Girls' Tobacco and Alcohol Use During Early Adolescence: Prediction from Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms Across Two Studies

Associations between trajectories of depressive symptoms and subsequent tobacco and alcohol use were examined in two samples of girls assessed at age 11.5 (T1), 12.5 (T2), and 13.5 (T3). Two samples were examined to ascertain if there was generalizability of processes across risk levels and cultures. Study 1 comprised a United States-based sample of 100 girls in foster care; Study 2 comprised 264 girls in a United Kingdom community-based sample. Controlling for T1 aggression and T1 substance use, individual variation in intercept and slope of depressive symptoms was associated with tobacco use at T3 in both samples: greater intercept and increases in depressive symptoms increased the risk for T3 tobacco use. A similar pattern of associations was found for alcohol use in Study 1. The replicability of findings for the prediction of tobacco use from trajectories of depressive symptoms suggests potential benefit in identifying girls with elevated depressive symptoms for tobacco use prevention programs prior to the transition to secondary school.

Improving Executive Function and its Neurobiological Mechanisms through a Mindfulness-Based Intervention: Advances within the Field of Developmental Neuroscience

Poor executive function (EF) has been associated with a host of short- and long-term problems across the lifespan, including elevated rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, drug abuse, and antisocial behavior. Mindfulness-based interventions that focus on increasing awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, and actions have been shown to improve specific aspects of EF, including attention, cognitive control, and emotion regulation. In this article, we apply a developmental neuroscience perspective to review research relevant to one specific mindfulness-based intervention, Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT). Randomized controlled trials of IBMT indicate improvements in specific EF components, and uniquely highlight the role of neural circuitry specific to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) as two brain-based mechanisms that underlie IBMT-related improvements. The relevance of improving specific dimensions of EF through short-term IBMT to prevent a cascade of risk behaviors for children and adolescents is described and future research directions are proposed.

Effects of prenatal and postnatal parent depressive symptoms on adopted child HPA regulation: independent and moderated influences

This study used a prospective adoption design to investigate effects of prenatal and postnatal parent depressive symptom exposure on child hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity and associated internalizing symptoms. Birth mother prenatal symptoms and adoptive mother/father postnatal (9-month, 27-month) symptoms were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory in a sample of 192 families as part of the Early Growth and Development adoption Study. Child morning/evening cortisol levels and child symptoms of internalizing disorders (according to mother/father report on the Child Behavior Checklist) were assessed at 54 months, and birth mother diurnal cortisol was measured at 48 months postnatal. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test main effects and interactions of parents' symptoms predicting child cortisol, controlling for birth mother cortisol. Prenatal exposure to birth mother symptoms predicted lower child cortisol (main effect), as did postnatal exposure to adoptive parent symptoms (interaction effects). Adoptive mother 9-month symptoms exacerbated cortisol-lowering effects of both concurrent paternal symptoms and later (27-month) maternal symptoms, and the effect of birth mother cortisol. Lower child cortisol, in turn, was associated with higher child internalizing symptoms. Implications are discussed with respect to the intergenerational transmission of depression risk.

Validity evidence for the Security Scale as a measure of perceived attachment security in adolescence

In this study, the validity of a self-report measure of children's perceived attachment security (the Kerns Security Scale) was tested using adolescents. With regards to predictive validity, the Security Scale was significantly associated with (1) observed mother-adolescent interactions during conflict and (2) parent- and teacher-rated social competence. With regards to convergent validity, the Security Scale was significantly associated with all subscales of the Adult Attachment Scale (i.e., Depend, Anxiety, and Close) as measured 3 years later. Further, these links were found even after controlling for mother-child relationship quality as assessed by the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), and chi-square difference tests indicated that the Security Scale was generally a stronger predictor as compared to the IPPA. These results suggest that the Security Scale can be used to assess perceived attachment security across both childhood and adolescence, and thus could contribute significantly to developmental research during this period.

