In this article, we address three questions concerning the long-term effects of parenting-focused preventive interventions: 1) Do prevention programs promote effective parenting in families facing normative stressors as well as those facing frequent adversity? 2) Do parenting programs prevent children’s long-term problems? 3) Do changes in parenting mediate long-term effects of programs? We address these questions by summarizing evidence from 22 programs with randomized trials and followups of three years or longer. We describe in more detail two interventions for divorced and bereaved families, suggesting that they prevent a range of problems and promote a range of developmental competencies over a prolonged period. Program effects to strengthen parenting mediated many of these long-term outcomes.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is associated with significant language and communication delays, as well as problems with attention. This study investigated early language abilities in infants and toddlers with FXS (n = 13) and considered visual attention as a predictor of those skills. We found that language abilities increased over the study period of 9 to 24 months with moderate correlations among language assessments. In comparison to typically developing infants (n = 11), language skills were delayed beyond chronological age- and developmental level-expectations. Aspects of early visual attention predicted later language ability. Atypical visual attention is an important aspect of the FXS phenotype with implications for early language development, particularly in the domain of vocabulary.

A limitation of school-based mentoring (SBM) is the lack of structured, evidence-based practices in mentoring sessionsSchool-based mentoring (SBM) is the most studied, most common, highest funded, and fastest growing form of mentoring program in the United States (Karcher, 2008). Despite enthusiasm for and the widespread use of SBM, research has not established SBM as an

Background Nurse leaders who are mothers are at significant risk for experiencing stress, burnout, and occupational fatigue. Authentic Connections (AC) Groups is an intervention shown to be effective for fostering resilience among at‐risk moms, including physicians; however, it has not previously been tested with nurse leaders. Aims Our aims were to test the feasibility and acceptability of the AC Groups intervention with nurse leader mothers and examine its effects on participant resilience, as measured by increased self‐compassion and decreased distress, depression, perceived stress, and burnout. Methods A randomized controlled trial design was employed for this pilot study, with 36 nurse leaders at Mayo Clinic. AC participants attended group sessions for an hour per week for 12 weeks. Control group members were provided 1 hr per week of free time over 12 weeks. Multiple self‐report psychological measures were completed at baseline, post‐intervention, and 3‐month follow‐up. Results The AC Groups intervention was feasible and well‐received by nurse leaders. Session attendance rates averaged 92%. Despite the small n’s, repeated measures of Analysis of Variance showed significantly greater improvements (p < .05) for participants in the AC Groups than control condition for depression, self‐compassion, and perceived stress, with large effect sizes (ηp2 0.18–0.22). In addition, effect sizes for anxiety and feeling loved approximated the moderate range (ηp2 0.05 and .07). Linking Evidence to Action The AC intervention shows promise as a feasible intervention for mitigating nurse leader mothers’ stress by positively impacting indices of well‐being, including depression, self‐compassion, and perceived stress. Given, the prevalence of stress and burnout among nurse leaders, the effectiveness of the AC intervention in fostering resilience in this population has significant implications for research and practice. Further research is warranted with larger numbers from multiple sites, longer follow‐up periods, and biomarker measures of stress.

Highlights The evidence‐based policy movement may present an opportunity for increasing the use of trauma‐informed practices. The use of research evidence in human trafficking legislation, including references to trauma, has increased over time. Legislation leveraging research methods or findings has the potential to implicitly support trauma‐informed care, especially because legislation that uses research language may be more likely to become enacted than legislation using trauma language. Policies that require research processes such as program evaluation and evidence reviews to guide service delivery standards have the potential to support trauma‐informed practices in ways that are consistent with and adapt to the most current, evolving empirical base.