Article
Psychiatry
Nicole Racine, Chloe Devereaux, Jessica E. Cooke, Rachel Eirich, Jenney Zhu, Sheri Madigan
Summary: This study conducted a meta-analysis on the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and maternal mental health, showing that ACEs pose a risk to maternal mental health with small to moderate effect sizes. Significant effects were found between ACEs and prenatal/postpartum depressive symptoms, as well as prenatal anxiety, and timing of symptoms may be important for understanding these associations.
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Jennifer A. Mattera, Sara F. Waters, SuYeon Lee, Christopher P. Connolly, Maria A. Gartstein
Summary: This study found that maternal adverse childhood experiences indirectly predicted poor self-regulation in early infancy through prenatal internalizing symptoms. Additionally, maternal sensitivity/responsiveness was found to moderate the association between maternal adverse childhood experiences and certain aspects of infant regulatory capacity and positive affectivity at two months.
EARLY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Sara Johnson, Nadine A. Kasparian, Arlene S. Cullum, Tracy Flanagan, Carolyn Ponting, Leslie Kowalewski, Elliott K. Main
Summary: Adverse childhood and adult experiences have long-lasting effects on health outcomes, and the perinatal period is a vital time for obstetric clinicians to address patients' past and present adversity and trauma. Trauma-informed care can proactively support healing, even without explicit disclosure from patients. Inquiry about adversity and trauma provides an avenue for offering support and creating individualized care plans. Implementing a trauma-informed approach includes education and training for staff, addressing racism and health disparities, and prioritizing patient safety and trust. Gradual implementation of inquiry about adversity and trauma, along with resilience factors, can be done using open-ended questions or structured survey measures. Individualized care plans can include evidence-based resources and programs to improve perinatal health outcomes. Continued clinical training, research, and collaboration across specialty areas will further develop and enhance these practices.
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Hunter A. Hahn, John R. Blosnich
Summary: Adverse childhood experiences are more likely to be reported by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans compared with non-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans. These experiences include living with someone who has mental illness, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Tannaz Mirhosseini, Andrea D. Guastello, Lourdes P. Dale, Nicola Sambuco, Brandon R. Allen, Carol A. Mathews
Summary: Past research has shown that healthcare workers experience high levels of psychological distress during epidemics and pandemics. This study finds that adverse childhood experiences exacerbate healthcare workers' stress levels and symptoms of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Min Chen, Guanghai Wang, Xiaoning Sun, Min Meng, Yanrui Jiang, Wanqi Sun, Yujiao Deng, Qi Zhu, Fan Jiang
Summary: This study found that prenatal depression significantly affects child mental health, and maternal childhood trauma plays a key role in this effect. The results showed that prenatal depression predicts child mental health problems, and childhood emotional abuse moderates this relationship.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Courtenay Cavanaugh, Skylar Rucci, Orgelys Vasquez-Home
Summary: Sex and gender differences play a moderating role in mental and substance use disorders (MSUDs). This national study found that sex/gender moderates the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) with MSUDs. The impact of ACEs and IPV is stronger in males, particularly in lifetime mood, anxiety, and alcohol use disorders.
PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Supriya Bhavnani, Theresa S. Betancourt, Mark Tomlinson, Vikram Patel
Summary: With the sustainable development goals, global child health has shifted focus from reducing mortality to improving health, nutrition, and development outcomes, which are measured as human capital. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which include environmental exposures, have been found to have negative consequences on health and development. These effects can be magnified, especially during critical periods of sensitivity and developmental plasticity, and are exacerbated by global threats like climate change and conflict. This review explores the mechanisms linking ACEs to health outcomes and discusses strategies for prevention and mitigation, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.
Review
Pediatrics
Jessica E. Cooke, Nicole Racine, Paolo Pador, Sheri Madigan
Summary: Research has shown a significant association between maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and child behavior problems. Specifically, maternal ACEs were found to be consistently associated with both child externalizing and internalizing problems.
