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Maternal-infant bonding is important for children's positive development. Poor maternal-infant bonding is a risk factor for negative mother and infant outcomes. Although researchers have examined individual predictors of maternal-infant bonding, studies typically do not examine several concurrent and longitudinal predictors within the same model. This study aimed to evaluate the unique and combined predictive power of cross-sectional and longitudinal predictors of maternal-infant bonding. Participants were 372 pregnant women recruited from an Australian hospital. Data were collected from mothers at antenatal appointments (T0), following their child's birth (T1), and at a laboratory assessment when their child was 5-11-months-old (T2). Poorer bonding at T2 was predicted at T0 by younger maternal age, higher education, and higher antenatal depressive symptoms. Poorer bonding at T2 was predicted at T1 by younger maternal age, higher education, and higher postnatal depressive symptoms. Poorer bonding at T2 was predicted at T2 by younger maternal age, higher education, higher postnatal depression symptoms, higher concurrent perceived social support, and more difficult infant temperament, when controlling for child age at T2. To promote positive maternal-infant bonding, global and targeted interventions in the perinatal period may benefit from targeting maternal psychopathology, perceived lack of social support, and coping with difficult infant temperament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to develop and evaluate a measure of parenting knowledge, the Knowledge of Parenting Strategies Scale (KOPSS); specifically, to establish the scales internal reliability, ensure a clinically appropriate length, provide a community sample for future comparison, demonstrate adequate test-retest reliability and convergent validity, and to compare the scale to dysfunctional discipline styles. A total of n = 865 parents were involved in the development and evaluation of the scale. In Study 1, data was collected from n = 229 parents and Rasch analyses revealed seven items did not fit the measurement model. Study 2 involved a further sample of community families (n = 346) and revealed the scale could be further shortened to 16 items. Study 3 revealed the scale has good test-retest reliability over a one-week period (r = .88, p < .001). Study 4 demonstrated convergent validity through a comparison to the Knowledge of Effective Parenting Scale (r = .583, p = .009). Study 5 utilised a sample of community families (n = 190), revealing the scale was negatively correlated with hostile and lax discipline (r = −.29, p < .001; r = −.15, p < .05). Lastly, Study 6 showed scores on the KOPSS significantly improved following clinic-based and Internet-based Behavioural Parent Training. The KOPSS was found to be a valid and reliable measure of parenting knowledge of effective parenting strategies, which can be used to evaluate knowledge acquisition in parenting programs, and test the role of knowledge in behaviour change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the stability of callous and unemotional (CU) traits across generations by assessing self-report assessments of psychopathy factors in parents and their relationship to children's CU traits in a clinical sample: 223 boys (M age = 7.65) and 83 girls (M = 7.35) referred for treatment of disruptive behavior disorders. First, we expanded previous findings showing a positive relationship between maternal psychopathy scores and CU traits in boys. Second, we tested whether parental psychopathy scores predicted CU traits in children over and above general indicators of mental health risk: parental psychopathology, parental warmth, and harsh parenting. Fathers' psychopathy factor 1 was uniquely related to CU traits. In contrast, the relationship between mothers' psychopathy factor 2 and children's CU traits disappeared when maternal warmth was included. Gender differences suggested these results are most applicable to boys. These findings support the intergenerational stability of psychopathy factor 1 between children and their fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global access to practitioner training in the clinical engagement of fathers in family-based interventions is limited. The current study evaluated the feasibility of training practitioners in Canada and UK using online training developed in Australia by examining improvements in practitioner confidence and competence in father engagement, training satisfaction, qualitative feedback, and benchmarking results to those from an Australian sample. Practitioners were recruited to participate in a 2-h online training program through health services and charity organisations. The online program required practitioners to watch a video and complete self-reflection exercises in a digital workbook. Pre- and post-training measures were collected immediately before and after the online training program. The results indicated significantly large improvements in self-reported confidence and competence in engaging fathers following training, with levels of improvement similar to those found in Australia. Training satisfaction was high and qualitative feedback suggested providing local resources and increasing representation of social diversity could improve training relevance in local contexts. The findings suggest online training in father engagement can contribute to global workforce development in improving practitioners' skills in engaging fathers in family-based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary theories of early development and emerging child psychopathology all posit a major, if not central role for physiological responsiveness. To understand infants' potential risk for emergent psychopathology, consideration is needed to both autonomic reactivity and environmental contexts (e.g., parent–child interactions). The current study maps infants' arousal during the face-to-face still-face paradigm using skin conductance (n = 255 ethnically-diverse mother–infant dyads; 52.5% girls, mean infant age = 7.4 months; SD = 0.9 months). A novel statistical approach was designed to model the potential build-up of nonlinear counter electromotive force over the course of the task. Results showed a significant increase in infants' skin conductance between the Baseline Free-play and the Still-Face phase, and a significant decrease in skin conductance during the Reunion Play when compared to the Still-Face phase. Skin conductance during the Reunion Play phase remained significantly higher than during the Baseline Play phase; indicating that infants had not fully recovered from the mild social stressor. These results further our understanding of infant arousal during dyadic interactions, and the role of caregivers in the development of emotion regulation during infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Elevated levels of callous‐unemotional (CU) traits have proven useful for identifying a distinct subgroup of children whose conduct problems (CP) are early emerging, severe, persistent, and underpinned by aberrant emotional processing. The early childhood emotional experiences and expressions of CP subtypes are poorly understood, despite their importance to understanding the problematic attachments and atypical