that equality, progress, responsibility, and purpose have nothing to fear from discoveries about a rich human nature. He disarms even the most menacing threats with clear thinking, common sense, and pertinent facts from science and history. Despite its popularity among intellectuals during much of the twentieth century, he argues, the doctrine of the Blank Slate may have done more harm than good. It denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces hardheaded analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of government, violence, parenting, and the arts. Pinker shows that an acknowledgment of human nature that is grounded in science and common sense, far from being dangerous, can complement insights about the human condition made by millennia of artists and philosophers. All this is done in the style that earned his previous books many prizes and worldwide acclaim: wit, lucidity, and insight into matters great and small.

Quality of infant child care and early infant development in Portuguese childcare centers - Pinto, Ana Isabel; Cadima, Joana; Coelho, Vera; Bryant, Donna M.; Peixoto, Carla; Pessanha, Manuela; Burchinal, Margaret R.; Barros, Sílvia (Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2019)

Long-term consequences of neonatal rearing on central corticotropin-releasing factor systems in adult male rat offspring. - Plotsky, Paul M; Thrivikraman, K V; Nemeroff, Charles B; Caldji, Christian; Sharma, Shakti; Meaney, Michael J (Neuropsychopharmacology, 2005)
In a series of studies on the long-term consequences of neonatal rearing, we compared hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic central corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) systems in male rats reared under conditions of animal facility rearing, nonhandling (HMS0), handling with brief maternal separation for 15 min (HMS15), or handling with moderate maternal separation for 180 min (HMS180) daily from postnatal days 2-14. CRF-like immunoreactivity (CRFir) was elevated in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid of adult HMS180 and HMS0 rats relative to the other groups. In the paraventricular nucleus, central nucleus of the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and locus coeruleus, CRFir and CRF mRNA levels were significantly elevated in HMS0 and HMS180 rats. Neonatal maternal separation was associated with regionally specific alterations in CRF receptor type 1 (CRF1) mRNA density in HMS180 rats. No rearing-associated differences in CRF2alpha binding were apparent in either the lateral septum or the ventromedial hypothalamus. These findings indicate that early rearing conditions can permanently alter the developmental set-point of central CRF systems, and potentially influence the expression of behavioral and endocrine responses to stress throughout life, thereby providing a possible neurobiological substrate for the relationship between early life events and increased vulnerability for hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and coping skill alterations and the frequency of mood disorders in patients with a history of such experiences.
Keywords: Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Behavior, Animal; Corticosterone; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; Female; Hypothalamus; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; In Situ Hybridization; Male; Physical Stimulation; Pregnancy; Radioimmunoassay; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; Reflex, Startle; RNA, Messenger; Stress, Psychological

PMNCH compendium of COVID-19 related partner resources on women's, children's and adolescents' health - PMNCH (2020)
In such times, it is essential to stay informed of the latest guidance and resources around COVID-19 and its effects on women, children an adolescent health, from credible sources. PMNCH has therefore developed the below compendium of resources that brings together the latest evidence-based information on women, children and adolescent health in the context of COVID-19. (See: https://www.who.int/pmnch/media/news/2020/guidance-on-COVID-19/en/)
Keywords: adolescents; children; COVID-19; Health; health workers; Mental Health; Women

Implementation Evaluation of the Mother‐Child Education Program Among Refugee and Other Vulnerable Communities in Lebanon - Ponguta, Liliana Angelica; Issa, Ghassan; Aoudeh, Lara; Maalouf, Cosette; Nourallah, Sawsan; Khoshnood, Kaveh; Zonderman, Anna Leslie; Katsovich, Liliya; Moore, Christina; Salah, Rima; Al‐Soleiti, Majd; Britto, Pia Rebello; et al. (New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2019)
Keywords: ACEV; Beirut; early childhood development; Lebanon; MOCEP; Refugees; responsive parenting

Effects of the Mother−Child Education Program on parenting stress and disciplinary practices among refugee and other marginalized communities in Lebanon: A pilot randomized controlled trial - Ponguta, Liliana A.; Issa, Ghassan; Aoudeh, Lara; Maalouf, Cosette; Hein, Sascha D.; Zonderman, Anna L.; Katsovich, Liliya; Khoshnood, Kaveh; Bick, Johanna; Awar, Abir; Nourallah, Sawsan; Householder, Sarah; et al. (Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2020)
Keywords: disciplinary style; early childhood development and education; humanitarian crises; parental stress; parenting programs

Exploratory analysis of decentralized governance and its implications for the equity of early childhood education services in four countries of Europe and Central Asia - Ponguta, L.; Aggio, C.; Moore, K.; Hartwig, E.; Jang, B.; Markovic, J.; Hasanova, L.; Bosworth, J.; Grover, D. (Early Years, 2019)
Keywords: decentralization; Early childhood education; equity; governance

Early Childhood Peace Consortium: Full report on the global launch - Ponguta, L. A.; Zonderman, A. (Yale University, 2013)
Keywords: early childhood development; Early Childhood Peace Consortium; ECPC; peacebuilding

A Conceptual Model for Youth-Led Programs as a Promising Approach to Early Childhood Care and Education - Ponguta, L. A.; Rasheed, M. A.; Reyes, C. R.; Yousafzai, A. K. (New Dir Child Adolesc Dev, 2018)
The international community has set forth global targets that include calls for universal access to high-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE), as indicated in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. One major impediment to achieving this target is the lack of a skilled workforce. In this paper, we argue the case for leveraging youth as an untapped resource for supplying the workforce the ECCE system needs. Youth comprise a large proportion of the global population, and historically, although youth experience higher unemployment rates than their adult counterparts, youth are important agents of social awareness, social transformation, and community mobilization in multiple global contexts. We provide a conceptual model based on developmental theories and program examples to leverage the discourse of youth-led ECCE programs as a viable option to address workforce gaps while benefiting both young children and youth.
1534-8687 Ponguta, Liliana Angelica Rasheed, Muneera Abdul Reyes, Chin Regina Yousafzai, Aisha Khizar Journal Article Review United States New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2018 Mar;2018(159):71-89. doi: 10.1002/cad.20233.
Keywords: *Adolescent Development; *Child Development; *Conservation of Natural Resources; *Leadership; *Program Development; *United Nations; Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; early childhood care and education; early childhood development; Humans; sustainable development goals; youth

Early Childhood Peace Consortium: Full report on the global launch - Ponguta, LA; Zonderman, A (Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC), 2013)
Keywords: early childhood development; Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC); peacebuilding

Sector‐wide analysis of early childhood development and education in emergencies in Colombia and considerations to strengthen systems globally - Ponguta, Liliana Angelica; Aragón, Carlos Andrés; Varela, Lucero Ramirez; Moore, Kathryn; Hein, Sascha; Cerezo, Adrian (New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2020)
Keywords: cross‐sectoral responses; early childhood development and education in emergencies; ECDE governance; humanitarian emergencies; humanitarian programme cycle; policy formulation; sector‐wide analysis

Adaptation and Application of the Measuring Early Learning Quality and Outcomes (MELQO) Framework to Early Childhood Education Settings in Colombia - Ponguta, Liliana Angelica; Maldonado-Carreño, Carolina; Kagan, Sharon Lynn; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Nieto, Ana María; Aragón, Carlos Andrés; Mateus, Angy; Rodríguez, Ana María; Motta, Andrés; Varela, Lucero Ramirez; Guerrero, Paola Andrea; Escallon, Eduardo (Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 2019)

Early Childhood Development programs, peacebuilding, and the Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities for interdisciplinary research and multisectoral partnerships - Ponguta, L. A.; Donaldson, C.; Affolter, F.; Connolly, P.; Dunne, L.; Miller, S.; Britto, P.; Salah, R.; Leckman, J. (Springer International Publishing, 2018)
Keywords: Bioecological risks; early childhood development; Early Childhood Peacebuilding Consortium; Global peace index; Interdisciplinary research; Multisectoral partnerships; peacebuilding; Social and human capital; Social cohesion; Sustainable development

A conceptual model for youth-led programs as a promising approach to Early Childhood Care and Education - Ponguta, L. A.; Rasheed, M. A.; Reyes, C. R.; Yousafzai, A. K. (New Dir Child Adolesc Dev, 2018)
The international community has set forth global targets that include calls for universal access to high-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE), as indicated in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. One major impediment to achieving this target is the lack of a skilled workforce. In this paper, we argue the case for leveraging youth as an untapped resource for supplying the workforce the ECCE system needs. Youth comprise a large proportion of the global population, and historically, although youth experience higher unemployment rates than their adult counterparts, youth are important agents of social awareness, social transformation, and community mobilization in multiple global contexts. We provide a conceptual model based on developmental theories and program examples to leverage the discourse of youth-led ECCE programs as a viable option to address workforce gaps while benefiting both young children and youth.
Ponguta, Liliana Angelica Rasheed, Muneera Abdul Reyes, Chin Regina Yousafzai, Aisha Khizar eng Review 2018/03/15 06:00 New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2018 Mar;2018(159):71-89. doi: 10.1002/cad.20233.
Keywords: early childhood care and education; early childhood development; sustainable development goals; youth

Systematic review: The exploration of the role of parenting and early learning programs in promoting positive development and peace building - Ponguta, L. A. (Yale Child Study Center, 2014)
A systematic review of research linking early childhood development and peace building was conducted at the Yale Child Study Center and includes literature from databases and hand searching, as well as direct input from a multidisciplinary team of experts. From these sources combined, 76 articles and reports fully met the a priori criteria. This systematic review study was conducted to explore the role of parenting and early learning programs in: promoting positive development and well-being in young children, promoting peace building through improving interactions within the home and classroom, and among peers, and promoting peace building through the formation of culturally diverse parenting groups, particularly groups of fathers.
Keywords: early childhood development; early learning programs; Parenting; peacebuilding

Landscape Analysis of Early Childhood Development and Education in Emergencies - Ponguta, L.A.; Moore, K.; Varghese, D.; Hein, S.; Ng, A.; Alzaghoul, A.F.; Benavides Camacho, M.A.; Sethi, K.; Al-Soleiti, M. (Journal on Education in Emergencies, 2022)
Keywords: early childhood development; ECD; education in emergencies; EiE; landscape analysis; priority-setting processes; scoping review

Exploratory analysis of decentralized governance and its implications for the equity of early childhood education services in four countries of Europe and Central Asia - Ponguta, Liliana Angelica; Aggio, Carlos; Moore, Kathryn; Hartwig, Elisa; Jang, Bosun; Markovic, Jelena; Hasanova, Leyla; Bosworth, Joanne; Grover, Deepa (Early Years, 2019)

The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) - Porges, S.W. (W. W. Norton, 2011)

An evaluation of the Adults and Children Together (ACT) Against Violence Parents Raising Safe Kids program. - Portwood, Sharon G; Lambert, Richard G; Abrams, Lyndon P; Nelson, Ellissa Brooks (J Prim Prev, 2011)
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. Positive results were observable both at the conclusion of the ACT program and at three-month follow-up. Results further indicated a positive impact on parent expectations and social support for those parents with the greatest need in these areas. Qualitative data collected through focus groups demonstrated that parents themselves perceived numerous benefits to the ACT program, including assistance in controlling their anger, learning and implementing better parenting and discipline strategies, and recognizing when their child's behavior is developmentally appropriate. Overall, findings suggest that the ACT Parents Raising Safe Kids program is a promising primary prevention strategy that can be implemented across diverse community settings.
Keywords: Adult; Age Factors; Child; Child Abuse; Data Collection; Educational Measurement; Educational Status; Female; Focus Groups; Health Education; Humans; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Parents; Primary Prevention; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Psychometrics; Questionnaires; Social Support; Statistics as Topic; Violence

Markers That Matter: Success Indicators in Early Learning and Education - H. Preskill; N. Jones; A. Tengue (2013)

How to Create Screen-Life Balance When Life Has Shifted to Screens - Price, K (New York Times, 2020)
Keywords: COVID-19; Internet; screen time

Population-Based Prevention of Child Maltreatment: The US Triple P System Population Trial - Prinz, R. J.; Sanders, M. R.; Shapiro, C. J.; Whitaker, D. J.; Lutzker, J. R. (Prevention SciencePrevention SciencePrevention Science, 2009)
The prevention of child maltreatment necessitates a public health approach. In the U.S. Triple P System Population Trial, 18 counties were randomly assigned to either dissemination of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program system or to the services-as-usual control condition. Dissemination involved Triple P professional training for the existing workforce (over 600 service providers), as well as universal media and communication strategies. Large effect sizes were found for three independently derived population indicators: substantiated child maltreatment, child out-of-home placements, and child maltreatment injuries. This study is the first to randomize geographical areas and show preventive impact on child maltreatment at a population level using evidence-based parenting interventions.
408gk Times Cited:179 Cited References Count:61
Keywords: abuse; behavioral family intervention; Child maltreatment; dissemination; efficacy; home visitation; implementation; interaction therapy; outcome evaluation; Parenting; population intervention; positive parenting program; standard; support

Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Violence: The Promise of Psychosocial Interventions to Address Children’s Exposure to Violence - Promundo (Promundo, 2020)
Keywords: intergenerational violence; psychosocial interventions; violence exposure; violence prevention

Women's groups practising participatory learning and action to improve maternal and newborn health in low-resource settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Prost, Audrey; Colbourn, Tim; Seward, Nadine; Azad, Kishwar; Coomarasamy, Arri; Copas, Andrew; Houweling, Tanja A J; Fottrell, Edward; Kuddus, Abdul; Lewycka, Sonia; MacArthur, Christine; Manandhar, Dharma; et al. (The Lancet, 2013)

Childhood chronic physical aggression associates with adult cytokine levels in plasma. - Provençal, Nadine; Suderman, Matthew J; Vitaro, Frank; Szyf, Moshe; Tremblay, Richard E (PLoS One, 2013)
BACKGROUND: An increasing number of animal and human studies are indicating that inflammation is associated with behavioral disorders including aggression. This study investigates the association between chronic physical aggression during childhood and plasma cytokine levels in early adulthood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two longitudinal studies were used to select males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence (n = 7) and a control group from the same background (n = 25). Physical aggression was assessed yearly by teachers from childhood to adolescence and plasma levels of 10 inflammatory cytokines were assessed at age 26 and 28 years. Compared to the control group, males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence had consistently lower plasma levels of five cytokines: lower pro-inflammatory interleukins IL-1α (T(28.7) = 3.48, P = 0.002) and IL-6 (T(26.9) = 3.76, P = 0.001), lower anti-inflammatory interleukin IL-4 (T(27.1) = 4.91, P = 0.00004) and IL-10 (T(29.8) = 2.84, P = 0.008) and lower chemokine IL-8 (T(26) = 3.69, P = 0.001). The plasma levels of four cytokines accurately predicted aggressive and control group membership for all subjects. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Physical aggression of boys during childhood is a strong predictor of reduced plasma levels of cytokines in early adulthood. The causal and physiological relations underlying this association should be further investigated since animal data suggest that some cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-1β play a causal role in aggression.
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Aggression; Case-Control Studies; Child; Cytokines; Humans; Male; Young Adult

The signature of maternal rearing in the methylome in rhesus macaque prefrontal cortex and T cells. - Provençal, Nadine; Suderman, Matthew J; Guillemin, Claire; Massart, Renaud; Ruggiero, Angela; Wang, Dongsha; Bennett, Allyson J; Pierre, Peter J; Friedman, David P; Côté, Sylvana M; Hallett, Michael; Tremblay, Richard E; et al. (J Neurosci, 2012)
Early-life adversity is associated with a broad scope of life-long health and behavioral disorders. Particularly critical is the role of the mother. A possible mechanism is that these effects are mediated by "epigenetic" mechanisms. Studies in rodents suggest a causal relationship between early-life adversity and changes in DNA methylation in several "candidate genes" in the brain. This study examines whether randomized differential rearing (maternal vs surrogate-peer rearing) of rhesus macaques is associated with differential methylation in early adulthood. The data presented here show that differential rearing leads to differential DNA methylation in both prefrontal cortex and T cells. These differentially methylated promoters tend to cluster by both chromosomal region and gene function. The broad impact of maternal rearing on DNA methylation in both the brain and T cells supports the hypothesis that the response to early-life adversity is system-wide and genome-wide and persists to adulthood. Our data also point to the feasibility of studying the impact of the social environment in peripheral T-cell DNA methylation.
Keywords: Animals; Base Sequence; Chromosomes; DNA Methylation; DNA, Complementary; Immunoprecipitation; In Situ Hybridization; Macaca mulatta; Male; Maternal Deprivation; Microarray Analysis; Molecular Sequence Data; Prefrontal Cortex; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA; Social Environment; T-Lymphocytes

Father's influence in the development of infant's relationships - Pruett, K. D. (Acta Paediatr Scand Suppl, 1988)
Recent research on the father infant interaction has challenged the long held belief that the "most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother". Fathers have significant influences on the development of the infant's relationships both directly and indirectly. Certainly his greatest indirect influence is through supporting, protecting, and facilitating the maternal infant dyad when it is the primary nurturing relationship. New research from a variety of perspectives in Europe and the United States have begun to document the powerful impact that fathers have on their children directly, and not just mediated through the maternal infant dyad. The Nordic family study in Europe, and clinical research by Parke, Lamb, Yogman, and Pruett in the United States have all documented the impact on the infant of increased paternal involvement in the early years, thanks to a variety of influences. Evidence now suggests that infants are able to make direct use of the father's unique contribution to their growth and development. This contribution not only increases the repertoire of available to the infant, but appears to have its own unique meaning to the infant, who often seeks it out quite directly and aggressively. Stylistic differences between paternal and maternal nurturing, appear to be of great interest and use to the child. The close contact between father and infant does not appear to threaten maternal infant attachment. Data from an ongoing longitudinal study of primary care giving fathers in the intact families will be presented. The impact of such a rare but theoretically highly interesting phenomenon on the capacity of the infant to develop useful relationships will be highlighted with clinical materials. Finally, we shall conclude with a discussion of the question in reverse, i.e., how does the infant influence the development of the father's relationships?
Pruett, K D eng Review Sweden 1988/01/01 00:00 Acta Paediatr Scand Suppl. 1988;344:43-53.
Keywords: *Child Development; *Father-Child Relations; *Infant Care; Child Rearing; Fathers/psychology; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Longitudinal Studies; United States

