Mindfulness and trauma symptoms predict child abuse potential in risk-exposed, men and women during pregnancy

Association between trait mindfulness and symptoms of post-traumatic stress: A meta-analysis

Mindfulness is characterized by skills such as heightened awareness and acceptance of internal experiences, which may be helpful for people who have experienced trauma. The consistency and strength of the relationship between trait mindfulness and PTSD symptomology, however, is unknown. Studies were included in this review if they were published in an English language peer-reviewed journal, reported on a correlational relationship between validated measures of mindfulness and PTSD, and all participants were over the age of 18. A random effects meta-analysis showed that there was a robust, pooled relationship between total mindfulness and PTSD (r₊ = -0.39, 95% CI [-0.47 to -0.30]), based on 35 datasets with 13,370 participants, with low risk of publication bias. Sixteen articles reported on facets of mindfulness and PTSD symptomology [5,206 to 5,600 participants]: the strongest associations were with Act with Awareness (r₊ = -0.37) and Non-judge (r₊ = -0.37), followed by Describe (r₊ = -0.22) and Non-react (r₊ = -0.21). Observe was not significantly associated with PTSD symptoms. Results from this analysis suggest that people who are more mindful also report fewer symptoms of PTSD ; the strength of the relationship varies across mindfulness facets. There was high heterogeneity across studies.

A randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of Parenting-STAIR in treating maternal PTSD to reduce maltreatment recidivism: protocol for the Safe Mothers, Safe Children study

BACKGROUND

Child maltreatment recidivism substantially increases the likelihood of adverse life outcomes, but there is little evidence that family preservation services are effective at reducing recidivism. Mothers in child welfare have very high rates of trauma exposure; maternal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an intervention target that has the potential to reduce abuse and neglect. The Safe Mothers, Safe Children (SMSC) intervention program involves the delivery of an innovative combination of interventions, including Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). The combined intervention, Parenting-STAIR (P-STAIR), targets maternal PTSD and comorbid depression symptoms to reduce the adverse effects of PTSD on parenting, improve positive parenting skills, and prevent maltreatment recidivism.

METHODS

This study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial: P-STAIR (23 sessions) versus supportive counseling (23 sessions). Participants are mothers receiving child welfare family preservation services (FPS), with a child in the age range of 1-8 years old and meeting diagnostic criteria for PTSD (with/without depression). Clinical assessment occurs at pre-treatment (baseline), two in-treatment assessments (mid-assessment #1 after module 9 and mid-assessment #2 after module 15), post-treatment, and at a 6-month follow-up. Recidivism will be measured using the New York State Child Welfare Registry (NYSCWR). We will enroll a total of 220 participants over 4 years: half (N = 110) randomly assigned to the P-STAIR condition and half (N = 110) to the supportive counseling condition.

DISCUSSION

This is the first RCT to investigate the efficacy of P-STAIR. The findings for the trial have the potential to contribute to the expansion of evidence-based practices for maternal PTSD, maltreatment, and child welfare.

Intergenerational Trauma among Families in El Salvador: an Exploratory Study

Adverse childhood events have been shown to impact individuals through adulthood, particularly the impact on relationships. This study aimed to examine intergenerational trauma exposure among a sample of parents living in a semi-urban Salvadoran community and the relationship between child trauma exposure with maternal perceived discrimination, internal strengths and external support. Survey data was collected from 49 mothers residing in El Salvador. Bivariate analyses and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between children's exposure to adverse childhood events and parents' exposure to adverse childhood events, while controlling for discrimination. The results of the regression analysis indicate that the maternal number of adverse childhood events and experience of discrimination as an adult explained 52.9% of the variance (R ²  = 0.59, F(6, 43) = 10.18, p < .0001). The number of adverse childhood events was significantly predicted by maternal number of adverse events (B = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.17-0.48, p < .0001) and experience of discrimination as adults (B = 5.79, 95% CI = 3.51-8.07, p < .0001). Results suggest that parent exposure to adverse childhood events and parent experience with discrimination are related to the exposure to adverse childhood events of their children. Further research in this area is warranted to better understand the experiences of parents who have been exposed to childhood trauma and the day-to-day parenting challenges. Greater understanding of the impact of childhood trauma also encourages service providers to explore intergenerational interventions.

Mindfulness-Based Program Embedded Within the Existing Curriculum Improves Executive Functioning and Behavior in Young Children: A Waitlist Controlled Trial

There is a growing evidence base for mindfulness-based interventions in educational settings. Notably, there has been little investigation of the potential benefits of classroom-based mindfulness programs in children in the early school years (Preparatory/Kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2) despite early childhood being a period characterized by the development of self-regulation and executive functions. The present study investigated the effects of a mindfulness program that was embedded within a school curriculum. This waitlist controlled trial investigated the effects of a mindfulness program, CalmSpace, delivered by classroom teachers across two school terms. A total of 55 students, M age = 76.4 months, SD = 8.62, were allocated to participate in CalmSpace in Terms 3 and 4. Thirty-six students in the waitlist control condition, M age = 80.53 months, SD = 13.04, participated in the intervention in Term 4. The start of Term 3 served as baseline (Time 1), and measures were obtained at the end of Term 3 (Time 2) and the end of Term 4 (Time 3). Direct measures of executive functioning using the Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test (Flanker Task) and Dimensional Change Card Sort Task (DCCS) from the National Institute of Health Toolkit were obtained. Teachers' report of children's behavior was also obtained using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Teacher version) at the beginning and at the end of Term 3, and at the end of Term 4. Children who received the CalmSpace program showed improvements on the DCCS relative to waitlist control at Time 2 (Cohen's d = 0.48) and Time 3 (Cohen's d = 1.10). Similar results were found on the Flanker Task with greater improvements found at Time 2 (Cohen's d = 0.77) and Time 3 (Cohen's d = 1.33). Teachers reported improvements for those receiving CalmSpace at Time 2 on total SDQ scores, Emotional Symptoms, Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity/Attention (Cohen's d = 0.32, 0.14, 0.46, 0.30, 0.33, and 0.53, respectively) compared to waitlist control and at Time 3 (Cohen's d = 0.85, 0.37, 0.48, and 0.90, respectively). The findings demonstrate that implementing the CalmSpace program can lead to improvements in EF and attention for young children. Despite limitations, this study provides promising evidence that the inclusion of focused, targeted mindfulness activities throughout the day may represent a value-added component to the regular school curriculum that can result in benefits for the students.