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1. Testing reciprocal associations between child anxiety and parenting across early interventions for inhibited preschoolers

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13879  

   Novick, Danielle R. ; Meyer, Christian T. ; Wagner, Nicholas J. ; Rubin, Kenneth H. ; Danko, Christina M. ; Dougherty, Lea R. ; Druskin, Lindsay R. ; Smith, Kelly A. ; Chronis‐Tuscano, Andrea ( August 2023 , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry)

   Given the robust evidence base for the efficacy of evidence‐based treatments targeting youth anxiety, researchers have advanced beyond efficacy outcome analysis to identifymechanismsof change and treatment directionality. Grounded in developmental transactional models, interventions for young children at risk for anxiety by virtue of behaviorally inhibited temperament often target parenting and child factors implicated in the early emergence and maintenance of anxiety. In particular, overcontrolling parenting moderates risk for anxiety among highly inhibited children, just as child inhibition has been shown to elicit overcontrolling parenting. Although longitudinal research has elucidated the temporal unfolding of factors that interact to place inhibited children at risk for anxiety, reciprocal transactions between these child and parent factors in the context of early interventions remain unknown.

   This study addresses these gaps by examining mechanisms of change and treatment directionality (i.e., parent‐to‐child vs. child‐to‐parent influences) within a randomized controlled trial comparing two interventions for inhibited preschoolers (N = 151): the multicomponent Turtle Program (‘Turtle’) and the parent‐only Cool Little Kids program (‘CLK’). Reciprocal relations between parent‐reported child anxiety, observed parenting, and parent‐reported accommodation of child anxiety were examined across four timepoints: pre‐, mid‐, and post‐treatment, and one‐year follow‐up (NCT02308826).

   Hypotheses were tested via latent curve models with structured residuals (LCM‐SR) and latent change score (LCS) models. LCM‐SR results were consistent with the child‐to‐parent influences found in previous research on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for older anxious youth, but only emerged in Turtle. LCS analyses revealed bidirectional effects ofchangesin parent accommodation and child anxiety during and after intervention, but only in Turtle.

   Our findings coincide with developmental transactional models, suggesting that the development of child anxiety may result from child‐to‐parent influences rather than the reverse, and highlight the importance of targeting parentandchild factors simultaneously in early interventions for young, inhibited children.

    

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2. Health impacts of a randomized biomass cookstove intervention in northern Ghana

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12164-y  

   Abdo, Mona ; Kanyomse, Ernest ; Alirigia, Rex ; Coffey, Evan R. ; Piedrahita, Ricardo ; Diaz-Sanchez, David ; Hagar, Yolanda ; Naumenko, Daniel J. ; Wiedinmyer, Christine ; Hannigan, Michael P. ; et al ( December 2021 , BMC Public Health)

   Household air pollution (HAP) from cooking with solid fuels has adverse health effects. REACCTING (Research on Emissions, Air quality, Climate, and Cooking Technologies in Northern Ghana) was a randomized cookstove intervention study that aimed to determine the effects of two types of “improved” biomass cookstoves on health using self-reported health symptoms and biomarkers of systemic inflammation from dried blood spots for female adult cooks and children, and anthropometric growth measures for children only.

   Two hundred rural households were randomized into four different cookstove groups. Surveys and health measurements were conducted at four time points over a two-year period. Chi-square tests were conducted to determine differences in self-reported health outcomes. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effect of the stoves on inflammation biomarkers in adults and children, and to assess the z-score deviance for the anthropometric data for children.

   We find some evidence that two biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation, serum amyloid A and C-reactive protein, decreased among adult primary cooks in the intervention groups relative to the control group. We do not find detectable impacts for any of the anthropometry variables or self-reported health.

   Overall, we conclude that the REACCTING intervention did not substantially improve the health outcomes examined here, likely due to continued use of traditional stoves, lack of evidence of particulate matter emissions reductions from “improved” stoves, and mixed results for HAP exposure reductions.

   ClinicalTrials.gov(National Institutes of Health); Trial Registration Number:NCT04633135; Date of Registration: 11 November 2020 – Retrospectively registered.

