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This study aims to assess whether mothers reporting high and low child abuse potential differ in their experiences of childhood abuse and use of defense mechanisms, and to examine factors which might predict child abuse potential. 120 pregnant mothers in their third trimester completed demographic questionnaires, trauma and abuse potential measures, and a semi-structured parenting interview, which was coded for defense mechanisms. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were conducted to determine group differences of mothers with high and low abuse potential. A stepwise linear regression was conducted to identify variables which significantly predicted abuse potential. Mothers reporting high abuse potential were found to have significantly greater emotional and physical childhood abuse experiences, greater immature defense use, and lower overall defensive functioning than mothers with low abuse potential. Emotional abuse and immature defense use significantly predicted total child abuse potential scores. Results are consistent with existing literature and provide a novel approach to understanding influences on child abuse potential including maternal history of childhood abuse and current defense mechanisms. These variables further serve as points of prevention and intervention for improving the negative outcomes associated with intergenerational risk for child abuse.

Data from a multi-method, longitudinal study involving a community sample (N = 120) of pregnant women aged 18–42 were used to examine disrupted maternal representations of the child as a mechanism ...

How parents think and feel about their young children has implications for the parent-child relationship. We examined prospective associations between prenatal descriptions of the unborn child's personality and later parenting behavior.Pregnant women (N = 120; mean age = 26.16, SD = 5.71) were recruited in their third trimester for a longitudinal study. The sample is demographically diverse and predominantly economically disadvantaged. During prenatal interviews, women described their unborn child's personality, from which positive and negative emotion words were coded. Parenting behavior was coded 12 months postpartum (n = 105 for longitudinal analyses).Use of positive and negative words was negatively correlated (r = -.34, p .001). Greater use of positive words to describe the unborn child's personality was associated with higher observed sensitivity, warmth, and engagement during mother-infant interactions, whereas negative words were associated with higher interference and lower levels of sensitivity. Mothers who used anxiety- and/or anger-related words to describe their unborn child, relative to mothers who did not, demonstrated higher interference and lower warmth and sensitivity.Descriptions of a child's personality before the child is born were associated with postnatal parenting behavior. Prenatal interventions that address negative thoughts and feelings regarding the child may be beneficial for promoting positive parenting postnatally.Introducción: La manera como los padres piensan y sienten acerca de sus niños pequeños tiene implicaciones en la relación entre progenitor y niño. Examinamos probables asociaciones entre las descripciones prenatales de la personalidad del niño no nacido y después la conducta de crianza. Métodos: Se reclutaron mujeres embarazadas (N = 120; edad promedio = 26.16, SD = 5.71) dentro de su tercer trimestre para un estudio longitudinal. El grupo muestra es demográficamente diverso y predominantemente en desventaja en cuanto a aspectos económicos. Durante las entrevistas prenatales, las mujeres describieron la personalidad de su niño aún no nacido, a partir de los cual se codificaron palabras emotivas tanto positivas como negativas. La conducta de crianza fue codificada a los 12 meses después del parto (n = 105 para análisis longitudinales). Resultados: El uso de palabras positivas y negativas fue negativamente correlacionado (r = −.34, p.001). Se asoció el mayor uso de palabras positivas para describir la personalidad del niño aún no nacido con una más alta observada sensibilidad, calidez y activa participación durante las interacciones madre-infante mientras que las palabras negativas se asociaron con una más alta interferencia y más bajos niveles de sensibilidad. Las madres que usaron palabras relacionadas con la ansiedad y/o la ira para describir a su niño aún no nacido demostraron una más alta interferencia y una más baja calidez y sensibilidad, en relación con las madres que no usaron tales palabras. Conclusiones: Las descripciones de la personalidad del niño antes de que éste nazca se asociaron con la conducta de crianza posterior al nacimiento. Las intervenciones prenatales que se ocupan de pensamientos y sentimientos negativos acerca del niño pudieran ser beneficiosas para promover una crianza positiva posnatalmente.Ce que les parents pensent de leurs jeunes enfants et ce qu'ils ressentent à leur propos a des implications pour la relation parent-enfant. Nous avons examiné des liens éventuels entre les descriptions prénatales de la personnalité de l'enfant n’étant pas encore né et le comportement de parentage ultérieur. Méthodes: Des femmes enceintes (N = 120; moyenne d’âge = 26s, 16, SD = 5,71) ont été recrutées durant leur troisième trimestre durant une étude longitudinale. L’échantillon est démographiquement divers et composé en sa plus grande partie de mères issues de milieux défavorisés. Durant les entretiens prénatals