Paternal Activation as a Protective Factor against Problem Behaviors in Early Childhood.

Activation parenting includes behaviors that challenge children to approach novel situations, explore their environments, and take physical and socioemotional risks through a balance of encouragement and limit-setting. Although components of activation parenting have been linked to lower levels of children's problem behaviors, comprehensive measures of activation parenting and longitudinal research on families from low socioeconomic backgrounds are lacking. The goal of the present study was to test associations between paternal activation parenting at age 3 and children's externalizing and internalizing problems at age 5 in a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse fathers. Participating fathers (N = 171; 9% Black, 47% white, 8% Latinx; mean household income = $25,145) and their children (51% female) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. Activation parenting during a teaching task at child age 3 was associated with lower levels of internalizing problems at age 5 and decreases in externalizing problems from baseline (age 2). Implications of the current findings are presented for future research on associations between activation parenting and child problem behaviors, including the potential for the development of prevention and intervention programs.

Cascading Influences of Caregiver Experiences of Discrimination and Adolescent Antisocial Behavior.

OBJECTIVE: Although a growing body of work has found that parents' experiences of racial and socioeconomic (SES) based discrimination are directly related to their children's behavior problems , more work is needed to understand possible pathways by which these factors are related and to identify potential targets for prevention and/or intervention. METHOD: Using a large (N = 572), longitudinal sample of low-income families from diverse racial backgrounds, the current study explored whether caregivers' experiences of racial and SES discrimination during their children's middle childhood (i.e. ages 7.5-9.5) predicted youth-reported antisocial behavior during adolescence and potential factors mediating these associations (e.g. caregiver depressive symptoms and positive parenting practices). RESULTS: We found that higher levels of caregiver experiences of discrimination at child ages 7.5-9.5 predicted higher levels of caregiver depressive symptoms at child age 10.5, which were related to lower levels of caregiver endorsement of positive parenting practices at child age 14.5, which in turn, predicted higher levels of youth-reported antisocial behavior at age 16. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the adverse effects of racism and discrimination in American society. Second, the findings underscore the need to develop interventions which mitigate racism and discrimination among perpetrators and alleviate depressive symptoms among caregivers.

How pubertal timing and self-regulation predict adolescent sexual activity in resource-poor environments.

Studies found support for a link between pubertal timing and self-regulation in low-resource environments. This link could potentially explain a link between pubertal timing and early risk behavior. This study builds on this body of research by examining the mediated effect of pubertal timing on sexual activity through self-regulation in 728 adolescents and their families in a group with poor resources and a group with adequate resources. Income-to-Needs (ITN) was measured at age 7.5 to establish two groups (low-ITN and Medium/High-ITN). Pubertal timing was measured at age 10.5, self-regulation was assessed at age 14 and operationalized with effortful control, and sexual activity was assessed at age 16. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized model in both groups. The link between pubertal timing and sexual activity mediated by effortful control was only significant in the low-ITN group. Specifically, more advanced pubertal maturity was associated with lower levels of adolescents' effortful control, which in turn was associated with more sexual activity at age 16. Findings were partially replicated with a drug use index replacing sexual activity. This study shows a different operating link from pubertal timing to effortful control and subsequent risk behavior in resource-poor environments. Implications are discussed.

Family processes and structure: Longitudinal influences on adolescent disruptive and internalizing behaviors.

