Early life stress has been associated with elevated risk for later psychopathology. One mechanism that may contribute to such long-term risk is alterations in amygdala development, a brain region critical to stress responsivity. Yet effects of stress on the amygdala during human infancy, a period of particularly rapid brain development, remain largely unstudied. In order to model how early stressors may affect infant amygdala development, several discrepancies across the existing literatures on early life stress among rodents and early threat versus deprivation among older human children and adults need to be reconciled. We briefly review the key findings of each of these literatures. We then consider them in light of emerging findings from studies of human infants regarding relations among maternal caregiving, infant cortisol response, and infant amygdala volume. Finally, we advance a developmental salience model of how early threat may impact the rapidly developing infant brain, a model with the potential to integrate across these divergent literatures. Future work to assess the value of this model is also proposed.

War-related trauma has detrimental effects on millions of individuals worldwide, including infants, toddlers, and their parents. Among various adverse outcomes, this trauma may significantly disrupt the essential sense of security crucial for fostering a healthy early parent–child relationship. Yet, research on the effects of war-related trauma on parent–child relationships remains limited. This study aimed to bridge this gap by synthesizing evidence from empirical studies focused on war-related trauma and early parent–child relationship outcomes from 0 to 3 years. Studies were identified by searching across multiple databases. The inclusion criteria encompassed studies examining the effects of exposure to war, armed conflict, or terrorism, focusing on the parent–young child relationship, published in English, peer-reviewed, and accessible. Eleven studies, published in 23 articles, met these criteria. The research findings revealed various impacts on the parent–child relationship due to exposure to war-related trauma. Notably, parents’ emotional distress and post-traumatic stress disorder, rather than their direct trauma exposure, were associated with adverse parent–child relational outcomes within the parent–child relationship, such as parents’ insensitive, inconsistent, hostile, and anxious behaviors toward their children, as well as children’s vigilance and unresponsive behaviors toward their parents. This research indicates various ways that war-related trauma may impact early parent–child relationships, highlighting directions for future research and offering insights that could assist in developing trauma-informed interventions focused on parent–child dyads experiencing war-related adversity.

COVID-19 has impacted all levels of daily life for people everywhere, with particularly serious implications for pregnant women. This paper examines the COVID-19-related childbirth anxiety (CCA) of Israeli women in the first two waves of the pandemic. We first present two psychotherapeutic case studies with pregnant women in the two waves. This is followed by an empirical study that compared the contribution of background variables, psychological distress, economic concerns, and personal resources to CCA in two samples, Wave 1, March–April 2020 (n = 403) and Wave 2, September–October 2020 (n = 1401), and two subpopulations, Jewish and Arab women. Findings reveal that CCA was significantly lower in Wave 2 than in Wave 1. Furthermore, poorer health, higher education, being an Arab, later gestational week, at-risk pregnancy, wave, higher psychological distress, greater economic concerns, and lower self-compassion contributed to higher childbirth anxiety. Wave moderated the association between optimism and anxiety. The findings of the empirical study, together with insights from the case studies, provide evidence of a decrease in CCA later in the crisis, and indicate the significance of resources for coping with the psychological implications of the pandemic. Moreover, they suggest the importance of empowering self-reliance techniques, such as self-compassion, which was significantly associated with lower anxiety, above and beyond the background and psychological variables. Clinical Impact Statement: Using both psychotherapeutic cases and empirical findings, this study points to the risk and resilience factors that contributed to pregnant women’s COVID-19-related childbirth anxiety (CCA) in the first two waves of the pandemic. The study suggests that CCA was higher in the first wave, as well as among women from a minority group. At the same time, the research shows that resilience resources of optimism and self-compassion contributed to the reduction of anxiety. These findings may guide interventions for the vulnerable group of pregnant women in times of crisis.