Enhancing Father Involvement in Low-Income Families: A Couples Group Approach to Preventive Intervention - Pruett, M. K.; Pruett, K.; Cowan, C. P.; Cowan, P. A. (Child Dev, 2017)
To address the problem of fathers' absence from children's lives and the difficulty of paternal engagement, especially among lower income families, government agencies have given increasing attention to funding father involvement interventions. Few of these interventions have yielded promising results. Father involvement research that focuses on the couple/coparenting relationship offers a pathway to support fathers' involvement while strengthening family relationships. Relevant research is reviewed and an exemplar is provided in the Supporting Father Involvement intervention and its positive effects on parental and parent-child relationships and children's outcomes. The article concludes with policy implications of this choice of target populations and the need to develop new strategies to involve fathers in the lives of their children.
1467-8624 Pruett, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Philip A Journal Article Review United States Child Dev. 2017 Mar;88(2):398-407. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12744. Epub 2017 Feb 1.
Keywords: *Father-Child Relations; Adult; Child; Couples Therapy/*methods/standards; Fathers/*psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Parenting/*psychology; Poverty/*psychology

Partnership Parenting: How Men and Women Parent Differently--why it Helps Your Kids and Can Strengthen Your Marriage - Pruett, K. D.; Pruett, M. K. (Da Capo Lifelong, 2009)

Latency development in children of primary nurturing fathers. Eight-year follow-up - Pruett, K. D.; Litzenberger, B. (Psychoanal Study Child, 1992)
This paper is an 8-year follow-up of 17 families in which fathers began as primary caretakers early in the lives of their children. The emphasis is on the developmental consequences for the children, now in the latency period, as well as their psychological experience of the father's increased significance.
Pruett, K D Litzenberger, B eng 1992/01/01 00:00 Psychoanal Study Child. 1992;47:85-101.
Keywords: *Father-Child Relations; *Latency Period (Psychology); *Personality Development; *Psychoanalytic Theory; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Identification (Psychology); Infant; Male; Parenting/*psychology

Enhancing Father Involvement in Low-Income Families: A Couples Group Approach to Preventive Intervention - Pruett, M. K.; Pruett, K.; Cowan, C. P.; Cowan, P. A. (Child Dev, 2017)
To address the problem of fathers' absence from children's lives and the difficulty of paternal engagement, especially among lower income families, government agencies have given increasing attention to funding father involvement interventions. Few of these interventions have yielded promising results. Father involvement research that focuses on the couple/coparenting relationship offers a pathway to support fathers' involvement while strengthening family relationships. Relevant research is reviewed and an exemplar is provided in the Supporting Father Involvement intervention and its positive effects on parental and parent-child relationships and children's outcomes. The article concludes with policy implications of this choice of target populations and the need to develop new strategies to involve fathers in the lives of their children.
Pruett, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Philip A eng Review 2017/02/02 06:00 Child Dev. 2017 Mar;88(2):398-407. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12744. Epub 2017 Feb 1.
Keywords: *Father-Child Relations; Adult; Child; Couples Therapy/*methods/standards; Fathers/*psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Parenting/*psychology; Poverty/*psychology

Engaging fathers of young children in low-income families to improve child and family outcomes: A preventive intervention perspective - Pruett, K.; Pruett, M.; Fitzgerald, H.; von Klitzing, K.; Cabrera, N.; Scarano de Mendonca, J.; Skjothaung, T. (Handbook of fathers and child development: Prenatal to preschool, 2020)
Keywords: Coparenting; Cultural and national contexts; Diverse fathers; Fathers in low-income families; Supporting Father Involvement

Role of the father - Pruett, K. D. (Pediatrics, 1998)
Fathers make definite contributions to infant development and are now spending more time with their children than in many past decades. This article reviews the most compelling research on the developmental importance of fathers, including father-infant attachment and interaction, and differences between maternal and paternal interaction styles. Results of a long-term study of primary caregiving fathers also are presented.
Pruett, K D eng Review 1998/10/31 00:00 Pediatrics. 1998 Nov;102(5 Suppl E):1253-61.
Keywords: *Child Development; *Father-Child Relations; *Object Attachment; *Psychology, Child; Adult; Fathers/psychology; Female; Humans; Infant; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mother-Child Relations; Role

Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child - Pruett, K. D. (Free Press, 2000)

Home treatment for two infants who witnessed their mother's murder - Pruett, K. D. (J Am Acad Child Psychiatry, 1979)
Pruett, K D eng Case Reports 1979/01/01 00:00 J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1979 Autumn;18(4):647-57.
Keywords: *Homicide; *Maternal Deprivation; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Male; Psychotherapy/*methods; Suicide, Attempted/psychology

Enhancing Paternal Engagement in a Coparenting Paradigm - Pruett, Marsha Kline; Pruett, Kyle D.; Cowan, Carolyn P.; Cowan, Philip A. (Child Development Perspectives, 2017)
Keywords: co-parenting; fatherhood

Lessons Learned From the Supporting Father Involvement Study: A Cross-Cultural Preventive Intervention for Low-Income Families With Young Children - Pruett, M. K.; Cowan, C. P.; Cowan, P. A.; Pruett, K. D. (Journal of Social Service Research, 2009)
ABSTRACT Despite the proliferation of fatherhood programs designed to promote paternal involvement and positive family outcomes, evaluations of these programs are scarce. The Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) study is a randomized clinical trial comprised of 289 low-income Spanish- and English-speaking families living in California. The evaluation design reflects a partnership stance that promotes empowerment of staff and social service agencies. This article examines lessons learned from the program's first 3 years (2002?2004) from the perspectives of both evaluators and program staff. The lessons cover a broad range of areas, including communication procedures, training, staffing, recruitment/retention, clinical needs, intervention content and process, and maintaining cultural sensitivity.

Father Need: Why father care is as essential as mother care for your child - Pruett, K. D. (Free Press, 2000)
Is your child getting the right balance of nurturing care that all children need to grow into healthy adults, including the kind of care only a father can give? For years the most trusted child care experts have emphasized the mother/child bond, but this is only half the story. Kids and dads are also biologically hardwired for a different but equally important relationship. In "Fatherneed," Dr. Kyle D. Pruett draws on more than two decades of highly acclaimed research at the Yale Child Study Center to offer the first complete understanding of the father's role in child and adult development. Combining real-life examples from his own child and family psychiatry practice with state-of-the-art research data, Dr. Pruett shows how fathers parent differently and why that difference is so important to a child's physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development.

Fathers, divorce, and their children - Pruett, M. K.; Pruett, K. D. (Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am, 1998)
To minimize many of the negative consequences of divorce, it is beneficial to support a father's ongoing involvement in his child's life. Although the research literature isn't unequivocal on this point, it does strongly suggest that men who are "visitors" do not have as much impact on their children and that visits are a poor substitute for having a parental figure. The answer lies in creating meaningful roles for noncustodial fathers that elevate men's opportunities to contribute to their children's overall development. One of the most important messages parents can impart to children is that some commitments outlive change and that working together in the child's best interests is one of them.
Pruett, M K Pruett, K D eng Case Reports Review 1999/01/20 00:00 Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 1998 Apr;7(2):389-407, viii.
Keywords: *Father-Child Relations; Adolescent; Child; Child Custody/*organization & administration; Child, Preschool; Divorce/*psychology; Fathers/*legislation & jurisprudence; Female; Humans; Male; Mother-Child Relations; Parenting/*psychology; Personality Development; Socioeconomic Factors

Me, Myself and I: How Children Build Their Sense of Self : 18 to 36 Months - Pruett, K. D. (Goddard Press, 1999)

Infants of primary nurturing fathers - Pruett, K. D. (Psychoanal Study Child, 1983)
Pruett, K D eng Case Reports 1983/01/01 00:00 Psychoanal Study Child. 1983;38:257-77.
Keywords: *Father-Child Relations; *Object Attachment; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Identification (Psychology); Infant; Infant Care; Male

Supporting Father Involvement: An Intervention With Community and Child Welfare-Referred Couples - Pruett, Marsha Kline; Cowan, Philip A.; Cowan, Carolyn Pape; Gillette, Peter; Pruett, Kyle D. (Family Relations, 2019)
Keywords: Child Welfare; fatherhood

"Only God decides": young children's perceptions of divorce and the legal system - Pruett, K. D.; Pruett, M. K. (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 1999)
OBJECTIVE: To describe research on perceptions of children aged 6 and younger from 21 families of their parents' divorce, of its impact on their families, and of legal officials. METHOD: Semistructured play interviews were conducted during home visits as parents were conjointly interviewed as part of a larger study on divorce in legal context. RESULTS: Children had much mis-information about divorce as an event and process. What they did know was often inappropriate, frightening, and confusing. They resented how the process "ruined their parents' being friends any more" and proposed reforms based on their wishes and observations. CONCLUSIONS: Greater awareness is needed of the child's desire to be heard during the process, to feel safe and less lonely, and to stay in touch with both parents and extended families. Age-appropriate explanations of psychological and legal aspects of the divorce process are likely to support children's positive adjustment and mental health.
Pruett, K D Pruett, M K eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 1999/12/22 00:00 J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999 Dec;38(12):1544-50. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199912000-00016.
Keywords: *Social Perception; Adaptation, Psychological; Child; Child Behavior/*psychology; Child, Preschool; Divorce/*legislation & jurisprudence/*psychology; Family/psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Psychology, Child; Social Adjustment

The Nurturing Father: Journey Toward the Complete Man - Pruett, K. D. (Warner Books, 1987)

The impact of a family skills training intervention among Burmese migrant families in Thailand: A randomized controlled trial - Puffer, E. S.; Annan, J.; Sim, A. L.; Salhi, C.; Betancourt, T. S. (PLoS One, 2017)
OBJECTIVE: To conduct a randomized controlled trial assessing the impact of a family-based intervention delivered to Burmese migrant families displaced in Thailand on parenting and family functioning. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURES: Participants included 479 Burmese migrant families from 20 communities in Thailand. Families, including 513 caregivers and 479 children aged 7 to 15 years, were randomized to treatment and waitlist control groups. The treatment group received a 12-session family-based intervention delivered to groups of families by lay facilitators. Adapted standardized and locally derived measures were administered before and after the intervention to assess parent-child relationship quality, discipline practices, and family functioning. RESULTS: Compared with controls, intervention families demonstrated improved quality of parent-child interactions on scales of parental warmth and affection (Effect size (ES) = 0.25 caregivers; 0.26 children, both p < 0.05) and negative relationship quality (ES = -0.37, p < 0.001 caregivers; -0.22 children, p < 0.05). Both children and caregivers also reported an effect on relationship quality based on a locally derived measure (ES = 0.40 caregivers, p < .001; 0.43 children, p < .05). Family functioning was improved, including family cohesion (ES = 0.46 caregivers; 0.36 children; both p < 0.001) and decreased negative interactions (ES = -0.30 caregivers, p < 0.01; -0.24 children, p < 0.05). Family communication also improved according to children only (ES = 0.29, p < 0.01). Caregivers, but not children, reported decreased harsh discipline (ES = -0.39, p < 0.001), and no effects were observed on use of positive discipline strategies. Treatment attendance was high, with participants attending a mean of 9.7 out of 12 sessions. CONCLUSION: The intervention increased protective aspects of family well-being for migrant children and caregivers in a middle-income country. The strongest effects were on parent-child relationship quality and family functioning, while results were mixed on changes in discipline practices. Results suggest that a behavioral family-based approach implemented by lay providers in community settings is a promising intervention approach for strengthening families in highly stressed contexts. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01668992.
Puffer, Eve S Annan, Jeannie Sim, Amanda L Salhi, Carmel Betancourt, Theresa S eng Randomized Controlled Trial 2017/03/30 06:00 PLoS One. 2017 Mar 28;12(3):e0172611. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172611. eCollection 2017.
Keywords: *Emigrants and Immigrants; *Parent-Child Relations; *Parenting; *Transients and Migrants; Adolescent; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Caregivers/education; Child; Family Characteristics; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Myanmar/ethnology; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Parents/*education; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thailand

Mental health and development among children living in violent conditions: Underlying processes for promoting peace - Punamäki, Raija-Leena (Pathways to peace: The transformative power of children and families, 2014)
Peacebuilding is believed to be especially challenging among children who themselves fall victims to collective and interpersonal violence. An intriguing question is whether a focus on trauma, and on healing its negative impacts, is necessary for peacebuilding and societally harmonious human development. Some argue that suffering, pain, and injustice must be recognized and healed if peaceful and harmonious development is to be enabled; others emphasize the importance of positive outcomes despite violence. This chapter analyzes how forms of violence (military and domestic) influence the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. Particular attention is given to the risks and negative impacts as well as the positive protective processes that promote meaningfulness. It also discusses how psychosocial interventions can enhance positive and peace-enhancing development in community and family domains. The core issue is to create political, societal, and cultural preconditions that will facilitate children’s mental growth and generative resilience despite violence.
Keywords: childhood development; early childhood interventions; peacebuilding; Trauma; Violence

Focused psychosocial interventions for children in low-resource humanitarian settings: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis - Purgato, M.; Gross, A. L.; Betancourt, T.; Bolton, P.; Bonetto, C.; Gastaldon, C.; Gordon, J.; O'Callaghan, P.; Papola, D.; Peltonen, K.; Punamaki, R. L.; Richards, J.; et al. (Lancet Glob Health, 2018)
BACKGROUND: Results from studies evaluating the effectiveness of focused psychosocial support interventions in children exposed to traumatic events in humanitarian settings in low-income and middle-income countries have been inconsistent, showing varying results by setting and subgroup (eg, age or gender). We aimed to assess the effectiveness of these interventions, and to explore which children are likely to benefit most. METHODS: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data (IPD) from 3143 children recruited to 11 randomised controlled trials of focused psychosocial support interventions versus waiting list. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycArticles, Web of Science, and the main local low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) databases according to the list of databases relevant to LMIC developed collaboratively by Cochrane and WHO Library, up to November, 2016. We included randomised controlled trials that assessed the effectiveness of focused psychosocial support interventions in children exposed to traumatic events in LMICs, compared with waiting lists (eg, inactive controls). We excluded quasi-randomised trials, studies that did not focus on psychosocial support interventions, and studies that compared two active interventions without control conditions. We requested anonymised data from each trial for each of the prespecified variables for each child who was randomly assigned. The main outcomes considered were continuous scores in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms assessed with rating scales administered immediately (0-4 weeks) after the intervention. We harmonised all individual items from rating scales using item response theory methods. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42013006960. FINDINGS: We identified a beneficial effect of focused psychosocial support interventions on PTSD symptoms (standardised mean difference [SMD] -0.33, 95% CI -0.52 to -0.14) that was maintained at follow-up (-0.21, -0.42 to -0.01). We also identified benefits at the endpoint for functional impairment (-0.29, -0.43 to -0.15) and for strengths: coping (-0.22, -0.43 to -0.02), hope (-0.29, -0.48 to -0.09), and social support (-0.27, -0.52 to -0.02). In IPD meta-analyses focused on age, gender, displacement status, region, and household size we found a stronger improvement in PTSD symptoms in children aged 15-18 years (-0.43, -0.63 to -0.23), in non-displaced children (-0.40, -0.52 to -0.27), and in children living in smaller households (<6 members; -0.27, -0.42 to -0.11). INTERPRETATION: Overall, focused psychosocial interventions are effective in reducing PTSD and functional impairment, and in increasing hope, coping, and social support. Future studies should focus on strengthening interventions for younger children, displaced children, and children living in larger households. FUNDING: European Commission FP7th Framework Programme for Research (Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship) and the National Institute on Aging.
Purgato, Marianna Gross, Alden L Betancourt, Theresa Bolton, Paul Bonetto, Chiara Gastaldon, Chiara Gordon, James O'Callaghan, Paul Papola, Davide Peltonen, Kirsi Punamaki, Raija-Leena Richards, Justin Staples, Julie K Unterhitzenberger, Johanna van Ommeren, Mark de Jong, Joop Jordans, Mark J D Tol, Wietse A Barbui, Corrado eng Meta-Analysis Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review England 2018/03/14 06:00 Lancet Glob Health. 2018 Apr;6(4):e390-e400. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30046-9.
Keywords: *Altruism; *Developing Countries; Child; Humans; Psychotherapy/*methods; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/*prevention & control; Treatment Outcome

Changing antisocial behavior patterns in young boys: A structured cooperative learning approach - Quinn, M.M. (Education and Treatment of Children, 2002)
This study examined the effectiveness of using a structured cooperative learning approach to increase appropriate behaviors of young boys who were identified as being at risk for the development of antisocial behavior problems. Students received a six-week cooperative learning intervention using positive peer role models to teach interpersonal problem-solving skills through the combined use of cognitive and behavioral techniques. Results show a significant increase in academic engaged time; however, the intervention failed to produce significantly lower rates of externalizing antisocial behaviors or negative playground interactions.
Keywords: antisocial behavior; cooperative learning; young boys at risk

Transgenerational impact of intimate partner violence on methylation in the promoter of the glucocorticoid receptor. - Radtke, K M; Ruf, M; Gunter, H M; Dohrmann, K; Schauer, M; Meyer, A; Elbert, T (Transl Psychiatry, 2011)
Prenatal exposure to maternal stress can have lifelong implications for psychological function, such as behavioral problems and even the development of mental illness. Previous research suggests that this is due to transgenerational epigenetic programming of genes operating in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, such as the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). However, it is not known whether intrauterine exposure to maternal stress affects the epigenetic state of these genes beyond infancy. Here, we analyze the methylation status of the GR gene in mothers and their children, at 10-19 years after birth. We combine these data with a retrospective evaluation of maternal exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). Methylation of the mother's GR gene was not affected by IPV. For the first time, we show that methylation status of the GR gene of adolescent children is influenced by their mother's experience of IPV during pregnancy. As these sustained epigenetic modifications are established in utero, we consider this to be a plausible mechanism by which prenatal stress may program adult psychosocial function.
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Child; DNA Methylation; Early Growth Response Protein 1; Female; Humans; Intergenerational Relations; Male; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Receptors, Glucocorticoid; Retrospective Studies; Sexual Partners; Violence; Young Adult

