Long-term consequences of childhood emotional abuse in mothers on parental load and child mental health.

BACKGROUND: Childhood emotional maltreatment can be associated with long-term consequences on mental health. In addition, transgenerational transmission of adverse childhood experiences to the next generation can occur and thus have an impact on the mental health of one's own children. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the role of stress on the association between childhood emotional maltreatment and parental load what is referred to in this study as limitations in parental functioning that affect the resources available to parents to cope with the demands of raising, caring for, and providing for their child. Furthermore the effect of parental load on the mental health of one's own children will be examined. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: N = 237 mother-child dyads (age mother M = 33.76, SD = 4.07 years; age child M = 11.91 months, SD = 0.89 months) from a longitudinal cohort study were examined at two different measuring points. METHODS: Emotional abuse, perceived stress, parental load and child mental health were assessed using self and external report questionnaires. RESULTS: The calculation of a mediation showed that the association of emotional abuse and parental load was completely mediated by perceived stress (indirect effect ab = 0.44, 95 %-CI[0.17, 0.78]). In addition, effects of parental load on the child's mental health (ß = 0.13, 95%CI [0.07;0.20]), mainly hyperactivity (ß = 0.06, 95%CI [0.03;0.11]) and prosocial behavior (ß = -0.04, 95%CI [-0.07; -0.01]), were evident. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide evidence that the mental health of children can be influenced in the long term by increased parental load.

[Support for families with a mentally ill parent : Which forms of help do mentally ill parents utilize and which would they like to have?] / Unterstützung für Familien mit einem psychisch erkrankten Elternteil : Welche Hilfen nehmen psychisch erkrankte Eltern in Anspruch und welche wünschen sie sich?

BACKGROUND: In Germany different offers of social support are available for families that are provided by different sectors, e.g., the youth welfare and the healthcare systems. OBJECTIVE: Documentation of the utilized help, child-related factors that are associated with the utilization and the parental desires for support. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Survey of 160 parents undergoing (partial) inpatient treatment in psychiatric hospitals via an oral interview using standardized and semi-standardized instruments. RESULTS: The results show that nonprofessional help by family and friends as well as support offers provided by the healthcare system are used most frequently. Families that perceived their children as more burdened receive more help than families with children judged as being less burdened. There are regional differences especially in the utilization of high-threshold help by the healthcare system. DISCUSSION: Support offers seem to reach families with mental illnesses, especially those that are particularly burdened; however, there are regional differences regarding the utilization of support as well as the wishes for specific support offers.

The negative association of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with the health of mother and child considering maternal childhood maltreatment.

BACKGROUND: Social distancing strategies during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have left families facing a variety of different constraints. Especially in this stressful time, children need a stable parental home to prevent developmental consequences. Additional risk factors such as maternal childhood maltreatment (CM) may affect mother's psychosomatic health and children's physical well-being in this period. OBJECTIVE: It was aimed to analyze the associations between maternal CM, mother's mental health, and children's physical complaints during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic. METHOD: Mothers of a well-documented birth cohort from a longitudinal study were included in this study. Psychosomatic health was assessed with the PHQ-D and children's physical health with the GBB-KJ during the pandemic. N = 159 mothers completed the online survey. To describe the maternal CM, data from a longitudinal survey were used. RESULTS: The calculation of three mediation analyses demonstrate that maternal depression symptoms (c-path: ß = 0.10, p = .02; c'-path: ß = 0.07, p = .13), somatic symptoms (c-path: ß = 0.10, p = .02; c'-path: ß = 0.07, p = .13) and psychosomatic symptoms (c-path: ß = 0.10, p = .02; c'-path: ß = 0.06, p = .19) fully mediate the relationship between CM and children's physical health complaints. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal CM experiences seem to be one relevant risk factor during the pandemic and seem to influence the way in which parents deal with stressful situations and increase the risk for depressive symptoms. The present results highlight the importance to provide individually adjusted assistance to help the families to get through the pandemic.

