Identifying relevant components to include in a parenting intervention for homeless families in transitional housing: Using parent input to inform adaptation efforts.

Homeless families in transitional housing face a number of distinct challenges, yet there is little research seeking to guide prevention and intervention work with homeless parents. Informed by the tenets of community-based participatory research, the purpose of this study was to identify relevant components to include in a parenting intervention for this population. Data were gathered from 40 homeless parents through semistructured individual interviews and were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The resulting 15 categories suggest several topics, approach considerations, and activities that can inform parenting intervention work with homeless families in transitional housing. Study findings are discussed within the context of intervention fidelity versus adaptation, and implications for practice, research, and policy are suggested. This study provides important insights for informing parenting intervention adaptation and implementation efforts with homeless families in transitional housing. (PsycINFO Database Record

Reciprocal Associations Among Maternal and Child Characteristics of At-Risk Families: A Longitudinal Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

Researchers have found linear associations among maternal and child characteristics. However, family systems theorists suggest that relationships are more complex and family members are interdependent. We used actor-partner interdependence modeling to unravel associations among maternal and child characteristics to predict outcomes in adolescence. We used data from 361 mother-child dyads from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect and found both actor and partner effects. Maternal depression and history of victimization were associated with children's later reports of lower mother-adolescent relationship quality. Children's perceptions of relationship quality were also associated with mothers' later depressive symptoms and perceptions of relationship quality. Overall, results highlighted interdependence among mothers and their children over time. We discuss implications for marriage and family therapists.

Consideration of abortion in pregnancy: demographic characteristics, mental health, and protective factors.

This study examined demographic characteristics, available resources, and mental health outcomes of women who did and did not consider abortion in pregnancy. Using data collected between 1998 and 2000 from 2,937 mothers recruited for the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, this study examined whether women who did and did not consider abortion differed in terms of sociodemographic characteristics and resources at the birth of their children and mental health outcomes when their children were one year old. This study further examined protective factors associated with low parenting stress at one year postpartum, despite initial abortion consideration. Compared to women who did not consider abortion, women who did consider abortion tended to be younger, have less education and lower income, and report higher levels of substance use, higher perceived support, and lower received support. A subset of women who had higher education, more income, and lower substance use reported lower parenting stress at year one despite abortion consideration in pregnancy. Promotion of education and employment assistance may be particularly important among women experiencing unplanned pregnancies as these services may contribute to lower parenting stress and improved child outcomes.