les femmes ont décrit la personnalité de leur enfant n’étant pas encore né, et à partir de là les émotions positives et négatives ont été codées. Le comportement de parentage a été codé à 12 moins après la naissance (n = 105 pour les analyses longitudinales). Résultats: L'utilisation de mots positifs et négatifs était corrélée négativement (r = −,34, p,001). Une utilisation plus extensive de mots positifs pour décrire la personnalité de l'enfant à naître était liée à une plus grande sensibilité, chaleur et engagement observés durant les interactions mère-enfant alors que les mots négatifs étaient liés à une plus grande interférence et à des niveaux moins élevés de sensibilité. Les mères ayant utilisé des mots liés à l'anxiété et/ou à la colère pour décrire leur enfant à naître, comparées aux mères n'en ayant pas utilisé, ont fait preuve d'une plus grande interférence et de moins de chaleur et de sensibilité.Les descriptions de la personnalité d'un enfant avant que l'enfant ne naisse sont liées au comportement postnatal de parentage. Des interventions prénatales qui portent sur les pensées négatives et les sentiments négatifs concernant l'enfant peuvent s'avérer bénéfiques pour la promotion d'un parentage positive après la naissance.Die Emotionalität im Tonfall bei der Beschreibung von Kindern während der Schwangerschaft ist mit dem späteren Erziehungsverhalten assoziiert Einleitung: Wie Eltern über ihre kleinen Kinder denken und fühlen, hat Auswirkungen auf die Eltern-Kind-Beziehung. Wir untersuchten prospektive Assoziationen zwischen pränatalen Beschreibungen der Persönlichkeit des ungeborenen Kindes und späterem Erziehungsverhalten. Methoden: Für die Längsschnittstudie wurden schwangere Frauen (N = 120; mittleres Alter = 26,16, SD = 5,71) im dritten Trimester rekrutiert. Die Stichprobe ist demographisch vielfältig und überwiegend sozioökonomisch benachteiligt. In pränatalen Interviews sollten die Frauen die Persönlichkeit ihres ungeborenen Kindes beschreiben. Daraus wurden positive und negative Emotionswörter kodiert. 12 Monate postpartum wurde das Erziehungsverhalten kodiert (n = 105 für Längsschnittanalysen). Ergebnisse: Der Gebrauch von positiven und negativen Wörtern war negativ korreliert (r = −.34, p.001). Eine stärkere Verwendung positiver Wörter zur Beschreibung der Persönlichkeit des ungeborenen Kindes war mit höherer beobachteter Sensibilität, Wärme und Engagement während der Mutter-Kind-Interaktionen assoziiert, während negative Wörter mit höherer Interferenz und geringerer Sensibilität assoziiert waren. Mütter, die ängstliche und/oder ärgerliche Wörter zur Beschreibung ihres ungeborenen Kindes verwendeten, zeigten im Vergleich zu Müttern, die dies nicht taten, höhere Interferenz sowie geringere Wärme und Sensibilität. Schlussfolgerung: Beschreibungen der kindlichen Persönlichkeit vor der Geburt des Kindes waren mit dem postnatalen Erziehungsverhalten assoziiert. Pränatale Interventionen, die auf negative Gedanken und Gefühle in Bezug auf das Kind abzielen, könnten für die Förderung eines positiven Elternverhaltens nach der Geburt von Vorteil sein.妊娠中におなかの子についての描写する情緒的な語調は、出生後の子育てと関連 性がある はじめに:親が幼い子どもについてどのように考え、どのように感じているかは、親-子の関係性に影響する。妊娠中におなかの子どもの性格についてのどのように描写するかと産後の育児行動と予想される関連性について調べた。 方法:妊娠中の女性 (N = 120;平均年齢 = 26.16、SD = 5.71) を、縦断研究のために妊娠後期に募集した。サンプルは人口統計学的に多様であり、貧困のため恵まれない傾向にあった。出生前訪問時に面接を行い、女性におなかの子どもの性格を描写してもらい、ポジティブな感情表現の単語とネガティブな感情表現の単語にコーディングした。産後12か月に、育児行動をコーディングした (縦断的分析ではn = 105) 。 結果:ポジティブな単語とネガティブな単語は負の相関関係にあった (r = -.34,p.001) 。おなかの子どもの性格を描写する時に肯定的な言葉の使用が多いことは、母-乳幼児の相互作用中に観察される感受性、温かさ、関与がより強いことと関連していた。一方で、否定的な言葉の使用が多いことは、より干渉的で、感受性がより低いことと関連していた。不安及び/または怒りに関連する言葉を使っておなかの子どもについて描写した母親は、そうでなかった母親と比較して、より干渉的で、温かさや感受性が低いことが示された。 結論:出生前のおなかの子どもの性格についての描写と、出生後の子育て行動とに関連性を認めた。おなかの子どもについての否定的な考えや感情への出生前の介入は、出生後の肯定的な子育てを促進するために有益である可能性が示された。.研究简介:父母对年幼孩子的看法和感受会影响亲子关系。我们研究了对胎儿性格的产前描述和产后育儿行为之间的前瞻性关联。 研究方法:孕妇 (N = 120;平均年龄 = 26.16, SD = 5.71) 在妊娠晚期被招募进行纵向研究。该样本在人口统计学上具有多样性, 并且多数处于经济劣势。在产前访谈中, 孕妇描述了她们胎儿的性格, 从中编码了积极的、消极的情绪词。对产后12个月的育儿行为进行编码 (纵向分析n = 105) 。 研究结果:积极词语和消极词语的使用呈负相关 (r = -.34, p.001) 。在母婴互动过程中, 更多地使用积极词语来描述胎儿的性格与观察到的更高的敏感度、热情度和参与度相关, 而消极词语的使用则与更高的干扰度和更低的敏感度相关。使用焦虑和、或愤怒等相关词语来描述胎儿的母亲, 与没有使用相关词语的母亲相比, 表现出更高的干扰度、更低的热情度和敏感度。 研究结论:在孩子出生前对孩子性格的描述与出生后的育儿行为有关。解决对孩子的负面想法和感受的产前干预可能有助于促进产后的积极育儿。.العلاقة بين النغمة العاطفية في وصف الأطفال أثناء الحمل وتربيتهم لاحقاً مقدمة: تتأثر العلاقة بين الوالدين والطفل بكيفية تفكيرهم وشعورهم تجاه أطفالهم الصغار. تناولت الدراسة الارتباطات المحتملة بين أوصاف ما قبل الولادة لشخصية الطفل الذي لم يولد بعد وسلوك التربية الوالدية في وقت لاحق. منهج البحث: اشتركت مجموعة من النساء الحوامل في الدراسة (N = 120؛ متوسط العمر = 26.16، SD = 5.71) في الثلث الثالث من الحمل من خلال دراسة طولية. العينة كانت متنوعة ديموغرافيا ومن مستوى اقتصادي منخفض نسبياً. وخلال المقابلات السابقة للولادة، وصفت النساء شخصية أطفالهن قبل الولادة، والتي تم من خلالها ترميز كلمات المشاعر الإيجابية والسلبية. كما تم ترميز سلوك التربية الوالدية بعد 12 شهرا (n = 105). النتائج: كان استخدام الكلمات الإيجابية والسلبية مترابطا بشكل سلبي (.34, p.001-r = ). ارتبط الاستخدام الأكبر للكلمات الإيجابية لوصف شخصية الطفل بزيادة الحساسية والدفء والمشاركة أثناء التفاعلات بين الأم والرضيع في حين ارتبطت الكلمات السلبية بتداخل أعلى ومستويات أقل من الحساسية. وأظهرت الأمهات اللاتي استخدمن كلمات متعلقة بالقلق أو الغضب لوصف أطفالهن ، مقارنة بالأمهات اللاتي لم يفعلن ذلك، تدخلا أعلى ودفء وحساسية أقل. الاستنتاجات: ارتبطت أوصاف شخصية الطفل قبل ولادته بسلوك التربية بعد الولادة. وبذلك قد تكون التدخلات السابقة للولادة التي تتناول الأفكار والمشاعر السلبية المتعلقة بالطفل مفيدة لتعزيز التربية الإيجابية بعد الولادة.

