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Background This study examined bidirectional relationships between maternal feeding practices and child food responsiveness and satiety responsiveness from 2 to 5 years. Methods Mothers ( N  = 207) reported their own feeding practices and child eating behaviours using validated questionnaires at child ages 2, 3.7, and 5 years. Cross-lagged analyses were conducted to test for bidirectional effects, adjusting for child BMI z-score (based on measured weight and height) at 14 months. Results Eating behaviours and feeding practices showed strong continuity across the three time points. Maternal feeding practices (higher reward for behaviour [β = 0.12, p  = 0.025] and lower covert restriction [β = −0.14, p  = 0.008]) were prospectively associated with higher food responsiveness. Conversely, increased child satiety responsiveness was primarily prospectively associated with mothers’ feeding practices (increased structured meal timing [β = 0.11, p  = 0.038], overt [β = 0.14, p  = 0.010] and covert restriction [β = 0.11, p  = 0.022]). The only exception was family meal setting, which was prospectively negatively associated with satiety responsiveness (β = −0.11, p  = 0.035). Conclusion While maternal feeding practices and child satiety and food responsiveness show strong continuity between child age 2 and 5 years, maternal feeding practices appear to be associated with child food responsiveness over time. Conversely, child satiety responsiveness, but not food responsiveness, may also be associated with maternal feeding practices over time. These results are consistent with interventions that provide feeding advice to parents on how to respond appropriately to individual child eating behaviour phenotype. Trial registration ACTRN12608000056392 . Registered 29 January 2008.

In interpreting attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, categorical and dimensional approaches are commonly used. Both employ binary symptom counts which give equal weighting, with little attention to the combinations and relative contributions of individual symptoms. Alternatively, symptoms can be viewed as an interacting network, revealing the complex relationship between symptoms. Using a novel network modelling approach, this study explores the relationships between the 18 symptoms in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-5) criteria and whether network measures are useful in predicting outcomes. Participants were from a community cohort, the Children's Attention Project. DSM ADHD symptoms were recorded in a face-to-face structured parent interview for 146 medication naïve children with ADHD and 209 controls (aged 6-8 years). Analyses indicated that not all symptoms are equal. Frequencies of endorsement and configurations of symptoms varied, with certain symptoms playing a more important role within the ADHD symptom network. In total, 116,220 combinations of symptoms within a diagnosis of ADHD were identified, with 92% demonstrating a unique symptom configuration. Symptom association networks highlighted the relative importance of hyperactive/impulsive symptoms in the symptom network. In particular, the 'motoric'-type symptoms as well as interrupts as a marker of impulsivity in the hyperactive domain, as well as loses things and does not follow instructions in the inattentive domain, had high measures of centrality. Centrality-measure weighted symptom counts showed significant association with clinical but not cognitive outcomes, however the relationships were not significantly stronger than symptom count alone. The finding may help to explain heterogeneity in the ADHD phenotype.

Restrictions, social isolation, and uncertainty related to the global COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted the ways that parents and children maintain family routines, health, and wellbeing. Companion animals (pets) can be a critical source of comfort during traumatic experiences, although changes to family routines, such as those caused by COVID-19, can also bring about challenges like managing undesirable pet behaviours or pet-human interactions. We aimed to examine the relationship between pet attachment and mental health for both parents and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. A total of 1,034 parents living with a child under 18 years and a cat or dog completed an online cross-sectional survey between July and October 2020. Path analysis using multivariate linear regression was conducted to examine associations between objective COVID-19 impacts, subjective worry about COVID-19, human-pet attachment, and mental health. After adjusting for core demographic factors, stronger pet-child attachment was associated with greater child anxiety (parent-reported, p < .001). Parent-pet attachment was not associated with self-reported psychological distress ( p = .42), however, parents who reported a strong emotional closeness with their pet reported greater psychological distress ( p = .002). Findings highlight the role of pets during times of change and uncertainty. It is possible that families are turning to animals as a source of comfort, during a time when traditional social supports are less accessible. Alternatively, strong pet attachment is likely to reflect high levels of empathy, which might increase vulnerability to psychological distress. Longitudinal evidence is required to delineate the mechanisms underpinning pet attachment and mental health.

