Toxic Stress and Vulnerable Mothers: A Multilevel Framework of Stressors and Strengths.

This was a scoping review, so the included studies were not individually checked for validity or rigor. The search used broad terms about stress, coping, and vulnerable mothers, and did not include terms for specific causes or consequences of stress, so important studies may have been missed. It included only U.S. studies and only health sciences literature, so findings may not apply to other countries or to social science, economics, or health policy evidence. It focused on mothers and excluded studies about fathers or other caregivers unless findings specific to mothers were presented. Many studies defined social support only in general terms, which limits how useful the review is for designing specific interventions. The review describes associations and themes; it does not test whether reducing maternal stress prevents toxic stress in children.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The paper's publication types list NIH and non-U.S. government research support.

Do not read this as evidence that reducing maternal stress prevents toxic stress in children. It is a scoping review that mapped stressors and strengths without testing interventions or evaluating individual studies for validity or rigor.