Fathering and mothering in the family system: linking marital hostility and aggression in adopted toddlers

BACKGROUND

  Previous studies have linked marital conflict, parenting, and externalizing problems in early childhood. However, these studies have not examined whether genes account for these links nor have they examined whether contextual factors such as parental personality or financial distress might account for links between marital conflict and parenting. We used an adoption design to allow for a clear examination of environmental impact rather than shared genes of parents and children, and assessments of parental personality and financial strain to assess the effects of context on relationships between marriage and parenting of both mothers and fathers.

METHOD

  Participants were 308 adoption-linked families comprised of an adopted child, her/his biological mother (BM), adoptive mother (AM) and adoptive father (AF). BMs were assessed 3-6 and 18 months postpartum and adoptive families were assessed when the child was 18 and 27 months old. Structural equations models were used to examine associations between marital hostility, fathers' and mothers' parenting hostility, and child aggressive behavior at 27 months of age. In addition, the contribution of financial strain and adoptive parent personality traits was examined to determine the associations with the spillover of marital hostility to hostile parenting.

RESULTS

  A hostile marital relationship was significantly associated with hostile parenting in fathers and mothers, which were associated with aggressive behavior in toddlers. Subjective financial strain was uniquely associated with marital hostility and child aggression. Antisocial personality traits were related to a more hostile/conflicted marital relationship and to hostile parenting.

CONCLUSIONS

  Results clarify mechanisms that may account for the success of early parent-child prevention programs that include a focus on parental economic strain and personality in addition to parent training.

The Early Growth and Development Study: A Prospective Adoption Design

The Early Growth and Development Study is a prospective adoption study of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children (N = 359 triads) that was initiated in 2003. The primary study aims are to examine how family processes mediate or moderate the expression of genetic influences in order to aid in the identification of specific family processes that could serve as malleable targets for intervention. Participants in the study are recruited through adoption agencies located throughout the United States, following the birth of a child. Assessments occur at 6-month intervals until the child reaches 3 years of age. Data collection includes the following primary constructs: infant and toddler temperament, social behavior, and health; birth and adoptive parent personality characteristics, psychopathology, competence, stress, and substance use; adoptive parenting and marital relations; and prenatal exposure to drugs and maternal stress. Preliminary analyses suggest the representativeness of the sample and minimal confounding effects of current trends in adoption practices, including openness and selective placement. Future plans are described.

Affiliation with delinquent peers as a mediator of the effects of multidimensional treatment foster care for delinquent girls

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the ability of delinquent peer affiliation to mediate the effects of multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC; Chamberlain, 2003) on girls' delinquent behavior.

METHOD

This study used a sample of girls from 2 cohorts (N = 166; M = 15.31 years old at baseline, range 13-17 years; 74% European American, 2% African American, 7% Hispanic, 4% Native American, 1% Asian, and 13% mixed ethnicity) and measures of delinquent behavior, including general delinquency, number of criminal referrals, and number of days in locked settings. As the mediator, we used self-reports of affiliation with delinquent peers. Our analytic plan specified an intent-to-treat analysis within the framework of a randomized controlled trial comparing MTFC with traditional community-based group care.

RESULTS

Random assignment to the MTFC program reduced girls' number of criminal referrals and number of days in locked settings at 24 months. The MTFC condition also reduced girls' exposure to delinquent peers at 12 months, which in turn reduced levels of all forms of delinquent behavior at 24 months; indirect effects were statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Reduction in exposure to delinquent peers mediated MTFC effects on the number of criminal referrals and number of days in locked settings; delinquent peers also served as an intervening variable between MTFC and self-report delinquency, suggesting that, by reducing contact with delinquent peers, MTFC helped to encourage lower levels of self-report delinquency. Existing prevention and intervention programs targeting similar populations may benefit from increased attention to reductions in delinquent peer affiliation in female samples.