social affiliation experienced by children with elevated CU traits. The current study aimed to test for differences in facial emotional reactions to mood‐inducing film clips in children with CP and varying levels of CU traits. Method: We compared facial emotional reactions during a developmentally appropriate mood induction task in a mixed‐sex sample of clinic‐referred preschool children (Mage = 3.64 years, SD = 0.63, 66.9% male) classified as CP with elevated levels of CU traits (CP + CU; n = 25) versus low CU traits (CP‐only; n = 47), and typically developing children (TD; n = 28). Results: Relative to TD children, children with clinical CP showed less congruent and more incongruent facial emotional expressions to sad and happy film clips, controlling for child sex, age, and ethnicity. Conclusions: Consistent with older samples, young children with CP show atypical facial emotional expressions in response to positive and negative emotional stimuli. Findings have implications for developmental models of childhood antisocial behavior and can inform the development of targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The City Birth Trauma Scale (BiTS; Ayers, Wright & Thornton, 2018) is self-report measure of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms following childbirth, based on DSM-5 criteria. We report on the first study of the psychometric properties of the BiTS in the Australian population. Participants were mothers of infants aged 0–12 months (N = 705), who completed the BiTS and measures of related constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess the factor structure of the BiTS. Examination of the reliability, convergent, divergent and discriminant validity and acceptability of the BiTS was also examined. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a bi-factor model of Birth-related Symptoms (BRS) and General Symptoms (GS) of post-partum PTSD as well as a global CB-PTSD factor. Internal consistency was found for the BiTS total scale and two proposed subscales (BRS and GS). BiTS total scores were significantly associated with an established measure of PTSD, providing support for convergent validity. Evidence of discriminant validity was examined by comparing the BiTS to an established measure of postpartum depression. The present sample may over-represent participants with traumatic birth experiences in comparison to the general public. Furthermore, use of self-report measures limits the capacity to confirm the diagnostic status of participants. These findings suggest that the BiTS is a valid and reliable measure of childbirth-related PTSD, suited for use in postpartum populations. Total scores on the measure may be informative for clinical and research purposes, while evidence suggests strong support for interpretation of subscale scores. • Childbirth PTSD is under-recognized in routine maternal post-partum care • Our findings provide novel evidence that the BiTS is a reliable, valid, and acceptable measure of CB-PTSD symptoms among Australian mothers. • High internal consistency was found for the total scale, as well as two subscales indexing BRS and GS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents' identification and discussion of their own and their children's emotions are important emotion socialization behaviors (ESBs) that may mitigate child conduct problems (CPs). However, if parents perceive their child to be relatively unemotional, which may be the case for children with conduct problems and high callous–unemotional traits (CP + CU), these parents may be limited in their capacity to use ESBs effectively. This study tested these questions by looking at ESBs in mothers (N = 145) of children aged 2–8 years with CP + CU (n = 24), CPs and low CU traits (CP–CU; n = 94) and a non-clinical community sample (n = 27). After watching an emotional movie excerpt, mothers were asked to (1) provide ratings of their child's emotional experience and then (2) engage in a debriefing task with their child about the content. Children's expressed emotion during the excerpt and transcriptions of the debriefing task were coded by masked raters. Unexpectedly, mothers' perceptions of their children's emotion did not vary by group. Emotional ratings provided by mothers of children in the CP + CU group most closely aligned with ratings from independent observers. ESBs did not differ by group in the debriefing task. Mothers of children with CP + CU traits were shown in this study to be reliable reporters of their children's expressed emotion and showed similar rates of parental ESBs as mothers of children in the other groups. Results are discussed in reference to various models of parenting and CU traits that might account for these unexpected findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) symptoms are characterized by problems in empathy; however, these behavioral features are rarely examined together in children with conduct problems. This study investigated additive and interactive effects of CU traits and ASD symptoms in relation to cognitive and affective empathy in a non-ASD clinic-referred sample. Participants were 134 children aged 3 to 9 years (M=5.60; 79% boys) with oppositional defiant/conduct disorder, and their parents. Clinicians, teachers, and parents reported on dimensions of child behavior, and parental reports of family dysfunction and direct observations of parental warmth/responsiveness assessed quality of family relationships. Results from multiple regression analysis showed that, over and above the effects of child conduct problem severity and quality of family relationships, both ASD symptoms and CU traits were uniquely associated with deficits in cognitive empathy. Moreover, CU traits demonstrated an independent association with affective empathy, and this relationship was moderated by ASD symptoms. That is, there was a stronger negative association between CU traits and affective empathy at higher versus lower levels of ASD symptoms. These findings suggest including both CU traits and ASD-related social impairments in models delineating the atypical development of empathy in children with conduct problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study systematically reviewed available evidence regarding associations between polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene and socio-emotional and behavioral functioning in children and adolescents. The search yielded 69 articles, which were grouped into nine categories: depression, anxiety, and internalizing symptoms, alcohol abuse, borderline personality disorder, conduct disorder symptoms or diagnosis, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, early childhood attachment and behavior, pro-social skills, and resilience. Direct and/or gene x environment interactions were identified in over half of the studies. ASD and conduct disorder (including callous unemotional traits) were the diagnoses that were most studied and for which there was the strongest evidence of direct links with OXTR polymorphisms. In most studies identifying gene x environment interactions, the candidate OXTR polymorphism was rs53576. Results suggest that OXTR polymorphisms are associated with social, emotional or behavioural functioning in children and adolescents. The mixed findings do, however, highlight the need for further research. • OXTR polymorphisms are associated with social/emotional/behavioral functioning in children and adolescents. • The conditions for which OXTR SNPs appear to be most relevant are ASD and conduct problems. • The specific polymorphism implicated most strongly in the prediction of social/emotional/behavioral functioning is OXTR rs53576. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a significant gap between the need for child mental health services and use of these services by families. Parental attributions may play a role in this. This study examined whether mothers' attributions about their child's problems influence professional help-seeking intentions in a general sample of community mothers. Secondary analysis re-examined this hypothesis in a subgroup of mothers of children with clinically elevated mental health symptoms. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from mothers (N = 184) of children aged between 2 and 12 years recruited from the community. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires measuring parental attributions: child-responsible attributions and parental self-efficacy; professional help-seeking intentions; and psychosocial covariates: child mental health, mothers' anxiety and depression, child age, gender, marital status, education, and professional help-seeking experience. Hierarchical regression modelling indicated that parental attributions explained professional help-seeking intentions after controlling for covariates in both the general sample (ΔF = 6.07; p =.003) and subgroup analysis (ΔF = 10.22, p =.000). Professional help-seeking intentions were positively associated with child-responsible attributions (β =.19, p =.002) but not parental self-efficacy (β = –.01, p =.865) in the general sample, while positively associated with child-responsible attributions (β =.20, p =.009) and negatively associated with parental self-efficacy (β = –.16, p =.034) in the subgroup analysis. Findings were independent of the presence of clinically elevated symptoms, problem type, and severity. Overall, the findings support models suggesting that parental attributions have a role in professional help-seeking for child mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attentional bias toward threat has been theorized to be a normative aspect of infants' threat and safety learning, and an indicator of risk for internalizing psychopathology in older populations. To date, only four studies have examined this bias using the dot‐probe task in infancy and the findings are mixed. We extended the literature by examining patterns of attention to threat in a culturally and linguistically diverse sample of infants aged 5–11 months old (N = 151) using all measures previously employed in the infant dot‐probe literature. Given that an attentional bias toward threat is associated with higher risk of developing anxiety disorders later in life, we also examined how negative affect—an early correlate of later anxiety disorders—is related to attentional bias toward threat in infancy. This study was the first to use a consistent measure of negative affect across the whole sample. An eye‐tracking dot‐probe task was used to examine attentional bias toward threat (i.e., angry faces) relative to positive (i.e., happy faces) stimuli. Results showed that an attention bias to threat was not characteristic of infants at this age, and negative affect did not moderate the putative relationship between attention and emotional faces (angry, happy). These findings therefore suggest that attention biases to socio‐emotional threat may not have emerged by 11 months old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, there is an increasing trend toward placing children in kinship vs. foster care. Prior research suggests that children in kinship care fare better compared to children in foster care; however, the reasons for this remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the hypothesis that kinship care better preserves children's connectedness to caregiver, birth family, culture, and community; which, in turn, is associated with more optimal child outcomes. Thirty-one studies were reviewed that compared children aged 0–18 years in kinship care vs. foster care on levels of connectedness, three of which had outcomes that permitted meta-analysis. Findings indicated that children in kinship vs. foster care were more likely to feel connected to family in general; however, there was not a clear advantage for kinship vs. foster care for caregiver, birth parent, cultural, and community connectedness. While levels of connectedness were generally associated with more adaptive child outcomes for children in both kinship and foster care, no reviewed studies examined the hypothesis that children's connectedness may mediate the relationship between placement type and child well-being and placement outcomes. Results are discussed with respect to limitations and policy implications of the current evidence-base and the need for more rigorous research to help identify how to improve child well-being in home-based care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental evidence regarding emotion knowledge and deafness has come almost exclusively from Western populations. In this study, we examined associations between deafness, emotion understanding (EU), and affective recognition and labelling (ARL) in deaf and hearing individuals from the Philippines. A sample of 205 Filipino participants (102 deaf; ages 8 to 22 years) completed the Diagnostic Assessment of Non-Verbal Ability – 2 and the Test of Emotion Comprehension to measure ARL and EU, respectively. Results from hierarchical linear regressions show that, after controlling for age and verbal ability, both groups were on par on total ARL skills. In contrast, the deaf cohort performed poorer on total EU relative to the hearing controls over and above age and verbal ability. Several possible explanations for findings were also discussed. • Filipino deaf persons struggle with mentalistic perspective-taking tasks. • Filipino deaf persons do well in tasks that rely largely on perceptual skills. • Deaf persons are poorer in emotion understanding tasks than hearing counterparts. • Deaf and hearing people are on par in affective recognition and labelling tasks. • Hearing status impacts emotion understanding over and above age and verbal ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits and children with disorganized attachment patterns are at heightened risk of poor psychological outcomes but little is known about the overlap between these constructs and their unique contributions to conduct problems in early childhood. This study examined associations between CU traits, disorganized attachment, and conduct problem (CP) severity in a sample of clinic-referred toddlers with behavioral problems. Mother-child dyads (n = 56; mean child age 19.50 months) completed parent-report questionnaires, a dyadic play session, and the Strange Situation Procedure to assess child attachment pattern. Significant positive associations were found between CU traits and disorganized attachment, independent of CP severity. CU traits but not disorganized attachment predicted CP severity. Results indicate that among toddlers with clinic-referred disruptive behavior problems, there are clear links between CU traits and attachment disorganization. Of