Associations between middle childhood executive control aspects and adolescent substance use and externalizing and internalizing problems.

This study examines the degree to which two middle childhood executive control aspects, working memory and combined inhibitory control/flexible shifting, predict adolescent substance use and externalizing and internalizing problems. Participants were 301 children (ages 3-6 years; 48.2% male) recruited from a Midwestern city in the United States and followed into adolescence (ages 14-18 years). Working memory had a statistically significant unadjusted association with externalizing problems (r = -.30, p = .003) in a confirmatory factor analysis. Neither factor significantly predicted any of the adolescent outcomes in a structural equation model that adjusted for each EC aspect, sociodemographic covariates, and middle childhood externalizing and internalizing problems. Stronger prediction of EC aspects might not emerge until they become more fully differentiated later in development.

Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Perceptions of School Climate are Uniquely Associated with Students' Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior Problems.

Early externalizing and internalizing problems undermine children's school success and long-term well-being. Leveraging a large, U.S.-representative dataset (N ≈ 14,810), we examined how kindergarten teachers' self-efficacy and school climate perceptions were linked to students' behavior problems in kindergarten and first grade. Teachers' self-efficacy and school climate perceptions were uniquely linked to kindergarteners' externalizing and internalizing behaviors, after controlling for demographic covariates and children's executive functions. Kindergarten teachers' higher self-efficacy predicted lower levels of children's externalizing problems in first grade, while teachers' positive school climate perceptions predicted children's lower internalizing problems in first grade. Longitudinal models demonstrated that teachers' perceived school climate and self-efficacy were uniquely associated with decreases in children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors from kindergarten to first grade. Findings highlight the importance of teachers' self-efficacy and school climate for children's socio-emotional development and underscore an urgent need to determine how best to support teacher well-being to optimize children's outcomes.

Executive Function in Kindergarten and the Development of Behavior Competence: Moderating Role of Positive Parenting Practices.

The present study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort of 2011 (N = 15,827; 51.1% male; 48.4% White, 13.5% Black/African-American, 24.3% Hispanic/Latino, 7.5% Asian, and 6.3% other ethnicity) to examine the unique contribution of specific executive function processes (working memory and cognitive flexibility) at kindergarten entry on externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in spring of kindergarten, after controlling for fall behavior problems and demographic covariates. Due to the transition to elementary school being a critical identification and prevention period, we also focused on examining the moderating role of specific positive parenting practices (i.e., cognitive stimulation, warmth, and behavior management) on associations between child executive function processes and behavioral functioning. Results indicated working memory was negatively associated with parent-reported externalizing and teacher-rated internalizing behavior problems. Further, the association between working memory and parent-rated externalizing problems was moderated by cognitive stimulation, whereas the association between parent-rated internalizing problems was moderated by behavior management. Cognitive flexibility did not have any significant associations. We discuss implications for research and practice on how parenting practices may be leveraged to improve child outcomes.

Parental Alcohol Use and the Alcohol Misuse of their Offspring in a Finnish Birth Cohort: Investigation of Developmental Timing.

There is a positive association between parental alcohol use and the alcohol use of their offspring. It is less clear whether this relation exists at different developmental periods. The purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between parental alcohol use at two developmental periods (prenatal and adolescence) and the alcohol misuse of their offspring at two developmental periods (adolescence and young adulthood). Data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC1986; n = 6963; 51% of offspring were girls) were used. The NFBC1986 is a population-based study of individuals born during a 1-year period in Finland. Multi-informant (parent, teacher, and youth) and multi-method (surveys and population registers) data were collected at four developmental periods (prenatal, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood). The findings indicated that parents' alcohol use was stable from the prenatal period to adolescence. Mothers' and fathers' (based on mothers' perceptions) alcohol use during the prenatal period and adolescence were directly related to adolescents' heavy drinking. Prenatal alcohol use by mothers and fathers were related to young adults' alcohol use disorder indirectly (but not directly) through mothers' and fathers' alcohol use during adolescence and then through adolescents' heavy drinking. The results suggest that early and ongoing screening for alcohol use by mothers and fathers could help identify individuals at risk for heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems during adolescence and young adulthood.