Article
Psychiatry
Sunny H. Shin, Gabriela Ksinan Jiskrova, Tiffany Kimbrough, Karen Tabb Dina, Elizabeth Overall Lee, Carl E. Ayers
Summary: Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms, especially among low-income women. Screening for ACEs during prenatal checkups may help identify women at risk of depression and facilitate timely prevention and treatment efforts.
PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Dan Wang, Qingyu Jiang, Zhenqiao Yang, Jeong-Kyun Choi
Summary: Adolescent depression and anxiety are major mental health concerns, with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as maltreatment and family dysfunction being risk factors, and positive childhood experiences in family, school, and neighborhood acting as protective factors. Positive childhood experiences at family and school are the strongest protective factors against mental health concerns, particularly among at-risk adolescents exposed to ACEs. Early interventions focusing on building positive relationships may benefit adolescent mental health.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2021)
Article
Substance Abuse
Landry Goodgame Huffman, Assaf Oshri, Jessica Thompson, James MacKillop
Summary: This study identified four distinct profiles of psychiatric symptom comorbidity and found significant associations between these profiles and early adversity in a nonclinical sample of community adults.
JOURNAL OF STUDIES ON ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
(2022)
Review
Pediatrics
Sarah Loveday, Teresa Hall, Leanne Constable, Kate Paton, Lena Sanci, Sharon Goldfeld, Harriet Hiscock
Summary: This article systematically reviews the impact of ACEs screening on children and parents. The findings suggest that ACEs screening increases identification of adversity and may lead to increased referrals to services, but there is limited data on referral uptake and mental health outcomes.
Review
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Keita Ishikawa, Natsuko Azuma, Mai Ohka
Summary: The adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have harmful impacts on an individual's physical, social and mental health throughout their life-span. It has been found that maternal ACEs increase the risk of developmental delay in offspring, with biological and psychosocial pathways playing a mediating or moderating role.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Family Studies
Melissa S. Jones, John P. Hoffmann
Summary: This study examined the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on adolescent problem behaviors and conditions. It identified three trajectories of ACEs exposure during childhood and found that adolescents in the high exposure group were at a greater risk of delinquent behaviors, substance use, and symptoms of anxiety or depression. The study also highlighted the buffering effect of maternal closeness on the negative repercussions of ACEs.
CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT
(2023)
Review
Nursing
Nicole Reilly, Dawn Kingston, Deborah Loxton, Kristina Talcevska, Marie-Paule Austin
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Nicole Reilly, Marie-Paule Austin
Summary: The study reports on the usage, user profiles, and evaluations of the web-based health tool Mummatters. While the tool was rated positively by users, there were still barriers preventing some users, especially those with possible depression, from discussing their emotional health with healthcare providers. Future studies on the social barriers to seeking help for postnatal women are recommended.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Nursing
Victoria Mule, Nicole M. Reilly, Virginia Schmied, Dawn Kingston, Marie-Paule Austin
Summary: This study aimed to assess pregnant women's attitude to, and reasons for non-disclosure at comprehensive psychosocial assessment with their midwife. The findings showed that although most participants were comfortable with the assessment, some chose not to disclose relevant information. Reasons for non-disclosure included negative self-perception, fear of negative perceptions from others, lack of trust in midwives, differing expectations of appointments, and issues with assessment time and mode.
Article
Nursing
Nicole Reilly, Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic, Deborah Loxton, Emma Black, Victoria Mule, Marie-Paule Austin
Summary: The study examined the concurrent and predictive validity of the Antenatal Risk Questionnaire-Revised (ANRQ-R) during the perinatal period and found that it had acceptable accuracy and predictive performance in detecting and predicting symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Article
Nursing
Marie-Paule Austin, Nicole Reilly, Victoria Mule, Dawn Kingston, Emma Black, Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic
Summary: This study assessed the impact of psychosocial risk, current symptoms, and mode of assessment on the honesty of disclosure in psychosocial assessment for pregnant women. The findings indicated that a history of mental health issues and lack of social and partner support were associated with reduced disclosure. Additionally, compared to women who were always honest, those who reported not always being honest during face to face assessment showed a greater increase in psychosocial risk score when the assessment was repeated online via self-report.
