Postnatal Intrusive Thoughts and Psychotic-Like Experiences: Exploring Associations with Parenting Experiences and Mental Health.

Special Report: Women’s Reproductive Mental Health—A Clinical Framework

Decision letter: Characterizing a psychiatric symptom dimension related to deficits in goal-directed control

Policy Recommendations to Promote Integrated Mental Health Care for Children and Youth.

Parental stress and mental health outcomes following very preterm birth: A systematic review of recent findings

Differences and similarities between obsessive and ruminative thoughts in obsessive-compulsive and depressed patients: A comparative study

Several studies have investigated differences between mothers' and fathers' stress and mental health in the context of autistic children parenting. However, fewer have examined differences in parent-reported perceptions of their children's behaviors, symptom severity, and their associations with parental variables. This study aimed to compare parental stress (Parental Stress Index-Short From), mental health (Symptom Checklist-90), and parent-reported perceptions of child behaviors (Child Behavior Checklist-CBCL) and symptom severity (Social Responsiveness Scale-SRS). In Italian mothers and fathers of autistic children while exploring how parental wellbeing relates to both parent-reported and clinically assessed child characteristics. A total of 102 parents (51 mothers and 51 fathers) of autistic children aged 4-19 years completed questionnaires assessing stress, mental health, children's behavioral traits and symptom severity. Standardized clinical tests directly measured children's cognitive functioning (IQ) and symptom severity. Group differences between mothers and fathers were analyzed using inferential tests, while Linear Mixed Models were employed to examine the effect of parent, parental stress and mental health on parent-reported perceptions of children's behaviors and symptom severity, as well as clinically measured children's cognitive functioning and symptoms severity. Mothers and fathers reported similar stress levels but mothers showed higher levels of mental health symptoms and perceived their children as having more severe internalizing and externalizing behaviors and more severe symptomatology compared to fathers. Parental mental health was significantly associated with parent-reported child internalizing behaviors, while parental stress was linked to externalizing behaviors and parent-reported autism severity. No effects emerged for child cognitive functioning, and the model on clinician-rated autism severity failed to converge. These findings emphasize the interconnected nature of parental wellbeing, parent-reported child characteristics, and clinically assessed child traits. Recognizing these links may inform more effective, targeted support strategies for families raising autistic children.

### What you need to know A 25 year old woman with a four month old baby presents with severe anxiety. She is experiencing intrusive thoughts of deliberately harming her...

Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of developing co-occurring mental health difficulties across the lifespan. Exposure to adverse life events and parental mental health difficulties are known risk factors for developing a range of mental health difficulties. This study investigates the association of adverse life events, parental stress and mental health with emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD. One hundred and fifteen young adults with ASD derived from a population-based longitudinal study were assessed at three time-points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) on questionnaire measures of emotional and behavioral problems. Parent-reported exposure to adverse life events and parental stress/mental health were measured at age 23. We used structural equation modeling to investigate the stability of emotional and behavioral problems over time, and the association between adverse life events and parental stress and mental health and emotional and behavioral outcomes at 23-year. Our results indicate that exposure to adverse life events was significantly associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in young adults with ASD, while controlling for symptoms in childhood and adolescence. Higher reported parental stress and mental health difficulties were associated with a higher frequency of behavioral, but not emotional problems, and did not mediate the impact of adverse life events. These results suggest that child and adolescent emotional and behavioral problems, exposure to life events and parent stress and mental health are independently associated, to differing degrees, with emotional or behavioral outcomes in early adulthood. LAY SUMMARY: People with autism experience high rates of mental health difficulties throughout childhood and into adult life. Adverse life events and parental stress and mental health may contribute to poor mental health in adulthood. We used data at three time points (12-, 16-, and 23-year) to understand how these factors relate to symptoms at 23-year. We found that emotional and behavioral problems in childhood, adverse life events and parent mental health were all associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in adulthood.