Girls in Foster Care: Risk and Promotive Factors for School Adjustment Across the Transition to Middle School

Girls in foster care may face difficulties across the transition to middle school. Latent growth curve modeling was employed to examine trajectories and predictors of academic competence and aggression from and against peers for 75 girls in foster care from the end of elementary school to the 2(nd) year of middle school. Across the transition to middle school, academic competence increased. Poor self-regulation was associated with decreased academic competence, and higher caregiver support was associated with increased academic competence. Frequency of aggression from peers decreased across the transition, with perceived school competence predicting smaller decreases. Aggression against peers dropped initially and then increased to pretransition levels by the end of the 2(nd) year of middle school. Lower caregiver support was associated with higher rates of aggression against peers at the end of the 1(st) year of middle school. The results are discussed in terms of implications for interventions for girls in foster care.

Observed externalizing behavior: a developmental comparison of genetic and environmental influences across three samples

Estimates of genetic and environmental influences on externalizing behavior are markedly inconsistent. In an attempt to refine and extend our knowledge of externalizing behavior, the current study examined the etiology of externalizing behavior using observational data in middle childhood and adolescence from three twin and sibling samples. Observational ratings offer a unique perspective on externalizing behavior rarely examined within behavioral genetic designs. Shared environmental influences were significant and moderate to large in magnitude across all three samples (i.e., 44, 77, and 38%), while genetic influences (31%) were significant only for the adolescent sample. All three samples showed greater shared environmental influences and less genetic influence than is typically found when examining self-, parent-, and teacher-reports of externalizing behavior. These findings are consistent with other reports that have found evidence for shared environmental influences on measures of child externalizing behavior-in direct contrast to a commonly held perception that shared environmental factors do not have significant influences on behavior beyond early childhood.

Associations Between Early Life Stress, Child Maltreatment, and Pubertal Development Among Girls in Foster Care

The present study investigated pubertal development in girls with maltreatment histories (N = 100), assessed at four time points over 2 years beginning in the spring of their final year of elementary school. This sample is unique, in that participants were subject to an unusual level of environmental risk early in life and resided in foster care at the start of the study. Analyses replicated the previously established association between sexual abuse and earlier onset of maturation and earlier age at menarche. Physical abuse was related to a more rapid tempo of pubertal development across the period assessed. These results strengthen previous investigations of childhood maltreatment and puberty, highlighting the complexity and specificity of early life experiences for later development.

Substance use and delinquency among middle school girls in foster care: a three-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

The present study evaluated the efficacy of the Middle School Success intervention (MSS) for reducing substance use and delinquency among girls in foster care, using a randomized controlled trial design. The program was designed to fill a service gap during the summer prior to the middle school transition and to prevent delinquency, substance use, and related problems.

METHOD

One hundred girls in foster care and their caregivers were randomly assigned either to the intervention (n = 48) or to a regular foster care control (n = 52) condition. The girls completed a baseline (T1) assessment and follow-up assessments at 6 months (T2), 12 months (T3), 24 months (T4), and 36 months (T5) postbaseline. Caregivers participated in assessments from T1 through T4. This study is a follow-up to Smith, Leve, and Chamberlain's (2011) study, which examined immediate outcomes at T2.

RESULTS

Girls in the intervention condition showed significantly lower levels of substance use than did girls in the control condition at 36 months postbaseline. The group difference was only marginally significant for delinquency. Further analyses indicated significant indirect effects of the intervention through increased prosocial behaviors that led to decreased internalizing and externalizing symptoms and then to lower levels of substance use. The direct effect of the intervention on substance use remained significant in the presence of the indirect effects. For delinquency, the intervention had positive effects mainly through increased prosocial skills.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight the importance of providing preventive intervention services for early adolescent girls in foster care.

