Psychosocial Stressors and Resources in Parents Using Home-Visiting Programs in Early Childhood: A Study Protocol.

Psychosocial stressors and resources present in the early life of a child play a crucial part in determining outcomes later in life. Preventive early childhood intervention services aim to reduce negative and increase positive outcomes. Home-visiting programs are an example for preventive services that are common in many countries.The present study focusses on a wide spread home-visiting program in Germany and has three main objectives: First, to characterize the professionals that conduct and the families who participate in the program. Second, to study relations between a broad range of resources and stressors. Third, to analyse potential outcome variables for future efficacy studies on early childhood intervention services. The goal is to recruit 130 professionals and 500 families from 20 cities and municipalities in Germany. For families with two caregivers, both are invited to participate. Questionnaire topics for professionals and families include a range of stressors and resources, need for support, and the work focus of the professionals. Statistical analyses will mainly be descriptive, exploring the complex interplay of stressors and resources in vulnerable families.These results will not only provide insights into how the program is currently conducted and whom it serves, but might also help to further accelerate the program and the training of professionals.

[An urban-rural comparison of family stress and early childhood intervention: Data linkage between two cross-sectional studies]. / Ein Stadt-Land-Vergleich familialer Belastungen und Früher Hilfen.

An urban-rural comparison of family stress and early childhood intervention: Data linkage between two cross-sectional studies Abstract. Background: So far, there is insufficient information about where in Germany which families are reached by home-visiting programs and how well. One example is the provision of home-visiting program by health service professionals (LaB) in early childhood intervention. Research questions: Are there urban-rural differences in psychosocial stress among families? What differences exist in terms of expanding support services, receiving a service, and using the offered LaB? Methods: Data from a representative family survey on psychosocial stress characteristics and the use of services, and a nationwide survey of professionals on the development and expansion of early childhood intervention at the community level were linked. Analyses included descriptive statistics and regression models. Results: Most psychosocial stress characteristics were reported with similar rates in rural and urban areas. Although the LaB program is more widespread in urban regions, it was more likely to be used in rural regions when offered. LaB was more likely to be used by families with migration background, with signs of depression or anxiety of parents, and with a child with perinatal adversities, and less likely when there was a need for expansion of this service. Conclusions: The increased use in rural areas could be due to the fact that there are long distances to few centralized services. Therefore, the outreach character of the LaB program is appreciated, especially among less mobile families.

[Early Childhood Intervention for Children of Parents with Mental Health Issues - Results of the Research Program of the National Center for Early Prevention]. / Frühe Hilfen für Kinder psychisch kranker Eltern ­ Forschungsergebnisse des Nationalen Zentrums Frühe Hilfen.

Early Childhood Intervention for Children of Parents with Mental Health Issues - Results of the Research Program of the National Center for Early Prevention In Germany, networks and measures of early childhood intervention (ECI) have been implemented nationwide. By specifically targeting families with multiple psychosocial challenges, ECI contributes to the enhancement of families' parenting skills, in order to promote equal opportunities for all children to grow up healthy and safe. In many families supported by ECI measures at least one parent shows symptoms of a mental health disorder, which poses a major challenge to ECI practitioners. Nevertheless, there is a lack of valid scientific knowledge about the proportion of young families living with symptoms of mental disorders, the degree to which parents' psychic burdens affect care in ECI measures and about the cooperation of different care providing systems. The National Center for Early Prevention (NCEP) monitors and evaluates the scaling up of ECI networks and measures in Germany. The present article compiles results of different NCEP studies focusing on parents with mental illness in Early Childhood Intervention. Results are discussed with regard to their relevance for further improving the care systems.

[One Size Fits All? Using Psychosocial Risk Assessments to Predict Service Use in Early Intervention and Prevention]. / One size fits all? Die Eignung von Risikoscreenings zur Prognose der Inanspruchnahme von Angeboten der Frühen Hilfen.

One Size Fits All? Using Psychosocial Risk Assessments to Predict Service Use in Early Intervention and Prevention Early intervention and prevention services offer a variety of programs. At the same time, program participants differ widely in their service use. This study aims at investigating the prognostic validity of psychosocial risk assessments in predicting the participants' service use. The psychosocial risk assessment "Heidelberg Stress Scale" is used to predict aspects of service use (dosage, attrition, intervention content, working relationship). Service use data of N = 1.514 participants of a home-visiting program will be analyzed via Machine-Learning-Algorithms. Dosage and intervention content can be predicted with psychosocial risk assessments. The classification strength is small. Global and continuous risk scales have a prognostic advantage over single categorical risk items. Financial burden has a significant influence on every aspect of service use. Psychosocial risk assessments provide additional information that can support intervention planning. Yet, these instruments should be supplemented by additional diagnostic information.

