Maternal adverse childhood experiences,attachment style,and mental health: Pathways of transmission to child behavior problems

BackgroundInvestigations have found mothers’ adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) confer an intergenerational risk to their children's outcomes. However, mechanisms underlying this transmission have only been partially explained by maternal mental health. Adult attachment insecurity has been shown to mediate the association of ACEs and mental health outcomes, yet an extension of this research to children's behavioral problems has not been examined.ObjectiveTo examine the cascade from maternal ACEs to risk for child behavioral problems at five years of age, via mothers’ attachment insecurity and mental health.Participants and settingParticipants in the current study were 1994 mother-child dyads from a prospective longitudinal cohort collected from January 2011 to October 2014.MethodsMothers retrospectively reported their ACEs when children were 36 months of age. When children were 60 months of age, mothers completed measures of their attachment style, depression and anxiety symptoms, and their children's behavior problems.ResultsPath analysis demonstrated maternal ACEs were associated with children's internalizing problems indirectly via maternal attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and depression symptoms, but not directly (β = .05, 95% CI [−.001, .10]). Maternal ACEs indirectly predicted children's externalizing problems via maternal attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and depression. A direct effect was also observed from maternal ACEs to child externalizing problems (β = .06, 95% CI [.01, .11]).ConclusionsMaternal ACEs influenced children's risk for poor behavioral outcomes via direct and indirect intermediary pathways. Addressing maternal insecure attachment style and depression symptoms as intervention targets for mothers with histories of ACEs may help to mitigate the intergenerational transmission of risk.     

The lifetime costs of pediatric abusive head trauma and a cost-effectiveness analysis of the Period of Purple crying program in British Columbia,Canada

BackgroundAbusive head trauma (AHT) is a severe form of child abuse causing devastating outcomes for children and families, but its economic costs in Canada has yet to be determined. The Period of PURPLE crying program (PURPLE) is an AHT prevention program implemented in British Columbia for which success in reducing AHT events was recently reported.ObjectiveThis study estimated the lifetime costs to society of incidental AHT events and compared the benefits and associated costs of AHT before and after the implementation of the PURPLE program.Participants and Setting: Children aged 0–24 months old with a definite diagnosis of AHT between 2002 and 2014 in British Columbia were included in this study.MethodsAn incidence-based cost-of-illness analysis, using the human capital approach was used to quantify the lifetime costs of AHT events according to their severity (least severe, severe and fatal). A cost-effectiveness analysis of the PURPLE program was conducted from both a societal and a health services’ perspectives using decision tree models.ResultsThere were sixty-four AHT events between 2002–2014, resulting in a total cost of $354,359,080 to society. The costs associated with fatal, severe and least severe AHT averaged $7,147,548, $6,057,761 and $1,675,099, respectively. The investment of $5 per newborn through the PURPLE program resulted in a $273.52 and $14.49 per child cost avoidance by society and by the healthcare system.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence to policymakers and health practitioners that investing upstream in well-developed AHT prevention programs, such as PURPLE, not only promote child safety and health, but also translates into avoided costs to society.     

Construct validity of the childbirth trauma index for adolescents

The potentially traumatic nature of childbirth for adult mothers has been confirmed in research; however, adolescent childbirth trauma is unexplored. This article presents research on the construct validity of the Childbirth Trauma Index by providing a conceptual analysis of psychological childbirth trauma, factor validity of the Childbirth Trauma Index, and discussion of testing the Childbirth Trauma Index via contrasted-groups approach. Childbirth trauma can result in an acute stress reaction or actual posttraumatic stress disorder. Using subjective reports, the Impact of Event Scale, and the Childbirth Trauma Index, an appraisal of birth trauma, trauma impact, and indicators associated with childbirth trauma were revealed among 112 adolescents. Clinical implications and research recommendations are offered.     

Traumatic encounters with Frank Mechau's Dangers of the Mail

This essay examines Frank Mechau's infamous mural Dangers of the Mail as an opportunity to theorize the force of memories contingent upon immediate sensual encounters that operate largely irrespective of actual historical occurrences. Through an analysis of public documents, archival material from the 1930s and early 2000s, and two separate tours of the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building in 2015 and 2016, we argue Mechau's Dangers of the Mail triggers a form of traumatic sense memory that positions audiences within a trauma economy in which sensation functions as epistemological grounding for political struggle.     

Are we teaching trauma?

