Nutritional and Culinary Habits to Empower Families (n-CHEF): a feasibility study to increase consumption and home cooking of plant-based foods.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the feasibility and acceptability of a culinary nutritional intervention aimed at increasing plant-based foods consumption in the context of the Mediterranean diet in parent-child dyads. DESIGN: The Nutritional and Culinary Habits to Empower Families (n-CHEF) is a 9-month feasibility study that included four culinary nutritional workshops (two face to face, two online) led by a chef and a dietitian-nutritionist. These workshops combined cooking with plant-based foods, with nutritional advice and experimental activities. The main outcomes were retention, quality of the intervention (monitoring workshops, acceptability and perceived impact) and changes in dietary and cooking habits. SETTING: Parent-child dyads, Spain. PARTICIPANTS: Parent-child (aged 10-14 years) dyads. RESULTS: Fifteen parent-child dyads were recruited, of which thirteen were retained during the 6-month follow-up. All but one parent-child dyads attended the four workshops. The overall assessment of the workshops was positive, although the online workshops were rated lower than the face to face. In general, parent-child dyads reported benefits in terms of nutrition and cooking aspects. Parents significantly increased their adherence to the Mediterranean diet, but non-significant changes were observed in children. However, children increased their consumption of vegetables and legumes and reduced snacks and ready meals. Parents also changed some of their culinary habits and increased their confidence in cooking at home. CONCLUSIONS: The n-CHEF showed that the culinary nutritional intervention had good levels of recruitment, retention and acceptability among parent-child dyads. In addition, dietary and culinary knowledge and habits can be improved, although further studies are needed to know the long-term effects in larger populations.

ProVIA-Kids - outcomes of an uncontrolled study on smartphone-based behaviour analysis for challenging behaviour in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities or autism spectrum disorder.

Introduction: Challenging behaviour (CB) is a common issue among children with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual and developmental disability. Mental health applications are low-threshold cost-effective tools to address the lack of resources for caregivers. This pre-post study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the smartphone app ProVIA-Kids using algorithm-based behaviour analysis to identify causes of CB and provide individualized practical guidance to manage and prevent CB. Methods: A total of 18 caregivers (M = 38.9 ± 5.0) of children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (44%), intellectual and developmental disabilities (33%) or both (22%) aged 4-11 years (M = 7.6 ± 1.8) were included. Assessments were performed before and after an 8-week intervention period. The primary outcome was the change in parental stress. Caregiver stress experience due to CB was also rated daily via ecological momentary assessments within the app. Secondary outcomes included the intensity of the child's CB, dysfunctional parenting, feelings of parental competency as well as caregivers' mood (rated daily in the app) and feedback on the app collected via the Mobile Application Rating Scale. Results: We observed increases in parental stress in terms of conscious feelings of incompetence. However, we also saw improvements in parental stress experience due to CB and overreactive parenting, and descriptive improvements in CB intensity and caregiver mood. Discussion: ProVIA-Kids pioneers behaviour analysis in a digital and automated format, with participants reporting high acceptance. Pilot results highlight the potential of the ProVIA-Kids app to positively influence child behaviour and caregiver mental health over a longer intervention period. Registration: The study was registered at https://www.drks.de (ID = DRKS00029039) on May 31, 2022.

Assessment of anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents: Italian validation of the short version of the spence children's anxiety scale for parents.

The assessment of anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents requires a valid and reliable single instrument able to detect various anxiety symptoms early and systematically collect data from other informant such as parents. The present study aimed to test the one-factor structure of the SCAS-P-8 and to examine its psychometric properties and invariance across sex and age in an Italian sample of 769 parents of children and adolescents aged 3-18 years (50.8% females). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the one-factor structure of the SCAS-P-8, which showed good reliability and invariance by sex and age. When examining mean differences by sex and age, results showed that female schoolchildren had higher anxiety scores than males and other age groups. A strong correlation with emotional problems demonstrated convergent validity, while discriminant validity resulted from the weak correlations with externalizing symptoms and relationship problems with peers. Overall, findings support the SCAS-P-8 as a valid brief instrument to assess anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents for clinical and research purposes and demonstrate its invariance across sex and age.