Objective Intimate partner violence (IPV) can adversely affect children's cognitive development, but links between IPV exposure and language development in the earliest years of life remain unknown. The present study examined the effects of IPV and the quality of the home environment on children's language development at age 3 years. Methods In a prospective, 5-panel, longitudinal study of 79 mother-child dyads assessed prenatally to age 3 years, we examined standardized measures of receptive and expressive language development at age 3 years. Predictors and covariates included measures of IPV, characteristics of the home environment, maternal education, and maternal depression. Results Regression analyses indicated a significant main effect of the home environment and maternal education on receptive language, with more supportive homes and more educated mothers at age 1 year linked to better child receptive language at age 3 years. Higher maternal education also significantly predicted better child expressive language at age 3 years. Early exposure to IPV had a direct adverse effect on children's expressive language development; however, interaction analyses indicated that this association was moderated by the quality of the home environment. Specifically, IPV adversely affected expressive language even when home quality was high, indicating that a supportive and stimulating home environment did not buffer effects of IPV on expressive language development. Conclusions Intimate partner violence may adversely affect expressive language, even in positive home environments. Early language skill is an important predictor of later academic readiness and psychological development; therefore, children from at-risk home environments should be screened and monitored early for intervention.

Background: Researchers have linked parent experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) to engagement in more negative and less positive parenting behaviors with their own children. This parenting behavior is associated with more negative child social-emotional outcomes. There is little research examining the impact of exposure to IPV during childhood on subsequent parenting and child outcomes in the next generation. This study aimed to better understand the complex relationship between IPV, parenting, and child social-emotional development among mothers of toddler-aged children, using both mothers’ self-reported and observed parenting. Method: This study utilized longitudinal data from an economically disadvantaged, racially diverse sample of 120 women who participated in data collection across the perinatal period, until children were 2 years of age. Measures included self-reported and observed parenting, mother-reported IPV history, and mother-report of toddler social-emotional difficulties. Results: Childhood exposure to IPV predicted observed parenting problems, which in turn predicted greater toddler social-emotional problems. Conversely, adult experiences of IPV predicted self-reported parenting difficulties, which predicted greater toddler social-emotional problems. Summary: Findings suggest that exposure to IPV at different time points may influence parenting in different ways, representing unique pathways between maternal IPV experiences and child social-emotional difficulties

The development of maternal representations of the child during pregnancy guides a mother’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior toward her child. The association between prenatal representations, particularly those that are disrupted, and toddler social-emotional functioning is not well understood. The present study examined associations between disrupted prenatal representations and toddler social-emotional functioning and to test disrupted maternal behavior as a mediator of this association. Data were drawn from 109 women from a larger prospective longitudinal study (N=120) of women and their young children. Prenatal disrupted maternal representations were assessed using the Working Model of the Child Interview disrupted coding scheme, while disrupted maternal behavior was coded 12-months postpartum from mother-infant interactions. Mother-reported toddler social-emotional functioning was assessed at ages 12 and 24 months. Disrupted prenatal representations significantly predicted poorer toddler social-emotional functioning at 24 months, controlling for functioning at 12 months. Further, disrupted maternal behavior mediated the relation between disrupted prenatal representations and toddler social-emotional problems. Screening for disrupted representations during pregnancy is needed to facilitate referrals to early intervention and decrease the likelihood of toddler social-emotional problems.