Objective: The present study revisits the assumption in American culture, based in "family privilege," that children fare better in two-parent households by longitudinally examining associations between family structure, process, and adolescent behavior. Background: Societal assumptions and cross-sectional research suggest that there is a difference in child adjustment across varying family structures. Relatedly, the family process literature emphasizes the importance of parent-child relationship quality in addition to family structure on child adjustment. Method: We utilized a longitudinal, prospective design that assessed family structures on nine occasions covering a 12-year period beginning when the target child was 2 years of age for a large (N = 714), ethnically and racially diverse sample of low-income families. We examined the relation between self-reported, teacher-reported, and primary caregiver-reported adolescent disruptive and internalizing problem behavior across family structures and parent-child relationship quality. Results: Across seven identified family structures, adolescent behavior did not differ after accounting for middle-childhood adjustment and relevant contextual factors. However, consistent with family process models of child adjustment, positive parent-child relationship quality predicted lower rates of adolescent maladaptive behavior. Conclusion: These findings serve to combat stigma related to family structures that deviate from married parents raising their children and highlight the need for interventions designed to foster positive parent-child relationships. Implications: Policy makers and practitioners should aim to support efforts to foster positive parent-child relationships across types of family structures and refrain from promoting or discouraging the formations of specific family structure types.

Exploring the benefits of psychoeducation on college students' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the effects of a scalable psychoeducation intervention to improve students' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. PARTICIPANTS: In a sample of racially diverse undergraduates from a highly selective university (N = 66), students in the control group (mostly women) participated in courses as usual and students in the intervention group (only women) participated in a psychoeducation course on evidence-based strategies for coping, designed for college students living through the pandemic. METHODS: Rates of psychological distress were measured through online surveys at baseline and follow-up assessments. RESULTS: Students in both the intervention and control groups had clinically elevated depressive symptoms. Consistent with hypotheses, students in the intervention group had lower levels of academic distress and more positive perceptions regarding mental healthcare at the follow-up assessment than students in the control group. Contrary to hypotheses, students in both groups had similar levels of depressive symptoms, feelings of being overwhelmed, and coping. Preliminary findings suggest that the intervention primarily improved help-seeking and may have reduced stigma. CONCLUSIONS: Psychoeducation in an academic setting may be one means by which to decrease academic distress and reduce mental health stigma at highly selective institutions.

A Polygenic Risk Score Enhances Risk Prediction for Adolescents' Antisocial Behavior over the Combined Effect of 22 Extra-familial, Familial, and Individual Risk Factors in the Context of the Family Check-Up.

Possessing informative tools to predict who is most at risk for antisocial behavior in adolescence is important to help identify families most in need of early intervention. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) have been shown to predict antisocial behavior, but it remains unclear whether PRSs provide additional benefit above more conventional tools to early risk detection for antisocial behavior. This study examined the utility of a PRS in predicting adolescents' antisocial behavior after accounting for a broad index of children's contextual and individual risk factors for antisocial behavior. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal family-based prevention study (N = 463; Ncontrol = 224; 48.8% girls; 45.1% White; 30.2% Black; 12.7% Hispanic/Latino, 10.4% biracial; 0.2% Native American). Participants were recruited from US-based Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement programs. A risk tolerance PRS was created from a genome-wide association study. We created a robust measure capturing additive effects of 22 conventional measures of a risk of antisocial behavior assessed at child age 2 (before intervention). A latent variable capturing antisocial behavior (ages 10.5-16) was created. After accounting for intervention status and the conventional risk index, the risk tolerance PRS predicted independent variance in antisocial behavior. A PRS-by-conventional risk interaction showed that the conventional risk measure only predicted antisocial behavior at high levels of the PRS. Thus, the risk tolerance PRS provides unique predictive information above conventional screening tools and, when combined with them, identified a higher-risk subgroup of children. Integrating PRSs could facilitate risk identification and, ultimately, prevention screening, particularly in settings unable to serve all individuals in need.

Developmental genetic effects on externalizing behavior and alcohol use: Examination across two longitudinal samples.