Anxiety symptoms are very common among children and adolescents. Clinicians and researchers are increasingly focusing on the need for a valid and reliable tool to detect various anxiety symptoms early, as reported by informants such as parents. In the present study, we aimed to test the structure of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale for parents (SCAS-P-8), which includes only 8 questions regarding the anxiety symptoms of their children and adolescents. The study involved 769 parents and their children and adolescents, aged 3-18 years (half of whom were female). The data analysis confirmed the structure of the SCAS-P-8 demonstrating good reliability and stability across sex and age. We also found that on average, girls showed higher anxiety levels than boys during late childhood compared to other age groups. In addition, our results confirmed that SCAS-P-8 is a valid measure of anxiety, as it is strongly related to an instrument that measures emotional problems, while it is weakly related to measures of externalizing symptoms and peer relationship problems. Overall, our results support the SCAS-P-8 as a valid brief instrument for measuring anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents for both clinical and research purposes.

Clinician perspectives of engaging parents in behavioural interventions: a thematic analysis in Aotearoa New Zealand.

PURPOSE: Engaging parents in child-focused interventions is considered important for intervention effectiveness but is rarely investigated in behaviour analysis literature. METHODS: This qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 clinicians working with parents in child-focused behavioural interventions in Aotearoa New Zealand. Interpretive description was the overarching methodology for the study, with thematic analysis utilised to analyse data. The study was guided by the research question; 'how is parent engagement understood by behavioural clinicians?' RESULTS: Three themes were developed to explain the process of parent engagement from the perspective of clinicians: (a) establishing parent context and needs, (b), developing connection and relationship, (c) facilitating behaviour change. These findings suggest that parent engagement is heavily relational and occurs over time. CONCLUSIONS: Aligned with parent engagement literature from other allied health fields, this study highlights the relational and dynamic elements of engagement within a child-focused intervention. Behaviour analysts should focus on interpersonal connections with parents at the start of intervention and may benefit from additional training to achieve this.

Behavioural clinicians understand parent engagement as heavily informed by relationship and likely to change over time.Attending carefully to parent expectations, values, learning histories, and preferences at the start of intervention will support fostering of parent engagement in child treatments.Behaviour analysts should prioritise building connection with parents before focusing on levels of parent adherence to developed interventions.

Optimizing purebred selection to improve crossbred performance.

Crossbreeding is a widely adopted practice in the livestock industry, leveraging the advantages of heterosis and breed complementarity. The prediction of Crossbred Performance (CP) often relies on Purebred Performance (PB) due to limited crossbred data availability. However, the effective selection of purebred parents for enhancing CP depends on non-additive genetic effects and environmental factors. These factors are encapsulated in the genetic correlation between crossbred and purebred populations ( r p c ). In this study, a two-way crossbreeding simulation was employed to investigate various strategies for integrating data from purebred and crossbred populations. The goal was to identify optimal models that maximize CP across different levels of r p c . Different scenarios involving the selection of genotyped individuals from purebred and crossbred populations were explored using ssGBLUP (single-step Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) and ssGBLUP-MF (ssGBLUP with metafounders) models. The findings revealed an increase in prediction accuracy across all scenarios as r p c values increased. Notably, in the scenario incorporating genotypes from both purebred parent breeds and their crossbreds, both ssGBLUP and ssGBLUP-MF models exhibited nearly identical predictive accuracy. This scenario achieved maximum accuracy when r p c was less than 0.5. However, at r p c = 0.8, ssGBLUP, which exclusively included sire breed genotypes in the training set, achieved the highest overall prediction accuracy at 73.2%. In comparison, the BLUP-UPG (BLUP with unknown parent group) model demonstrated lower accuracy than ssGBLUP and ssGBLUP-MF across all r p c levels. Although ssGBLUP and ssGBLUP-MF did not demonstrate a definitive trend in their respective scenarios, the prediction ability for CP increased when incorporating both crossbred and purebred population genotypes at lower levels of r p c . Furthermore, when r p c was high, utilizing paternal genotype for CP predictions emerged as the most effective strategy. Predicted dispersion remained relatively similar in all scenarios, indicating a slight underestimation of breeding values. Overall, the r p c value emerged as a critical factor in predicting CP based on purebred data. However, the optimal model to maximize CP depends on the factors influencing r p c . Consequently, ongoing research aims to develop models that optimize purebred selection, further enhancing CP.

Through the eyes of the parents: a transdiagnostic psychiatric perspective for children with differences of sexual development.