This study examined changes in parental reflective functioning (PRF) among mothers enrolled in Infant Mental Health-Home Visiting (IMH-HV) and explored whether parental risk, treatment dosage or therapist experience predicted change in PRF. Participants included 75 mothers and their children who were enrolled in IMH-HV delivered by Community Mental Health therapists. Results indicated significant improvements in PRF from baseline to 12-months. Maternal demographic and psychosocial risk, therapist experience and treatment dosage were not directly associated with changes in PRF. However, Mothers who received more treatment sessions from therapists with six or more years of experience demonstrated the greatest improvements in PRF, while mothers who received more treatment sessions from therapists who had been practicing IMH for less than 15 months showed a decline in PRF. Therapists working with very high-risk families may need specific training and ongoing reflective supervision over a period of years to promote improvement in PRF.

A history of maltreatment during childhood (e.g., physical and sexual abuse, neglect) can threaten the fundamental human need to form and maintain relationships across development, which ensure safety and security. Furthermore, parental maltreatment history presents considerable risk for the emergence of disrupted parenting behaviors (i.e., contradictory communication, sexualized/role-reversed behavior, disorientation, intrusiveness/negativity, and severe withdrawal), which in turn are associated with children’s social-emotional development. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether experiences of childhood maltreatment during pregnancy can predict risk for disrupted parenting behavior before the birth of the child. Given the inherent variability in parenting behaviors, we were interested in how different types or combinations of experiences of maltreatment during childhood are associated with later parenting behaviors. Data were drawn from 120 women from a longitudinal study that spanned from the third trimester of pregnancy through 3-year postpartum. In the current study, mothers’ experiences of childhood maltreatment were assessed during pregnancy, and disrupted parenting behaviors were coded from videotaped mother–infant interactions 1-year postpartum. Four profiles of childhood maltreatment were identified using latent profile analysis: low exposure, high exposure, high sexual maltreatment, and high physical and emotional maltreatment. Results revealed that high exposure to multiple types of childhood maltreatment most strongly predicted later disrupted parenting behavior. Women with multiple exposures to different types of maltreatment during childhood may require more intense intervention during pregnancy to prevent risk for the development of disrupted parenting behavior.

Accumulating evidence indicates that individuals possess attachment, or secure base, scripts based on experiences with attachment figures, and these attachment scripts predict important outcomes such as caregiving behaviors and offspring social-emotional adjustment. However, less is known about the association between parents’ secure base scripts and child attachment security within at-risk samples, i.e., those known to be at greater risk for insecurity. The current study examined the relation between maternal secure base script representations and child attachment security by extending the use of the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA; Waters & Rodrigues-Doolabh, 2004 ) to an at-risk sample. One-hundred mother-child pairs from a larger longitudinal study participated; the larger study focused on psychosocial risks related to parenting in a primarily low-income sample. In the present study, overall ASA script scores were first compared with two independent middle-class samples, one from a U.S. study, the other an international study. Scores and statistical patterns were comparable across all samples, indicating that the ASA was successful in tapping into maternal secure base script knowledge in our at-risk sample. The relation between maternal script scores and children’s Attachment Q-Set (AQS; Waters, 1995) security scores were examined at ages 1 and 2 years. Dependency scores from the AQS were also included to establish discriminant validity for the script scores. Results indicated that maternal script knowledge predicted child security, while showing no relation to dependency scores. Findings indicate that the ASA can be an important and viable measure for assessing attachment representations in at-risk samples of caregivers.

Background Childhood maltreatment and harsh parenting can have lasting effects on young children’s development, and home visiting interventions provide critical opportunities to mitigate this risk. Objective This study aimed to examine associations between participation in the Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health Home Visiting (IMH-HV) and both harsh parenting and child abuse potential. Participants and Setting Participants were 76 mothers and their infants/toddlers (M age = 9.9 months at baseline) receiving IMH-HV with Community Mental Health Service Provider agencies in Michigan. Methods Data were collected at baseline (shortly after initiation of services), and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post baseline assessment. Mothers provided demographic information and completed several questionnaire measures including the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory (BCAP). Harsh parenting was rated by a trained research assistant using subscales from the Home Observation of Measurement of the Environment (HOME). Treatment dosage was collected from IMH-HV clinicians. Results Mothers with higher numbers of IMH-HV visits showed lower levels of observed harsh parenting over the three time points in the study (estimate = 0.050, p = 0.002) and higher cumulative societal factors associated with oppression (SFAO) predicted higher harsh parenting over the three time points. A higher number of IMH-HV visits also predicted lower child abuse potential across the time points of the study (estimate = −0.78, p = 0.043), controlling for SFAO. Conclusions Participation in the Michigan Model of IMH-HV, delivered in the community, is associated with reductions in both harsh parenting and child abuse potential.

The childbearing years are further complicated when experiences of interpersonal trauma from childhood and/or adulthood lead to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Maternal symptoms of PTSD over time were examined in relation to supportive adult relationships and parenting experiences. Ninety-five primarily economically disadvantaged mothers reporting exposure to childhood maltreatment and/or intimate partner violence were assessed from pregnancy through 2-years postpartum. Latent class growth analysis of PTSD symptoms indicated a 2-group model: stable low (82%) and moderate dysfunction (18%). The stable low group reported higher levels of support from romantic partners and family members, but not friends, and lower levels of parenting distress compared to the moderate dysfunction group. Results highlight individual variability in adaptation after violence exposure; current support from romantic partners and family members may have helped maintain lower PTSD symptoms for some trauma-exposed mothers. Psychological interventions aimed at reducing the impact of trauma exposure on parenting should consider promoting ongoing social support.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the research on reflective supervision, including the development of tools designed to measure reflective practice in the context of reflective supervision. The Reflective Supervision Self-Efficacy Scale for Supervisees (RSSESS) is a self-report measure that has been used in previous evaluations and is designed to assess perceived reflective practice self-efficacy for Infant Mental Health-Home Visiting (IMH-HV) therapists. Properties of the RSSESS including factor structure and reliability are explored in a first study that lays the foundation for the use of the RSSESS in an IMH-HV evaluation in the State of Michigan. IMH-HV therapists completed the RSSESS at 4 time points over a 12-month period and also completed a Clinician Profile Form that included questions about their IMH background and their work experience, including job satisfaction and burnout. Results indicated that the RSSESS is a reliable tool to measure change in reflective practice skills. IMH-HV therapists demonstrated growth in their use of reflective practice skills with families and their observational skills over the 12-month period. In addition, results indicated correlations between reflective supervision self-efficacy and job satisfaction as well as burnout.