Executive Control in Early Childhood as an Antecedent of Adolescent Problem Behaviors: A Longitudinal Study with Performance-based Measures of Early Childhood Cognitive Processes.

Identifying childhood cognitive processes that predict adolescent problem behaviors can help guide understanding and prevention of these behaviors. In a community sample of 313 youth recruited in a small Midwestern city between 2006 and 2012 (49% male, 64% European American), executive control and foundational cognitive abilities were assessed at age 5 in a lab setting with performance-based measures. In adolescence, youth provided self-report of problem behaviors in surveys administered annually between ages 14 and 16. Executive control was negatively associated with externalizing behavior problems and adolescents getting in trouble at school, accounting for foundational cognitive abilities and family background covariates. Executive control had negative, but nonsignificant, associations with internalizing problems and substance use initiation. The findings point to deficits in executive control as a childhood risk factor for later problems and a potential target for preventive interventions.

Associations of Cumulative Family Risk With Academic Performance and Substance Involvement: Tests of Moderation by Child Reading Engagement.

Background: Exposure to cumulative contextual risk within the family early in life increases children's risk for substance involvement and related difficulties, including school failure, in adolescence and young adulthood. However, potential protective factors that buffer these risk associations are relatively untested, yet such tests are needed to improve existing preventive interventions for enhancing resilience among vulnerable children. Objectives: This study tested child reading engagement with parents at home as a moderator of cumulative family risk associations with adolescent substance use and academic performance as well as young adult substance abuse. Methods: Population register data as well as parent-report and adolescent-report data from 6,963 participants of the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort study were analyzed via structural equation modeling with latent variable interactions. Results: Results showed that child reading engagement moderated the associations of cumulative family risk with both adolescent academic performance and young adult substance abuse, but not with adolescent substance use. The highest levels of academic performance were observed under conditions of low risk and high reading engagement. Interestingly, cumulative family risk had a small positive association with substance abuse when reading engagement was low and a negative association with the young adult outcome when reading engagement was high. Conclusions/Importance: Moderation tests revealed complex interaction forms that may have implications for both theory and family-based preventive interventions.

Prospective relations between alexithymia, substance use and depression: findings from a National Birth Cohort.

Purpose: This study examined a developmental model that links affect-regulation difficulties in childhood with three dimensions of alexithymia in adolescence (difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking) and substance use and depression in adulthood, while accounting for cumulative contextual risk in childhood, and testing potential gender moderation. Methods: Multiple group path analyses were conducted using data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (N = 6963). Analyses used data collected during prenatal/birth, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood periods. Results: Our examination of early precursors for alexithymia indicated that the associations of affect-regulation problems in childhood with alexithymia were stronger for girls, potentially putting girls with affect-regulation difficulties in childhood at higher risk for developing alexithymia in adolescence. The associations of cumulative contextual risk in childhood with alexithymia, substance use disorder, and depression diagnosis in adulthood were significant for both girls and boys. Our findings in regard to substance use and depression disorders revealed that alexithymia in adolescence predicted depression diagnosis in adulthood, particularly due to a contribution from the alexithymia domain of 'difficulties identifying feelings.' However, none of the alexithymia domains was directly associated with substance use disorder in adulthood. Conclusions: Our study contributes to research that links alexithymia with difficulties in affect regulation and cumulative contextual risk in childhood, yielding findings that may be relevant for preventive interventions.