Decision-making as transdiagnostic construct for mental health research

Infant development is subject to great influence from one's immediate social environment and caregivers. Therefore, the health of the parent-infant relationship and substantial parent-child interactions are crucial for maximizing exploration and learning opportunities for the child. Previous studies have showed that greater satisfaction with social support may be associated with more positive mental health (Dennis & Letourneau, 2007; Heh et al., 2004). Additionally, research has found that poor parental mental health symptoms relate to poor parent-baby interaction (Parfitt, Pike, and Ayers, 2013). Notably, Lutz et al. (2012) observed an interaction effect of informational social support on maternal-child interactions for mothers with high levels of stress. Thus, evidence suggests reason to investigate an association between social support and parent-infant bonding. The current study extended extant literature as it attempted to distinguish a direct association between satisfaction with social support and parent-infant bonding. It evaluated relationship satisfaction, which may play a crucial role in the mental health of parents (Dudley et al., 2001) and the parent-child relationship (Erel & Burman, 1995). Previous studies primarily assess heterosexual mothers, making this research unique in that fathers and individuals who are members of a non-heterosexual couple were eligible for participation. It was hypothesized that: 1) a direct relationship exists between satisfaction with social support and parent-infant bonding, 2) parent mental health mediates the relationship between satisfaction with social support and parent-infant bonding, and 3) parental perceptions of infant temperament are associated with parental mental health and parent-infant bonding. (Full hypotheses detailed in manuscript.) The current study had a cross-sectional, self-report design. The measures included in this study assessed parent-infant bonding, satisfaction with social support, anxiety and depressive symptoms, parental stress, relationship satisfaction, and infant temperament. The relationship between parent-infant bonding and satisfaction with social support was analyzed. Anxiety, depression, and parental stress were examined as potential mediators. Parents of 3 to 12-month-old infants with a current romantic partner, all in cohabitation, were eligible to complete the survey administered on Amazon Turk Prime with compensation provided. Hypotheses were analyzed using a series of correlations and mediation analyses. Findings from the current study indicate that a parent's satisfaction with the overall social support positively associated with a quality parental-infant bond. Partner social support may play an even bigger role in the promotion of the parent-infant bonding. The relationship between social support and parent-infant bonding was partially mediated by decreased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and parental stress. Additionally, other factors may explain this relationship, and should be examined moving forward (e.g., financial resources or attachment style of parents). Infant temperament and a parent's confidence in reading their infant's cues strongly associated with decreased anxiety, depression, and parental stress symptoms, as well as with parent-infant bonding. Future analyses should incorporate parental perception of infant temperament when investigating postpartum parents' mental health and interactions with their child. The quality of the parental bond to one's infant varied significantly by caregiver; mothers reported higher quality parent-infant bonding on average compared with other caregivers. On the other hand, other caregivers rated their satisfaction with social support from their partner, family, and friends higher on average compared to mothers. These findings show many opportunities for interventions to promote parent-child relationships while in the perinatal period.

Addressing Social Determinants of Mental Health in Pediatrics During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

The current study explored the role of pre-existing and pandemic-time child, family or environmental factors in the presentation of mental health symptoms of autistic youth and their parents during the pandemic. Participants were parents/carers of autistic children (Autism Spectrum Treatment and Resilience Cohort, N = 67, Mage = 9 years) and adolescents (QUEST cohort, N = 112, Mage = 17 years). Parents completed an online survey that asked about child and parental mental health, infection experience, and changes to education arrangements, family life, housing and finances during the pandemic. Pre-existing measures of mental health, autism and adaptive functioning were also utilised. More engagement and enjoyment in education provision and going outside was associated with better child and parental mental health. In multivariate multiple linear regression models, more pre-existing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms were associated with more behavioural/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms during the pandemic in the pre-adolescent cohort, and with greater emotional symptoms in the adolescent cohort. More pre-existing parental mental health problems were associated with more parental mental health symptoms during the pandemic in both cohorts. Knowledge of pre-existing mental health and pandemic-related stressors may help care planning. Encouraging engagement and enjoyment in education and promoting physical exercise are key intervention targets. Ensuring access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication and support is important, especially if this is managed jointly across school and home.Lay abstractWhat is already known about the topic: The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated restrictions impacted all of society. There is emerging evidence showing a range of impacts on autistic children and young people and their families. Further research that looks at how individuals coped during the pandemic while considering how they were doing before the pandemic is needed.What this paper adds: This article explores whether how well autistic youth were doing before the pandemic influenced how they coped during the pandemic. It also looked at how well their parents were doing during the pandemic and whether any pre-pandemic factors influenced how they coped. Samples of both primary-school-aged autistic children and autistic teenagers and their parents were surveyed to answer these questions. More engagement and enjoyment in education provision during the pandemic and getting outside more were linked with better child and parental mental health during the pandemic. More attention deficit hyperactivity disorder before the pandemic was linked with more attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and behavioural problems during the pandemic in primary-school-aged autistic children, and more emotional problems during the pandemic in autistic teenagers. Parents with more mental health problems during the pandemic had more mental health problems before the pandemic.Implications for practice, research or policy: Encouraging engagement and enjoyment in education and promoting physical exercise are key intervention targets. Ensuring access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication and support is important, especially if this is managed jointly across school and home.

The current study examined the unique effects of cumulative sociodemographic risk and immigrant-related stress on mental health symptoms among Mexican-origin immigrant parents and their school-age children. Further, this study tested whether the effects of cumulative sociodemographic risk and immigrant-related stress on child mental health were mediated by parent mental health. Participants included 104 Mexican-origin immigrant families. Families in the study had a child between the ages of 6 and 10 (Mage = 8.39; 61% female). Data were collected across three time points spaced 6 months apart. Immigrant-related stress was found to predict parent mental health, which in turn predicted child mental health. Cumulative sociodemographic risk did not predict parent or child mental health. Mental health symptoms generally decreased over time, but for children, change in mental health symptoms depended on parent mental health symptoms. Given the high levels of mental health symptoms among Mexican-origin parents and children, reducing a context of stress and promoting mental health interventions for Mexican-origin immigrants is critical.

Sleep environment of preschool children effects on children's sleep disorder and parents’ mental health