PURPOSE: Existing literature lacks data on a subgroup exhibiting psychiatric symptoms below the DSM-5 diagnostic threshold within DSD cases. Our study aims to assess parental knowledge, attitudes toward DSD, and parental perceptions of emotional and behavioral states through a transdiagnostic perspective. METHODS: The study was conducted with a total of 35 parents of children with DSD. Two groups were established via k-means clustering, based on psychiatric symptomatology levels, derived from The Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire - Parent Form and The Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale - Parent Form: with one group exhibiting lower reported psychiatric symptoms (LPS=27) and the other demonstrating higher psychiatric symptoms (HPS=8) by parents. RESULTS: Our study found that many parents were hesitant to disclose DSD diagnoses to their children, believing them to be too young to comprehend the information (42.9 %) and that they were unaware of the available support that could be provided by the medical team in disclosing the diagnosis (25.7 %). Our study found no differences in DSM-5 diagnoses between HPS and LPS groups (p>0.05), with ADHD being the most prevalent diagnosis (21.7 %) and a significant overrepresentation of children with a discrepancy between assigned gender at birth and gender upbringing in the HPS group compared to the LPS group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study emphasizes the necessity of a transdiagnostic approach in psychiatry to move beyond binary conceptualizations and better understand the complexities of individuals with DSD.

A time/space bubble: Expectant parents' experience of birth after termination of pregnancy due to fetal anomaly in a midwifery-led, obstetric unit for prenatal loss.

Termination of pregnancy due to a fetal anomaly is a challenging and mentally stressful experience, associated with trauma-related stress, depression and symptoms of complicated grief. It differs from other types of pregnancy loss because of the role of active decision-making. Expectant parents depend on caring and experienced staff to guide them during a time full of ambiguity and contrasting emotions. This study examines how expectant parents experience the process of birth with termination of pregnancy due to fetal anomaly at a specialised unit for prenatal loss. Data was generated from semi-structured interviews with 11 women and 9 male partners, one to five months after termination of pregnancy. Three themes were identified 1) Suspended time/space bubble; the unit for prenatal loss was described as a time-space bubble, that promoted a sense of meaning, a feeling of togetherness and an awareness of parallel worlds, 2) The midwife matters; participants emphasised midwives' 'invisible', chronological and individualised practice, making it possible to be present and in the process, and 3) Meeting and spending time with the fetus/baby; participants' responses and relation to the fetus were very different, with most of them embracing the fetus as a baby, grateful for the opportunity to have time together. The findings from this study suggest a need for specialised midwives dedicated to prenatal loss, in units designed as private and protected spaces to accommodate the requirements of parents undergoing termination of pregnancy due to fetal anomaly.

Embedding a Parenting Skills Program in Public PreK: Outcomes of a Quasi-experimental Mixed Methods Study.

This sequential mixed methods study evaluated the impact of the Chicago Parent Program (CPP) in 12 Baltimore Title I PreK programs on parent engagement and student outcomes from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Phase 1 (quasi-experiment; N = 11,996) compared PreK students whose parents enrolled in CPP with those whose parents did not enroll in CPP on measures of kindergarten readiness, chronic absenteeism, suspensions/expulsions, and grade retention. Phase 2 (qualitative; n = 20) explored the perceptions of school-based staff, principals, and district and community leaders on CPP's impact on parents, students, and parent engagement, and why they sought to continue CPP in the schools. Research Findings: No effects on student outcomes were found using administrative data. However, all of those interviewed described observed improvements in parent and student behavior and parent engagement and all schools have continued implementing CPP. Practice or Policy: Qualitative results highlight the importance of stakeholder perspectives and the limitations of administrative data for evaluating brief interventions serving families with complex needs.