The current study tested the hypothesis that mothers who have experienced child maltreatment and aggression within their adult relationships may be at particular risk for misinterpreting infant emotions, leading to less sensitive parenting behaviors. Participants were 120 pregnant women recruited for a larger, longitudinal study investigating the role of psychosocial and environmental risk on women and their young children. Data were collected during the third trimester of pregnancy, and when children were 1 and 2 years of age. Participants completed a projective test designed to elicit individual differences in perceptions of infant emotions and an observer-rated assessment of parenting behaviors was conducted in the family home. Using structural equation modeling, we tested associations between maternal interpersonal aggression exposure and perceptions of infant emotion and parenting behaviors. RESULTS demonstrated that a history of child abuse and intimate partner conflict were associated with a maternal tendency to view ambiguous infant facial expressions as negative (i.e., negative attribution bias), and in turn, with less parenting sensitivity over time. FINDINGS suggest that negative attributions of infant emotion may be 1 mechanism by which a history of trauma and violence exposure contributes to less sensitive parenting for some mothers. Implications for intervention include the need for trauma-informed clinical services and psychoeducational methods that help mothers more accurately read and respond to infant emotional expression and bids for connection. (PsycINFO Database Record Language: en

Severe disruptions in the caregiving system can lead to disorganized caregiving characterized by maternal helplessness and fear. Such caregivers abdicate their caregiving role and fail to provide protection to the child. The measurement of disorganized caregiving has historically been limited to lengthy, labor-intensive interviews, indicating a need for other feasible tools to assess this important construct. Furthermore, few studies have investigated correlates of disorganized caregiving. Participants included 120 diverse, primarily economically disadvantaged women who were part of a longitudinal study examining psychosocial risk factors before and after the birth of a child. Participants completed the Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire (CHQ; C. George & J. Solomon, 2011) along with measures assessing maternal mental health, trauma exposure, parenting stress, and infant socioemotional adjustment. Results indicated that caregiver helplessness and fear, based on the CHQ, were positively associated with maternal depression, parenting stress, and perceptions of infant socioemotional problems. Importantly, results also revealed significant associations between current maternal trauma experiences and mothers' reports of helplessness and fear. Findings from the present study indicate that the CHQ may be a valid screening tool for disorganized caregiving among mothers of infants. In addition, a number of maternal experiences may be related to disorganized caregiving following the birth of a child.

The aim of the present study was to investigate intimate partner violence (IPV) involving children and the parenting role (e.g., preventing an intimate partner from providing parental care or threatening to take one’s children away). Specifically, the study examined whether this form of IPV affects maternal functioning above and beyond other IPV experiences. Participants included a community sample of 120 primarily low-income, single women, diverse in age, education, and ethnicity, who were interviewed 1 year after giving birth, as part of a longitudinal study. IPV involving children and the parenting role was significantly associated with other experiences of IPV, especially general psychological IPV. Multiple regression analyses revealed that this form of IPV significantly affected mothers’ personal, relational, and parental functioning. Results suggest that it is important to assess for IPV involving children and the parenting role when working with mothers. More research on this unique type of IPV is needed.

Depression during the perinatal period is common and impacts the physical and psychological well-being of those who experience it. One area of particular significance is the course of maternal depression across time, including the differential effects of depression trajectories during the perinatal period on early child development. The current study explored trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms from pregnancy through 2 years postpartum and their relation to toddler emotional development. Participants included 120 primarily low-income, ethnically diverse women and their toddlers. Depression was assessed during pregnancy, at 3 months postpartum, and at 1 and 2 years postpartum. Toddler emotional development was assessed at age 2 via video observations and mother report. Results indicated a four-class model that best fits the data: low-decreasing (47.5 %), stable-low (22.5 %), stable-moderate (21.7 %), and increasing (8.3 %) trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms. Women in the increasing group reported significantly more toddler social and emotional problems at age 2 than women in all other groups, and women in the stable-moderate group reported significantly more toddler social and emotional problems at age 2 than women in the stable-low group. No associations between trajectories and observed toddler affect expression were found. Results highlight variable courses of depressive symptoms for women across the birth of a child as well as the importance of reducing depression for the benefit of both mother and child. It is important for clinicians working with pregnant and postpartum mothers to assess for depressive symptoms over time and not just at a single time point.

