Background: Stress and compromised parenting often place children at risk of abuse and neglect. Child maltreatment has generally been viewed as a highly individualistic problem by focusing on stressors and parenting behaviors that impact individual families. However, because of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), families across the world are experiencing a new range of stressors that threaten their health, safety, and economic well-being. Objective: This study examined the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to parental perceived stress and child abuse potential. Participants and Setting: Participants included parents (N = 183) with a child under the age of 18 years in the western United States. Method: Tests of group differences and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to assess the relationships among demographic characteristics, COVID-19 risk factors, mental health risk factors, protective factors, parental perceived stress, and child abuse potential. Results: Greater COVID-19 related stressors and high anxiety and depressive symptoms are associated with higher parental perceived stress. Receipt of financial assistance and high anxiety and depressive symptoms are associated with child abuse potential. Conversely, greater parental support and perceived control during the pandemic are associated with lower perceived stress and child abuse potential. Results also indicate racial and ethnic differences in COVID-19 related stressors, but not in mental health risk, protective factors, perceived stress, or child abuse potential. Conclusion: Findings suggest that although families experience elevated stressors from COVID-19, providing parental support and increasing perceived control may be promising intervention targets.

Abstract. The EPA PMF (Environmental Protection Agency positive matrix factorization) version 5.0 and the underlying multilinear engine-executable ME-2 contain three methods for estimating uncertainty in factor analytic models: classical bootstrap (BS), displacement of factor elements (DISP), and bootstrap enhanced by displacement of factor elements (BS-DISP). The goal of these methods is to capture the uncertainty of PMF analyses due to random errors and rotational ambiguity. It is shown that the three methods complement each other: depending on characteristics of the data set, one method may provide better results than the other two. Results are presented using synthetic data sets, including interpretation of diagnostics, and recommendations are given for parameters to report when documenting uncertainty estimates from EPA PMF or ME-2 applications.

The new version of EPA's positive matrix factorization (EPA PMF) software, 5.0, includes three error estimation (EE) methods for analyzing factor analytic solutions: classical bootstrap (BS), displacement of factor elements (DISP), and bootstrap enhanced by displacement (BS-DISP). These methods capture the uncertainty of PMF analyses due to random errors and rotational ambiguity. To demonstrate the utility of the EE methods, results are presented for three data sets: (1) speciated PM2.5 data from a chemical speciation network (CSN) site in Sacramento, California (2003-2009); (2) trace metal, ammonia, and other species in water quality samples taken at an inline storage system (ISS) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2006); and (3) an organic aerosol data set from high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS) measurements in Las Vegas, Nevada (January 2008). We present an interpretation of EE diagnostics for these data sets, results from sensitivity tests of EE diagnostics using additional and fewer factors, and recommendations for reporting PMF results. BS-DISP and BS are found useful in understanding the uncertainty of factor profiles; they also suggest if the data are over-fitted by specifying too many factors. DISP diagnostics were consistently robust, indicating its use for understanding rotational uncertainty and as a first step in assessing a solution's viability. The uncertainty of each factor's identifying species is shown to be a useful gauge for evaluating multiple solutions, e.g., with a different number of factors.

Ninety-eight parents experiencing significant difficulties in managing their own anger in their interactions with their preschool-aged children were randomly assigned either to an enhanced group-administered behavioral family intervention program based on the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program that incorporated attributional retraining and anger management (EBFI) or a standard behavioral family intervention program (SBFI) that provided training in parenting skills alone. At post-intervention, both conditions were associated with lower levels of observed and parent-reported disruptive child behavior, lower levels of parent-reported dysfunctional parenting, greater parental self-efficacy, less parental distress, relationship conflict and similarly This study was supported by grants from the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse (NCPCA) and Queensland Health. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the following persons in the delivery of therapeutic interventions and in the collection and coding of observational, interview, and parent-report data:

Exposure to multiple forms of maltreatment during childhood is associated with serious mental health consequences among youth in the general population, but limited empirical attention has focused on homeless youth-a population with markedly high rates of childhood maltreatment followed by elevated rates of street victimization. This study investigated the rates of multiple childhood abuses (physical, sexual, and emotional abuse) and multiple street victimizations (robbery, physical assault, and sexual assault) and examined their relative relationships to mental health outcomes (meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression, and substance use disorder) among a large (N = 601) multisite sample of homeless youth. Approximately 79% of youth retrospectively reported multiple childhood abuses (two or more types) and 28% reported multiple street victimizations (two or more types). Each additional type of street victimization nearly doubled youths' odds for meeting criteria for substance use disorder. Furthermore, each additional type of childhood abuse experienced more than doubled youths' odds for meeting criteria for PTSD. Both multiple abuses and multiple street victimizations were associated with an approximate twofold increase in meeting depression criteria. Findings suggest the need for screening, assessment, and trauma-informed services for homeless youth who consider multiple types of abuse and victimization experiences.