The early biopsychosocial development of boys and the origins of violence in males.

We apply a biopsychosocial approach to introduce early-in-life experiences that explain a significant part of the male preponderance in the perpetration of violence. Early caregiver abuse and neglect, father absence, and exposure to family and neighborhood violence exacerbate boys' greater risk for aggressive behavior and increase the probability of carrying out violent acts later in life. We examine the development of the psychological self and explore conditions that encourage physical aggression, focusing on the impact on the infant and toddler's emergent mental representation of self, others, and self-other relationships. Boys' slower developmental timetable in the first years of life may enhance their vulnerability for disorganization in emergent neurobiological networks mediating organization of socioemotional relationships. Emergent attachment and activation relationship systems may differentially affect risk and resilience in boys and girls, particularly in single-parent families. Evidence has suggested that the dramatic increase in single-parent families is especially linked to corresponding increases in behavioral undercontrol, antisocial behavior, and the emergence of violence in boys.

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.

PUBLIC POLICY, CHILD DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH AND BOYS AT RISK: CHALLENGING, ENDURING AND NECESSARY PARTNERSHIP.

Research findings documenting the issues and challenges of boys prebirth through age 5 years have barely penetrated the arena of public policy making nor has it permeated the public agenda of politicians, government, or other funding stakeholders. The purpose of this article is to articulate pathways for researchers to enter into the policy-making process. We review critical issues related to implementing the process of public policy. We argue that the policy process needs to be informed by more dynamic theoretical models of human development, and that researchers and clinicians need to be exposed more deeply to the processes required to inform and subsequently change public policy. We contend that most quantitative research on boys at risk occurs at the micro- and the mesosystem level rather than at the exo- and the macrosystem levels where structural societal policies embedded in economic and racial inequities contribute to risk. Researchers, clinicians, and policy makers need to create collaborative partnerships designed to develop, advocate, and implement more evidence-based policies designed to enhance the quality of life for boys at risk.

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.

'They don't look at what affects us': the role of ecodevelopmental factors on alcohol and drug use among Latinos with physical disabilities.

Objectives. Latinos with disabilities disproportionately report substance use, including binge drinking and drug use. Ecodevelopmental factors, including socioeconomic patterning of poverty, social exclusion, and post-colonial racism, have been shown to impact alcohol and drug use. However, this line of research remains underdeveloped among Latinos with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to obtain rich descriptions of the role of ecodevelopmental factors, including family and community, on alcohol and drug use among Latinos with physical disabilities. Methods. We utilized a community-based participatory research design, in conjunction with an innovative methodology referred to as photovoice. Three rounds of photography and focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 17 focus groups. Reflections in each focus group interview were aloud and digitally audiotaped. A total of 28 participants 19-35 years of age (mean age = 27.65, SD = 5.48) participated in each round of photography and focus group interviews. Data analyses followed the tenets of descriptive phenomenology. Results. Findings highlight ecodevelopmental family and community risk and protective factors. At the family level, participants reflected on the ways in which family functioning, including family support, communication, and cohesion, can serve as risk and promotive factors for alcohol and drug use. Additionally, participants described in detail how experiences of poverty, stigma and discrimination, violence, accessibility to alcohol and drugs, accessibility for persons with disabilities, transportation, community support and cohesion, and access to health and mental health services constitute risk and promotive factors at the community level. Conclusion. Findings are suggestive of how ecodevelopmental family and community factors might increase the risk of alcohol and drug use among Latinos with physical disabilities. From this qualitative research, we derive a series of testable hypotheses. For example, future studies should examine the impact of family functioning on alcohol and drug use among Latinos with physical disabilities over time. Study findings may have great utility to inform the development of preventive interventions for this at-risk group.

EXAMINING LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF AN INFANT MENTAL HEALTH HOME-BASED EARLY HEAD START PROGRAM ON FAMILY STRENGTHS AND RESILIENCE.

Infant Mental Health based interventions aim to promote the healthy development of infants and toddlers through promoting healthy family functioning to foster supportive relationships between the young child and his or her important caregivers. This study examined impacts of an Infant Mental Health home-based Early Head Start (IMH-HB EHS) program on family functioning. The sample includes 152 low-income families in the Midwestern United States, expectant or parenting a child younger than 1 year of age, who were randomly assigned to receive IMH-HB EHS services (n = 75) or to a comparison condition (n = 77). Mothers who received IMH-HB EHS services reported healthier psychological and family functioning, outcomes that are consistent with the IMH focus, when their children were between the ages of 3 and 7 years of age. Specifically, mothers in the IMH-HB EHS group reported healthier family functioning and relationships, better coping skills needed to advocate for their families, and less stress in the parenting role versus those in the comparison condition. The study also examined support seeking coping, some of which changed differently over time based on program group assignment. Overall, findings suggest that the gains families achieve from participating in IMH-HB EHS services are maintained after services cease.

Stability of biological father presence as a proxy for family stability: cross-racial associations with the longitudinal development of emotion regulation in toddlerhood.

