The Family Socialization Interview-Revised (FSI-R): a Comprehensive Assessment of Parental Disciplinary Behaviors

Elucidating the complex mechanisms by which harsh parenting increases risk of child psychopathology is key to targeted prevention. This requires nuanced methods that capture the varied perceptions and experiences of diverse families. The Family Socialization Interview-Revised (FSI-R), adapted from an interview developed by Dodge et al. (Child Development, 65, 649-665, 1994), is a comprehensive, semi-structured interview for characterizing methods of parental discipline used with young children. The FSI-R coding system systematically rates parenting style, usual discipline techniques, and most intense physical and psychological discipline based on rater judgment across two eras: (1) birth to the previous year, and (2) the previous year to present. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the FSI-R in a diverse, high-risk community sample of 386 mothers and their children, ages 3 to 6 years. Interrater reliability was good to excellent for codes capturing physically and psychologically harsh parenting, and restrictive/punitive parenting styles. Findings supported the FSI-R's convergent and incremental validity. Importantly, the FSI-R demonstrated incremental utility, explaining unique variance in children's externalizing and internalizing symptoms beyond that explained by traditional surveys and observed parenting. The FSI-R appeared particularly promising for capturing risk associated with young children's depressive symptoms, as these were generally not significantly associated with other measures of harsh parenting. Overall, findings support the added value of the FSI-R within a multi-method assessment of disciplinary practices across early child development. Future implications for prevention are discussed.

Socio-emotionally significant experience and children's processing of irrelevant auditory stimuli

Theory and research indicate considerable influence of socio-emotionally significant experiences on children's functioning and adaptation. In the current study, we examined neurophysiological correlates of children's allocation of information processing resources to socio-emotionally significant events, specifically, simulated marital interactions. We presented 9- to 11-year-old children (n=24; 11 females) with 15 videos of interactions between two actors posing as a married couple. Task-irrelevant brief auditory probes were presented during the videos, and event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited to the auditory probes were measured. As hypothesized, exposure to higher levels of interparental conflict was associated with smaller P1, P2, and N2 ERPs to the probes. This finding is consistent with the idea that children who had been exposed to more interparental conflict attended more to the videos and diverted fewer cognitive resources to processing the probes, thereby producing smaller ERPs to the probes. In addition, smaller N2s were associated with more child behavior problems, suggesting that allocating fewer processing resources to the probes was associated with more problem behavior. Results are discussed in terms of implications of socio-emotionally significant experiences for children's processing of interpersonal interactions.

Intergenerational continuity in parents' and adolescents' externalizing problems: The role of life events and their interaction with GABRA2

We examine whether parental externalizing behavior has an indirect effect on adolescent externalizing behavior via elevations in life events, and whether this indirect effect is further qualified by an interaction between life events and adolescents' GABRA2 genotype (rs279871). We use data from 2 samples: the Child Development Project (CDP; n = 324) and FinnTwin12 (n = 802). In CDP, repeated measures of life events, mother-reported adolescent externalizing, and teacher-reported adolescent externalizing were used. In FinnTwin12, life events and externalizing were assessed at age 14. Parental externalizing was indexed by measures of antisocial behavior and alcohol problems or alcohol dependence symptoms in both samples. In CDP, parental externalizing was associated with more life events, and the association between life events and subsequent adolescent externalizing varied as a function of GABRA2 genotype (p ≤ .05). The association between life events and subsequent adolescent externalizing was stronger for adolescents with 0 copies of the G minor allele compared to those with 1 or 2 copies of the minor allele. Parallel moderation trends were observed in FinnTwin12 (p ≤ .11). The discussion focuses on how the strength of intergenerational pathways for externalizing psychopathology may differ as a function of adolescent-level individual differences.

