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Response to domestic violence must be culturally competent and treatment protocols need to be developed for children witnessing domestic violence. Relevant issues include clinical responses to violence in Native American, Latina immigrant, and lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities.

In this article, the authors reflect on the 5 years since the publication of DC:0-5™: Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC:0--5; ZERO TO THREE, 2016). They describe the context in which the Task Force was created, some of the initial shaping decisions that were made, and the process used to create the revised nosology. The authors highlight the major changes in DC:0--5 and conclude by assessing the value of DC:0--5 based on a priori criteria that we established prior to publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the importance of cultural sensitivity in work with parents who may be dysfunctional or inappropriate in their child rearing practices. (PCB)

Romantic partner support from the father-to-be is associated with women's mental health during pregnancy. However, most studies of partner support rely upon women's responses to self-report questionnaires, which may be biased and should be corroborated by efficient, coder-rated measures of partner support. This study tested whether the Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS), adapted to assess expressed emotion about romantic partners, can provide information about partner support during pregnancy that is less prone to bias than self-report. Participants were 101 low-income, ethnically diverse pregnant women who completed self-report questions on partner support quality and the FMSS. Self-reported and coder-rated (FMSS) partner support were highly correlated and were each significantly associated with self-reported depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, perceived stress, and partner victimization during pregnancy. Self-reported and coder-rated support corresponded in approximately 75% of cases; however, nearly 25% of women self-reported high support but received low FMSS support ratings. These women reported elevated PTSD symptoms, perceived stress, and victimization during pregnancy. While self-reported partner support may be valid for many respondents, the FMSS is less susceptible to reporting biases and may better identify women facing heightened psychopathology and stress during pregnancy, who would benefit from supportive intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) scale and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) are among the most widely used instruments for assessing childhood maltreatment, yet the convergent validity and concordance of their maltreatment subscales has only been examined in one previous non-U.S. study. This study represents the first replication and extension study to address the strengths and weaknesses of relying on the five-item ACEs maltreatment scale versus the 28-item CTQ. Participants were 77 low-income, ethnically-diverse women (M = 29.19, SD = 6.55, range = 18–44 years; 34% Latina, 24% White, 22% African-American, 20% biracial/multiracial/other; 18% Spanish-speaking) who completed the ACEs scale during pregnancy and the CTQ at three months post-partum. We hypothesized that total childhood maltreatment scores and maltreatment subtypes would be significantly associated, indicating concordance across instruments. We also conducted sensitivity and specificity analyses to determine the extent to which ACEs maltreatment subtypes correctly predicted corresponding CTQ subtypes and performed exploratory analyses on minimization/denial (MD) and inconsistent responding across instruments. Results supported generally good convergent validity of total childhood maltreatment and most subtype scores across instruments. Sexual abuse had the highest sensitivity and specificity, while physical neglect was most prone to underreporting on the ACEs scale. A small subset of women were characterized by high MD, reflecting tendencies to minimize their maltreatment histories across both instruments and also report significantly lower contemporaneous depression and PTSD symptoms than women with low MD. This study informs strengths and tradeoffs of two well-known instruments for assessing retrospectively-reported childhood maltreatment in low-income, vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This replication study examined protective effects of positive childhood memories with caregivers ("angels in the nursery") against lifespan and intergenerational transmission of trauma. More positive, elaborated angel memories were hypothesized to buffer associations between mothers' childhood maltreatment and their adulthood posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, comorbid psychopathology, and children's trauma exposure. Participants were 185 mothers (M age = 30.67 years, SD = 6.44, range = 17–46 years, 54.6% Latina, 17.8% White, 10.3% African American, 17.3% other; 24% Spanish speaking) and children (M age = 42.51 months; SD = 15.95, range = 3–72 months; 51.4% male). Mothers completed the Angels in the Nursery Interview (Van Horn, Lieberman, & Harris, 2008), and assessments of childhood maltreatment, adulthood psychopathology, children's trauma exposure, and demographics. Angel memories significantly moderated associations between maltreatment and PTSD (but not depression) symptoms, comorbid psychopathology, and children's trauma exposure. For mothers with less positive, elaborated angel memories, higher levels of maltreatment predicted higher levels of psychopathology and children's trauma exposure. For mothers with more positive, elaborated memories, however, predictive associations were not significant, reflecting protective effects. Furthermore, protective effects against children's trauma exposure were significant only for female children, suggesting that angel memories may specifically buffer against intergenerational trauma from mothers to daughters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization during pregnancy is a major public health concern, yet little is known about how risk factors for IPV during pregnancy may depend on whether women have histories of victimization dating back to early childhood (ages 0-5 years). This study examined whether risk factors for physical IPV victimization during pregnancy (a pregnancy that was not planned and prenatal substance use) differed for women with versus without early childhood victimization. Participants were 236 ethnically diverse, low-income biological mothers (M = 30.94 years; 50.0% Latina, 16.9% Caucasian, 13.1% African American, and 16.9% multiracial) of children aged 0 to 6 years. Mothers were classified into four groups based on whether they had experienced early childhood victimization and physical IPV victimization during pregnancy with the target child. Multinomial logistic regressions, controlling for demographic characteristics, examined whether a pregnancy not planned and prenatal substance use predicted group membership. Compared to mothers with early victimization only, mothers with both early childhood victimization and physical IPV during pregnancy were more than 3 times as likely to report that their pregnancy with the target child was not planned. In follow-up analyses, mothers with early victimization and physical IPV during pregnancy also reported higher lifetime parity than mothers with physical IPV during pregnancy but no early victimization. Early childhood victimization may place women on a risk pathway to physical IPV during pregnancy, particularly if the pregnancy is not planned. Prevention and policy efforts should screen women for early childhood victimization to understand risks for physical IPV during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some children are brought to pediatric care services more often than others. Although the presence of an illness is the main reason for using pediatric health care services, common childhood illnesses are not distributed evenly among users. There is a small percentage of users who have a greater variety and number of illnesses. Children of parents who are anxious about health, or who have had an experience with a serious illness early in life are seen more often in pediatric health care services. This pattern of health care utilization is likely to continue throughout childhood and into adulthood. To see if the quality of early mother-infant attachment influences the use of pediatric health care services, 56 mother-infant pairs were studied. The quality of mother-infant attachment was assessed using the Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure. Trained observers classified the responses of the mothers and infants after they were reunited following eight increasingly stressful situations experienced by the infant. The mother-infant bond was considered secure in 17 pairs and anxiously attached in 39 pairs. The infants' medical records for the first 12 months of life were studied. Pediatric health care services were used more often and earlier in the anxiously attached mother-infant pairs. Acute care visits were made at an average 3.8 months of age for anxiously attached infants, compared with 6.5 months for infants of securely attached pairs. The number of acute care visits in the anxiously attached pairs was 3.6 compared with 1.9 in the securely attached pairs. The number of well-child visits was the same in both groups. Both groups of mothers made visits for similar symptoms and illnesses. Although anxious mothers made more visits for their infants, the illnesses were not more severe. There was no association between prenatal and birth experiences and pediatric care use and the quality of attachment. The findings indicate that there is a relationship between mother-infant attachment and the use of pediatric health care services. Early recognition of poor mother-infant bonding will be helpful in planning comprehensive evaluations and providing interventions that can improve the mother-infant relationship. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)