Xin Feng

Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) are exposed to significant adversities while living on the street, and many experienced child abuse and neglect prior to leaving the home setting. Multiple social determinants of health (SDoH) are uniquely associated with youth homelessness, driving substance use and adverse mental health consequences. However, limited research has identified pragmatic interventions that have a long-term ameliorating impact on the complex, multi-symptomatic issues that YEH face. This study overcomes prior gaps in research through the testing of a multi-component prevention intervention targeting SDoH and their effects on biopsychosocial health indicators and longer-term health and social outcomes. In partnership with a local drop-in center for YEH, youth between the ages of 14 to 24 years are engaged and randomly assigned to conditions using a dismantling design so that essential intervention components can be efficiently identified. YEH (N = 300) are recruited through the drop-in center and randomly assigned to one of the following interventions: a) Motivational Interviewing/Community Reinforcement Approach + Services as Usual (MI/CRA + SAU, n = 80), b) Strengths-Based Outreach and Advocacy + SAU (SBOA + SAU, n = 80), c) MI/CRA + SBOA + SAU (n = 80) or d) SAU (n = 60). Interventions are delivered over six months by the drop-in center's therapists and youth advocates to enhance sustainability. Primary outcomes include opioid use, other substance use, and mental health symptomatology. Secondary outcomes focus on education, employment, and housing stability; access to health care and met health needs; diagnostic status, and drug overdose. Biopsychosocial pathways underlying change, potential moderation of intervention response, and a cost effectiveness analysis will be examined. Youth are assessed at baseline and at 3-, 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-months post-baseline to examine longer-term prevention effects on the outcomes. Prevention efforts addressing SDoH and embedded within systems that serve youth, such as drop-in centers, may be the most promising strategy to prevent opioid use and other substance use disorders as well as chronic homelessness. The study addresses a significant public health concern, and if our hypotheses are supported, the intervention may be readily transported to communities around the country. ClinicalTrials.gov, TRN: NCT06311838, Registration date: 26 February 2024.

Although emotion socialization during preschool years is well studied, how mother-child mutual emotional responses unfold in naturalistic contexts remains largely unknown. This pilot study examined within-dyad associations between children’s emotion expressions and maternal socialization behaviors, and the moderating effects of maternal depressive symptoms and child negative emotionality. Forty mother-child dyads participated (42.5% girls; M_age = 5.16 years). Across two consecutive weekend days, mothers completed ecological momentary assessments 12 times, reporting children’s positive and negative emotion expressions, the intensity of child peak negative expressions, and their own emotion coaching (EC) and emotion dismissing (ED) behaviors. Children’s peak negative emotion was associated with mothers’ use of EC and ED, and the peak negative emotion and EC link was moderated by child negative emotionality. Maternal EC/ED also predicted children’s subsequent positive and/or negative emotion expressions, and the association between maternal ED and child negative expressions was further moderated by maternal depressive symptoms or child negative emotionality. Using an ecologically valid, real-time assessment approach, this study explored how the mother-child emotion socialization process unfolds in everyday life. Findings highlight the negative impact of maternal ED on children’s emotional experiences and highlight the potential value of early interventions targeting parental ED behaviors.

This study examined the role of pandemic-induced changes in family relationships and maternal prepandemic depression in mother-child reminiscing during the pandemic and how this reminiscing in turn related to child outcomes. Mother-preschooler dyads (N = 69) were recruited from a larger longitudinal study, with 45% of mothers having a history of major depressive disorder before the pandemic. The dyads discussed the most positive and negative events (nominated by the mother) that the child experienced during the lockdown period. Mothers' emotion-related utterances were coded for emotion coaching and narrative style. Mothers also reported changing family relationships (family togetherness, household disagreements) during the pandemic prior to the reminiscing task. A principal component analysis on maternal emotion coaching and narrative style revealed two factors: interactive and explanatory emotion talk. Regression analyses indicated an interaction between maternal prepandemic depression and household disagreement (i.e., household disagreement was associated with less interactive emotion talk only for mothers with major depressive disorder) and a positive effect of family togetherness in predicting mothers' interactive emotion talk. Further, maternal interactive emotion talk predicted child decreased internalizing symptoms and explanatory emotion talk predicted improved autobiographical memory retrieval. These results underscore the importance of family emotional reminiscing in children's well-being during stressful times. Our findings offer insights for interventions aimed at promoting positive outcomes for children facing adversity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

This study examined the prospective associations among the trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms, maternal sensitivity, and child executive function (EF) across early and middle childhood, and tested the mediating role of maternal sensitivity in the links between change in maternal depressive symptoms and the growth of child EF. Participants included 1,364 children and mothers from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD). We found that maternal depressive symptoms (from 6 months to Grade 5) and sensitivity (from 36 months to Grade 5) decreased, whereas child EF (planning skills; from Grade 1 to 5) increased over time. We also found several direct associations: (a) lower maternal depressive symptoms at 36 months predicted higher sensitivity at 54 months; (b) higher sensitivity at 54 months and a faster decrease in sensitivity from 36 months to Grade 5 predicted higher child EF in Grade 1; and (c) higher sensitivity at 54 months predicted greater growth of EF from Grade 1 to 5. In addition, two mediation effects were found as follows: Lower levels of maternal depressive symptoms at 36 months predicted both higher levels of child EF in Grade 1 and greater growth of EF from Grade 1 to 5 through higher levels of maternal sensitivity at 54 months. The results suggest that early maternal depressive symptoms may have long-term effects on the growth of EF, especially planning skills, during middle childhood, and that one important pathway that maternal depressive symptoms affect child EF outcomes through maternal sensitivity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: Investigations of chronic physiological stress measured by hair cortisol are rapidly expanding among community samples of adolescents and adults. However, research examining physiological stress among youth experiencing homelessness is nascent despite the youth’s increased risk for adverse exposures and subsequent impaired mental health. Objective: This article aimed to examine the feasibility of collecting hair for measuring cortisol among diverse youth experiencing homelessness and gain an understanding of variation in participation. Methods: Analysis of survey and hair participation data from three pilot studies among youth experiencing homelessness was conducted. Survey measures included sociodemographic characteristics (age, race and ethnicity, sex assigned at birth, and sexual orientation) and reasons for nonparticipation. Descriptive analysis examined participation rates in hair collection for cortisol measurement, including sociodemographic differences in participation. Results: Participation in the hair sampling for cortisol was high for the combined sample (88.4%), with some variation across the three pilot studies. Insufficient hair for cutting was the most common reason for not participating; Black and multiracial youth, as well as male youth, had a higher prevalence of nonparticipation. Discussion: The collection of hair for cortisol research among youth experiencing homelessness is feasible, and integration of physiological measures of stress into research with this vulnerable population should be considered, given their high risk for adversity and death by suicide and drug overdose. Methodological considerations and avenues for potential research are discussed.