Objective PediaTrac™, a 363-item web-based tool to track infant development, administered in modules of ∼40-items per sampling period, newborn (NB), 2­-, 4­-, 6­-, 9­- and 12­-months was validated. Caregivers answered demographic, medical, and environmental questions, and questions covering the sensorimotor, feeding/eating, sleep, speech/language, cognition, social-emotional, and attachment domains. Methods Expert Panel Reviews and Cognitive Interviews (CI) were conducted to validate the item bank. Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) methods were employed to examine the dimensionality and psychometric properties of PediaTrac with pooled longitudinal and cross-sectional cohorts (N = 132). Results Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for the Expert Panel Review revealed moderate agreement at 6 ­months and good reliability at other sampling periods. ICC estimates for CI revealed moderate reliability regarding clarity of the items at NB and 4 months, good reliability at 2-­, 9­- and 12­-months and excellent reliability at 6 ­months. CTT revealed good coefficient alpha estimates (α ≥ 0.77 for five of the six ages) for the Social-Emotional/Communication, Attachment (α ≥ 0.89 for all ages), and Sensorimotor (α ≥ 0.75 at 6-months) domains, revealing the need for better targeting of sensorimotor items. IRT modeling revealed good reliability (r = 0.85–0.95) for three distinct domains (Feeding/Eating, Social-Emotional/Communication and Attachment) and four subdomains (Feeding Breast/Formula, Feeding Solid Food, Social-Emotional Information Processing, Communication/Cognition). Convergent and discriminant construct validity were demonstrated between our IRT-modeled domains and constructs derived from existing developmental, behavioral and caregiver measures. Our Attachment domain was significantly correlated with existing measures at the NB and 2-month periods, while the Social-Emotional/Communication domain was highly correlated with similar constructs at the 6-, 9- and 12-month periods. Conclusion PediaTrac has potential for producing novel and effective estimates of infant development via the Sensorimotor, Feeding/Eating, Social-Emotional/Communication and Attachment domains.

This prospective study examined the relationship between maternal prenatal representations of the infant and later infant-mother attachment, including contextual factors related to concordance and discordance among dyads over time. Participants were 173 pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 40 who were interviewed during their last trimester of pregnancy and 2 and 13 months after birth. Maternal representations were assessed by the Working Model of the Child Interview during pregnancy (WMCI; C.H. Zeanah, D. Benoit, L. Hirshberg, M.L. Barton, & C. Regan, 1994), and infant-mother attachment was assessed through the Strange Situation procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) when infants were 13 months old. There was substantial discordance between maternal and infant classifications, although a significant concordance rate was found when classifications were collapsed into balanced/secure and nonbalanced/insecure groups based on prenatal representations and postnatal infant attachment groups (60%; χ 2 = 6.90, p< .01; κ .20). As expected, discordance between maternal representations and infant-mother attachment was meaningfully related to contextual risk factors, maternal depression, and infant behaviors. ***

This study examined the longitudinal effects of mothers’ partner relationship quality on parenting behaviors and school-age children’s peer relationships. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development archival data were used to examine parenting behaviors as a mediator between partner relationship quality and child peer outcomes using structural equation modeling. Maternal report was used to assess partner quality; a parent–child interaction task was used to measure parenting behaviors; teacher and child report were used to assess children’s peer relationships. Maternal parenting behaviors partially mediated the association between partner quality and children’s teacher-reported social–emotional outcomes with peers. Results are discussed in terms of the spillover hypothesis and implications for clinical interventions are discussed.

Childhood abuse can have significant negative effects on survivors that often last into adulthood. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of romantic attachment in understanding the relationship between childhood abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in adulthood. Data for this study were taken from the first wave of a five-wave longitudinal study. The sample included 120 mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy. Regression analyses were conducted in order to examine adult romantic attachment as a possible protective or vulnerability factor. Main effects of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance on PTSD symptoms were found, such that higher levels of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were related to more PTSD symptoms. Attachment avoidance moderated this relationship, such that child abuse was significantly related to greater PTSD symptoms in those with high attachment avoidance. Implications for attachment-based interventions are discussed.

Women experience remarkably high rates of relational trauma includ- ing childhood abuse and neglect and intimate partner violence (IPV) during adulthood, and the childbearing years are no exception. The meaning of past and current relational trauma perpetrated by primary caregivers and signifi- cant others may be unique during pregnancy, in particular, because pregnancy is a salient time when mothers' important relationships are reworked and reor- ganized to "make room" for the relationship with the baby. The present study examined associations between different forms of relational trauma and post- traumatic stress symptoms in 120 women during the last trimester of preg- nancy. Women were between the ages of 18 and 42 years and came from diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds. Results indicated that severity of childhood maltreatment was significantly related to severity of IPV during pregnancy, and both types of trauma made unique, significant contributions to posttrau- matic stress symptoms. Furthermore, emotional/psychological violence had the largest associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms compared to other forms of violence. Findings indicate that it is critically important for clinicians working with pregnant women to conduct a thorough assessment of current and past relational trauma, including emotional/psychological trauma, in or- der to improve the well-being of the mother, the infant, and the mother-infant relationship.