Encounters with Aggressive Peers in Early Childhood: Frequency, Age Differences, and Correlates of Risk for Behaviour Problems

The primary goal of the present study was to describe the range, types, and quality (in terms of exposure to aggressive peers) of social activity settings in which young children typically have contact with peers. We also examined whether participation in these settings varied as a function of child sex and age, and family demographic characteristics. Subjects were 277 preschoolaged children. On the basis of detailed accounts of their mothers, activity setting measures were derived separately for ages 2-4 years (era 1) and ages 4-5 years (era 2). Each of seven activity settings (e.g. neighbourhood, day care, organised playgroups) was rated for frequency of participation and frequency of exposure to aggressive peers. Children had the greatest amount of peer contact and were exposed to aggressive peers most often in the neighbourhood setting. In contrast, children participated least frequently in structured playgroup settings, and these settings were least likely to contain aggressive peers. Children from lower SES and single-parent families were more likely to be involved in settings (especially neighbourhoods) containing aggressive peers. These findings suggest that one mechanism through which risk for behaviour problems among children in lower SES and single-parent families may operate is increased exposure to activity settings in which aggression occurs regularly.

Peer social preference and depressive symptoms of children in Italy and the United States

This study examined the role of low social preference in relation to subsequent depressive symptoms, with particular attention to prior depressive symptoms, prior and concurrent aggression, mutual friendships, and peer victimization. Italian children (N = 288) were followed from grade 6 through grade 8, and American children (N = 585) were followed from kindergarten through grade 12. Analyses demonstrate that low social preference contributes to later depressive symptoms. The effects are not accounted for by depressive symptoms or aggression experienced prior to low social preference but are mostly accounted for by the co-occurrence of depressive symptoms with concurrent aggressive behavior; gender, mutual friendships, and peer victimization generally did not moderate these associations. We conclude that peer relationship problems do predict later depressive symptoms, and a possible mechanism through which this effect occurs is through the effect of poor peer relationships on increasing aggressive behavior, which is associated with depressive symptoms.

Measuring the development of inhibitory control: The challenge of heterotypic continuity

Inhibitory control is thought to demonstrate heterotypic continuity, in other words, continuity in its purpose or function but changes in its behavioral manifestation over time. This creates major methodological challenges for studying the development of inhibitory control in childhood including construct validity, developmental appropriateness and sensitivity of measures, and longitudinal factorial invariance. We meta-analyzed 198 studies using measures of inhibitory control, a key aspect of self-regulation, to estimate age ranges of usefulness for each measure. The inhibitory control measures showed limited age ranges of usefulness owing to ceiling/floor effects. Tasks were useful, on average, for a developmental span of less than 3 years. This suggests that measuring inhibitory control over longer spans of development may require use of different measures at different time points, seeking to measure heterotypic continuity. We suggest ways to study the development of inhibitory control, with overlapping measurement in a structural equation modeling framework and tests of longitudinal factorial or measurement invariance. However, as valuable as this would be for the area, we also point out that establishing longitudinal factorial invariance is neither sufficient nor necessary for examining developmental change. Any study of developmental change should be guided by theory and construct validity, aiming toward a better empirical and theoretical approach to the selection and combination of measures.

A Public Health Perspective on School Dropout and Adult Outcomes: A Prospective Study of Risk and Protective Factors From Age 5 to 27 Years

PURPOSE

This study aimed to advance a public health perspective on links between education and health by examining risk and protective factors that might alter the relation between dropping out of high school and subsequent negative outcomes.

METHODS

A community sample (N = 585) was followed from age 5 to 27 years. Data included self and parent reports, peer sociometric nominations, and observed mother-teen interactions.

RESULTS

High school dropouts were up to four times more likely to experience individual negative outcomes (being arrested, fired, or on government assistance, using illicit substances, having poor health) by age 27 years and 24 times more likely compared to graduates to experience as many as four or more negative outcomes. Links between dropout and negative outcomes were more pronounced for individuals who were in low socioeconomic status families at age 5 years, rejected by elementary school peers, and became parents at a younger age; the dropout effect was decreased for individuals who had been treated for a behavioral, emotional, or drug problem by age 24 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Addressing school dropout as a public health problem has the potential to improve the lives of dropouts and reduce societal costs of dropping out.