Article
Psychiatry
Marie-Paule V. Austin, Victoria Mule, Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic, Nicole Reilly
Summary: This study compares the performance of various anxiety screening tools used in pregnancy and finds that the EPDS-3A and ANRQ-2A have good psychometric characteristics. Additionally, it highlights the need for improving the accuracy of existing screening tools.
ARCHIVES OF WOMENS MENTAL HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Marie-Paule Austin, Taryn L. Ambrosi, Nicole Reilly, Maxine Croft, Jolie Hutchinson, Natasha Donnolley, Cathrine Mihalopoulos, Mary Lou Chatterton, Georgina M. Chambers, Elizabeth Sullivan, Catherine Knox, Fenglian Xu, Nicole Highet, Vera A. Morgan
Summary: The study found that the entire perinatal period, including pregnancy and the first year postpartum, poses a significantly increased risk for psychiatric admissions compared to other times during a woman's childbearing years. Socially disadvantaged women had fewer and shorter admissions, indicating a lack of equity in access to mental health services, emphasizing the importance of national perinatal mental health policy initiatives inclusive of disadvantaged groups.
SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nursing
Georgina M. Chambers, Willings Botha, Nicole Reilly, Emma Black, Dawn Kingston, Marie-Paule Austin
Summary: This study compares the performance and cost-effectiveness of two models of psychosocial assessment: Usual-Care and Perinatal Integrated Psychosocial Assessment (PIPA). The findings show that PIPA performs better in identifying at-risk women and has higher cost-effectiveness compared to Usual-Care.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Nicole Reilly, Nicholas Egan, Marie-Paule Austin, Peta M. Forder, Deborah Loxton
Summary: The study found a significant increase in the utilization of Medicare-subsidised mental health items among perinatal women in New South Wales between 2009 and 2015, with a more noticeable increase among women who had given birth compared to those who had not. However, the study did not demonstrate a significant impact of the SAFE START policy on the use of MBS mental health items among perinatal women.
AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Nicole Reilly, Deborah Loxton, Emma Black, Marie-Paule Austin
Summary: The study developed and tested the Antenatal Risk Questionnaire-Revised (ANRQ-R) with good test-retest reliability for pregnant women. Despite some limitations, the study provides valuable insights for clinicians and researchers working with perinatal populations. Further psychometric examination of the ANRQ-R is needed to assess its validity.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2021)
Article
Nursing
Anne O'Connor, Antonia W. Shand, Francisco J. Schneuer, Natasha Nassar, Marie-Paule Austin
Summary: The study examined the association between psychosocial risk assessed by the PIPA tool and obstetric and neonatal outcomes. High-risk women were more likely to have adverse outcomes such as longer hospital stays, non-breastfeeding at discharge, birth complications, and NICU admission. The risks of adverse outcomes disappeared for high-risk women who received extra support.
BIRTH-ISSUES IN PERINATAL CARE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
S. Matthey, N. Reilly, V Mule, J. Robinson, A. M. Della Vedova, M-P Austin
Summary: This study investigated the impact of including the response option of 'Possibly' in the Distress question on the Matthey Generic Mood Questionnaire (MGMQ) during antenatal emotional health screening in English-speaking women. The results showed that including 'Possibly' had a minimal effect on the responses, but allowed more women to communicate their feelings. The majority of women preferred having 'Possibly' included in the response options.
JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE AND INFANT PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Abdul Wajid, David Todem, Mark R. Schleiss, David F. Colombo, Nigel S. Paneth
Summary: This study explored the role of Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus, and Chlamydophila pneumoniae in the development of preeclampsia. The results showed that past infection with H. pylori and C. pneumoniae in early pregnancy may increase the risk of preeclampsia, but the findings were not statistically significant. Cytomegalovirus was not associated with preeclampsia in this study.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH JOURNAL
(2022)