the two constructs, however, CU traits appear to be most salient in the expression of CPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents' attributions about their child's personality and behaviour are known to predict the quality of parent-child interactions and outcomes for the child, including those from parenting interventions. Nothing is known, however, about the quantity and quality of attributions parents use during free speech about their children referred for treatment of behavioural and emotional problems. We tested hypotheses about the types of attributions and associations among parental attributions, parental psychopathology and child conduct problems, using 504 five-minute speech samples (FMSS) coded using the Parent Attribution Speech Sample (PASS) coding system. Both mothers and fathers talked about their thoughts and feelings regarding their children with disruptive behaviour problems (N = 295; 74% male; 3-8 years old). The assessment of spontaneous parental attributions via the PASS coding system was shown to be valid and reliable. Mothers made more negative, dispositional attributions than fathers, however, parents of either gender made, on average, more positive than negative attributions about their children. Parents' natural attributions about these children with emotional and behavioural problems were rather independent from parents' own mental health, but were consistently related to child factors. Specifically, across parent gender and across all attribution dimensions, levels of callous-unemotional traits were associated with spontaneous parental attributions above and beyond other child and parent factors. Overall, the results show that parents' spontaneous speech about referred children contains important information about their causal attributions, and that these are associated with child temperament rather than specific referral symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present and evaluate a new self-report measure of parental attributions developed for assessing child causal and dispositional attributions in parenting interventions. The Parent Attribution Measure (PAM) ascribes attributions along first-order dimensions of intentionality, permanence, likeability, and disposition, and a higher-order Total Scale. The psychometric analyses involved participants drawn from populations of clinical (n = 318) and community-based families (n = 214) who completed questionnaires assessing parental attributions, parenting behaviours, parental depression, parental feelings about the child, and child behavioural problems. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a 3-factor hierarchical structure provided a close fitting model. The model with intentionality, permanence, and disposition (consolidating likeability and disposition) dimensions as first-order factors grouped under a higher-order general factor was validated in independent samples and demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The PAM presents as a brief measure of parental attributions assessing parents' intentionality, permanence, and dispositional attributions of their child with conduct problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there has been increasing interest in promoting father engagement in parenting interventions for child wellbeing, both research and practice endeavors have been hindered by a lack of a measure of father engagement practices. This paper reports the development and evaluation of a comprehensive, practitioner-report measure of father engagement practices-—the Father Engagement Questionnaire (FEQ). Practitioners (N = 589; 84.5% females; mean age = 38.56) involved in delivering parenting interventions in Australia completed the FEQ, along with background demographics and questions regarding their own and organization’s practice. A separate sample of 28 practitioners completed the FEQ twice, with a two-week interim, to assess test-retest stability of the measure. Exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors corresponding to the measure’s five intended content areas: Confidence in Working with Fathers, Competence in Using Engagement Strategies, Perceived Effectiveness of Engagement Strategies, Frequency of Strategy Use, and Organizational Practices for Father Engagement. Each of these scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability and test-retest stability. As the five scales appear to be related but distinct, it is recommended that the FEQ is used as a multidimensional measure of father engagement. In terms of predictive validity, higher scores on the Confidence in Working with Fathers, Frequency of Strategy Use, and Organizational Practices for Father Engagement scales were associated with a higher likelihood of practitioner-reported father attendance. The results provide support for adequate psychometric properties of the FEQ as a research and clinical tool for assessing and monitoring father engagement practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that associations between antisocial behaviour, callous-unemotional (CU) traits and cognitive empathy (e.g. perspective taking) vary depending on more fine-grained dimensions of these constructs. This study examined associations between adolescent antisocial behaviour and individual differences in cognitive and affective perspective taking ability. Based on current theory regarding distinct variants of CU traits, we further tested whether the correlates of CU traits differed amongst youth with high versus low levels of anxiety. Participants were 130 male adolescents (81 youth offenders; 49 non-offenders) aged 13-20 years, of predominantly Caucasian and Aboriginal Australian ethnicity. Perspective taking skills were indexed using performance-based testing, and self-report data was collected on CU traits and anxiety in a cross-sectional design. Offender status was associated with poorer cognitive and affective perspective taking. In addition, associations between CU traits and perspective taking skills were moderated by anxiety. Specifically, CU traits were associated with poorer skills for second-order cognitive perspective taking amongst high-anxiety youth, whereas CU traits were associated with better cognitive and affective perspective taking skills amongst low-anxiety youth. More fine-grained assessment of such factors stands to enhance understanding of, and effective intervention for, antisocial youth., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and interparental aggression, are known to have far-reaching consequences for mental health across the lifespan. Emerging evidence, such as that reported by Nobakht et al. (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2023), indicates that child conduct problems (e.g. oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder) may not only result from adversity but also contribute to it through transactional cascades that amplify risk for adversity over time. This commentary addresses some of the key implications of this evidence for translation into practice. It is argued that child conduct problems can be viewed as modifiable determinants of adversity and that the early identification and treatment of child conduct problems may allow for the early identification and reduction of risk for numerous ACEs., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.)

