Several studies have focused on neonatal maternal separation (MS) to investigate behavioural and neuroendocrine reactions to lack of contact, but only a few have focused on early separation in the first days or weeks after birth. This literature review investigates the vital importance of contact and touch by exploring how skin-to-skin contact (SSC) regulates stress in the mother–infant relationship. Various databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect were searched for literature published between 2015 and 2020. From 1141 articles, 22 were declared eligible. The reviewed articles showed how SSC regulates child stress by biological indicators such as the autonomic nervous system (ANS), heart rate variability (HRV), cortisol, and oxytocin. This research concludes the importance of SSC for stress regulation, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. With no research to date indicating a possible risk of neonatal COVID-19 transmission following SSC, SSC should continue to be practiced for all women, as recommended by the WHO.

A growing body of research highlights how communities traumatized by conflict and displacement suffer from long-term mental and psychosocial illnesses. The Russian army’s attack on Ukraine has resulted in an estimated 10 million people being internally or externally displaced from Ukraine, of whom more than 3.8 million have left Ukraine to seek refuge elsewhere in Europe. Soleterre has decided to launch an intervention to provide psychological support to Ukrainian refugees and IDPs, aimed at containing war trauma, assessing the severity of symptoms, and enabling those affected to receive psychological support. The intervention model envisioned the administration of an intake form to provide a rapid collection of qualitative and quantitative information for those arriving in Poland or Lviv from Ukraine. Our results showed how most of the samples reported high or very high levels of anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. Moreover, results highlighted how being close to families or being able to keep in touch with them work as a protective factor in enhancing resilience, as well as a support network. These findings underscored the importance of re-thinking our perception of “family” in a broader sense, considering the new facets it can take on in post-conflict situations.

Objective This study aimed to explore the role of family resilience in the relationship between parents' psychological stress and their perceptions of children's emotional and behavioral symptoms during the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy. Background The COVID‐19 lockdown threatened the well‐being of parents, with a potentially cascading effect on children's adjustment. However, the negative impact of parents' stress on children's well‐being may be attenuated in resilient families. Method During the Italian lockdown, an online survey was administered to 649 parents of at least one child aged between 5 and 17 years. Respondents completed the survey themselves and their child(ren). The Perceived Stress Scale, the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were administered to parents. Results Results show that family resilience is a key mechanism in the association of parents' perceived stress with their perceptions of children's emotional symptoms, prosocial behavior, and hyperactivity and that only parents' marital status moderates this relationship. Conclusion The intervening role of family resilience emphasizes the need to empower parents and families during the pandemic crisis. Implications By strengthening family resilience, family resources maybe strengthened to meet new challenges more effectively.

Introduction Postpartum depression (PPD) is a multifactor disorder caused by psychological, social, and also biological factors. 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in the promoter region of serotonin transporter gene seems to influence PPD onset. In this study, we examined the effect of 5-HTTLPR polymorphism on prenatal and postnatal symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress in women.Methods A longitudinal design with three points -time 1 (32-40 weeks gestation); time 2 (2 or 3 weeks after birth), and time 3 (3 months after birth) -was made. A total of 141 women were recruited during childbirth preparation courses. At time 1, women completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Los Angeles Symptoms Checklist (LASC). At time 2, they fulfilled BDI and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS), LASC and the Perinatal Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Questionnaire (PPQ); midwives and nurses collected biological test tubes by blood sampling for the genetic analysis. At time 3, the women were reassessed for BDI, LASC, EDPS, and PPQs. Analysis of variance and moderation analysis were used to correlate genotype and psychological investigations. ResultsResults showed that, compared with LL/LS genotypes, SS genotype moderated cognitive depressive symptoms onset at T2 and T3. Moreover, this genotype correlated, directly or indirectly, with PTSD postpartum aspects (re-experience, avoidance, and hyperarousal).Discussion Findings revealed that a lower expression of serotonin transporter gene, associated with SS genotype, seems to render women more vulnerable to depressive and PTSD symptoms after childbirth.

Background The transformative storytelling technique is an innovative top-down approach to narrative therapy that aims to provide building blocks for creating flourishing narratives for target groups or populations. This approach acts as a facilitator for implementing the human-centered design in developing digital self-help tools for larger samples or target groups. Objective This study applied the transformative storytelling technique, as a new approach in mental health, to develop empowering audio narratives for informal caregivers. Methods A narrative inquiry was conducted with 17 informal caregivers (16 women and 1 man) who completed a semistructured interview, “Caregiver Life Story,” acquiring information about the beginning of the role, rising action, and critical point of the role. The participants’ ages ranged from 41 to 84 years, with all participants providing care for at least a 6-month period. This inquiry was guided by the transformative storytelling technique, and aimed to collect data relevant to creating fictional stories based on real-life themes. Results Twenty-five overall themes were distinguished across three a priori–set categories, providing narrative building blocks for the informal caregiver life stories. The final empowering caregiver life story was created as an example for this study, demonstrating the application of the transformative storytelling technique in an informal care context. Conclusions The creation of empowering stories for populations or target groups in mental health care requires a unified and guided approach that will follow clear guidelines and storytelling principles. The transformative storytelling technique is a first of its kind in the mental health context, representing an initial step in enabling and supporting the creation of meaningful stories and the development of relatable, but productive, narratives. Such narratives have the potential to serve across media and digital platforms for supporting and improving well-being, and potentially triggering self-change in the target group or population.