Examining degrees of stability in attachment throughout early childhood is important for understanding developmental pathways and for informing intervention. Updating and building upon all prior meta-analyses, this study aimed to determine levels of stability in all forms of attachment classifications across early childhood. Attachment stability was assessed between three developmental epochs within early childhood: infancy, toddlerhood, and preschool/early school. To ensure data homogeneity, only studies that assessed attachment with methods based on the strange situation procedure were included. Results indicate moderate levels of stability at both the four-way (secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganised; κ = 0.23) and secure/insecure (r = 0.28) levels of assessment. Meta-regression analysis indicated security to be the most stable attachment organisation. This study also found evidence for publication bias, highlighting a preference for the publication of significant findings.

This paper provides a meta-analytic examination of strength and direction of association between parents' couple relationship quality and early childhood attachment security (5 years and under). A comprehensive search of four EBSCOhost databases, Informit, Web of Science, and grey literature yielded 24 studies meeting eligibility criteria. Heterogeneity of the couple quality construct and measurement was marked. To disaggregate potentially differentially acting factors, we grouped homogeneous studies, creating two predictor variables defined as "positive dyadic adjustment" and "inter-parental conflict". Associations of each construct with offspring attachment security were examined in two separate meta-analyses. Inter-parental conflict was inversely associated (8 studies, k = 17, r = -0.28, CI = [-0.39 to -0.18]), and dyadic adjustment was not associated with offspring attachment security (5 studies, k = 12, r = 0.14, CI = [-0.03 to 0.32]). The study supports finer distinctions of couple relationship constructs and measurement in developmental research, assessment, and intervention.

Although many military families demonstrate resilience and strength, research highlights that military service may impact the health and wellbeing of families. In comparison with civilian families, military families are embedded within a broader military context and culture which may influence many aspects of family life, including socioeconomic status and social participation. This rapid review utilised a systematic methodology to synthesise the evidence of comparing possible differences of the socioeconomic and social participation of military families with civilian families. Relevant online databases such as Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and ProQuest Central were searched for articles published between January 2000 and February 2022. After screening 3057 articles, five studies were included for analysis. The results highlight considerable income, education and employment gaps between current serving military and civilian spouses. An association was found between social, economic status and increased risk of violence or assaults in military families. Specifically, younger age and decline in health status were key predictors of domestic violence assaults in military families. This review highlights emerging evidence and recommends further Australian-based research with military families. Policy, research, and practice implications are discussed with consideration to preventative interventions tailored towards strengthening health, wellbeing, and socio-economic status of military families.

Recently, the lived and living experience (LLE) workforce in mental health and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sectors has expanded. Despite widespread benefit of this inclusion, some LLE practitioners have encountered personal and professional challenges in their workforce roles. An essential avenue to address these challenges is through provision of training to ensure adequate LLE role preparation, and to support integration of LLE workforces within mental health and AOD settings. We aim to understand the primary components applied in LLE training programs (i.e., content and methods), the outcomes from program participation, and to summarize observed patterns between training components and outcomes. This rapid review utilized a systematic methodology following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to synthesize existing literature on training programs for service users or carers/family in lived experience roles, in the mental health and AOD workforce. We searched CINAHL, PsycINFO, Medline, and Web of Science databases. We identified 36 relevant studies. Findings indicate short- and long-term impacts of training participation for this emerging workforce, with the most promising outcomes being increased professional knowledge and skills and improved personal psychosocial wellbeing and trauma recovery. Other positive training outcomes included high trainee satisfaction, increased application of training skills, and employment/education opportunities following training completion. Gaps and training limitations were noted in relation to the training content/delivery, trainee reservations, and personal barriers to training participation or completion. In response to program benefits and limitations investigated, we present recommendations for improving training processes for this workforce.

Objective:We report on a qualitative study of community nurse encounters with early relational trauma in parent-infant dyads.Background: Early relational trauma involves interactional or emotional disturbance in the parentinfant dyad. Earliest possible detection is needed to mitigate negative impacts on socio-emotional development, but early relational trauma is often challenging for practitioners to detect and respond to. Study design and methods: Maternal and ChildHealth nurses in Victoria, Australia received workforce training to address this. We interviewed 20 nurses both before and after they received specialist training, to understand their lived experiences in encountering client trauma and perceived changes to their professional confidence and competence post-training. The study comprised two areas of enquiry: i) a phenomenological analysis of nurses' lived experiences in encountering possible trauma; and ii) a grounded theoretical analysis of the context of trauma encounters at baseline, and perceived change in competence at follow-up.Results: Nurses who coped well when working with trauma maintained a level of emotional distance and were able to draw on a repertoire of well-established practice skills. The specialist workforce training resulted in clear gains in nurses' confidence and capacity to identify and respond to early relational trauma.Implications: Findings highlight a need for frontline services to provide specialist training and supervision in relational trauma and to cultivate cultures of communication and support. Such programs would optimally be deployed widely, to equip professionals with enhanced knowledge and confidence to create timely change in the face of early relational trauma.