Less Efficient Neural Processing Related to Irregular Sleep and Less Sustained Attention in Toddlers

The current study used event-related potentials to examine a candidate process through which sleep difficulties affect attentional processing in toddlers. Fifteen toddlers participated in an auditory Oddball task while neurophysiological data were collected. Sleep deficits were assessed using actigraphs, and attention was examined with a sustained attention task. A P3-like component was elicited from the toddlers, and longer target P3 latencies were associated with poorer sustained attention and irregular sleep. Findings suggest that irregular sleep is associated with less efficient attentional processing as reflected by the P3 component, and that longer target P3 latencies are associated with poorer sustained attention.

Relations Between Toddler Sleep Characteristics, Sleep Problems, and Temperament

Two sources of information (parent-reported sleep diaries and actigraph records) were used to investigate how toddler sleep characteristics (bed time/sleep onset, wake time/sleep offset, total nighttime sleep, and total sleep time) are related to sleep problems and temperament. There were 64 toddler participants in the study. Consistent with studies of older children, parent reports differed from actigraph-based records. The findings that parent-reported and actigraph-recorded sleep characteristics varied as a function of parent report of toddler sleep problems and temperament add needed information on toddler sleep. Such information may contribute to improving parents' awareness of their child's sleep characteristics and correlates of problem sleep.

Bedtime routines in early childhood: prevalence, consistency, and associations with nighttime sleep

The ability to transition from wakefulness to sleep is one of the most important tasks in the development of sleep during early childhood. Although establishing regular bedtime routines for children with sleep problems can be clinically effective in reducing the number of signaled night awakenings and increasing amount of sleep, it is unclear whether a regular bedtime routine would be associated with either the frequency of signaled night awakenings or nightly sleep minutes in a nonclinical sample of children. This study examined the role of a regular bedtime routine on the development of sleep regulation and consolidation in a community sample of young children. Adherence to a bedtime routine was concurrently associated with a greater amount of nightly sleep at 36 and 42 months. In addition, adherence to a bedtime routine predicted an increase in nightly sleep minutes over a 6-month period. Finally, this study demonstrated that adherence to a bedtime routine was particularly supportive of developmental gains for children of mothers who used consistent parenting practices during the day.

Identifying an efficient set of items sensitive to clinical-range externalizing problems in children

The present study applied item response theory to identify an efficient set of items of the Achenbach Externalizing scale from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; 33 items) and Teacher's Report Form (TRF; 35 items) that were sensitive to clinical-range scores. Mothers and teachers rated children's externalizing problems annually from ages 5 to 13 years in 2 independent samples (Ns = 585 and 1,199). Item properties for each rater across ages 5-8 and 9-13 were examined with item response theory. We identified 10 mother- and teacher-reported items from both samples based on the items' measurement precision for subclinical and clinical levels of externalizing problems: externalizing problems that involve meanness to others, destroying others' things, fighting, lying and cheating, attacking people, screaming, swearing/obscene language, temper tantrums, threatening people, and being loud. Scores on the scales using these items had strong reliability and psychometric properties, capturing nearly as much information as the full Externalizing scale for classifying clinical levels of externalizing problems. Scores on the scale with the 10 CBCL items had moderate accuracy, equivalent to the full Externalizing scale, in classifying diagnoses of conduct disorder based on a research diagnostic interview. Of course, comprehensive clinical assessment would consider additional items, dimensions of behavior, and sources of information, too, but it appears that the behaviors tapped by this select set of items may be core to externalizing psychopathology in children. (PsycINFO Database Record

Neurophysiological Correlates of Children’s Processing of Interparental Conflict Cues

This study builds on the literature on child exposure to marital conflict by testing whether mother-reported marital conflict exposure predicts a child’s P3 event-related potential (ERP) components generated in response to viewing quasi–marital conflict photos. We collected ERP data from 23 children (9–11 years of age) while presenting photos of actors pretending to be a couple depicting interpersonal anger, happiness, and neutrality. To elicit the P3 ERP, stimuli were presented using an oddball paradigm, with angry and happy photos presented on 20% of trials each and neutral photos presented on the remaining 60% of trials. Angry photos were the target in 1 block, and happy photos were the target in the other block. In the angry block, children from high-conflict homes had shorter reaction times (RTs) on happy trials than on neutral trials, and children from low-conflict homes had shorter RTs on angry trials than on happy trials. Also within the angry block, children generated larger P3s on angry trials than on happy trials, regardless of exposure to conflict. Further, children from high-conflict homes generated larger P3s on angry trials and on happy trials compared with neutral trials, but children from low-conflict homes did not. Results are discussed in terms of implications for children’s processing of displays of interpersonal emotion.