The number of sexual partners and health-risking sexual behavior: prediction from high school entry to high school exit

Precursors to adolescent health-risking sexual behavior (HRSB) were examined in a normative sample of 373 adolescents (48.0% female, n = 178). Using a variable-oriented approach, we regressed the number of sexual partners at high school exit (age 17) on parental monitoring, association with delinquent peers, romantic relationship status, problem behavior, physical maturity, and tobacco and alcohol use at high school entry (age 14); all emerged as significant predictors except alcohol use and physical maturity (we found sex differences in physical maturity and romantic relationship status, with females being more advanced in both areas). Sexual experimentation at high school entry served to partially or fully mediate the impact of these factors. A person-oriented approach, using a broader measure of HRSB, found three subgroups of adolescents: abstainers, low-risk-takers, and high-risk-takers. Results predicting membership in these groups generally followed those from the variable-oriented analysis. Implications for the prevention of HRSB and future research directions are discussed.

Going through the rites of passage: timing and transition of menarche, childhood sexual abuse, and anxiety symptoms in girls

Menarche is a discrete, transitional event that holds considerable personal, social, biological, and developmental significance. The present longitudinal study examined both the transition and timing of menarche on the trajectory of anxiety in girls with histories of childhood maltreatment (N = 93; 63% European American, 14% multiracial, 10% Latino, 9% African American, and 4% Native American). We hypothesized that because menarche is a novel, unfamiliar experience, girls would show greater anxiety around the time of menarche. The anxiety-provoking nature of menarche may be accentuated among earlier-maturing girls and girls with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Results indicated that earlier-maturing girls were more anxious in the pre- and peri-menarche periods than their later-maturing peers; however, their anxiety declined after menarche. Childhood sexual abuse was associated with heightened anxiety throughout this transition. The developmental significance of the timing and transition of menarche in relation to childhood sexual abuse and anxiety is discussed.

The Association Between Infants' Attention Control and Social Inhibition is Moderated by Genetic and Environmental Risk for Anxiety

Infant social inhibition is associated with increased risk for anxiety later in life. Although both genetic and environmental factors are associated with anxiety, little empirical work has addressed how developing regulatory abilities work with genetic and environmental risk to exacerbate or mitigate problem behaviors. The current study was aimed at addressing this gap in research by investigating an early-emerging regulatory behavior, attention control, in association with genetic and environmental risk for anxiety.Participants included 9-month-old adopted infants, their birth mothers, and adoptive parents (n = 361). Lifetime diagnosis of birth mother social phobia was obtained using structured interviews. Adoptive parents completed self-report measures of anxiety symptoms. Infant social inhibition and attention control were coded during a stranger interaction and a barrier task, respectively. Neither adoptive nor birth parent anxiety were directly associated with social inhibition. The association of attention control with social inhibition in infants was moderated by birth and adoptive parent anxiety symptoms. When infants of birth mothers with social phobia were raised by adoptive parents with high self-reported anxiety symptoms, greater attention control was associated with greater social inhibition. However, when raised by adoptive parents with low self-reported anxiety, greater attention control was associated with less social inhibition.

Trajectories of parenting and child negative emotionality during infancy and toddlerhood: a longitudinal analysis

The current longitudinal study examined trajectories of child negative emotionality, parenting efficacy, and overreactive parenting among 382 adoptive families during infancy and toddlerhood. Data were collected from adoptive parents when the children were 9-, 18-, and 27-month-old. Latent growth curve modeling indicated age-related increases in child negative emotionality and overreactive parenting for adoptive fathers and adoptive mothers (AM), and decreases in parent efficacy among AM. Increases in child negative emotionality were also associated with increases in parent overreactivity and decreases in maternal efficacy. Mothers' and fathers' developmental patterns were linked within but not across parenting domains. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Preventing internalizing and externalizing problems in girls in foster care as they enter middle school: impact of an intervention

