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Hearts and Minds on Babies (HMB) is an innovative, attachment-based training for Early Head Start (EHS) staff and parents, developed through a collaboration between university-based researchers and clinicians and community-based EHS educators. This article describes HMB, our collaboration, and lessons learned when infusing infant and early childhood mental health principles within professional development training for early childhood educators. The authors explain how to frame attachment needs within the goals of the educational setting, honor culture and diversity, and take time to allow for the development of safe and secure relationships. Stories from a university-based HMB facilitator, an EHS teacher, and an EHS administrator highlight how HMB supports the participants' emotional response as they are learning new ways of being with very young children; a parallel experience related to the needs of the children themselves.

Infants, toddlers, and young children have unique needs when separated from their primary caregivers because of child abuse and neglect. Parents of these children often have their own histories of abuse and neglect and can benefit from assessments and interventions that bear in mind the effect caregiving histories have on present parenting. This article describes a unique intervention designed by evaluators of a court team in Wayne County, Michigan. The video-based "assessment and feedback session" shares evaluation assessment results with parents and infant mental health clinicians in a way that promotes honest conversations about relational and developmental strengths and concerns while supporting the developing therapeutic relationship.

This study assessed the links between infant negative affect, parental reflective functioning (RF), and toddler behavior problems in a sample of 84 women and their infants. Mothers provided self-report demographic data and completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised during a home visit when the infant was 7 months old. They also completed the Child Behavior Checklist over the phone when their infant was 18 months old. During a lab visit when their infant was 16 months old, mothers participated in the Parent Development Interview-Revised Short Form, which was coded for RF. Results suggest that parental RF was not associated with infant negative affect or toddler behavior problems. However, infant negative affect correlated positively with toddler behavior problems and both correlated with cumulative sociodemographic risk. Results of a moderation analysis revealed that RF moderated the relationship between infant negative affect and toddler behavior problems, such that when parental RF was high there was a nonsignificant relationship between infant negative affect and toddler behavior problems.

This study examined relations between parenting, shared reading practices, and child development. Participants included 28 children (M = 24.66 months, SD = 8.41 months) and their parents. Measures included naturalistic observations of parenting and shared reading quality, assessments of child cognitive and language development, and home reading practices. Higher quality parenting was found to be significantly, positively correlated with higher quality shared reading interactions. Of the specific domains of parenting behaviors assessed, teaching behaviors demonstrated the strongest relationship with shared reading quality. Parental self-report of reading frequency was not correlated with observed shared reading quality. Shared reading quality was predictive of children's receptive language outcomes; the addition of shared reading frequency did not improve prediction. Early childhood educators can benefit from knowing the potential importance of specific parenting practices and high-quality parent-child shared reading interactions in facilitating children's language development.

An estimated 5-25% of women suffer from perinatal depression (PD). If left untreated, PD can have negative consequences for maternal and child mental health. During pregnancy and the postpartum period, women are in contact with a variety of professionals and paraprofessionals such as public health nurses, early childhood providers and home visitors, which provides an excellent opportunity for identification, referral or treatment of PD. Using the pre-test data from a training series about PD, this article describes participants' self-reported knowledge about risk factors for the onset, medication, effects, screening and treatment of PD. Relationships between level of self-reported knowledge, occupation and education, and the implications for practice are also described. Findings from this study suggest that there is a need for training in PD, especially for paraprofessional home visitors and early childhood providers. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study examines the relationship between disorganized attachment representations, defensive dysregulation in preschool children's doll play story narratives and child externalizing behaviour. Preschool children (n = 53) participated in the George and Solomon (1990, 1996, 2000) "Six-Year Attachment Doll Play Procedure" and their mothers completed a measure on child behaviour. Disorganized children's stories contained the most dysregulated content and their behaviour during the doll play interview was the most dysregulated. Ambivalent children exhibited the highest level of externalizing behaviour and dysregulated story content was only associated with externalizing behaviour for children classified as ambivalent. Implications for interventions and teacher--student relationships are discussed.

This study examines the rate of internalizing and externalizing behavior and whether or not family factors influence internalizing and externalizing behavior differently depending on child gender. Sixty-three Head Start parent-child dyads participated in this study. Rates of externalizing behavior at home for males and females were consistent with other published studies (18.2% and 22%, respectively) Only 4.5% of the males and 24% of the females were categorized as having clinically significant internalizing difficulties at home. Teacher reports of internalizing behavior for males and females were much higher than parent reports (18.2% and 22%, respectively). Depression contributed unique variance and was the only significant predictor of girls' externalizing behavior, and approached significance as a predictor of boys' externalizing behavior. Dissatisfaction with social support contributed unique variance and was the only significant predictor of girls' internalizing behavior. Family factors were not correlated with boys' or girls' internalizing or externalizing behavior at school.

This study examined relations between parenting, shared reading practices, and child development. Participants included 28 children (M = 24.66 months, SD = 8.41 months) and their parents. Measures included naturalistic [...]

