Establishing clinically and theoretically grounded cross-domain cumulative risk and protection scores in sibling groups exposed prenatally to substances

The Relationship Between Spirituality and Resilience and Well-being: a Study of 529 Care Leavers from 11 Nations

Research has found that individuals who were separated from parental care and experienced alternative care settings during childhood are more likely to have poor outcomes as adults. This highlights the importance of understanding factors that are related to resilience and well-being for care leavers. A growing body of research has supported the importance of spirituality in our understanding of resilience and well-being. However, little work to date has examined the relationship of spirituality to outcomes in care leavers. The current study investigated the relationships between spirituality, resilience, well-being, and health in a sample of 529 care leavers from 11 nations. It also examined how different themes of spirituality were related to specific outcome variables. Data revealed that spirituality was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, better mental and physical health, and more resilience even when accounting for current age, gender, age at separation, Human Development Index scores, and childhood adversity. Furthermore, findings indicate that different themes of spirituality are related to specific outcome variables, even when accounting for demographic information. Findings indicate that spirituality may play an important role in resilience and well-being for care leavers. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Cumulative Risk, Protection, and Early Intervention: Neurodevelopment in Sibling Groups Exposed Prenatally to Substances

Mothercraft's Breaking the Cycle is an early intervention program for substance-exposed children with neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities. Within three substance-exposed sibling groups (N = 8; 0-6 years), we 1) described longitudinal neurodevelopmental trajectories, 2) explored the balance of cross-domain cumulative risk and protection on neurodevelopment, and 3) generated hypotheses on how cumulative risk, protection, and early intervention impact neurodevelopment. Neurodevelopment is potentially shaped by the balance of risk and protection. Postnatal risk (birth/postnatal, child, parent-child interaction) and relational protection (family, parent-child interaction) appear to have the most salient impact on neurodevelopment. Early intervention is thought to be important as soon as possible and before age 3 years.

Cumulative risk and protection measures data

These data include clinically and theoretically grounded, cross-domain cumulative risk and protection measures. These measures were established for use with three sibling groups at Mothercraft's Breaking the Cycle (BTC), a child maltreatment prevention and early intervention program for substance using mothers and their children. These measures were established using archival data obtained from clients' charts. The cumulative risk factor measure encompasses: 1) items from a cumulative risk measure utilized in prior BTC research, 2) clinical measures assessing maternal mental health, addiction, and parenting capacity, 3) a measure utilized in studies on adverse childhood experiences, and 4) the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (Axis IV: Psychosocial Stressors) [1-3]. The cumulative protection factor measure encompasses: 1) existing early intervention components of services at BTC, 2) clinical measures assessing maternal mental health, addiction, and parenting capacity, and 3) known protective factors outlined in the literature. Both measures were theoretically grounded using the Developmental Model of Transgenerational Transmission of Psychopathology [4], which enabled salient domains of risk and protection to be delineated for children exposed prenatally to substances and accessing child maltreatment prevention and early intervention services. For a description of the process of establishing these measures, the total and cross-domain cumulative risk and protection percentages for the sample, as well as a qualitative interpretation of the balance between domains of risk and protection, see [5]. These measures can contribute to improved future understanding around cumulative risk and cumulative protection in vulnerable populations, salient domains of risk and protection, and the unique interaction that occurs between risk and protective processes in the context of child maltreatment prevention and early intervention.