Externalizing behavior in early adolescence is associated with alcohol use in adolescence and early adulthood and these behaviors often emerge as part of a developmental sequence. This pattern can be the result of heterotypic continuity, in which different behaviors emerge over time based on an underlying shared etiology. In particular, there is largely a shared genetic etiology underlying externalizing and substance use behaviors. We examined whether polygenic risk for alcohol use disorder predicted (1) externalizing behavior in early adolescence and alcohol use in adolescence in the Early Steps Multisite sample and (2) externalizing behavior in adolescence and alcohol use in early adulthood in the Project Alliance 1 (PAL1) sample. We examined associations separately for African Americans and European Americans. When examining European Americans in the Early Steps sample, greater polygenic risk was associated with externalizing behavior in early adolescence. In European Americans in PAL1, we found greater polygenic risk was associated with alcohol use in early adulthood. Effects were largely absent in African Americans in both samples. Results imply that genetic predisposition for alcohol use disorder may increase risk for externalizing and alcohol use as these behaviors emerge developmentally.

Individual differences in symptoms of maternal depression and associations with parenting behavior.

Links between global levels of maternal depressive symptoms and parenting behavior in early childhood are well established. However, depression is a heterogeneous disorder and little is known about how individual differences in depression symptoms may be differentially associated with different types of parenting behavior. We aimed to uncover nuance in the relationship between depression and parenting behavior by examining individual differences in symptoms of maternal depression and associations with parenting behavior with 2- and 3-year-old children. Participants included 714 diverse, low-income mothers and their 2-year-old children. Maternal depression symptoms were self-reported at child age 2. Three domains of parenting behavior (harsh, positive, and disengaged) were coded from mother-child interactions at ages 2 and 3. Individual differences in maternal depressive symptoms at child age 2 comprised five profiles: low, interpersonal rejection, moderate, high depressed affect and physical, and severe. Women with the high depressed affect and physical profile demonstrated the greatest risk for parenting challenges with higher levels of harsh parenting at child age 2 compared to all other profiles and higher levels of disengaged parenting at child age 3 compared to the low, moderate, and severe profiles. Unexpectedly, positive parenting did not differ by maternal depression profile at either age. There is wide heterogeneity in symptoms of depression among mothers of 2-year-old children that is clinically relevant for different dimensions of parenting. Physical and depressed affect symptoms in particular may present risk for harsh parenting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Indirect Associations between Middle-Childhood Externalizing Behaviors and Adolescent Substance Use through Late-Childhood Exposure to Violence.

Longitudinal research to understand individual risk factors in childhood associated with exposure to violence and substance use is needed to inform prevention efforts. The present study tested indirect associations between age 8.5 externalizing behaviors and age 16 substance use through age 9.5 violence victimization and witnessing. Participants were 650 racially diverse (48.6% European American, 28.1% African American, 13.3% multiracial, and 10.0% other), predominantly socioeconomically disadvantaged youth (49% female). Externalizing behaviors were associated with higher levels of violence victimization and witnessing. The indirect path from externalizing behaviors to substance use was significant through victimization but not witnessing violence. Interventions aimed at reducing early externalizing behaviors may reduce risk for violence victimization, which may, in turn, reduce risk for adolescent substance use.

Trajectories of early childhood family instability and the development of externalizing behaviors from middle childhood to adolescence: A prospective study of at-risk families.

This study examined associations between trajectories of family instability across early childhood and trajectories of externalizing behaviors from middle childhood to adolescence. Growth mixture models were fit to annual caregiver reports of instability from child ages 2-5 (N = 731; 49% girls, 50% White). A curve of factors model was fit to externalizing behaviors from child ages 7.5-14. Chronic, elevated instability across early childhood predicted elevated externalizing behaviors from middle childhood to adolescence. Data collection spanned from 2002 to 2017. Increasing or declining levels of instability predicted elevated externalizing behaviors in middle to late childhood, but not in adolescence. Caregiver depressive symptoms mediated the association between instability and the externalizing behavior intercept. Intervening on chronic instability may reduce child externalizing problems.

Relations between Early Childhood Paternal Depression and Preschool- and School-age Psychosocial Functioning.