Developmental mediation of genetic variation in response to the Fast Track prevention program

We conducted a developmental analysis of genetic moderation of the effect of the Fast Track intervention on adult externalizing psychopathology. The Fast Track intervention enrolled 891 children at high risk to develop externalizing behavior problems when they were in kindergarten. Half of the enrolled children were randomly assigned to receive 10 years of treatment, with a range of services and resources provided to the children and their families, and the other half to usual care (controls). We previously showed that the effect of the Fast Track intervention on participants' risk of externalizing psychopathology at age 25 years was moderated by a variant in the glucocorticoid receptor gene. Children who carried copies of the A allele of the single nucleotide polymorphism rs10482672 had the highest risk of externalizing psychopathology if they were in the control arm of the trial and the lowest risk of externalizing psychopathology if they were in the treatment arm. In this study, we test a developmental hypothesis about the origins of this for better and for worse Gene × Intervention interaction (G × I): that the observed G × I effect on adult psychopathology is mediated by the proximal impact of intervention on childhood externalizing problems and adolescent substance use and delinquency. We analyzed longitudinal data tracking the 270 European American children in the Fast Track randomized control trial with available genetic information (129 intervention children, 141 control group peers, 69% male) from kindergarten through age 25 years. Results show that the same pattern of for better and for worse susceptibility to intervention observed at the age 25 follow-up was evident already during childhood. At the elementary school follow-ups and at the middle/high school follow-ups, rs10482672 predicted better adjustment among children receiving the Fast Track intervention and worse adjustment among children in the control condition. In turn, these proximal G × I effects early in development mediated the ultimate G × I effect on externalizing psychopathology at age 25 years. We discuss the contribution of these findings to the growing literature on genetic susceptibility to environmental intervention.

The role of language ability and self-regulation in the development of inattentive-hyperactive behavior problems

Previous research has found associations but not established mechanisms of developmental linkage between language ability and inattentive-hyperactive (I-H) behavior problems. The present study examined whether self-regulation mediates the effect of language ability on later I-H behavior problems among young children (N = 120) assessed at 30, 36, and 42 months of age. Cross-lagged panel models tested the direction of effect between language ability and self-regulation and longitudinal effects of language ability on later I-H problems mediated by self-regulation. Language ability was measured by children's scores on the receptive and expressive language subtests of the Differential Ability Scales. Self-regulation was measured by three behavioral tasks requiring inhibitory control. I-H problems were reported by parents and secondary caregivers. Language ability predicted later self-regulation as measured by all three tasks. There was no association, however, between self-regulation and later language ability, suggesting that the direction of effect was stronger from language ability to later self-regulation. Moreover, the effect of language ability on later I-H behavior problems was mediated by children's self-regulation in one of the tasks (for secondary caregivers' but not parents' ratings). Findings suggest that language deficits may explain later I-H behavior problems via their prediction of poorer self-regulatory skills.

Country, sex, and parent occupational status: moderators of the continuity of aggression from childhood to adulthood

Using data from two American and one Finnish long-term longitudinal studies, we examined continuity of general aggression from age 8 to physical aggression in early adulthood (age 21-30) and whether continuity of aggression differed by country, sex, and parent occupational status. In all samples, childhood aggression was assessed via peer nominations and early adulthood aggression via self-reports. Multi-group structural equation models revealed significant continuity in aggression in the American samples but not in the Finnish sample. These relations did not differ by sex but did differ by parent occupational status: whereas there was no significant continuity among American children from professional family-of-origin backgrounds, there was significant continuity among American children from non-professional backgrounds.

