Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Programs for Infants Experiencing Homelessness: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Experiencing homelessness in infancy has been linked to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Parental well-being and the parent–infant relationship can also be negatively impacted by experiencing homelessness. While numerous parent-based infant mental health programs have been identified by a recent review, the goal of this study was to further determine the extent to which these existing programs were developed and/or examined with at-risk populations such as families experiencing homelessness. Out of 60 programs identified by Hare et al., 2023, only three had been implemented specifically in shelter settings with infants 0–12 months (Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, New Beginnings, and My Baby’s First Teacher). Additionally, when examining programs that began in later infancy (after 12 months), only 2 programs were implemented in shelter settings (Incredible Years and Parent–Child Interaction Therapy). Implications for research, policy, and clinicians regarding implementation of evidence-based prevention/treatment programs for parents and their infants experiencing homelessness are discussed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health under Grant [R01MH112588] and the National Institute on Drug Abuse under Grant [T32DA043449]. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of NIH. We would like to acknowledge the support of Sundari Foundation, Inc. dba Lotus House Women’s Shelter who inspired us to conduct this study.