Few studies have examined whether maternal caregiving representations are associated with maternal reflective functioning (MRF), especially when MRF is evaluated longitudinally beginning in pregnancy. This study addresses this gap by evaluating whether prenatal and postnatal MRF are associated with mothers' caregiving representations assessed at 7 months postpartum, and by exploring theoretically unexpected MRF scores in each of the representational categories. Forty‐seven mothers were recruited during their last trimester of pregnancy from an obstetrics clinic at a university hospital located in a large mid‐western city in the United States. During pregnancy, mothers completed the Pregnancy Interview, and at 7 months postpartum they completed the Parent Development Interview (PDI) and the Working Model of the Child Interview. Results indicate that higher prenatal and postnatal MRF increased the odds of being classified as balanced versus disengaged. At 7 months, MRF also increased the odds of being balanced vs. distorted. Ten mothers who were classified as balanced or distorted had unexpected prenatal MRF scores, and six mothers had unexpected MRF scores when representations were assessed concurrently. Mothers classified as balanced with low MRF scores tended to have a low level of education, whereas mothers classified as distorted with high MRF scores had responses that were hostile, helpless, and role‐reversed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined changes in parental reflective functioning (PRF) among mothers enrolled in Infant Mental Health-Home Visiting (IMH-HV) and explored whether parental risk, treatment dosage or therapist experience predicted change in PRF. Participants included 75 mothers and their children who were enrolled in IMH-HV delivered by Community Mental Health therapists. Results indicated significant improvements in PRF from baseline to 12-months. Maternal demographic and psychosocial risk, therapist experience and treatment dosage were not directly associated with changes in PRF. However, Mothers who received more treatment sessions from therapists with six or more years of experience demonstrated the greatest improvements in PRF, while mothers who received more treatment sessions from therapists who had been practicing IMH for less than 15 months showed a decline in PRF. Therapists working with very high-risk families may need specific training and ongoing reflective supervision over a period of years to promote improvement in PRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interventions that support quality interactions between infants and their caregivers enhance early development. Few interventions support consistent, quality interactions across both home and early childhood centers in a coordinated way. The Early Head Start Parent--Teacher Intervention Consortium (EHS-PTIC) was created by the Administration for Children and Families to understand how early childhood programs could improve children's development by promoting high-quality caregiver--child interactions across home and early childhood centers, via coordinated interventions for both parents and teachers. Four EHS-PTIC sites that developed, implemented, and are evaluating coordinated interventions to support caregiver--child interactions are highlighted in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hearts and Minds on Babies (HMB) is an innovative, attachment-based training for Early Head Start (EHS) staff and parents, developed through a collaboration between university-based researchers and clinicians and community-based EHS educators. This article describes HMB, our collaboration, and lessons learned when infusing infant and early childhood mental health principles within professional development training for early childhood educators. The authors explain how to frame attachment needs within the goals of the educational setting, honor culture and diversity, and take time to allow for the development of safe and secure relationships. Stories from a university-based HMB facilitator, an EHS teacher, and an EHS administrator highlight how HMB supports the participants' emotional response as they are learning new ways of being with very young children; a parallel experience related to the needs of the children themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementation research suggests that fidelity to a therapeutic model is important for enhancing outcomes, yet can be difficult to achieve in community practice settings. Furthermore, few published studies have reported on characteristics of treatment fidelity. The present study examined fidelity to the Infant Mental Health Home Visiting (IMH‐HV) model among 51 therapists with a range of experience practicing in community settings across the state of Michigan. IMH therapists completed fidelity checklists after every session with participating families to track use of 15 treatment strategies central to the IMH‐HV model across the 12‐month study period. Results indicated that the most commonly endorsed components utilized in home visits were developmental guidance and infant–parent psychotherapy, followed by the provision of emotional support. Use of IMH‐HV components did not vary over time for the entire sample; however, patterns of strategies used showed somewhat more variability among more experienced therapists and when serving higher risk families. Findings demonstrate that IMH‐HV therapists report a range of adherence to the model in community settings, with greatest fidelity to several model core components. Ongoing training in the flexible use of all core strategies may further enhance fidelity and contribute to positive outcomes for caregivers and their children receiving IMH‐HV services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infants, toddlers, and young children have unique needs when separated from their primary caregivers because of child abuse and neglect. Parents of these children often have their own histories of abuse and neglect and can benefit from assessments and interventions that bear in mind the effect caregiving histories have on present parenting. This article describes a unique intervention designed by evaluators of a court team in Wayne County, Michigan. The video-based "assessment and feedback session" shares evaluation assessment results with parents and infant mental health clinicians in a way that promotes honest conversations about relational and developmental strengths and concerns while supporting the developing therapeutic relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance.Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young children. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Little work has examined longitudinal associations between parental reflective functioning (PRF) and mind-mindedness (MM), limiting the understanding of separate or bidirectional trajectories of these related but distinct forms of mentalization. We examined cross-lagged associations between PRF, assessed via interview, and MM, coded from play interactions, over 12 months among 90 parents (86% female; 57% White, 43% Black) of infants (Mage = 10.56 months, SD = 8.20) who were participating in The Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health Home Visiting. Data were collected at study enrollment Time 1 (T1) and at 6-month Time 2 (T2) and 12-month Time 3 (T3) postenrollment. Mind-minded comments were coded as appropriate, reflecting accurate interpretation of mental states or nonattuned, characterizing inaccurate interpretations. PRF and appropriate MM each remained stable over time. PRF at the T1 positively predicted appropriate MM at T2. No other cross-lagged associations between PRF and appropriate MM were significant. Concurrent correlations between appropriate MM and PRF were significant only at T3. Nonattuned MM showed stability from T1 to T2 but nonattuned MM at the T2 did not predict nonattuned MM at T3. Greater PRF at T1 predicted less nonattuned MM at T2. No other cross-lagged associations between PRF and nonattuned MM were significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]