Girls in foster care have been shown to be at risk for emotional and behavioral problems, especially during the preadolescent and adolescent years. Based on these findings and on the lack of research-based preventive interventions for such youths, the current study examined the impact of an intervention targeting the prevention of internalizing and externalizing problems for girls in foster care prior to middle school entry. Study participants included 100 girls in state-supported foster homes who were randomly assigned to an intervention condition or to a control condition (foster care services as usual). The intervention girls were hypothesized to have fewer internalizing problems, fewer externalizing problems, and more prosocial behavior at 6-months post-baseline compared to the control girls. The results confirmed the hypotheses for internalizing and externalizing problems, but not for prosocial behavior. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Longitudinal associations between marital instability and child sleep problems across infancy and toddlerhood in adoptive families

This study examined the longitudinal association between marital instability and child sleep problems at ages 9 and 18 months in 357 families with a genetically unrelated infant adopted at birth. This design eliminates shared genes as an explanation for similarities between parent and child. Structural equation modeling indicated that T1 marital instability predicted T2 child sleep problems, but T1 child sleep problems did not predict T2 marital instability. This result was replicated when models were estimated separately for mothers and fathers. Thus, even after controlling for stability in sleep problems and marital instability and eliminating shared genetic influences on associations using a longitudinal adoption design, marital instability prospectively predicts early childhood sleep patterns.

Longitudinal pathways from marital hostility to child anger during toddlerhood: genetic susceptibility and indirect effects via harsh parenting

We examined direct and indirect pathways from marital hostility to toddler anger/frustration via harsh parenting and parental depressive symptoms, with an additional focus on the moderating role of genetic influences as inferred from birth parent anger/frustration. Participants were 361 linked triads of birth mothers, adoptive parents, and adopted children who were 9 (T1) and 18 (T2) months old across the study period. Results indicated an indirect effect from T1 marital hostility to T2 toddler anger/frustration via T2 parental harsh discipline. Results also indicated that the association between marital hostility and toddler anger was moderated by birth mother anger/frustration. For children whose birth mothers reported high levels of anger/frustration, adoptive parents' marital hostility at T1 predicted toddler anger/frustration at T2. This relation did not hold for children whose birth mothers reported low levels of anger/frustration. The results suggest that children whose birth mothers report elevated frustration might inherit an emotional lability that makes them more sensitive to the effects of marital hostility.

Association of clinical characteristics and cessation of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time of relative urgency and opportunity for the treatment of substance use disorders in women, yet little is known about modifiable factors that contribute to successful abstinence. We examined self-worth, depression, anxiety, and novelty seeking in the context of substance use cessation during pregnancy in a sample of women with a high prevalence of substance abuse. Subjects were 448 birth mothers who participated in a prospective adoption study. Discontinuation rates were: tobacco 22.2%, alcohol 64.7%, marijuana 77.2%, and other drugs, 73.7-100%. Depression, anxiety, and novelty seeking were lower among women who discontinued substance use, compared to those who did not. Self-worth was higher in women who discontinued substance use. Among 110 polysubstance users, the number of substances discontinued during pregnancy was correlated with depression, anxiety, and self-worth in the hypothesized direction. Possible clinical implications are discussed. 

Genetic liability, environment, and the development of fussiness in toddlers: the roles of maternal depression and parental responsiveness

Using a longitudinal, prospective adoption design, the authors of this study examined the effects of the environment (adoptive parents' depressive symptoms and responsiveness) and genetic liability of maternal depression (inferred by birth mothers' major depressive disorder [MDD]) on the development of fussiness in adopted children between 9 and 18 months old. The sample included 281 families linked through adoption, with each family including 4 individuals (i.e., adopted child, birth mother, adoptive father and mother). Results showed that adoptive mothers' depressive symptoms when their child was 9 months old were positively associated with child fussiness at 18 months. A significant interaction between birth mothers' MDD and adoptive mothers' responsiveness indicated that children of birth mothers with MDD showed higher levels of fussiness at 18 months when adoptive mothers had been less responsive to the children at 9 months. However, in the context of high levels of adoptive mothers' responsiveness, children of birth mothers with MDD did not show elevated fussiness at 18 months. Findings are discussed in terms of gene-environment interactions in the intergenerational risk transmission of depression.

