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Background: In recent years, there has been a wide array of research studies published on parental mental health and stress following very preterm birth. This review aims at reviewing the prevalence and risk factors of long-term parental depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms and parenting stress following very preterm birth., Methods: We searched PubMed, PsychINFO and Web of Science for descriptive, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies published between January 2013 and August 2022., Results: 45 studies met our inclusion criteria. In the first two years, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms and parenting stress were present in ∼20 % of mothers of extreme and very low birth weight (E/VLBW) infants. Long-term psychological distress symptoms could be observed, although few studies have focused on symptoms into school age and longer. Fathers of VLBW infants might experience more psychological distress as well, however, they were only included in ten studies. We found that parental distress is more common when the co-parent is struggling with mental health symptoms. Many risk factors were identified such as social risk, history of mental illness, interpersonal factors (i.e. social support) and child-related factors (i.e. intraventricular hemorrhage, disability, use of medical equipment at home)., Limitations: Several studies have methodological issues, such as a lack of control of known confounders and there is a large variety of measures employed., Conclusion: Important risk factors for stress and mental health symptoms were identified. More evidence is needed to determine if long-term symptoms persist into school age. Research should focus on taking a family-based approach in order to identify preventive strategies and resilience factors in parents of VLBW infants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study examines the stability of child attachment to mothers and fathers separately, and to both parents as a network between the infancy and preschool periods using a sample of 143 biparental families and their children (73 boys) recruited from the general population. Attachment was assessed at 15 months with the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) and at 45 months with the Preschool Attachment Classification Coding System (PACS). First, results show no stability in attachment to mothers, to fathers, or to both parents as a network. Second, parents' mental health, life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and child externalizing behavior are associated with attachment stability. Taken altogether, group comparisons reveal that children with a stable secure attachment to both parents as a network have parents with higher levels of well-being and exhibit less problem behaviors than children with 1) a stable secure attachment to one parent and an unstable attachment to the other parent (from secure to insecure or from insecure to secure), or 2) who never had a stable secure attachment to either parent. This study highlights the significance of attachment to both parents as a network over time as it is associated with developmental outcomes.

Context and Purpose: Prematurity is a situation that can disrupt parent-child interactions. We hypothesize that establishing relationships with parents in a context of extreme prematurity can alter the development of secure attachment representations in the child. Furthermore, we hypothesize that secure maternal representations and their possible interactions with prematurity factors prevent the development of insecure or disorganized attachment in the child. In addition, maternal representations and their possible interactions with factors related to prematurity may prevent or accentuate the development of an insecure or disorganized attachment in the child., Methods and Analysis: This is a longitudinal, prospective, exploratory, and bi-centric study. Children born in the neonatal intensive care units of Angers or Nantes University Hospitals with a gestational age of up to 28 weeks will be included in the study. The main objective is to describe the attachment representations at 3 and 5 years through the Attachment Story Completion Task scales and to analyze them in regard to the children's neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes as well as maternal attachment and mental health., Ethics: The study file received a favorable opinion for the implementation of this research on February 18, 2020 - ID-RCB no. 2019-A03352-55 (File 2-20-007 id6699) 2°HPS. This study has received authorization from the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) under no. 920229., Discussion: A better understanding of attachment representations in extreme prematurity and their possible associations with children's neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes as well as maternal attachment and mental health could pave the way for individualized care at an early stage, or even interventions during the neonatal period to improve the outcome of these vulnerable newborns., Trial Registration: [ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [NCT04304846]., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Riquin, Sandnes, Bacro, Vinay, Miljkovitch, Rouger, Rakotonjanahary, Gascoin and Müller.)