Emotional problems in young children during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic and child attachment.

Background: Restrictions imposed by national governments during SARS-CoV-2-pandemic have impacted the mental health of children around the world. Studies have already proven the importance of secure attachment acting as a protective factor in child development. Therefore, children with secure attachment have a higher chance of developing and using appropriate coping mechanisms. Objective: The goal of this study was to explore the possible connection between the pandemic, as well as child attachment, and young children's emotional health. The general hypothesis assumes a lower rate of emotional problems among children with secure attachment and a higher rate of emotional problems among children with insecure-disorganized attachment, as well as an increase of these problems during the pandemic. Method: The analysis included N = 129 mothers (M = 39.98 years) and their children (M = 5.19 years). Via an online survey, which was held at different time points during the pandemic, information on the children's emotional problems was retrieved. The survey used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Data regarding the quality of attachment was collected via the Strange Situations Test (SST). At this point the participating children were approximately 12 months old. Results: The calculation of a mixed ANCOVA showed, that attachment quality had a significant influence on children's emotional problems [F(2, 121) = 4.01, p = .021]. The interaction effect between time and child attachment reached significance [F(3.45, 208.42) = 3.58, p = .011]. The calculation of an additional mixed ANCOVA showed, that the reported emotional problems of girls were higher than those of boys F(1, 118) = 4.56, p = .035). Conclusions: Our study shows that there is an association between attachment security and emotional problems and the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the mental health of preschool children in Germany. The emotional problems of all children increased, especially the disorganized attached children had been reported as emotionally stressed in the first lockdown. The results indicate the need for preventive services (for children and parents) to promote and maintain stress coping skills in order to maintain children's mental health in times of crisis.

Longitudinal course of endocannabinoids and N-acylethanolamines in hair of mothers and their children in the first year postpartum: investigating the relevance of maternal childhood maltreatment experiences.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment (CM) exerts long-lasting psychological and biological alterations in affected individuals and might also affect the endocannabinoid (eCB) system which modulates inflammation and the endocrine stress response. Here, we investigated the eCB system of women with and without CM and their infants using hair samples representing eCB levels accumulated during the last trimester of pregnancy and 10-12 months postpartum. METHODS: CM exposure was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. At both timepoints, 3 cm hair strands were collected from mothers and children (N = 170 resp. 150) to measure anandamide (AEA), 2/1-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG/1-AG), stearoylethanolamide (SEA), oleoylethanolamide (OEA), and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). RESULTS: Maternal hair levels of 2-AG/1-AG increased and SEA levels decreased from late pregnancy to one year postpartum. Maternal CM was associated with lower SEA levels in late pregnancy, but not one year later. In the children's hair, levels of 2-AG/1-AG increased while levels of SEA, OEA, and PEA decreased from late pregnancy to one year later. Maternal CM was not consistently associated with the eCB levels measured in children's hair. CONCLUSIONS: We provide first evidence for longitudinal change in the eCB system of mothers and infants from pregnancy to one year later. While maternal CM influenced the maternal eCB system, we found no consistent intergenerational effects on early regulation of the eCB system in children. Longitudinal research on the importance of the eCB system for the course and immunoregulation of pregnancy as well as for the children's development.