   URL:https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04633135?term=NCT04633135&draw=2&rank=1

    

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3. Longitudinal associations between prenatal internalizing symptoms and mindfulness traits with postnatal bonding difficulties

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-024-01518-1  

   Garon-Bissonnette, Julia ; Bean, Christian_A_L ; Cárdenas, Emilia_F ; Jackson, Maya ; Abitante, George ; Humphreys, Kathryn_L ; Kujawa, Autumn ( September 2024 , Archives of Women's Mental Health)

   Mothers’ reported connection, or bond, with their infants develops across the early postnatal period and is relevant to mother and offspring functioning. Little is known, however, about early predictors of bonding difficulties over time. The present study examined prenatal anxiety, depressive symptoms, and trait mindfulness and variation in bonding difficulties in mothers across the first two months postnatal.

   Participants were 120 pregnant women (M_age=31.09 years,SD = 4.81; 80% White). Measures of anxiety, depression, and five facets of mindfulness were administered mid-pregnancy (approximately 20 weeks gestation) and bonding difficulties were assessed every two weeks from approximately 1 to 7 weeks postnatal.

   Using multilevel modeling to account for within-person repeated assessments, we found an inverted U-shaped pattern across time such that bonding difficulties initially worsened before improving around five weeks postnatal. Prenatal anxiety and depressive symptoms were longitudinally associated with greater bonding difficulties overall and were unrelated to the trajectory of change. The mindfulness facets of acting with awareness and being nonjudging of one’s own experience were longitudinally associated with less bonding difficulties overall, weaker initial increases in bonding difficulties, and earlier improvements.

   Prenatal anxiety and depression may be risk factors for bonding difficulties that are persistent across the early postnatal period. In contrast, mindfulness tendencies before childbirth, specifically acting with awareness and being nonjudging towards oneself, may support early feelings of bonding over time.

    

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4. Longitudinal study of peer victimization, social support, and mental health during early adolescence

   https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724000035  

   Martínez, Matías ; Damme, Katherine S ; Vargas, Teresa ; Yang, Beiming ; Rompilla, D J ; Stephens, Jacquelyn ; Qu, Yang ; Mittal, Vijay A ; Haase, Claudia M ( February 2024 , Psychological Medicine)

   Peer victimization predicts the development of mental health symptoms in the transition to adolescence, but it is unclear whether and how parents and school environments can buffer this link.

   We analyzed two-year longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, involving a diverse sample of 11 844 children across the United States (average at baseline = 9.91 years; standard deviation = 0.63; range = 8.92–11.08; complete case sample = 8385). Longitudinal associations between peer victimization and two-year changes in mental health symptoms of major depression disorder (MDD), separation anxiety (SA), prodromal psychosis (PP), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined including a wide range of covariates. Mixed linear models were used to test for the moderating effects of parental warmth and prosocial school environment.

   20% of children experienced peer victimization. Higher exposure to peer victimization was associated with increases in MDD, SA, and ADHD symptoms. Parental warmth was associated with decreases in MDD symptoms but did not robustly buffer the link between peer victimization and mental health symptoms. Prosocial school environment predicted decreases in PP symptoms and buffered the link between peer victimization and MDD symptoms but amplified the link between peer victimization and SA and ADHD symptoms.

   Peer victimization is associated with increases in mental health symptoms during the transition to adolescence. Parental warmth and prosocial school environments might not be enough to counter the negative consequences of peer victimization on all mental health outcomes.

    

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5. Depression in 3/6‐year‐old children: clinical and psychosocial outcomes in later childhood and adolescence

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13553  

   Silver, Jamilah ; Olino, Thomas M. ; Carlson, Gabrielle A. ; Dougherty, Lea R. ; Bufferd, Sara J. ; Klein, Daniel N. ( December 2021 , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry)

   In recent years, epidemiological and clinical studies have revealed that depressive disorders can present in early childhood. To clarify the validity and prognostic significance of early childhood‐onset depression, we investigated diagnostic and functional outcomes in later childhood and adolescence.

   A community sample (N = 516) was assessed for psychopathology at ages 3 and 6 using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. When participants were 9, 12, and 15 years old, children and parents completed the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia and measures of symptoms and functioning.

   In models adjusting for covariates, depressed 3/6‐year‐old children were more likely to experience subsequent episodes of depressive disorders and exhibited significantly higher rates of later anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and suicidality compared to children without depressive disorders at age 3/6. Early childhood depression was also associated with higher levels of mother, but not child, reported depressive symptoms at age 15 compared to children without depressive disorders at age 3/6. Finally, depression at age 3/6 predicted lower levels of global and interpersonal functioning and higher rates of treatment at age 15 compared to children without depressive disorders at age 3/6.

   Results support the clinical significance of depression in 3/6‐year‐old children, although further studies with larger samples are needed.

    

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