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This study introduced the novel concept of Centeredness, a measure of the emotional atmosphere of the family of origin and a target adult individual’s perception of feeling safe, accepted, and supported from childhood primary caregivers and other family members. This study developed a Centeredness scale for adult respondents and tested hypotheses that higher levels of overall Centeredness would predict lower levels of depression and anxiety symptoms; suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs); and aggressive behavior; and higher levels of life satisfaction. Predictive effects of Centeredness were compared against attachment-related anxiety and avoidance, and adverse and benevolent childhood experiences (ACEs and BCEs). Participants were recruited via the Prolific-Academic (Pro-A) survey panel into two large independent samples of US young adults aged 19–35 years [Sample 1 (test sample), N = 548, 53.5% female, 2.2% gender non-conforming, 68.3% White, recruited before the pandemic; Sample 2 (replication sample), N = 1,198, 56.2% female, 2.3% gender non-conforming, 66.4% White; recruited during the pandemic]. Participants completed the novel Centeredness scale, which showed strong psychometric properties, and standardized, publicly available assessments of childhood experiences and mental health outcomes. Centeredness was the only variable that significantly predicted each mental health outcome across both samples. BCEs predicted all outcomes except aggressive behavior in the test sample. Centeredness and BCEs were also the only two variables that significantly predicted a dimensional mental health composite in both samples. Neither attachment-related anxiety and avoidance nor ACEs were as broadly predictive. The Centeredness scale assesses emotional aspects of childhood family relationships with individuals of diverse backgrounds and family compositions. Clinical and cultural implications are discussed.

Despite empirical evidence documenting the role of positive childhood experiences in predicting adaptation over the lifespan and across generations, this research has not yet been fully integrated ...

The present study examined developmental antecedents of angels and ghosts in the nursery during the pregnancy and postnatal periods. Higher levels of benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) were hypothesized to predict higher levels of angels in the nursery at both periods, whereas higher levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were expected to predict higher levels of ghost in the nursery at both periods. Participants were 101 low-income, ethnically diverse pregnant women (M = 29.10 years, SD = 6.56, range = 18–44; 37% Latina, 22% African American, 20% White, 13% biracial/multiracial, 8% other) planning to deliver at an urban general hospital. During their second or third trimester, they reported on ACEs, BCEs, and demographic information. During pregnancy and 3–4 months of postnatal, they completed the Angels in the Nursery Interview (Van Horn, Lieberman, & Harris, 2008), coded by trained raters for quality of loving memories with childhood caregivers (angel memories) and traumatic intrusions of childhood adversity (ghost memories). Results revealed moderate stability of angel and ghost memories across the perinatal period. Higher levels of BCEs directly predicted higher levels of angel memories during pregnancy, and indirectly predicted higher levels of angel memories during the postnatal period through angel memories during pregnancy. Higher levels of ACEs directly predicted higher levels of ghost memories during both periods. BCEs did not predict ghost memories and ACEs did not predict angel memories. Findings support independent pathways of risk and resilience through the pregnancy period with distinct origins in women’s childhood adversity versus positive childhood experiences. Implications for promoting intergenerational resilience by linking and leveraging BCEs and angel memories and recovering from ACEs and ghost memories are discussed.

