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The developmental pathways linking maltreatment in early childhood and antisocial behavior in adolescence were examined using data from a longitudinal study of high-risk children and their families. Two developmental process variables, emotional/self-regulation (dysregulation) and establishing a close emotional relationship between the child and primary caregiver (alienation), were included in the model in an effort to better understand the pathway from maltreatment to antisocial behavior. The results indicated that alienation and, to a much lesser extent, dysregulation helped explain the relation between early maltreatment and later antisocial behavior. The model including the developmental process variables was a better representation of the data than the model considering only the direct effect between early maltreatment and later antisocial behavior. Physical abuse in early childhood, not emotional neglect, led to alienation in preschool, which then predicted early onset externalizing problems in the elementary school years, ultimately resulting in antisocial behavior in adolescence. One of the implications of these findings for preventing adolescent antisocial behavior is to intervene at an early age with a relationship-based program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Typically developing children who are sensitive to sensory stimulation appear to have more sleep difficulties than children with average sensory sensitivities; however, at what age sleep difficulties emerge and whether they extend to children outside of sleep clinics are unclear., Objective: To investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between sleep and sensory processing in typically developing infants and toddlers., Design: Observational; cross-sectional and longitudinal., Setting: Community., Participants: Children (N = 160) enrolled in a larger four-armed randomized controlled trial of overweight prevention in infancy (40 randomly selected from each arm)., Outcomes and Measures: Parent-reported sleep patterns at ages 6 mo, 1 yr, 2 yr, and 2.5 yr. Sensory Processing Measure-Preschool questionnaire covering five sensory systems and higher level functions: praxis and social participation at age 2.5 yr. Relationships between sleep and sensory variables were analyzed using multiple linear regression models., Results: More problematic sleep at age 2.5 yr was associated with more difficulties in social-relational skills (p < .001), a finding supported by the longitudinal data. Longer settling times were associated with higher vision (p = .036) and touch (p = .028) sensitivities at age 2.5 yr; in the longitudinal data (ages 6 mo-2.5 yr), longer settling times were associated with more sensitive hearing (p = .042)., Conclusions and Relevance: Results support a link between sleep patterns and sensory processing difficulties in toddlers that, in some, can emerge in infancy. Practitioners should be alert to this association in young children presenting with sensory sensitivity or sleep challenges., What This Article Adds: Study findings illustrate that bedtime challenges in typically developing toddlers could be related to sensory processing. A possible way to assist more sensitive children in settling to sleep is to pay attention to visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli that potentially interfere with sleep onset., (Copyright © 2020 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.)

Lactobacillus reuteri strain 100-23 together with a Lactobacillus-free mouse model, provides a system with which the molecular traits underpinning bacterial commensalism in vertebrates can be studied. A polysaccharide was extracted from sucrose-containing liquid cultures of strain 100-23. Chemical analysis showed that this exopolysaccharide was a levan (β-2, 6-linked fructan). Mutation of the fructosyl transferase (ftf) gene resulted in loss of exopolysaccharide production. The ftf mutant was able to colonise the murine gastrointestinal tract in the absence of competition, but colonisation was impaired in competition with the wild type. Biofilm formation by the mutant on the forestomach epithelial surface was not impaired and the matrix between cells was indistinguishable from that of the wild type in electron micrographs. Colonisation of the mouse gut by the wild-type strain led to increased proportions of regulatory T cells (Foxp3+) in the spleen, whereas colonisation by the ftf mutant did not. Survival of the mutant in sucrose-containing medium was markedly reduced relative to the wild type. Comparison of the genomic ftf loci of strain 100-23 with other L. reuteri strains suggested that the ftf gene was acquired by lateral gene transfer early in the evolution of the species and subsequently diversified at accelerated rates. Levan production by L. reuteri 100-23 may represent a function acquired by the bacterial species for life in moderate to high-sucrose extra-gastrointestinal environments that has subsequently been diverted to novel uses, including immunomodulation, that aid in colonisation of the murine gut.