Child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation: a review of promising prevention policies and programs - Rafferty, Y. (Am J Orthopsychiatry, 2013)
Child trafficking, including commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), is one of the fastest growing and most lucrative criminal activities in the world. The global enslavement of children affects countless numbers of victims who are trafficked within their home countries or transported away from their homes and treated as commodities to be bought, sold, and resold for labor or sexual exploitation. All over the world, girls are particularly likely to be trafficked into the sex trade: Girls and women constitute 98% of those who are trafficked for CSE. Health and safety standards in exploitative settings are generally extremely low, and the degree of experienced violence has been linked with adverse physical, psychological, and social-emotional development. The human-rights-based approach to child trafficking provides a comprehensive conceptual framework whereby victim-focused and law enforcement responses can be developed, implemented, and evaluated. This article highlights promising policies and programs designed to prevent child trafficking and CSE by combating demand for sex with children, reducing supply, and strengthening communities. The literature reviewed includes academic publications as well as international and governmental and nongovernmental reports. Implications for social policy and future research are presented.
Rafferty, Yvonne eng Review 2013/10/30 06:00 Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2013 Oct;83(4):559-75. doi: 10.1111/ajop.12056.
Keywords: *Human Rights; *Sex Work; Child; child trafficking; children; Commercial sexual exploitation; Female; gender equality; Human Trafficking/legislation & jurisprudence/*prevention & control; human-rights-based approach; Humans; migration; policy; sexually transmitted diseases; slavery; smuggling

Challenges to the rapid identification of children who have been trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation - Rafferty, Y. (Child Abuse Negl, 2016)
Child trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is a complex phenomenon, requiring multifaceted programs and policies by various stakeholders. A number of publications have focused on preventing this heinous crime. Less attention, however, has been paid to the recovery and rehabilitation of children who have been traumatized as a result of being trafficked for CSE. This article focuses on the first step in the protection and recovery process, which is to ensure that procedures are in place for their identification, so that they might access timely and appropriate assistance. It highlights three situational and two child-related challenges to identification. In addition, it describes the additional victimization experienced by children who are wrongly arrested for crimes associated with prostitution or illegal border crossings, rather than being identified as victims. An extensive literature review was conducted, and included academic publications, as well as governmental and non-governmental reports. In addition, field-based qualitative research was undertaken in South and Southeast Asia, and involved interviews with representatives from United Nations and governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and aftercare recovery programs.
Rafferty, Yvonne eng Review England 2016/01/01 06:00 Child Abuse Negl. 2016 Feb;52:158-68. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.11.015. Epub 2015 Dec 22.
Keywords: Adolescent; Child; Child Abuse, Sexual/legislation & jurisprudence/*prevention & control; child trafficking; Commercial sexual exploitation; Female; Global Health/legislation & jurisprudence; Government Regulation; Human Trafficking/legislation & jurisprudence/*prevention & control; Humans; Male; Sex Work/legislation & jurisprudence; Terminology as Topic

The impact of homelessness on children - Rafferty, Y.; Shinn, M. (Am Psychol, 1991)
This article reviews and critiques community-based research on the effects of homelessness on children. Homeless children confront serious threats to their ability to succeed and their future well-being. Of particular concern are health problems, hunger, poor nutrition, developmental delays, anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and educational underachievement. Factors that may mediate the observed outcomes include inadequate shelter conditions, instability in residences and shelters, inadequate services, and barriers to accessing services that are available. Public policy initiatives are needed to meet the needs of homeless children.
Rafferty, Y Shinn, M eng R01MH46116/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. Review 1991/11/01 00:00 Am Psychol. 1991 Nov;46(11):1170-9.
Keywords: *Life Change Events; *Personality Development; *Psychosocial Deprivation; Adolescent; Child; Chronic Disease/*psychology; Homeless Persons/*psychology; Humans; Public Policy; Risk Factors; United States

Mental health services as a vital component of psychosocial recovery for victims of child trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation - Rafferty, Y. (Am J Orthopsychiatry, 2018)
There has been a plethora of outcomes associated with child trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation; however little attention has been paid to how outcomes are addressed for children who are placed into residential aftercare recovery programs following their identification as victims. Field-based qualitative research was undertaken in South and Southeast Asia, and involved interviews with 213 representatives from U.N. and governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and residential aftercare recovery programs. Findings highlight the mental health needs of child victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, describe the availability and quality of mental health services and supports in aftercare programs to address prevailing needs and repair the psychological damage caused by trafficking, and report on lessons learned pertaining to elements of good practice and related challenges associated with the availability and quality of mental health services and supports. It concludes by highlighting the implications of the findings for mental health policy and practice and offers suggestions for further research. (PsycINFO Database Record
Rafferty, Yvonne eng 2017/04/11 06:00 Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2018;88(3):249-260. doi: 10.1037/ort0000268. Epub 2017 Apr 10.

Maternal depression and parental distress among families in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project: Risk factors within the family setting - Rafferty, Y.; Griffin, K. W.; Robokos, D. (Infant Ment Health J, 2010)
This study examined the influence of risk factors within the family environment (inadequate resources, insufficient caregiving support from child's father, higher family conflict) on maternal well being (depression and parental distress) using a longitudinal panel research design. Participants consisted of 2,040 low-income mothers of young children enrolled in the Early Head Start (EHS) Research and Evaluation Project. Findings indicated that greater family resources at 14 months had a protective effect on maternal well-being at 36 months, controlling for demographic variables and maternal well-being at 14 months. Furthermore, the effect of family resources on maternal well-being was moderated by father caregiving support, such that family resources were protective, particularly when father caregiving support was lower. Family conflict at 14 months was associated with lower maternal well-being at 36 months, controlling for demographic variables and maternal well-being at 14 months. Our findings suggest that low-income mothers need the support and resources of programs such as EHS to overcome the hurdles and challenges of parenting in high-risk settings. Implications for clinical practice and EHS are discussed.
Rafferty, Yvonne Griffin, Kenneth W Robokos, Dimitra eng 2010/09/01 00:00 Infant Ment Health J. 2010 Sep;31(5):543-569. doi: 10.1002/imhj.20271.

Adolescent motherhood and developmental outcomes of children in early head start: the influence of maternal parenting behaviors, well-being, and risk factors within the family setting - Rafferty, Y.; Griffin, K. W.; Lodise, M. (Am J Orthopsychiatry, 2011)
This longitudinal study examined the influence of parenting behaviors, well-being, and risk factors of low-income adolescent mothers on the cognitive and language abilities of children from infancy to age 3. Participants consisted of 1,240 mother-child dyads enrolled in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Data were collected using structured interviews with the mothers and from videotaped mother-child interactions during play activities when children were approximately 14 months old and again at 36 months of age. Positive parenting behaviors exhibited toward the 14-month-old children predicted gains in both cognitive and language abilities more so than did maternal well-being, risk factors within the family setting, and demographic risk factors. Gains in cognitive abilities from infancy to age 3 were predicted by supportive parenting, higher family resources, and lower family conflict when children were infants. Gains in language abilities were predicted by supportive parenting, support for language and learning in the home environment, and higher family resources when children were infants. Finally, path analyses showed that maternal age had an indirect effect on child cognitive and language abilities at age 3 through effects on parenting behaviors. Older mothers were more likely to be supportive during play at age 14 months, which in turn promoted enhanced developmental outcomes at age 3. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.
Rafferty, Yvonne Griffin, Kenneth W Lodise, Michelle eng 2011/04/14 06:00 Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2011 Apr;81(2):228-45. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2011.01092.x.
Keywords: *Child Development; *Mother-Child Relations; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior/psychology; Child Health Services; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Infant; Maternal Age; Maternal Behavior/*psychology; Mothers/*psychology; Parenting/*psychology; Personal Satisfaction; Play and Playthings; Risk Factors

Cohort profile: The Mauritius Child Health Project - Raine, A.; Liu, J.; Venables, P. H.; Mednick, S. A.; Dalais, C. (Int J EpidemiolInt, 2010)
1464-3685 Raine, Adrian Liu, Jianghong Venables, Peter H Mednick, Sarnoff A Dalais, C Medical Research Council/United Kingdom Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom Journal Article Randomized Controlled Trial Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England Int J Epidemiol. 2010 Dec;39(6):1441-51. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyp341. Epub 2009 Dec 7.
Keywords: *Epidemiologic Research Design; Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Cognition; Developing Countries; Female; Health Promotion/*methods; Health Status Indicators; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mauritius/epidemiology; Mental Disorders/diagnosis/*epidemiology/etiology/*prevention & control; Mental Health; Parents/psychology; Psychological Tests; Psychopathology; Risk Factors; Young Adult

Intractable Conflicts: Socio-Psychological Foundations and Dynamics - Rak, J. (Terrorism and Political ViolenceTerrorism and Political ViolenceTerrorism and Political Violence, 2015)
Cp3zh Times Cited:0 Cited References Count:1

Paternal depression in the postnatal period and child development: a prospective population study - Ramchandani, P.; Stein, A.; Evans, J.; O'Connor, T. G.; Alspac study team (Lancet, 2005)
BACKGROUND: Depression is common and frequently affects mothers and fathers of young children. Postnatal depression in mothers affects the quality of maternal care, and can lead to disturbances in their children's social, behavioural, cognitive, and physical development. However, the effect of depression in fathers during the early years of a child's life has received little attention. METHODS: As part of a large, population-based study of childhood, we assessed the presence of depressive symptoms in mothers (n=13,351) and fathers (n=12,884) 8 weeks after the birth of their child with the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). Fathers were reassessed at 21 months. We identified any subsequent development of behavioural and emotional problems in their children (n=10,024) at age 3.5 years with maternal reports on the Rutter revised preschool scales. FINDINGS: Information was available for 8431 fathers, 11,833 mothers, and 10,024 children. Depression in fathers during the postnatal period was associated with adverse emotional and behavioural outcomes in children aged 3.5 years (adjusted odds ratio 2.09, 95% CI 1.42-3.08), and an increased risk of conduct problems in boys (2.66, 1.67-4.25). These effects remained even after controlling for maternal postnatal depression and later paternal depression. INTERPRETATION: Our findings indicate that paternal depression has a specific and persisting detrimental effect on their children's early behavioural and emotional development.
Ramchandani, Paul Stein, Alan Evans, Jonathan O'Connor, Thomas G eng Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2005/06/28 09:00 Lancet. 2005 Jun 25-Jul 1;365(9478):2201-5. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66778-5.
Keywords: *Father-Child Relations; Child Behavior Disorders/*etiology; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Depressive Disorder/*complications; Fathers/*psychology; Female; Humans; Infant Care; Infant, Newborn; Male; Prospective Studies

Do early father-infant interactions predict the onset of externalising behaviours in young children? Findings from a longitudinal cohort study. - Ramchandani, P. G.; Domoney, J.; Sethna, V.; Psychogiou, L.; Vlachos, H.; Murray, L. (J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2013)
BACKGROUND: Factors related to parents and parenting capacities are important predictors of the development of behavioural problems in children. Recently, there has been an increasing research focus in this field on the earliest years of life, however, relatively few studies have addressed the role of fathers, despite this appearing to be particularly pertinent to child behavioural development. This study aimed to examine whether father-infant interactions at age 3 months independently predicted child behavioural problems at 1 year of age. METHOD: A sample of 192 families was recruited from two maternity units in the United Kingdom. Father-infant interactions were assessed in the family home and coded using the global rating scales. Child behaviour problems were assessed by maternal report. Hierarchical and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between father-infant interaction and the development of behavioural problems. RESULTS: Disengaged and remote interactions between fathers and their infants were found to predict externalising behavioural problems at the age of 1 year. The children of the most disengaged fathers had an increased risk of developing early externalising behavioural problems [disengaged (nonintrusive) interactions--adjusted odds ratio 5.33 (95% confidence interval; 1.39, 20.40): remote interactions adj. OR 3.32 (0.92, 12.05)]. CONCLUSIONS: Disengaged interactions of fathers with their infants, as early as the third month of life, predict early behavioural problems in children. These interactions may be critical factors to address, from a very early age in the child's life, and offer a potential opportunity for preventive intervention.
Keywords: Adult; Child Behavior Disorders; Father-Child Relations; Female; Great Britain; Humans; Infant; Internal-External Control; Linear Models; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Sex Factors

Epigenetic Alterations Associated with War Trauma and Childhood Maltreatment - Ramo-Fernandez, L.; Schneider, A.; Wilker, S.; Kolassa, I. T. (Behav Sci Law, 2015)
Survivors of war trauma or childhood maltreatment are at increased risk for trauma-spectrum disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, traumatic stress has been associated with alterations in the neuroendocrine and the immune system, enhancing the risk for physical diseases. Traumatic experiences might even affect psychological as well as biological parameters in the next generation, i.e. traumatic stress might have transgenerational effects. This article outlines how epigenetic processes, which represent a pivotal biological mechanism for dynamic adaptation to environmental challenges, might contribute to the explanation of the long-lasting and transgenerational effects of trauma. In particular, epigenetic alterations in genes regulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis as well as the immune system have been observed in survivors of childhood and adult trauma. These changes could result in enduring alterations of the stress response as well as the physical health risk. Furthermore, the effects of parental trauma could be transmitted to the next generation by parental distress and the pre- and postnatal environment, as well as by epigenetic marks transmitted via the germline. While epigenetic research has a high potential of advancing our understanding of the consequences of trauma, the findings have to be interpreted with caution, as epigenetics only represent one piece of a complex puzzle of interacting biological and environmental factors. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1099-0798 Ramo-Fernandez, Laura Schneider, Anna Wilker, Sarah Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana Journal Article Review United States Behav Sci Law. 2015 Oct;33(5):701-21. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2200. Epub 2015 Sep 11.
Keywords: *Child Abuse; *Warfare; Adult; Child; Epigenesis, Genetic; Epigenomics; Humans; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Risk Factors; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/*genetics/psychology

United our strengths for peace, politics, partnership and people: Report of the High-level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations - Ramos-Horta, J.; Haq, A.; Arnault, J.; Baricako, M.; Coomaraswamy, R.; Guha, A.; Hughes, A.; Ilitchev, A.; Johnson, H. F.; Mahmoud, Y.; Martin, I.; Mensa-Bonsu, H. J.; et al. (2015)
Keywords: United Nations

Comparing the validity of the self reporting questionnaire and the Afghan symptom checklist: dysphoria, aggression, and gender in transcultural assessment of mental health. - Rasmussen, Andrew; Ventevogel, Peter; Sancilio, Amelia; Eggerman, Mark; Panter-Brick, Catherine (BMC Psychiatry, 2014)
BACKGROUND: The relative performance of local and international assessment instruments is subject to ongoing discussion in transcultural research on mental health and psychosocial support. We examined the construct and external validity of two instruments, one developed for use in Afghanistan, the other developed by the World Health Organization for use in resource-poor settings. METHODS: We used data collected on 1003 Afghan adults (500 men, 503 women) randomly sampled at three sites in Afghanistan. We compared the 22-item Afghan Symptom Checklist (ASCL), a culturally-grounded assessment of psychosocial wellbeing, with Pashto and Dari versions of the 20-item Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). We derived subscales using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) and tested total and subscale scores for external validity with respect to lifetime trauma and household wealth using block model regressions. RESULTS: EFA suggested a three-factor structure for SRQ-20--somatic complaints, negative affect, and emotional numbing--and a two-factor structure for ASCL--jigar khun (dysphoria) and aggression. Both factor models were supported by CFA in separate subsamples. Women had higher scores for each of the five subscales than men (p < 0.001), and larger bivariate associations with trauma (rs .24 to .29, and .10 to .19, women and men respectively) and household wealth (rs -.27 to -.39, and .05 to -.22, respectively). The three SRQ-20 subscales and the ASCL jigar khun subscale were equally associated with variance in trauma exposures. However, interactions between gender and jigar khun suggested that, relative to SRQ-20, the jigar khun subscale was more strongly associated with household wealth for women; similarly, gender interactions with aggression indicated that the aggression subscale was more strongly associated with trauma and wealth. CONCLUSIONS: Two central elements of Afghan conceptualizations of mental distress--aggression and the syndrome jigar khun--were captured by the ASCL and not by the SRQ-20. The appropriateness of the culturally-grounded instrument was more salient for women, indicating that the validity of instruments may be gender-differentiated. Transcultural validation processes for tools measuring mental distress need to explicitly take gender into account. Culturally relevant measures are worth developing for long-term psychosocial programming.
Keywords: Adult; Afghanistan; Aged; Aggression; Checklist; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Germany; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Mental Health; Self Report

Working through resistance in engaging boys and men towards gender equality and progressive masculinities - Ratele, Kopano (Culture, Health & Sexuality, 2015)
Keywords: gender equality; money; race; South Africa; tradition; working with men

Promotion of children's rights and prevention of child maltreatment - Reading, R.; Bissell, S.; Goldhagen, J.; Harwin, J.; Masson, J.; Moynihan, S.; Parton, N.; Pais, M. S.; Thoburn, J.; Webb, E. (Lancet, 2009)
In medical literature, child maltreatment is considered as a public-health problem or an issue of harm to individuals, but less frequently as a violation of children's human rights. Public-health approaches emphasise monitoring, prevention, cost-effectiveness, and population strategies; protective approaches concentrate on the legal and professional response to cases of maltreatment. Both approaches have been associated with improvement in outcomes for children, yet maltreatment remains a major global problem. We describe how children's rights provide a different perspective on child maltreatment, and contribute to both public-health and protective responses. Children's rights as laid out in the UN convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) provide a framework for understanding child maltreatment as part of a range of violence, harm, and exploitation of children at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. Rights of participation and provision are as important as rights of protection. The principles embodied in the UNCRC are concordant with those of medical ethics. The greatest strength of an approach based on the UNCRC is that it provides a legal instrument for implementing policy, accountability, and social justice, all of which enhance public-health responses. Incorporation of the principles of the UNCRC into laws, research, public-health policy, and professional training and practice will result in further progress in the area of child maltreatment.
Reading, Richard Bissell, Susan Goldhagen, Jeffrey Harwin, Judith Masson, Judith Moynihan, Sian Parton, Nigel Pais, Marta Santos Thoburn, June Webb, Elspeth eng England 2008/12/06 09:00 Lancet. 2009 Jan 24;373(9660):332-43. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61709-2. Epub 2008 Dec 4.
Keywords: *Health Promotion; Child; Child Abuse/ethics/*prevention & control; Child Welfare/economics/trends; Child, Preschool; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Human Rights/economics/*legislation & jurisprudence/standards; Humans; Poverty; Public Health/ethics/*standards/trends; Risk Factors; United Nations/ethics

Mental health of displaced and refugee children resettled in low-income and middle-income countries: risk and protective factors. - Reed, R. V.; Fazel, M.; Jones, L.; Panter-Brick, C.; Stein, A. (Lancet, 2012)
Children and adolescents who are forcibly displaced represent almost half the world's internally displaced and refugee populations. We undertook a two-part systematic search and review of the evidence-base for individual, family, community, and societal risk and protective factors for the mental health outcomes of children and adolescents. Here we review data for displacement to low-income and middle-income settings. We draw together the main findings from reports to identify important issues and establish recommendations for future work. We draw attention to exposure to violence as a well established risk factor for poor mental health. We note the paucity of research into predictor variables other than those in the individual domain and the neglect of other variables for the assessment of causal associations, including potential mediators and moderators identifiable in longitudinal work. We conclude with research and policy recommendations to guide the development and assessment of effective interventions.
Keywords: Adolescent; Child; Developing Countries; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Mental Health; Psychology, Adolescent; Psychology, Child; Refugees; War