This study extends the validity and replicability of the Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) scale, a novel instrument for adults with childhood adversity. The BCEs scale assesses 10 favorable childhood experiences, yielding a total score similar to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) scale (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017; Felitti et al., 1998). The current study examined the BCEs scale in a sample of homeless parents and hypothesized that higher levels of total BCEs would predict lower odds of psychological distress, sociodemographic risk, and parenting stress after accounting for ACEs. Participants were 50 ethnically diverse parents (42 birth mothers, 5 birth fathers, 1 stepfather, and 2 grandmothers in the primary caregiver role; M = 32.50 years, SD = 9.29, range = 21-62 years; 66% African American, 12% White, 12% American Indian, 10% biracial/other) residing at a homeless shelter with their children. Parents completed the BCEs and ACEs scales and instruments on psychological distress, sociodemographic risk, and parenting stress. Higher levels of BCEs predicted lower odds of psychological distress, as expected. Higher levels of ACEs predicted higher sociodemographic risk. However, neither BCEs nor ACEs predicted parenting stress. Mean levels of total BCEs and item frequencies were strikingly similar to the pilot sample, although homeless parents reported significantly lower predictable home routines in childhood. BCEs and ACEs were only modestly negatively associated, underscoring the independence of adverse and positive early experiences. The BCEs scale is a promising, brief and culturally sensitive index of childhood experiences linked to long-term resilience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Research has shown that executive function (EF) skills are associated with resilience in preschoolers experiencing risk and adversity, but these studies have typically relied on large batteries of tasks to measure children's EF skills. There is a need for brief, reliable EF assessments that can be used in the field with diverse young children. The current study assessed the validity and test-retest reliability of two tablet-based EF tasks from the NIH Toolbox: The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) and the Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test, each with a developmental extension (Dext) that is triggered when a child struggles with the standardized versions. Dext versions include easier levels intended to improve task accessibility for younger and disadvantaged children. Eighty-six preschoolers residing in emergency housing participated in two study sessions about one week apart, completing tablet-based DCCS-Dext and Flanker-Dext tasks, along with a table-top EF task (Peg-Tapping) and measures of vocabulary and numeracy. The majority of participants triggered the Dext portion of the DCCS and almost half triggered the Dext portion of the Flanker, underscoring the need for extensions of the Toolbox EF tasks to lower the floor of these measures. The Dext EF measures were positively associated with Peg-Tapping, after controlling for age and vocabulary, indicating construct validity. They were also correlated with math achievement, suggesting criterion validity. DCCS-Dext and Flanker-Dext showed moderate test-retest reliability after one week. Together, these findings demonstrate the value of developmental extensions for assessing EF skills among children experiencing risk and adversity.

There is a paucity of selective, Tier 2 interventions that educators can implement for students with internalizing problems as part of their schools' Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports. To fill this void, the authors' purpose was to evaluate the efficacy, acceptability, and integrity of a structured school-based mentoring program, the Courage and Confidence Mentor Program (CCMP), for elementary students. A single-case experimental multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the efficacy of the CCMP with 6 students. Visual analysis of the results and single-case effect size estimates revealed that all but 1 of the participants demonstrated noticeable reductions in internalizing problems as measured by teacher-completed direct behavior ratings. Findings were confirmed by other dependent variables gathered from students and teachers. Limitations of the methods and directions for future research involving Tier 2 interventions for elementary students with internalizing problems are ...

This study examined type and timing of childhood experiences – both adverse (ACEs; Felitti et al., 1998 ) and benevolent (BCEs, a novel index of childhood resources; Narayan, Rivera, Bernstein, Harris, & Lieberman, 2018 ) on several pregnancy-related outcomes. Participants were 101 low-income pregnant women (M = 29.10 years, SD = 6.56, range = 18–44; 37% Latina, 22% African-American, 20% White, 13% biracial/multiracial, 8% other) who completed the ACEs questionnaire for childhood maltreatment versus family dysfunction and the BCEs scale, including the ages when experiences occurred [i.e., 0–5 years (early childhood), 6–12 years (middle childhood), and 13–18 years (adolescence)]. They also reported on psychopathology symptoms, risky reproductive planning, stressful life events (SLEs), and demographics. Analyses supported type, rather than timing of experiences: specific experiences (i.e., maltreatment versus family dysfunction versus BCEs) predicted specific outcomes, regardless of the developmental period when they occurred. Specifically, maltreatment predicted PTSD symptoms, BCEs predicted risky reproductive planning, and family dysfunction and BCEs predicted SLEs. Experiences that began earlier were also more predictive than experiences that began later. Findings suggest that adverse versus benevolent childhood experiences are uniquely linked to adaptation during pregnancy and underscore the importance of also including BCEs in prenatal screening.