An examination of behavioural and emotional problems in children exposed prenatally to the 27F Chilean earthquake: findings from the ELPI cohort.

PURPOSE: Associations between prenatal earthquake exposure and children's mental health remain unclear. Moreover, there is a paucity of research using quasi-experimental statistical techniques to diminish potential selection bias. Thus, this study aimed to explore the impact of prenatal exposure to the Chilean earthquake of 2010 on children's behavioural and emotional problems between 1½ and 3 years old using propensity score matching. METHODS: Participants included 1549 families from the Encuesta Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia cohort in Chile. Maternal reports using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) were used to assess behavioural and emotional problems between 1½ and 3 years old. Information on prenatal earthquake exposure was collected via maternal report. The Kernel matching estimator was used to compare the average treatment effects of children who were exposed to the earthquake compared to those who were not. RESULTS: Five of the seven CBCL outcomes were statistically significant after matching and adjustment for multiple testing, suggesting greater difficulties for exposed children which included emotional reactivity, anxious/depressed, sleep problems, attention problems, and aggression (mean difference of 0.69, 0.87, 0.73, 0.85, 3.51, respectively). The magnitude of the effect was small to medium. CONCLUSION: Findings contribute to the potential causal inferences between prenatal earthquake exposure and increased behavioural and emotional problems in early childhood. Results suggest that in utero experiences may have long-term consequences for infants' well-being, supporting the need for specific interventions in pregnancy after natural disasters.

The Impact of Contextual, Maternal and Prenatal Factors on Receptive Language in a Chilean Longitudinal Birth Cohort.

A secondary analysis was conducted on longitudinal data collected from ELPI, a representative Chilean survey to model Chilean infant's receptive language using contextual, maternal and prenatal factors. The sample for the current study comprised children aged between 36 and 48 months (n = 3921). The sample was re-assessed when children were aged 60-72 months (n = 3100). Linear regression analyses were conducted. At the first time point, all the predictors included were significant (living area, health system provision, maternal intelligence and education, adolescent pregnancy, maternal medical appointments during pregnancy, and presence of a significant other at childbirth), except for smoking during pregnancy. The model explained 13% of the variance. However, when timepoint one receptive language scores were included in the analyses for when children were aged 60-72 months, only two variables remained as significant predictors: previous receptive language scores and maternal education, explaining 21% of the variance. Findings and implications are discussed.

Multi-Trajectories of Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity/Inattention, and Peer Problems Across Childhood: Results from the Growing Up in Scotland Birth Cohort.

Using a person-centred approach, this study inspected multi-trajectories of conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention and peer problems, and associated risk factors for group membership. The sample included 3,578 children (50.8% males) from a population birth cohort in Scotland (Growing Up in Scotland). The parental version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used when children were 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 years old. Antecedent factors at the perinatal, child, and family levels were collected using parental reports, observation, and standardised assessments at 10, 24, and 36 months. A group-based multi-trajectory analysis was employed. Findings showed that a six-group model best fit the data. Identified groups included non-engagers, normative, decreasing externalising/low peer problems, low externalising/moderate peer problems, moderate externalising/increasing peer problems and multimorbid moderate-high chronic. Findings suggest multimorbidity between externalising behaviours and peer problems in the more elevated groups. Two common protective factors emerged across all groups: caregiver mental health and parent-infant attachment. Identified risk factors were specific to group membership. Risk factors for the most elevated group included single-parent status, social deprivation, previous neonatal intensive care unit admission, child sex, whilst children's expressive language was a protective factor. Taken together, findings contribute to the emerging literature modelling trajectories of externalising behaviours and peer problems simultaneously and have important practical implications for prevention of problems in childhood, by identifying targets at the perinatal, child, and family levels.

The association of different presentations of maternal depression with children's socio-emotional development: A systematic review.

Maternal depression from the perinatal period onwards is a global health priority associated with an increased likelihood of suboptimal socio-developmental outcomes in offspring. An important aspect of this association is the extent to which sustained maternal depression impacts on these outcomes. The current review synthesised the evidence on maternal depression from the perinatal period onwards and offspring internalising, externalising, and social competence outcomes. We also identified sources of methodological bias. A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines was conducted. Longitudinal studies targeting biological mothers with depressive symptomology, detailing onset, using repeated validated measures, and assessing children's outcomes between three and 12 years were included. Twenty-four studies met inclusion criteria. Findings supported the validity of different presentations of maternal depression, including consistent identification of a group of chronically depressed mothers across countries. Mothers within this group reported poorer internalising, externalising, and social competence outcomes for their offspring, with the highest levels of child problems associated with greater maternal chronicity and symptom severity. Results differed by measurement type with mothers rating poorer outcomes in comparison to teachers reports. For timing of depression, evidence was inconsistent for independent effects of antenatal or postnatal depression on child outcomes. There was substantial variability in study quality assessment. Assessing different presentations of maternal depression is essential for capturing the longitudinal associations between maternal depression and offspring outcomes to inform targets of early intervention. Chronicity, severity, and concurrent maternal depression have important implications for children's development and should be targeted in future programme planning. Further research in low- and middle-income countries is warranted.

Metacognitive interpersonal therapy in group versus TAU + waiting list for young adults with personality disorders: Randomized clinical trial.

Young adults presenting with personality disorders (PDs) featuring overcontrol and social inhibition urgently require effective psychological interventions to help them navigate important life transitions. metacognitive interpersonal therapy-group (MIT-G) is a time-limited group program designed to enable individuals to find adaptive solutions to their social difficulties. A small randomized clinical trial (RCT) of MIT-G versus treatment as usual (TAU) was conducted with the primary outcomes of improvements in social and interpersonal functioning and global psychological symptoms. Secondary outcomes were specific symptoms of anxiety and depression and changes in alexithymia and emotion dysregulation. From 40 participants, 20 were randomized to 16 weekly sessions of MIT-G, plus 3 individual sessions and 20 to TAU + waiting list. All 20 patients allocated to MIT-G completed treatments, while 2 dropped-out in the TAU arm. Patients in the MIT-G arm reported significant improvements on primary outcomes of functioning, interpersonal problems and global symptoms of medium magnitude, medium effect sizes for changes in depression and anxiety, and large magnitude changes for alexithymia. However, other than alexithymia no significant differences were observed between groups at treatment end. A Time × Condition interaction, indicated that MIT-G was associated with more rapid and larger magnitude improvements in functioning and alexithymia. MIT-G is a well-tolerated treatment option for young adults with overcontrolled PD. Further effectiveness studies in larger samples are underway. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).