Family engagement in early learning opportunities at home and in early childhood education centers in Colombia - Rey-Guerra, Catalina; Maldonado-Carreño, Carolina; Ponguta, Liliana Angelica; Nieto, Ana María; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu (Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2022)
Keywords: Colombia; Early childhood education; family interventions

Age 26 cost-benefit analysis of the child-parent center early education program - Reynolds, A. J.; Temple, J. A.; White, B. A.; Ou, S. R.; Robertson, D. L. (Child Dev, 2011)
Using data collected up to age 26 in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, this cost-benefit analysis of the Child-Parent Centers (CPC) is the first for a sustained publicly funded early intervention. The program provides services for low-income families beginning at age 3 in 20 school sites. Kindergarten and school-age services are provided up to age 9 (third grade). Findings from a complete cohort of over 1,400 program and comparison group participants indicated that the CPCs had economic benefits in 2007 dollars that exceeded costs. The preschool program provided a total return to society of $10.83 per dollar invested (18% annual return). The primary sources of benefits were increased earnings and tax revenues and averted criminal justice system costs. The school-age program had a societal return of $3.97 per dollar invested (10% annual return). The extended intervention program (4-6 years) had a societal return of $8.24 (18% annual return). Estimates were robust across a wide range of analyses including Monte Carlo simulations. Males, 1-year preschool participants, and children from higher risk families derived greater benefits. Findings provide strong evidence that sustained programs can contribute to well-being for individuals and society.
1467-8624 Reynolds, Arthur J Temple, Judy A White, Barry A B Ou, Suh-Ruu Robertson, Dylan L R01 HD034294/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States R01HD034294/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't United States Child Dev. 2011 Jan-Feb;82(1):379-404. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01563.x.
Keywords: Achievement; Adolescent; Adult; Chicago; Child; Child Welfare/economics; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Cost-Benefit Analysis/economics; Crime/economics/prevention & control; Early Intervention (Education)/*economics; Education, Special/economics; Education/*economics; Female; Financing, Government/*economics; Humans; Income; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Poverty/*economics; Prospective Studies; Remedial Teaching/economics; Translational Medical Research; Young Adult

Effects of a school-based, early childhood intervention on adult health and well-being: a 19-year follow-up of low-income families - Reynolds, A. J.; Temple, J. A.; Ou, S. R.; Robertson, D. L.; Mersky, J. P.; Topitzes, J. W.; Niles, M. D. (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 2007)
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of an established preventive intervention on the health and well-being of an urban cohort in young adulthood. DESIGN: Follow-up of a nonrandomized alternative-intervention matched-group cohort at age 24 years. SETTING: Chicago, Illinois. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1539 low-income participants who enrolled in the Child-Parent Center program in 20 sites or in an alternative kindergarten intervention. INTERVENTIONS: The Child-Parent Center program provides school-based educational enrichment and comprehensive family services from preschool to third grade. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Educational attainment, adult arrest and incarceration, health status and behavior, and economic well-being. RESULTS: Relative to the comparison group and adjusted for many covariates, Child-Parent Center preschool participants had higher rates of school completion (63.7% vs 71.4%, respectively; P = .01) and attendance in 4-year colleges as well as more years of education. They were more likely to have health insurance coverage (61.5% vs 70.2%, respectively; P = .005). Preschool graduates relative to the comparison group also had lower rates of felony arrests (16.5% vs 21.1%, respectively; P = .02), convictions, incarceration (20.6% vs 25.6%, respectively; P = .03), depressive symptoms (12.8% vs 17.4%, respectively; P=.06), and out-of-home placement. Participation in both preschool and school-age intervention relative to the comparison group was associated with higher rates of full-time employment (42.7% vs 36.4%, respectively; P = .04), higher levels of educational attainment, lower rates of arrests for violent offenses, and lower rates of disability. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in a school-based intervention beginning in preschool was associated with a wide range of positive outcomes. Findings provide evidence that established early education programs can have enduring effects on general well-being into adulthood.
Reynolds, Arthur J Temple, Judy A Ou, Suh-Ruu Robertson, Dylan L Mersky, Joshua P Topitzes, James W Niles, Michael D R01 HD034294/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States R01HD034294-11/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States Evaluation Studies Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't United States Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007 Aug;161(8):730-9. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.161.8.730.
Keywords: *Social Behavior; *Urban Population; Adolescent; Adult; African Americans/education/*psychology; Chicago; Child; Crime/ethnology/legislation & jurisprudence; Early Intervention (Education)/*organization & administration; Educational Status; Employment; Family Health/*ethnology; Female; Hispanic Americans/education/*psychology; Holistic Health; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental Health; Minority Groups/education/*psychology; Parents/*education; Poverty Areas; Poverty/*ethnology; Program Evaluation; Prospective Studies; Schools/*organization & administration; Socioeconomic Factors; Universities

Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development - Richter, L. M.; Daelmans, B.; Lombardi, J.; Heymann, J.; Boo, F. L.; Behrman, J. R.; Lu, C.; Lucas, J. E.; Perez-Escamilla, R.; Dua, T.; Bhutta, Z. A.; Stenberg, K.; et al. (Lancet, 2017)
Building on long-term benefits of early intervention (Paper 2 of this Series) and increasing commitment to early childhood development (Paper 1 of this Series), scaled up support for the youngest children is essential to improving health, human capital, and wellbeing across the life course. In this third paper, new analyses show that the burden of poor development is higher than estimated, taking into account additional risk factors. National programmes are needed. Greater political prioritisation is core to scale-up, as are policies that afford families time and financial resources to provide nurturing care for young children. Effective and feasible programmes to support early child development are now available. All sectors, particularly education, and social and child protection, must play a role to meet the holistic needs of young children. However, health provides a critical starting point for scaling up, given its reach to pregnant women, families, and young children. Starting at conception, interventions to promote nurturing care can feasibly build on existing health and nutrition services at limited additional cost. Failure to scale up has severe personal and social consequences. Children at elevated risk for compromised development due to stunting and poverty are likely to forgo about a quarter of average adult income per year, and the cost of inaction to gross domestic product can be double what some countries currently spend on health. Services and interventions to support early childhood development are essential to realising the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals.
1474-547x Richter, Linda M Daelmans, Bernadette Lombardi, Joan Heymann, Jody Boo, Florencia Lopez Behrman, Jere R Lu, Chunling Lucas, Jane E Perez-Escamilla, Rafael Dua, Tarun Bhutta, Zulfiqar A Stenberg, Karin Gertler, Paul Darmstadt, Gary L Paper 3 Working Group and the Lancet Early Childhood Development Series Steering Committee 001/World Health Organization/International K01 HD071929/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Review England Lancet. 2017 Jan 7;389(10064):103-118. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31698-1. Epub 2016 Oct 4.
Keywords: *Child Development; *Developing Countries; Child Health Services/economics/*organization & administration; Child Protective Services/economics/organization & administration; Child, Preschool; Early Intervention (Education)/economics/organization & administration; Financing, Government; Humans; Maternal Health Services/economics/organization & administration; Politics; Poverty

Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development - Richter, L. M.; Daelmans, B.; Lombardi, J.; Heymann, J.; Boo, F. L.; Behrman, J. R.; Lu, C.; Lucas, J. E.; Perez-Escamilla, R.; Dua, T.; Bhutta, Z. A.; Stenberg, K.; et al. (Lancet, 2017)
Building on long-term benefits of early intervention (Paper 2 of this Series) and increasing commitment to early childhood development (Paper 1 of this Series), scaled up support for the youngest children is essential to improving health, human capital, and wellbeing across the life course. In this third paper, new analyses show that the burden of poor development is higher than estimated, taking into account additional risk factors. National programmes are needed. Greater political prioritisation is core to scale-up, as are policies that afford families time and financial resources to provide nurturing care for young children. Effective and feasible programmes to support early child development are now available. All sectors, particularly education, and social and child protection, must play a role to meet the holistic needs of young children. However, health provides a critical starting point for scaling up, given its reach to pregnant women, families, and young children. Starting at conception, interventions to promote nurturing care can feasibly build on existing health and nutrition services at limited additional cost. Failure to scale up has severe personal and social consequences. Children at elevated risk for compromised development due to stunting and poverty are likely to forgo about a quarter of average adult income per year, and the cost of inaction to gross domestic product can be double what some countries currently spend on health. Services and interventions to support early childhood development are essential to realising the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Richter, Linda M Daelmans, Bernadette Lombardi, Joan Heymann, Jody Boo, Florencia Lopez Behrman, Jere R Lu, Chunling Lucas, Jane E Perez-Escamilla, Rafael Dua, Tarun Bhutta, Zulfiqar A Stenberg, Karin Gertler, Paul Darmstadt, Gary L eng 001/World Health Organization/International K01 HD071929/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Review England 2016/10/09 06:00 Lancet. 2017 Jan 7;389(10064):103-118. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31698-1. Epub 2016 Oct 4.
Keywords: *Child Development; *Developing Countries; Child Health Services/economics/*organization & administration; Child Protective Services/economics/organization & administration; Child, Preschool; Early Intervention (Education)/economics/organization & administration; Financing, Government; Humans; Maternal Health Services/economics/organization & administration; Politics; Poverty

The importance of caregiver-child interactions for the survival and healthy development of young children: A review - L. Richter (World Health Organization, 2004)

Guidance for the health sector to partner with parents and families for early childhood development - Richter, Linda M; Ghent, Liana; Issa, Ghassan M; Okengo, Lynette; Santiago, Evelyn (The Lancet, 2020)
Keywords: early childhood development; nurturing care

Nurturing Care for Young Children under Conditions of Fragility and Conflict - Richter, L. M.; Lye, S. J.; Proulx, K. (New Dir Child Adolesc Dev, 2018)
Forced displacement worldwide is at its highest in decades and millions of young children are living in conflict zones, in transitional or enduring refugee contexts, and in demographically diverse marginalized and informal settlements. There is a huge unmet need for delivering early childhood development interventions to ensure the safety and continued development of young children in these vulnerable contexts. In this paper, we discuss nurturing care as an important entry point for multisectoral collaborations to support families and reach young children. Nurturing care is a basic right of every child and encompasses health, nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving, and early learning. We review key elements of the biological and psychological development of children important to nurturing care and illustrate their application in case studies of war and displacement in Angola and Kenya. Building on long-term benefits of early interventions, scaled up support is essential to improve the health, development, and well-being of young children in contexts of conflict, violence, and insecurity. Not only do early childhood development interventions support the development of young children, but they also provide a potential pathway to violence reduction and a way to achieve more peaceful families, communities, and societies.
1534-8687 Richter, Linda M Lye, Stephen J Proulx, Kerrie Journal Article Review United States New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2018 Mar;2018(159):13-26. doi: 10.1002/cad.20232.
Keywords: *Armed Conflicts/psychology; *Child Development; *Child Rearing/psychology; *Exposure to Violence/psychology; *Parenting/psychology; *Vulnerable Populations/psychology; Angola; Child; Humans; Kenya

Nurturing Care for Young Children under Conditions of Fragility and Conflict - Richter, L. M.; Lye, S. J.; Proulx, K. (New Dir Child Adolesc Dev, 2018)
Forced displacement worldwide is at its highest in decades and millions of young children are living in conflict zones, in transitional or enduring refugee contexts, and in demographically diverse marginalized and informal settlements. There is a huge unmet need for delivering early childhood development interventions to ensure the safety and continued development of young children in these vulnerable contexts. In this paper, we discuss nurturing care as an important entry point for multisectoral collaborations to support families and reach young children. Nurturing care is a basic right of every child and encompasses health, nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving, and early learning. We review key elements of the biological and psychological development of children important to nurturing care and illustrate their application in case studies of war and displacement in Angola and Kenya. Building on long-term benefits of early interventions, scaled up support is essential to improve the health, development, and well-being of young children in contexts of conflict, violence, and insecurity. Not only do early childhood development interventions support the development of young children, but they also provide a potential pathway to violence reduction and a way to achieve more peaceful families, communities, and societies.
Richter, Linda M Lye, Stephen J Proulx, Kerrie eng Review 2018/03/15 06:00 New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2018 Mar;2018(159):13-26. doi: 10.1002/cad.20232.

Early childhood - L. Richter; A. Dawes; J. de Kadt (Promoting Mental Health in Scarce-resource Contexts: Emerging Evidence and Practice, 2010)

Child migration and access to Early Childhood Care and Education: Limitations in legal frameworks and other concerns - RightToEducationInitiative (Right to Education, 2021)
Keywords: early childhood care and education; ECCE; migrants and refugees

Sustainable Development and Health: From Global to Local Agenda - M. Riva; C. Panter-Brick; M. Eggerman (Sustainable Development: An Appraisal of the Gulf Region, 2014)

Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study - Roberton, Timothy; Carter, Emily D; Chou, Victoria B; Stegmuller, Angela R; Jackson, Bianca D; Tam, Yvonne; Sawadogo-Lewis, Talata; Walker, Neff (The Lancet Global Health, 2020)
Keywords: Child Mortality; COVID-19; Health; maternal mortality; nutrition

Effects of Healthy Families New York on the promotion of maternal parenting competencies and the prevention of harsh parenting. - Rodriguez, M L; Dumont, K; Mitchell-Herzfeld, S D; Walden, N J; Greene, R (Child Abuse Negl, 2010)
OBJECTIVES: This paper examines the effectiveness of the Healthy Families New York (HFNY) home visiting program in promoting parenting competencies and preventing maladaptive parenting behaviors in mothers at risk for child abuse and neglect. METHODS: The study used microlevel observational assessments of mother-child interactions in the third wave of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether mothers who received home visiting services were more likely to exhibit positive parenting and less likely to display negative parenting behaviors than those who did not receive these services. Women were randomly assigned during pregnancy or shortly after the birth of the target child to an intervention group that was offered home visiting services or a control group that was given referrals to other services. At Year 3, 522 mother and child pairs were systematically observed while they interacted in semistructured tasks presenting varied parenting challenges. The study also sought to replicate a finding from Year 2, which revealed that program effects on harsh parenting were stronger among young, first-time mothers who were randomly assigned during pregnancy (the High Prevention Opportunity subgroup) than among the other mothers (the Limited Prevention Opportunity subgroup). RESULTS: Results indicate that HFNY was effective in fostering positive parenting, such as maternal responsivity and cognitive engagement. With respect to negative parenting, HFNY mothers in the High Prevention Opportunity subgroup were less likely than their counterparts in the control group to use harsh parenting, while no differences were detected for the Limited Prevention Opportunity subgroup. CONCLUSION: HFNY was successful in promoting positive parenting among mothers at risk for child abuse and neglect, which may reflect the program's strength-based approach. The replication of the High Prevention Opportunity subgroup as a moderator of program effects on harsh parenting further suggests that HFNY may be more useful for preventing the initiation rather than the recurrence of child abuse and neglect. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To optimize service delivery, HFNY should continue to focus on enhancing parent-child interactions, prioritize HFNY services for young, first-time mothers who are offered the program during pregnancy, and investigate effective strategies to reduce negative parenting practices among the Limited Prevention Opportunity subgroup.
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Child Abuse; Child, Preschool; Family; Female; Follow-Up Studies; House Calls; Humans; Male; Maternal Age; Maternal Behavior; Mother-Child Relations; New York; Parenting; Pregnancy; Program Evaluation; Questionnaires; Risk; Young Adult

Roma Education Fund’s statement on COVID 19 effecting Roma communities and access to education - ROMA (ROMA Education Fund, 2020)
The Roma Education Fund (REF) calls for the attention of the European Commission (EC), governments of respective EU Member States, candidate and other European countries to urgently react on the extremely vulnerable position of Roma communities in the light of COVID 19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19; Early childhood education

Media and technology use predicts ill-being among children, preteens and teenagers independent of the negative health impacts of exercise and eating habits - Rosen, L.D.; Lim, A.F.; Felt, J.; Carrier, L.M.; Cheever, N.A.; Lara-Ruiz, J.M.; Mendoza, J.S.; Rokkum, J. (Computers in Human Behavior, 2014)

Effects of welfare reform on children of adolescent mothers: moderation by maternal depression, father involvement, and grandmother involvement - Rosman, E. A.; Yoshikawa, H. (Women Health, 2001)
There are few data available on how effects of welfare reform on children may differ for different kinds of families. This study examined the constructs of maternal depression, father involvement, and grandmother involvement as moderators of the effects of a welfare reform program on children. The sample included 1,602 children between the ages of 3 and 6 1/2 whose mothers had participated in New Chance, a multi-site welfare-to-work program with an emphasis on human capital development (i.e., education, job training). Father and grandmother co-residence were investigated, in addition to perceived support from these family members, in predicting cognitive and behavioral child outcomes. The mediating roles of parenting stress and emotional support in parenting were also explored. Although main effects were found for the intervention and for maternal depression, no main effects were found for the family ecology variables. However, interactions suggested complex relationships among New Chance and the family characteristics for both the full sample and for Latina families. Results are discussed in terms of policy implications and possible future research.
Rosman, E A Yoshikawa, H eng Evaluation Studies 2001/08/02 10:00 Women Health. 2001;32(3):253-90. doi: 10.1300/J013v32n03_04.
Keywords: *Child Welfare; *Family Relations; *Social Support; Adolescent; Aid to Families with Dependent Children/*legislation & jurisprudence; Child; Child Behavior Disorders/epidemiology; Child, Preschool; Depressive Disorder/complications/epidemiology; Education; Employment; Humans; Intergenerational Relations; Maternal Welfare; Mothers/*psychology; Parenting/ethnology/psychology; Regression Analysis; United States/epidemiology; Women's Health

