A meta-analytic examination of sensitive responsiveness as a mediator between depression in mothers and psychopathology in children.

The current meta-analysis examined the mediating role of sensitive-responsive parenting in the relationship between depression in mothers and internalizing and externalizing behavior in children. A systematic review of the path of maternal sensitive responsiveness to child psychopathology identified eligible studies. Meta-analytic structural equation modelling (MASEM) allowed for the systematic examination of the magnitude of the indirect effect across 68 studies (N = 15,579) for internalizing and 92 studies (N = 26,218) for externalizing psychopathology. The synthesized sample included predominantly White, English-speaking children (age range = 1 to 205 months; Mage = 66 months; 47% female) from Western, industrialized countries. The indirect pathway was small in magnitude and similar for externalizing (b = .02) and internalizing psychopathology (b = .01). Moderator analyses found that the indirect pathway for externalizing problems was stronger when mother-child interactions were observed during naturalistic and free-play tasks rather than structured tasks. Other tested moderators were not significant.

Perceived Parental Distraction by Technology and Mental Health Among Emerging Adolescents.

Importance: The digital phenomenon termed technoference refers to interruptions in routine social interactions due to technology use. Technoference may negatively affect parents' attention to cues necessary for supporting children's mental health. Objective: To explore whether there are directional prospective associations between perceived parental technoference and emerging adolescents' mental health symptoms (anxiety, depression, inattention, and hyperactivity). Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study assessed a general population of mothers and emerging adolescents in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Women were recruited during pregnancy between May 3, 2008, and December 13, 2010, with convenience sampling and repeated follow-up; eligible women were 18 years or older, spoke English, had a gestational age of at least 24 weeks, and received local prenatal care. Data collection for the present study took place when emerging adolescents were aged 9 (May 20 to July 15, 2020), 10 (March 4 to April 30, 2021), and 11 (November 22, 2021, to January 17, 2022) years. Mothers provided consent for their child to participate, and emerging adolescents provided assent. Data were analyzed from December 1 to 31, 2023, using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. Exposure: Perceived parental technoference. Main Outcomes and Measures: Emerging adolescents completed questionnaires about their perception of parental technoference and their mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, and inattention) at the 3 study times. This study did not rely on statistical significance, but instead on the magnitude of effect sizes to determine meaningful effects. Results: Participants included 1303 emerging adolescents (mean [SD] age, 9.7 [0.8] years at time 1; of the 1028 reporting information, 529 [51.5%] were girls). Cross-sectional associations indicated correlations between perceptions of parental technoference and emerging adolescents' mental health (r range, 0.17-0.19). Higher levels of anxiety at 9 and 10 years of age were prospectively associated with higher parental technoference scores at 10 (ß = 0.11 [95% CI, -0.05 to 0.26]) and 11 (ß = 0.12 [95% CI, 0.001-0.24]) years of age, with small magnitudes of effect size. Higher parental technoference scores at 9 and 10 years of age were prospectively associated with higher hyperactivity at 10 (ß = 0.07 [95% CI, -0.07 to 0.22]) and 11 (ß = 0.11 [95% CI, -0.02 to 0.24]) years of age and inattention at 11 years of age (ß = 0.12 [95% CI, 0.001-0.24]), with small magnitudes of effect size. No gender differences were identified. Conclusions and Relevance: In this 3-wave longitudinal birth cohort study, perceived parental technoference was associated with emerging adolescents' mental health. The findings speak to the need to discuss digital technology use and mental health with parents and emerging adolescents as a part of routine care.

Prevalence of Mental Health and Substance Use Difficulties Among Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth During COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: Sexual and gender diverse (SGD) youth have been particularly vulnerable to mental health difficulties and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, estimates have varied across studies pointing to the potential for moderator variables. This meta-analytic and narrative synthesis provides estimates of the prevalence of mental health difficulties (anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts) and substance use during COVID-19 among SGD youth. Methods: A comprehensive search strategy combining keywords and subject headings was designed and used across seven databases from inception to October 7, 2022. The search yielded 826 nonduplicate records of which 191 full-text articles were retrieved, evaluated, and extracted by two study authors. Data were analyzed from February 27 to March 1, 2023. Results: Using random-effects meta-analyses, 19 studies from 18 independent samples with 10,500 participants were included. Pooled prevalence rates for clinically elevated anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation were 55.4% [95% confidence interval (CI):45.9%-64.5%], 61.8% (95% CI: 50.9%-71.7%), and 50.9% (95% CI: 42.8%-59.0%). There was no evidence of publication bias. Suicide attempts and substance use were summarized narratively with rates of suicide attempts being greater than 20% across included studies and variable reporting of substance use across substance types. No moderators explained variability across studies. Conclusion: More than 50% of SGD youth experienced clinically elevated symptoms of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to prepandemic estimates for both SGD and non-SGD youth. Targeted resource allocation is needed to specifically address the needs of SGD youth.

A randomized waitlist control trial of the Make the Connection® online program for caregivers of infants and young children: Study protocol.