Eastern Michigan UniversityThis paper uses a case study from a longitudinal research project to illustrate theinsuence of domestic violence on the developing attachment relationship be-tween mother and child that begins during pregnancy. The case study illustratesparticular mechanisms involved in damaging the motherÐchild relationship inthe context of domestic violence, including maternal projection, projectiveidentiÞcation, as well as emotional dysregulation and dissociation. The paperincludes quotes from the Working Model of the Child interviews (Zeanah &Benoit, 1995) conducted with the mother during pregnancy and at the childOs 1stbirthday as well as descriptions of observed motherÐchild interactions andStrange Situation paradigms (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) atages 1 and 4. The trajectory of this particular motherÐchild dyad is interpretedin the context of theory and research on the caregiving and attachment relation-ship and the effects of domestic violence on women and children. The discus-sion includes both theoretical and clinical implications for the insuence ofdomestic violence on the early and developing motherÐchild relationship.Keywords: domestic violence, internal representations, mother-child relation-ships, attachment

Objective The relationship of tattoos to the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) was explored in a forensic psychiatric inpatient hospital setting. It was hypothesized that a greater proportion of forensic inpatients that possessed tattoos had ASPD than patients who did not possess tattoos. Method Forensic male psychiatric inpatients (N = 36) were administered a semi-structured interview to determine the presence of a tattoo. ASPD was determined by criteria on a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV ASPD checklist. Demographic and background characteristics of the patients were collected, and details about each tattoo were obtained including a calculation of the surface area of each tattoo. Results Significantly more forensic psychiatric inpatients with tattoos had a diagnosis of ASPD compared to patients without tattoos. Patients with ASPD also had a significantly greater number of tattoos, a trend toward having a greater percentage of their total body surface area tattooed, and were more likely to have a history of substance abuse than patients without ASPD. Tattooed subjects, with or without ASPD, were significantly more likely to have histories of substance abuse, sexual abuse and suicide attempts than non-tattooed patients. Conclusions Forensic psychiatric inpatients with tattoos should be assessed carefully for the presence of ASPD as well as for substance abuse, sexual abuse and suicide attempts, factors having potentially significant influence on the assessment and treatment of such patients. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Children exposed to intimate partner violence are known to experience a number of negative outcomes, including behavioral and emotional problems; however, possible mechanisms accounting for this relationship are unclear. There is considerable evidence that parenting stress has a direct effect on child adjustment problems and on parenting behaviors; parenting behaviors, in turn, have been repeatedly shown to be related to child outcomes. The hypothesis that parenting mediates the relationship between parenting stress and child behavioral and emotional problems according to Abidin’s (Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21:407–412, 1992) model was tested in a sample of 190 battered women and their 4-to12-year-old children. No support for mediation was found for either mother- or child-reported outcomes. Parenting stress had a strong direct effect on child behavioral and emotional problems. These findings have implications for the viability of Abidin’s model, as well as for interventions with battered women that address parenting stress.

Objective The validity and clinical utility of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior, and Suicide Probability Scale (SPS) were examined longitudinally among suicidal adolescents. Method Between 1998 and 2000, 289 psychiatrically hospitalized, suicidal youth, ages 12 to 17 years, participated in this study. Self-report measures were completed at baseline. Clinician-rated suicidality and suicide attempt were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Results Baseline self-reports were internally consistent and strongly intercorrelated within male, female, white, and black subsamples. All of the measures predicted follow-up suicidality and suicide attempts. Using published cutoff scores, the Beck Hopelessness Scale and SPS were moderately to highly sensitive predictors of subsequent suicide attempts, as was the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior for predicting suicide attempts and broad suicidality. Alternative cutoff scores that predicted outcomes with moderate and high sensitivity also were examined, with attention to resultant sacrifices in specificity. Conclusions Baseline self-report scores predicted follow-up suicidality. SPS contributed uniquely to prediction of future suicidality and suicide attempt. SPS may supplement other sources of information when assessing suicide risk with this population.

The negative consequences of children's exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) have been well documented; however, less is known about the effects of contextual factors such as parenting stress, parenting behaviors, and mothers' psychological functioning on exposed children. A total of 172 African-American mothers and their children (4 to 12 years of age) were recruited from battered women's shelters for the present study. Mothers filled out questionnaires assessing family violence, family contextual variables, and children's outcomes, and children reported on their own depressive symptoms. Results from a cluster analysis indicated substantial variability in women's experiences of parenting stress with regard to both type and quantity. Across each of the six clusters, women significantly differed in parenting behaviors and general psychological distress, and their children varied concomitantly in severity of internalizing and externalizing problems. These patterns suggest the need for individualized interventions, with a particular focus on parenting stress, to better serve the needs of women and children experiencing IPV.

For at-risk (single parent, low income, low support) mothers, healthy adaptation and the ability to manage stress have clear implications for parenting and the social-emotional well-being of their young offspring. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine associations between defense mechanisms in pregnant women and their toddlers' attachment security, social-emotional, and behavioral adjustment.Participants were 84 pregnant women during their last trimester of pregnancy, recruited from community agencies primarily serving low-income families. Women were followed prospectively from pregnancy through 2 years after birth and completed several multimethod assessments during that period. Observations of mother-child interactions were also coded after the postnatal visits.Multiple regression analyses revealed that mothers' defense mechanisms were significantly associated with several toddler outcomes. Mature, healthy defenses were significantly associated with greater toddler attachment security and social-emotional competence and fewer behavior problems, and less mature defenses (disavowal in particular) were associated with lower levels of attachment security and social-emotional competence. Associations remained significant, or were only slightly attenuated, after controlling for demographic variables and partner abuse during pregnancy.The study findings suggest that defensive functioning in parents preparing for and parenting toddlers influences the parent-child attachment relationship and social-emotional adjustment in the earliest years of life. Possible mechanisms for these associations may include parental attunement and mentalization, as well as specific caregiving behavior toward the child. Defensive functioning during times of increased stress (such as the prenatal to postnatal period) may be especially important for understanding parental influences on the child.

