Zika virus infection-associated microcephaly has generated public health and media concern. Unsettling images emerging from Brazil of infants with abnormally small heads have raised concern among women of childbearing age, international travelers, government officials, and health care professionals. The World Health Organization declared the most…

This retrospective cross-sectional paper examines the relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and children's behavioural problems at 9 years of age independent of a wide range of possible confounders. The final sample comprised 7,505 nine-year-old school children participating in the first wave of the Growing Up in Ireland study.…

The worldwide incidence of neural tube defects (NTDs) ranges from 1.0 to 10.0 per 1,000 births with almost equal frequencies between two major categories: anencephaly and spina bifida (SB). Epidemiological studies have provided valuable insight for (a) researchers to identify nongenetic and genetic factors contributing to etiology, (b) public…

Background: Disregard for rules, an important dimension of oppositional defiant and conduct disorders, is frequent during early childhood, but the development of its chronic form has not been studied during this key socialization period. This study aimed to describe the developmental trajectories of disregard for rules during early childhood and…

Project CHOICES developed an integrated behavioral intervention for prevention of prenatal alcohol exposure in women at high risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies. Settings included primary care, university-hospital based obstetrical/gynecology practices, an urban jail, substance abuse treatment settings, and a media-recruited sample in three large…

Despite decades of research and prevention efforts, low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams, or 5 lbs., 8 ozs.) remains a major public health challenge. Preterm birth (before 37 weeks of gestation) is by far the most common reason for low birthweight (LBW), and trendlines for LBW tend to parallel those for preterm birth. Since 1990, the U.S.…

In planning interventions it is essential to understand how adverse risk factors in early childhood are associated with child mental health problems, whether some types of problems can be better explained by the specific risk factors, and whether early risk factors are differently related to different types of child behavior problems. A community…

Prenatal exposure to alcohol is a leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities. Individuals exposed to alcohol during fetal development can have physical, mental, behavioral, and learning disabilities, with lifelong implications. These conditions are known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Health care…

Reviews significant recent research and information related to the beginning period of human life, and specifically discusses the developing fetus and infant, and the surrounding environment in which the infant is born and reared. Suggestions for prevention of mental-health problems are offered. (Author/DB)

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2016, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 30 of April to 2 of May, 2016. Psychology, nowadays, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and…