M. Easterbrooks - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by M. Easterbrooks

(MHFE) acknowledges the support of the Massachu-

Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health, Jan 31, 2016

This study explores the longitudinal trajectories of depressive symptoms in young mothers and inv... more This study explores the longitudinal trajectories of depressive symptoms in young mothers and investigate the consequences of maternal depression for children's birth outcomes and behavioral adjustment. Antenatal depression puts children of young mothers at risk for adjustment difficulties by adversely impacting birth outcomes and maternal symptoms after birth. Data were drawn from a three-wave randomized, controlled trial of a statewide home visiting program for young primiparous women. A subsample of women (n = 400) who were prenatal at intake was used in the analysis. Mothers were divided into an antenatally depressed group (ADG; 40%) and a healthy group (HG) based on their symptoms at intake. Mothers reported depressive symptoms at intake and 12- and 24-month follow-up, and filled out a checklist of child behavior problems at 24 months follow-up. Perinatal and birth outcomes were derived from the Electronic Birth Certificate collected by the State Department of Public Health...

Journal of interpersonal violence, Jan 23, 2015

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent in families with young children and challenges their... more Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent in families with young children and challenges their healthy development. This study examined characteristics of IPV (e.g., mother- vs. partner-perpetrated, types and severity) and investigated potential effects of IPV on toddlers' behavioral regulation in a sample of families at risk for IPV. We also examined whether maternal depression and child-rearing attitudes and behavior would moderate IPV-child behavior links. These questions were addressed in a sample (N = 400) of first-time adolescent mothers and their toddlers (1-2 years of age). Families were visited in their homes; data were collected via maternal report and observations. Partner- and self-perpetrated IPV was assessed using the Conflict Tactics Scale questionnaire; child behavior regulation was measured using the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment questionnaire. Approximately 80% of families experienced psychological aggression; almost one third reported...

American Journal of Public Health, 2016

Objectives. Our aim was to estimate the effects of Healthy Families Massachusetts, a statewide ho... more Objectives. Our aim was to estimate the effects of Healthy Families Massachusetts, a statewide home visiting program serving first-time adolescent parents, on parenting, child development, educational attainment, family planning, and maternal health and well-being. Methods. We used a randomized controlled trial design to randomly assign the 704 participants to a group receiving home visiting services or a control group. Between 2008 and 2012, telephone and in-person interviews were conducted and administrative data obtained at 12 and 24 months after enrollment. Intention-to-treat analyses compared group differences across 5 outcome domains: parenting, child health and development, educational and economic achievement, family planning, and parental health and well-being. Results. The home visiting program had a positive influence on parenting stress, college attendance, condom use, intimate partner violence, and engagement in risky behaviors. No negative findings were observed. Concl...

Early Identification of Children at Risk, 1985

It is not difficult to designate high-risk groups for infants and young children likely to have e... more It is not difficult to designate high-risk groups for infants and young children likely to have emotional and social problems in their development. Such groups can be designated according to (a) handicapping and health factors in the child (e. g., prematurity, major sensory motoric deficits, malformations, disfigurements, and multiple hospitalizations); (b) handicapping and health factors in the parent (e. g., major mental illness, such as severe depression, sociopathy, or schizophrenia); and (c) general social and economic factors (e. g., low socioeconomic status, but also including factors such as infants and young children with teenage parents, single parents, and parents with poor marital adjustment) (see Markman & Jones Leonard, Chapter 4). When one is planning intervention, however, designating high-risk groups is an inefficient way of screening. As Frankenburg points out in this volume, there are too many individuals in high-risk groups who do not require intervention— that is, who are not disordered and who are not in the process of becoming disordered. The problem for screening, therefore, is the early identification of those individuals (including those within high-risk groups) who are needing of intervention.

Maternal Employment and Children’s Development, 1988

APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser c... more APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser configuration. - alerts user that their session is about to expire - display, print, save, export, and email selected records - get My ...

Child abuse & neglect, Jan 27, 2015

Infant neglect is the form of child maltreatment that occurs most often, yet has been least amena... more Infant neglect is the form of child maltreatment that occurs most often, yet has been least amenable to prevention. A maternal history of childhood maltreatment is a potent risk factor for child neglect, yet most maltreated mothers break intergenerational cycles of child abuse and neglect. Little is known about what protective factors support discontinuity in intergenerational transmission. This study examined whether certain factors (positive childhood care, older maternal age, social support) buffer intergenerational risk for neglect among the infants of young mothers, a population at high risk of being victimized. For young mothers in the sample (<21 years at birth; n=447), the effect of a maternal history was assessed separately for different maltreatment types according to data on substantiated reports from Child Protective Services. Early risk for neglect was assessed using maternal self-report of parenting empathy. The results revealed that both infants and their mothers e...