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic as a catalyst? Development of emotional problems of preschool children of mothers with childhood maltreatment experiences in the course of the pandemic-a longitudinal analysis.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have posed great challenges for all families and children. Health risks and fears associated with SARS-CoV-2 negatively affect the parental mental health and perceived stress, which in turn influence parental coping and thereby impairs the mental health and well-being of their children. Additional risk factors within the parents, such as maternal childhood maltreatment (CM) experiences, may increase the risk of children to develop emotional problems during the pandemic. Objective: The purpose of this longitudinal study is to determine whether preschool children of mothers with CM are at higher risk of developing emotional problems during the pandemic than preschool children of mothers without CM. Method: 74 mothers from a birth cohort examining pathways to resilience or vulnerability in the transgenerational transmission of CM, provided information on emotional problems of their children (aged 3-7 years) at two measurement time points (t1: May 2020, t2: March 2021) as part of an online "SARS-CoV-2 pandemic" survey. In addition, parents were asked for a retrospective assessment of their children's emotional problems before the pandemic at time t1. Children's emotional problems were assessed using the "emotional problems" scale of the German version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and linked to previously collected data on mothers' childhood maltreatment experiences, which were collected using the German short version of the Trauma in Childhood Questionnaire (CTQ). Results: Our analyses showed that children's emotional problems increased significantly over the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic [F(1.86, 116.88) = 3.72, p = 0.030 η 2 = 0.06] and were rated significantly higher in the group of children of mothers with CM, than in the group of mothers without CM [F(1, 63) = 126.06, p < 0.001 η 2 = 0.67]. Furthermore children's emotional problems of mothers with CM increased significantly more and reached a clinically significant value during the pandemic than for children of mothers without CM [F(1.86, 116.88) = 8.89, p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.12]. Conclusions: Children of mothers with CM appear to be at increased risk of developing emotional problems during the pandemic. CM therefore needs to be considered as an additional risk factor in the impact of the pandemic on children.

Epidemiology of intimate partner violence perpetration and victimisation in a representative sample.

AIMS: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major global public health problem. Although IPV is known to be frequent and perpetration and victimisation often co-occur, large representative samples assessing both, male and female IPV perpetration and victimisation and overlaps are missing to date. Thus, we aimed to assess victimisation and perpetration and its overlap in physical, sexual, psychological and economic IPV in a representative sample of the German population. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, observational study in Germany from July to October 2021. Using different sampling steps including a random route procedure, a probability sample of the German population was generated. The final sample consisted of 2503 persons (50.2% female, mean age: 49.5 years). Participants were asked about socio-demographic information in a face-to-face interview and experience of physical, psychological, sexual and economic IPV using a questionnaire. RESULTS: A significant proportion of persons in Germany reporting IPV are both perpetrator and victim for each IPV form. The biggest overlap between perpetration and victimisation was seen for psychological IPV. Major risk factors for IPV perpetration only were male gender and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) while major risk factors for IPV victimisation only comprised of female gender, low household income and ACEs. In the perpetration and victimisation group, gender differences were less significant; older age and lower household income did increase the likelihood of combined perpetration and victimisation. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified a significant overlap of perpetration and victimisation of IPV in the German population for men and women. However, men are at much higher risk to perpetrate IPV without being a victim. Further research and the development of adapted approaches for contexts of overlapping IPV are necessary.

The relationship between parenting behavior and the personality of kindergarten children.

According to Cloninger's biosocial model of personality touching upon temperament and character, personality development is a lifelong adaptive process that begins in early childhood. Similarly, theories of parenting behavior and attachment predict that associations between personality and parenting behavior should be found in young children. The present study therefore had the goal to investigate, whether associations between parenting behavior and personality in terms of Cloninger's temperament and character dimensions previously found in adolescence and adults can already be observed in kindergarten children. This study assessed personality in a sample of 324 kindergarten children (169 girls/155 boys) aged 3-6 years (M age = 4.59, SD = 0.90). Parents rated their children's temperament and character using the JTCI 3-6 R questionnaire, which has been specifically developed to measure personality dimensions in three to six-year-olds according to Cloninger's model. Character traits (especially Self-Transcendence), which reach mature levels in adults, may not be reliably assessed in three-year-old children. Parenting behavior was documented using the DEAPQ-EL-GS self-report questionnaire measuring the parenting behavior dimensions Responsiveness and Demandingness. Correlation analyses revealed that responsive parenting behavior was positively related to the personality dimensions Reward Dependence, Self-Directedness, and Self-Transcendence. Demanding parenting behavior was positively related to the personality dimension Novelty Seeking, but negatively related to the personality dimensions Persistence, Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness. Although the cross-sectional design of our study prevents unequivocal conclusions about the causal direction of these associations, our results highlight possible differential consequences of responsive vs. demanding parenting behavior for personality development in children in line with theories of parenting behavior and attachment. Our results thus advance earlier work in adolescents and adults, by showing that parenting behavior influences the development of the child's personality according to Cloninger's biosocial model already in three to six-year-olds.