This study examined the relationship between domestic violence during pregnancy and moth- ers' prenatal representations of their infants and themselves as mothers. Two hundred and six women were recruited from the community and interviewed during their last trimester of pregnancy. Forty-four percent of women reported experiencing domestic violence during the current pregnancy, while 56% reported no domestic violence during the pregnancy. Maternal representations were assessed using the Working Model of the Child Interview(WMCI; Zeanah, Benoit, Hirshberg, Barton, & Regan, 1994). Multiple analysis of variance (MANCOVA) and analyses revealed that women who experienced 2

Examined the impact of domestic violence, child abuse, and attachment style on adolescent mental health and relationship functioning. Data were collected on 111 adolescents, ages 14 to 16, and their mothers. Results indicate that both attachment and family violence experiences negatively impact mental health. In addition, family violence significantly predicted attachment style. Significant protective and vulnerability factors included maternal psychological functioning, maternal positive parenting, and perceived social support from friends. However, findings provided only limited support for the model of attachment as a mediator of the impact of family violence on adolescent relationships.

There is growing evidence that ‘secure-base scripts’ (Waters & Waters, 2006) are an important part of the cognitive underpinnings of internal working models of attachment. Recent research in middle class samples has shown that secure-base scripts are linked to maternal attachment-oriented behavior and child outcomes. However, little is known about the correlates of secure base scripts in higher-risk samples. Participants in the current study included 115 mothers who were oversampled for childhood maltreatment and their infants. Results revealed that a higher level of secure base scriptedness was significantly related to more positive and less negative maternal parenting in both unstructured free play and structured teaching contexts, and to higher reflective functioning scores on the Parent Development Interview-Revised Short Form (Slade, Aber, Berger, Bresgi, & Kaplan, 2003). Associations with parent-child secure base scripts, specifically, indicate some level of relationship-specificity in attachment scripts. Many, but not all, significant associations remained after controlling for family income and maternal age. Findings suggest that assessing secure base scripts among mothers known to be at risk for parenting difficulties may be important for interventions aimed at altering problematic parental representations and caregiving behavior.

Domestic violence is a relatively common problem that has serious, negative consequences for preschoolers’ emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal functioning. Many children who witness domestic violence also experience the loss of a caregiver, which can exacerbate difficulties. Unfortunately, only a small number of preschoolers receive treatment for these problems, possibly because there are few well-developed programs for this age group. This paper describes a group play therapy for preschoolers exposed to domestic violence and other traumas. The group is designed for 14 sessions, each lasting 60 minutes, and takes place in a Head Start preschool. Individual sessions follow a consistent format; the group begins with a warm-up exercise about feelings, followed by structured activities, and ends with unstructured free play and clean-up. General techniques used in the group and their therapeutic uses are described. Recommendations for future groups and future research on the efficacy of groups are also discussed.

This study examined the direct and indirect effects of domestic violence on preschoolers' intellectual functioning. The sample consisted of 100 women and their 3–5-year-old children (44 boys and 56 girls) recruited from the general community. Forty-three percent of mothers had experienced domestic violence within the last year, defined by at least one physically aggressive act by an intimate partner. Children who had witnessed domestic violence had significantly poorer verbal abilities than nonwitnesses after controlling for SES and child abuse, but there were no group differences on visual–spatial abilities. Domestic violence also indirectly affected both types of intellectual abilities through its impact on maternal depression and the intellectual quality of the home environment. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed, as well as the implications for interventions for young child witnesses.

This study examined predictors of stability and change in women's maternal representations of their children. Participants were 180 women, recruited from the community, half of whom had experienced domestic violence during pregnancy. Maternal representations of were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; Zeanah, Benoit, Hirshberg, Barton, & Regan, 1994) during the last trimester of pregnancy and again at the child's first birthday. Results indicated that when collapsed into balanced and non-balanced categories, 71% of the sample was stable over time, and women who had balanced representations had significantly more stable representations than women who had non-balanced representations (p < .001). Income, single parenthood, abuse status, and depressive symptomatology predicted change. In addition, women who became non-balanced postnatally benefited from having balanced representations while pregnant to buffer the quality of their interactions with their children.

This prospective study examined the effects of maternal characteristics, social support, and risk factors on infant-mother attachment in a heterogeneous sample. Two hundred and six women between the ages of 18 and 40 were interviewed during their last trimester of pregnancy and 1 year postpartum. Structural equation modeling revealed that maternal attachment experiences were significantly related to prenatal representations of the infant and of the self as a mother, which were significantly related to infant-mother attachment assessed by the Strange Situation. Maternal risk factors were significantly related to prenatal representations, and social support from other women predicted infant-mother attachment. The overall model indicated a good fit. Thus, both individual and contextual factors were important in explaining infant attachment security.

Although preschool-age children are at risk for witnessing domestic violence, the majority of research has focused on children ages 6 to 12 years. This study examines the mediating role of the mother-child relationship on preschool-age children's functioning in families experiencing domestic violence. Maternal report and behavioral observations of mother-child interactions were used to assess relationship quality. Participants consisted of 103 children and their mothers. The data fit the model well but indicated that some of the correlations were not in the expected direction. Although depressed mothers were struggling with parenting, other mothers appeared to be compensating for the violence by becoming more effective parents. Domestic violence negatively impacted children's behavior with their mothers in interactions but did not influence maternal report of problem behaviors, suggesting that the impact of domestic violence begins very early and in the realm of relationships rather than in mental health.