Infant pathways to externalizing behavior: evidence of Genotype x Environment interaction

To further the understanding of the effects of early experiences, 9-month-old infants were observed during a frustration task. The analytical sample was composed of 348 linked triads of participants (adoptive parents, adopted child, and birth parent[s]) from a prospective adoption study. It was hypothesized that genetic risk for externalizing problems and affect dysregulation in the adoptive parents would independently and interactively predict a known precursor to externalizing problems: heightened infant attention to frustrating events. Results supported the moderation hypotheses involving adoptive mother affect dysregulation: Infants at genetic risk showed heightened attention to frustrating events only when the adoptive mother had higher levels of anxious and depressive symptoms. The Genotype x Environment interaction pattern held when substance use during pregnancy was considered.

Multidimensional treatment foster care as a preventive intervention to promote resiliency among youth in the child welfare system

Demographic trends indicate that a growing segment of families is exposed to adversity such as poverty, drug use problems, caregiver transitions, and domestic violence. Although these risk processes and the accompanying poor outcomes for children have been well studied, little is known about why some children develop resilience in the face of such adversity, particularly when it is severe enough to invoke child welfare involvement. This paper describes a program of research involving families in the child welfare system. Using a resiliency framework, evidence from 4 randomized clinical trials that included components of the Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care program is presented. Future directions and next steps are proposed.

Structured parenting of toddlers at high versus low genetic risk: two pathways to child problems

OBJECTIVE

Little is known about how parenting might offset genetic risk to prevent the onset of child problems during toddlerhood. We used a prospective adoption design to separate genetic and environmental influences and test whether associations between structured parenting and toddler behavior problems were conditioned by genetic risk for psychopathology.

METHOD

The sample included 290 linked sets of adoptive families and birth mothers and 95 linked birth fathers. Genetic risk was assessed via birth mother and birth father psychopathology (anxiety, depression, antisociality, and drug use). Structured parenting was assessed via microsocial coding of adoptive mothers' behavior during a cleanup task. Toddler behavior problems were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist.

RESULTS

Controlling for temperamental risk at 9 months, there was an interaction between birth mother psychopathology and adoptive mothers' parenting on toddler behavior problems at 18 months. The interaction indicated two pathways to child problems: structured parenting was beneficial for toddlers at high genetic risk but was related to behavior problems for toddlers at low genetic risk. This crossover interaction pattern was replicated with birth father psychopathology as the index of genetic risk.

CONCLUSIONS

The effects of structured parenting on toddler behavior problems varied as a function of genetic risk. Children at genetic risk might benefit from parenting interventions during toddlerhood that enhance structured parenting.

Pregnancy rates among juvenile justice girls in two randomized controlled trials of multidimensional treatment foster care

Preventing adolescent pregnancy is a national research priority that has had limited success. In the present study, the authors examined whether Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) relative to intervention services as usual (group care [GC]) decreased pregnancy rates among juvenile justice girls mandated to out-of-home care. Girls (13-17 years of age) with histories of criminal referrals (Mdn = 10) were randomly assigned to MTFC (n = 81) or GC (n = 85) as part of 2 randomized controlled trials. Pregnancy histories were assessed from baseline through 24 months. Fewer postbaseline pregnancies were reported for MTFC girls (26.9%) than for GC girls (46.9%)--an effect that remained significant after controlling for baseline criminal referrals, pregnancy history, and sexual activity. MTFC has previously been shown to decrease arrest and lock-up rates. The present findings support the long-term preventive effects of MTFC on adolescent girls' pregnancy rates. Findings are consistent with the notion that programs that target delinquency by impacting general risk behavior pathways and contexts may more successfully prevent teen pregnancy than those that directly target sexual behaviors.