The current study, utilizing data from the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (Love et al., 2005) explored the relationship between biological father presence and emotion regulation over toddlerhood among children from low-income families. Conceptualizing biological father presence as a proxy for family role development, results are interpreted from a role development theoretical perspective. The latent growth curve model was compared based on child ethnoracial status (African American, Caucasian, Hispanic) and child gender. Consistent biological father presence was associated with toddlers' regulatory development across toddlerhood, and this relationship was most robust among Caucasian toddlers as compared to African American toddlers. Findings for Hispanic toddlers were not significantly different from those of Caucasian or African American families. Results bolster the literature on father presence and child outcomes. Analyses address consistency in father presence as a proxy for coherent role development and define a link between consistent father presence and children's regulatory development, demonstrating ethnoracial differences which are likely attributed to the social construction of family roles.

The Role of Intrapersonal Factors on Alcohol and Drug Use Among Latinos With Physical Disabilities.

Persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by alcohol and drug use. Social work best practice approaches require an understanding of the effects of intrapersonal factors on alcohol and drug use, yet the theoretical and empirical literature remain underdeveloped, especially among ethnic minority populations. We sought to obtain a detailed description of the role of intrapersonal factors, including perceptions and life experiences, on alcohol and drug use among Latinos with physical disabilities. We employed community-based participatory research in conjunction with photovoice. A total of 17 focus group interviews were completed. Three rounds of photography and focus group interviews occurred with a total of 28 participants who participated in each round. Data analyses followed the tenets of descriptive phenomenology. Results highlight intrapersonal risk and protective factors to inform social work practice and work toward developing and evaluating alcohol and drug use preventive interventions for this overlooked and vulnerable population.

Changes in women's alcoholic, antisocial, and depressive symptomatology over 12 years: a multilevel network of individual, familial, and neighborhood influences.

In a sample of 273 adult women and their families, we examined the effects of women's psychopathology history, their social support, their husbands' and children's symptomatology, family stress, and neighborhood environment on their alcohol problems, antisocial behavior, and depression over a 12-year period during their 30s and early 40s. Women's alcohol problems and antisocial behavior decreased but their depression symptoms increased over time. Women's disorder history and their partners' parallel symptomatology were associated with their symptoms. For women's antisocial behavior, their own history of alcoholism and their partners' alcohol problems were also significant risk factors. Higher levels of social support were associated with lower levels of depression in women. Children's externalizing behavior was positively correlated with their mothers' alcohol problems and antisocial behavior, whereas children's internalizing behavior was positively correlated with their mothers' depression. Neighborhood residential instability was associated with higher levels of alcoholic and depressive symptomatology in women. Intervention efforts might target women with young children by improving social support, educational or professional training opportunity, access to family counseling, and neighborhood environment.

Fathers and Families: Risk and Resilience. An Introduction.

The articles in this special issue are informed by the historic changes in the twentieth century (i.e., decreasing family size, changing family roles, and youth demonstrating more independent behaviors) that propelled intensive study of fathers' impacts on child development. The papers are conceptualized within a developmental systems framework and focused on a father's presence rather than on his absence in the family, going beyond the study of merely father involvement. Papers reflect longitudinal and cross-sectional methods and examine issues related to paternal mental health, parenting behavior, cultural context, and children's physical and mental health.

Parental combat injury and early child development: a conceptual model for differentiating effects of visible and invisible injuries.

The injuries (physical and emotional) sustained by service members during combat influence all members of a family system. This review used a systemic framework to conceptualize the direct and indirect effects of a service member's injury on family functioning, with a specific focus on young children. Using a meta-ethnographic approach to synthesize the health research literature from a variety of disciplines, this review makes relevant linkages to health care professionals working with injured veterans. Studies were included that examined how family functioning (psychological and physical) is impacted by parental illness; parental injury; and posttraumatic stress disorder. The synthesis of literature led to the development of a heuristic model that illustrates both direct and indirect effects of parental injury on family functioning and the development of young children. It further illustrates the contextual factors or moderating variables that buffer detrimental effects and promote family resilience. This model can be a foundation for future research, intervention, and policy.

Convergence of internal and external structure for the California Child Q-set.

The language of personality traits includes single-word trait descriptors, and longer phrases or sentences. Evidence has accumulated that abstract, semantic relationships among single words have the same underlying structure as the empirical relationships when words are applied to individuals. The present study examines whether these two kinds of structure are also isomorphic for longer trait descriptors. Empirical descriptions and judgements of semantic similarity were collected among the descriptors comprising the California Child Q-set, or CCQ, and analysed with multidimensional scaling. Canonical correlation showed the solutions to be closely related to one another, and to independent sets of ratings available for the CCQ items. Informants' similarity judgements were not affected by the context in which they were made. The dominant dimensions of the solutions reproduce dimensions found previously for the single-word personality lexicon, indicating the two trait-descriptive languages to be closely parallel.

Intergenerational transmission of neuropsychological executive functioning.

