The Attachment Behavior Checklist is a promising, but unvalidated, measure designed to assess attachment disturbances. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were conducted. Results revealed a 5-factor solution best fit the data. Individual differences in the factors were examined. The Child Behavior Checklist was used to determine…

Little previous research has elucidated the everyday experiences of autistic girls or their families. This study used qualitative in-depth interviews to explore mothers' experiences of the diagnosis, presentation and impact of caring for a daughter with autism. Nineteen women with autistic daughters (aged between 7 and 18) participated in the…

Across the country, placements in foster care are rising. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 273,539 children in the U.S. entered foster care. In 34 percent of those cases, parental drug abuse was one of the factors leading to the child's removal from their family. Additionally, the U.S. Substance Abuse and…

Although child maltreatment due to abuse or neglect is pervasive within our society, less is known about fabricated or induced illness by carers (FII), which is considered to be a rare form of child abuse. FII occurs when a caregiver (in 93% of cases, the mother) misrepresents the child as ill either by fabricating, or much more rarely, producing…

The diagnosis of a child with autism has short- and long-term impacts on family functioning. With early diagnosis, the diagnostic process is likely to co-occur with family planning decisions, yet little is known about how parents navigate this process. This study explores family planning decision making process among mothers of young children with…

This study examined the convergent validity of maternal reports of child emotion in a sample of 190 children between the ages of 3 and 6. Children completed a battery of 10 emotion-eliciting laboratory tasks; their mothers and untrained naive observers rated child emotions (happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, and anger) following each task, and…

Prenatal risk factors, with special focus on gender distribution of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions were analysed in first-degree relatives in a population-based group of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Multiple information sources were combined. This group was contrasted with the general population regarding…

Background: To evaluate associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid psychiatric disorders using research-identified incident cases of ADHD and population-based controls. Methods: Subjects included a birth cohort of all children born 1976-1982 remaining in Rochester, MN after age five (n = 5,718). Among them we…

Epidemiological studies of children and adolescents with intellectual disability have found 30 to 50% exhibiting clinically significant behavior problems. Few studies, however, have assessed young children, included a cognitively typical comparison group, assessed for specific disorders, and/or studied family correlates of diagnosis. We assessed…

Objective: To compare parental psychopathology and psychiatric disorders in ADHD children with and those without enuresis. Method: The participants of the clinical sample interviewed according to "DSM-IV" diagnostic criteria were 35 children with ADHD and enuresis, 153 ADHD children without enuresis, 115 fathers, and 172 mothers. Results: Only ODD…

A community sample of 88 putative schizotypes (48 social anhedonics, 40 controls), aged 18 to 19 years, and their biological parents (42 mothers of social anhedonics, 37 mothers of controls; 24 fathers of social anhedonics, 20 fathers of controls) receive videotaped diagnostic evaluations that serve as the basis for ratings of behavioral signs of…

Women are particularly vulnerable in the peripartum period for either developing a mental illness or suffering symptom exacerbation. These illnesses are often experienced covertly, however, and women may not seek out professional help, even though their symptoms may be seriously affecting their well-being and parenting. This article provides an…

This study investigated the associations between the characteristics of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and maternal well-being. Two groups were compared: mothers of adolescents and adults with ASD and co-morbid psychiatric disorders (n = 142) and mothers whose sons or daughters had a single diagnosis of ASD (n = 130).…

Examines the effects of mental illness on parenting in a sample of women with serious mental illness. Diagnosis had a small but significant effect on parenting attitudes and behaviors. However, current symptoms mediated the effects of diagnosis and chronicity on parenting stress, and current symptomatology and community functioning partially…

Children of parents with mental illness are at risk of psychiatric and behavioral problems. Few studies have investigated the psychosocial outcomes of these children in adulthood or the parental psychiatric history variables that predict resilience. From a sample of 379 mothers with serious mental illnesses, 157 women who had at least one adult…