Purpose: Qualitative research aimed at understanding the stress of parents of children with ADHD is limited and few interventions have been designed to directly target their stress. The study aim was to explore the stress of parents of children with ADHD using qualitative methodology. Methods: Thirteen parents of children with ADHD participated in two focus groups. Open-ended questions explored parents' experiences of stress. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded using thematic analysis. Parents also completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. Results: Four primary themes were identified: The child's behaviour feels like a \"wrecking ball\"; Coping with the \"war at home\"; A divided family: \"relationships don't survive\"; and Craving support: \"it's goddamn hard work\". Five of eleven participants who completed the PSI-SF scored in the clinically significant range indicating levels of stress that require professional support. Conclusions: Parents attribute their high stress to their children's behaviour, unmet needs for support, and social stigma. Parents request support to enable them to cope and appear to represent a clinical population who require mental health care and support themselves. Future interventions directly targeting the stress of parents of children with ADHD may provide wide-ranging benefits for their children and families.

The brain undergoes extensive structural changes during adolescence, concurrent to puberty-related physical and hormonal changes. While animal research suggests these biological processes are related to one another, our knowledge of brain development in humans is largely based on age-related processes. Thus, the current study characterized puberty-related changes in human brain structure, by combining data from two longitudinal neuroimaging cohorts. Beyond normative changes in cortical thickness, we examined whether individual differences in the rate of pubertal maturation (or “pubertal tempo”) was associated with variations in cortical trajectories. Participants (N = 192; scans = 366) completed up to three waves of MRI assessments between 8.5 and 14.5 years of age, as well as questionnaire assessments of pubertal stage at each wave. Generalized additive mixture models were used to characterize trajectories of cortical development. Results revealed widespread linear puberty-related changes across much of the cortex. Many of these changes, particularly within the frontal and parietal cortices, were independent of age-related development. Males exhibiting faster pubertal tempo demonstrated greater thinning in the precuneus and frontal cortices than same-aged and -sex peers. Findings suggest that the unique influence of puberty on cortical development may be more extensive than previously identified, and also emphasize important individual differences in the coupling of these developmental processes.

This scoping review examines the strength of evidence for the effectiveness of public policy-led place-based initiatives designed to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children, their families and the communities in which they live. Study designs and methods for evaluating such place-based initiatives were assessed, along with the contexts in which initiatives were implemented and evaluated. Thirty-two reports relating to 12 initiatives were included. Eleven initiatives used a quasi-experimental evaluation to assess impact, although there were considerable design variations within this. The remaining initiative used a pre- and post- evaluation design. Place-based initiatives by definition aim to improve multiple and interrelated outcomes. We examined initiatives to determine what outcomes were measured and coded them within the five domains of pregnancy and birth, child, parent, family and community. Across the 83 outcomes reported in the 11 studies with a comparison group, 30 (36.4%) demonstrated a positive outcome, and all but one initiative demonstrated a positive outcome in at least one outcome measure. Of the six studies that examined outcomes more than once post baseline, 10 from 38 outcomes (26.3%) demonstrated positive sustained results. Many initiatives were affected by external factors such as policy and funding changes, with unknown impact on their effectiveness. Despite the growth of place-based initiatives to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children, the evidence for their effectiveness remains inconclusive.

The internet is an increasingly popular tool in family and child research that is argued to pose new ethical challenges, yet few studies have systematically assessed the ethical issues of engaging parents and children in research online. This scoping review aims to identify and integrate evidence on the ethical issues reported when recruiting, retaining and tracing families and children in research online, and to identify ethical guidelines for internet research. Academic literature was searched using electronic academic databases (Scopus, PsycINFO, Embase, ERIC, CINAHL and Informit) and handsearching reference lists for articles published in English between January 2006 and February 2016. Grey literature was searched using Google to identify relevant ethical guidelines. Sixty-five academic articles were included after screening 3,537 titles and abstracts and 205 full-text articles. Most articles reported using the internet to recruit participants (88%) with few reporting online retention (12%) or tracing (10%). Forty percent commented on ethical issues; the majority did not discuss ethics beyond general consent or approval procedures. Some ethical concerns were specific to engaging minors online, including parental consent, age verification and children's vulnerability. Other concerns applied when engaging any research participant online, including privacy and confidentiality, informed consent and disparities in internet access. Five professional guidelines and 10 university guidelines on internet research ethics were identified. Few academic articles (5%) reported using these guidelines. Engaging families and children in research online introduces unique challenges requiring careful consideration. While researchers regarded themselves as responsible for ensuring research is conducted ethically, lack of use of available guidelines and limited academic literature suggests internet research is occurring without suitable guidance. We recommend broad dissemination of ethical guidelines and encourage researchers to report the methodological and ethical issues of using the internet to engage families and children in research.

