Mothers and Their Children: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Maternal Mental Health and Child Well-Being.

INTRODUCTION: Psychosocial factors and life stressors have an impact on long-term health effects on mothers and their children. Recent studies examining maternal mental health have predominantly focused on identifying maternal experiences with depression; however, there has been minimal research investigating maternal experiences with psychosocial risk factors and its relationship with child well-being. METHODS: Secondary analysis was conducted using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. The study sample includes 2396 adolescents and their biological mothers. Adolescents were between the ages of 14 and 19. We examined primary outcomes regarding mental health (depression and anxiety), life-satisfaction, and substance usage (alcohol and drugs). RESULTS: The association between maternal psychosocial factors an adolescent depression was significant, F(26) = 5.29, p < .01. Mothers educational attainment and poverty level significantly predicted adolescent depression; with completion of some college (B = -0.411, p 0.025), a college degree (B = -0.540, p = 0.018), and living at the 300% poverty level (B = -0.725, p = 0.002) predicting lower levels of adolescent depression. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that there was a positive relationship between maternal mental health and adolescent mental health. Further, this study demonstrated that maternal mental health and social determinants of health are predictors of adolescent mental health and social functioning, thus indicating an inextricable connection to child well-being.

Clusters of Behavioral Health and Psychosocial Risk for Childbearing Women in Four Virginia Communities.

Introduction Four Virginia communities participated in a community services enhancement pilot to centralize intake and referral for childbearing women eligible for home visiting support through the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. Methods As an aspect of the study, project-trained intake workers administered behavioral health and psychosocial risk screening (including emotional health, substance use, interpersonal violence, and smoking) during intake eligibility assessment. Participants identified as at-risk were referred for community intervention concurrently with referral to MIECHV services. Results In the study sample (N = 1515), emotional health was identified as the most common single risk factor (n = 326, 21.5%) and clusters of 2 or more behavioral health risks were identified for 223 (14.7%) of women. Among those with two or more behavioral health risks, smoking was significantly related to all other areas of behavioral health risk. Conclusion Findings from this multi-site pilot emphasize concomitant behavioral health and psychosocial risks in childbearing women and reinforce the importance of embedding comprehensive public health interventions in community systems of care.

Understanding the Behavioral Health Risk Factors that African American and Latinx Women Experience within a National Context.

In an effort to address social determinants of health and to reduce barriers to care, there have been increased attempts to understand and mitigate public health concerns in ethnic minority communities. As knowledge increases regarding the impact of health disparities on ethnic minority communities, social workers practice knowledge must expand to include intersectional approaches and methods that are inclusive of mechanisms that address inconsistencies in access to health care. Using the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this study examined behavioral health and psychosocial risk factors that African American and Latinx women (n = 7008) experienced and identified how these factors are associated with self-reported overall health. Results indicated that overall health and wellbeing is linked to psychosocial risk factors, such as depression, substance use, and even age for African American and Latinx women.

Integrating Behavioral Health Risk Assessment into Centralized Intake for Maternal and Child Health Services.

Effectively promoting women's health during and around the time of pregnancy requires early, nonstigmatizing identification and assessment of behavioral health risks (such as depression, substance use, smoking, and interpersonal violence) combined with timely linkage to community support and specialized interventions. This article describes an integrated approach to behavioral health risk screening woven into a point of first contact with the health care delivery system: centralized intake for maternal and child health home visiting programs. Behavioral Health Integrated Centralized Intake is a social work-informed, community-designed approach to screening, brief intervention, and service linkage targeting communities at high risk for fetal and infant mortality. Women enrolled in this study were receptive to holistic risk screening as well as guided referral for both home visiting support and specialized mental health interventions. Results from this multi-community study form the foundation for strengths-based, social work-informed enhancements to community health promotion programs.