Risks and resources for college students' mental health: ACEs, attachment, and mindfulness.

Objective: To examine associations between risks and resources in predicting college students' depressive symptoms at the beginning of one semester and change over the semester. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students taking human development courses at one of 11 universities in the U.S. (N = 854). Methods: Survey data were collected at the beginning and end of the semester. Results: Experiencing more direct abusive or neglectful adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and attachment preoccupation were associated with higher depressive symptoms at the beginning of the semester. Conversely, greater mindful awareness and attachment security were associated with lower initial depressive symptoms. Experiences of ACEs were associated with increases in depressive symptoms, as were higher levels of attachment dismissiveness. Greater mindful acceptance was associated with decreases in depressive symptoms. In most analyses, resources did not moderate the associations between ACEs and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Results may inform instructors and counselors in supporting students' well-being.

Improved classroom quality and child behavior in an Arkansas early childhood mental health consultation pilot project.

The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) on teacher-level and child-level outcomes in the context of a partnership between community mental health centers in three regions of Arkansas and publically funded early education programs (14 intervention sites and 4 comparison sites). From 2005 to 2008, 193 teachers participated in the study, along with 1,448 children. Data-collection activities included structured classroom observations, teacher ratings of children's strengths and behavior, and teacher surveys to assess satisfaction with ECMHC services. Results suggest that teachers were highly satisfied with the consultation services and that teachers receiving the intervention had lower levels of permissiveness and detachment, with a trend toward higher levels of sensitivity in interactions with children in their classroom. In terms of child outcomes, we found that by the third year of the project, children at intervention sites were rated by their teachers as having fewer behavior problems and more protective factors.