Background: A positive child-caregiver relationship is one of the strongest determinants of child health and development, yet many caregivers report challenges in establishing a positive relationship with their child. For over 20 years, Make the Connection® (MTC), an evidence-based parenting program, has been delivered in-person by child-caring professionals to over 120,000 parents to improve positive parenting behaviours and attitudes. Recently, MTC has been adapted into a 'direct to caregiver' online platform to increase scalability and accessibility. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the online modality of MTC in increasing parenting knowledge, attitudes, and the perceived relationship with their child, and to understand barriers and facilitators to its access. Methods: Two hundred caregivers with children aged 0-3 years old will be recruited through Public Health agencies in Ontario, Canada. Participants will be randomly placed in the intervention or waitlist control group. Both groups will complete a battery of questionnaires at study enrolment and 8 weeks later. The intervention group will receive the MTC online program during the 8-week period, while the waitlist group will receive the program after an 8-week wait. The study questionnaires will address demographic information, caregivers' relational attitudes towards their infant, self-competence in their caregiver role, depression, and caregiver stress, as well as caregivers' and infants' emotion regulation. Discussion: Results from this study will add critical knowledge to the development, scaling, and roll out of the MTC online program, thus increasing its capacity to reach a greater number of families. Trial registration: The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov on 15 March 2023 (NCT05770414).

Maternal and paternal sensitivity: Key determinants of child attachment security examined through meta-analysis.

Sensitive caregiving behavior, which involves the ability to notice, interpret, and quickly respond to a child's signals of need and/or interest, is a central determinant of secure child-caregiver attachment. Yet, significant heterogeneity in effect sizes exists across the literature, and sources of heterogeneity have yet to be explained. For all child-caregiver dyads, there was a significant and positive pooled association between caregiver sensitivity and parent-child attachment (r = .25, 95% CI [.22, .28], k = 174, 230 effect sizes, N = 22,914). We also found a positive association between maternal sensitivity and child attachment security (r = .26, 95% CI [.22, .29], k = 159, 202 effect sizes, N = 21,483), which was equivalent in magnitude to paternal sensitivity and child attachment security (r = .21, 95% CI [.14, 27], k = 22, 23 effect sizes, N = 1,626). Maternal sensitivity was also negatively associated with all three classifications of insecure attachment (avoidant: k = 43, r = -.24 [-.34, -.13]; resistant: k = 43, r = -.12 [-.19, -.06]; disorganized: k = 24, r = -.19 [-.27, -.11]). For maternal sensitivity, associations were larger in studies that used the Attachment Q-Sort (vs. the Strange Situation), used the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (vs. Ainsworth or Emotional Availability Scales), had strong (vs. poor) interrater measurement reliability, had a longer observation of sensitivity, and had less time elapse between assessments. For paternal sensitivity, associations were larger in older (vs. younger) fathers and children. These findings confirm the importance of both maternal and paternal sensitivity for the development of child attachment security and add understanding of the methodological and substantive factors that allow this effect to be observed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The PPSQ: assessing parental, child, and partner's playfulness in the preschool and early school years.

Introduction: Developmental research has traditionally focused on parenting behaviors such as nurturance and care, due to a focus on mothers' behaviors. Other parenting dimensions such as parental playfulness (i.e., use of creativity, imagination, and humor during parent-child interactions) have comparatively received little attention. Although some measures tap into parents' and children's playfulness, these measures are limited. Indeed, they do not assess multiple domains of playfulness (i.e., both parents' and the child's playfulness) or focus on one specific setting such as children's play with peers. Additionally, existing measures do not consider parents' reactions to their partners' playfulness. To address this gap, we created the Playful Parenting Style Questionnaire (PPSQ), which assesses three domains of playfulness: (a) parental domain, (b) child domain, and (c) partner domain. The current study is part of a validation effort of the PPSQ using a quantitative design. We aimed to explore the structure of the PPSQ by conducting an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for each domain of playfulness; and assess the construct validity of the PPSQ factors by examining the association between factors and existing measures of playful parenting, child playfulness, and co-parenting. Method: The sample includes 347 parents (294 mothers and 53 fathers) of preschool/school-age children (M = 5.10 years; 182 girls, 127 boys). Parents were mostly White (76%) and from a low socioeconomic risk background. Parents completed a series of online questionnaires including the PPSQ, 3 existing measures of parent playfulness (Parental Playfulness Questionnaire; Adult Playfulness Scale; Challenging Parenting Behavior Scale), 2 existing measures of child playfulness (Child Behavior Inventory; Children's Playfulness Scale), a coparenting instrument (Co-parenting Relationship Scale), and sociodemographic information. Results: The EFA revealed 4 factors for parental playfulness, 1 factor for child playfulness, and 3 factors for partner's playfulness. The construct validity analyses identified multiple associations indicating convergence with existing measures for the parent and partners domain but not the child factor. Discussion: This study allowed for a better understanding of the playful dynamics that occur within a family.