Parental mentalization goes to school: a brief online mentalization-based intervention to improve parental academic support.

Parental support of children's learning contributes to children's motivation, efficacy, and academic success. Nonetheless, in the context of homework, many parents struggle to offer adequate academic support and intervene in a manner that can curtail children's academic progress. A mentalization-based online intervention was proposed for improving parental homework support. The intervention involves teaching parents to dedicate the first 5 minutes of homework preparation to observation of the child's and the parent's mental states. Thirty-seven Israeli parents of elementary school children randomly assigned to intervention or waitlist conditions participated in a pilot study assessing the feasibility and initial efficacy of the intervention. Participants completed self-report measures before and after the intervention or a 2-week waiting period and provided feedback on the intervention. Pilot findings suggest that this low-intensity online intervention can be effective in improving parenting practices in the homework supervision context. A randomized controlled trial is required to further establish the intervention's efficacy.

Children's excessive digital media use, mental health problems and the protective role of parenting during COVID-19.

COVID-19's outbreak in March 2020 and the social distancing measures that followed it changed the lives of children worldwide. Studies assessing the pandemic's implications for children have reported an alarming increase in the use of digital media (DM) and warned of its adverse impacts on children's functioning and development. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between excessive and problematic DM use and emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning among Israeli adolescents during COVID-19 and to identify adolescents at elevated risk of developing problematic DM use. Three hundred forty-seven Israeli parent-child dyads (M age = 11.81, SD = 1.41) separately completed measures assessing children's DM use (time and addiction), functioning (academic, social, emotional, and behavioral), behavioral dysregulation, and the parents' parenting practices. The results showed that DM addiction, but not DM use, was related to children's emotional, behavioral, and academic difficulties. Moreover, the results indicated that negative parenting and behavioral dysregulation increased the risk of DM addiction, which in turn increased emotional, behavioral, and academic difficulties. The results underscored parents' role in preventing problematic DM use and highlighted the need to treat DM use and problematic DM use as distinct constructs.

Parenting in Israel amid COVID-19: the Protective Role of Mentalization and Emotion Regulation.

The global COVID-19 pandemic changed the life of numerous parents. The medical worry, the financial hardship, and the need to take care of children 24/7 caused an enormous burden on parenting, resulting in an elevation in parenting stress and in harsh parenting. In the current study, we were interested in assessing the role of parental emotion regulation and parental mentalization as resilience-promoting factors, by mitigating the harmful relationship between parental distress and negative and positive parenting. Seventy Israeli parents of children (aged 6-14) participated in the study. We assessed parental mentalization and emotion dysregulation before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the national lockdown in Israel in May 2020, we assessed parental distress, COVID-related financial risk, and parental practices. Results indicated elevations in parental distress compared to the population mean, alongside high rates of financial risk. The results indicated that although parental distress was significantly related to parenting practices, parental mentalization, and emotion regulation moderated these relationships in differential ways. Improved capacity for emotion regulation reduced the prevalence of negative parenting practices and higher parental mentalization increased the prevalence of positive parenting, these are despite elevation in parental distress. The results suggested that when parents are able to regulate their own negative emotions and think about a child's mind, they can remain available to support the child's needs despite the elevation in parental distress. Supporting parental capacity for mentalization and emotion regulation during stressful times may prevent the harmful consequences of parental distress on parenting.

Parent training in non-violent resistance for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a controlled outcome study.