Early childhood linear growth faltering in low-income and middle-income countries as a whole-population condition: analysis of 179 Demographic and Health Surveys from 64 countries (1993-2015) - Roth, D. E.; Krishna, A.; Leung, M.; Shi, J.; Bassani, D. G.; Barros, A. J. D. (Lancet Glob Health, 2017)
BACKGROUND: The causes of early childhood linear growth faltering (known as stunting) in low-income and middle-income countries remain inadequately understood. We aimed to determine if the progressive postnatal decline in mean height-for-age Z score (HAZ) in low-income and middle-income countries is driven by relatively slow growth of certain high-risk children versus faltering of the entire population. METHODS: Distributions of HAZ (based on WHO growth standards) were analysed in 3-month age intervals from 0 to 36 months of age in 179 Demographic and Health Surveys from 64 low-income and middle-income countries (1993-2015). Mean, standard deviation (SD), fifth percentiles, and 95th percentiles of the HAZ distribution were estimated for each age interval in each survey. Associations between mean HAZ and SD, fifth percentile, and 95th percentile were estimated using multilevel linear models. Stratified analyses were performed in consideration of potential modifiers (world region, national income, sample size, year, or mean HAZ in the 0-3 month age band). We also used Monte Carlo simulations to model the effects of subgroup versus whole-population faltering on the HAZ distribution. FINDINGS: Declines in mean HAZ from birth to 3 years of age were accompanied by declines in both the fifth and 95th percentiles, leading to nearly symmetrical narrowing of the HAZ distributions. Thus, children with relatively low HAZ were not more likely to have faltered than taller same-age peers. Inferences were unchanged in surveys regardless of world region, national income, sample size, year, or mean HAZ in the 0-3 month age band. Simulations showed that the narrowing of the HAZ distribution as mean HAZ declined could not be explained by faltering limited to a growth-restricted subgroup of children. INTERPRETATION: In low-income and middle-income countries, declines in mean HAZ with age are due to a downward shift in the entire HAZ distribution, revealing that children across the HAZ spectrum experience slower growth compared to the international standard. Efforts to mitigate postnatal linear growth faltering in low-income and middle-income countries should prioritise action on community-level determinants of childhood HAZ trajectories. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Roth, Daniel E Krishna, Aditi Leung, Michael Shi, Joy Bassani, Diego G Barros, Aluisio J D eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2017/11/15 06:00 Lancet Glob Health. 2017 Dec;5(12):e1249-e1257. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30418-7.
Keywords: *Body Height/physiology; *Growth Disorders; *Income; *Poverty; Child Development/physiology; Child, Preschool; Demography; Developing Countries/statistics & numerical data; Global Health; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Models, Statistical

Introducing the issue, ‘School readiness: Closing racial and ethnic gaps’ - Rouse, C.; Brooks‐Gunn, J.; McLanahan, S. (The Future of Children, 2005)

The Family and the MDGs - S. Royalance (Doha Institute for Family Studies and Development, 2012)

Masculinities and COVID-19: Making the Connections - Ruxton, S.; Burrell, S. (Promundo, 2020)
Keywords: COVID-19; masculinities; men; policy

Improving the mental health of abandoned children: Experiences from a global online intervention. - Rygaard, Niels Peter (American Psychologist, 2020)
Keywords: Displaced persons; global migration; Mental Health

Young children's reactions to war-related stress: a survey and assessment of an innovative intervention. - Sadeh, Avi; Hen-Gal, Shai; Tikotzky, Liat (Pediatrics, 2008)
OBJECTIVE: The goal was to assess stress reactions in young children during and after war and the effects of a new brief intervention. METHODS: Two separate studies were conducted. In study I, we assessed war exposure and stress reactions of 74 children (2-7 years of age) in a sheltered camp during the second Israel-Lebanon war (July to August 2006). Their exposure to war experiences and their stress reactions were assessed through parental reports during the last week of the war. In addition to standard care, 35 children received a brief intervention (Huggy-Puppy intervention) aimed at encouraging them to care for a needy Huggy-Puppy doll that was given to them as a gift. The effects of the Huggy-Puppy intervention were assessed in a follow-up interview 3 weeks after the war. Study II assessed the efficacy of group administration of the Huggy-Puppy intervention to 191 young children, compared with 101 control subjects. The effects of the intervention on stress-related symptoms after the war were assessed in telephone interviews with the parents. RESULTS: Study I indicated that, during the war, most children had significant exposure to war-related experiences and had severe stress reactions. The Huggy-Puppy intervention was associated with significant reductions in stress reactions in the postwar assessment. A higher level of attachment and involvement with the doll was associated with better outcomes. The results of study II indicated that group administration of the Huggy-Puppy intervention was associated with significant reductions in stress reactions. CONCLUSION: These studies suggest that the Huggy-Puppy intervention may offer pediatricians and other child health care professionals a promising, cost-effective intervention for children during stressful times.
Keywords: Adaptation, Psychological; Age Factors; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Incidence; Intervention Studies; Interviews as Topic; Israel; Male; Probability; Psychotherapy; Reference Values; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Factors; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Stress, Psychological; War

Minding the Baby: Enhancing Reflectiveness to Improve Early Health and Relationship Outcomes in an Interdisciplinary Home-Visiting Program - Sadler, Lois S.; Slade, Arietta; Close, Nancy; Webb, Denise L.; Simpson, Tanika; Fennie, Kristopher; Mayes, Linda C. (Infant Mental Health Journal, 2013)

How do grandparents influence child health and development? A systematic review - Sadruddin, Aalyia F.; Ponguta, Liliana A.; Zonderman, Anna L.; Wiley, Kyle S.; Grimshaw, Alyssa; Panter-Brick, Catherine (Social Science & Medicine, 2019)
Keywords: Child; Family; Generatio; h Development; Healt; Parenting; policy; Research Design

Global citizenship and the role of the United Nations: The promise of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium - Salah, R. (New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2018)

Childcare and working families: New opportunity of missing link? An evidence brief - Samman, E.; Lombardi, J.; UNICEF (UNICEF, 2019)
Keywords: childcare; family-friendly policies; G20 Initiative for Early Childhood Development; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); working families

Comprehensive longitudinal studies of child health, development and behaviour in Jamaica: findings and policy impact - Samms-Vaughan, M. (West Indian Med J, 2008)
BACKGROUND: Birth cohort and other longitudinal studies of children's health, development and behaviour have provided important information on child and adult outcomes. This has allowed evidence based policy and programme development targeted at issues specific to countries. Few studies have been conducted in developing countries. This paper reports on the findings and policy implications of two comprehensive longitudinal studies in Jamaica. METHOD: The findings of the Jamaican Birth Cohort Studies, conducted between 1986 and 2003, and the Profiles Project, a longitudinal study commencing in 1999 when children were six years, were reviewed. Recommendations from the studies and their impact on policy and programme development for Jamaican children were identified. RESULTS: Policy and programme impact were identified in areas of child poverty intervention, parenting, social activities, violence and aggression, health and nutrition, screening and early intervention, setting of standards for early childhood institutions, gender early childhood indicators and education and training. Policy and programme impact were national, regional and international. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive longitudinal studies of children in developing countries, though costly, provide wide-ranging and important information for policy and programme development.
Samms-Vaughan, M Journal Article Jamaica West Indian Med J. 2008 Dec;57(6):639-44.
Keywords: *Child Welfare; Child; Child Development; Developing Countries; Early Intervention (Education); Health Policy; Humans; Jamaica; Life Style; Longitudinal Studies; Poverty

The role of child benefits in enabling family-friendly policies to achieve the triple bottom line. An evidence brief - Samson, M.; UNICEF (UNICEF, 2019)
Keywords: child benefits; cognitive development; food security; gender equality; inequality; partnerships; Poverty; resilience; Social cohesion; social inclusion; social protection; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Triple P-Positive Parenting Program: towards an empirically validated multilevel parenting and family support strategy for the prevention of behavior and emotional problems in children. - Sanders, M R (Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev, 1999)
This paper outlines the theoretical and empirical foundations of a unique multilevel parenting and family support strategy designed to reduce the prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems in preadolescent children. The program known as Triple P-Positive Parenting Program is a multilevel system of family intervention, which provides five levels of intervention of increasing strength. These interventions include a universal population-level media information campaign targeting all parents, two levels of brief primary care consultations targeting mild behavior problems, and two more intensive parent training and family intervention programs for children at risk for more severe behavioral problems. The program aims to determine the minimally sufficient intervention a parent requires in order to deflect a child away from a trajectory towards more serious problems. The self-regulation of parental skill is a central construct in the program. The program uses flexible delivery modalities (including individual face-to-face, group, telephone assisted, and self-directed programs) to tailor the strength of the intervention to the requirements of individual families. Its multidisciplinary, preventive and community-wide focus gives the program wide reach, permitting the targeting of destigmatized access points through primary care services for families who are reluctant to participate in parenting skills programs. The available empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of the program is discussed and its implications for research on dissemination are discussed.
Keywords: Affective Symptoms; Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Family Therapy; Humans; Parenting; Parents; Patient Care Team; Primary Health Care; Referral and Consultation; Social Support

Applying Self-Regulation Principles in the Delivery of Parenting Interventions - Sanders, Matthew R.; Turner, Karen M. T.; Metzler, Carol W. (Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2019)
Keywords: Parenting; Parenting intervention; Parenting support; Self-regulation

The mass media and the prevention of child behavior problems: the evaluation of a television series to promote positive outcomes for parents and their children. - Sanders, M R; Montgomery, D T; Brechman-Toussaint, M L (J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2000)
This paper examines the impact of a 12-episode television series, "Families", on disruptive child behavior and family adjustment. This media intervention comprises the first of a five-level early intervention parenting and family support strategy, known as Triple P (Positive Parenting Program). Fifty-six parents of children aged between 2 and 8 years were randomly assigned to either watching the television series or to a waitlist control group. Compared to the control group, parents in the television viewing (TV) condition reported significantly lower levels of disruptive child behavior and higher levels of perceived parenting competence, immediately following intervention. Prior to intervention approximately 42.9% of the children in the TV condition were in the clinically elevated range for disruptive child behavioral problems. This had reduced to 14.3 % following intervention. In addition, a high level of consumer acceptability was reported by parents in the TV condition. All post-intervention effects were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Implications for public health approaches to family mental health are discussed.
Keywords: Adult; Australia; Child Behavior Disorders; Child, Preschool; Family; Female; Humans; Male; Mass Media; Parenting; Parents; Primary Prevention; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Television; Treatment Outcome

THE PEACEFUL KIDS CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROGRAM - Sandra V. Sandy; Susan K. Boardman (International Journal of Conflict Management, 2000)

A pilot study of a parent-education group for families affected by depression. - Sanford, Mark; Byrne, Carolyn; Williams, Susan; Atley, Sandy; Miller, Jennifer; Allin, Heather (Can J Psychiatry, 2003)
OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the feasibility and efficacy of a parent-education group for families with young children and a parent with depression. We designed the program to be readily disseminated if shown to be effective. METHOD: We recruited 44 parents with depression from clinics and family doctors in Hamilton, Ontario, and randomly assigned them to receive the parenting program or to a wait-list control group. The outcomes measured included knowledge of depression, parenting, family relationships, depression symptoms, child depressive symptoms, and functioning. We used analysis of covariance to test for posttreatment differences between experimental and control groups. RESULTS: Of the treatment group, 27% dropped out at posttreatment, and 43% by follow-up. Those who dropped out had more severe depression at baseline than did those who completed the program, and there was selective loss of parents with more severe depression in the experimental group. In intention-to-treat analyses at posttreatment, probands in the experimental group reported more improvements on family functioning, parenting sense of competence, and family and parent conflict than did control subjects. Standardized effect sizes (ES) were medium (0.4 to 0.6). When baseline depressive symptom scores were controlled in the analyses, the between-group differences were reduced, showing that selective loss of participants may have influenced the findings. CONCLUSIONS: On balance, the results are encouraging and support the further development and evaluation of the group intervention. However, the study does not provide unequivocal evidence in support of the program. Before it is transferred to other settings, the program needs further modification to improve participation by parents with more severe depression and further evaluation of its effectiveness.
Keywords: Adult; Conflict (Psychology); Depression; Family; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Behavior; Humans; Male; Parents; Pilot Projects; Questionnaires

Long term mental health outcomes of Finnish children evacuated to Swedish families during the second world war and their non-evacuated siblings: cohort study - Santavirta, T.; Santavirta, N.; Betancourt, T. S.; Gilman, S. E. (BMJ, 2015)
OBJECTIVES: To compare the risks of admission to hospital for any type of psychiatric disorder and for four specific psychiatric disorders among adults who as children were evacuated to Swedish foster families during the second world war and their non-evacuated siblings, and to evaluate whether these risks differ between the sexes. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: National child evacuation scheme in Finland during the second world war. PARTICIPANTS: Children born in Finland between 1933 and 1944 who were later included in a 10% sample of the 1950 Finnish census ascertained in 1997 (n = 45,463; women: n = 22,021; men: n = 23,442). Evacuees in the sample were identified from war time government records. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Adults admitted to hospital for psychiatric disorders recorded between 1971 and 2011 in the Finnish hospital discharge register. METHODS: We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the association between evacuation to temporary foster care in Sweden during the second world war and admission to hospital for a psychiatric disorder between ages 38 and 78 years. Fixed effects methods were employed to control for all unobserved social and genetic characteristics shared among siblings. RESULTS: Among men and women combined, the risk of admission to hospital for a psychiatric disorder did not differ between Finnish adults evacuated to Swedish foster families and their non-evacuated siblings (hazard ratio 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.64 to 1.26). Evidence suggested a lower risk of admission for any mental disorder (0.67, 0.44 to 1.03) among evacuated men, whereas for women there was no association between evacuation and the overall risk of admission for a psychiatric disorder (1.21, 0.80 to 1.83). When admissions for individual psychiatric disorders were analyzed, evacuated girls were significantly more likely than their non-evacuated sisters to be admitted to hospital for a mood disorder as an adult (2.19, 1.10 to 4.33). CONCLUSIONS: The Finnish evacuation policy was not associated with an increased overall risk of admission to hospital for a psychiatric disorder in adulthood among former evacuees. In fact, evacuation was associated with a marginally reduced risk of admission for any psychiatric disorder among men. Among women who had been evacuated, however, the risk of being admitted to hospital for a mood disorder was increased.
Santavirta, Torsten Santavirta, Nina Betancourt, Theresa S Gilman, Stephen E eng R01 MH087544/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ MH087544/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ Comparative Study Historical Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2015/01/09 06:00 BMJ. 2015 Jan 5;350:g7753.
Keywords: *World War II; Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Female; Finland/epidemiology; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Hospitalization/*statistics & numerical data; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental Disorders/*epidemiology; Middle Aged; Policy Making; Proportional Hazards Models; Refugees/*psychology; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Siblings/*psychology; Socioeconomic Factors; Sweden/epidemiology

South African Child Support Grant Impact Assessment - SASSA; UNICEF (Pretoria: Dept. of Social Development., 2012)

Pet Ownership and Children’s Emotional Expression: Propensity Score-Matched Analysis of Longitudinal Data from Japan - Sato, Rikako; Fujiwara, Takeo; Kino, Shiho; Nawa, Nobutoshi; Kawachi, Ichiro (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019)

Defenceless: The impact of the Israeli military detention system on Palestinian children - SavetheChildren (Save the Children, 2020)
Keywords: children youth; Education; Gender; Health; Human Rights; Protection

Road to recovery: Responding to children’s mental health in conflict - SavetheChildren (Save the Children, 2019)
Keywords: child mental health; child refugees

Advancing justice for children: Innovations to strengthen accountability for violations and crimes affecting children in conflict - SavetheChildren (Save the Children, 2021)
Keywords: Advocacy; children; gender relevant; governance; justice; policy; violence prevention

Education and Social Cohesion Country Report: South Africa - Y. Sayed; A. Badroodien; Z. McDonald; A. Hanayo; T. Salmon; L. Balie; T. De Kock; W. Sirkotte-Kriel; C. Garisch; J. Gaston; K. Foulds (Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) UNICEF Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam Centre for International Education, University of Suss, 2016)

￼Synthesis Report on Findings from Myanmar, Pakistan, South Africa and Uganda - Sayed, Y.; Novelli, M. (UNICEF Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam Centre for International Education, University of Sussex UNESCO Centre at Ulster University, 2016)

Traumatized mothers can change their minds about their toddlers: Understanding how a novel use of videofeedback supports positive change of maternal attributions. - Schechter, Daniel S; Myers, Michael M; Brunelli, Susan A; Coates, Susan W; Zeanah, Charles H; Davies, Mark; Grienenberger, John F; Marshall, Randall D; McCaw, Jaime E; Trabka, Kimberly A; Liebowitz, Michael R (Infant Ment Health J, 2006)
This study explored the use of a brief experimental intervention that integrates principles of infant-parent psychotherapy, videofeedback, controlled exposure to child distress in the context of parental posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and stimulation of parental reflective functioning (RF). The Clinician Assisted Videofeedback Exposure Session (CAVES) was applied to 32 interpersonal violence-exposed mothers of very young children (8-50 months) with respect to change of maternal perception of her child. While we found no significant reduction over two videotaped assessment visits with a mental health professional, we did find a significant reduction in the degree of negativity of maternal attributions towards her child following the videotaped visit focused on the CAVES (p<.01). Maternal RF, a mother's capacity to think about mental states in herself and her child, accounted for 11% of the variance in reduction of maternal negativity after accounting for baseline levels of negativity. Clinician-assisted videofeedback appears to support emotional self-regulation of mothers with violence-related PTSD. Focusing with a therapist on videofeedback of child separation distress exposes mothers to avoided mental states of helplessness and perceived loss of protection. Negative maternal attributions may mark violent trauma-associated emotion dysregulation and projected self-representations of the maltreated mother.