Peer rejection, affiliation with deviant peers, delinquency, and risky sexual behavior

Risky sexual behavior poses significant health risks by increasing sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies. Previous research has documented many factors related to risky sexual behavior. This study adds to the literature by proposing a prospective, developmental model of peer factors related to risky sexual behavior. Developmental pathways to risky sexual behavior were examined in a sample of 517 individuals (51% female; 82% European American, 16% African American, 2% other) followed from age 5-27. Structural equation models examined direct and indirect effects of peer rejection (assessed via peer nominations at ages 5, 6, 7, and 8), affiliation with deviant peers (assessed via self-report at ages 11 and 12), and delinquency (assessed via maternal report at ages 10 and 16) on risky sexual behavior (assessed via self-report at age 27). More peer rejection during childhood, affiliation with deviant peers during pre- adolescence, and delinquency in childhood and adolescence predicted more risky sexual behavior through age 27, although delinquency at age 16 was the only risk factor that had a significant direct effect on risky sexual behavior through age 27 above and beyond the other risk factors. Peer rejection was related to subsequent risk factors for girls but not boys. Peer risk factors as early as age 5 shape developmental pathways through childhood and adolescence and have implications for risky sexual behavior into adulthood.

Peer victimization during middle childhood as a lead indicator of internalizing problems and diagnostic outcomes in late adolescence

We examined evidence that peer victimization in middle childhood is a lead indicator of internalizing behavior problems and diagnostic outcomes during adolescence. This research was conducted as part of an ongoing multisite longitudinal investigation. The participants were 388 children (198 boys, 190 girls). Peer victimization was assessed with a peer nomination inventory that was administered when the average age of the participants was approximately 8.5 years. Internalizing problems were assessed using a behavior problem checklist completed by mothers in 9 consecutive years, and a structured clinical interview was administered to the participants in the summer following high school graduation (10-11 years after the victimization assessment). Peer victimization in middle childhood was correlated with internalizing problems on a bivariate basis through the late years of adolescence. Multilevel analyses also revealed associations between peer victimization and increases in internalizing problems over time. In addition, peer victimization had a modest link to unipolar depressive disorders in late adolescence. Victimization in the peer group during middle childhood appears to be a marker of long-term risk for internalizing behavior problems and unipolar depression.

Differential impairments underlying decision making in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: a cognitive modeling analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the underlying processes of decision-making impairments in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). We deconstructed their performance on the widely used decision task, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) into cognitive, motivational, and response processes using cognitive modeling analysis. We hypothesized that IGT performance would be characterized by impaired memory functions and heightened punishment sensitivity in AN, and by elevated sensitivity to reward as opposed to punishment in BN.

METHOD

We analyzed trial-by-trial data of IGT obtained from 224 individuals: 94 individuals with AN, 63 with BN, and 67 healthy comparison individuals (HC). The prospect valence learning model was used to assess cognitive, motivational, and response processes underlying IGT performance.

RESULTS

Individuals with AN showed marginally impaired IGT performance compared to HC. Their performance was characterized by impairments in memory functions. Individuals with BN showed significantly impaired IGT performance compared to HC. They showed greater relative sensitivity to gains as opposed to losses than HC. Memory functions in AN were positively correlated with body mass index.

DISCUSSION

This study identified differential impairments underlying IGT performance in AN and BN. Findings suggest that impaired decision making in AN might involve impaired memory functions. Impaired decision making in BN might involve altered reward and punishment sensitivity.

Pathways of Peer Relationships from Childhood to Young Adulthood

This study examined trajectories of peer social preference during childhood and personality assessed in early adolescence in relation to trajectories of friendship quality during early adulthood. Participants (N = 585) were followed from age 5 to age 23. At ages 5 to 8, peers provided sociometric nominations; at age 12 participants reported their own personality characteristics; from age 19 to 23 participants rated their friendship quality. Latent growth modeling revealed that trajectories characterized by high levels of childhood peer social preference were related to trajectories characterized by high levels of early adulthood friendship quality. Early adolescent personality characterized by extraversion and conscientiousness predicted higher friendship quality at age 19, and conscientiousness predicted change in friendship quality from age 19 to 23. This study demonstrates that peer relationships show continuity from childhood to early adulthood and that qualities of core personality are linked to the development of adult friendships.