[Midwives and Nurses in Early Childhood Intervention: The Benefit of Additional Qualification]. / Gesundheitsfachkräfte in den Frühen Hilfen: Wie nützlich ist die Zusatzqualifikation? Eine quantitative Studie.

Midwives and Nurses in Early Childhood Intervention: The Benefit of Additional Qualification Abstract. BACKGROUND: Early childhood interventions are locally and regionally organized support services for families from pregnancy until the end of the third year of life. The interventions promote diverse measures to enhance parental skills in order to improve developmental and living circumstances. Midwives and nurses with additional qualification support burdened families in early childhood intervention. METHOD: Within a retrospective survey (standardized interviews, CAPI) mothers' (N = 298) perspective of the benefit of the home visiting support is assessed. Data from two groups were compared: (1) mothers in the care of a midwife or nurse with additional qualification (GruppeGFK + Quali) and (2) mothers cared for by a midwife or nurse without additional qualification (GruppeGFK). RESULTS: (1) Families with weighted levels of psychosocial burdens reported an enhanced need for help. (2) Midwives and nurses with additional qualification support more frequently families with high levels of psychosocial burdens. (3) Mothers with care of midwives and nurses with additional qualification reported this support as more useful in relation to every day demands than mothers with regular care after birth (questionnaire for evaluation of the received support: GruppeGFK + Quali: mean = 2.57; GruppeGFK : mean = 1.97; t (121) = 2.799, p = .003). CONCLUSION: The study complements results of national and international studies showing that families with high levels of psychosocial burdens accept home visiting support. Furthermore, this support seems to be useful. An increase of the offer and the additional qualification is recommended for improving the developmental and living conditions of families with psychosocial burdens.

[The assessment of family resources and need for help: Construct validity and reliability of the Systematic Exploration and Process Inventory for health professionals in early childhood intervention services (SEVG)]. / Familiäre Ressourcen und Hilfebedarfe erfassen: Zur Konstruktvalidität und Reliabilität des Systematischen Explorations- und Verlaufsinventars für Gesundheitsfachkräfte in den Frühen Hilfen (SEVG).

BACKGROUND: Health professionals in early childhood intervention and prevention make an important contribution by helping burdened families with young children cope with everyday life and child raising issues. A prerequisite for success is the health professionals' ability to tailor their services to the specific needs of families. METHODS: The "Systematic Exploration and Process Inventory for health professionals in early childhood intervention services (SEVG)" can be used to identify each family's individual resources and needs, enabling a valid, reliable and objective assessment of the conditions and the process of counseling service. The present paper presents the statistical analyses that were used to confirm the reliability of the inventory. RESULTS: Based on the results of the reliability analysis and principal component analysis (PCA), the SEVG seems to be a reliable and objective inventory for assessing families' need for support. It also allows for calculation of average values of each scale. CONCLUSION: The development of valid and reliable assessments is essential to quality assurance and the professionalization of interventions in early childhood service.

[Early Intervention and Cognitive Development: A Longitudinal Study with Psychologically Stressed Mother-Child-Dyad during Early Childhood]. / Frühe Hilfen und kindliche kognitive Entwicklung: Eine längsschnittliche Pilotuntersuchung psychosozial belasteter Mutter-Kind-Paare in der frühen Kindheit.

Early intervention programs aiming at developing parents' relationship and parenting skills and supporting young families have become increasingly established in Germany throughout the last decade. The present longitudinal study analyzed 53 children and their mothers receiving early intervention due to their psychosocially highly challenging life situations and personal circumstances. The children were examined at birth and at an age of twelve months as well as between ages two and four. The results revealed that the child's cognitive development could be predicted by both maternal sensitivity and mother's psychosocial stress. However, the amount, type, and intensity of early intervention did not have any effect on the child's development. In terms of the effectiveness of early interventions the results implicate that interventions seems to be offered in an unspecific manner and does not contribute to an improvement of the child's developmental status.