Objective: The present study used a longitudinal design to examine associations between paternal depressive symptoms in toddlerhood and children's psychosocial adjustment during the preschool and school-age periods. Maternal depressive symptoms and intervention status were tested as moderators of associations between paternal depressive symptoms and child maladjustment.Method: The sample (n = 264, 48% female, 62% White, 14% Black, 14% bi-racial, 11% another racial group, and 86% non-Hispanic/Latinx) represented a subsample of families from the Early Steps Multisite Study, a clinical randomized trial testing the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up among low-income families using Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement Services in three communities varied in urbanicity. Fathers and mothers reported their levels of depressive symptoms at child age 2, primary caregivers (mostly mothers) contributed measures of child adjustment at ages 5, 8.5, and 9.5, and teachers completed questionnaires about child adjustment at ages 8.5 and 9.5.Results: Direct relations were found between paternal depressive symptoms and primary caregivers' reports of children's preschool and school-age internalizing problems. Furthermore, higher levels of paternal depression were associated with higher levels of children's later adjustment problems at preschool-age when maternal depressive symptoms were mild or higher. The Family Check-Up attenuated relations between paternal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems at school-age.Conclusions: These findings have important implications for future research on preventing children's early-emerging problem behaviors at home, suggesting that addressing paternal depressive symptoms in early childhood may be an important intervention target, especially in the context of maternal depression.

Genotype-environment correlation by intervention effects underlying middle childhood peer rejection and associations with adolescent marijuana use.

Aggressive behavior in middle childhood can contribute to peer rejection, subsequently increasing risk for substance use in adolescence. However, the quality of peer relationships a child experiences can be associated with his or her genetic predisposition, a genotype-environment correlation (rGE). In addition, recent evidence indicates that psychosocial preventive interventions can buffer genetic predispositions for negative behavior. The current study examined associations between polygenic risk for aggression, aggressive behavior, and peer rejection from 8.5 to 10.5 years, and the subsequent influence of peer rejection on marijuana use in adolescence (n = 515; 256 control, 259 intervention). Associations were examined separately in control and intervention groups for children of families who participated in a randomized controlled trial of the family-based preventive intervention, the Family Check-Up . Using time-varying effect modeling (TVEM), polygenic risk for aggression was associated with peer rejection from approximately age 8.50 to 9.50 in the control group but no associations were present in the intervention group. Subsequent analyses showed peer rejection mediated the association between polygenic risk for aggression and adolescent marijuana use in the control group. The role of rGEs in middle childhood peer processes and implications for preventive intervention programs for adolescent substance use are discussed.

Extracurricular involvement in the school-age period and adolescent problem behavior among low-income youth.

OBJECTIVE: The present study tested the protective role of youth's school-age extracurricular involvement and multiple informants' reports of adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of youth from low-income households. METHOD: Participating youth (n = 635, 49% female, 49% White, 28% Black/African American, 14% biracial, 8% other race, 13% Hispanic/Latinx) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. At ages 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5, primary caregivers reported the number of extracurricular activities for which youth participated (Parent Aftercare Survey). At ages 14 and 16, measures of internalizing and externalizing problems were collected from primary and alternate caregivers (Child Behavior Checklist) and target youth (Child Depression Inventory-Short Form, Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, and Self-Report of Delinquency). At age 16, target youth also contributed measures of risky sexual behaviors and substance use (Youth Risk Behavior Survey). Teachers contributed measures of youth's internalizing and externalizing problems at age 14 (Teacher Report Form). RESULTS: After accounting for the effects of multiple sociodemographic factors, initial levels of child problem behavior, and intervention group status, structural equation models revealed that school-age extracurricular involvement was inversely associated with latent factors representing adolescent externalizing, but not internalizing, problems at ages 14 (ß = -.13, p < .01) and 16 (ß = -.12, p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that low-income, school-age children's involvement in extracurricular activities serves a protective function in relation to adolescent externalizing problems. Future studies should assess underlying mechanisms and expand the scope of adolescent outcomes to include prosocial functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Educational attainment polygenic score predicts inhibitory control and academic skills in early and middle childhood.