Impulsivity and genetic variants in DRD2 and ANKK1 moderate longitudinal associations between sleep problems and overweight from ages 5 to 11

OBJECTIVE

Short sleep duration and sleep problems increase risks of overweight and weight gain. Few previous studies have examined sleep and weight repeatedly over development. This study examined the associations between yearly reports of sleep problems and weight status from ages 5 to 11. Although, previous studies have shown that inter-individual differences moderate the effect of short sleep duration on weight, it is not known whether inter-individual differences also moderate the effect of sleep problems on weight. We tested how the longitudinal associations between sleep problems and weight status were moderated by impulsivity and genetic variants in DRD2 and ANKK1.

DESIGN

Seven-year longitudinal study.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 567 children from the Child Development Project for the analysis with impulsivity and 363 for the analysis with genetic variants.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

Sleep problems and weight status were measured by mothers' reports yearly. Impulsivity was measured by teachers' reports yearly. Six single-nucleotide polymorphisms located in DRD2 and ANKK1 were genotyped. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Higher average levels of sleep deprivation across years were associated with greater increases in overweight (P=0.0024). Sleep problems and overweight were associated at both within-person across time (P<0.0001) and between-person levels (P<0.0001). Impulsivity and two polymorphisms, rs1799978 and rs4245149 in DRD2, moderated the association between sleep problems and overweight; the association was stronger in children who were more impulsive (P=0.0022), in G allele carriers for rs1799978 (P=0.0007) and in A allele carriers for rs4245149 (P=0.0002).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided incremental evidence for the influence of sleep problems on weight. Findings of DRD2, ANKK1 and impulsivity are novel; they suggest that reward sensitivity and self-regulatory abilities might modulate the influences of sleep on weight gain. The analysis of polymorphisms was restricted to European Americans and hence the results might not generalize to other populations.

Reciprocal and Complementary Sibling Interactions: Relations with Socialization Outcomes in the Kindergarten Classroom

RESEARCH FINDINGS

To examine associations between sibling interaction patterns and later social outcomes in single- and two-parent families, 113 kindergarteners took part in naturalistic observations at home with siblings, classmates participated in sociometric interviews, and teachers completed behavior ratings. Sibling interactions were coded using a newly-developed 39-item checklist, and proportions of complementary and reciprocal sibling interactions computed. Complementarity occurred more among dyads where kindergartners were with toddler or infant siblings than among kindergartners with older or near-age younger siblings. Higher levels of complementarity predicted lower levels of internalizing but were not related to externalizing problems. Kindergartners' sociometric status in the classroom differed as a function of sibling interaction patterns, with neglected and controversial children experiencing less complementarity/more reciprocity than popular, average, and rejected children. Finally, there was some evidence for differential associations of sibling interaction patterns with social outcomes for children in single- versus two-parent families: regressions testing interaction effects show sibling reciprocity positively associated with kindergartners' social skills only in single-parent families, and complementary sibling interactions positively related to internalizing problems only in two-parent families.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Those working with divorcing or other single-parent families might consider sibling interactions as a potential target for social skill building.