Efficacy of behavioural parent training on attachment security in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Behavioural parent training (BPT) is a psychosocial intervention designed for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). BPT programs teach parents to use effective commands or rules whilst encouraging them to pay careful attention to their child's appropriate behaviour. In this study, we will investigate the efficacy of BPT on parental stress, mothers' sense of emotional closeness to their children, and children's attachment security to their mothers. We will also examine the effects of BPT on children's internalising and externalising symptoms, ADHD symptoms, and sensitivity to rewards and punishments compared to usual care alone. The use of bias-prone assessment tools limits the ability of previous studies to assess effectiveness. Therefore, in this study, the child's attachment security will be assessed in a structured interview conducted by assessors blinded to group allocation, and brain changes will be assessed using magnetic resonance imaging. METHODS: This randomised controlled clinical trial will aim to compare the efficacy of BPT to routine clinical care for 60 children with ADHD. Participants will be randomised, with stratification by medication status for ADHD (medicated or non-medicated). The BPT intervention group will receive parent training weekly for 10 weeks in a group of six or less. The primary outcome measure will be changes in parental stress. Furthermore, the key secondary outcome measure will be the child's attachment security, which will be assessed in an interview conducted by assessors blinded to group allocation. We will also evaluate changes in neural connectivity in both children and mothers using magnetic resonance imaging. Other secondary outcomes will include child behavioural problems, ADHD symptoms, emotional regulation, child sensitivity to rewards and punishments, parental behaviour, and the child and parent's social support network following the completion of 10 sessions. DISCUSSION: This study represents the first randomised controlled trial exploring the efficacy of BPT on child attachment security and mothers' sense of emotional closeness to their children. It aims to provide robust evidence to assist parents of children with ADHD in making appropriate treatment decisions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN000038693. Registered on November 9, 2019.

Silent Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Parental Attachment in Pediatric Patients.

AIM: The COVID-19 pandemic led to isolation measures intended to curb the spread of infection, which are believed to have negatively affected children's psychological well-being. This study examines the impact of the pandemic on parental attachment with children. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted with children visiting a general pediatrics clinic between April 1 and 20, 2023. Their COVID-19 infection history was recorded, and the Kern's Attachment Questionnaire was used to assess parental attachment in children who had contracted COVID-19 and those who had not. RESULTS: The study involved 716 patients aged 9-12, divided into two groups: those who had contracted COVID-19 (n=253) and those who had not (n=463). Kern's Attachment Questionnaire scores for mothers were 46.3 for children with COVID-19 and 49.4 for those without. For fathers, the scores were 43.9 and 48, respectively. Children who had contracted COVID-19 showed significantly lower attachment scores to both mothers and fathers compared to the control group (p=0.04, p=0.00). CONCLUSION: The pandemic's long-term biopsychosocial effects are evident, with increased stress and negative experiences posing risks to child development, particularly in terms of parental attachment. While early attachment begins in infancy, it continues to evolve. This study underscores the need for behavioral and psychological follow-up for adolescents in the post-pandemic period.

Vertebral artery stump syndrome associated with a bihemispheric posterior inferior cerebellar artery.

Background: Vertebral artery (VA) stump syndrome (VASS) is an embolic source for cerebral infarction (CI) in the posterior circulation after VA occlusion. Case Description: A 63-year-old patient with a history of hypertension presented to our emergent department with dizziness, vomiting, and gait disturbance. Head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed acute CIs in the bilateral cerebellar hemispheres and the vermis. Magnetic resonance angiography revealed patency of the VA and basilar artery. Left subclavian artery digital subtraction angiography (DSA) revealed severe left VA orifice stenosis and collateral flow from the deep cervical artery into the left V2 segment. Right VA angiography showed retrograde flow to the left V4 segment, branching bihemispheric posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA), and to-and-flow appearance in the proximal PICA segment and VA. VASS was diagnosed, and conservative treatment with aspirin was administered. Worsened nausea and gait disturbance had developed during hospitalization. MRI revealed an enlarged posterior circulation CI. Follow-up DSA revealed proximal to-and-flow appearance translocation to the proximal V4 segment and poor PICA flow. We performed proximal V4 segment parent artery occlusion (PAO) by endovascular therapy. No recurrence of symptoms or CI was observed. The patient was discharged on day 32 of hospitalization with 1 on the modified Rankin scale. Conclusion: We reported a rare case of VASS involving bihemispheric PICA. No CI recurrence was observed after performing PAO of the proximal V4 segment. When treating acute cases of bilateral cerebellar CI due to VASS, the contribution of PICA variations should be considered.

Supporting Weight Loss Among Parents of Children With a Disability: Lessons Learned From a Single-Arm Pilot Study.

This study assessed weight change in the parents of children with disabilities following a 12-week, remotely delivered weight loss program focused on lifestyle modifications and found a significant median weight reduction of 3 kg from baseline to week 12.

Internet Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Maternal Guilt in a Child Abuse Case: A Single Case Study.