Current forms of parent training for childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often insufficient. Many families drop out of the training, and treatment gains are often not maintained. Nonviolent resistance parent training (NVR) focuses on helping parents resist the child's negative behaviors without escalating the problem. NVR helps parents to fulfill an anchoring function, supporting the child through presence, self-regulation, structure, and support network. This study is a randomized controlled trial designed to assess the efficacy of NVR in the treatment of childhood ADHD. Participants were Israeli parents of children with primary ADHD diagnosis (N = 101; 5-13 years old; 79% male participants) randomly assigned to either 12-session NVR (N = 50) or waiting list (N = 51). Measures were administered before and after treatment and at a 4-month follow-up. ADHD outcomes included the Conners and Child Behavior Checklist. Parenting outcomes included parental helplessness, emotional regulation, anchoring function, and family chaos. Participants in the NVR condition reported significant improvements in the child's internalizing, externalizing, and ADHD symptoms, as well as improvement in paternal and maternal helplessness and anchoring. Participants in the control condition did not report changes in the child's symptoms or the parents' condition. The results at follow-up revealed maintenance of change in the child's externalizing and internalizing symptoms, but failure to maintain gains in ADHD core symptoms. Maternal helplessness and anchoring, as well as family chaos continued to improve at follow-up. Dropout rates in the treatment group were low (5%), and fathers' engagement was close to 100%. NVR is an efficient treatment for childhood ADHD, with benefits extending beyond the child's symptoms to the entire family. NVR's special focus on parental distress may have contributed to low dropout, high paternal engagement, and maintenance of change.

An Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis: Behavioral Treatments for Children and Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Behavioral interventions are well established treatments for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, insight into moderators of treatment outcome is limited. METHOD: We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA), including data of randomized controlled behavioral intervention trials for individuals with ADHD <18 years of age. Outcomes were symptoms of ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD) and impairment. Moderators investigated were symptoms and impairment severity, medication use, age, IQ, sex, socioeconomic status, and single parenthood. RESULTS: For raters most proximal to treatment, small- to medium-sized effects of behavioral interventions were found for symptoms of ADHD, inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), ODD and CD, and impairment. Blinded outcomes were available only for small preschool subsamples and limited measures. CD symptoms and/or diagnosis moderated outcome on ADHD, HI, ODD, and CD symptoms. Single parenthood moderated ODD outcome, and ADHD severity moderated impairment outcome. Higher baseline CD or ADHD symptoms, a CD diagnosis, and single parenthood were related to worsening of symptoms in the untreated but not in the treated group, indicating a protective rather than an ameliorative effect of behavioral interventions for these children. CONCLUSION: Behavioral treatments are effective for reducing ADHD symptoms, behavioral problems, and impairment as reported by raters most proximal to treatment. Those who have severe CD or ADHD symptoms, a CD diagnosis, or are single parents should be prioritized for treatment, as they may evidence worsening of symptoms in the absence of intervention.

Parental Emotion Regulation and Mentalization in Families of Children With ADHD.

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the role of parental emotion regulation (ER) and parental mentalization as possible contributors to hostile and coercive parenting in families of children with ADHD. Method: Seventy-four Israeli families (64 mothers and 48 fathers) seeking parent training for child ADHD completed measures during the intake session. Measures included parental ER; parental mentalization; hostile, coercive, and submissive parenting; and child symptoms. Results: Findings suggested a relationship between parental ER and coercive parenting independent of child age, symptom level, and parental mentalization. Parental mentalization appeared to buffer against hostility specifically among parents with low ER capacities. Patterns were parallel for mothers and fathers. Conclusion: Study findings highlight the importance of evaluating and addressing parental ER in interventions attempting to reduce coercive parenting. The findings also highlight the potential role of parental mentalization as a protective mechanism against hostile parenting in families of children with ADHD.

The Role of Parental Monitoring in Mediating the Link Between Adolescent ADHD Symptoms and Risk-Taking Behavior.

Objective: ADHD in adolescents and low level of parental monitoring have been associated with increased risk-taking behavior. The present study examined whether parental knowledge of the child's whereabouts mediates the correlations between adolescent ADHD symptoms and risk-taking behavior. Method: Ninety-two adolescents and their parents completed questionnaires assessing perceptions of parents' monitoring, engagement in risk-taking behaviors, and ADHD symptoms. Results: Greater engagement in risk-taking behavior correlated with higher levels of ADHD symptoms and decreased parental monitoring. Mediation analysis revealed both direct effect of ADHD symptoms on risk-taking behavior and an indirect effect mediated by level of parental knowledge. Conclusion: These findings suggest that parental knowledge is negatively affected by the presence of ADHD symptoms, and may in turn lead to risk-taking behavior. The findings emphasize the need to target parenting and in particular parental knowledge of the child's whereabouts to reduce risk-taking behaviors among youth with ADHD.