Psychological and Physical Intimate Partner Aggression Are Associated with Broad and Specific Internalizing Symptoms during Pregnancy

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) has serious consequences, particularly during high-risk periods such as pregnancy, which poses a significant risk to maternal mental health. However, it is unclear whether IPV presents a broad risk for psychopathology or is specific to distinct diagnoses or symptom dimensions (e.g., panic, social anxiety). Further, the relative impact of physical versus psychological aggression remains unclear. Methods: One hundred and fifty-nine pregnant couples completed surveys assessing psychological and physical intimate partner aggression unfolding in the couple relationship, as well as a range of internalizing symptoms. Results: Psychological and physical aggression were each associated with broad negative affectivity, which underlies mood and anxiety disorders; however, only psychological aggression demonstrated a unique association. Further, for pregnant women, aggression was uniquely associated with several symptom dimensions characteristic of PTSD. In contrast, men demonstrated a relatively heterogeneous symptom presentation in relation to aggression. Conclusion: The present study identifies unique symptom manifestations associated with IPV for couples navigating pregnancy and suggests psychological aggression can be more detrimental to mental health than physical aggression. To promote maternal perinatal mental health, clinicians should screen for covert forms of psychological aggression during pregnancy (e.g., raised voices, insults), trauma-related distress, and symptom elevations in women and their partners

Self‑Objectification During the Perinatal Period: The Role of Body Surveillance in Maternal and Infant Wellbeing

Pregnancy represents a unique time during which women’s bodies undergo significant physical changes (e.g., expanding belly, larger breasts, weight gain) that can elicit increased objectification. Experiences of objectification set the stage for women to view themselves as sexual objects (i.e., self-objectification) and are associated with adverse mental health outcomes. Although women may experience heightened self-objectification and behavioral consequences (such as body surveillance) due to the objectification of pregnant bodies in Western cultures, there are remarkably few studies examining objectification theory among women during the perinatal period. The present study investigated the impact of body surveillance, a consequence of self-objectification, on maternal mental health, mother-infant bonding, and infant socioemotional outcomes in a sample of 159 women navigating pregnancy and postpartum. Utilizing a serial mediation model, we found that mothers who endorsed higher levels of body surveillance during pregnancy reported more depressive symptoms and body dissatisfaction, which were associated with greater impairments in mother-infant bonding following childbirth and more infant socioemotional dysfunction at 1-year postpartum. Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms emerged as a unique mechanism through which body surveillance predicted bonding impairments and subsequent infant outcomes. Results highlight the critical need for early intervention efforts that not only target general depression, but also promote body functionality and acceptance over the Western “thin ideal” of attractiveness among expecting mothers

Early executive control buffers risk for adolescent psychopathology during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has had a global impact on youth mental health, and there is a critical need for research examining individual factors that contribute to increased psychopathology during the pandemic. The current study explored whether executive control (EC) abilities in early childhood interact with COVID‐related stress to attenuate risk for adolescent psychopathology during the first 6 months of the pandemic. Methods: Participants were 337 youth (49% female) living in a small midwestern city in the United States. Participants completed EC tasks when they were approximately 4.5 years old as part of a longitudinal study investigating cognitive development. At annual laboratory visits during adolescence and before the pandemic, participants (Mage = 14.57) reported on mental health symptoms. In July and August of 2020, participants (Mage = 16.57) reported on COVID‐related stress and depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms. Results: COVID‐related stress was associated with increased internalizing problems after controlling for prepandemic symptom levels. Further, the impact of COVID-related stress on adolescent internalizing problems was moderated by preschool EC, with higher levels of EC buffering the effects of COVID‐related stress on adolescent internalizing problems. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of promoting EC early in development, as well as screening for EC deficits and implementing targeted intervention strategies across the lifespan to help reduce the impact of stress on adolescent internalizing problems

Learning from adversity: What the COVID-19 pandemic can teach us about family resiliency

The present study aimed to characterize the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on families with preschool age children and to identify pre-pandemic factors that explained unique family experiences. We leveraged an ongoing longitudinal study of relatively well-resourced community families who had reported on family functioning prior to the pandemic and completed surveys 6 months after pandemic onset. Both parents of dual parenting households endorsed significant hardships as a direct result of the pandemic (e.g., disrupted family routines, challenges at work); however, families also reported aspects of flourishing (i.e., experiencing positive outcomes in response to adversity) such as spending more time together as a family. Families were prone to greater hardships and fewer opportunities for growth to the extent that parents were lower in psychological resources (i.e., greater stress and internalizing symptoms, poor well-being) and were not on the same page as a couple (i.e., interparental discord, low quality coparenting) prior to pandemic onset. Finally, greater pandemic hardships predicted poorer parental mental health, greater family dysfunction, and elevated child psychopathology, controlling for pre-pandemic levels. Parents who reported more family flourishing from the pandemic had a stronger interparental relationship. Results are intended to inform theories of family stress and family interventions that can be tailored to promote resiliency (i.e., adaptation to challenging life events) and prevent dysfunction when families face rapid change and adjustment and high degrees of uncertainty and stress