This single case study explored the effectiveness of Internet Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (I-PCIT) for addressing maternal guilt in a case of child abuse. I-PCIT was implemented because traditional PCIT was challenging due to the family's geographical constraints and the mother's professional commitments. The study utilized multiple assessment tools, including the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), to measure the therapy's impact on the child's behavior and the mother's depressive symptoms. The case conceptualization highlighted the mother's emotional regulation difficulties and dissociative symptoms under stress that contributed to the abusive incidents. I-PCIT sessions, conducted via videoconferencing software, focused on enhancing the mother-son relationship through Child-Directed Interaction (CDI) and Parent-Directed Interaction (PDI) phases. Through 19 sessions of I-PCIT (with one session conducted face-to-face), the mother's mastery of positive skills improved, and follow-up sessions indicated sustained positive outcomes. This case study underscores the potential of I-PCIT in preventing the recurrence of abuse, enhancing parental skills, and facilitating positive parent-child interaction. It also highlights the importance of therapist-parent collaboration in mitigating dropout risks and promoting therapy adherence.

Internet-based third-wave Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for reducing stress in parents of children and adolescents with chronic conditions: Systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

Background: Parents of children and adolescents with chronic conditions have an increased risk of stress-related mental health problems, and reduced quality of life. Third wave Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interventions have been shown to reduce stress in this parent population. Studies demonstrate that this efficacy endures when these therapies are delivered online. The aim of this protocol is to describe the methodology and methods that will be employed for a systematic review and meta-analysis that investigates the effectiveness of internet-based third-wave CBT interventions for parents of children and adolescents with chronic conditions, and their potential to reduce stress for parents. Methods/Design: This systematic review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach. A search of peer-reviewed journal articles published from January 1970 to December 2022 will be undertaken in the following databases: CINHAHL, EMBASE, EMCARE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO. Title and abstract screening together with data extraction will be completed by two reviewers, and will be arbitrated by a third reviewer, should there be any discrepancies. The risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Data related to the primary outcome (i.e. reduction of stress in parents) will be extracted for analysis. Results: This Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis plans to provide a conclusive overview of the available evidence on the effectiveness of internet-based third-wave parent interventions and their ability to reduce stress in parents of children and adolescents with chronic conditions. If the results of this analysis prove positive, further research can be undertaken to support this vulnerable parent population. The findings of the review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Discussion: Third-wave internet-based approaches may show great promise in supporting parents to cope with the stress/distress associated with parenting a child with a chronic condition. This protocol will guide a systematic literature review of the evidence for internet-based third-wave interventions for this parent population. Registration: This systematic review was registered on PROSPERO on 24th June, 2022 (Registration: CRD42022337334).

Family-Centered Treatment Program for Problematic Gaming and Excessive Screen Use in a Clinical Child and Youth Population (FAME): Protocol for a Feasibility Pilot Mixed Method Study.

BACKGROUND: Screen time among children and adolescents has increased dramatically, raising concerns about its impact on development and mental health. While research highlights both potential benefits and risks, excessive use has been linked to issues like anxiety, depression, and gaming addiction. Despite growing concern, effective interventions are scarce. Recognizing the importance of family dynamics in child development, we propose a family-centered program to address problematic gaming and excessive screen use in a clinical population. By involving both children and parents, we aim to create a more comprehensive approach to prevention and treatment. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the possibility of distributing and evaluating a family-centered group program for problematic gaming and excessive screen use (FAME) in a clinical child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) population. We will monitor the recruitment rate; track the retention and attendance rates of both parents and children; and assess whether each session's objectives are met, the content is delivered within the allotted time, and the necessary resources (eg, facilitators and materials) are available. Additionally, we will gather qualitative and quantitative feedback from participants through postprogram surveys and individual interviews with both children and parents. METHODS: A total of 10 families with ongoing contact with CAP in Skåne, Sweden, will be recruited and offered participation in a family-centered group program targeting children aged 10-18 years with reported difficulties regarding screen gaming or screen use. The intervention to be tested is a newly developed, family-centered, psychoeducational, cognitive behavioral therapy-based intervention addressing both positive and negative aspects of screen use; setting boundaries; the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; conflict triggers; and sleep hygiene. The primary goal of the pilot study is to test the feasibility of the program, as well as recruitment and the analysis of participants' experiences with the program. RESULTS: A total of 11 children and their parents were enrolled during first quarter of 2024. A 4-session pilot was delivered in first quarter of 2024, and the first results are expected in the third quarter of 2024. CONCLUSIONS: The overarching goal of this pilot study is to determine the possibility of distributing and evaluating a family-centered group program for problematic gaming and excessive screen use (FAME) in a clinical CAP population. The insights gained from this study will guide our future research, which will focus on conducting a larger-scale evaluation of the intervention's impact on family screen time conflicts and inform future strategies for the implementation of family-centered interventions in child and youth clinics. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06098807; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06098807. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/56387.