Covering violence is an expected part of the daily job for many journalists in the United States; however, are college and university programs fully preparing students for what they may experience? This study surveyed accredited journalism schools in the United States. Of the 41 respondent schools, only one offered a course specifically aimed at teaching journalists how to protect themselves from psychological trauma and how best to interact with victims of trauma. Results show that although schools believe the topic of trauma is important and worth teaching to future journalists, the approach to the topic is mostly reactive and inconsistent. Implications for the future of journalism education are discussed.     

风险治理视域下应急心理干预体系建设

突发事件不仅影响民众的生命财产安全和身体健康,还会引发不同程度的心理创伤。突发事件发生期间或之后,可采用心理急救、应激晤谈、情绪稳定化、放松等应急心理干预技术,对相关人群实施及时系统有效的心理干预,降低他们罹患心理疾病和心理危机的概率。在风险治理视域下,把握应急心理干预系统性和协同性的特点,着力构建“三体四面”的突发事件应急心理干预体系。即强调社会治理者在宏观层面构建体系,搭好平台,促进运行;心理专业人员在微观层面实施专业化的心理干预;社会大众既要重视外在的心理疏导,也要加强内在的心理建设,从而实现“由心而治”的社会风险治理新格局。     

Addressing trauma in schools: Multitiered service delivery options for practitioners

Hundreds of thousands of children are confronted with traumatic experiences each year in the United States. As trauma‐informed care begins to take hold in schools, school mental health providers (e.g., school psychologists, counselors, and social workers) desire concrete service‐delivery options for students affected by trauma. This article provides examples from the literature via a narrative review of assessment, intervention, and practitioner support options related to childhood trauma. Specific attention is paid to framing concrete school‐based trauma service‐delivery options within a multitiered systems of support model to align with existing school practices. Given the large amount of literature on this topic, this article aims to reduce the barriers practitioners face when looking to implement trauma services in their schools by organizing example practices from the literature in a commonly used service‐delivery framework.     

共生视域下隔代教育的透视与思考

现代社会经济在不断的发展中,人们的生活方式发生了重要的变革,一些年轻家长为了更好地投入到生活和工作中,将孩子的生活护理和教育辅导等责任交给了孩子的祖辈家长。隔代教育虽能使年轻父母节约精力和时间,减轻生活负担,但是基于事物的两面性思考,隔代教育也带来了一系列的问题,尤其是给祖辈家长带来了更大的责任和压力。共生视域下的隔代教育是从价值观角度对隔代教育展开新的思考,对隔代教育的内在价值进行深度发掘,同时也对隔代教育所反映出来的一些社会现象或问题进行了深入思考。     

Into the Fire: Using Therapeutic Enactments to Bridge Early Traumatic Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse

While traditional forms of therapy focus heavily on a survivor's ability to tell his or her story, the very nature of traumatic memory can present a challenge since survivors of trauma often struggle to find the verbal language to describe the terrifying events that have occurred. In verbal therapies, survivors of childhood sexual abuse can be left in a state of re-experiencing the past as they face the overwhelming task of trying to find words for something that is often wordless. Researchers have identified the need to “bridge” the non-verbal and the verbal in trauma therapy. The purpose of this research is to examine the lived experience of using therapeutic enactment as a tool to address the fragmented and wordless memories of childhood sexual abuse. Using a case study research design, four women shared their stories of participating in a therapeutic enactment to address memories of their abuse. From these stories, four dominant themes emerged. These themes (re-connection to self and others, reclaiming voice, empowerment, and corrective re-experiencing) indicate an overall positive and reparative experience.     

Inter-generational learning of teachers: what and how do teachers learn from older and younger colleagues?

This paper examines how and what teachers learn from their older and younger colleagues. Data were gathered from interviews and written reports from 27 Belgian and Finnish teachers. Thematic qualitative analysis was used. The results revealed differences in what teachers learn from older and younger colleagues. Teachers reported learning innovative teaching methods and ICT skills from younger colleagues, whereas practical information, classroom management skills, self-regulation and community building were learned mainly from older colleagues. Attitudes regarding teaching and different ways of being a teacher were learned from both younger and older colleagues alike. Similarities were also found in how teachers learned from their older and younger colleagues. Informal activities and relationships, different forms of mentoring, and working in subject teams or seminars were important sources of learning. An intergenerational learning perspective is important with respect to demographic changes in school staff and in preventing knowledge loss and teacher dropout.