The economic analysis of Goulter et al. (2023) identifies the long-term financial costs arising from conduct problems in the kindergarten period, including those associated with later criminal activity, lost offender productivity, victim costs and government and medical services. These costs are substantial and provide policymakers with a compelling argument for investing in early intervention and prevention of conduct problems. The ultimate goal of reducing the long-term costs of early conduct problems is likely to be achieved only through the coordinated efforts of many stakeholders and diverse courses of action. Outlined here are 10 recommendations for investment that in my view would support progress towards this outcome., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.)

Understanding the developmental psychopathology of child conduct problems (CP) has been advanced by differentiating subtypes based on levels of internalizing problems (INT) and/or callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., low empathy/guilt, poor motivation, shallow/deficient affect). The current study sought to elucidate prior inconsistencies in the role of warm/positive and harsh/negative parenting subcomponents in CP by differentiating subtypes on the basis of INT and CU traits. Parents of 135 young children (M age = 4.21 years, SD = 1.29) referred to specialty clinics for the treatment of CP completed pre-treatment measures of parenting and rated their child's levels of CP, INT, and CU traits. Results of planned comparisons revealed that mothers of children classified as secondary CU variants (high CU/ high INT) reported fewer overall warm attributions toward their child, compared with CP-only (low CU) children. They also reported a more negative dyadic relationship characterized by feelings of anger/hostility, active avoidance and/or a desire to do harm to their child relative to primary CU variants (high CU/ low INT). Mothers of primary CU variants attributed fewer good and altruistic intentions towards others in their child, relative to CP-only children. Subtypes were undifferentiated on observed positive and negative parenting behaviors, indicative of a disconnect between parenting behaviors and cognitions for mothers of children high on CU traits. Findings are discussed in relation to their theoretical and practice implications, and in guiding future research., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The effective treatment of child conduct problems is understood to rely on a range of therapist competencies, yet these have rarely been an explicit focus of research. In this practitioner review, we examine core competencies for the delivery of evidence-based parenting interventions for conduct problems in early-to-middle childhood. These are examined in light of research into the common elements shared by these interventions, literature regarding common challenges in these interventions, and conceptualisations of such competencies in other fields of mental health., Methods: We report on the development of a novel consensus-based model of core competencies for evidence-based practice in this field, based on consultation with an international expert panel. This includes competencies as they apply to complex presentations of conduct problems., Results: Despite considerable variation among widely disseminated programmes in terms of content, format and skills-training practices, there is strong consensus among practitioners regarding core competencies. These relate to three broad domains: (a) generic therapeutic competencies; (b) parenting intervention competencies; (c) specific parenting skills/techniques., Conclusions: Practitioners working with conduct problems, particularly complex presentations thereof, require competencies for engaging not only mothers, but fathers and diverse/non-traditional caregivers and other stakeholders, in evidence-based parenting interventions. Moreover, the successful delivery of these interventions necessitates competencies that extend beyond behaviour management and encompass broader aspects of the family system and the wider ecology of the child., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.)

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and other adversities in the home context and beyond (e.g., witnessing domestic violence; parental mental illness; parental separation; living in a disadvantaged neighborhood) are prevalent in the population and often covary together. Research based on the construct of ACEs has transformed the field of adult mental health, yet child and adolescent mental health has often been overlooked in this work. This special issue of Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology focuses on the developmental science of ACEs and child psychopathology. The research presented here draws on the extensive evidence base that now exists regarding the co-occurrence of common childhood adversities, while informing the integration of theory and research on ACEs with that of developmental psychopathology at large. This Introduction provides an overview of ACEs and child mental health from a developmental psychopathology perspective, with an emphasis on key concepts and recent progress spanning the prenatal period through to adolescence and intergenerational pathways. Models of ACEs that emphasize the multi-dimensional nature of adversity and the importance of developmental timing to risk and protective pathways, have played a driving role in this progress. Methodological innovations in this work are highlighted, along with implications for prevention and intervention., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Extensive research has associated adolescent delinquent behavior with verbal deficits, yet for some subgroups of youth offenders better verbal ability has been associated with increased risk. This study examined associations between specific oral language skills and established markers of high-risk youth offending comprising callous and unemotional (CU) traits, early age of the first offence, and violent offending. Measures of language, CU traits, anxiety, as well as official youth justice data, were collected for adolescent male offenders and non-offenders (n = 130; aged 13-19 years; 62% youth offenders). Pragmatic language was found to be differentially associated with distinct variants of CU traits based on high/low levels of anxiety. Furthermore, among youth offenders with primary variant (low anxiety) CU traits, more violent offending was associated with better structural language skills, while earlier age of first offence was associated with better pragmatic language skills., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a disruptive behaviour disorder involving an ongoing pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behaviour and vindictiveness. Onset is typically before 8 years of age, although ODD can be diagnosed in both children and adults. This disorder is associated with substantial social and economic burden, and childhood ODD is one of the most common precursors of other mental health problems that can arise across the lifespan. The population prevalence of ODD is ~3 to 5%. A higher prevalence in males than females has been reported, particularly before adolescence. No single risk factor accounts for ODD. The development of this disorder seems to arise from the interaction of genetic and environmental factors, and mechanisms embedded in social