Parents' PTSD symptoms and child abuse potential during the perinatal period: Direct associations and mediation via relationship conflict

Fathers' mental Ill-health and child maltreatment: A systematic review of the literature

Background

Parental mental ill-health is often described as a risk factor for child maltreatment. Yet the literature commonly foregrounds maternal mental ill-health. To obtain a more complete picture, it is crucial to also understand the associations between fathers' mental health and child maltreatment.

Aim

To provide a narrative synthesis of evidence about the relationship between fathers' mental health and child maltreatment.

Method

Four electronic databases were searched, identifying 5479 citations. 151 studies were brought to full-text review. 37 were included in the study.

Results

Studies revealed mixed evidence for associations between forms of paternal mental ill health and child maltreatment, with stronger evidence for paternal depression and weak or no evidence for PTSD and anxiety. Many confounding factors were identified across the papers.

Discussion

The small number and limited range of good quality studies indicate the need to correct the relative invisibility of fathers within research about mental health and child maltreatment. At present, the available evidence is not sufficient to draw firm conclusions about the association between fathers' mental health and child maltreatment or appropriate policy and practice responses.

The Prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Birth Parents in Child Protection Services: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Birth parents of children in the statutory child protection system have disproportionally high rates of trauma exposure and mental health problems, however, little is known about the extent to which this population display symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex PTSD. This study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of the PTSD rates in parent samples involved in the child protection services.

METHOD

Articles were identified by searching PSYCINFO, Medline, CINAHL, and PILOTS. The search included terminology pertaining to parents, trauma, and child protective services and we included all peer-reviewed articles that reported a valid measure of PTSD and child protection service involvement.

RESULTS

Fifteen studies were included in the review with a combined prevalence estimate for PTSD based on 11 studies (n = 4871) was 26.0% (95% CI 20.0-32.0%) for mothers, and estimate based on three studies (n = 2606) was 13.0% (95% CI 7.0%-18.0%) for fathers and 23.0% (95% CI 17.0-29.0) for all parents based on 7848 responses. Four studies that did not report prevalence rates, reported sample mean scores for PTSD that were consistently higher than in general population. Factors associated with parents' PTSD symptoms included mental health co-morbidities, victimization of physical and sexual violence, and perpetration of child abuse.

CONCLUSION

There are high rates of PTSD in parents involved in the protective system, thus more targeted efforts are needed to identify and adequately address trauma symptoms of parents as part of child protection interventions.

Cumulative Risk for Children's Behavior Problems and Child Abuse Potential among Mothers Receiving Substance Use Treatment: The Unique Role of Parenting Stress

There is a high prevalence of children whose parents suffer with a substance use disorder (SUD), which is associated with negative outcomes for children such as behavior problems and parents' child abuse potential. To understand negative consequences for children, it is important to consider a cumulative risk model, examining the impact of multiple co-occurring risks, as well as examine unique singular risk factors, such as parenting stress, which may have a direct effect on outcomes as well as mediate an association between cumulative risk and outcomes. Data came from 99 mothers with SUD, engaged in a substance treatment program. Results found support for a cumulative risk model for child behavior problems and parents' child abuse potential, without the inclusion of parenting stress. However, parenting stress partially and fully mediated the relation between cumulative risk and child behavior problems and cumulative risk and parent child abuse potential, respectively. Results suggest the importance of intervention programs targeting parenting stress, to help reduce child behavior problems and parents' child abuse potential, among parents with high levels of risk and SUD.

Examining Adolescent Family Experiences as Risks for Young Adulthood Intimate Partner Violence in Two Longitudinal Samples

Little research has examined multiple family risks that may act as precursors to the cycle of violence, or the link between child maltreatment and subsequent intimate partner violence perpetration. Scholarly work that addresses this gap has important implications for early prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing family violence in adolescence and young adulthood. Based upon the family stress model and the cycle of violence hypothesis, it was hypothesized that adolescent experiences of economic pressure, caregiver depressed mood, and caregiver conflict would increase risk for abusive parenting and that abusive parenting in adolescence would link these family experiences to partner violence perpetration in young adulthood. The model was tested using longitudinal data spanning 12 years from two studies: The Iowa Youth and Families Project (N = 306, 56.2% women), a sample of White, married-parent families, and the Family and Community Health Study (N = 213, 53.3% women), a sample of Black families diverse in terms of family structure. Path model analyses provided support for the proposed model in each sample, highlighting the importance of considering several adolescent family experiences in work on the etiology of partner violence. Policy and practice interventions are offered, such as the need for economic supports for families, accessible mental health care, and relationship education programming for youth.