Intensive Treatment Models to Address Posttraumatic Stress Among Post-9/11 Warriors: The Warrior Care Network.

Since September 11, 2001, more than two million U.S. service members have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, many returning home with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and additional psychological and general medical complaints. Nonetheless, many do not seek care or may not respond to traditional outpatient approaches, warranting innovative, multidisciplinary treatment approaches. To help address these complex needs, the Wounded Warrior Project has funded four academic medical centers to develop a care network across the nation. As part of this Warrior Care Network, the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program in Atlanta; the Home Base Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, in collaboration with the Red Sox Foundation, in Boston; Road Home at Rush Medical Center in Chicago; and Operation Mend at the University of California, Los Angeles, have each developed innovative, intensive programs to treat PTSD among post-9/11 veterans and service members. The programs offer two- to three-week intensive PTSD treatment programs with evidence-based approaches embedded in a broader program. To date, 328 post-9/11 veterans and active-duty service members have received care in these intensive outpatient programs. The average completion rate is approximately 95%, which demonstrates the acceptability of this brief but intensive care model for a complex population who can be challenging to engage or retain in care

Intensive Treatment Models to Address Posttraumatic Stress Among Post-9/11 Warriors: The Warrior Care Network.

Since September 11, 2001, more than two million U.S. service members have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, many returning home with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and additional psychological and general medical complaints. Nonetheless, many do not seek care or may not respond to traditional outpatient approaches, warranting innovative, multidisciplinary treatment approaches. To help address these complex needs, the Wounded Warrior Project has funded four academic medical centers to develop a care network across the nation. As part of this Warrior Care Network, the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program in Atlanta; the Home Base Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, in collaboration with the Red Sox Foundation, in Boston; Road Home at Rush Medical Center in Chicago; and Operation Mend at the University of California, Los Angeles, have each developed innovative, intensive programs to treat PTSD among post-9/11 veterans and service members. The programs offer two- to three-week intensive PTSD treatment programs with evidence-based approaches embedded in a broader program. To date, 328 post-9/11 veterans and active-duty service members have received care in these intensive outpatient programs. The average completion rate is approximately 95%, which demonstrates the acceptability of this brief but intensive care model for a complex population who can be challenging to engage or retain in care

Examining the Relationship Between Parent and Child Psychopathology in Treatment-Seeking Veterans

This study aimed to examine: (1) the relationship between parental psychopathology and child psychopathology in military families and (2) parenting sense of competence as a mediator of the relationship between veteran psychopathology and child psychopathology. As part of their standard clinical evaluations, 215 treatment-seeking veterans who reported having a child between the ages of 4 and 17 were assessed for psychopathology (posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and stress), their sense of competence as a parent, and their child’s psychopathology (internalizing, externalizing, and attentional symptoms). A path analysis model examining parenting sense of competence as a mediator of the relationship between veteran psychopathology and child psychopathology showed significant indirect effects of veteran depression on all child psychopathology outcomes via parenting sense of competence. Parental sense of competence may be a critical mechanism linking veteran depression and child psychopathology, and may therefore be an important target for intervention

Examining the Relationship Between Parent and Child Psychopathology in Treatment-Seeking Veterans.

This study aimed to examine: (1) the relationship between parental psychopathology and child psychopathology in military families and (2) parenting sense of competence as a mediator of the relationship between veteran psychopathology and child psychopathology. As part of their standard clinical evaluations, 215 treatment-seeking veterans who reported having a child between the ages of 4 and 17 were assessed for psychopathology (posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and stress), their sense of competence as a parent, and their child's psychopathology (internalizing, externalizing, and attentional symptoms). A path analysis model examining parenting sense of competence as a mediator of the relationship between veteran psychopathology and child psychopathology showed significant indirect effects of veteran depression on all child psychopathology outcomes via parenting sense of competence. Parental sense of competence may be a critical mechanism linking veteran depression and child psychopathology, and may therefore be an important target for intervention