Inhibitory control skills are important for academic outcomes across childhood, but it is unknown whether inhibitory control is implicated in the association between genetic variation and academic performance. This study examined the relationship between a GWAS-based (EduYears) polygenic score indexing educational attainment (EA PGS) and inhibitory control in early (Mage  = 3.80 years) and middle childhood (Mage  = 9.18 years), and whether inhibitory control in early childhood mediated the relation between EA PGS and academic skills. The sample comprised 731 low-income and racially/ethnically diverse children and their families from the longitudinal early steps multisite study. EA PGS predicted middle childhood inhibitory control (estimate = 0.09, SE = 0.05, p < 0.05) and academic skills (estimate = 0.18, SE = 0.05, p < 0.01) but did not predict early childhood inhibitory control (estimate = 0.08, SE = 0.05, p = 0.11); thus, mediation was not tested. Sensitivity analyses showed that effect sizes were similar across European and African American groups. This study suggests that inhibitory control could serve as a potential mechanism linking genetic differences to educational outcomes.

Indirect Effects of the Family Check-Up on Youth Extracurricular Involvement at School-Age through Improvements in Maternal Positive Behavior Support in Early Childhood.

Extracurricular involvement in the school-age years has widespread potential benefits for children's subsequent socioemotional development, especially for low-income youth. However, there is a dearth of research on interventions aimed at increasing school-age extracurricular involvement in low-income youth. Thus, the present study aimed to test the collateral effect of a brief, family-focused intervention for low-income families, the Family Check-Up, on children's school-age extracurricular involvement via improvements in maternal Positive Behavior Support in early childhood. The sample (n = 630, 50% female, 50% White, 28% Black/African American) represented a subsample of families from the Early Steps Multisite Study. At age 2, families were randomly assigned to the Family Check-Up or Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement Services as usual. Mother-child dyads participated in observed interaction tasks at child ages 2 and 3 that were subsequently coded to assess positive behavior support. Primary caregivers reported on children's school-age extracurricular involvement at ages 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5. Results indicated that although there was not a direct path between intervention status and children's school-age extracurricular involvement, a significant indirect path emerged from intervention group to changes in positive behavior support between ages 2 to 3 to children's school-age extracurricular involvement. The results are discussed in terms of implications for designing preventive interventions in early childhood that promote extracurricular involvement at school-age, particularly for children at risk for maladaptive outcomes.

Taking a Motivational Interviewing Approach to Prevention Science: Progress and Extensions.

This commentary reviews advances gleaned from the current set of papers to Motivational Interviewing (MI) in prevention science. We begin by acknowledging the pioneering work of Miller and Rollnick to develop the construct of MI, then Dishion's use of MI principles to adapt applications of MI for the field of prevention science. We then highlight some of the contributions provided by the current set of papers and other recent extensions of MI. These novel applications are directed to parents, teachers, and older youth in the service of facilitating behavior change to promote youth development.

Genetic Moderation of the Association Between Early Family Instability and Trajectories of Aggressive Behaviors from Middle Childhood to Adolescence.

The present study tested models of polygenic by environment interaction between early childhood family instability and polygenic risk for aggression predicting developmental trajectories of aggression from middle childhood to adolescence. With a longitudinal sample of 515 racially and ethnically diverse children from low-income families, primary caregivers reported on multiple components of family instability annually from child ages 2-5 years. A conservative polygenic risk score (p = 0.05) was generated based on a prior meta-genome wide association study. Trajectories of aggression were identified using a curve of factors model based on a composite of primary caregiver, alternate caregiver, and teacher reports at five ages from 7.5 to 14 years. The family instability by polygenic interaction predicted growth in children's aggression such that children with lower levels of family instability and lower polygenic risk exhibited a steeper decline in aggression from 7.5 to 14. Findings support the need to model gene-environment interplay to elucidate the role of genetics in the development of aggressive behaviors.