Infant mental health journal

Research on father involvement has shown positive effects on child development. Because fathers i... more Research on father involvement has shown positive effects on child development. Because fathers in high social risk samples may be hard to recruit or retain in studies, the literature often has relied on maternal report of father involvement. A major limitation of this approach is that unobserved traits of the reporting mothers may distort the real associations between father involvement and children's development. Using maternal data from a large, longitudinal sample (N = 704) of low-income, young mothers, we evaluated the degree to which a stable depressive trait affected the link between mother-reported measures of father involvement and child problems. Three waves of maternal depression data were used to fit a latent state-trait model of depression, allowing for separate estimates of occasion-specific symptoms and stable depressive trait. A latent regression analysis which did not control for this trait revealed a link between father involvement and child problems similar in...

Pediatrics, 2013

To test, with a sample of adolescent mothers (16-20 at childbirth) and their first-born infants/t... more To test, with a sample of adolescent mothers (16-20 at childbirth) and their first-born infants/toddlers (average age 1 year), whether the impact of a home visiting (HV) child maltreatment prevention program was moderated by maternal depression. The study design was a randomized controlled trial of Healthy Families Massachusetts, a statewide child maltreatment prevention program. A total of 707 first-time mothers were randomly assigned to the HV or control group. The HV group received visits from paraprofessional home visitors. Mothers in the control group were referred to other service providers. The outcome variable consisted of state Child Protective Services reports of child abuse and neglect (mother or other person as perpetrator). Maternal depression was assessed by maternal report (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression questionnaire). A considerable proportion of families had child maltreatment reports (30% of sample) and maternal depression (38% had clinically signific...

The Future of Children, 2013

Much research on children in military families has taken a deficit approach-that is, it has portr... more Much research on children in military families has taken a deficit approach-that is, it has portrayed these children as a population susceptible to psychological damage from the hardships of military life, such as frequent moves and separation from their parents during deployment. But M. Ann Easterbrooks, Kenneth Ginsburg, and Richard M. Lerner observe that most military children turn out just fine. They argue that, to better serve military children, we must understand the sources of strength that help them cope with adversity and thrive. In other words, we must understand their resilience. The authors stress that resilience is not a personal trait but a product of the relationships between children and the people and resources around them. In this sense, military life, along with its hardships, offers many sources for resilience-for example, a strong sense of belonging to a supportive community with a shared mission and values. Similarly, children whose parents are deployed may build their self-confidence by taking on new responsibilities in the family, and moving offers opportunities for adventure and personal growth. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drew more and more service members into combat, the military and civilian groups alike rolled out dozens of programs aimed at boosting military children's resilience. Although the authors applaud this effort, they also note that few of these programs have been based on scientific evidence of what works, and few have been rigorously evaluated for their effectiveness. They call for a program of sustained research to boost our understanding of military children's resilience.

Building on the Legacy of T. Berry Brazelton, 2010

... Francine Jacobs, Mallary I. Swartz, Jessica Dym Bartlett, and M. Ann Easterbrooks ... and Fam... more ... Francine Jacobs, Mallary I. Swartz, Jessica Dym Bartlett, and M. Ann Easterbrooks ... and Families: Building on the Legacy of T. Berry Brazelton Edited by Barry M. Lester and ... contexts in which they are embedded (Meyers, 2007; Weatherston, Moss, & Harris, 2006; Weston, 2005). ...

Psychiatry Research, 2013

The primary objective was to assess whether prospectively observed quality of parent-child intera... more The primary objective was to assess whether prospectively observed quality of parent-child interaction in infancy and middle childhood contributed to the prediction of borderline symptoms and recurrent suicidality/self-injury in late adolescence. Adolescents (mean 19.9 years) from 56 families participating in a longitudinal study since infancy (retention rate 74%) were assessed on the SCID-II for symptoms of borderline personality disorder, including suicidality/self-injury. Early clinical risk was indexed by clinical referral to parent-infant services. Attachment security and parent-child interaction were assessed from videotape at 18 months and 8 years. Severity of childhood abuse was rated from interview and self-report measures. Maternal withdrawal in infancy was a significant predictor of both borderline symptoms and suicidality/self-injury in late adolescence. Disorganizedcontrolling child behavior at age 8 contributed independently to the prediction of borderline symptoms. The effect of maternal withdrawal was independent of, and additive to, variability explained by severity of childhood abuse. Borderline symptoms and suicidality/self-injury may be preceded developmentally by disturbed interactions as early as 18 months of age. A parent-child transactional model is proposed to account for the findings.