relationships are understood to contribute to its maintenance. The treatment of ODD is often successful, and relatively brief parenting interventions produce large sized treatment effects in early childhood. Accordingly, ODD represents an important focus for research, practice and policy concerning early intervention and prevention in mental health., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Objective: Across all of Australia's states and territories, it is legal for a parent or carer to hit their child. In this paper, we outline the legal context for corporal punishment in Australia and the argument for its reform., Methods: We review the laws that allow corporal punishment, the international agreements on children's rights, the evidence on the effects of corporal punishment, and outcomes of legislative reform in countries that have changed their laws to prohibit corporal punishment., Results: Legislative reform typically precedes attitude changes and reductions in the use of corporal punishment. Countries with the most ideal outcomes have instigated public health campaigns educating the population about law reform while also providing access to alternative non-violent discipline strategies., Conclusions: Extensive evidence exists demonstrating the adverse effects of corporal punishment. When countries change legislation, educate the public about these effects, and provide alternative strategies for parents, rates of corporal punishment decrease., Implications for Public Health: We recommend law reform in Australia to prohibit corporal punishment, a public health campaign to increase awareness of corporal punishment and its effects, provision of access for parents to alternative evidence-based strategies to assist in parenting, and a national parenting survey to monitor outcomes., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Should conduct disorder (CD) be classified as a psychiatric diagnosis? The model of CD found in current diagnostic systems is not without its flaws. The criteria for CD have often been criticised for lacking developmental sensitivity with regard to young children, and questions concerning the subtyping of the disorder and its overlap with comorbid conditions remain contentious. Compelling evidence nonetheless supports the view that this 'behaviour disorder' represents a complex mental health issue that belongs in these diagnostic systems. Most importantly, it identifies a group of children and adolescents for whom early intervention appears to be particularly critical and may serve to divert chronic trajectories of poor mental health. This debate has significant implications for science and practice and is addressed here with a particular focus on the Australian context., (© 2022 The Authors. Child and Adolescent Mental Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.)

Problematic parental attributions refer to negative causal explanations for child problem behaviour and are known to predict parenting intervention outcomes. This study examines alternative accounts of how mothers' problematic parental attributions, operationalised as negative pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions during treatment, may affect child behaviour outcomes from a parenting intervention program. Putative mediators included parental feelings about the child and use of harsh discipline. Participants were 163 families with children aged from 3 to 16 referred to specialist clinics for the treatment of conduct problems. Measures were collected as part of pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up assessments. Mothers' pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions were associated with smaller improvements in parental feelings at the end of treatment which in turn were associated with greater use of harsh discipline. Greater use of harsh discipline was associated with greater conduct problems overall. Smaller improvements in parental feelings mediated the effects of pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions on outcomes in mothers' use of harsh discipline and mediated the effects of change resistant parental attributions on outcomes in child conduct problems. Smaller improvements in parental feelings about the child may act as a mechanism that explains the impact of problematic parental attributions on treatment outcomes.

Research into the causes and outcomes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been extensive, yet little is known about the perception of ADHD as a disorder and its related outcomes among diagnosed youth. The present study applied the Common-Sense Model of Illness Representations (CSM) to examine the perception of ADHD and its association with quality of life (QoL), coping strategies, and treatment adherence among 63 diagnosed adolescents (10-18 years). Adolescents recruited from clinics, parent support groups, and an educational service completed self-report measures of the key constructs. Results indicated that adolescents generally perceive their ADHD as mildly threatening; four illness beliefs (perceived impact, personal control, timeline, and coherence) are significant predictors of coping and four (perceived impact, causes, personal control, and treatment control) are that of QoL. Adolescents who perceived minimal impact, expected longer duration, had strong sense of coherence, and believed in personal control of ADHD coped with the disorder more actively. Those who made weaker attribution to psychological and environmental causes, believed in personal control and the effectiveness of behavioral treatment enjoyed better QoL. In addition, female adolescents seem to experience more difficulties in the management of ADHD than male counterparts. These findings have potentially important clinical implications, suggesting that perceptions of ADHD related to the disorder's impact, duration, coherence, and personal control, may be important for clinicians to address when caring for adolescents with the disorder., (© 2019 The Author(s).)

Conduct disorder (CD) is a common and highly impairing psychiatric disorder that usually emerges in childhood or adolescence and is characterized by severe antisocial and aggressive behaviour. It frequently co-occurs with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and often leads to antisocial personality disorder in adulthood. CD affects ~3% of school-aged children and is twice as prevalent in males than in females. This disorder can be subtyped according to age at onset (childhood-onset versus adolescent-onset) and the presence or absence of callous-unemotional traits (deficits in empathy and guilt). The aetiology of CD is complex, with contributions of both genetic and environmental risk factors and different forms of interplay among the two (gene-environment interaction and correlation). In addition, CD is associated with neurocognitive impairments; smaller grey matter volume in limbic regions such as the amygdala, insula and orbitofrontal cortex, and functional abnormalities in overlapping brain circuits responsible for emotion processing, emotion regulation and reinforcement-based decision-making have been reported. Lower hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic reactivity to stress has also been reported. Management of CD primarily involves parent-based or family-based psychosocial interventions, although stimulants and atypical antipsychotics are sometimes used, especially in individuals with comorbid ADHD.