Parent Education and Counseling (PairEd-C) Intervention to Improve Family-Centered Care: Protocol for a Prospective Acceptability Study Using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability.

BACKGROUND: Family-centered care (FCC) is an intervention approach based on a respectful relationship between family and health care providers (HCPs) to ensure the health and well-being of children and their families. Although HCPs have a better perception of FCC, the level of its implementation is low. Reasons for low implementation include limited understanding, lack of training, and lack of implementation guidelines and tools to support implementation. Thus, we developed the Parent Education and Counseling (PairEd-C) intervention to improve FCC in pediatric oncology settings and assess its acceptability. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to assess the prospective acceptability of the PairEd-C intervention using the theoretical framework of acceptability (TFA) in the pediatric oncology department in a tertiary hospital in Ethiopia. METHODS: The study was conducted using an exploratory qualitative study design. We aimed to recruit 10 to 15 participants for the in-depth interview. The study participants were health service leaders working in child cancer, HCPs, social workers, and parents of children with cancer. The intervention was developed using the integration of the first phase of the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing and testing complex interventions and the behavior change wheel (BCW) framework. The main PairEd-C intervention components align with the intervention functions of education, persuasion, training, environmental restructuring, modeling, and enablement, which were intended to improve FCC in the pediatric oncology unit by providing structured and comprehensive education and counseling of parents of children with cancer. The intervention was implemented by providing training for the health care team, facilitating discussion among HCPs and setting a shared plan, improving the commitment of the health care team, providing education for parents, improving parents' capacity to attend the intervention sessions, arranging discussion among parents of children with cancer, and provision of education and counseling on distress. The HCPs working in the unit received training on the designed intervention. The trained educators and the health care provider delivered the intervention. Data will be analyzed using deductive thematic coding with a framework analysis technique based on the 7 TFA constructs. Atlas ti. version 9 will be used for data analysis. RESULTS: Funding was acquired in 2017, and ethical clearance for conducting the study was obtained. We conducted the interviews with the study participants from December 2023 to January 2024. As of the acceptance of this protocol (June 2024), 12 study participants were interviewed. The data analysis process was started subsequently, and the manuscript will be completed and submitted for publication in early 2025. CONCLUSIONS: This acceptability study is expected to show that the designed intervention is acceptable to study participants, and the findings will be used to improve the intervention before progressing to the next step of our project. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/54914.

Cultivating the imagination: Caregiver input during pretend play with toddlers at elevated likelihood for autism.

Toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may exhibit less pretend play than their neurotypical counterparts. Previous research suggests that caregivers' input during play influences children's play behavior, and children's behavior may in turn prompt caregivers of differently developing children to talk about play in different ways. Caregiver input about pretend play during toy play at home was examined at 18- and 36-months in toddlers with an older sibling with ASD, who are at elevated likelihood (EL) for ASD (n = 40), and toddlers with typical likelihood (TL) for ASD (n = 12). EL toddlers were classified into three outcome groups: EL-ASD (n = 10), EL-no diagnosis (EL-ND; n = 14), or EL-language delays (EL-LD, n = 16). Caregiver utterances were categorized according to the types of pretend and non-pretend play suggested (e.g., pretending with inanimate objects vs. using objects for their intended function). Pretend utterances were further categorized as related or unrelated to the child's own actions. All caregivers produced proportionately more utterances about complex types of pretend play over time. At 36 months, caregivers of autistic toddlers produced proportionately fewer pretend play utterances, and proportionately fewer pretend play utterances were related to EL-ASD toddlers' actions compared to their neurotypical peers. These findings highlight bidirectional effects between caregivers and toddlers during play. While EL-ASD toddlers may provide less frequent opportunities for caregivers to talk about complex types of pretend play, the current study highlights caregivers' high levels of attunement to their toddlers' play skills.

Associations Between Acculturation, Discrimination, and Adolescent Relationship Abuse: A Matched Parent-Adolescent Study of Latine Families.