In the interest of improving child maltreatment prevention science, this longitudinal, community based study of 499 mothers and their infants tested the hypothesis that mothers' childhood history of maltreatment would predict maternal substance use problems, which in turn would predict offspring victimization. Mothers (35% White/non-Latina, 34% Black/non-Latina, 23% Latina, 7% other) were recruited and interviewed during pregnancy, and child protective services records were reviewed for the presence of the participants' target infants between birth and age 26 months. Mediating pathways were examined through structural equation modeling and tested using the products of the coefficients approach. The mediated pathway from maternal history of sexual abuse to substance use problems to offspring victimization was significant (standardized mediated path [ab] = .07, 95% CI [.02, .14]; effect size = .26), as was the mediated pathway from maternal history of physical abuse to substance use problems to offspring victimization (standardized mediated path [ab] = .05, 95% CI [.01, .11]; effect size = .19). There was no significant mediated pathway from maternal history of neglect. Findings are discussed in terms of specific implications for child maltreatment prevention, including the importance of assessment and early intervention for maternal history of maltreatment and substance use problems, targeting women with maltreatment histories for substance use services, and integrating child welfare and parenting programs with substance use treatment.

The current study examined the individual and joint effects of self-reported adult attachment style, psychological distress, and parenting stress on maternal caregiving behaviors at 6 and 12 months of child age. We proposed a diathesis-stress model to examine the potential deleterious effects of stress for mothers with insecure adult attachment styles. Data from 137 mothers were gathered by the longitudinal Durham Child Health and Development Study. Mothers provided self-reports using Hazan and Shaver's (1987) Adult Attachment Style measure, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Parent Stress Inventory; observations of parenting data were made from 10-minute free play interactions. Consistently avoidant mothers were less sensitive with their infants than consistently secure mothers; however, this effect was limited to avoidant mothers who experienced elevated levels of psychological distress. Results suggest that the association between insecure adult attachment style and insensitive parenting behavior is moderated by concurrent psychosocial stress. Clinical implications for these findings are discussed.

In the interest of improving child maltreatment prevention, this prospective, longitudinal, community-based study of 499 mothers and their infants examined (a) direct associations between mothers' experiences of childhood maltreatment and their offspring's maltreatment, and (b) mothers' mental health problems, social isolation, and social information processing patterns (hostile attributions and aggressive response biases) as mediators of these associations. Mothers' childhood physical abuse--but not neglect--directly predicted offspring victimization. This association was mediated by mothers' social isolation and aggressive response biases. Findings are discussed in terms of specific implications for child maltreatment prevention., (© 2011 The Authors. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.)

The current study investigated concurrent and longitudinal mediated and mediated moderation pathways among maltreatment, self-perception (i.e., loneliness and self-esteem), social support, and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. For both genders, early childhood maltreatment (i.e., ages 0-6) was related directly to internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at age 6, and later maltreatment (i.e., ages 6-8) was directly related to internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at age 8. Results of concurrent mediation and mediated moderation indicated that early maltreatment was significantly related to internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at age 6 indirectly both through age 6 loneliness and self-esteem for boys and through age 6 loneliness for girls. Significant moderation of the pathway from early maltreatment to self-esteem, and for boys, significant mediated moderation to emotional and behavioral problems were found, such that the mediated effect through self-esteem varied across levels of social support, though in an unexpected direction. No significant longitudinal mediation or mediated moderation was found, however, between the age 6 mediators and moderator and internalizing or externalizing problems at age 8. The roles of the hypothesized mediating and moderating mechanisms are discussed, with implications for designing intervention and prevention programs.