Maximizing the potential of early childhood education to prevent externalizing behavior problems: A meta-analysis - Schindler, H. S.; Kholoptseva, J.; Oh, S. S.; Yoshikawa, H.; Duncan, G. J.; Magnuson, K. A.; Shonkoff, J. P. (J Sch Psychol, 2015)
Early childhood education (ECE) programs offer a promising mechanism for preventing early externalizing behavior problems and later antisocial behavior; yet, questions remain about how to best maximize ECE's potential. Using a meta-analytic database of 31 studies, we examined the overall effect of ECE on externalizing behavior problems and the differential effects of 3 levels of practice, each with increasing specificity and intensity aimed at children's social and emotional development. In short, we found that each successive level of programs did a better job than the prior level at reducing externalizing behavior problems. Level 1 programs, or those without a clear focus on social and emotional development, had no significant effects on externalizing behavior problems relative to control groups (ES=.13 SD, p<.10). On the other hand, level 2 programs, or those with a clear but broad focus on social and emotional development, were significantly associated with modest decreases in externalizing behavior problems relative to control groups (ES=-.10 SD, p<.05). Hence, level 2 programs were significantly better at reducing externalizing behavior problems than level 1 programs (ES=-.23 SD, p<.01). Level 3 programs, or those that more intensively targeted children's social and emotional development, were associated with additional significant reductions in externalizing behavior problems relative to level 2 programs (ES=-.26 SD, p<.05). The most promising effects came from level 3 child social skills training programs, which reduced externalizing behavior problems half of a standard deviation more than level 2 programs (ES=-.50 SD, p<.05).
Schindler, Holly S Kholoptseva, Jenya Oh, Soojin S Yoshikawa, Hirokazu Duncan, Greg J Magnuson, Katherine A Shonkoff, Jack P eng R01 HD073172/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ Meta-Analysis Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2015/06/10 06:00 J Sch Psychol. 2015 Jun;53(3):243-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2015.04.001.
Keywords: *Early Intervention (Education)/methods/standards/statistics & numerical data; Child; Child Behavior Disorders/*prevention & control; Child social skills training; Early childhood education; Externalizing behavior problems; Humans; Meta-analysis; prevention

IOM manual on community-based mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies and displacement - Schininà, G. (nternational Organization for Migration, 2019)
Keywords: community-based; Displacement; Emergencies; Mental Health; Psychosocial

Love alters autonomic reactivity to emotions. - Schneiderman, I.; Zilberstein-Kra, Y.; Leckman, J. F.; Feldman, R. (Emotion, 2011)
Periods of bond formation are accompanied by physiological and emotional changes, yet, little is known about the effects of falling in love on the individual's physiological response to emotions. We examined autonomic reactivity to the presentation of negative and positive films in 112 young adults, including 57 singles and 55 new lovers who began a romantic relationship 2.5 months prior to the experiment Autonomic reactivity was measured by Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) to two baseline emotionally neutral films, two negative films, and two positive films. Results demonstrated that RSA in singles decreased during the presentation of negative emotions, indicating physiological stress response. However, no such decrease was found among new lovers, pointing to more optimal vagal regulation during the period of falling in love. Autonomic reactivity, indexed by RSA decrease from the positive to the negative films, was greater among singles as compared to lovers, suggesting that love buffers against autonomic stress and facilitates emotion regulation. Findings suggest that vagal regulation may be one mechanism through which love and attachment reduce stress and promote well-being and health.
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety; Arrhythmia, Sinus; Autonomic Nervous System; Emotions; Female; Humans; Love; Male; Personality Inventory; Photic Stimulation; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Stress, Physiological; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult

Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: relations to couples' interactive reciprocity. - Schneiderman, I.; Zagoory-Sharon, O.; Leckman, J. F.; Feldman, R. (Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2012)
Romantic relationships can have a profound effect on adults' health and well-being whereas the inability to maintain intimate bonds has been associated with physical and emotional distress. Studies in monogamous mammalian species underscore the central role of oxytocin (OT) in pair-bonding and human imaging studies implicate OT-rich brain areas in early romantic love. To assess the role of OT in romantic attachment, we examined plasma OT in 163 young adults: 120 new lovers (60 couples) three months after the initiation of their romantic relationship and 43 non-attached singles. Twenty-five of the 36 couples who stayed together were seen again six months later. Couples were observed in dyadic interactions and were each interviewed regarding relationship-related thoughts and behaviors. OT was significantly higher in new lovers compared to singles, F(1,152)=109.33, p<.001, which may suggest increased activity of the oxytocinergic system during the early stages of romantic attachment. These high levels of OT among new lovers did not decrease six months later and showed high individual stability. OT correlated with the couples' interactive reciprocity, including social focus, positive affect, affectionate touch, and synchronized dyadic states, and with anxieties and worries regarding the partner and the relationship, findings which parallel those described for parent-infant bonding. OT levels at the first assessment differentiated couples who stayed together six months later from those who separated during this period. Regression analysis showed that OT predicted interactive reciprocity independent of sex, relationship duration, and the partner's OT. Findings suggest that OT may play an important role at the first stages of romantic attachment and lend support to evolutionary models suggesting that parental and romantic attachment share underlying bio-behavioral mechanisms.
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Behavior; Courtship; Emotions; Family Characteristics; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Love; Male; Object Attachment; Oxytocin; Young Adult

A brief primary care intervention helps parents develop plans to discipline. - Scholer, Seth J; Hudnut-Beumler, Julia; Dietrich, Mary S (Pediatrics, 2010)
OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine if a primary care intervention can help caregivers develop appropriate methods of discipline. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A randomized, controlled trial was conducted in a pediatric primary care clinic. Consecutive English- or Spanish-speaking caregivers of 1- to 5-year-old children were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) at triage. Members of the intervention group (n = 130) were instructed (ie, required) to view at least 4 strategies of their choosing for responding to childhood aggression in the Play Nicely educational program; Spanish-speaking caregivers viewed the Spanish edition. The intervention duration was 5 to 10 minutes. Those in the control group (n = 129) received standard care. At the end of the clinic visit, 258 of 259 caregivers (99.6%) consented to participate in a brief personal interview. The key measure was whether caregivers were helped in their plans to discipline, defined as a caregiver who could verbalize an appropriate change in how they would discipline their child in the future. RESULTS: Overall, caregivers in the intervention group were 12 times more likely to have been helped in developing methods of discipline compared with caregivers in the control group (83% vs 7%; P < .001). Within this group, Spanish-speaking caregivers (n = 59) in the intervention group were 8 times more likely to have been helped compared with those in the control group (91% vs 12%; P < .001). Caregivers in the intervention group were more likely than caregivers in the control group to report that they planned to do less spanking (9% vs 0%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: A brief, required, primary care intervention helps English- and Spanish-speaking caregivers develop appropriate methods of discipline. The findings have implications for violence prevention, child abuse prevention, and how to incorporate counseling about childhood aggression and discipline into the well-child care visit.
Keywords: Caregivers; Child Behavior; Child Rearing; Child, Preschool; Counseling; Female; Health Education; Humans; Infant; Infant Behavior; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Physician's Role; Play and Playthings; Primary Health Care; Videotape Recording

Thinking About Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Impacts Through a Science-Informed, Early Childhood Lens - Schonkoff, JP; Williams, DR (2020)
Keywords: COVID-19; early childhood; racism

Stress, Resilience, and the Role of Science: Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic - Schonkoff, JP (Center for the Developing Child, Harvard University, 2020)
Keywords: COVID-19; early childhood development; resilience; stress

Peer Mediation: Conflict Resolution in Schools : Program Guide - Schrumpf, F.; Crawford, D.K.; Bodine, R.J. (Research Press Company, 1997)

Equine-assisted psychotherapy: a mental health promotion/intervention modality for children who have experienced intra-family violence. - Schultz, Pamela N; Remick-Barlow, G Ann; Robbins, Leslie (Health Soc Care Community, 2007)
Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is a specialized form of psychotherapy using the horse as a therapeutic tool. This modality is designed to address self-esteem and personal confidence, communication and interpersonal effectiveness, trust, boundaries and limit-setting, and group cohesion. Substantial numbers of children witness family violence. There is evidence that violence between parents has adverse effects on the children in the family. These children are at greater risk of behavioural problems and mental health disorders, including anxiety, anger, depression and suicidal ideations, withdrawal, low self-esteem, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The purpose of the present pilot study was to test the efficacy of EAP in a cross-sectional group of children referred to a psychotherapist for various childhood behavioural and mental health issues over an 18-month period (June 2003-January 2005). Sixty-three children received a mean number of 19 EAP sessions. Scores on the Children's Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale were determined pre- and post-treatment. The mean (+/- standard deviation, SD) pretreatment score was 54.1 (SD 3.2) and post treatment mean score was 61.7 +/- 5.0 (t = 9.06, d.f. = 96, P < 0.001). All children showed improvement in GAF scores, and there was a statistically significant correlation between the percentage improvement in the GAF scores and the number of sessions given (r = 0.73, P = 0.001). Univariate analysis showed that the greatest improvement in the GAF scores occurred in the youngest of the subjects. Children in the group who had a history of physical abuse and neglect had a statistically significant greater percentage improvement in GAF scores after treatment than those who did not have a history of abuse and neglect. This study has demonstrated a quick response to EAP, especially in younger children, but it remains to be determined what kind of long-term effects this type of intervention may provide.
Keywords: Adolescent; Animals; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Domestic Violence; Female; Horses; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Mental Health Services; Psychotherapy

Leveraging Caregivers to Provide Remote Early Childhood Education in Hard-to-Access Settings in Lebanon: Impacts From a Randomized Controlled Trial - Schwartz, Kate; Michael, Duja; Torossian, Lina; Hajal, Diala; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Abdulrazzak, Somaia; Youssef, Jamile; Sloane, Phoebe; Hashwe, Siwar; Foulds, Kim; Bowden, Brooks; Hoyer, Kayla; et al. (Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2024)
This paper presents impact findings from a three-arm randomized controlled trial of 1) a brief remote early learning program (RELP) and 2) RELP plus a remote parenting support program entitled Ahlan Simsim Families (ASF), compared to a waitlist control group. Participants are 5–6-year-olds and their families and are 96% Syrian refugees. All live in hard-to-access areas of Lebanon with few early childhood education (ECE) opportunities. RELP is an 11-week, 31-session program delivered via WhatsApp calls and messages. Remote sessions, 35–40 minutes each, consist of 5–6 caregivers/children and focus on supporting caregivers in implementing ECE curriculum with their children outside of class. ASF consists of 11 sessions (25–30 minutes once a week) and covers responsive relationships, early learning, and safety/security. We find large impacts on overall child development, literacy, numeracy, child play, and reported learning interactions (ES: 0.26–0.52) for both treatment arms; on motor and social-emotional skills for RELP only (ES: 0.21–0.36); and on reported spanking for RELP + ASF (twice as likely to say not in past month). Impacts are smaller in magnitude (for all but child play), though not significantly different, when ASF is added.
Keywords: brief ECE; refugee population; Remote ECE; remote IDELA; spartially nested models

Significant benefits, the High/Scope Perry Pre-School Study through age 27 - Schweinhart, L.J.; Barnes, H.V.; Weikhart, D.P. (Child welfare: Major themes in health and social welfare, 2005)

Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40 - Schweinhart, L.J.; J. Montie; Z. Xiang; W. S.. Barnett; C. R. Belfield; M. Nores (High/Scope Press, 2005)

Prenatal Risk Factors and the Etiology of ADHD-Review of Existing Evidence - Sciberras, E.; Mulraney, M.; Silva, D.; Coghill, D. (Curr Psychiatry Rep, 2017)
While it is well accepted that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly heritable disorder, not all of the risk is genetic. It is estimated that between 10 and 40% of the variance associated with ADHD is likely to be accounted for by environmental factors. There is considerable interest in the role that the prenatal environment might play in the development of ADHD with previous reviews concluding that despite demonstration of associations between prenatal risk factors (e.g. prematurity, maternal smoking during pregnancy) and ADHD, there remains insufficient evidence to support a definite causal relationship. This article provides an update of research investigating the relationship between prenatal risk factors and ADHD published over the past 3 years. Recently, several epidemiological and data linkage studies have made substantial contributions to our understanding of this relationship. In particular, these studies have started to account for some of the genetic and familial confounds that, when taken into account, throw several established findings into doubt. None of the proposed prenatal risk factors can be confirmed as causal for ADHD, and the stronger the study design, the less likely it is to support an association. We need a new benchmark for studies investigating the etiology of ADHD whereby there is an expectation not only that data will be collected prospectively but also that the design allows the broad range of genetic and familial factors to be accounted for.
1535-1645 Sciberras, Emma Mulraney, Melissa Silva, Desiree Coghill, David Journal Article Review United States Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017 Jan;19(1):1. doi: 10.1007/s11920-017-0753-2.
Keywords: *Gene-Environment Interaction; Adhd; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/epidemiology/*etiology/genetics; Causality; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Environmental; Etiology; Female; Genetic Association Studies; Humans; Infant; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature, Diseases/diagnosis/epidemiology/etiology/genetics; Male; Pregnancy; Prenatal; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/*diagnosis; Prospective Studies; Research Design; Risk Factors; Statistics as Topic

Science: Parenting - Science (Science, 2014)

Towards Clarity in Research on "Non-Cognitive" Skills: Linking Executive Functions, Self-Regulation, and Economic Development to Advance Life Outcomes for Children, Adolescents and Youth Globally - Scorza, P.; Araya, R.; Wuermli, A. J.; Betancourt, T. S. (Hum Dev, 2016)
Scorza, Pamela Araya, Ricardo Wuermli, Alice J Betancourt, Theresa S eng K01 MH077246/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ T32 MH096724/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ Switzerland 2016/07/01 00:00 Hum Dev. 2016 Jul;58(6):313-317. doi: 10.1159/000443711.

A Study of Education and Resilience in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands - P. Scott-Villiers; D. Ndung’u; S. Wilson; N. Kabala; M. Kullu; A. Scott-Villiers (UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), 2015)

A Study of Education and Resilience in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands - P. Scott-Villiers; S. Wilson; N. Kabala; M. Kullu; D. Ndung’u; A. Scott-Villiers (UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), 2015)

Cooler Earth - Higher Benefits Actions by those who care about children, climate and finance. - Seidel, F.; de Martel, E. (World Council of Churches, 2020)
Keywords: children; churches commitment to children; climate change; finance

Implementation of the PATHS Curriculum in an Urban Elementary School - Seifer, Ronald; Gouley, Kathleen; Miller, Alison L.; Zakriski, Audrey (Early Education & Development, 2004)

Primary prevention in mental health for Head Start classrooms: Partial replication with teachers as intervenors - Serna, L.A.; Nielsen, E.; Mattern, N.; Forness, S. (Behavioral Disorders, 2003)
In a previous study, Serna, Nielsen, Lambros, and Forness (2000) demonstrated that a 12-week universal intervention in three Head Start classrooms significantly improved outcomes on 5 of 10 measures of symptoms or impairment in mental health, compared to outcomes for children in two control classrooms. Children meeting clinical cutoffs for mental health risk also maintained or improved their performance as a result of such primary prevention compared to control children at risk (Serna, Lambros, Nielsen, & Forness, 2002). The present study replicated the original, except the universal intervention was not conducted by a university preschool teacher but by regular Head Start teachers. Outcomes were significant on only two of eight outcome measures. The authors discuss them in terms of efficacy versus effectiveness.
Keywords: child mental health; Head Start

Compendium of Resources | Caring for Each Other - SesameStreet (2020)
In response to the unprecedented uncertainty facing young children and families, Sesame Workshop's Caring for Each Other initiative marks the beginning of a commitment to support families throughout the COVID-19 health crisis with a broad variety of free resources. (See https://www.sesamestreet.org/caring)
Keywords: COVID-19; Early childhood education; Muppets; resilience

Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us who We are - Seung, S. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012)

Children‘s Mediational Teaching Style as a Function of Intervention for Cross-Age Peer-Mediation - Shamir, Adina; Tzuriel, David (School Psychology International, 2004)

Best Practices for Parent Education: Programs Seeking to Prevent Child Abuse - L. C. Shannon (North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service, 2003)

Population-based provider engagement in delivery of evidence-based parenting interventions: challenges and solutions. - Shapiro, Cheri J; Prinz, Ronald J; Sanders, Matthew R (J Prim Prev, 2010)
Population-wide interventions do not often address parenting, and relatively little is known about large scale dissemination of evidence-based parenting interventions. Most parenting interventions are not designed to reach the majority of parents in a geographic area or to influence prevalence rates for a problem, nor do they take full advantage of the existing workforce. Implementation of parenting interventions on this scale is a complex process; examination of such efforts can inform both research and policy. The US Triple P System Population Trial, designed to reduce child maltreatment at a population level, affords a unique opportunity to examine the steps involved in launching positive parenting support at a population level via an existing provider workforce. The implementation process is described; challenges and solutions are discussed.
Keywords: Child; Child Abuse; Evidence-Based Practice; Health Promotion; Humans; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Prevalence; Preventive Health Services; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Social Support; United States

Coping and mental health outcomes among Sierra Leonean war-affected youth: Results from a longitudinal study - Sharma, M.; Fine, S. L.; Brennan, R. T.; Betancourt, T. S. (Dev Psychopathol, 2017)
This study explored how coping with war-related traumatic events in Sierra Leone impacted mental health outcomes among 529 youth (aged 10-17 at baseline; 25% female) using longitudinal data from three time points (Time 1 in 2002, Time 2 in 2004, and Time 3 in 2008). We examined two types of coping items (approach and avoidance); used multiple regression models to test their relations with long-term mental health outcomes (internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, adaptive/prosocial behaviors, and posttraumatic stress symptoms); and used mediation analyses to test whether coping explained the relation between previous war exposures (being raped, death of parent(s), or killing/injuring someone during the war) and those outcomes. We found that avoidance coping items were associated with lower internalizing and posttraumatic stress behaviors at Time 3, and provided some evidence of mediating the relation between death of parent(s) during the war and the two outcomes mentioned above. Approach coping was associated with higher Time 3 adaptive/prosocial behaviors, whereas avoidance coping was associated with lower Time 3 adaptive/prosocial behaviors. Avoidance coping may be a protective factor against mental illness, whereas approach coping may be a promotive factor for adaptive/prosocial behaviors in war-affected societies. This study has important implications for designing and implementing mental health interventions for youth in postconflict settings.
Sharma, Manasi Fine, Shoshanna L Brennan, Robert T Betancourt, Theresa S eng 2016/11/22 06:00 Dev Psychopathol. 2017 Feb;29(1):11-23. doi: 10.1017/S0954579416001073. Epub 2016 Nov 21.
Keywords: *Developing Countries; *Warfare; Adolescent; Child; Defense Mechanisms; Female; Humans; Life Change Events; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental Disorders/*diagnosis/*psychology; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Sierra Leone; Social Adjustment; Violence/psychology

Randomized trial of a family-centered approach to the prevention of early conduct problems: 2-year effects of the family check-up in early childhood. - Shaw, Daniel S; Dishion, Thomas J; Supplee, Lauren; Gardner, Frances; Arnds, Karin (J Consult Clin Psychol, 2006)
Despite recent research indicating that 1 of the pivotal times for identifying pathways to early conduct problems is the toddler period, few family-based preventive interventions have been specifically designed to modify child disruptive behavior during this age period. This randomized trial tested the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up in sustaining maternal involvement and preventing the exacerbation of child conduct problems among 120 at-risk toddler-age boys, half of whom were randomly assigned to a treatment condition. The intervention was associated with reductions in disruptive behavior and greater maternal involvement and was particularly effective for children at greater risk for a persistent trajectory of conduct problems. The results are discussed in relation to other preventive interventions for young children.
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders; Child Behavior Disorders; Child, Preschool; Early Intervention (Education); Education; Family Therapy; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Middle Aged; Mother-Child Relations; Pennsylvania; Risk; Treatment Outcome

