Key PointsQuestionCan adjustment of circadian timing through light flash therapy during sleep increase total sleep time in teenagers?FindingsIn this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of 102 adolescents, light flash therapy alone was ineffective. When delivered in combination with a cognitive behavioral therapy meant to encourage an earlier bedtime, the combination of light flash therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy significantly and stably increased total sleep time by nearly 45 minutes per night.MeaningCombination light flash therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective tool to increase sleep time and combat sleep loss in teenagers.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has raised deserved concern regarding adverse impacts on parents’ and children’s mental health, regulations like “sheltering-in-place” may have afforded parents novel opportunities to foster positive family connections, thereby bolstering well-being. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), we (a) distinguished family thriving during shelter-in-place (May-June 2020) from other patterns of family functioning, (b) tested potential predictors of family functioning profiles, and (c) examined if family thriving predicted subsequent child adjustment (September–October 2020). 449 parents in two-parent U.S. families with children aged 2–18 years completed online surveys assessing (a) parent–child relationship quality, parents’ positive psychological adjustment, children’s emotional well-being, and parenting efficacy and satisfaction as family functioning indicators, (b) financial, marital, parental psychosocial assets, and child (age, gender, and temperament) predictors of family functioning, and (c) child adjustment. LPA identified four family functioning profiles: Thriving, Managing, Struggling, and Distressed. Thriving families evinced higher scores on all functioning indicators. Logistic regressions revealed that parents in Thriving families reported significantly lower financial anxiety, less dissatisfaction with partner’s help, less child emotionality, and greater use of cognitive reappraisal, as well as more positive child adjustment in Fall 2020. These findings underscore the multidimensional nature of coping and well-being during COVID-19. Utilizing these levers to promote mental health in families languishing during comparable future crises could promote resilience, thereby protecting children’s well-being.

Methods: In a 2-year longitudinal study of 220 families, we examined how youth gender and adrenocortical and parasympathetic activity moderated reciprocal, bidirectional relations between parent and youth anxiety and depression problems.Results: Maternal anxiety predicted subsequent youth anxiety and depression.Maternal depression predicted youth anxiety and, for daughters and youth with low adrenocortical reactivity, youth depression. Youth depression predicted maternal depression only for youth with high adrenocortical reactivity. There were no associations between paternal and youth psychopathology.Discussion: Examining youth gender and psychophysiological characteristics that shape the nature of bidirectional influences may inform efforts to identify families at heightened risk for intergenerational transmission of psychopathology.

No abstract