Improving the nutrition and screen time environment through self-assessment in family childcare homes in Nebraska.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if family childcare homes (FCCH) in Nebraska meet best practices for nutrition and screen time, and if focusing on nutrition and screen time policies and practices improves the FCCH environment. DESIGN: A pre-post evaluation was conducted using the Go Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Childcare (Go NAP SACC). SETTING: FCCH in Nebraska, USA. SUBJECTS: FCCH enrolled in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP; n 208) participated in a pre-post evaluation using Go NAP SACC. RESULTS: At baseline, all FCCH met the minimum childcare standards for fifty-four of fifty-six practices in nutrition and screen time. After the intervention, FCCH demonstrated significant improvement in fourteen of the forty-four Child Nutrition items and eleven of the twelve Screen Time items. However, FCCH providers did not meet best practices at post-intervention. Lowest scores were found in serving meals family-style, promoting visible support for healthy eating, planned nutrition education and written policy on child nutrition. For screen time, lowest scores were reported on the availability of television, offering families education on screen time and having a written policy on screen time. CONCLUSIONS: FCCH in Nebraska were able to strengthen their policies and practices after utilizing Go NAP SACC. Continued professional development and participation in targeted interventions may assist programmes in sustaining improved practices and policies. Considering the varying standards and policies surrounding FCCH, future studies comparing the current findings with childcare centres and non-CACFP programmes are warranted.

Childhood cumulative contextual risk and depression diagnosis among young adults: The mediating roles of adolescent alcohol use and perceived social support.

This study examined associations between cumulative contextual risk in childhood and depression diagnosis in early adulthood, testing two adolescent mediating mechanisms, alcohol use and perceived social support from family and friends, while accounting for the stability of internalizing problems over time and examining possible gender moderation. Multiple group mediation analyses were conducted using parent- and adolescent-report as well as hospital records data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (N = 6963). Our analyses demonstrated that the association between cumulative contextual risk in childhood and depression diagnosis in adulthood is mediated by adolescent alcohol use and perceived social support both for boys and girls. The findings highlight potentially malleable mediating mechanisms associated with depression in vulnerable youth that could be targets in selective depression preventive interventions.

Trajectories of cognitive flexibility through kindergarten and first grade: Implications for externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in the second grade.

Developmental delays in cognitive flexibility early in elementary school can potentially increase vulnerability for subsequent externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. The first goal of the current study was to identify latent subgroups of children characterized by different developmental trajectories of cognitive flexibility throughout kindergarten and first grade using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 dataset. The second goal was to examine whether identified longitudinal developmental trajectories of cognitive flexibility could be associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the second grade, while accounting for background child (age, gender, and Spanish-speaking) and family (family income and mother's education) covariates. The analytic sample consisted of 15,827 kindergarteners (51.20% male; 48.50% White, 13.5% Black/African American, 24.3% Hispanic/Latino, 7.60% Asian, and 6.1% other), who were approximately 5.62 years old (SD = 4.48 months) at the study's outset. Most children lived in households with medium family income of approximately $50,000-$55,000. Using a growth mixture modeling approach, our analyses identified normative (91.05%; 50.4% male) and delayed (8.95%; 59.4% male) cognitive flexibility groups and demonstrated that delayed developers have higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behaviors in the second grade, even after adjusting for background covariates. Our findings, in conjunction with research on cognitive flexibility training, suggest that caregivers may lower the risk for externalizing and internalizing behaviors in delayed developers by correcting inflexible thinking, encouraging alternative solutions, and providing emotional support when children face challenging problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A Comparison of Task-Based and Questionnaire Assessments of Executive Control Aspects in Relation to Adolescent Marijuana Initiation.

Prior research has linked deficits in executive control (EC) to marijuana use in adolescents but has relied either primarily on adolescent self-report of EC or tasked-based EC, and focused on limited aspects of EC, usually inhibitory control. We examined unique associations of three established aspects of EC (inhibitory control, working memory, and flexible shifting) assessed with both performance on laboratory tasks and self-report in relation to marijuana initiation. Participants were 260 youth (ages 14-18 years) from a small Midwestern city in the United States enrolled in the adolescent phase (beginning in 2017) of an ongoing study of EC development recruited originally between 2006 and 2012 (46% male, 72% European American). The three aspects of executive control were measured in a laboratory setting with well-established performance-based measures and with a psychometrically-sound self-report survey instrument. Youth also provided self-report of marijuana initiation in a phone survey administered during their laboratory visit. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that flexible shifting as measured by a performance-based task was negatively and uniquely associated with marijuana initiation (AOR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.48 - 0.91), and self-reported deficits in inhibitory control were positively associated with marijuana initiation (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.15 - 3.21). Although larger-scale longitudinal research is needed, findings of this study suggest that screening efforts to identify youth at risk of marijuana initiation might rely on more cost-effective self-report assessment of inhibitory control, but further valuable information can come from more resource-intensive but sensitive performance-based assessment of flexible shifting.

