Researchers conducted a retrospective chart review of 603 consecutive psychiatric inpatients at one Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital to assess the prevalence of reported childhood physical and sexual abuse. The prevalence of reported childhood physical or sexual abuse was 19%.
Objective: Prenatal exposure to inappropriate levels of glucocorticoids (GCs) and maternal stress are putative mechanisms for the fetal programming of later health outcomes.
Whether prenatal maternal psychosocial stress and cortisol (a biological indicator of stress) exerts a joint or independent influence on infant stress regulation was examined. Mothers completed measures of stress, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy, and provided cortisol assays.
Soldier deployment can create a stressful environment for U.S. Army families with young children. Prior research has identified elevated rates of child maltreatment in the 6 months immediately following a soldier’s return home from deployment.
Deployment can bring extra stress for military families with young children; however, little is known about how Service members' and children's characteristics may influence the potential association between deployment and child maltreatment.
OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the rate of, and risk factors for, abusive head trauma (AHT) among infants born to military families and compare with civilian population rates.
This study examined the impact of child neglect during the first 4 years of life on adaptation to school during kindergarten and first grade in the context of neighborhood poverty (NP).