Attachment theory and research are drawn upon in many applied settings, including family courts, but misunderstandings are widespread and sometimes result in misapplications. The aim of this consensus statement is, therefore, to enhance understanding, counter misinformation, and steer family-court utilisation of attachment theory in a supportive, evidence-based direction, especially with regard to child protection and child custody decision-making. The article is divided into two parts. In the first, we address problems related to the use of attachment theory and research in family courts, and discuss reasons for these problems. To this end, we examine family court applications of attachment theory in the current context of the best-interest-of-the-child standard, discuss misunderstandings regarding attachment theory, and identify factors that have hindered accurate implementation. In the second part, we provide recommendations for the application of attachment theory and research. To this end, we set out three attachment principles: the child's need for familiar, non-abusive caregivers; the value of continuity of good-enough care; and the benefits of networks of attachment relationships. We also discuss the suitability of assessments of attachment quality and caregiving behaviour to inform family court decision-making. We conclude that assessments of caregiver behaviour should take center stage. Although there is dissensus among us regarding the use of assessments of attachment quality to inform child custody and child-protection decisions, such assessments are currently most suitable for targeting and directing supportive interventions. Finally, we provide directions to guide future interdisciplinary research collaboration.

Intellectual giftedness is commonly associated with a high level of intellectual functioning, an identification process whereby individuals are labeled as gifted, and adjustments in schools such as grade skipping. During adolescence, all these factors are prone to reduce peer connectedness and school life satisfaction. The aim of the present study was to disentangle the effects of these factors in a sample of 492 sixth and 10th graders. We identified three subsamples based on different characteristics associated with giftedness: students previously identified as gifted (n = 66), students who scored in the top 10% on a general intelligence test (n = 49), and students who had skipped a grade (n = 57). Comparative analysis showed that none of these subsamples differed from their respective control groups on school life satisfaction. Students labeled as gifted reported a lower level of peer connectedness, and the latter's contribution to school life satisfaction was significantly stronger within this subsample. These results underscore the importance of social integration for adolescents identified as intellectually gifted and exclude grade skipping as a risk factor. Moreover, high intellectual level does not seem to impact either school life satisfaction or peer connectedness., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between externalizing behaviors and the quality of attachment representations in preschool children, and to determine if family type and custody arrangement had a moderating effect on this relationship. The participants were 33 girls and 31 boys (n = 64) aged between three and six years (M = 4.75; SD = 0.87 years) and their mothers. Among them, 36 came from "intact" families, 13 were living mainly with their mothers and 15 were in joint physical custody. Children's attachment representations were assessed with the Attachment Story Completion Task (Bretherton, Ridgeway & Cassidy, 1990). Mothers reported on their child's behavior problems using the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and on their alliance with the father using the Parenting Alliance Inventory (Abidin & Brunner, 1995). Although children's externalizing behaviors were found to be associated with the disorganization of their attachment representations, this relationship was significantly weaker and was non-significant for children in joint physical custody. Thus, the results of this pilot study suggest that joint custody may protect children of separated parents from the effects of attachment disorganization on externalizing behaviors., (© 2020 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Besides diseases, the concept of quality of life is increasingly used to account for the consequences of other vulnerability situations that may be encountered by individuals, including young children. However, very few studies have examined children's perception of their quality of life in the context of child welfare and protection, and they yielded mixed results., Objectives: The objectives of this study were (1) to compare the subjective quality of life of children placed in institution with that of children living in their families, by controlling for child sex, age, socioeconomic and familial status, and (2) to examine its relations with their placement course in the child welfare system., Method: The sample of this study was composed of 56 children aged 6 to 11, 28 of which were placed in a child welfare institution. Information about the placement course of institutionalized children was given by their social workers and the quality of life of all participants was assessed with the AUQUEI questionnaire. This self-report, which is based on children's conception of their quality of life, allows assessment of four distinct dimensions in addition to the overall score: leisure, performances, relations and family life, and separation., Results: According to the results, the quality of life of children placed in institutions did not differ from that of children living in their families. However, its perception was closely related to the placement course of institutionalized children in the child welfare system. Whereas maltreated children obtained lower overall and performance scores than their neglected peers, children placed in foster families before institution had a poorer perception of their quality of life in the domains of family life and separations., Discussion: These results are interpreted in light of attachment research and theory. Indeed, the relations between children's quality of life and their placement course could be explained by their high level of attachment disorganization. Finally, the results of this study suggested that children were well aware of their difficulties and that they can easily be identified by directly assessing the children's quality of life., (Copyright © 2014 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)