Online parenting interventions are an increasingly viable alternative to face-to-face programs, as they can potentially overcome barriers to participation and increase program reach. The current paper describes learnings from the design, development and dissemination of ParentWorks, a self-directed online parenting intervention designed to be inclusive of both mothers and fathers. ParentWorks was promoted via a national media campaign and was accessible to all Australian parents through a dedicated website. Participants created a user account, engaged in a series of video modules, and completed assessment measures at pre-, post-program and 3-month follow-up. For two-caregiver families, parents were encouraged to participate together using a shared account. There was no direct practitioner support, although a range of innovative automated features were included to enhance participant motivation and encourage program completion. Several key lessons emerged from program development and implementation. These relate primarily to design and content of the program website, user account functionality, program structure and features, and data collection. Further research is needed particularly with regard to methods for increasing participant retention in self-directed online programs. The learnings described here will be relevant to those researching and developing online parenting interventions as well as other online mental health interventions aiming to reach a large population sample.

Background: Parent attributions about the causes of their children's behaviour problems are a known predictor of problematic parenting and ongoing child problems. However, their importance in parenting interventions remains unknown as research has not addressed whether parental attributions predict outcomes associated with parenting training. The current study examined whether problematic pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions during treatment uniquely predict child behaviour outcomes., Method: Participants were 250 families with children aged from 3 to 16 referred to specialist clinics for the treatment of conduct problems. Measures of family demographic information, parental attributions, and severity of child conduct problems were collected as part of pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up assessments., Results: Linear regression showed that mothers' pre-treatment parental attributions uniquely predicted severity of conduct problems at the post-treatment and 3-month follow-up assessments. Fathers' pre-treatment parental attributions uniquely predicted severity of conduct problems at the 3-month follow-up assessment. Reductions in problematic pre-treatment parental attributions were recorded at post-treatment for both parents. However, smaller reductions or increases in mothers' problematic attributions uniquely predicted worse child behaviour outcomes, a result not replicated for fathers., Conclusions: Findings that pre-treatment and change resistant parental attributions predict poorer child behaviour outcomes after controlling for other predictors and treatment effects recommend that parental attributions should be assessed prior to and after treatment and possibly included in treatment to maximise treatment gains for children with conduct problems., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The notion that antisocial behavior reflects failures of empathy has a long history in the clinical literature, yet only recently has evidence emerged to support neuroscientific accounts of empathy and the development of child conduct problems. Much of this evidence has come from research into callous-unemotional traits, which correspond to the affective component of psychopathy and therefore encompass deficits in empathy within a broader cluster of emotional impairments. In this review we integrate current evidence concerning the biobehavioral bases of empathy and callous-unemotional traits, and discuss how it may inform models of heterogeneous subgroups of individuals with early onset conduct problems. We argue that somewhat distinct failures of empathy map onto distinct risk pathways to early onset conduct problems, and that these pathways may be best understood by examining empathy in terms of cognitive and environmental prerequisites and the various neurochemical systems implicated therein., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This meta-analysis aimed to update existing data on the comparison of prevalence rates of psychopathology primarily among offspring with at least one parent with bipolar disorder (BD) and offspring of parents without psychiatric illness. Seventeen studies were derived from a systematic search of PsychInfo, Medline, Scopus and Embase. Inclusion criteria were use of a control offspring group, standardized diagnostic procedures and reporting of clear frequency data. Risk of psychopathology was estimated by aggregating frequency data from selected studies. Compared to control offspring, high-risk BD offspring are nine times more likely to have a bipolar-type disorder, almost two and a half times more likely to develop a non-BD affective disorder and over two times more likely to develop at least one anxiety disorder. High-risk offspring also showed a significant increased risk of other non-mood psychopathology such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), any type of behavioral disorder and substance use disorder (SUDs). Risk of developing a broad range of affective and non-affective psychopathology is significantly higher in high-risk BD offspring. Identifying clinical presentations of this genetically high-risk cohort is important in establishing appropriate preventative treatment.

Research into parenting influences on child conduct problems in Asian countries has been limited compared to that conducted in Western countries, especially with regard to interplay between parenting and callous unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., lack of guilt and empathy). This study examined associations between dimensions of aggressive parenting practices (psychological aggression, mild and severe physical aggression), dimensions of child aggression (proactive, reactive), and child CU traits, in Singapore. Participants were children and adolescents with clinic-referred externalizing problems (N = 282; 87.6% boys), aged 7-16 years. Mild and severe parental physical aggression was found to be uniquely associated with children's proactive aggression, whereas parental psychological aggression was uniquely associated with both proactive and reactive aggression. Consistent with previous evidence regarding CU traits as moderators of the relationship between negative parenting and child conduct problems, physically aggressive parenting was found to be more strongly associated with children's proactive aggression among children with low levels of CU traits, than those with high CU traits. These findings support the need for ongoing research into CU traits in Asian cultures, focused on heterogeneous risk pathways to antisocial behavior and individual differences in response to family-based interventions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between family environment (cohesion and parental bonding), high-risk status, and psychopathology (internalizing and externalizing problems) among offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (BD), from the perspective of both offspring and their parents. We further tested if family environment mediated the relationship between bipolar risk status and internalizing and externalizing problems., Method: High-risk (n = 90) BD offspring and control (n = 56) offspring aged 12-21 years old, and their parents, completed questionnaires on family cohesion and offspring internalizing and externalizing