Deconstructing the externalizing spectrum: growth patterns of overt aggression, covert aggression, oppositional behavior, impulsivity/inattention, and emotion dysregulation between school entry and early adolescence

The purpose of this study was to determine whether five subcomponents of children's externalizing behavior showed distinctive patterns of long-term growth and predictive correlates. We examined growth in teachers' ratings of overt aggression, covert aggression, oppositional defiance, impulsivity/inattention, and emotion dysregulation across three developmental periods spanning kindergarten through Grade 8 (ages 5-13 years). We also determined whether three salient background characteristics, family socioeconomic status, child ethnicity, and child gender, differentially predicted growth in discrete categories of child externalizing symptoms across development. Participants were 543 kindergarten-age children (52% male, 81% European American, 17% African American) whose problem behaviors were rated by teachers each successive year of development through Grade 8. Latent growth curve analyses were performed for each component scale, contrasting with overall externalizing, in a piecewise fashion encompassing three developmental periods: kindergarten-Grade 2, Grades 3-5, and Grades 6-8. We found that most subconstructs of externalizing behavior increased significantly across the early school age period relative to middle childhood and early adolescence. However, overt aggression did not show early positive growth, and emotion dysregulation significantly increased across middle childhood. Advantages of using subscales were most clear in relation to illustrating different growth functions between the discrete developmental periods. Moreover, growth in some discrete subcomponents was differentially associated with variations in family socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Our findings strongly affirmed the necessity of adopting a developmental approach to the analysis of growth in children's externalizing behavior and provided unique data concerning similarities and differences in growth between subconstructs of child and adolescent externalizing behavior.

Trajectories of Mothers' Discipline Strategies and Interparental Conflict: Interrelated Change during Middle Childhood

Using data collected annually when children were in kindergarten through 3^rd grade (N = 478), this study investigated changes in mothers' use of nonharsh, harsh verbal, and physical discipline; changes in interparental conflict; and associations between changes in discipline and interparental conflict. Controlling for potential confounds, physical discipline decreased over the course of middle childhood, whereas harsh verbal and nonharsh discipline remained stable. Increases in interparental conflict were associated with increases in physical discipline; decreases in interparental conflict were associated with decreases in physical discipline. Change in interparental conflict was unrelated to change in harsh verbal or nonharsh discipline, although more frequent interparental conflict was associated with more frequen10t use of all three types of discipline in 1^st grade. Findings extend previous research on how two major forms of communication within families-conflict between parents and parents' attempts to influence their children through discipline-change across middle childhood.

Language ability predicts the development of behavior problems in children

Prior studies have suggested, but not fully established, that language ability is important for regulating attention and behavior. Language ability may have implications for understanding attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorders, as well as subclinical problems. This article reports findings from two longitudinal studies to test (a) whether language ability has an independent effect on behavior problems, and (b) the direction of effect between language ability and behavior problems. In Study 1 (N = 585), language ability was measured annually from ages 7 to 13 years by language subtests of standardized academic achievement tests administered at the children's schools. Inattentive-hyperactive (I-H) and externalizing (EXT) problems were reported annually by teachers and mothers. In Study 2 (N = 11,506), language ability (receptive vocabulary) and mother-rated I-H and EXT problems were measured biannually from ages 4 to 12 years. Analyses in both studies showed that language ability predicted within-individual variability in the development of I-H and EXT problems over and above the effects of sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and performance in other academic and intellectual domains (e.g., math, reading comprehension, reading recognition, and short-term memory [STM]). Even after controls for prior levels of behavior problems, language ability predicted later behavior problems more strongly than behavior problems predicted later language ability, suggesting that the direction of effect may be from language ability to behavior problems. The findings suggest that language ability may be a useful target for the prevention or even treatment of attention deficits and EXT problems in children.

Peer victimization and social alienation: predicting deviant peer affiliation in middle school

Two prospective studies examined a theoretical model wherein exposure to victimization, resulting from early behavioral risk, heightens children's social alienation and subsequent deviant peer affiliation (DPA). Across Study 1 (298 girls, 287 boys; K-7th grade; 5-12 years) and Study 2 (338 girls, 298 boys; 2nd-6th grade; 8-12 years), children, parents, peers, and teachers reported on children's externalizing behavior and internalizing symptoms, peer victimization, social alienation, and DPA. Path analyses supported the proposed pathway: Peer victimization predicted social alienation, which then predicted DPA. Early externalizing behavior set this path in motion and made an independent contribution to DPA. This research identifies an important pathway through which externalizing behavior and consequent peer victimization launch children onto a risky social trajectory.