Assessing the need for dual diagnosis training for mental health workers serving youth in Michigan

Dual diagnosis is the co-occurrence of substance use and another psychiatric disorder. Research has shown that people with dual diagnosis have worse outcomes than those with only substance use or another psychiatric disorder. A considerable amount of research has been conducted on training programs which help better serve adults with dual diagnosis, but there have been minimal efforts for training mental health workers who serve youths. This project examines the need for training in community mental health workers in Michigan who work with youths. Results indicate that a quarter of youths being seen for treatment need substance use services, however most programs do not offer these services

Cumulative Socio-contextual Risk and Child Abuse Potential in Parents of Young Children: Can Social Support Buffer the Impact?

Child abuse potential refers to characteristics and practices closely linked to child abuse. Past investigations document that the number of risk factors parents experience is a correlate of child abuse potential. The purpose of this investigation was to test a model with multiple domains of risk including cumulative socio-contextual risk, parenting locus of control, children’s externalizing behavior problems, social support, and child abuse potential. Using self-report data from eighty-seven mothers of children between the ages of 1–5 years old, bivariate correlations and linear regression analyses revealed that cumulative socio-contextual risk was positively associated with child abuse potential and that this association remained statistically significant when controlling for parenting locus of control and child externalizing behavior problems. Additionally, social support moderated the association between cumulative risk and child abuse potential

School support, chaos, routines, and parents' mental health during COVID-19 remote schooling

Remote schooling due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) created profound challenges for families. In this investigation, we examined parents' depression and anxiety during remote schooling and their associations with parents' reports of school support. We also evaluated indirect and interactive (i.e., moderation) associations. Participants were parents (N = 152, 92.8% mothers, 65.1% Black) from an urban area with high rates of COVID-19. Of the 152 parents, 27.6% reported elevated levels of depression and 34.2% reported elevated anxiety. Regression analyses showed that school support was negatively associated with parents' depression (β = -.33, p < .01) and anxiety (β = -.21, p < .01). There was an indirect association between school support and parents' mental health via household chaos and daily routines. Reported COVID-19 impact moderated the direct association between school support and parental depression and anxiety. There was a statistically significant association between school support and parents' depression and anxiety when COVID-19 impact was low or moderate, but not when COVID-19 impact was high. These results may suggest that for parents who were not highly impacted by the pandemic, school support buffered the association between stress and parents' mental health problems; parents most impacted by COVID-19 may need additional support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).K01 MH110600 - NIMH NIH HHS; L40 MH117714 - NIMH NIH HHSAccepted manuscrip

Parents\u27 Goals For ADHD Care In a Clinical Pediatric Sample

Objective. This report describes goals parents have for their children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when coming for a pediatric visit. Method. Data were collected from 441 parents of children presenting to either a primary care pediatric practice or a developmental behavioral pediatric practice. Parents were asked to report their top 1 or 2 goals for improvement for their children, and responses were coded into 17 categories. These categories were further grouped into 7 goal composites and examined in relation to demographic characteristics of the families, office type, and symptomology. Results. Goals related to reducing symptoms of inattention were most common, but goals were heterogeneous in nature. Goals were meaningfully, but modestly, related to symptomology. In several instances, symptoms of comorbid conditions interacted with symptoms of ADHD in relation to specific goals being reported. Conclusions. Parents’ goals extended beyond ADHD symptoms. Pediatricians need an array of resources to address parents’ goals

Initial Evaluation of the Need for and Impact of a Pragmatic Internet-based Parenting Program to Promote Positive Parenting and School Readiness in Early Childhood

Brief, technology-based programs are a low-cost, high-reach approach to connecting parents with research-informed parenting information. Reported here are two investigations that examined the need for and impact of one such program, The 5-a-Day Parenting Program, for parents of children in early childhood (ages 2-5 years old). Through text messages and online videos, the program promotes 5 daily positive parenting activities: book sharing, parent-child play, showing affection, meal sharing, and following a bedtime routine. Parents learn about the importance of doing each of these activities daily and then select one activity on which to focus. Study 1 (n = 568) examined how frequently parents engage in the 5 specific parenting activities. Reading was found to be the least often reported parenting activity with 63.4% of parents reporting reading to their child 3 days or less in the previous week. In study 2, a proof-of-concept trial using a pre-post design, 94 parents went through the 5-a-Day Parenting Program and completed baseline and follow-up surveys to assess key outcomes. Primary outcomes of interest included use of the 5 specific parenting activities, parents’ parenting activity goal, and daily routines. Secondary outcomes included parents’ level of parenting confidence, chaos within the home, and children’s social/emotional behavior problems. Significant changes from pre-post were found for primary, but not secondary, outcomes. Next steps will include program refinements and a pilot randomized clinical trial

