No abstract

To link to this article: http://dx. SYNOPSISObjective. This study examines psychometric properties of 2 scales of the Parenting Stress Index -Short Form (PSI -SF) in a sample of preschool children from low-income families. Design. The factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Parental Distress and Parent -Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscales were assessed for 1122 Early Head Start parents of 15-(n = 959), 25-(n = 899), and 37-month-old (n = 845) children in a multisite study. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) compared the fit of 2-factor scales that are recommended by the developer with theoretically derived 5-factor scales. Results. CFA indicated that the 5-factor scales fit the data better than the 2-factor scales. Both 2-and 5-factor scales had high internal consistency, and the pattern of relations between the new scales and validity constructs support their usefulness. Conclusions. The PSI -SF scales can be helpful in clinical applications because the proposed scales clarify relations between parent and child outcomes and specific aspects of stress due to parenting.

This study examines the degree to which support from parents and teachers buffers the level of depression for four groups of children involved in bullying (victim, bully, bully-victims, or not involved children). Nine hundred and seventy-seven 5th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students in the rural South completed questionnaires on bullying, social support, and depression. Children who were not involved in bullying reported less depression and more social support than children involved in bullying, and bully-victims were the most at-risk group.

The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, a random-assignment evaluation, found a broad pattern of positive impacts for children and families. However, there were no program impacts on depression or use of mental health services by the time children reached age 3, at the end of the Early Head Start ͑EHS͒ program. This paper presents recent findings from the follow-up study in the spring prior to the children entering kindergarten, when a positive program impact emerged for reducing maternal depression. Results show that earlier program impacts on children and parents ͑when children were 2 and 3 years of age͒ mediated, or led to, the delayed impact on maternal depression. The combination of the most promising child factors accounted for over 57% of the later impact on depression, while the most promising parent factors accounted for over 35% of the later impact on depression. Implications for EHS programs are discussed.RESUMEN: El Proyecto de Investigación y Evaluación de los Programas de Comienzo Temprano ͑EHS͒, una evaluación asignada al azar, halló un patrón amplio de impactos positivos para niños y familias. Sin embargo, no se dio ningún impacto del programa en la depresión o en el uso de los servicios de salud mental para cuando los niños alcanzaron la edad de 3 años, al final del Programa de Comienzo Temprano ͑EHS͒. Este ensayo presenta recientes resultados del estudio de seguimiento en la primavera anterior a cuando los niños entraron en el kinder, momento en el cual un impacto positivo del programa surgió con la reducción de la depresión maternal. Los resultados muestran que los más tempranos impactos del programa en los niños y sus padres ͑cuando los niños tenían 2 y 3 años͒ mediaron, o 151sirvieron de pauta para el demorado impacto de la depresión maternal. La combinación de los más prometedores factores en el niño fueron causa del 57% del futuro impacto en la depresión, mientras que los más prometedores factores en los padres fueron responsables de más del 35% del futuro impacto en la depresión. Se discuten las implicaciones de los Programas de Comienzo Temprano ͑EHS͒.RÉ SUMÉ : Le Projet de Recherche et d'Evaluation du Early Head Start ͑programme américain d'aide aux familles à faibles revenus͒, une évaluation au hasard, a fait état d'un modèle large d'impacts positifs pour les enfants et les familles. Cependant, aucun impact de programme n'a été trouvé sur la dépression et l'utilisation des services de santé mentale au moment où les enfants avaient atteint 3 ans, à la fin du programme de Early Head Start. Cet article présente des résultats récents émanant d'une étude de suivi au printemps précédant l'entrée des enfants en maternelle, lorsqu'un impact positif du programme s'est présenté pour la réduction de la dépression maternelle. Les résultats montrent que les impacts précédents du programme sur les enfants et les parents ͑quand les enfants avaient 2 et 3 ans͒ influençaient ou menaient à un impact retardé sur la dépression maternelle. La combinaison des facteurs les plus prome...

Background: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study articulated the negative effects of childhood trauma on adult weight and health. The purpose of the current study is to examine the associations between ACEs in infancy and toddlerhood and obesity and related health indicators in middle childhood. Methods: We used data collected from a sample of low-income families enrolled in the national evaluation of Early Head Start (EHS). Data come from 1335 demographically diverse families collected at or near children's ages 1, 2, 3, and 11. An EHS-ACE index was created based on interview and observation items from data collected at ages 1, 2, and 3, which were averaged to represent exposure across infancy and toddlerhood. At age 11, children's height and weight were measured and parents were asked about their child's health. Results: Children were exposed at rates of 30%, 28%, 15%, and 8% to one, two, three, and four or more EHS-ACEs, respectively. Logistic regressions revealed significant associations between EHS-ACEs in infancy/toddlerhood and obesity, respiratory problems, taking regular nonattention-related prescriptions, and the parent's global rating of children's health at age 11. Across all outcomes examined, children with four or more ACEs had the poorest health. Compared with children with no ACE exposure, the odds of each of the examined health outcomes were over twice as high for children who experienced four or more ACEs. Conclusions: Findings highlight that ACEs experienced very early in development are associated with children whose health is at risk later in childhood.