scholarly journals Parental Mental Health Problems and the Risk of Child Maltreatment: The Potential Role of Psychotherapy

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Ana Isabel Lopes ◽  
João Leal ◽  
Ana Isabel Sani
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Parental Mental Health ◽  
Emotion Focused Therapy ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Interpersonal Difficulties

Parental mental health is a risk factor for numerous issues affecting a child’s physical and psychological development, especially the perpetration of child maltreatment. This paper aims to contribute a theoretical review of the risks faced by some children living in families with parental mental health problems and argues that psychotherapy has an essential role in resolving emotional and interpersonal difficulties, based on the example of Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT). This model has revealed benefits in interventions with several types of patients and is consequently a promising model for preventing the risk of aggressive behaviors. The programs addressing both parents and children have been proven to contribute to more informed and effective interventions.

scholarly journals The Clustering of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: Are Gender and Poverty Important?

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052093509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca E. Lacey ◽  
Laura D. Howe ◽  
Michelle Kelly-Irving ◽  
Mel Bartley ◽  
Yvonne Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Parental Mental Health ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Close Family Member ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Avon Longitudinal Study ◽  
Close Family

Previous research has demonstrated a graded relationship between the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences reported (an ACE score) and child outcomes. However, ACE scores lack specificity and ignore the patterning of adversities, which are informative for interventions. The aim of the present study was to explore the clustering of ACEs and whether this clustering differs by gender or is predicted by poverty. Data on 8,572 participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were used. ALSPAC is a regionally representative prenatal cohort of children born between 1991 and 1992 in the Avon region of South-West England. ACEs included parental divorce, death of a close family member, interparental violence, parental mental health problems, parental alcohol misuse, parental drug use, parental convictions, and sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, between birth and 19 years. Latent class analysis was used to derive ACE clusters and associations between poverty, gender, and the derived classes tested using multinomial logistic regression. Five latent classes were identified: “Low ACEs” (55%), “Parental separation and mother’s mental health problems” (18%), “Parental mental health problems, convictions and separation” (15%), “Abuse and mental health problems” (6%), and “Poly adversity” (6%). Death of a close family member and sexual abuse did not cluster with other adversities. The clustering did not differ by gender. Poverty was strongly related to both individual ACEs and clusters. These findings demonstrate that ACEs cluster in specific patterns and that poverty is strongly related to this. Therefore, reducing child poverty might be one strategy for reducing ACEs.

Parental Rejection and Mental Health Problems in College Students: Mediating Role of Interpersonal Difficulties

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 639-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadia Saleem ◽  
Ayesha Asghar ◽  
Sara Subhan ◽  
Zahid Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Parental Rejection ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Interpersonal Difficulties

College students are said to have an increasing trend of mental health problems that lead to various negative academic, personal and social outcomes. The current study aimed to determine the mediating role of interpersonal difficulties between parental rejection and mental health problems of college students. A total of 321 college students selected through purposive sampling aged 15to 20 years provided self-report data on EMBU-A (Gerlsma, Arrindell, Van der Veen, & Emmelkamp, 1991), Urdu version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS; Aslam, 2007) and Interpersonal Difficulties Scale (IDS; Saleem, Ihsan, & Mahmood, 2014). Pearson Correlation was used to ensure that parental rejection, mental health problems and interpersonal difficulties are related. Results of path analysis revealed that parental rejection has an indirect effect on mental health through interpersonal difficulties. Implications for counselling services are discussed.

scholarly journals Child maltreatment, cognitive functions and the mediating role of mental health problems among maltreated children and adolescents in Uganda

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert E. Ainamani ◽  
Godfrey Z. Rukundo ◽  
Timothy Nduhukire ◽  
Eunice Ndyareba ◽  
Tobias Hecker
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems

Abstract Background Child maltreatment poses high risks to the mental health and cognitive functioning of children not only in childhood but also in later life. However, it remains unclear whether child maltreatment is directly associated with impaired cognitive functioning or whether this link is mediated by mental health problems. Our study aimed at examining this research question among children and adolescents in Uganda. Methods A sample of 232 school-going children and adolescents with a mean age of 14.03 (SD = 3.25) was assessed on multiple forms of maltreatment using the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology Exposure—Pediatric Version (pediMACE). Executive functions were assessed by the Tower of London task and working memory by the Corsi Block Tapping task, while mental health problems were assessed using the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for PTSD and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). Results In total, 232 (100%) of the participant reported to have experienced at least one type of maltreatment in their lifetime including emotional, physical, and sexual violence as well as neglect. We found a negative association between child maltreatment and executive functions (β = − 0.487, p < 0.001) and working memory (β = − 0.242, p = 0.001). Mental health problems did not mediate this relationship. Conclusions Child maltreatment seems to be related to lower working memory and executive functioning of affected children and adolescents even after controlling for potential cofounders. Our study indicates that child maltreatment the affects children’s cognitive functionality beyond health and well-being.

scholarly journals Teacher Mental Health Literacy: Results from a State-wide Survey in Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
U Bauer ◽  
O Okan ◽  
F Faulbaum
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
Parental Mental Health ◽  
Whole School

Abstract Background Teachers have an important role to play in context of mental health literacy (MHL) promotion of school-aged children. Their MHL is seen as the counterpart of student`s health literacy. Especially vulnerable schoolchildren such as those affected by adverse life events (e.g. parental mental health problems) can benefit from programs. In addition, the whole school environment has impact on school mental health promotion. Yet, only little evidence is available on teachers MHL in Europe. The aim is to provide evidence from a state-wide survey on the state of MHL of teachers in Germany. Methods Based on semi-structured interviews with school teachers from all school types in one federal state, including primary and secondary schools, a MHL online questionnaire was developed. The survey was conducted in in 2017 in N = 2500 teachers in Germany. Descriptive and regression analyse have been performed. Results Teachers feel considerable uncertainties when working with children affected by adversities related to parental mental health problems. Dealing with the social family background seems hard. Teachers state that they don`t feel comfortable when aiming at mental health promotion of affected children or children in general. Data also show that they may tend to make misjudgements, and that they are not sufficiently trained to address mental health issues in the classrooms. Regression models show that the degree and quality of teaching mental health is affected by differences across school forms, satisfaction with and engagement of school principals in mental health action, learned strategies to respond to parents, and experienced stress, burden and exposure during their work. Conclusions Increasing teacher MHL and the environmental capacities and responsiveness towards school mental health promotion should be an important capacity building strategy. Policy support for school mental health promotion is a critical means to sustain effective whole-school approaches.

scholarly journals Child maltreatment, cognitive functions and the mediating role of mental health problems among maltreated children and adolescents in Uganda

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert E Ainamani ◽  
Godfrey Z Rukundo ◽  
Timothy Nduhukire ◽  
Eunice Ndyareba ◽  
Tobias Hecker
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems

Abstract Background: Child maltreatment poses high risks to the mental health and cognitive functioning of children not only in childhood but also in later life. However, it remains unclear whether child maltreatment is directly associated with impaired cognitive functioning or whether this link is mediated by mental health problems. Our study aimed at examining this research question among children and adolescents in Uganda. Methods: A sample of 232 school-going children and adolescents with a mean age of 14.03 (SD = 3.25) was assessed on multiple forms of maltreatment using the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology Exposure – Pediatric Version (pediMACE). Executive functions were assessed by the Tower of London task and working memory by the Corsi Block Tapping task, while mental health problems were assessed using the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for PTSD and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC).Results: In total, 232(100%) of the participant reported to have experienced at least one type of maltreatment in their lifetime ranging from having been intentionally pushed by an authority figure (89.7%, n = 208) to entering an object in the participant’s body (2.6%, n =6). We found a negative association between child maltreatment and executive functions (β = -0.487, p < .001) and working memory (β = -0.242, p = .001). Mental health problems did not mediate this relationship.Conclusions: Child maltreatment seems to be related to lower working memory and executive functioning of affected children and adolescents even after controlling for potential cofounders. Our study indicates that child maltreatment affects children’s cognitive functionality beyond health and well-being.

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