Investigating mitochondrial bioenergetics in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of women with childhood maltreatment from post-parturition period to one-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment (CM) exerts various long-lasting psychological and biological changes in affected individuals, with inflammation being an interconnecting element. Besides chronic low-grade inflammation, CM might also affect the energy production of cells by altering the function and density of mitochondria, i.e. the body's main energy suppliers. Here, we compared mitochondrial respiration and density in intact peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), from women with and without CM between two time points, i.e. at the highly inflammatory phase within 1 week after parturition (t0) and again after 1 year (t2). METHODS: CM exposure was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Whole blood was collected from n = 52 healthy women within the study 'My Childhood - Your Childhood' at both time points to isolate and cryopreserve PBMC. Thawed PBMC were used to measure mitochondrial respiration and density by high-resolution respirometry followed by spectrophotometric analyses of citrate-synthase activity. RESULTS: Over time, quantitative respiratory parameters increased, while qualitative flux control ratios decreased, independently of CM. Women with CM showed higher mitochondrial respiration and density at t0, but not at t2. We found significant CM group × time interaction effects for ATP-turnover-related respiration and mitochondrial density. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to longitudinally investigate mitochondrial bioenergetics in postpartum women with and without CM. Our results indicate that CM-related mitochondrial alterations reflect allostatic load, probably due to higher inflammatory states during parturition, which normalize later. However, later inflammatory states might moderate the vulnerability for a second-hit on the level of mitochondrial bioenergetics, at least in immune cells.

Prevalence and Predictors of Affirmations of Intimate Partner Violence in Germany: A First Nationwide Study on Victimization in Women and Men.

Large-size studies on the prevalence of female intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in Germany are rare and partly outdated; representative data on male IPV victimization are lacking altogether. The present survey addresses these gaps. For this study, the instrument of the WHO Multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence has been translated to German and adapted to be used with females and males. A random route procedure in selecting household addresses has been used to gather data on IPV in combination with an omnibus survey on (mental) health issues. A total 2,503 respondents with a minimum age of 14 years have participated (response rate=44.1%). The resulting distribution of age and gender was representative for the German population above the age of 14 years. A total of 57.6% of female participants and 50.8% of male participants have reported victimization by intimate partners during their lifespan; gender distribution differs significantly (Chi2=43.43; p<0.001). Out of the different documented subtypes, psychological IPV was most prevalent (53.6% in females, 48.0% in males). Other forms ranged between 15.2% (physical IPV) and 18.6% (sexual IPV) for females, and 5.5% (sexual IPV) and 10.8% (physical IPV) for males. All forms of victimization regularly coincided, both in females and males. Experiencing any IPV was not only significantly associated with female gender, but also with older age, periods of unemployment, poverty, and IPV perpetration. The findings highlight the still much needed global efforts to prevent IPV against women - and in general. They further support previous research in underlining that fighting poverty might also be instrumental in reducing the likelihood of IPV. The discussion further addresses the issues of reciprocity in IPV.

[Practitioners in Psychotherapy can Improve their Competences in Assessing Attachment in Middle Childhood: Psychometric Quality of an Attachment Screening Tool Relevant forTherapy]. / Stärkung bindungsdiagnostischer Kompetenz von Praktiker/innen in der Psychotherapie: Güte eines therapiebezogenen Bindungsinstrumentes für die mittlere Kindheit.

