Stressful life events and prenatal representations of the child.

Caregivers' mental representations of their children can be assessed prenatally and are prospectively associated with later caregiving quality and caregiver-child attachment. Compared to balanced, distorted or disengaged representations are linked to insecure caregiver-child attachments. The present study explored factors (i.e. stressful life experiences and positive experiences) that may be linked to risk for distorted and disengaged representations. We used a brief version of the Prenatal Working Model of the Child Interview in a sample of 298 pregnant people (ages 19 to 45 years; M = 30.83, SD = 5.00) between gestational age 11-38 weeks (M = 23.49, SD = 5.70). A greater number of stressful events across three developmental periods (i.e., lifespan, childhood, and pregnancy) were related to increased odds of distorted, compared to balanced classification. Pregnancy stress had the largest association. Positive experiences from childhood did not buffer the association between stress and representations. Findings highlight the importance of stress on prenatal representations of one's child.

Biomarker adoption in developmental science: A data-driven modelling of trends from 90 biomarkers across 20 years.

Developmental scientists have adopted numerous biomarkers in their research to better understand the biological underpinnings of development, environmental exposures, and variation in long-term health. Yet, adoption patterns merit investigation given the substantial resources used to collect, analyse, and train to use biomarkers in research with infants and children. We document trends in use of 90 biomarkers between 2000 and 2020 from approximately 430,000 publications indexed by the Web of Science. We provide a tool for researchers to examine each of these biomarkers individually using a data-driven approach to estimate the biomarker growth trajectory based on yearly publication number, publication growth rate, number of author affiliations, National Institutes of Health dedicated funding resources, journal impact factor, and years since the first publication. Results indicate that most biomarkers fit a "learning curve" trajectory (i.e., experience rapid growth followed by a plateau), though a small subset decline in use over time.

Population-Based Estimates of Associations Between Child Maltreatment Types: A Meta-Analysis.

Although it is accepted that experiences of child maltreatment are multidimensional and often include several correlated but distinct experiences, many clinical and research decisions regarding exposure and treatment do not consider their potential overlap or potential independence. The purpose of this meta-analysis-using a single retrospective self-report measure, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), in population-representative samples-was to investigate the magnitude and specificity of associations between forms of child maltreatment. A systematic review of studies available on PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar was conducted, resulting in the inclusion of nine journal articles, 11 independent samples, and 25,415 participants. Data were converted from Pearson correlations to Z statistics and pooled using a random effects model. All maltreatment types were positively and significantly associated. Effect sizes varied from medium to large, with (1) physical abuse and emotional abuse (Z = 0.72, 95% CI [.48, .96]), (2) physical neglect and emotional neglect (Z = 0.62, 95% CI [.43, .81]), and (3) emotional abuse and emotional neglect (Z = 0.54, 95% CI [.35, .72]) demonstrating the strongest associations. These analyses provide evidence of the associations between types of child maltreatment, indicate the likelihood of shared risk, and point to characteristics that may link different types of maltreatment. These findings have important clinical implications as they may help guide comprehensive screening for associated maltreatment types as well as intervention and prevention efforts. Limitations include the relatively few studies included and those associated with the CTQ-a retrospective, self-report measure that does not account for the concurrence of experiences.

Statutory Threshold Wording is Associated with Child Maltreatment Reporting.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether statutory wording of child maltreatment mandated reporting legislation was associated with reporting patterns and substantiation of abuse across U.S. states and territories. Annual state averages for total referrals, referrals screened-out, referrals screened-in, referrals substantiated, and child population (all children in the U.S.; annual average = 74,457,928) were obtained from the 2010-2017 Child Maltreatment Reports. Odds ratios were calculated for: (1) two major statutory language frameworks (suspicion versus belief), (2) seven sub-categories (e.g., suspect, reasonably believe, etc.), and (3) universal mandated reporting (yes versus no). Use of suspicion (versus belief) was associated with higher rates of referrals made (OR = 1.13) and screened-in (OR = 1.13), but lower substantiation rates (OR = .92). States using universal mandated reporting (versus those who did not) had slightly lower rates of referrals (OR = .99), but higher rates of referrals screened-in (OR = 1.16) and substantiated (OR = 1.06). Differences in statutory wording are associated with variability in reports, suggesting the possibility that statutory wording is one factor involved with these differences. However, future research is needed to explore alternative contributing factors and/or explanations.