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1979

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1987

This article describes effects of the birth of a premature infant on the family system and focuse... more This article describes effects of the birth of a premature infant on the family system and focuses on how problems associated with premature birth such as infant illness, hospitalization, and immaturity can place the family at risk. New data are presented describing differences in the behavior of preterm and full-term infants and in the feelings of mothers toward their infants at 12 months. Mothers of preterm infants reported feeling overprotective toward them, were less willing to leave them with sitters, and believed that their birth had an initially negative effect on the family. Preterm infants showed less exploratory play and stayed closer to their mothers during free play. The fact that these differences are not reflected in patterns of attachment, a key measure of the mother-infant relationship, is discussed. The birth of an infant can precipitate major stress within the family system. For example, it may be necessary to develop new patterns of relating among spouses, siblings, and other family members. The infant's own temperament, patterns, and rhythms will affect how the family adjusts; the quality of that adjustment will, in turn, affect the infant's development. The birth of a premature infant can intensify the stress that normally occurs and can make the process of adaptation and accommodation more difficult (Easterbrooks, in press; Harmon, Glicken,& Good, 1982). This article describes the consequences of premature birth for infants and families. We review data that have examined the social and emotional effects of preterm birth in the first 2 years of life, particularly for the infant-mother relationship. In addition, we discuss methodological issues in the assessment of preterm infants and their caregivers and present new data on the effects of preterm birth on the mother-infant relationship. Concept of Prematurity in Developmental Research In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the outcome of infants born prematurely. Much of this research has

Infant Mental Health Journal, 2010

Institutional caregiving can have adverse effects on children, yet little is known about the care... more Institutional caregiving can have adverse effects on children, yet little is known about the caregivers of institutionalized young children. We surveyed staff in three Ukrainian Baby Homes about their attitudes toward the nature of their work and the needs of the young children in their care. Seventy-one caregivers completed anonymous, semistructured surveys. Popular reasons for working in Baby Homes included benefits and convenient work shifts, morality, and affection for children. Caregivers reported both favorable aspects of the work (enjoyment of children, professional satisfaction) and work difficulties (conflicts, lack of cooperation, little administrative support). In addition, they noted deficiencies in care: high caregiver-child ratio, frequent care disruptions, and lack of stimulation. Direct caregivers (in-room &amp;quot;nannies,&amp;quot; educators, and nurses) and other providers (e.g., clinic nurses, physicians, therapists) differed in university-degree attainment, professional motivation, enjoyment of children, professional satisfaction, and perceptions of self as substitute mother. A number of potential &amp;quot;windows for change&amp;quot; were identified, including recognition of deficiencies in institutional care and possibilities for improvement. Implications for interventions are discussed, including the need to consider lack of staff support, high emotional stress, internal conflicts, beliefs and attitudes about institutionalized children and their biological parents, and differences in staff educational achievement.

Infant and Child Development, 2007

There is no one style of parenting which characterizes young mothers as a group. In addition, lif... more There is no one style of parenting which characterizes young mothers as a group. In addition, life circumstances play an important role in shaping maternal behaviour. The aim of this study was to identify patterns of maternal play behaviour and contextual (social and personal) factors associated with these different patterns. In this study, 107 young mothers were observed at home during play with their toddlers; maternal behaviour was coded for joint attention (shared focus of mother and toddler attention) and emotional availability (e.g. sensitivity, intrusiveness, hostility). Mothers reported on aspects of their childhood history and current personal functioning and social support. A person-centred analytic approach, using cluster analysis, revealed three distinct groups of maternal play behaviour: (1) 'sensitive-engaged' (2) 'inconsistent-directive,' and (3) 'intrusive-prohibitive'. Multivariate analyses revealed that contextual factors in mothers' lives (e.g. childhood abuse, depressive symptomatology, partner violence, social support, and parenting self-confidence) were differentially associated with parenting clusters.

Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers, 2014

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or sy... more This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers, 2013

Personal, relational, and contextual characteristics were examined to explain paternal involvemen... more Personal, relational, and contextual characteristics were examined to explain paternal involvement by an ethnically diverse sample of young men at-risk for poor parenting due to psychosocial factors. Ninety-one young fathers (M = 21.6 years) of young children (M = 17.1 months) participated at Time 1; 64 were in the longitudinal sample. Half did not have a high school education; incomes were working poor levels or below. Data were collected at two time points 8 months apart through interviews and questionnaires administered in the participants' homes. Level of paternal cognitions was the strongest predictor of father involvement. Fathers reported that job/school was often a barrier to involvement; the children's mothers were seen as gatekeepers or gateopeners and own mothers were seen as facilitators of involvement.

Developmental Review, 2014