Attachment narratives are increasingly used as a diagnostic tool in the therapeutic work with children in middle childhood. This, however, demands extensive procedures to ensure its adequate analysis and reliability.Thus, a new diagnostic instrument has been developed. It is a short version of the coding procedure used in the German Attachment Story Completion Task (GASCT) andmakes use of the idea of traffic lights. It can be understood quite intuitively and can be applied time-economically in practice. Instead of a qualitative classification into four attachment groups it results in a five-graded clinical assessment of the child's attachment security towards his or her attachment figures. This can be compared to the attachment security score of the GASCT. Psychometric qualities of the "Attachment Story Completion Light" were analyzed in a sample of 50 patients of a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital aged between four and eight years. Reliability was high, validity of the new instrument was also satisfying, regarding it's association with the original GASCT. For applying the new attachment screening tool a supervised training is required.The tool will enable practitioners to better recognize strengths and difficulties in the attachment representations of children and to plan adequate individualized therapy. As a rating identifying developmental risks, the instrument can help to clarify therapeutic procedures as well as service delivery for child and family.

Negative effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: The interlinking of maternal attachment representation, coping strategies, parental behavior, and the child's mental health.

For more than two years, young families have been confronted with a large number of restrictions and following burdens as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In fact, it became evident, that the current circumstances are particularly stressful for child's mental health. With regard to the child's mental health in times of a pandemic, additional factors within the family, such as maternal attachment representations as well as coping strategies and parental behavior, may play an important role. This study aims to investigate the interplay of maternal attachment representation, coping strategies, parental behavior and child's mental health during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In this longitudinal study, previously collected data regarding maternal attachment representation and newly attained data from the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic-assesment (lack of coping strategies, children's mental health and parental behavior) were combined and analyzed. The data were collected in an online survey since beginning of the pandemic, including N = 73 mothers. A path model was calculated in form of multiple linear regression. A path model could be confirmed, which indicates that insecure maternal attachment representation predicts lack of coping strategies during the pandemic [b = 5.55, 95%-CI = (4.51; 6.55), p = 0.001]. Furthermore, lack of coping strategies predicts harmful parental behavior during the pandemic [b = -0.77, 95%-CI = (-1.27; -0.21), p = 0.007], which in turn predicts children's mental health problems, namely behavioral problems [b = -0.08, 95%-CI = (-0.14; -0.01), p = 0.027]. Presence of short-time work and decrease in income since beginning of the pandemic were used as control variables. This means that since the pandemic mothers with insecure attachment representation have an increased risk of having only a few coping mechanisms available, leading to harmful parental behaviors and ultimately affecting the mental health of their children. In conclusion, the pandemic could potentially have a particularly negative influence on mothers with an insecure attachment type and therefore on their children. Therefore, tailored interventions for families should be offered that both focus on the different types of mental health problems in children and support parents in their coping skills.

Sources of social support for postpartum women with a history of childhood maltreatment: Consequences for perceived stress and general mental health in the first year after birth.

BACKGROUND: Women with a history of childhood maltreatment (CM) experience the postpartum period as particularly stressful and may benefit less from social support, implicating a higher risk for mental health problems and higher stress levels in mothers with CM. OBJECTIVE: Thus, we investigated the complex relationship of CM and social support provided by different sources (intimate partner, parents, parents-in-law, friends) in predicting stress perception and mental health over the course of the first year postpartum. PARTICIPANTS: In N = 295 postpartum women we assessed CM experiences, stress perception, perceived social support and general mental health 3 and 12 months postpartum. METHOD: Linear mixed effect models were used to examine the course of social support over the first year postpartum and path analyses were used to investigate mediation and moderation effects. RESULTS: We found that CM was linked to lower levels of perceived social support, accounted for more mental health problems, and amplified the negative association between perceived stress and maternal mental health. Most importantly, we showed that only partner support was beneficial for maternal mental health, and this association was mediated by reductions in perceived stress. CONCLUSION: CM as a major risk factor for mental health impairs the stress resilience of affected postpartum women. Extending previous research, our results reveal that the source of postpartum social support determines its benefits for maternal health. Our findings emphasize the need of at-risk mothers to be provided with additional sources of support to cope with daily practical, organizational and emotional challenges.