Background Early relational health is a key determinant of childhood development, while relational trauma in the parent-infant dyad can instigate a cascading pattern of infant risk. Fortunately, early relational trauma is detectable and modifiable. In 2018, Australian Maternal and Child Health (MCH) nurses participated in MERTIL (My Early Relational Trauma-Informed Learning), a program to identify and prevent relational trauma. Program evaluations revealed nurses felt competent and confident to identify and respond to relational trauma; however, response capacity was inhibited by inadequate parent referral options. In response, MERTIL for Parents (My Early Relational Trust-Informed Learning) was developed, which is an online, evidence-based, self-paced parenting program that focuses on enhancing parental knowledge of relational trust and its significance for infant development. This low-cost, accessible prevention resource targets emerging relational concerns to reduce later service system engagement. The potential for universal preventative online programs that target parental and relational wellbeing remains under-explored. This paper reports on a protocol for implementing a MERTIL for Parents pilot study describing practitioners’ and parents’ perspectives on program feasibility and efficacy. Methods This study is a mixed methods, parallel armed, uncontrolled, repeated measures design. We aim to recruit 48 Australian MCH practitioners from the states of Victoria and New South Wales. These professionals will in turn recruit 480 parents with a child aged 0–5 years. All parents will receive MERTIL for Parents, which entails a 40-minute video, tipsheets, posters, and support resources. Parent data will be obtained at three periods: pre-program, program exit, and program follow-up. Practitioner data will be collected at two periods: pre-parent recruitment and program follow-up. Data collection will occur through surveys and focus groups. Primary parent outcomes will be socioemotional assessments of program efficacy. Practitioners and parents will each report on program feasibility. Discussion This protocol describes the feasibility and efficacy of a new online parenting program, MERTIL for Parents, with pilot field studies commencing in March 2023. We anticipate that this resource will be a valuable addition to various child and family services, for use in individual support and group work.

Background: Early relational health is a key determinant of childhood development, and relational trauma in the parent-infant dyad can instigate a cascading pattern of infant risk. Fortunately, early relational trauma is detectable and modifiable. In 2018, Australian Maternal and Child Health (MCH) nurses participated in MERTIL (My Early Relational Trauma -Informed Learning), a program to identify and prevent relational trauma. Program evaluations revealed nurses felt competent and confident to identify and respond to relational trauma; however, response capacity was inhibited by inadequate parent referral options. In response, MERTIL for Parents (My Early Relational Trust -Informed Learning) was developed, which is an online, evidence-based, self-paced parenting program that focuses on enhancing parental knowledge of relational trust and its significance for infant development. This low-cost, accessible prevention resource targets emerging relational concerns to reduce later service system engagement. The potential for universal preventative online programs that target parental and relational wellbeing remains under-explored. This paper reports on a protocol for implementing a pilot study describing nurses’ and parents’ perspectives on program feasibility and efficacy. Methods: This study is a mixed-methods, parallel-armed, uncontrolled, repeated measures design. We aim to recruit 28 MCH nurses who will in turn recruit 480 parents with a child aged 0-5 years. All parents will receive MERTIL for Parents entailing a 40-minute video, tipsheets, worksheets, and support resources. Parent data will be obtained at three periods: pre-program, program exit, and program follow-up. Nurse data will be collected at two periods: parent recruitment completion and program follow-up. Data collection will occur through surveys and focus groups. Primary parent outcomes will be socioemotional assessing program efficacy. Nurses and parents will each report on study program feasibility. Discussion: This protocol describes the feasibility and efficacy of a new online parenting program, MERTIL for Parents, with pilot field studies commencing in July 2022. We anticipate that this resource will be a valuable addition to various child and family services, for use in individual support and group work.

Objective: Retention of serving members in the military may be increased through targeted psycho-social support of their families and dependents. This Defence funded study aimed to provide updated evidence on associations between current military service and the well-being of the member's couple and relationships, to inform policy and practice. We conducted a rapid review of