Infant Mental Health Journal最新文献

Recognizing the foundational role of infant–parent relationships in supporting healthy development, this study explored the infant's lived experience of bonding and connection with their parents in the context of an Australian neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Drawing on a 360° phenomenological approach, data were gathered from a diverse set of sources including observational fieldnotes, bedside diaries, newborn behavioral observation sessions, and semi-structured interviews. Participants included seven infants, thirteen parents, and twenty-four healthcare providers, purposively sampled from a quaternary NICU. Thematic analysis revealed three interrelated themes that shaped the infant's relational world: layered separation, highlighting the multiple and compounding barriers to closeness; missed opportunities for connection, reflecting the subtle and often unintentional ways bonding was impeded; and resilience-in-relationship, capturing how infants and families adapt within this challenging relational landscape. The findings center the infant's voice and perspective, illuminating how institutional practices and interpersonal dynamics either hinder or support the formation of secure attachments. Ultimately, the study highlights the necessity of fostering a NICU environment that prioritizes the infant–parent relationship, creating space to enable emotional connection and containment, even within the complexities of critical care.

This study examines the association between the level of maternal behavioral control and toddlers’ attachment patterns, focusing on toddlers aged 12–24 months (M = 17.18 months, SD = 3.31). The sample consisted of 60 Egyptian mother-child dyads. Maternal behavioral control—conceptualized within the framework of Interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory)—was measured using the behavioral control scale, while toddlers’ attachment patterns were assessed using Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Results revealed significant differences in maternal behavioral control levels in toddlers with secure and insecure attachment patterns. Specifically, higher levels of maternal behavioral control were associated with insecure-resistant attachment patterns, whereas lower levels of behavioral control were associated with secure attachment patterns. No significant difference emerged between maternal behavioral control levels in toddlers with secure and avoidant attachment patterns. The findings speak to the effects of behavioral control on toddlers’ perceptions of danger and, thus, their internal working models of the world and resulting attachment patterns. Study limitations and future directions of research are discussed.

This study examines the relationship between infant sleep and parenting style, family climate, parenting stress, and soothing methods among Finnish families. Mothers completed questionnaires before birth and when their infants were 3 and 8 months old. Initially, 1667 mothers participated, with follow-up responses from 1421 mothers and 1427 infants at 3 months and 1298 mothers and 1302 infants at 8 months. A cross-sectional data analysis was conducted using linear regression to examine the four sleep-related outcome variables, and parallel multivariable regression models were built using backward stepwise selection. Predictors were selected based on statistical significance in the pre-screening regression analyses. Models controlled for maternal age at birth, infant gender, older siblings, breastfeeding, and maternal education. The findings indicate that higher parenting stress, and active and passive physical soothing styles are associated with more problematic sleep. A higher control showed a weak association with higher sleep problem severity scores, whereas a more active recreationally oriented family climate was weakly associated with shorter sleep onset latency. This study contributes to the current body of research on children's sleeping problems and the family environment, and it would be beneficial for social and healthcare services to take these findings into account.

Lack of parental sensitivity and inappropriate disciplining behaviors are known risk factors for child externalizing behavior. The Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) is an evidence-based parenting program targeting families with children aged 1–6 years. This study explores experiences of intervention-specific facilitators and barriers to change in VIPP-SD among parents of preschool-aged children with externalizing behaviors. Hereby, the study aims to enhance our understanding of elements supporting change and experienced relevance, and possibilities for future adaptations. Individual qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine mothers and two fathers living in Denmark following participation in VIPP-SD delivered by trained childcare professionals. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate how the video feedback and the educational content were experienced as key facilitators of change, alongside the intervener's professional and relational competencies. An experienced barrier to change was an absence of recordings of challenging situations and a lack of sufficient guidance in this regard. Further it was experienced negatively that both parents were not equally involved in the intervention. These findings can guide future adaptations of VIPP-SD, clinicians delivering VIPP-SD as well as the development of parenting interventions aimed at supporting similar groups.

Maternal perinatal stress is a well-documented risk factor for adverse child outcomes, but limited evidence is available from Latin America. This study investigated associations between maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy and postpartum and infant socioaffective development at 3 months of age in Argentina. The sample included 198 mother–infant dyads recruited from two public health centers. Mothers completed standardized assessments of anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and pregnancy-specific distress during the second and third trimesters and 3 months postpartum. Infant socioemotional development and temperament were assessed at 3 months using parent-report instruments. Latent profile analysis identified three socioaffective profiles (Reactive, Moderate, Adapted). Multinomial logistic regressions showed that maternal stress—particularly during the second trimester—predicted profile membership. Higher prenatal and cumulative stress levels increased the odds of classification into the Reactive profile and decreased the likelihood of classification into the Adapted profile. These findings underscore the developmental impact of maternal stress and highlight the importance of early detection and intervention in prenatal care, especially in low- and middle-income contexts.

