Infant Mental Health Journal最新文献

There is agreement across infant and early childhood fields that infant and young children's development depends on quality caregiving, which in turn requires a competent and well-supported workforce. This paper includes results of 3 qualitative questions from an international survey (U.S. and Australia, n = 911) of holders of an Infant or Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement credential that documents their knowledge and skills. The U.S.-based research team used a qualitative content analysis approach to code the responses. Benefits reported included increased knowledge of infant and early childhood mental health, recognition of expertise, and the opportunity to participate in a professional network. Participants also identified barriers to earning Endorsement, including time and money. Themes were analyzed with post hoc Chi Squares by participant demographic characteristics. Asian participants were more likely to report that Endorsement provided personal credibility and recognition and brought validity to the field. American Indian participants were more likely to indicate that Endorsement validates the professional field. Participants from more established associations were more likely to report concerns about the costs of Endorsement. Results are discussed in the context of ongoing system changes that can increase diversity in leadership and the overall infant and early childhood workforce.

This qualitative study examined the experiences of expectant mothers in writing songs to strengthen their emotional bonds during pregnancy. Five pregnant women living in Turkey participated in the study. They were asked to write songs thinking about their babies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the final session. Studies show that songwriting helps pregnant mothers get to know themselves and their babies better, reduces stress and anxiety, and strengthens prenatal bonding. The songwriting process is recognized as a valuable tool that allows women to make sense of and share their emotional experiences during pregnancy.

The scale of migrant preschool children in China continues to expand. “Migration” as an important life event in the development of preschool children will have a profound and lasting impact on their development. To explore the influence of family socioeconomic status on the problem behaviors of migrant preschool children and their underlying mechanisms, we conducted a survey on 939 migrant preschool children and their parents. The findings reveal a significant negative correlation between family socioeconomic status and the problem behaviors exhibited by migrant preschool children; family socioeconomic status can influence problem behaviors in migrant preschool children through the independent mediating effects of mindful parenting and resilience, as well as the serial mediating effects of mindful parenting and resilience. This study expands the relevant research in the field of migrant preschool children and provides some theoretical references for the prevention and intervention of problem behaviors in migrant preschool children.

Early childhood home visiting is a complex profession that requires knowledge, skills, and passion for working with families experiencing multiple challenges. Research on workforce satisfaction and retention relies primarily on data collected by current home visitors or supervisors of former employees and lacks depth. The current study was developed to better understand motivators that influence home visitors’ satisfaction and aid in workforce retention. Drawing on social exchange theory, a phenomenological approach was used to understand the home visiting experience and the intersection of relevant motivators for current and former home visitors in a midwestern state located in the United States of America. Findings indicated that home visitor satisfaction was heavily influenced by a mixture of positive and negative motivators that were intrinsic or extrinsic. Further, results identified three major themes related to job satisfaction, including a desire to help people, family efforts, and family needs, which intersected with each other and other motivators to impact decisions about staying or leaving the field. These intersections highlighted the importance of understanding unrealized passion, caseload considerations, relationships with coworkers and supervisors, and mindset. Implications for supporting home visitor well-being, job satisfaction, and home visitor retention are discussed.

In Hungary there is no standardized tool to screen early social-emotional difficulties. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional Second Edition for 18-month-olds (ASQ:SE-2/18). Two studies were conducted. Study 1 involved translation, cultural adaptation, and validation in a convenient sample (N = 423). Study 2 used a nationally representative sample (N = 4918) to evaluate the factor structure, internal consistency, predictive validity and socioeconomic and demographic correlates. Study 1 supported the cultural adequacy of the Hungarian ASQ:SE-2/18, and a comparison with the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5–5 provided evidence for its validity. In Study 2, the two-factor model, consisting of Emotional Difficulty (α = .74) and Social Difficulty (α = .69), fit better than the single-factor model and showed acceptable internal consistency. Being at risk for social (odds ratio = 1.7) or emotional (odds ratio = 3.6) development at 18 months predicted socio-emotional difficulties at age 3 assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Socioeconomic disadvantages were correlated with higher levels of social-emotional risk. In conclusion, the study demonstrated the reliability of the Hungarian ASQ:SE-2/18 and offered evidence supporting its validity. Emotional difficulties at 18 months strongly predict later maladjustment, emphasizing the need for early screening and further tool development.