Childhood executive control and adolescent substance use initiation: the mediating roles of physical and relational aggression and prosocial behavior.

Although predictive associations between childhood executive control (EC) and adolescent substance use have been established in prior research, the developmental pathways involved in these long-term links have not been well understood. The goal of the current study was to investigate the degree to which aggressive behaviors, including both physical and relational aggression, and prosocial behaviors in elementary school operate as developmental pathways between preschool EC and adolescent substance use, while accounting for participants' age, sex, family history of substance use, and family socioeconomic status. Participants were 329 youth (49% male; 63.6% European American) who were recruited to participate in a study between 2006 and 2012 while youth were in preschool and elementary school and followed into adolescence. The sample was recruited from a small Midwestern city in the United States. EC was assessed with performance-based tasks when children were 5 years 3 months. Youth behaviors with peers were reported by teachers when participants were in elementary school. Self-reports of the substance use initiation (e-cigarettes, cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana) were obtained in adolescence via phone surveys. Mediation analyses revealed a statistically significant indirect effect from preschool EC to adolescent substance use through youth's engagement in relational aggression in elementary school (b = > -0.22 [-0.51; -0.08]; ß = > -0.18). Our results suggest that developmental pathways to adolescent substance use may begin in preschool, setting the stage for susceptibility to engagement in relational aggression, which increases, in turn, youth's likelihood for substance use initiation in adolescence.

Childhood Cognitive Flexibility and Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior Problems: Examination of Prospective Bidirectional Associations.

The goal of this study was to examine reciprocal associations between cognitive flexibility and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems longitudinally using data on four occasions from kindergarten through first grade and test for potential gender differences in these associations. The Dimensional Change Card Sort task was used to assess children's cognitive flexibility as a measure of executive function. Participants were 12,462 kindergarteners (49% female) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K: 2011). Results from multivariate latent curve models with structured residuals revealed that children's cognitive flexibility at the beginning of kindergarten was not associated with their growth in either externalizing (r = -0.01, p = .174), or internalizing (r = -0.03, p = .403) problems between kindergarten and the end of first grade. However, after controlling for individual differences in growth, cognitive flexibility at each assessment directly contributed to subsequent lower levels of internalizing (but not externalizing) behavior problems at the next assessment (b = -0.004, p = 0.013; ß = -0.03), suggesting that children who are more flexible in switching from one activity to another may be less prone to developing internalizing problems. At kindergarten entry boys had lower levels of cognitive flexibility (b = -0.31, p < .001, ß = -.12) and higher levels of externalizing (b = 0.25, p < .001, ß = .23), and internalizing problems(b = 0.04, p = 001, ß = .05) compared to girls, but did not differ from girls in their rates of change in cognitive flexibility and externalizing or internalizing behavior problems.

Associations of childhood executive control with adolescent cigarette and E-cigarette use: Tests of moderation by poverty level.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent cigarette smoking has continued to decline, whereas electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has increased dramatically among youth. Nicotine use in any form, even at low levels, during adolescence can have adverse consequences, particularly for low-income individuals. To elucidate potential early intervention targets, this study examined childhood executive control (EC), a set of cognitive processes for directing attention and behavior, in relation to adolescent cigarette and e-cigarette onset, testing for differential prediction by poverty level. METHOD: Participants were 313 children (51% female, 64% European American) recruited in a small city in the Midwestern United States beginning in 2006 and then followed into adolescence between ages 14 and 16 years. EC was measured in the laboratory with performance-based tasks when children were age 5 years, 3 months. Self-reports of cigarette onset and e-cigarette onset were obtained in adolescence (Mage = 15.65 years). Overall, 24% of the sample was at or below the poverty line. RESULTS: Cigarette onset was higher in the poverty group (17%) than in the non-poverty (8%) group, but e-cigarette onset did not differ by poverty level (36% poverty versus 38% non-poverty). Multiple group structural equation modeling revealed a statistically significant group difference such that EC ability was a significant negative predictor of e-cigarette onset for poverty but not for non-poverty youth. A similar group difference was evident as a trend for cigarette onset. CONCLUSIONS: Because EC has been shown to be modifiable, early interventions to improve EC for children living in poverty might help prevent adolescent e-cigarette onset.