Reactivity of the Oxytocinergic and Neuroendocrine System Following the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System in Men of Recent Fatherhood: Results from an Exploratory Pilot Study with a Cross-Sectional Design.

The attachment representation (AR) of individuals affects emotional and cognitive information processes and is considered an important modulating factor of neuroendocrine stress responses. The neuropeptide oxytocin is studied as one biomolecular component underpinning this modulation. A validated procedure used in attachment-related research is the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). To date, only a limited number of studies investigated oxytocin and neuroendocrine reactivity in the context of an attachment-related stimulus similar to the APP. In this pilot study, N = 26 men of recent fatherhood were exposed to the AAP to classify AR and to investigate salivary changes in oxytocin, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) after AAP stimulation. We observed increased oxytocin levels in response to AAP exposure, and this increase was more pronounced in fathers with unresolved/disorganized AR. No significant changes in cortisol and DHEA concentrations were observed in response to AAP administration. Interestingly, differences in basal cortisol levels (before the AAP) also depended on AR classification. Here, the group of men with unresolved/disorganized AR showed higher levels of cortisol compared to fathers with organized AR. To conclude, the finding of increased salivary oxytocin levels in response to the AAP further indicates its validity as an instrument to stimulate the attachment system.

Identifying Risk and Resilience Factors in the Intergenerational Cycle of Maltreatment: Results From the TRANS-GEN Study Investigating the Effects of Maternal Attachment and Social Support on Child Attachment and Cardiovascular Stress Physiology.

Introduction: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a developmental risk factor and can negatively influence later psychological functioning, health, and development in the next generation. A comprehensive understanding of the biopsychosocial underpinnings of CM transmission would allow to identify protective factors that could disrupt the intergenerational CM risk cycle. This study examined the consequences of maternal CM and the effects of psychosocial and biological resilience factors on child attachment and stress-regulatory development using a prospective trans-disciplinary approach. Methods: Mother-child dyads (N = 158) participated shortly after parturition (t 0), after 3 months (t 1), and 12 months later (t 2). Mothers' CM experiences were assessed at t 0, attachment representation at t 1 and psychosocial risk and social support were assessed at t 1 and t 2. At t 2, dyads participated in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Children's attachmen status were classified as organized vs. disorganized, including their level of disorganized behavior, and heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were recorded as stress response measures of the autonomic nervous system. Maternal caregiving during SSP was assessed using the AMBIANCE scale. Child's single nucleotide polymorphisms rs2254298 within the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and rs2740210 of the oxytocin gene (OXT) were genotyped using DNA isolated from cord blood. Results: Maternal CM experiences (CM+) were significantly associated with an unresolved attachment status, higher perceived stress and more psychological symptoms. These negative effects of CM were attenuated by social support. As expected, maternal unresolved attachment and child disorganized attachment were significantly associated. Maternal caregiving did not mediate the relationship between maternal and child attachment but influenced children's HR and RSA response and disorganized behavior. Moreover, the rs2254298 genotype of the OXTR gene moderated the stress response of children from mothers with CM. Children carrying the rs2740210 risk allele of the OXT gene showed more disorganized behavior independent from maternal CM experiences. Conclusion: We replicated and extended existing CM and attachment models by co-examining maternal attachment, social support, and child genetic susceptibility on child attachment and cardiovascular stress regulation. The findings contribute to an extended understanding of risk and resilience factors and enable professionals to target adequate services to parents and children at risk.