problems. Offspring also completed a parental bonding questionnaire. Group differences were examined, followed by multi-level mediation analysis with maximum likelihood and robust standard errors., Results: Both offspring and parents in the high-risk group reported higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems than controls. According to offspring reports, high-risk status, lower maternal and paternal care in parental bonding, was independently associated with internalizing problems. Lower maternal care alone predicted externalizing problems. Family environment did not mediate the relationship between bipolar risk status, and offspring problems., Limitations: Due to rates of missing data from parent reports of offspring psychopathology, mediation analysis was completed using offspring reports., Conclusions: The offspring-report data presented indicate that low parental warmth and connection were associated with internalizing and externalizing problems as an independent risk factor, in addition to bipolar risk status. The parent-child relationship therefore warrants attention as a potential target for prevention strategies with such families., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Decades of research have emphasized the role that coercive and ineffective discipline plays in shaping child and adolescent conduct problems, yet an emerging body of evidence has suggested that parents' emotion socialization behaviors (ESBs) (e.g., reactions to emotions, discussion of emotions, and emotion coaching) may also be implicated. This meta-analysis examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between parental ESBs and conduct problems, and tested for moderators of these associations. A systematic search identified 49 studies for which data on concurrent associations between ESBs and conduct problems were available (n=6270), and 14 studies reporting on prospective associations (n=1899). Parental ESBs were found to be significantly associated with concurrent (r=-0.08) and prospective (r =-0.11) conduct problems, in the order of small effect sizes. Key findings of moderator analyses were that ESBs were more strongly associated with conduct problems at younger ages and when ESBs were focused on the socialization of negative rather than positive emotions. Findings support the integration of ESBs into family-based models of antisocial behavior, and have the potential to inform the design of parent training interventions for the prevention and treatment of child conduct problems., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study examined executive function (EF) among preschoolers exposed to maltreatment, and tested whether caregiver practices related to emotion socialization (e.g., reactions to children's emotions; discussion of emotion) moderate the relationship between maltreatment and EF in this period. Participants were (n=107) children aged 4-5 years (M=4.75; SD=0.57; 39% female), with various levels of exposure to maltreatment. Using the Maltreatment Classification System, substantiated reports of maltreatment were coded to produce an index of the multiplicity of abuse subtypes to which children had been exposed. EF was indexed using a composite of scores on three performance-based tests (Happy-Sad Stroop Task; Tapping Test; Dimensional Change Card Sort). Caregivers reported on their use of emotion related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) with the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale. Exposure to maltreatment and ERSBs were both found to account for unique variance in EF, independent of developmental-ecological factors including children's receptive language and maternal depression. Significant interactions between maltreatment and ERSBs were also found to suggest that nonsupportive ERSBs (e.g., punitive reactions to negative child emotion) may amplify the risk for poor EF associated with maltreatment, whereas supportive ERPBs (e.g., expressive encouragement) protect against it., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recent evidence suggests that epigenetic regulation of the DRD4 gene may characterise specific aspects of ADHD symptomology. We tested associations between ADHD symptoms and epigenetic changes to the DRD4 gene in DNA extracted from blood and saliva in N = 330 children referred for a variety of behavioural and emotional problems. ADHD was indexed using DSM diagnoses as well as mother, father, and teacher reports. Methylation levels were assayed for the island of 18 CpG sites in the DRD4 receptor gene. A nearby SNP, rs3758653, was also genotyped as it has previously been shown to influence methylation levels. There was high consistency of methylation levels across CpG sites and tissue sources, and higher methylation levels were associated with the major allele of SNP rs3758653. Higher methylation levels were associated with more severe ADHD independent of SNP status, tissue source, ethnicity, environmental adversity, and comorbid conduct problems. The association applied specifically to the cognitive/attentional, rather than hyperactivity problems that characterise ADHD. The results indicate that epigenetic regulation of the DRD4 gene in the form of increased methylation is associated with the cognitive/attentional deficits in ADHD.

The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) is a well-established measure of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet it is known to suffer reduced specificity in samples of children with comorbid emotional or behavioural problems. This research examined the specificity of the SRS in children with mixed presentations of internalising and externalising psychopathology and ASD. Participants were 522 (397 male) children aged between 4 and 16 years. The associations between SRS total scores and diagnoses were determined using partial correlations and analyses of variance. A subsample of participants with a single diagnosis was used to identify a subset of questions that distinguished between ASD and all other diagnoses. These items were used to create the 16-item SRS-brief. The SRS was found to have good reliability and sensitivity but poor specificity. The SRS-brief had good psychometric properties and was found to be a more accurate tool for the screening of ASD than the original SRS.

This study tested if children and adolescents with high levels of borderline personality features (BPF) exhibit the same shame-prone self-concept previously found to characterize adults with borderline personality disorder (Rüsch et al., 2007 ). Self-concept was indexed using the Implicit Association Test, in a community sample of children/adolescents aged 10 to 14 years (48% female; M age = 12.04 years). Common domains of child and adolescent psychopathology and core components of BPF were assessed using self-reports on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Borderline Personality Features Scale for Children. The identity problems component of BPF was found to significantly predict implicit levels of shame-prone self-concept, but only among girls. This effect was independent of the key dimensions of child and adolescent psychopathology that overlap with BPF-including features hyperactivity/inattention, disruptive behavior problems, and anxiety/depression-none of which were associated with shame-prone self-concept at the bivariate level or otherwise. The current findings provide preliminary evidence that self-schemas related to shame are uniquely associated with a core component of BPF in middle childhood and early adolescence and suggest that this correlate may apply uniquely to female individuals. These findings point to the identity problems component of BPF as a priority for future clinical and developmental research into mechanisms associated with BPF across childhood and adolescence.