Minding the Baby®: Enhancing parental reflective functioning and infant attachment in an attachment-based, interdisciplinary home visiting program.

In this article, we describe the results of the second phase of a randomized controlled trial of Minding the Baby (MTB), an interdisciplinary reflective parenting intervention for infants and their families. Young first-time mothers living in underserved, poor, urban communities received intensive home visiting services from a nurse and social worker team for 27 months, from pregnancy to the child's second birthday. Results indicate that MTB mothers' levels of reflective functioning was more likely to increase over the course of the intervention than were those of control group mothers. Likewise, infants in the MTB group were significantly more likely to be securely attached, and significantly less likely to be disorganized, than infants in the control group. We discuss our findings in terms of their contribution to understanding the impacts and import of intensive intervention with vulnerable families during the earliest stages of parenthood in preventing the intergenerational transmission of disrupted relationships and insecure attachment.

A diaper bank and home visiting partnership: Initial exploration of research and policy questions.

OBJECTIVES: The cost of diapering an infant can place a significant financial strain on families living in poverty. Partnerships between diaper banks and home visiting programs for young families may offer an innovative solution to expanding the reach and impact of diaper banks in low-income communities. The purpose of this pilot study was to uncover preliminary information about the functions of diaper distribution through home visiting programs, and to inform future research and policy questions regarding diaper distribution to families in need. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: In this descriptive qualitative pilot study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 home visitors from Minding the Baby® (MTB), a home visiting intervention for young parents. MTB clinicians routinely distribute diapers in partnership with The Diaper Bank in Connecticut. We used directed content analysis to code and analyze interview transcripts. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings indicate that partnerships between home visiting programs and diaper banks may benefit families by improving diaper access, reducing stigma, and fostering trusting relationships with home visitors. Home visiting program benefits including engagement or re-engagement with families may need to be balanced with potential effects on clinical and therapeutic relationships. Recommendations for next steps in research and related policy questions are discussed.

Lasting effects of an interdisciplinary home visiting program on child behavior: preliminary follow-up results of a randomized trial.

Child mental health is of great concern requiring effective and appropriate parenting interventions. This pilot study was the first attempt to examine the intermediate effects of an ongoing parenting home visiting program, Minding the Baby (MTB), on parental reflective functioning (RF) and child behavior. Results indicated that the women who participated in the MTB intervention described their children-when assessed post-intervention-as having significantly fewer externalizing child behaviors. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups on parental RF from the end of the intervention to follow-up. The central finding that children who participated with the MTB program were reported to have significantly fewer externalizing behaviors following the intervention has important clinical and public health implications. Recommendations for the design of future follow-up studies and for further exploration of parental RF as it relates to the MTB outcomes are discussed.

Developing a NAPNAP Research Agenda to Guide Future Research and Quality Improvement in Pediatrics: Process, Challenges, and Future Directions.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to develop a revised pediatric Research Agenda that highlights the clinical and research priorities for pediatric-focused advanced practice registered nurses and is culturally sensitive and inclusive. METHOD: The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) Research Committee developed the Research Agenda 2021-2026 by conducting a cross-sectional study that surveyed the membership on their research and clinical priorities in June 2020. Twenty-four priorities were identified within seven areas of focus. RESULTS: Among the 7,509 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners members, 273 (3.6%) responded to the email and 199 completed the survey. DISCUSSION: This revised Research Agenda is a bold and innovative guide for grant funding, publications, continuing education offerings, conference planning, and abstract submissions for posters and podium presentations aimed at improving pediatric health care. A discussion of the process and considerations for the future development of pediatric Research Agendas is described.

Sleep Deficiency in Young Children.

There is growing public health concern about the high prevalence of sleep deficiency in early childhood and the associated risk for sleep-associated poor health outcomes, including metabolic, cardiovascular, and mental health. The recent shift to conceptualize sleep health as a multidimensional construct, influenced by socioecological factors, highlights the potential role of sleep in health disparities. Understanding the development of sleep health and the emergence of sleep disorders in early life is a current priority in pediatric sleep research. Future behavioral sleep interventions should consider the multiple socioecological influences on children's sleep health and be tested using inclusive sampling methods.

Depressed mothers as informants on child behavior: methodological issues.

Mothers with depressive symptoms more frequently report behavioral problems among their children than non-depressed mothers leading to a debate regarding the accuracy of depressed mothers as informants of children's behavior. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify methodological challenges in research related to the debate. Data were extracted from 43 articles (6 theoretical, 36 research reports, and 1 instrument scoring manual). The analysis focused on the methodologies considered when using depressed mothers as informants. Nine key themes were identified and I concluded that researchers should incorporate multiple informants, identify the characteristics of maternal depression, and incorporate advanced statistical methodology. The use of a conceptual framework to understand informant discrepancies within child behavior evaluations is suggested for future research.

