Involvement in Child Rearing and Firm Control Parenting by Male Cohabiting Partners in Black Low-Income Stepfamilies: Forecasting Adolescent Problem Behaviors.

Cohabitation is a family structure that is rapidly increasing in the United States. The current longitudinal study examined the interplay of involvement in a youth's daily activities and firm control parenting by male cohabiting partners (MCPs) on change in adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems. In a sample of 111 inner-city African American families, adolescents reported on involvement and parenting by MCPs at Wave 1 and biological mothers reported on adolescent problem behaviors at Waves 1 and 2. A significant interaction indicated that low involvement and low firm control by MCPs at Wave 1 were associated with the highest level of internalizing problems at Wave 2. An interaction did not emerge when externalizing problems served as the outcome. The findings indicate that male partners play an important role in parenting adolescents in cohabiting families and should be considered potential participants in prevention and intervention programs.

Negative peer status and relational victimization in children and adolescents: the role of stress physiology.

The purpose of the current investigation was to determine the unique associations between two subtypes of low peer status, peer rejection and unpopularity, and changes in relational victimization over time. This study also investigated if these associations were moderated by sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) reactivity to peer stress. Sixty-one girls attending (M(age) = 11.91 years, SD = 1.62; predominantly Caucasian) a residential summer camp were followed across 1 calendar year. Participants' skin conductance and respiratory sinus arrhythmia were assessed during a laboratory stress protocol. Peer rejection and unpopularity were measured using peer nomination techniques and counselors reported on relational victimization. Both unpopularity and rejection were associated with increased relational victimization over time among girls who exhibited reciprocal SNS activation (i.e., high SNS reactivity coupled with PNS withdrawal). Rejection was also associated with subsequent victimization among girls exhibiting reciprocal PNS activation (i.e., low SNS reactivity, PNS activation). Findings underscore the biosocial interactions between low peer status and physiological reactivity in the prediction of peer maltreatment over time.

Is parenting the mediator of change in behavioral parent training for externalizing problems of youth?

Change in parenting behavior is theorized to be the mediator accounting for change in child and adolescent externalizing problems in behavioral parent training (BPT). The purpose of this review is to examine this assumption in BPT prevention and intervention programs. Eight intervention and 17 prevention studies were identified as meeting all criteria or all but one criterion for testing mediation. Parenting behaviors were classified as positive, negative, discipline, monitoring/supervision, or a composite measure. Forty-five percent of the tests performed across studies to test mediation supported parenting as a mediator. A composite measure of parenting and discipline received the most support, whereas monitoring/supervision was rarely examined. More support for the mediating role of parenting emerged for prevention than intervention studies and when meeting all criteria for testing mediation was not required. Although the findings do not call BPT into question as an efficacious treatment, they do suggest more attention should be focused on examining parenting as a putative mediator in BPT.

Physiological stress reactivity and physical and relational aggression: the moderating roles of victimization, type of stressor, and child gender.

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the association between physiological reactivity to peer stressors and physical and relational aggression. Potential moderation by actual experiences of peer maltreatment (i.e., physical and relational victimization) and gender were also explored. One hundred ninety-six children (M = 10.11 years, SD = 0.64) participated in a laboratory stress protocol during which their systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and skin conductance reactivity to recounting a relational stressor (e.g., threats to relationships) and an instrumental stressor (e.g., threats to physical well-being, dominance, or property) were assessed. Teachers provided reports of aggression and victimization. In both boys and girls, physical aggression was associated with blunted physiological reactivity to relational stress and heightened physiological reactivity to instrumental stress, particularly among youth higher in victimization. In girls, relational aggression was most robustly associated with blunted physiological reactivity to relational stressors, particularly among girls exhibiting higher levels of relational victimization. In boys, relational aggression was associated with heightened physiological reactivity to both types of stressors at higher levels of peer victimization and blunted physiological reactivity to both types of stressors at lower levels of victimization. Results underscore the shared and distinct emotional processes underlying physical and relational aggression in boys and girls.