Generation of global political priority for early childhood development: the challenges of framing and governance - Shawar, Y. R.; Shiffman, J. (Lancet, 2017)
Despite progress, early childhood development (ECD) remains a neglected issue, particularly in resource-poor countries. We analyse the challenges and opportunities that ECD proponents face in advancing global priority for the issue. We triangulated among several data sources, including 19 semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in global ECD leadership, practice, and advocacy, as well as peer-reviewed research, organisation reports, and grey literature. We undertook a thematic analysis of the collected data, drawing on social science scholarship on collective action and a policy framework that elucidates why some global initiatives are more successful in generating political priority than others. The analysis indicates that the ECD community faces two primary challenges in advancing global political priority. The first pertains to framing: generation of internal consensus on the definition of the problem and solutions, agreement that could facilitate the discovery of a public positioning of the issue that could generate political support. The second concerns governance: building of effective institutions to achieve collective goals. However, there are multiple opportunities to advance political priority for ECD, including an increasingly favourable political environment, advances in ECD metrics, and the existence of compelling arguments for investment in ECD. To advance global priority for ECD, proponents will need to surmount the framing and governance challenges and leverage these opportunities.
Shawar, Yusra Ribhi Shiffman, Jeremy eng Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2016/10/09 06:00 Lancet. 2017 Jan 7;389(10064):119-124. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31574-4. Epub 2016 Oct 4.
Keywords: *Child Development; *Child Health Services; *Developing Countries; *Health Policy; *Politics; Child; Humans

Groups in harmony and tension: an integration of studies on intergroup relations - Sherif, M.; Sherif, C.W. (Octagon Books, 1966)

The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress - Shonkoff, J. P.; Garner, A. S.; Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child Family Health (Pediatrics, 2012)
Advances in fields of inquiry as diverse as neuroscience, molecular biology, genomics, developmental psychology, epidemiology, sociology, and economics are catalyzing an important paradigm shift in our understanding of health and disease across the lifespan. This converging, multidisciplinary science of human development has profound implications for our ability to enhance the life prospects of children and to strengthen the social and economic fabric of society. Drawing on these multiple streams of investigation, this report presents an ecobiodevelopmental framework that illustrates how early experiences and environmental influences can leave a lasting signature on the genetic predispositions that affect emerging brain architecture and long-term health. The report also examines extensive evidence of the disruptive impacts of toxic stress, offering intriguing insights into causal mechanisms that link early adversity to later impairments in learning, behavior, and both physical and mental well-being. The implications of this framework for the practice of medicine, in general, and pediatrics, specifically, are potentially transformational. They suggest that many adult diseases should be viewed as developmental disorders that begin early in life and that persistent health disparities associated with poverty, discrimination, or maltreatment could be reduced by the alleviation of toxic stress in childhood. An ecobiodevelopmental framework also underscores the need for new thinking about the focus and boundaries of pediatric practice. It calls for pediatricians to serve as both front-line guardians of healthy child development and strategically positioned, community leaders to inform new science-based strategies that build strong foundations for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, and lifelong health.
1098-4275 Shonkoff, Jack P Garner, Andrew S Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption, and Dependent Care Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Journal Article United States Pediatrics. 2012 Jan;129(1):e232-46. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-2663. Epub 2011 Dec 26.
Keywords: *Child Development; *Child Welfare; *Health Promotion; Adult; Brain/physiopathology; Child, Preschool; Humans; Pediatrics; Physician's Role; Psychology, Child; Social Environment; Stress, Psychological/complications/*physiopathology

Building a new biodevelopmental framework to guide the future of early childhood policy. - Shonkoff, Jack P (Child Dev, 2010)
Four decades of early childhood policy and program development indicate that evidence-based interventions can improve life outcomes, and dramatic advances in the biological and behavioral sciences now provide an opportunity to augment those impacts. The challenge of reducing the gap between what we know and what we do to promote the healthy development of young children is to view current best practices as a starting point and to leverage scientific concepts to inspire fresh thinking. This article offers an integrated, biodevelopmental framework to promote greater understanding of the antecedents and causal pathways that lead to disparities in health, learning, and behavior in order to inform the development of enhanced theories of change to drive innovation in policies and programs.
Keywords: Child; Child Development; Health Policy; Health Promotion; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Psychological Theory

Expanding the evidence base to drive more productive early childhood investment - Shonkoff, Jack P.; Radner, James M.; Foote, Nathaniel (The Lancet)

An integrated scientific framework for child survival and early childhood development - Shonkoff, J. P.; Richter, L.; van der Gaag, J.; Bhutta, Z. A. (Pediatrics, 2012)
Building a strong foundation for healthy development in the early years of life is a prerequisite for individual well-being, economic productivity, and harmonious societies around the world. Growing scientific evidence also demonstrates that social and physical environments that threaten human development (because of scarcity, stress, or instability) can lead to short-term physiologic and psychological adjustments that are necessary for immediate survival and adaptation, but which may come at a significant cost to long-term outcomes in learning, behavior, health, and longevity. Generally speaking, ministries of health prioritize child survival and physical well-being, ministries of education focus on schooling, ministries of finance promote economic development, and ministries of welfare address breakdowns across multiple domains of function. Advances in the biological and social sciences offer a unifying framework for generating significant societal benefits by catalyzing greater synergy across these policy sectors. This synergy could inform more effective and efficient investments both to increase the survival of children born under adverse circumstances and to improve life outcomes for those who live beyond the early childhood period yet face high risks for diminished life prospects.
1098-4275 Shonkoff, Jack P Richter, Linda van der Gaag, Jacques Bhutta, Zulfiqar A Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't United States Pediatrics. 2012 Feb;129(2):e460-72. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0366. Epub 2012 Jan 4.
Keywords: *Child Mortality; *Health Policy; *Health Status Disparities; *Poverty; *Socioeconomic Factors; Child; Child Health Services; Child, Preschool; Developing Countries; Developmental Disabilities/*etiology/*mortality; Early Intervention (Education); Female; Global Health; Health Priorities; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Pregnancy; Quality of Life; Risk Factors

Sexual Offenses Among Children in the North of Jordan: An Exploratory Study. - Shotar, Ali M; Alzyoud, Sukaina; Oweis, Arwa; Alhawamdeh, Khalid A; Khoshnood, Kaveh (J Child Sex Abus, 2015)
Sexual offenses are an important global health problem threatening people of all age groups. There are no reported studies regarding sexual violence among children in Jordan. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the problem of sexual violence among children in the Northern region of Jordan. A retrospective design was adopted to review all reports from the Forensic Medicine Teaching Center of North of Jordan clinic on cases of sexual-related assaults that occurred between 2003 and 2007. Reports were reviewed for age, gender, toxicological analysis, and relevant information provided by victims and their relatives. Results indicated that 53% of the cases were male victims, with a male to female ratio of 1:1. Ages ranged from 3 to 18 years with a mean age of 12.5 years. Most cases were considered indecent assaults, while 37.1% were cases of rape. In most cases, offenders were strangers. It could be concluded that Jordanian children are as susceptible to sexual assaults as their counterparts worldwide. This study is the first to report sexual offenses among children in Jordan. As such, it provides baseline data that can be used to inform policy and prevention strategies focused on reducing sexual violence among this vulnerable segment of the Jordanian population.

Parenting education and support policies and their consequences in selected OECD countries - Shulruf, B.; O'Loughlin, C.; Tolley, H. (Children and Youth Services ReviewChildren and Youth Services ReviewChildren and Youth Services Review, 2009)
Given the raised profile that parenting support and education is currently receiving on government family policy agendas in many nations, this paper reviews the ways in which parenting support and education policies are embedded within eight OECD countries. Drawing out the similarities and differences of policy and practice, and comparing the financial support each country affords to parenting support, it assesses the effectiveness of parenting support programmes in relation to national expenditure and links parenting policy to child outcomes. The paper concludes with some recommendations for policy makers and programme developers. The countries reviewed are: The UK, Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, the US, Finland, Australia and New Zealand. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
438qm Times Cited:7 Cited References Count:46
Keywords: Achievement; children; early childhood services; parenting support and education; Parents

Mediation as a method of parent intervention in children's disputes. - Siddiqui, Afshan; Ross, Hildy (J Fam Psychol, 2004)
This study examined the feasibility and short-term effects of mothers' use of mediation to help children (5 to 8 years) resolve disputes. Families in which mothers were trained to use mediation were compared with control families on intervention strategies at home and discussion of a recurring conflict in the laboratory. With training, mothers could use mediation strategies, and these strategies were favored by both mothers and children. Children responded appropriately to mediation (reasoning, discussing emotions, and understanding motivations more often than in control families). Mediation empowered children, particularly younger siblings, to solve conflict issues. Although questions of the long-term implications of mediation remain, this study suggests that mediation may be a powerful parenting tool, promoting social understanding and productive conflict resolution.
Keywords: Adult; Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Conflict (Psychology); Feasibility Studies; Helping Behavior; Humans; Middle Aged; Mothers; Negotiating; Parenting; Sibling Relations

Differential effects of a nurse home-visiting intervention on physically aggressive behavior in children. - Sidora-Arcoleo, Kimberly; Anson, Elizabeth; Lorber, Michael; Cole, Robert; Olds, David; Kitzman, Harriet (J Pediatr Nurs, 2010)
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to examine the differential effects of nurse home visiting (NV) on physical aggression (PA) among children aged 2-12 years. METHODS: This study used secondary data analysis from a randomized trial of NV intervention. RESULTS: There were significant reductions in PA observed among NV girls at 2 years old and NV children of high-psychological-resource mothers at 6 and 12 years old. Mediation analyses suggest that reductions in PA yield increased verbal ability among girls. CONCLUSIONS: Differential effects of intervention on PA by gender and mother's psychological resources highlight the importance of subgroup analyses. Identification of groups most likely to benefit may lead to more successful interventions.
Keywords: Adolescent; Aggression; Child; Child Behavior Disorders; Community Health Nursing; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Home Care Services; House Calls; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mothers; Nursing Evaluation Research; Postnatal Care; Program Evaluation; Sex Factors; Tennessee; Young Adult

Understanding human aggression: New insights from neuroscience. - Siegel, Allan; Victoroff, Jeff (Int J Law Psychiatry, 2009)
The present paper reviews and summarizes the basic findings concerning the nature of the neurobiological and behavioral characteristics of aggression and rage. For heuristic purposes, the types of aggression will be reduced to two categories - defensive rage (affective defense) and predatory attack. This approach helps explain both the behavioral properties of aggression as well as the underlying neural substrates and mechanisms of aggression both in animals and humans. Defensive rage behavior is activated by a threatening stimulus that is real or perceived and is associated with marked sympathetic output. This yields impulsivity with minimal cortical involvement. Predatory attack behavior in both animals and humans is generally planned, taking minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or even years (with respect to humans) for it to occur and is directed upon a specific individual target; it reflects few outward sympathetic signs and is believed to require cortical involvement for its expression. Predatory attack requires activation of the lateral hypothalamus, while defensive rage requires activation of the medial hypothalamus and midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). Both forms of aggressive behavior are controlled by components of the limbic system, a region of the forebrain that is influenced by sensory inputs from the cerebral cortex and monoaminergic inputs from the brainstem reticular formation. Control of aggressive tendencies is partly modifiable through conditioning and related learning principles generated through the cerebral cortex.
Keywords: Aggression; Animals; Biogenic Amines; Defense Mechanisms; Humans; Limbic System; Neurosciences; Predatory Behavior; Serotonin; Violence

Prevention of child maltreatment in high-risk rural families: A randomized clinical trial with child welfare outcomes - Silovsky, Jane F.; Bard, David; Chaffin, Mark; Hecht, Debra; Burris, Lorena; Owora, Arthur; Beasley, Lana; Doughty, Debbie; Lutzker, John (Children and Youth Services Review, 2011)

Education and Social Cohesion Country Report: South Africa - W. Sirkotte-Kriel; Yusuf Sayed; Y. Sayed; A. Badroodien; Z. McDonald; A. Hanayo; T. Salmon; L. Balie; T. De Kock; K. Foulds; J. Gaston; C. Garisch (Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) UNICEF Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam Centre for International Education, University of Suss, 2016)

Plasma oxytocin concentration during pregnancy is associated with development of postpartum depression. - Skrundz, Marta; Bolten, Margarete; Nast, Irina; Hellhammer, Dirk H; Meinlschmidt, Gunther (Neuropsychopharmacology, 2011)
Postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 19% of all women after parturition. The non-apeptide oxytocin (OXT) is involved in adjustment to pregnancy, maternal behavior, and bonding. Our aim was to examine the possible association between plasma OXT during pregnancy and the development of PPD symptoms. A total of 74 healthy, pregnant women were included in this prospective study. During the third trimester of pregnancy and within 2 weeks after parturition, PPD symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Blood samples for plasma OXT assessment were collected in the third trimester. Following the literature, participants with postpartum EPDS scores of 10 or more were regarded as being at risk for PPD development (rPPD group). In a logistic regression analysis, plasma OXT was included as a potential predictor for being at risk for PPD. Results were controlled for prepartal EPDS score, sociodemographic and birth-outcome variables. Plasma OXT concentration in mid-pregnancy significantly predicted PPD symptoms at 2 weeks postpartum. Compared with the no-risk-for-PPD group, the rPPD group was characterized by lower plasma OXT concentrations. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show an association between prepartal plasma OXT concentration and postpartal symptoms of PPD in humans. Assuming a causal relationship, enhancing OXT release during pregnancy could serve as a potential target in prepartum PPD prevention, and help to minimize adverse effects of PPD on the mother-child relationship.
Keywords: Adult; Biological Markers; Depression, Postpartum; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Oxytocin; Predictive Value of Tests; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Pregnancy Trimester, Third; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors

Minding the baby a reflective parenting program. - Slade, Arietta; Sadler, Lois; De Dios-Kenn, Cheryl; Webb, Denise; Currier-Ezepchick, Janice; Mayes, Linda (Psychoanal Study Child, 2005)
Minding the Baby, an interdisciplinary, relationship based home visiting program, was initiated to help young, at-risk new mothers keep their babies (and themselves) "in mind" in a variety of ways. The intervention--delivered by a team that includes a nurse practitioner and clinical social worker--uses a mentalization based approach; that is, we work with mothers and babies in a variety of ways to develop mothers' reflective capacities. This approach--which is an adaptation of both nurse home visiting and infant-parent psychotherapy models--seems particularly well suited to highly traumatized mothers and their families, as it is aimed at addressing the particular relationship disruptions that stem from mothers' early trauma and derailed attachment history. We discuss the history of psychoanalytically oriented and attachment based mother-infant intervention, the theoretical assumptions of mentalization theory, and provide an overview of the Minding the Baby program. The treatments of two teenage mothers and their infants are described.
Keywords: Adult; Child of Impaired Parents; Education; Family Therapy; Female; House Calls; Humans; Infant; Life Change Events; Male; Mothers; Patient Care Team; Personal Construct Theory; Psychoanalytic Therapy; Reactive Attachment Disorder

The PEACE Pack: an evaluation of interventions to reduce bullying in four Australian primary schools - Slee, Phillip T.; Mohyla, Jury (Educational Research, 2007)

Racial Disparities in Child Adversity in the U.S.: Interactions With Family Immigration History and Income - Slopen, N.; Shonkoff, J. P.; Albert, M. A.; Yoshikawa, H.; Jacobs, A.; Stoltz, R.; Williams, D. R. (Am J Prev Med, 2016)
INTRODUCTION: Childhood adversity is an under-addressed dimension of primary prevention of disease in children and adults. Evidence shows racial/ethnic and socioeconomic patterning of childhood adversity in the U.S., yet data on the interaction of race/ethnicity and SES for exposure risk is limited, particularly with consideration of immigration history. This study examined racial/ethnic differences in nine adversities among children (from birth to age 17 years) in the National Survey of Child Health (2011-2012) and determined how differences vary by immigration history and income (N=84,837). METHODS: We estimated cumulative adversity and individual adversity prevalences among white, black, and Hispanic children of U.S.-born and immigrant parents. We examined whether family income mediated the relationship between race/ethnicity and exposure to adversities, and tested interactions (analyses conducted in 2014-2015). RESULTS: Across all groups, black and Hispanic children were exposed to more adversities compared with white children, and income disparities in exposure were larger than racial/ethnic disparities. For children of U.S.-born parents, these patterns of racial/ethnic and income differences were present for most individual adversities. Among children of immigrant parents, there were few racial/ethnic differences for individual adversities and income gradients were inconsistent. Among children of U.S.-born parents, the Hispanic-white disparity in exposure to adversities persisted after adjustment for income, and racial/ethnic disparities in adversity were largest among children from high-income families. CONCLUSIONS: Simultaneous consideration of multiple social statuses offers promising frameworks for fresh thinking about the distribution of disease and the design of targeted interventions to reduce preventable health disparities.
Slopen, Natalie Shonkoff, Jack P Albert, Michelle A Yoshikawa, Hirokazu Jacobs, Aryana Stoltz, Rebecca Williams, David R eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Netherlands 2015/09/08 06:00 Am J Prev Med. 2016 Jan;50(1):47-56. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.06.013. Epub 2015 Sep 2.
Keywords: *Continental Population Groups; *Health Status Disparities; Adolescent; Child; Child Welfare/*ethnology; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology/*statistics & numerical data; Ethnic Groups/statistics & numerical data; Female; Health Surveys; Humans; Income/*statistics & numerical data; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Prevalence; Risk Factors; United States

School Bullying: Insights and Perspectives - Smith, P.K.; Sharp, S. (Routledge, 1994)

Gender, Education, ￼￼￼￼and Peacebuilding: A review of selected Learning for Peace case studies - Judy El-Bushra and Emilie Rees Smith (Learning for Peace, 2016)

The Integration of Education and Peacebuilding: A Review of the Literature - Alan Smith; Christine Ellison (UNICEF Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam Centre for International Education, University of Sussex UNESCO Centre at Ulster University, 2015)

The Integration of Education and Peacebuilding: ￼Synthesis Report on Findings from Myanmar, Pakistan, South Africa and Uganda - Alan Smith; Simone Datzberger; Alan McCully (UNICEF Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam Centre for International Education, University of Sussex UNESCO Centre at Ulster University, 2015)

A paternal environmental legacy: evidence for epigenetic inheritance through the male germ line. - Soubry, Adelheid; Hoyo, Cathrine; Jirtle, Randy L; Murphy, Susan K (Bioessays, 2014)
Literature on maternal exposures and the risk of epigenetic changes or diseases in the offspring is growing. Paternal contributions are often not considered. However, some animal and epidemiologic studies on various contaminants, nutrition, and lifestyle-related conditions suggest a paternal influence on the offspring's future health. The phenotypic outcomes may have been attributed to DNA damage or mutations, but increasing evidence shows that the inheritance of environmentally induced functional changes of the genome, and related disorders, are (also) driven by epigenetic components. In this essay we suggest the existence of epigenetic windows of susceptibility to environmental insults during sperm development. Changes in DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs are viable mechanistic candidates for a non-genetic transfer of paternal environmental information, from maturing germ cell to zygote. Inclusion of paternal factors in future research will ultimately improve the understanding of transgenerational epigenetic plasticity and health-related effects in future generations.
Keywords: Animals; Diet; DNA Methylation; Epigenesis, Genetic; Gene-Environment Interaction; Genomic Imprinting; Histones; Humans; Life Style; Male; Obesity; Paternal Exposure; Radiation, Ionizing; RNA, Untranslated; Spermatogenesis; Spermatozoa; Zygote

Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: interdisciplinary perspectives. - Southwick, S. M.; Bonanno, G. A.; Masten, A. S.; Panter-Brick, C.; Yehuda, R. (Eur J Psychotraumatol, 2014)
In this paper, inspired by the plenary panel at the 2013 meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Dr. Steven Southwick (chair) and multidisciplinary panelists Drs. George Bonanno, Ann Masten, Catherine Panter-Brick, and Rachel Yehuda tackle some of the most pressing current questions in the field of resilience research including: (1) how do we define resilience, (2) what are the most important determinants of resilience, (3) how are new technologies informing the science of resilience, and (4) what are the most effective ways to enhance resilience? These multidisciplinary experts provide insight into these difficult questions, and although each of the panelists had a slightly different definition of resilience, most of the proposed definitions included a concept of healthy, adaptive, or integrated positive functioning over the passage of time in the aftermath of adversity. The panelists agreed that resilience is a complex construct and it may be defined differently in the context of individuals, families, organizations, societies, and cultures. With regard to the determinants of resilience, there was a consensus that the empirical study of this construct needs to be approached from a multiple level of analysis perspective that includes genetic, epigenetic, developmental, demographic, cultural, economic, and social variables. The empirical study of determinates of resilience will inform efforts made at fostering resilience, with the recognition that resilience may be enhanced on numerous levels (e.g., individual, family, community, culture).