Measuring naturalistic proximity as a window into caregiver-child interaction patterns.

The interactions most supportive of positive child development take place in moments of close contact with others. In the earliest years of life, a child's caregivers are the primary partners in these important interactions. Little is known about the patterns of real-life physical interactions between children and their caregivers, in part due to an inability to measure these interactions as they occur in real time. We have developed a wearable, infrastructure-free device (TotTag) used to dynamically and unobtrusively measure physical proximity between children and caregivers in real time. We present a case-study illustration of the TotTag with data collected over two (12-hour) days each from two families: a family of four (30-month-old son, 61-month-old daughter, 37-year-old father, 37-year-old mother), and a family of three (12-month-old daughter, 35-year-old-father, 33-year-old mother). We explored patterns of proximity within each parent-child dyad and whether close proximity would indicate periods in which increased opportunity for developmentally critical interactions occur. Each child also wore a widely used wearable audio recording device (LENA) to collect time-synced linguistic input. Descriptive analyses reveal wide variability in caregiver-child proximity both within and across dyads, and that the amount of time spent in close proximity with a caregiver is associated with the number of adult words and conversational turns to which a child was exposed. This suggests that variations in proximity are linked to-though, critically, not synonymous with-the quantity of a child's exposure to adult language. Potential implications for deepening the understanding of early caregiver-child interactions are discussed.

A randomized control trial of a child abuse mandated reporter training: Knowledge and attitudes.

BACKGROUND: Despite being well-positioned to identify maltreatment in the children that they provide care for and being legally required to report suspected child maltreatment, early childhood professionals (ECPs) make a limited proportion of reports to child protective services. It is critical to identify evidence-based interventions to improve the reporting practices of this group of mandated reporters allowing for the better protection of children from maltreatment. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to determine if iLookOut, an online child abuse identification and reporting training for ECPs, results in differential gains in knowledge and attitudes towards child abuse and its reporting among ECPs, as compared to an online standard training. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Both interventions were completed online by participants recruited from licensed child care programs in Southern Maine from October 2017 to January 2020. Eligibility criteria included being at least 18 years of age, English-speaking, and working as paid or volunteer staff at a licensed child care program taking care of children 5 years of age or younger. Of the 1152 enrolled individuals, 1094 provided complete pre- and post-intervention data. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial comparing iLookOut with an online standard training. RESULTS: ECPs who completed iLookOut significantly outperformed those who completed Standard mandated reporter training in terms of both knowledge (d=1.09 vs. 0.67) and attitudes (d=0.67 vs. 0.54) relative to pre-test scores. CONCLUSIONS: iLookOut is a promising candidate for widespread use in meeting the need for evidence-based training on child abuse and its reporting.

Child maltreatment and depression: A meta-analysis of studies using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Researchers have documented that child maltreatment is associated with adverse long-term consequences for mental health, including increased risk for depression. Attempts to conduct meta-analyses of the association between different forms of child maltreatment and depressive symptomatology in adulthood, however, have been limited by the wide range of definitions of child maltreatment in the literature. OBJECTIVE: We sought to meta-analyze a single, widely-used dimensional measure of child maltreatment, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, with respect to depression diagnosis and symptom scores. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 192 unique samples consisting of 68,830 individuals. METHODS: We explored the association between total scores and scores from specific forms of child maltreatment (i.e., emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect) and depression using a random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: We found that higher child maltreatment scores were associated with a diagnosis of depression (g = 1.07; 95 % CI, 0.95-1.19) and with higher depression symptom scores (Z = .35; 95 % CI, .32-.38). Moreover, although each type of child maltreatment was positively associated with depression diagnosis and scores, there was variability in the size of the effects, with emotional abuse and emotional neglect demonstrating the strongest associations. CONCLUSIONS: These analyses provide important evidence of the link between child maltreatment and depression, and highlight the particularly larger association with emotional maltreatment in childhood.