Barbara Stroud, Torrian Brent, Myisha Driver-Woods, Tony Wu
{"title":"What supervisors are saying and not saying about culture, privilege and equity in mental health settings.","authors":"Barbara Stroud, Torrian Brent, Myisha Driver-Woods, Tony Wu","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70042","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reflective supervision is a relationship-based strategy for professionals that supports their growth and development through a trusting and safe connection. Although there has been research on both clinical and reflective supervision's benefits to those in the infant mental health field, the literature review indicates a gap in the research involving issues of culture and diversity within the supervisory relationship. Additionally, from a lens of diversity, the current data tends to address the experience of White professionals. This research team intentionally set out to gather the opinions of BIPOC professionals. As a result, the data set includes 52% BIPOC professionals and 47% White professionals. In order to advance this important topic, this study investigates how issues of culture and diversity are addressed, or not addressed, for mental health trainees, clinicians, and allied professionals within the infant mental health community. While the professional roots of this research team are embedded in infant mental health, our sample was not restricted to this community. It is the hope that the findings from this research will inspire others to take the initiative to contribute significantly to the field with an inclusive lens and focus. This research was conducted in the United States of America.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145092420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lindsay R Druskin, Sharon T Phillips, Jane Kohlhoff, Christopher K Owen, Robin C Han, Samantha N Franzese, Nancy Wallace, Sara Cibralic, Sue Morgan, Cheryl B McNeil
{"title":"A multi-method evaluation of parent and child factors associated with child abuse potential across valid and invalid profiles on the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory.","authors":"Lindsay R Druskin, Sharon T Phillips, Jane Kohlhoff, Christopher K Owen, Robin C Han, Samantha N Franzese, Nancy Wallace, Sara Cibralic, Sue Morgan, Cheryl B McNeil","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Child abuse is a pervasive problem impacting millions of children. Researchers largely rely on parent-report questionnaires to examine risk for child abuse, leaving a gap in research concerning the link between observed parent and child behaviors and child abuse potential. The current study pursued a multi-method approach to explore relations between parent and child factors and child abuse potential (via the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory; BCAP) in a sample of 90 mother-toddler dyads referred for behavioral problems in Australia. About half of the sample engaged in socially desirable responding which resulted in an invalid profile on the BCAP. Therefore, analyses were conducted twice to assess risk factors for child abuse within the standard valid BCAP profile sample (n = 41) and the full sample including valid and invalid profiles (n = 84). Within the valid-only sample, parent emotion dysregulation contributed significantly to the model predicting child abuse potential. However, within the full sample, parent emotion dysregulation, romantic attachment avoidance, stress, and negative touch were significantly associated with child abuse potential. Findings highlight the importance of including parents with invalid BCAP profiles when assessing child abuse potential as these high-risk parents may go unnoticed and miss connections to critical interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145087706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ghada Amarieh, Line Caes, Alexandra Hendry, Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar
{"title":"Household stress moderates the association between caregiver metacognition and infant sustained attention.","authors":"Ghada Amarieh, Line Caes, Alexandra Hendry, Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Previous work has shown that caregiver executive functions (EFs) are robustly linked to EFs in children. However, existing evidence has used mixed methods approaches combining questionnaires and experimental tasks in older children. The current study used contextually similar questionnaires to examine whether caregiver EFs were linked to infant EFs, and whether household stress and socioeconomic status moderated these associations. Ninety-one families living in the Midlands region of the United Kingdom participated in the study. Caregiver EFs were assessed using the behavior rating inventory of executive functions and infant EFs were assessed using the early executive functions questionnaire. Caregivers were also asked to provide information on household stress and socioeconomic status. Our findings showed that better caregiver metacognition was associated with better infant sustained attention, and this association was moderated by caregiver life stress. Our findings contribute to the understanding of early associations between caregiver and child EFs.