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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

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Published on: June 13, 2021

Improving Maternal Mental Health as a Pathway to Economic Mobility in the TANF System

Megan V Smith¹, Laura S Callinan¹, Caroline S Posner¹

¹Department of Psychiatry (Smith, Callinan, Holmes) and Child Study Center (Smith, Posner, Ebling), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut (Smith); Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, Staten Island (Holmes).

Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.)

|May 17, 2021

Abstract

Objective:

The authors sought to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and initial outcomes of the delivery of a group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) mental health intervention for mothers in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Methods:

An 8-week group CBT program was made available to parenting women (N=40) in a large, urban TANF system from April to August 2019. Participants completed baseline and endpoint measures to assess depressive symptoms, perceived stress, social support, employment, and program acceptability. TANF administrative data were examined to assess TANF engagement.

Results:

TANF staff were successfully trained to deliver CBT. The participants reported significantly reduced depressive symptoms and perceived stress; perceived social support significantly increased from the beginning to the end of the intervention.

Conclusions:

A model that fully embedded CBT delivery in a TANF system was acceptable to low-income parenting women and TANF staff and reduced depressive symptoms among the women. The scalability of interventions to address maternal depression among low-income women has presented a challenge. Delivering mental health interventions in the U.S. TANF system may offer a scalable method to reduce depression and increase employment in a population bearing a high mental health burden.

Keywords:

Cognitive behavioral therapy Poverty Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)Women

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