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Purpose Exposure to aggressive parenting is a well-established environmental risk factor for anxiety symptoms. Moreover, autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, including activity in both parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems (PNS and SNS), may moderate the effects of aggressive parenting on anxiety. This study aims to examine the interactive effects of aggressive parenting and ANS activity (both PNS and SNS) in accounting for trait anxiety among emerging adults. Methods Participants (n = 190, mean age = 19.29, 56% females) reported retrospectively on childhood aggressive parenting and trait anxiety. In addition, we measured resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of PNS, and resting skin conductance level (SCL), an index of SNS. Results Regression analyses revealed that the three-way interaction between resting SCL, RSA, and aggressive parenting significantly accounted for trait anxiety. Simple slope analyses suggest that the relation between aggressive parenting and trait anxiety is stronger at lower conditional values of resting RSA and lower conditional values of resting SCL. Conclusion Coinhibition, or relatively low activity across both systems, may exacerbate the link between aggressive parenting and trait anxiety. This study highlights the importance of considering the interaction effects of multiple physiological systems and environmental context on later psychological functioning., Author(s): Li Shen Chong [sup.1] , Kate L. Senich [sup.1] , Christy L. Olezeski [sup.2] , Ari N. Rabkin [sup.3] [sup.4] , Elana B. Gordis [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.265850.c, [...]

Legislation undermining the human rights of transgender and gender-expansive (TGE) people is on the rise. Many U.S. states have passed or proposed laws that restrict gender-affirming health care (GAC), which are largely rooted in scientific disinformation, meaning intentional falsehood. Scientific disinformation presents a significant threat to TGE people, providers of GAC, health care professionals, and the general public. Clinicians, legal advocates, and others need effective strategies to rebut disinformation. This perspective reviews the status of GAC bans and the disinformation strategies that underlie them, and provides practical tools to challenge false claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the lack of mental health services available to all youth has been exposed as a result of COVID-19, this is particularly problematic for LGBTQ+ youth. (1,2) Specifically, transgender and [...]

An increasing number of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth are seeking gender-affirming medical treatments and affirmative mental health supports. The field currently lacks guidelines or recommendations for the integration of spirituality and religion into such care. Providers must consider spirituality and religion when working with this population because it may reduce the burden of adversity and may also improve the likelihood of positive outcomes among this population. Informed by an adapted version of the Minority Stress Model and the cultural humility framework, our manuscript details recommendations for interdisciplinary care with TGNC youth and families in the following areas: functional assessment of spirituality and religion as they relate to gender identity, parental support, medical decision making, coping; religious/spiritual referral; psychotherapy referral; and community advocacy. Recommendations offer providers in interdisciplinary settings applicable frameworks and guidelines for integrating spirituality and religion into care with TGNC youth and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents and their caregivers have highlighted the dearth of providers trained in gender-affirming practices as a critical treatment barrier, yet little is known about their specific experiences in mental health therapy. The present study sought to elucidate these experiences. Qualitative description was employed to analyze data from 105 clinical interviews completed with TGD adolescents (n = 49; ages 11–20) and/or their caregivers (n = 65; ages 36–84) seeking medical gender transition services at a pediatric gender program in the U.S. Participants highlighted satisfactory experiences with therapists they perceived as gender-affirming and who actively involved caregivers in therapy. Several participants reported unhelpful experiences with therapists viewed as non-affirming. In a few cases, caregivers were alienated from therapy when therapists told them to affirm their adolescent's gender in highly directive ways. Findings underscore the need to train therapists in gender-affirming practices and highlight the importance of thoughtfully engaging caregivers in therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To provide a topical review of the literature on the use of medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) to address social determinants of health (SDH) needs as a means to reduce health disparities, and to make recommendations for the implementation of MLPs within pediatric psychologists' clinical work, research, and training.Methods: We conducted a topical review of the research on the intersection of MLPs, SDH needs, and health disparities among pediatric populations. Given the scarcity of literature available, both empirical and theoretical articles were included in the review.Results: Though limited, the extant literature suggests that use of MLPs may help address the SDH needs that perpetuate disparities among pediatric populations. To date, MLPs are not as frequently incorporated in the training and work of pediatric psychologists as they may be in other related fields (e.g., medicine).Conclusions: MLPs provide an opportunity for psychologists to broaden their interdisciplinary collaborations, to more aptly meet the social and legal needs of their patients to assist in reducing inequities among underserved pediatric populations. The systematic incorporation of MLPs into pediatric psychology training may help to increase the utilization of these services moving forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research efforts have focused on examining the relationship between environmental and physiological factors to better understand the effect that childhood chronic stress might have on adult health outcomes. This study examines the relation between childhood parental aggression exposure and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), as measured by resting skin conductance levels (SCLs). Participants (N = 155) completed retrospective self-report measures of childhood exposure to interparental aggression and physically aggressive parenting. The 2-way interaction between exposure to physically aggressive parenting and interparental aggression accounted for unique variance in adulthood SCL. Sex differences emerged in this relationship. Results suggest that the type of aggression exposure might play an important role in the relationship between stressors in youth and resting SNS activity in adulthood. Future research areas are identified, including the need to examine plasticity in the SNS depending on the age of experienced aggression and the age of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As the need for comprehensive, affirmative health care for transgender and gender nonconforming youth has increased in recent years, clinical practice has struggled to catch up with evolving standards of care. The Yale Gender Center is an example of an interdisciplinary model of care that addresses not only clinical needs, but also ancillary needs for patients and training opportunities for students across several health disciplines. In this article, we discuss our clinical and training models, lessons learned, and our proposed directions to expand care. It is our hope to not only offer a model for interdisciplinary care among other health care centers, but to be able to learn from missteps and potentially collaborate with other centers in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]