Celebrating childhood: A journey to end violence against children - SRSGVAC (United Nations, 2016)
This book is about what ending violence against children takes, means and brings. It’s a celebration of childhood and a manifesto for a world where children can grow with dignity and free from violence. It gathers inspiring testimonies of people whose talent and time are bringing us closer to a world of nonviolence for all children. The contributors are remarkable people of all ages and backgrounds. They are visionary leaders and child rights defenders, scholars and artists, all of whom have demonstrated decisive commitment to build a better world for children. We trust that you will be inspired by the personal stories, the professional achievements and the dreams and creations presented in this book. In the countdown to 2030, everybody counts. Children want to count on you! Every citizen of the world can be an agent of change. And this can inspire others to bring about the change we need.
Keywords: early childhood; violence against children; violence prevention

Violence prevention must start in early childhood - SRSGVAC; Pais, M. S. (UN Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, 2018)
Keywords: early childhood; violence against children

Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary - General on violence against children - SRSGVAC (United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, 2019)
Keywords: violence prevention

Children as agents of positive change. A mapping of children’s initiatives across regions, towards an inclusive and healthy world free from violence - SRSGVAC (UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, 2021)
Keywords: violence prevention; youth leadership

Keeping the promise: Ending violence against children by 2030 - SRSGVAC (Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, 2019)
Keywords: child marriage; child rights; child sexual violence; corporal punishment; displaced children; policy framework; violence against children

Early Childhood Programs in Two Divided Societies: Northern Ireland and Israel - Bernard van Leer Foundation Program Staff (Early Childhood Matters, 2007)

The Ethical and Public Health Implications of Family Separation - Stange, Mia; Stark, Brett (The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2019)
Keywords: family separation; immigrant children; immigration policy

How do events and relationships in childhood set the stage for peace at personal and social levels? - Steele, Howard; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Thomas Boyce, W.; Dozier, Mary; Fox, Nathan A.; Keller, Heidi; Maestripieri, Dario; Oburu, Paul Odhiambo; Otto, Hiltrud (Pathways to peace: The transformative power of children and families, 2014)
This chapter focuses on early childhood experiences and how they may contribute to cooperative and peaceful behaviors and outcomes in the later childhood years and into adulthood. Five interrelated topics are explored: (a) universal tensions ever pushing us toward competition or cooperation; (b) socioeconomic inequities that powerfully constrain children’s (and adult’s) potential to contribute to and participate in a healthy and peaceful society; (c) the protective and enabling forces of the early caregiving environment when it is sensitive and responsive to children’s needs; (d) the malevolent, if culturally understandable, influences of harsh parenting practices and child abuse; and (e) a summary of early psychological interventions that promote sensitive parenting and secure attachments well known to be associated with cooperative, nonviolent behaviors across childhood and beyond. Each section is punctuated by suggestions for further research and public policy developments (national and international) that could further advance the cause of peace.
Keywords: caregiving; competition; cooperation; early childhood interventions; harsh parenting

Fathers’ experiences with their preterm babies admitted to neonatal intensive care unit: A multi-method study - Stefana, Alberto; Padovani, Ezio Maria; Biban, Paolo; Lavelli, Manuela (Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2018)

Risk and resilience: early manipulation of macaque social experience and persistent behavioral and neurophysiological outcomes - Stevens, H. E.; Leckman, J. F.; Coplan, J. D.; Suomi, S. J. (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 2009)
OBJECTIVE: To review the contributions of research on nonhuman primates, specifically macaque monkeys, to the understanding of early social stress and its effects on behavior and neurophysiology. METHOD: Review and synthesis of two bodies of work on macaque monkeys and early social manipulation: peer rearing and variable foraging demands. The literature was searched with Medline using key terms macaque, variable foraging, and peer rearing. The reference lists of these articles were also used to generate potential studies for review. RESULTS: Nonhuman primate macaques show similarities to humans in their social development and functioning. Peer rearing of young macaques and rearing of young macaques with mothers experiencing variable foraging conditions both result in increased anxious, impulsive, and aggressive temperament and behavior; more reactive stress physiology; altered neurotransmitter functioning; and immune and metabolic changes. Functional variants of specific genes that code for neuromodulators are mediators of these effects. CONCLUSIONS: Disrupted social relations during macaque rearing contribute to the risk for developing emotional and neurophysiological disturbance. In the face of such disruption, certain genotypes contribute to resilience. This can be alternately stated that, for animals of high-risk genotypes, resilience is conferred by quality relationships during rearing. This interaction of genetics with early social environment also applies to child mental health, implicating biological mediators identified in macaques as contributing to more complex outcomes in humans.
Stevens, Hanna E Leckman, James F Coplan, Jeremy D Suomi, Stephen J eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review 2009/01/08 09:00 J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009 Feb;48(2):114-27. doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e318193064c.
Keywords: *Mother-Child Relations; *Neurophysiology; *Resilience, Psychological; *Stress, Psychological; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior/physiology/*psychology; Animals; Child; Child Behavior/physiology/*psychology; Child Development/*physiology; Child Rearing/*psychology; Child, Preschool; Genotype; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Macaca; Neurotransmitter Agents/genetics; Risk; Risk Factors; Social Behavior; Social Environment; Temperament/physiology

Shaken baby syndrome and a triple-dose strategy for its prevention. - Stewart, Tanya Charyk; Polgar, Denise; Gilliland, Jason; Tanner, David A; Girotti, Murray J; Parry, Neil; Fraser, Douglas D (J Trauma, 2011)
OBJECTIVES: Inflicted traumatic brain injury associated with Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is a leading cause of injury mortality and morbidity in infants. A triple-dose SBS prevention program was implemented with the aim to reduce the incidence of SBS. The objectives of this study were to describe the epidemiology of SBS, the triple-dose prevention program, and its evaluation. METHODS: Descriptive and spatial epidemiologic profiles of SBS cases treated at Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, from 1991 to 2010 were created. Dose 1 (in-hospital education): pre-post impact evaluation of registered nurse training, with a questionnaire developed to assess parents' satisfaction with the program. Dose 2 (public health home visits): process evaluation of additional education given to new parents. Dose 3 (media campaign): a questionnaire developed to rate the importance of factors on a 7-point Likert scale. These factors were used to create weights for statistical modeling and mapping within a geographic information system to target prevention ads. RESULTS: Forty-three percent of severe infant injuries were intentional. A total of 54 SBS cases were identified. The mean age was 6.7 months (standard deviation, 10.9 months), with 61% of infant males. The mean Injury Severity Score was 26.3 (standard deviation, 5.5) with a 19% mortality rate. Registered nurses learned new information on crying patterns and SBS, with a 47% increase in knowledge posttraining (p < 0.001). Over 10,000 parents were educated in-hospital, a 93% education compliance rate. Nearly all parents (93%) rated the program as useful, citing "what to do when the crying becomes frustrating" as the most important message. Only 6% of families needed to be educated during home visits. Locations of families with a new baby, high population density, and percentage of lone parents were found to be the most important factors for selecting media sites. The spatial analysis revealed six areas needed to be targeted for ad locations. CONCLUSIONS: SBS is a devastating intentional injury that often results in poor outcomes for the child. Implementing a triple-dose prevention program that provides education on crying patterns, coping strategies, and the dangers of shaking is key to SBS prevention. The program increased knowledge. Parents rated the program as useful. The media campaign allowed us to extend the primary prevention beyond new parents to help create a cultural change in the way crying, the primary trigger for SBS, is viewed. Targeting our intervention increased the likelihood that our message was reaching the population in greatest need.
Keywords: Brain Concussion; Child Abuse; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Promotion; Hospitals, Pediatric; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Infant Welfare; Infant, Newborn; Male; Ontario; Organizational Innovation; Parents; Primary Prevention; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Public Health; Questionnaires; Risk Assessment; Shaken Baby Syndrome

A randomized pilot trial of two parenting interventions for fathers in residential substance use disorder treatment - Stover, Carla Smith; McMahon, Thomas J.; Moore, Kathleen (Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2019)

Adult attachment predicts maternal brain and oxytocin response to infant cues. - Strathearn, Lane; Fonagy, Peter; Amico, Janet; Montague, P Read (Neuropsychopharmacology, 2009)
Infant cues, such as smiling or crying facial expressions, are powerful motivators of human maternal behavior, activating dopamine-associated brain reward circuits. Oxytocin, a neurohormone of attachment, promotes maternal care in animals, although its role in human maternal behavior is unclear. We examined 30 first-time new mothers to test whether differences in attachment, based on the Adult Attachment Interview, were related to brain reward and peripheral oxytocin response to infant cues. On viewing their own infant's smiling and crying faces during functional MRI scanning, mothers with secure attachment showed greater activation of brain reward regions, including the ventral striatum, and the oxytocin-associated hypothalamus/pituitary region. Peripheral oxytocin response to infant contact at 7 months was also significantly higher in secure mothers, and was positively correlated with brain activation in both regions. Insecure/dismissing mothers showed greater insular activation in response to their own infant's sad faces. These results suggest that individual differences in maternal attachment may be linked with development of the dopaminergic and oxytocinergic neuroendocrine systems.
Keywords: Adult; Brain; Brain Mapping; Cues; Epinephrine; Facial Expression; Female; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Infant; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Norepinephrine; Object Attachment; Oxytocin; Reward

Typologies of family functioning and children's adjustment during the early school years. - Sturge-Apple, Melissa L; Davies, Patrick T; Cummings, E Mark (Child Dev, 2010)
Guided by family systems theory, the present study sought to identify patterns of family functioning from observational assessments of interparental, parent-child, and triadic contexts. In addition, it charted the implications for patterns of family functioning for children's developmental trajectories of adjustment in the school context across the early school years. Two-hundred thirty-four kindergarten children (129 girls and 105 boys; mean age = 6.0 years, SD = 0.50 at Wave 1) and their parents participated in this multimethod, 3-year longitudinal investigation. As expected, latent class analyses extracted 3 primary typologies of functioning including: (a) cohesive, (b) enmeshed, and (c) disengaged families. Furthermore, family patterns were differentially associated with children's maladaptive adjustment trajectories in the school context. The findings highlight the developmental utility of incorporating pattern-based approaches to family functioning.
Keywords: Adaptation, Psychological; Child; Family Relations; Female; Humans; Internal-External Control; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Models, Statistical; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Schools; Social Adjustment; Social Environment; Students

Undocumented status: implications for child development, policy, and ethical research - Suarez-Orozco, C.; Yoshikawa, H. (New Dir Child Adolesc Dev, 2013)
Nearly 5.5 million children in the United States grow up in the shadows of undocumented status. We review the ecological domains of influence in children's and adolescents' lives and briefly consider health, cognitive, socioemotional, educational, and labor market outcomes ripe for study. We also reflect upon the ethical policy implications of this growing demographic group and consider research strategies in conducting ethical research with this population.
Suarez-Orozco, Carola Yoshikawa, Hirokazu eng Review 2013/09/17 06:00 New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2013 Fall;2013(141):61-78. doi: 10.1002/cad.20043.
Keywords: *Social Environment; Adolescent; Adolescent Development/*physiology; Biomedical Research/ethics/legislation & jurisprudence/*standards; Child; Child Development/*physiology; Emigrants and Immigrants/legislation & jurisprudence/*psychology; Humans; United States

Parenting Interventions for Drug-Dependent Mothers and Their Young Children: The Case for an Attachment-Based Approach. - Suchman, Nancy; Pajulo, Marjukka; DeCoste, Cindy; Mayes, Linda (Fam Relat, 2006)
Maternal substance abuse is the most common factor involved when children come to the attention of the child welfare system. Although there is a clear need for clinical trials to evaluate parenting interventions for drug-dependent women, few studies to date have systematically examined the efficacy of interventions for this population. We first review six published reports of outpatient interventions that aimed to enhance the caregiving skills of substance-abusing mothers caring for children between birth and 5 years of age. After discussing implications of these preliminary studies, we then describe an attachment-based intervention that addresses these implications and has demonstrated preliminary feasibility in a pilot trial.

The Mothers and Toddlers Program, an attachment-based parenting intervention for substance using women: post-treatment results from a randomized clinical pilot. - Suchman, Nancy E; DeCoste, Cindy; Castiglioni, Nicole; McMahon, Thomas J; Rounsaville, Bruce; Mayes, Linda (Attach Hum Dev, 2010)
This is a report of post-treatment findings from a completed randomized pilot study testing the preliminary efficacy of the Mothers and Toddlers Program (MTP), a 12 week attachment-based individual parenting therapy for mothers enrolled in substance abuse treatment and caring for children ages birth to 36 months. Forty-seven mothers were randomized to MTP versus the Parent Education Program (PE), a comparison intervention providing individual case management and child guidance brochures. At post-treatment, MTP mothers demonstrated better reflective functioning in the Parent Development Interview, representational coherence and sensitivity, and caregiving behavior than PE mothers. Partial support was also found for proposed mechanisms of change in the MTP model. Together, preliminary findings suggest that attachment-based interventions may be more effective than traditional parent training for enhancing relationships between substance using women and their young children.
Keywords: Adult; Caregivers; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Intention to Treat Analysis; Interviews as Topic; Male; Maternal Behavior; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Object Attachment; Parenting; Pilot Projects; Substance-Related Disorders; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult

Conserved epigenetic sensitivity to early life experience in the rat and human hippocampus. - Suderman, Matthew; McGowan, Patrick O; Sasaki, Aya; Huang, Tony C T; Hallett, Michael T; Meaney, Michael J; Turecki, Gustavo; Szyf, Moshe (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2012)
Early life experience is associated with long-term effects on behavior and epigenetic programming of the NR3C1 (GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR) gene in the hippocampus of both rats and humans. However, it is unlikely that such effects completely capture the evolutionarily conserved epigenetic mechanisms of early adaptation to environment. Here we present DNA methylation profiles spanning 6.5 million base pairs centered at the NR3C1 gene in the hippocampus of humans who experienced abuse as children and nonabused controls. We compare these profiles to corresponding DNA methylation profiles in rats that received differential levels of maternal care. The profiles of both species reveal hundreds of DNA methylation differences associated with early life experience distributed across the entire region in nonrandom patterns. For instance, methylation differences tend to cluster by genomic location, forming clusters covering as many as 1 million bases. Even more surprisingly, these differences seem to specifically target regulatory regions such as gene promoters, particularly those of the protocadherin α, β, and γ gene families. Beyond these high-level similarities, more detailed analyses reveal methylation differences likely stemming from the significant biological and environmental differences between species. These results provide support for an analogous cross-species epigenetic regulatory response at the level of the genomic region to early life experience.
Keywords: Animals; Cadherins; Child; Child Abuse; DNA Methylation; Epigenesis, Genetic; Evolution, Molecular; Gene-Environment Interaction; Hippocampus; Humans; Life Change Events; Male; Multigene Family; Rats; Receptors, Glucocorticoid; Species Specificity

Is early childhood relevant to peacebuilding? - Sunar, D.; Kâğıtçıbaşı, Ç.; Leckman, J. F.; Britto, P.; Panter-Brick, C.; Pruett, K.; Reyes, M.; Hodges, W.; Zonderman, A.; Yazgan, Y.,; Göksel , A.; Sirali, Y. (J Peacebuilding Develop, 2013)
The general themes of early childhood and peacebuilding barely intersect, whether in scientific research, policy or practice. Yet recent studies emerging from different disciplines such as neurobiology, developmental psychology, family studies, intercultural contact and conflict resolution are beginning to point to the potential value of multifaceted approaches that can draw connections between early childhood and peace at various levels, such as family, community, or beyond, whether defined negatively as ‘absence of violence’ or positively as ‘a condition of security, justice and dignity within and between groups’. Such a comprehensive perspective is promising, in terms both of developing a better understanding of the myriad factors involved and of achieving impactful interventions. This briefing describes very briefly some of the background supporting the connection between early childhood and peace, and then presents the results of a poll of experts regarding various aspects of the relationship. It concludes by suggesting that future studies will profit by considering early childhood development (ECD) and peacebuilding together rather than separately.
Keywords: early experience, early childhood intervention, violence reduction, peacebuilding, neurobiology and peace