The Parenting Young Children Check-up

This project is funded by a K01 award from the National Institute of Mental Health. Through 3 phases, the goal of the project is to create, refine, and evaluate the Parenting Young Children Check-up (PYCC). The PYCC is a technology-based parent training system for parents of young children (ages 2-5) with disruptive behavior problems. Parents begin to engage in the program while waiting at a pediatric visit

Phase 1: Design and Refine the PYCC

Phase 1 included making beta intervention materials and refining those materials through an iterative process of collecting mixed method data from parents (n = 17) and physicians (n = 17). Participants went through beta materials and went through a qualitative survey, which was then transcribed and coded, and completed a feedback survey. Program refinements were made after the first and second iterations. A full version of the PYCC intervention was created after the third iteration of data collection

COVID-19 Highlights Need for Accessible Parent Training: The Role of Pediatrics and Technology

N/A; this paper is a brief commentary with no Abstrac

An Ecodevelopmental Exploration of Mediators Between Maltreatment in Childhood and Drug Use During Pregnancy

Child maltreatment is associated with increased risk of substance abuse in adulthood. However, prior investigations have not examined substance use specifically in pregnancy and have relied on self-report of substance use. The present study addresses these gaps via secondary analysis of 295 primarily low-income, Black postpartum women who agreed to complete a brief questionnaire and subsequently provided urine and hair samples. A clear relationship emerged between self-reported maltreatment and positive toxicology (with drug use present in 37.2% of maltreated participants and 17.1% of nonmaltreated participants; p \u3c .001). Depression and violence exposure were positively associated with maltreatment and with drug use. The combined effect of violence exposure and depression mediated the association between maltreatment and drug use during pregnancy. (The bootstrapped 95% confidence interval of total indirect effect ranged .14–.80.) This investigation is the first to show an association between childhood maltreatment and toxicological evidence of drug use in pregnancy

Risk Identification in Perinatal Health Care Settings via Technology-Based Recruitment Methods: Comparative Study

BackgroundDigital screening and intervention tools have shown promise in the identification and reduction of substance use in health care settings. However, research in this area is impeded by challenges in integrating recruitment efforts into ongoing clinical workflows or staffing multiple study clinics with full-time research assistants, as well as by the underreporting of substance use. ObjectiveThe aim of the study is to evaluate pragmatic methods for facilitating study recruitment in health care settings by examining recruitment rates and participant characteristics using in-person–based versus flyer approaches. MethodsThis study compared recruitment rates at a Women’s Health clinic in the Midwest under 2 different recruitment strategies: in person versus via a flyer with a QR code. We also examined the disclosure of substance use and risk screener positivity for the 2 strategies. We also obtained information about the current use of technology and willingness to use it for study participation. ResultsA greater percentage of patients recruited in person participated than those recruited via flyers (57/63, 91% vs 64/377, 17%). However, the final number recruited in each group was roughly equal (n=57 vs n=64). Additionally, participants recruited via flyers were more likely to screen positive for alcohol use risk on the Tolerance, Annoyed, Cut Down, Eye-Opener alcohol screen than those recruited at the clinic (24/64, 38% vs 11/57, 19%; χ21=4.9; P=.03). Participants recruited via flyers were also more likely to screen positive for drug use risk on the Wayne Indirect Drug Use Screener than those recruited at the clinic (20/64, 31% vs 9/57, 16%; χ21=4.0; P=.05). Furthermore, of the 121 pregnant women, 117 (96.7%) reported owning a smartphone, 111 (91.7%) had an SMS text message plan on their phone, and 94 (77.7%) reported being willing to receive SMS text messages or participate in a study if sent a link to their phone. ConclusionsThe distribution of flyers with a QR code by medical staff appears to be an efficient and cost-effective method of recruitment that also facilitates disclosure while reducing the impact on clinic workflows. This method of recruitment can be useful for data collection at multiple locations and lead to larger samples across and between health systems. Participant recruitment via technology in perinatal health care appears to facilitate disclosure, particularly when participants can learn about the research and complete screening using their own device at a place and time convenient for them. Pregnant women in an urban Midwestern hospital had access to and were comfortable using technology