In toddlerhood, parents play a crucial role in supporting the socio-emotional development of children through their parenting behaviors. Certain parental risk factors, such as emotion regulation difficulties and parenting stress, have been found to be related to both parenting practices and child outcomes. As the interplay between these risk factors and their associations with child socio-emotional problems can change across toddlerhood, the aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal, bidirectional associations of parenting stress and maternal emotion regulation difficulties with child socio-emotional problems. This study included 360 mothers from the Southern regions of the Netherlands (M_age = 31.4, 90.7% Dutch, 81.4% completed university) who completed questionnaires biannually (Jan 2021–May 2024) within the first 3 years postpartum, as part of a longitudinal birth cohort. Cross-lagged path analyses indicated a bidirectional relation between maternal emotion regulation difficulties and socio-emotional problems over time, and a unidirectional relation between early child problems and later parenting stress. The findings illustrate how parents and children can influence each other's emotional well-being in toddlerhood.

Emerging research suggests that unique adaptations in emotional cognition prepare pregnant women for motherhood. This study compared emotional-cognitive responses to infant stimuli in 44 pregnant and 34 non-pregnant Danish participants and explored associations with postpartum outcomes in pregnant participants. Emotional-cognitive responses included facial expressions, skin conductance responses, visual attention, and emotional ratings of multi-modal infant stimuli, including virtual reality. Postpartum outcomes were assessed with questionnaires covering maternal well-being, bonding, reflective functioning, and emotional responses during their own infant cries. Pregnant participants exhibited higher skin conductance responses, more positive facial expressions, and less negative self-reported emotional reactions to infant stimuli compared to non-pregnant participants, with no differences in visual attention. More positive facial expressions to infant faces and vocalizations among pregnant may reflect an adaptive maternal positivity bias, because it correlated with better maternal bonding to their own infant at six months postpartum. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, which makes it difficult to determine whether group differences are pregnancy-driven adaptations, as opposed to findings from alternative longitudinal designs. Nevertheless, the observed differences and positive associations with maternal outcomes are consistent with previous studies, suggesting that pregnancy involves emotional–cognitive adaptations that support the transition to motherhood.

Based on principles of implementation science and precision home visiting, this study tested parent coaches’ in vivo feedback as a predictor of sensitive parenting behaviors in 91 low-income mothers of infants (infant M_age = 12.73 months, SD = 4.17). All participants lived in the United States. Most (87%) of the mothers identified as Latina. All participants had received Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC), an evidence-based program consisting of 10 home visits provided by a trained parent coach. The ABC program's principal fidelity criterion is a specific type of in vivo (real-time) feedback termed “in-the-moment” (ITM) commenting. OLS regressions revealed that quantity, quality, and behavioral targets of the ABC parent coaches’ ITM comments predicted objectively rated post-intervention maternal sensitivity in two contexts, semi-structured play and mild stress. Findings are discussed in terms of their role in illuminating (a) ABC program impacts and (b) considerations for program implementation and dissemination.

Although first-time parents have a great need for effective support in the first challenging years of child upbringing, there is little research on volunteer-led parenting support programs in the context of the transition to parenthood. Therefore, this qualitative study examined the perceived value and key components of Home-Start, a volunteer-led parenting support program aimed at parents who have everyday parenting questions and receive little support from their environment, in the transition to parenthood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among mothers (N = 10) with a first child up to 1.5 years old who were enrolled in the Home-Start program in the Netherlands, and volunteers (N = 12) who supported these parents. Important outcomes of the Home-Start program were increased positive parent-child interactions, improved parental confidence, and an expanded social network. Identified core needs of first-time mothers in the Home-Start program were social, emotional, informational, and instrumental support needs. Suggestions were provided to better align the program's structure with challenges in the transition to parenthood. For example, facilitating the parent-volunteer match during pregnancy, and developing a module in the Home-Start training for volunteers aimed at providing structured and informative support based on the latest insights into infant and postpartum care.

This prospective birth-cohort study aimed to determine the factors associated with new-onset paternal depression symptoms from 1 to 6 months postpartum in Japan. Paternal depression symptoms were evaluated using the Japanese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS-J) at 1 to 6 months postpartum. The definition of paternal depression symptoms was EPDS-J ≥8 in this study. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to analyze the relative variables. We analyzed 902 fathers. The frequency of new-onset paternal depression symptoms was 6.5%. For paternal new-onset depression symptoms, the significantly associated factors were maternal persistent depression symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 3.705; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.653–8.308), paternal new-onset lack of affection (AOR, 2.797; 95% CI, 1.050–7.452), and paternal new-onset anger and rejection (AOR, 2.781; 95% CI, 1.148–6.740). Persistent maternal depression symptoms from 1 to 6 months postpartum were associated with new-onset paternal depression symptoms from 1 to 6 months postpartum.