Adolescent relationship abuse (ARA) is prevalent among adolescents, including those who identify as Latine. However, there is limited research that has considered the cultural and structural mechanisms that may impact ARA experiences among Latine youth. Further, although parents play a crucial role in ARA prevention, few studies have investigated how adolescent-parent differences in acculturation and discrimination are associated with ARA. The objective of this exploratory study of Latine families was to examine how acculturation, discrimination, and adolescent-parent acculturation/discrimination differences relate to ARA victimization and perpetration. Parent-adolescent dyads recruited from clinic and community-based settings in Pittsburgh and Kansas City completed matched surveys. Parent-adolescent acculturation and discrimination differences were calculated using multilevel linear models. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine associations among ARA victimization and perpetration and adolescent-reported acculturation, adolescent-reported discrimination, and adolescent-parent acculturation and discrimination differences. One hundred eighty-two adolescents and their parent/caregiver (n = 364) completed a matched survey in English or Spanish from March 2020 to March 2021. Forty-three percent of adolescents reported that they had started dating; of these 35% and 24% reported ARA victimization and perpetration, respectively. Higher levels of adolescent-reported acculturation conflict were associated with lower ARA victimization (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.24; 95% confidence interval, CI [0.08, 0.75]); conversely, higher adolescent-reported discrimination was associated with ARA victimization (aOR: 2.50 [1.30, 4.60]) and perpetration (aOR: 2.10 [1.10, 3.90]). Wider adolescent-parent acculturation differences in Spanish language (aOR: 3.40 [1.04, 11.30]) and interpersonal discrimination (aOR: 2.40 [1.10, 5.20]) were associated with increased ARA victimization. Results underscore the importance of discrimination in understanding ARA experiences among Latine youth. Future work should consider developing culturally and linguistically affirming ARA prevention programs for Latine adolescents and parents.

Daily smartphone use predicts parent depressive symptoms, but parents' perceptions of responsiveness to their child moderate this effect.

Introduction: Smartphone use during caregiving has become increasingly common, especially around infants and very young children, and this use around young children has been linked with lower quality and quantity of parent-child interaction, with potential implications for child behavior, and parent-child attachment. To understand drivers and consequences of parent phone use, we were interested in the daily associations between parent phone use and depressed mood, as well as the potential for parent perceptions of their responsiveness toward their infant to alter the association between parent phone use and mood. Methods: In the present study, we explored associations between day-to-day changes in parent smartphone use (objectively-measured via passive sensing) around their infant, depressed mood, and parent perceptions of their responsiveness to their infants among a sample of 264 parents across eight days. We utilized multilevel modeling to examine these within-person daily associations. Results: Objectively-measured parent smartphone use during time around their infant was significantly associated with depressed mood on a daily basis. Interestingly, this was not true on days when parents perceived themselves to be more responsive to their infant. Discussion: These results suggest that parent judgements and perceptions of their parenting behavior may impact the potential link between parent phone use and parent mood. This is the first study utilizing intensive daily data to examine how parent perceptions may alter the felt effects of phone use on their parenting. Future work examining potential impacts of smartphone use on parenting should consider the effects of both actual use and perceptions about that use.

The effects of special educational needs and socioeconomic status on teachers' and parents' judgements of pupils' cognitive abilities.

BACKGROUND: Teachers' and parents' judgements of pupils' cognitive abilities influence pupils' daily learning opportunities and experiences, as these judgements affect the difficulty level of materials and instruction that teachers and parents provide. Over time, these judgements thus significantly shape educational success. However, pupils' characteristics, such as special educational needs (SEN), giftedness and socioeconomic status (SES) can influence and bias judgement accuracy. AIMS: The present study aimed to investigate the relation between pupils' cognitive abilities and their teachers' and parents' judgements of these abilities, and potential bias in these judgements related to SEN, giftedness, and SES. SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 1073 primary school pupils from grades 4-6 from 77 classes in 16 schools, and their teachers and parents. METHODS: Teachers and parents rated their pupils' cognitive abilities. Pupils completed the COVAT-3, a cognitive ability test. RESULTS: Multilevel analyses revealed that parent judgements were significantly higher than teacher judgements, but both informants' judgements were equally strong related to the cognitive ability scores. When controlling for pupils' assessed cognitive abilities, the results revealed small judgement biases: negative for SEN, positive for giftedness, and finally positive for high SES, but only in teachers. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results indicated that teachers and parents can judge their pupils abilities to a moderate degree, but they also hold judgement biases related to SEN, giftedness and SES. As these biases can affect pupils' opportunities, it is important to increase teachers' and parents' awareness.