Depression in mothers and the externalizing and internalizing behavior of children: An attempt to go beyond association.

Hundreds of studies have documented an association between depression in mothers and behavior problems in children. Theory and empirical findings suggest this association may be confounded by other factors, but little attention has been paid to this issue. We used propensity score methods in a sample of 731 low-income families assessed repeatedly from child age 2 through 14 years to produce a weighted sample of families that were similar at child age 3 years except for mothers' depression. Depressive symptomatology was measured via self-report rating scale. Mothers were categorized as having clinically-elevated versus non-clinically-elevated scores based on an established threshold. Mothers with elevated versus nonelevated scores were equated on 89 other relevant characteristics (e.g., SES, child behavior, marital conflict). We then compared the equated groups on mother, secondary caregiver, and teacher ratings of child externalizing and internalizing behavior from child ages 4 to 14 years. Prior to equating, the mean prima facie effect of exposure to clinically-elevated mothers' depression scores at child age 3 years was d = 0.45 per mothers, d = 0.26 per secondary caregivers, and d = 0.13 per teachers. After equating, the mean adjusted effect was d = 0.07 per mothers, d = 0.01 per secondary caregivers, and d = 0.03 per teachers. Findings suggest that a substantial portion of the prima facie association between mothers' depression and later child behavior problems is accounted for by confounding variables rather than a causal effect of depressive symptoms per se. To fully understand why children of depressed mothers exhibit more behavior problems, a multicausal theory is needed that jointly considers the cluster of co-occurring clinical features that often accompany maternal depression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Evidence for two genetically distinct pathways to co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence characterized by negative affectivity or behavioral inhibition.

Unique pathways to adolescents' co-occurring internalizing/externalizing problems, a severe and common form of psychopathology, remain poorly delineated; this paucity of knowledge impedes the development of personalized interventions. We examined established measures of genetic risk and early childhood temperamental dimensions to clarify potentially distinct pathways to adolescents' co-occurring internalizing/externalizing problems. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal randomized controlled trial of a family-based intervention. The study employed multiple informants and methods, including observer ratings of toddlers' negative affectivity and behavioral inhibition, and primary caregiver ratings of toddlers' inhibitory control; internalizing and aggression polygenic risk scores (PRS) based on prior meta-genome-wide association studies (GWAS); and parents' and teachers' reports of adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems. Higher levels of the aggression PRS indirectly predicted primary caregiver- and teacher-reported co-occurring problems relative to all other groups through greater early childhood negative affectivity. Lower levels of the aggression PRS and higher levels of the internalizing PRS indirectly predicted co-occurring problems relative to the externalizing "only" and low problem groups (primary caregivers only) through greater early childhood behavioral inhibition. Findings suggest two different genetic pathways to co-occurring problems that could lead to distinct prevention and intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Sad Dads and Troubled Tots: Protective Factors Related to the Stability of Paternal Depression and Early Childhood Internalizing Problems.

The present study tested the moderating role of interparental relationship quality and child inhibitory control on the stability of paternal depression over time and associations between paternal depression and child internalizing problems in early childhood. Participants were a subsample (n = 166) of families from the Early Steps Multisite study, a longitudinal study of low-income parents and children. Interparental relationship quality (age 2) attenuated the association between paternal depressive symptoms at age 2 and paternal depressive symptoms at age 3. Both interparental relationship quality (age 3) and child inhibitory control (age 3) attenuated the association between paternal depressive symptoms (age 3) and age 4 child internalizing problems. Results suggest that high interparental relationship quality may be a protective factor in terms of lessening the stability of paternal depressive symptoms over time, as well as the association between paternal depression and later child internalizing problems. Similarly, high levels of inhibitory control may buffer children from the negative effects of paternal depression on the development of internalizing problems.