Role of Sleep Duration in the Association Between Socioecological Protective Factors and Health Risk Behaviors in Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of sleep duration and socioecological protective factors with patterns of adolescent risk behaviors in Fairfax County, VA-one of the largest public school districts in the United States. METHODS: A total of 21,360 and 20,330 students in 10th and 12th grades who completed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Sleep duration was measured by self-report of the average number of hours of sleep on a school night. Ten socioecological protective factors included peer-individual, family, school, and community domains. Latent class analysis was used to classify 7 risk behaviors (alcohol use, cigarette use, illicit drug use, inappropriate prescription drug use, risky sexual behavior, deviant behavior, and academic failure) into 4 class memberships (low, some, moderate, and high). Multinomial regression models were adjusted for age, sex, and race. RESULTS: Adolescents who reported sleeping the recommended 8 to 9 hours were significantly less likely to belong to the class memberships of greater risk behaviors compared with those who reported short and long sleep duration after controlling for age, sex, race, and survey year. There was a significant inverse relationship between the number of socioecological protective factors and risk behaviors for both 10th and 12th graders. Potential risks of age, sex, and race on risk behaviors were observed. No significant interaction between sleep duration and protective factors was found in either grade. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the significant associations between sleep duration and risk behaviors in adolescents with diverse socioecological protective factors. Prioritization of prevention-focused resources should consider sleep duration in addition to the socioecological protective factors commonly cited in the literature when addressing adolescent risk behaviors.

A Home Visiting Parenting Program and Child Obesity: A Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: Young children living in historically marginalized families are at risk for becoming adolescents with obesity and subsequently adults with increased obesity-related morbidities. These risks are particularly acute for Hispanic children. We hypothesized that the prevention-focused, socioecological approach of the "Minding the Baby" (MTB) home visiting program might decrease the rate of childhood overweight and obesity early in life. METHODS: This study is a prospective longitudinal cohort study in which we include data collected during 2 phases of the MTB randomized controlled trial. First-time, young mothers who lived in medically underserved communities were invited to participate in the MTB program. Data were collected on demographics, maternal mental health, and anthropometrics of 158 children from birth to 2 years. RESULTS: More children in the intervention group had a healthy BMI at 2 years. The rate of obesity was significantly higher (P < .01) in the control group (19.7%) compared with the intervention group (3.3%) at this age. Among Hispanic families, children in the MTB intervention were less likely to have overweight or obesity (odds ratio = 0.32; 95% confidence interval: 0.13-0.78). CONCLUSIONS: Using the MTB program, we significantly lowered the rate of obesity among 2-year-old children living in low-socioeconomic-status communities. In addition, children of Hispanic mothers were less likely to have overweight or obesity at 2 years. Given the high and disproportionate national prevalence of Hispanic young children with overweight and obesity and the increased costs of obesity-related morbidities, these findings have important clinical, research, and policy implications.

Demystifying Infant Mental Health: What the Primary Care Provider Needs to Know.

Infant mental health is an interdisciplinary professional field of inquiry, practice, and policy that is concerned with alleviating suffering and enhancing the social and emotional competence of young children. The focus of this field of practice is supporting the relationships between infants and toddlers and their primary caregivers to ensure healthy social and emotional development. Notably, the connection between early life experiences and lifelong health has been well established in the scientific literature. Without appropriate regulation from a supportive caregiver, exposure to extreme stressors in early childhood can result in wide-ranging physiological disruptions, including alterations to the developing brain and immune, metabolic, and cardiovascular systems. As part of this interdisciplinary team, pediatric primary care clinicians are in a unique position to incorporate infant mental health practice tenets during their frequent office visits with infants and toddlers. This article provides pediatric primary care clinicians with an overview of infant mental health practice and suggestions for the conscious promotion of positive early relationships as an integral component of well-child care.

Parental Reflective Functioning: An Approach to Enhancing Parent-Child Relationships in Pediatric Primary Care.

The current state of science suggests that safe, responsive, and nurturing parent-child relationships early in children's lives promotes healthy brain and child development and protection against lifelong disease by reducing toxic stress and promoting foundational social-emotional health. Pediatric health care providers (HCPs) have a unique opportunity to foster these relationships. However, such a role requires a shift in pediatric health care from a focus only on children to one that includes families and communities, as well as the inclusion of children's social and emotional health with their physical health. To foster healthy parent-child relationships, HCPs must develop the expertise to integrate approaches that support the family's socioemotional health into pediatric primary care. This article suggests ways in which pediatric HCPs can integrate a focus on parental reflective functioning into their clinical work, helping parents to understand some of the thoughts and feelings that underlie their children's behavior.