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with a higher risk for increased depressive symptoms during Covid-19 pandemic - a cross-sectional study in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Covid-19 pandemic has been profoundly affecting people around the world. While contact restrictions, school closures and economic shutdown were effective to reduce infection rates, these measures go along with high stress for many individuals. Persons who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have an increased risk for mental health problems already under normal conditions. As ACEs can be associated with a higher vulnerability to stress we aimed to assess the role of ACEs on depressive symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic. METHODS: In a cross-sectional online survey, 1399 participants above the age of 18 years were included during the first lockdown in Germany. Via two-way repeated measures ANOVA, differences in depressive symptoms before (retrospectively assessed) and during the pandemic were analyzed. Linear regression analyses were performed in order to identify predictors for increase of depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Compared to prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, depressive symptoms increased among all participants. Participants with ACEs and income loss reported about a stronger increase of depressive symptoms. Other predictors for increased depressive symptoms were young age and a lack of social support. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, ACEs are a significant predictor for an increase in depressive symptoms during the pandemic, indicating that personss with ACEs may be a risk group for mental health problems during the current and potential later pandemics. These findings underline the relevance of support for persons who have experienced ACEs and may help to provide more targeted support in possible scenarios due to the current or possible other pandemics. Besides, economic stability seems to be of prior importance for mental health.

Maternal Sensitivity Modulates Child's Parasympathetic Mode and Buffers Sympathetic Activity in a Free Play Situation.

Background: Behavioral and physiological (self-)regulation in early life is crucial for the understanding of childhood development and adjustment. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is a main player in the regulative system and should therefore be modulated by the quality of interactive behavior of the caregiver. We experimentally investigated the ANS response of 18-36-month-old children in response to the quality of maternal behavior during a mother-child-interacting paradigm. Method: Eighty mothers and their children came to our laboratory and took part in an experimental paradigm, consisting of three episodes: a resting phase (E1), a structured play phase (E2), and a free play situation (E3) between mothers and their child. Children's and mother's heart rate (HR), the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity via the pre-ejection period (PEP) and the left ventricular ejection time (LVET), and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity via the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were continuously measured by an electrocardiogram. Maternal sensitivity of interactive behavior was assessed by using the Emotional Availability (EA) Scales. Results: Children of mothers with insensitive behavior had a significantly lower RSA at baseline, showed a lack of RSA withdrawal during structured and free play, and had shorter LVET across all episodes compared to children of sensitive mothers. Conclusion: Our findings depict the influence of low-quality maternal interaction on the child's ANS regulation, in calm and more stressful play situations. The overall higher SNS mode with impaired PNS reactivity may negatively influence child's ANS homoeostasis, which may result in a long-term impact on mental and physical wellbeing. Further, the maternal sensitivity may function as a buffer for the stress response of their child. These results could serve as a basis for the development of appropriate psychoeducational programs for mothers of low sensitivity in their interaction with the child.

Maternal attachment representation, the risk of increased depressive symptoms and the influence on children's mental health during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic.

The social distancing measures and the related closure of education institutions have confronted young families, in particular, with various challenges. Additional risk factors such as an insecure or even unresolved maternal attachment representation may affect mental health of mothers and their children in times of increased stress such as during the ongoing pandemic. We aimed to analyze the interplay between maternal attachment representation and mother's and children's mental health before and during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic. 91 mothers completed a "SARS-CoV-2 pandemic survey" examining the pandemic-related stress of their families including their own depressive symptomology and their children's mental health. Our mediation analysis demonstrates that the mothers' depressive symptomology significantly and fully mediated the relationship between maternal attachment representations and children's mental health during the pandemic. In contrast, the indirect effect of the maternal attachment representation on children's mental health before the pandemic through the depressive symptoms experienced by the mothers before the pandemic did not reach significance alongside the total and direct effect. The quality of the maternal attachment representation, promoted by childhood maltreatment, seems to be one relevant risk factor for the mothers' and children's mental health during a stressful time like a pandemic. The risk for mothers to develop depressive symptoms in times of a pandemic is significantly influenced by their current representation of previous attachment experiences. In addition, the mental well-being of mothers showed a considerable influence on the children's mental health during a pandemic. The results underline the necessity to consider unique needs of family members and to offer specific support in the current crisis focusing on attachment issues.