To examine health outcomes in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experiencing perinatal risk and identify protective factors in the antenatal period. Baby/Child cohorts of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, born 2001-2008, across four annual surveys (aged 0-8 years, N = 1483). Children with 'mild' and 'moderate-to-high' perinatal risk were compared to children born normal weight at term for maternal-rated global health and disability, and body-mass-index measured by the interviewer. Almost one third of children had experienced mild (22%) or moderate-to-high perinatal risk (8%). Perinatal risk was associated with lower body-mass-index z-scores (regression coefficients adjusted for pregnancy and environment factors: mild = -0.21, 95% CI = -0.34, -0.07; moderate-to-high = -0.42, 95% CI = -0.63, -0.21). Moderate-to-high perinatal risk was associated with poorer global health, with associations becoming less evident in models adjusted for pregnancy and environment factors; but not evident for disability. A range of protective factors, including cultural-based resilience and smoking cessation, were associated with lower risk of adverse outcomes. Perinatal risks are associated with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait children experiencing adverse health particularly lower body weight. Cultural-based resilience and smoking cessation may be two modifiable pathways to ameliorating health problems associated with perinatal risk.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic was a time of major global disruption in work and family routines; yet experiences of disorder in jobs and home life, and related psychological distress varied across families. This study examined how inequities in socio-economic resources prior to the pandemic predicted working mothers’ work-family disruption and deterioration in mental health during the pandemic. Methods Data was from a national cohort of 2,278 Australian mothers participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Participants were asked about work and household disruption during the pandemic and completed a measure of psychological distress (Kessler-6 Psychological Distress Scale) both prior to and during the pandemic. Results Latent class analysis showed that indicators of work-family disruption during the pandemic clustered into two groups – ‘less disruption’ and ‘more disruption’. Multivariate logistic regression analyses identifying pre-pandemic predictors showed that mothers in the ‘more disruption’ group had poorer general health prior to the pandemic, lower relationship satisfaction, were more likely to work in low-intensity, insecure jobs, and to live in an urban area. They were also more likely to have more caring responsibilities, such as school-aged children and/or a household member with a disability. Linear regression analyses showed that mothers in the more disruption group had corresponding higher levels of psychological distress during the pandemic (controlling for pre-COVID distress levels) than mothers in the low disruption group. Conclusions These results indicate that large-scale, social upheaval during COVID-19 was most disruptive for mothers with fewer resources (personal, relational and job-related) and greater caregiving responsibilities. Increased challenges negotiating work and family commitments were associated with poorer mental health. The findings reinforce the need for integration between social and public health policy, particularly in times of widespread crisis.

Socioeconomic inequalities in longitudinal patterning of childhood overweight could cause marked differentials in total burden by adulthood. This study aims to determine timing and strength of the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and children's body mass index (BMI) in the pre- and primary school years, and to examine socioeconomic differences in overweight trajectories across childhood. Participants were 4949 children from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. BMI was measured at four biennial waves starting at age 4-5 years in 2004. Developmental trajectories of childhood overweight were identified with latent class analyses. Composite variables of family and neighbourhood SES were used. Socioeconomic differences in mean BMI z-scores already present at age 4-5 more than doubled by age 10-11 years, reflecting decreasing mean BMI among advantaged rather than increasing means among disadvantaged children. Latent class analysis identified children with 'stable normal weight' (68%), and with 'persistent' (15%), 'late-onset' (14%), and 'resolving' overweight (3%). Risks of persistent and late-onset childhood overweight were highest among low SES families (e.g. most disadvantaged quintile: OR(persistent) = 2.51, 95%CI: 1.83-3.43), and only partly explained by birth weight and parental overweight. Relationships with neighbourhood SES were weaker and attenuated fully on adjustment for family SES. No socioeconomic gradient was observed for resolving overweight. Childhood has become the critical period when socioeconomic inequalities in overweight emerge and strengthen. Although targeting disadvantaged children with early overweight must be a top priority, the presence of childhood overweight even among less-disadvantaged families suggests only whole-society approaches will eliminate overweight-associated morbidity.