Due to growing awareness of post-traumatic reactions and development of treatments for young children (0–6 years), there is an increasing need for accurate assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If the youngest children cannot manifest PTSD due to still-emerging cognitive emotional abilities, then treatments relying on those abilities may be ineffective. The objective of this review is to systematically review the literature of detailed case reports to provide guidance on the earliest possible age when the developmental capacities needed for the development of PTSD have sufficiently emerged. Literature searches were conducted in PsycInfo and PubMed databases for children who experienced trauma prior to 36 months of age. This review identified 54 cases. Six cases showed potential to fulfill diagnostic criteria of PTSD for children 6 years or younger (PTSD-6Y) if reports were taken at face value. The ages of trauma ranged from 0 to 35 months, with the youngest age of trauma at 15 months. The reports of symptoms, however, often lacked verification by details and examples, placing the potential diagnoses in doubt. Recommendations for further research are offered for more comprehensive and rigorous interviewing techniques to validate possible diagnoses of children with PTSD under 36 months of age.

Preschoolers are excluded from early childhood education settings at alarming rates, largely for developmentally typical emotional responses. Boys, Black children, and children with disabilities are being excluded disproportionately more than their peers. In 2018, Illinois enacted legislation to limit formal expulsion; however, children are still pushed out of programs. This study evaluated Preventing Expulsion in Preschool (PEP)—a self-paced, virtual teacher training providing content on exclusion in Illinois, social-emotional development, and strategies for self-regulation in response to a child's behavior. Predominantly female, Illinois teachers of color (N = 41) received continuing education credit for completing the training and were evaluated pre-, post-, and 3-month-post-training to assess knowledge, attitude, skill maintenance, and changes in classroom practices. Through self-report, participants positively received the training, trauma-informed attitudes improved immediately after the training and were sustained at a 3-month follow-up, perceived stress decreased, self-care uptake increased, and prosocial classroom management techniques improved at 3-month follow-up. Though expulsion risk increased following PEP, reported exclusionary discipline and expulsion practices decreased at follow-up. These results inform policymakers that a brief, online training may reduce exclusionary discipline and is a good use of teacher time.

Examining the impact and interplay of maternal and paternal perinatal mental health problems enhances understanding of the etiology of mental health problems in early childhood. This study investigated associations between maternal and paternal prenatal (first trimester) and postnatal (3 and 30 months) anxiety and depression symptoms and preschoolers' internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The sample included 115 preschoolers and their parents (N = 230) recruited during the first trimester of pregnancy at a Portuguese health facility. Mothers and fathers completed anxiety and depression measures during the first trimester, at 3 and 30 months postpartum, and the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5–5 (CBCL) at 30 months. Multilevel linear models and moderation models were tested. Maternal depression symptoms in the first trimester, paternal depression symptoms at 3 months postpartum, and their interplay were prospectively associated with higher preschoolers' internalizing and externalizing scores at 30 months. When fathers reported low depression symptoms 3 months postpartum, mothers’ depression symptoms during the first trimester were not associated with preschoolers’ internalizing and externalizing scores at 30 months. This suggests that low paternal postnatal depression symptoms can buffer the adverse effect of maternal prenatal depression symptoms. Addressing maternal and paternal perinatal mental health could contribute to preventing preschoolers’ internalizing and externalizing problems.

Black fathers, particularly those who are low-income, unmarried, and from minoritized communities, face significant barriers to full participation in their children's lives. Prenatal challenges include scheduling conflicts, living arrangements, and relationship dynamics with the child's mother. These factors critically impact early paternal involvement and infant bonding. Despite the importance of father involvement, research on Black fathers' prenatal involvement and infant attachment remains limited. This study examines 75 Black fathers in the United States, investigating how relationship quality and paternal depressive symptoms influence prenatal involvement and early infant attachment. The research seeks to illuminate the complex interpersonal dynamics that shape paternal involvement during pregnancy and infancy, and addresses a crucial gap in understanding Black fatherhood experiences. We found that fathers’ depressive symptoms were negatively associated with the quality of their relationship with the mother of their child (B = −1.398, SE = .524, p = .009, LLCI = −2.443, ULCI = −.353). The findings suggest interparental relationship quality and paternal depressive symptoms are key interpersonal and personal factors that are associated with father involvement in pregnancy and early infant attachment with the baby.

The capacity for children to self-regulate is an important developmental task of early childhood, with caregivers playing an integral role in self-regulation development. While caregivers’ emotions and behaviors are known to impact child self-regulatory capacity, the impact of child self-regulation difficulties on parents is less understood. This study explored parents’ experience of child self-regulation difficulties using semi-structured qualitative interviews with 23 parents (87% female; 90% European Australian; M age = 35.95) of children (aged 5 years and under) in Australia. Five key themes were identified through thematic analysis: ‘supporting child self-regulation is hard’, ‘takes a toll on parents’, ‘challenging for parents to self-regulate’, ‘relationships change’, and ‘daily life needs to change’. This research highlights the need for programs that support parents with children experiencing self-regulation difficulties.