Executive functioning (EF) is critical for school readiness and other important life skills. Previous investigations have often neglected the important influence of parental EF skills in shaping their own children’s EF. This study attempted to replicate recent empirical work that has shown that maternal EF is positively related to child EF. An ecological theoretical framework was used to examine the maternal EF–child EF link in family environments characterized by significant risk and socioeconomic adversity. Data from 38 mother–child dyads revealed that larger maternal working memory capacity was associated with greater child accuracy and slower reaction times on a child-friendly Go/No-Go task of response inhibition, but not on an emotional Go/No-Go task. This finding suggests that in contexts of risk and adversity, slower reaction times, instead of reflecting weaker EF skills, might reflect an adaptive skill; that is, exercising appropriate caution and careful responding on a challenging task. Results provide additional evidence of an intergenerational link between maternal EF and child EF and yield new insights into the nature of EF in adverse environments.

Summary Aim This study aimed to prospectively investigate transition beliefs, knowledge and needs of pediatric patients with diabetes and their parents. Patients & methods Parallel youth and parent questionnaires evaluating the transition process were distributed over a 6-month time period. Respondents included 123 pediatric patients with diabetes (11–19 years old) and their parents. Results Few families had discussed the transition of diabetes care (∼25%). Most had not established a transition plan (∼90%). Youth and parents agreed that seeing the doctor alone, discussions about transition and transition itself should occur at 17–18 years of age. Conclusion Youth with diabetes and their parents are not prepared for transition to adult care. Transition discussions should begin at an earlier age. Additional research is needed to learn how and when to begin these discussions.

Background: Child maltreatment (CM) constitutes a serious public health problem in the United States with parents implicated in a majority of physical abuse and neglect cases. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an intensive intervention for CM families that uses innovative "bug-in-ear" coaching to improve parenting and child outcomes, and reduce CM recidivism; however, the mechanisms underlying its effects are little understood. The Coaching Alternative Parenting Strategies (CAPS) study aims to clarify the behavioral, neural, and physiological mechanisms of action in PCIT that support positive changes in parenting, improve parent and child self-regulation and social perceptions, and reduce CM in child welfare-involved families.

This preliminary investigation assessed the experiences of young adults with diabetes to evaluate aspects of the transition process and assess whether developmentally important topics were addressed. Patients & methods: Questionnaires were administered to recently transferred patients. Reasons for transition, age, anxiety, lapse in care and how adult providers were selected were examined. Whether 13 developmentally important topics were addressed was also assessed. results & conclusion: Over half (52.5%) of participants did not select their adult provider through pediatric provider

Parents living in low-income contexts shouldered disproportionate hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic with consequences to maternal mental health and child adjustment. The current study uses a sample of first-time mothers ( N = 147) of young toddlers, all living in low-income contexts, to examine the roles of pre-pandemic and COVID-19-specific risk and individual resilience factors in the prediction of changes to maternal mental health coinciding with the onset of the pandemic. Maternal mental health symptoms, in turn, were examined as predictors of child adjustment problems across 6 months of the pandemic and as a potential mechanism conferring pandemic risks to children. While pre-pandemic cumulative contextual risk (i.e., low income, single parent status, adolescent parent status, financial instability) did not predict changes in maternal mental health from prior to during the pandemic, COVID-19-specific health risks predicted changes in maternal mental health from before the pandemic, as well as across 6 months of the pandemic. Regarding individual resilience factors to changes in maternal mental health, pre-pandemic self-compassion predicted better maternal mental health during the pandemic, as did COVID-19-specific appraisal and coping strategies. In turn, maternal mental health predicted children’s early pandemic levels of adjustment problems and changes in adjustment problems across 6 months of the pandemic, with maternal mental health serving an indirect pathway of COVID-19-specific health risks to children’s adjustment. The findings highlight pathways of risk and resilience during a global health crisis and point to targets for interventions in community level crises to promote maternal and child mental health.