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fetal programming of infant temperament: An examination of prenatal maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.","authors":"Jessica Pearson, Rosalie Caron, Magdalena A Zdebik, Claire Baudry, Gabrielle Fréchette-Boilard","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70037","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pregnant women were exposed to multiple sources of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, raising concerns about the potential fetal programming effects of child development. A few studies show that prenatal maternal stress during the pandemic is associated with greater negative affectivity and more extraversion in infants. However, studies investigating this association are very few and need to be replicated. This study aims to prospectively investigate the association between prenatal maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and infant temperament, while assessing the relative contribution of postnatal maternal stress. A total of 269 low-risk, French-speaking women from the province of Quebec, Canada, completed questionnaires during pregnancy to report on their prenatal maternal stress (general and pandemic-related). When their child was 6 months old, the mothers completed a second questionnaire to collect information on postnatal stress and infant temperament. The results show that prenatal maternal stress in the context of the pandemic significantly predicted infants' negative affectivity and orienting/regulation factors, even after controlling for postnatal stress. The results support the fetal programming hypothesis, while highlighting the additional contribution of maternal stress during the child's first months of life.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144812583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Raija-Leena Punamäki, Safwat Y Diab, Konstantinos Drosos, Samir R Quota
{"title":"The impact of mother's mental health, infant characteristics and war trauma on the acoustic features of infant-directed singing.","authors":"Raija-Leena Punamäki, Safwat Y Diab, Konstantinos Drosos, Samir R Quota","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Infant-directed singing (IDSi) is a natural means of dyadic communication that contributes to children's mental health by enhancing emotion expression, close relationships, exploration and learning. Therefore, it is important to learn about factors that impact the IDSi. This study modeled the mother- (mental health), infant- (emotional responses and health status) and environment (war trauma)-related factors influencing acoustic IDSi features, such as pitch (F0) variability, amplitude and vibration and the F0 contour of shapes and movements. The participants were 236 mothers and infants from Gaza, the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The mothers reported their mental health problems, infants' emotionality and regulation skills, and, along with pediatric checkups, illnesses and disorders, as well as traumatic war events that were also photo documented. The results showed that the mothers' mental health problems and infants' poor health status were associated with IDSi, characterized by narrow and lifeless amplitude and vibration, and poor health was also associated with the limited and rigid shapes and movements of F0 contours. Traumatic war events were associated with flat and narrow F0 variability and the monotonous and invariable resonance and rhythm of IDSi formants. The infants' emotional responses did not impact IDSi. The potential of protomusical singing to help war-affected dyads is discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144776636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Aledeh, Adewale Allen Sokan-Adeaga, Falilat Braimah, Robert Trevethan
{"title":"Assessing a new scale to measure parental functioning: Outcomes from mothers at child-health clinics of a university teaching hospital in Benin City, Nigeria.","authors":"Muhammad Aledeh, Adewale Allen Sokan-Adeaga, Falilat Braimah, Robert Trevethan","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70035","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study was conducted primarily to investigate the basic psychometric properties of a new instrument, the Parenting-an-Infant Competence Scale (PICS), with a sample of middle- and upper-income Nigerian mothers. A secondary aim was to produce a foundation for comparisons with other parents. Data were obtained from 184 mothers who attended child-health clinics at a university hospital in Benin City, Edo State. Most of the item-level attributes of the PICS were desirable, and exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) revealed four distinct factors: resilience, support and effectiveness, satisfaction as a mother, and mental and physical well-being. For the most part, the mothers reported positive functioning on all four factors. The results indicated that the PICS had more desirable psychometric attributes than a similar scale, the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning (BIMF). The satisfactory performance of the PICS with a specific sample in Nigeria establishes the possibility that the scale could serve as a foundation for assessing and comparing other parents in Nigeria as well as parents in other countries-including countries that, unlike Nigeria, do not have a collectivist orientation.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144643844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Misty D Krippel, Michaelene M Ostrosky, Catherine Corr, Kathyrn M Bailey
{"title":"Learning Landscapes, caregivers, and young children: Results from a multiple methods study.","authors":"Misty D Krippel, Michaelene M Ostrosky, Catherine Corr, Kathyrn M Bailey","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70034","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Learning Landscapes (LLs) are family-friendly structures that transform community spaces (e.g., parks and bus stops) into engaging activities. The community structures are designed to encourage children to explore their environment while fostering developmentally supportive interactions (DSI) and learning opportunities between caregivers and children, including children with disabilities. Playful learning provided through LLs could result in developmental gains for children from lower-income backgrounds. The purpose of this multiple methods study, conducted in the US, was to examine 10 caregivers' perceptions and play interactions with their children while at one outdoor LL. Observational data revealed high caregiver-child engagement, and interview data indicated that caregivers perceived improved positive interactions during LL activities. The LL also promoted caregivers' knowledge of child development and impacted some participants' perceptions of generalized strategy use. Taken together, environmental prompts, such as those within LLs, can promote DSI in everyday environments, offering opportunities to boost children's early development.