This study is unique in addressing developmental correlates of direct social support for young children in a high risk sample, in contrast to previous studies addressing social support for caregivers. Participants were drawn from a prospective, longitudinal study of at-risk children. Social support was rated from maternal interviews throughout early childhood. Support from the mother was assessed from mother-child observations. Outcomes included internalizing and externalizing behavior problems measured from first through tenth grades. The most common support providers were biological fathers, followed by grandparents and other providers. Using multilevel modeling, higher quantity, higher quality, and lower disruption of support predicted lower starting levels of behavior problems, controlling for support from the mother. Disruption was associated with change in slope. Gender differences were found for externalizing behavior intercepts. Social support provides a promotive factor for young high risk children. Implications include involving children's social support providers in prevention and intervention programs.

Background: Research examining intergenerational transmission of psychopathology is often limited by reliance on the same individuals for information on multiple constructs of interest. To counteract this limitation, data from a prospective, longitudinal study of at-risk youth were analyzed to test the hypothesis that parenting and family environmental factors mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and offspring psychopathology in late adolescence., Method: Data were taken from 184 families of the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Measures included the CES-D and Beck depression inventories, home environment ratings and a family conflict scale, and CBCL behavior problem checklist and K-SADS psychiatric symptom scores. Regression analyses were conducted to test for mediation of maternal depression effects by family environmental factors., Results: Analyses using a single informant and time point showed evidence for substantial mediation; however, in analyses spanning independent informants and multiple time points mediating effects were markedly reduced. Sex differences were found, in that parenting and family environmental factors related to psychopathology for males, whereas maternal depression was more directly related to psychopathology for females., Conclusions: Results emphasize the importance of independent data for testing mediational claims, and support claims that the processes involved in the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology are different for male and female youth.

Background: Cumulative risk research has established the deleterious effects of co-occurring risk factors on child behavior outcomes. However, extant literature has not addressed potential differential effects of cumulative risk at different points in development and has left open questions about whether a threshold model or a linear risk model better describes the impact of cumulative risk on behavior outcomes. The current study examined the impact of cumulative risk factors (i.e., child maltreatment, inter-parental violence, family disruption, low socioeconomic status, and high parental stress) in early and middle childhood on child behavior outcomes in adolescence., Methods: Using data from an ongoing longitudinal study of at-risk urban children (N=171), the cumulative effects of these five risk factors across early and middle childhood were investigated., Results: The findings support the cumulative risk hypothesis that the number of risks in early childhood predicts behavior problems in adolescence. Evidence for a linear but not a threshold model of cumulative risk was found; the more risks present, the worse the child outcome. Moreover, the presence of multiple risks in early childhood continues to explain variations in predicting adolescent behavior outcomes even after including the effects of risk in middle childhood., Conclusions: The results support the need for comprehensive prevention and early intervention efforts with high-risk children, such that there does not appear to be a point beyond which services for children are hopeless, and that every risk factor we can reduce matters.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of the hepatitis C virus among pregnant women, to gauge the non-injecting, particularly sexual, risk of them being hepatitis C virus infected and to assess the potential impact of selective antenatal screening., Population: Antenatal clinic attenders and women undergoing termination of pregnancy in 1997., Setting: Ninewells Hospital, Dundee., Design: Unlinked anonymous hepatitis C virus antibody testing of residual sera from specimens sent to the virus laboratory for routine serological testing. The results were linked to non-identifying risk information., Results: Overall anti-hepatitis C virus prevalence was 0.6% (23/3,548). Prevalences among injecting drug users, non-injectors who had a sexual partner who injected, and those with neither risk respectively were 41% (7/17), 15% (5/33) and 0.3% (11/3,498). Relative risks for being an injector and a sexual partner of an injector respectively were 131 (95% CI 58-297) and 48 (95% CI 5-32). It is estimated that one of the 18 antenatal clinic attenders gave birth to an infected child., Conclusion: Findings suggest that non-injecting partners of injectors may be at considerable risk of acquiring hepatitis C virus sexually. Efforts to promote the use of condoms among injectors and their sexual partners should be increased. Selective anti-hepatitis C virus screening of women who reported high risk behaviour would have failed to detect half the cases. Research to gauge the views of women of childbearing age on anti-hepatitis C virus testing is required.