Self-reported childhood maltreatment was common. The likelihood of maltreatment varied across many sociodemographic characteristics. Each type of maltreatment was associated with multiple adolescent health risks.

Sleep duration in the population has been declining. Women occupy an increasingly prominent place in the work force without reducing most of their responsibilities at home. Consequently, sleep needs are often pushed to the bottom of women's daily priority list. Prior research has indicated that sleep deprivation is associated with higher levels of pro-inflammatory serum cytokines. This is important because higher plasma concentations of pro-inflammatory serum cytokine levels are associated with postpartum depression and adverse birth outcomes such as preterm delivery. However, little research has directly examined how sleep deprivation may affect maternal and fetal outcomes. This review summarizes the existing data on the effect of sleep deprivation during pregnancy on maternal and fetal outcomes.We review supporting evidence for the hypotheses that sleep deprivation during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm delivery and postpartum depression, and that systematic inflammation is the causal mechanism in the association. Prior research on sleep in pregnancy has been limited by varying data collection methods, subjective self-reported sleep measures, small and non-representative samples, cross-sectional designs; descriptive or non-hypothesis driven studies. Future research with longitudinal study designs is needed to allow examination of the effect of sleep deprivation on adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.

Despite differences in content and in response formats, all 3 surveys showed evidence of reliability, and most items are now ready for use in research and in public health surveillance.

ABSTRACT. Context. Child maltreatment remains a significant public health and social problem in the United States. Incidence data rely on substantiated reports of maltreatment known to official social service agencies.Objective. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiologic features of child physical and sexual abuse, on the basis of maternal self-reports.Design, Setting, and Participants. Computer-assisted, anonymous, cross-sectional, telephone surveys (N ‫؍‬ 1435) were conducted with mothers of children 0 to 17 years of age in North and South Carolina. Mothers were asked about potentially abusive behaviors used by either themselves or their husbands or partners in the context of other disciplinary practices. They were also asked about their knowledge of any sexual victimization their children might have experienced.Main Outcome Measures. The incidence of physical and sexual maltreatment determined through maternal reports.Results. Use of harsh physical discipline, equivalent to physical abuse, occurred with an incidence of 4.3%. Shaking of very young children as a means of discipline occurred among 2.6% of children <2 years of age. Mothers reported more frequent physical discipline of their children, including shaking, for themselves than for fathers or father figures. Nearly 11 of 1000 children were reported by their mothers as having been sexually victimized within the past year. The incidence of physical abuse determined with maternal self-reports was 40 times greater than that of official child physical abuse reports, and the sexual abuse incidence was 15 times greater. For every 1 child who sustains a serious injury as a result of shaking, an estimated 150 children may be shaken and go undetected. There was no statistically significant difference in the overall rates of physical or sexual maltreatment between the 2 states.Conclusions. Official statistics underestimate the burden of child maltreatment. Supplemental data obtained with alternative strategies can assist policymakers and planners in addressing needs and services within communities and states. These data support the need for continued interventions to prevent maltreatment. Pediatrics 2005;115:e331-e337. URL: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/

When the father actively compensates for limitations in the depressed mother's functioning, the child's risk of problem behaviors may be reduced.