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144627417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research practices that promote cultural equity and sensitivity from PI to participant: Learned lessons from reexamining the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI) with Black mothers.","authors":"Monica Daniels, Ashlee Yates Flanagan, Haley Peele, Arlisha Norwood, Jessica Georges, Allisyn Swift, Leslie Brown Rawlings, Chantavia Burton Moore, E Simone Jenerson","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70031","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is a growing awareness that psychological research and clinical practices should be conducted through a culturally and racially sensitive lens. Despite this growing awareness, there are areas of psychological research that have been slow to adopt these practices. In particular, the study of infant mental health (IMH) has struggled to advance its understanding of relational dynamics by consistently excluding marginalized families, making IMH-based inquiry vulnerable to misinterpretation and harmful conclusions about caregiving relationships. Modifying attachment-based measures becomes an essential step toward adopting culturally sensitive research practices. The current paper documents the process of modifying the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI), an attachment-based measure, to share the experience and lessons learned among researchers aiming to explore attachment in Black mothers in the United States. Uniquely, this paper integrates former research participants into the research team, further fostering culturally sensitive research practices. The implications of this paper are to encourage future researchers and clinicians working in IMH to continually interrogate and reimagine accepted approaches to relationship assessment with Black families.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rachel J Herman, Diego I Barcala-Delgado, Christina A Rowley, Alexandrea L Craft, Marsha Kline Pruett, Nancy Byatt, Maureen Perry-Jenkins
{"title":"Partner-inclusive prenatal intervention to promote parenting readiness: Results from a pilot trial.","authors":"Rachel J Herman, Diego I Barcala-Delgado, Christina A Rowley, Alexandrea L Craft, Marsha Kline Pruett, Nancy Byatt, Maureen Perry-Jenkins","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Structural inequities in the United States limit access to prenatal parenting education and supports for many pregnant people and their partners. This pilot trial aimed to evaluate the impact of a novel partner-inclusive intervention on new parents' knowledge of developmentally appropriate early parenting practices. Forty-two participants were assigned to the 6-week group intervention and 38 participants were assigned to a usual care comparison group. The sample was racially and ethnically diverse and participants were required to meet study income restrictions. Participants were interviewed at three time points: Time 1 (pre-intervention; 12-18 weeks gestation), Time 2 (post-intervention;18-24 weeks gestation), and Time 3 (6 weeks postnatal) to assess knowledge regarding infant development and parenting practices, parenting self-competence, parenting stress, and the coparenting relationship. Dyadic Hierarchical Linear Models were used to test whether the intervention was associated with changes and levels in parenting readiness. Results revealed that parent dyads reported increased knowledge of infant development, increased parenting self-competence, and less parenting stress following the intervention relative to comparison group participants. No significant intervention effects were observed for the coparenting relationship. The accessible nature of the PREParing for Parenthood program makes it a promising intervention to promote parenting readiness among pregnant people and their partners.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144512613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sophie Barriault, Mary Motz, Lamia Firasta, Hannah McDowell, Patrick R Labelle, Nancy Poole, Nicole Racine
{"title":"Effects of integrated programs for substance-involved mothers on infant and child development outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Sophie Barriault, Mary Motz, Lamia Firasta, Hannah McDowell, Patrick R Labelle, Nancy Poole, Nicole Racine","doi":"10.1002/imhj.70029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.70029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maternal substance use is a pressing public health issue that confers risk for maternal health, the parent-infant relationship, and child development. Integrated interventions that jointly address maternal substance use and child development have shown promise for enhancing child outcomes. No research to date has focused exclusively on the outcomes of young children or examined potential moderators of the effect sizes of integrated programs. This review evaluates the pooled effect of integrated interventions for substance-involved mothers on the developmental outcomes of their children. A comprehensive search strategy was conducted in seven databases (APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, MEDLINE, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science) from January 2011 and May 2023. Studies were included if they reported on an intervention with at least one substance use treatment and one parenting or child treatment service for substance-involved mothers of children under 6 years of age. A total of 21 studies met inclusion criteria, and 14 nonoverlapping studies reported on effect sizes with a pooled effect size of SMD = .470 (95% CI = .35, .59). There was a trend toward treatment duration being a significant moderator (p = .08). Additional high-quality studies are needed to demonstrate the long-term impact of these interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48026,"journal":{"name":"Infant Mental Health Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144512612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}