Background: Children of maltreated mothers are at increased risk for adverse physical and psychological health. Both prenatal and postnatal alterations in offspring biological stress systems have been proposed as mechanisms contributing to such transmission. The aim of the current study was to assess whether maternal postnatal care of the infant moderated any effect of maternal childhood maltreatment on infant cortisol output during a mild stressor at 4 months of age.Methods: Participants included 181 mother–infant dyads, screened at recruitment to result in 57.4% reporting one or more forms of childhood maltreatment. Mothers were assessed for quality of caregiving, and infants were assessed for infant salivary cortisol output during the Still‐Face Paradigm at infant age 4 months. Maternal childhood maltreatment was assessed using the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure (MACE) self‐report scales.Results: Greater severity of maternal childhood neglect interacted with higher levels of maternal disoriented caregiving to predict higher infant cortisol output over the course of the Still‐Face Paradigm. In contrast, maternal childhood abuse interacted with higher levels of maternal negative‐intrusion to predict lower infant cortisol output. Greater maternal role confusion was linked to greater infant cortisol output regardless of maternal maltreatment history.Conclusions: Maternal caregiving may moderate the effects of risk factors existing prior to the infant's birth. Disoriented caregiving in the context of maternal childhood neglect and negative‐intrusive behavior in the context of maternal childhood abuse were associated with opposite directions of effect on infant stress hormone output. The results suggest that interventions addressing risks from both prenatal and postnatal periods may be most effective in mitigating intergenerational effects of maltreatment.

Dealing with the difficulties and demands of the postpartum period may be distressing for the mother, but it is also an opportunity for her to experience personal growth. One factor that may contribute to this growth is the mother's childhood experiences. Using a prospective study design, and based on Belsky's parenting model and personal growth theory, we examined the direct and indirect contribution of mothers' adverse and benevolent childhood experiences and their current psychological distress, self-compassion, and social support to their personal growth following childbirth and motherhood. A convenience sample of 392 women was recruited through social media and participated in the study about 16 weeks after childbirth (Phase 1) and again 6-10 months postpartum (Phase 2). The direct effects of adverse and benevolent childhood experiences on personal growth were not significant. However, multiple significant paths of indirect associations were found through psychological distress, self-compassion, and social support. To understand the roots of the mother's personal growth, researchers and clinicians alike should not only explore her personal resources, but also the primary processes that contribute to the creation of those resources, that is, childhood experiences. Addressing the mother's childhood experiences may help her to better understand the connections between the past and the present, and to identify the implications of her "ghosts and angels" for her mental state, personal resources, and experience of personal growth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Postpartum depressive symptoms (PPDS) are more prevalent among ethnic minority women, yet the psychological processes contributing to this disparity, particularly potential protective factors, remain insufficiently understood. Guided by Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) stress and coping model, this study examined the contribution of maternal role satisfaction and psychological flexibility to PPDS among Jewish and Arab mothers in Israel. In addition, we tested whether maternal role satisfaction mediates, and psychological flexibility moderates, the association between ethnicity and PPDS. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Israel with 476 postpartum women (288 Jewish, 188 Arab), recruited through convenience sampling via social media. The participants completed validated Hebrew or Arabic questionnaires assessing PPDS, maternal role satisfaction, and psychological flexibility. The analyses included t-tests, correlations, hierarchical regression, and a conditional process analysis testing mediation and moderation effects. Arab mothers reported higher PPDS and greater role satisfaction than Jewish mothers. Additionally, 23.9 % of Arab mothers and 9.7 % of Jewish mothers scored above the clinical cutoff for probable postpartum depression. Maternal role satisfaction (β = -0.61, p < .001) and psychological flexibility (β = -0.35, p < .001) were associated with lower PPDS. Maternal role satisfaction partially mediated the association between ethnicity and PPDS (β = -0.08, CI [-0.14, -0.05]), such that Arab mothers reported higher role satisfaction, which was associated with lower PPDS; however, psychological flexibility did not moderate this association. Culturally sensitive interventions strengthening maternal role satisfaction may help to reduce postpartum distress and support resilience among minority mothers.