Relationships between parent and child executive functioning were examined, controlling for the critical potential confound of IQ, in a family study involving 434 children (130 girls and 304 boys) and 376 parents from 204 community recruited families at high risk for the development of substance use disorder. Structural equation modeling found evidence of separate executive functioning and intelligence (IQ) latent variables. Mother's and father's executive functioning were associated with child's executive functioning (beta = 0.34 for father-child and 0.51 for mother-child), independently of parental IQ, which as expected was associated with child's IQ (beta = 0.52 for father-child and 0.54 for mother-child). Familial correlations also showed a significant relationship of executive functioning between parents and offspring. These findings clarify that key elements of the executive functioning construct are reliably differentiable from IQ, and are transmitted in families. This work supports the utility of the construct of executive function in further study of the mechanisms and etiology of externalizing psychopathologies.

Alleviating perinatal depressive symptoms and stress: a nurse-community health worker randomized trial.

To determine whether a Nurse-Community Health Worker (CHW) home visiting team, in the context of a Medicaid enhanced prenatal/postnatal services (EPS), would demonstrate greater reduction of depressive symptoms and stress and improvement of psychosocial resources (mastery, self-esteem, social support) when compared with usual Community Care (CC) that includes Medicaid EPS delivered by professionals. Greatest program benefits were expected for women who reported low psychosocial resources, high stress, or both at the time of enrollment. Medicaid eligible pregnant women (N = 613) were randomly assigned to either usual CC or the Nurse-CHW team. Mixed effects regression was used to analyze up to five prenatal and postnatal psychosocial assessments. Compared to usual CC, assignment to the Nurse-CHW team resulted in significantly fewer depressive symptoms, and as hypothesized, reductions in depressive symptoms were most pronounced for women with low psychosocial resources, high stress, or both high stress and low resources. Outcomes for mastery and stress approached statistical significance, with the women in the Nurse-CHW group reporting less stress and greater mastery. Women in the Nurse-CHW group with low psychosocial resources reported significantly less perceived stress than women in usual CC. No differences between the groups were found for self-esteem and social support. A Nurse-CHW team approach to EPS demonstrated advantage for alleviating depressive symptoms in Medicaid eligible women compared to CC, especially for women at higher risk.

Early emotional development in infants and toddlers: Perspectives of Early Head Start staff and parents.

As part of a curriculum-development project, focus groups were implemented with Early Head Start staff and with parents of infants and toddlers enrolled in Early Head Start. Focus groups were designed to identify staff and parent beliefs about early emotional development. Three major themes were identified that crossed the staff and parent focus groups: (a) Infants' and toddlers' abilities to have emotions and to be aware of others' emotions; (b) roles of parents as advocates, teachers, and disciplinarians; and (c) parental reflectivity about their own experiences as influences on their parenting. The findings suggest that parents participating in Early Head Start have some knowledge about basic emotions and the developmental nature of emotions, but may easily misinterpret emotional displays only as attempts at manipulation rather than as valid expressions of feelings; expectations for gender-appropriate emotional expressiveness begin early; more empowered parents may view themselves as role models and teachers for their children; and more reflective parents are better prepared to engage in the sensitive interactions needed to guide young children's growing awareness of their own and others' emotions. Implications for parenting education and program planning utilizing an infant mental health perspective are discussed.

Commentary: Difficulties assessing social and emotional behavior in large-scale national studies.

Innovations in the assessment of emotional development provide new opportunities to track behavioral undercontrol from early childhood to adolescence and adulthood. Less attention is given to the assessment and measurement of negative affect. Questionnaires used to measure emotions and emotion-regulated behavior have strong psychometric properties. Large-scale population studies provide challenges for large assessment batteries and place great pressure for the use of short forms, but it is not always clear that short forms share the psychometrics strengths of their longer versions. Use of narratives provides opportunities to gain deeper insights into the child's experiential world. Overall, the diverse set of measurement tools that has been developed to assess emotion-regulated behavior during the earliest years contributes to our ability to design effective prevention programs or intervention strategies to shift developmental pathways.

Poor response inhibition as a predictor of problem drinking and illicit drug use in adolescents at risk for alcoholism and other substance use disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive power of executive functions, in particular, response inhibition, in relation to alcohol-related problems and illicit drug use in adolescence. METHOD: A total of 498 children from 275 families from a longitudinal high-risk study completed executive function measures in early and late adolescence and lifetime drinking and drug-related ratings at multiple time points including late adolescence (ages 15-17). Multi-informant measures of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder were obtained in early childhood (ages 3-5), middle childhood, and adolescence. RESULTS: In multilevel models, poor response inhibition predicted aggregate alcohol-related problems, the number of illicit drugs used, and comorbid alcohol and drug use (but not the number of drug-related problems), independently of IQ, parental alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder, child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct symptoms, or age. Multivariate models explained 8% to 20% of residual variance in outcome scores. The incremental predictive power of response inhibition was modest, explaining about 1% of the variance in most outcomes, but more than 9% of the residual variance in problem outcomes within the highest risk families. Other measured executive functions did not independently predict substance use onset. CONCLUSION: Models of alcoholism and other drug risks that invoke executive functions may benefit from specifying response inhibition as an incremental component.