EARLY CHILDHOOD PREDICTORS OF LOW-INCOME BOYS' PATHWAYS TO ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN CHILDHOOD, ADOLESCENCE, AND EARLY ADULTHOOD

Low neurocognitive performance and problematic contexts: interaction influences in predicting adolescent externalizing behaviors within a community sample

Research has identified neurocognitive and contextual risk factors of externalizing behaviors. However, fewer studies have examined the interaction among neurocognitive and other risk factors in predicting externalizing behaviors. The goal of the current study was to examine the relation between neurocognitive and contextual factors in predicting externalizing behaviors in a community sample of adolescents. Participants were 84 adolescents, aged 11-17 (M = 13.39, SD = 1.82), recruited as part of a larger study. Separate moderated multiple regression models were utilized in which neurocognitive variables (intellectual functioning, short-term memory/attention, disinhibition) were added as predictors and contextual variables (family dysfunction and parental depression, anxiety, and stress) were added as moderators in step 1, and their interaction was added in step 2. Externalizing behaviors served as criterion variables (hyperactivity/impulsivity and oppositional defiant disorder symptom severity, reactive and proactive aggression). Overall, results suggest that higher levels of problematic contextual factors exacerbate the significant negative associations among neurocognitive functioning and externalizing behaviors. Importantly, this pattern was shown across neurocognitive domains and contextual factors. Findings suggest that contextual factors should be targeted for the treatment or prevention of youth externalizing behaviors, particularly for adolescents with neurocognitive vulnerabilities.

Identifying the Contributions of Maternal Factors and Early Childhood Externalizing Behavior on Adolescent Delinquency

We examined whether childhood externalizing group subtypes were uniquely related to maternal depression and victimization and whether these subtypes differentially predicted adolescent delinquency. Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Study on Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) consortium (N = 1091; 51.3% female, 52.2% African American). Latent class analysis indicated three groups at age 4 (titled "well-adjusted," "hyperactive/oppositional," and "aggressive/rule-breaking"). Caregiver victimization and depression significantly predicted group membership such that aggressive/rule-breaking group had higher levels of maternal depression and victimization although the well-adjusted group had higher levels of maternal victimization relative to the hyperactive/oppositional group. Further, membership in higher externalizing groups at age four is associated with greater risk of adolescent delinquency at age 16. These findings underscore the need to address maternal risk factors in the treatment of childhood disruptive behavior and provide evidence of the continuity of disruptive behaviors from early childhood to adolescence.

Risk factors for antisocial behavior in children: comparison between boys and girls

Abstract Recognizing the importance of assessing the risk of antisocial behavior, this study aimed to characterize the risk factors for the occurrence of antisocial behavior, seeking to understand if there are differences between boys and girls. Eighty-five cases of children referred by the promotion and protection system due to the display of antisocial behaviors were reviewed. A total of 65 were boys and 20 were girls, aged between six and eleven years. Data collection was performed using the Portuguese version of the risk assessment instruments Early Assessment Risk List for boys and for girls. Gender differences were assessed, with boys exhibiting a higher risk level for antisocial behavior, adopting more serious behaviors (e.g., impulsive behaviors). Girls engaged in less serious behavior (e.g., disrespect). By characterizing the most prevalent risk factors, the results of this study may contribute to the identification of intervention priorities.

Mapping infant neurodevelopmental precursors of mental disorders: How synthetic cohorts & computational approaches can be used to enhance prediction of early childhood psychopathology

Bridging advances in neurodevelopmental assessment and the established onset of common psychopathologies in early childhood with epidemiological data science and computational methods holds much promise for identifying risk for mental disorders as early as infancy. In particular, we propose the development of a mental health risk algorithm for the early detection of mental disorders with the potential for high public health impact that applies and adapts methods innovated in and successfully applied to early detection of cardiovascular risk. Specifically, we propose methods to advance risk prediction of early developmental psychopathology by creating synthetic cohorts that contain complete behavioral and neural data in the first years of life, as the basis for a robust and generalizable risk algorithm. The application of computational approaches within synthetic cohorts, an approach increasingly applied in psychiatry, may be particularly well suited to advancing risk prediction in early childhood mental health. We propose new research directions using these methods to generate an early childhood mental health risk calculator that could significantly advance early mental health risk detection to direct preventive intervention and/or need for more intensive assessment within a pragmatic framework for maximal clinical utility. The availability of such a tool in early childhood, a period of high neuroplasticity, holds promise to reduce the burden of mental disorder by identifying risk early in the clinical sequence and delivering prevention that targets the neurodevelopmental vulnerability phase.

THE QUALITY OF FATHER-CHILD ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE PLAY AND TODDLERS' AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN CHINA

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the quality of early father-child rough-and-tumble play (RTP) on toddler aggressive behaviors and more fully understand how child, mother, and father characteristics were associated with higher quality father-child RTP among contemporary urban Chinese families. Participants included 42 families in Changsha, China. Play observations of fathers and their children were coded for RTP quality. The specific RTP quality of father-child reciprocity of dominance was associated with fewer toddler aggressive behaviors, as rated by both fathers and mothers. Mothers' democratic parenting attitudes were associated with higher quality father-child RTP. These findings suggest that higher quality father-child RTP may be one way in which some fathers influence children's expression of aggressive behaviors, and the quality of father-child RTP may be influenced by the broader family, social, and cultural contexts.

BOYS, EARLY RISK FACTORS FOR ALCOHOL PROBLEMS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF: AN INTERCONNECTED MATRIX

Alcohol-use disorders are a major public health issue worldwide. Although drinking and problematic alcohol use usually begins during adolescence, developmental origins of the disorder can be traced back to infancy and early childhood. Identification of early risk factors is essential to understanding developmental origins. Using data from the Michigan Longitudinal Study, an ongoing, prospective, high-risk family study, this article summarizes findings of family context and functioning of both children and parents. We draw attention to the development of the self, an understudied aspect of very young children being reared in alcoholic families that exacerbates exposure to high childhood adverse experiences. We also provide evidence demonstrating that young boys are embedded in a dynamic system of genes, epigenetic processes, brain organization, family dynamics, peers, community, and culture that strengthens risky developmental pathways if nothing is done to intervene during infancy and early childhood.

PSYCHOLOGY OF BOYS AT RISK: INDICATORS FROM 0-5

In utero and during the first 5 years of life, boys face unique risks as a result of neurobiological and environmental factors. This introductory article to the Special Issue describes the background of this gender-specific inquiry and outlines some of those risks, drawing attention to the areas that will be covered in depth in the following contributions. We also describe the basis of this inquiry as the link between early life and the subsequent difficulties that adolescent boys and many young men face, and pay particular attention to the circumstances of young men of color and to the growing knowledge about the contributions of fathers to boys' development.