Parental report of outcomes from a randomized trial of in-home family services.

This study conducted a randomized trial to examine the efficacy of the Boys Town In-Home Family Services (IHFS) program for families of high-risk youth. Participants were recruited from a state helpline for families struggling with poor family functioning and child emotional or behavioral issues. Consent was obtained for 300 of which 152 were randomly assigned to participate in IHFS for 3-4 months and 148 were assigned to the services as usual comparison group. For the families in the treatment group, 18% did not participant in the intervention, and 66% of families received 20 or more service hours. Parent report data were collected at intake, post, as well 6 and 12 months after post data collection. Data were collected on constructs such as caregiver strain, family functioning, parenting, family resources, and parent report of child behavior. Piecewise analyses of the intake to post data indicated significantly greater reductions in caregiver strain for the treatment condition. Given the conservative corrections for the use of multiple tests, no other measures demonstrated significant differences. For the piecewise model of the maintenance phase, there were no significant differences between groups aside from caregiver strain that showed a significant improvement for the comparison condition. Supplementary dose-response analyses indicated that for most families there was an ideal dosage of about 25-75 hr to bring about the largest improvements in caregiver strain, parenting skills, and child behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Child maltreatment as a function of cumulative family risk: Findings from the intensive family preservation program.

This study examined child maltreatment as a function of cumulative family risk in a sample of at-risk families (N=837) who were referred to an intensive family preservation program because of child behavior problems or suspected child abuse and neglect. The goal of this intensive family preservation program is to improve parenting skills and reduce immediate family stressors that may lead to an increased risk of child abuse and neglect. The findings indicate that the most prominent family risks comprising the cumulative risk scale in our sample were socio-economic disadvantage (e.g., income, unemployment, housing instability) and parental characteristics (e.g., mental/physical health, parental use of alcohol, domestic violence). Further, the results demonstrated a strong quadratic trend in the relationship between cumulative family risk and child maltreatment, and identified a risk threshold effect at three cumulative family risks after which the child risk for maltreatment increased exponentially. These findings are interpreted in the light of the current research on differentiative interventions, supporting differentiated services to the families with low vs. higher risk for child maltreatment.

Cumulative contextual risk at birth and adolescent substance initiation: Peer mediation tests.

BACKGROUND: Children who experience multiple adversities, such as prenatal exposure to drugs and poverty, early in development are at increased risk for the early initiation of alcohol and cigarette use. However, studies that examine potentially malleable processes associated with substance use initiation in the context of exposure to cumulative stressors are scant. This study examined associations between cumulative contextual risk at birth and initiation of alcohol and cigarette use in adolescence, testing childhood peer marginalization and peer aggression and behavior problems as mediating mechanisms. Analyses further adjusted for fearfulness/inhibition and hyperactivity/distractibility to determine if the hypothesized mediating mechanisms were significant after accounting for temperamental characteristics associated with substance initiation. METHODS: Participants were 6190 adolescents from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 Study. Data were collected on cumulative contextual risk (parent reports), substance initiation (adolescent reports), childhood peer processes and behavior problems (teacher reports), and temperamental characteristics (teacher reports). Novel discrete-time survival mediation analysis was conducted to test the hypothesized mediating mechanisms. RESULTS: Initial analyses showed that the associations between cumulative contextual risk and both alcohol and cigarette initiation were mediated by childhood peer processes and behavior problems; however, the indirect effects became statistically non-significant after adding the temperament variables, which themselves predicted substance initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Targeting peer processes may not be an effective way to interrupt pathways leading from early contextual risk to substance initiation. Instead, early screening and intervention efforts to delay substance initiation may need to be tailored to the individual temperamental characteristics of targeted participants.