Kindergarten conduct problems are associated with monetized outcomes in adolescence and adulthood.

BACKGROUND: Across several sites in the United States, we examined whether kindergarten conduct problems among mostly population-representative samples of children were associated with increased criminal and related (criminal + lost offender productivity + victim; described as criminal + victim hereafter) costs across adolescence and adulthood, as well as government and medical services costs in adulthood. METHODS: Participants (N = 1,339) were from two multisite longitudinal studies: Fast Track (n = 754) and the Child Development Project (n = 585). Parents and teachers reported on kindergarten conduct problems, administrative and national database records yielded indexes of criminal offending, and participants self-reported their government and medical service use. Outcomes were assigned costs, and significant associations were adjusted for inflation to determine USD 2020 costs. RESULTS: A 1SD increase in kindergarten conduct problems was associated with a $21,934 increase in adolescent criminal + victim costs, a $63,998 increase in adult criminal + victim costs, a $12,753 increase in medical services costs, and a $146,279 increase in total costs. In the male sample, a 1SD increase in kindergarten conduct problems was associated with a $28,530 increase in adolescent criminal + victim costs, a $58,872 increase in adult criminal + victim costs, and a $144,140 increase in total costs. In the female sample, a 1SD increase in kindergarten conduct problems was associated with a $15,481 increase in adolescent criminal + victim costs, a $62,916 increase in adult criminal + victim costs, a $24,105 increase in medical services costs, and a $144,823 increase in total costs. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation provides evidence of the long-term costs associated with early-starting conduct problems, which is important information that can be used by policymakers to support research and programs investing in a strong start for children.

Predictors of problematic adult alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use: A longitudinal study of two samples.

This study examined whether a key set of adolescent and early adulthood risk factors predicts problematic alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use in established adulthood. Two independent samples from the Child Development Project (CDP; n = 585; 48% girls; 81% White, 17% Black, 2% other race/ethnicity) and Fast Track (FT; n = 463; 45% girls; 52% White, 43% Black, 5% other race/ethnicity) were recruited in childhood and followed through age 34 (CDP) or 32 (FT). Predictors of substance use were assessed in adolescence based on adolescent and parent reports and in early adulthood based on adult self-reports. Adults reported their own problematic substance use in established adulthood. In both samples, more risk factors from adolescence and early adulthood predicted problematic alcohol use in established adulthood (compared to problematic cannabis use and other substance use). Externalizing behaviors and prior substance use in early adulthood were consistent predictors of problematic alcohol and cannabis misuse in established adulthood across samples; other predictors were specific to the sample and type of substance misuse. Prevention efforts might benefit from tailoring to address risk factors for specific substances, but prioritizing prevention of externalizing behaviors holds promise for preventing both alcohol and cannabis misuse in established adulthood.

Predictive Validity of Adolescent Callous-Unemotional Traits and Conduct Problems with Respect to Adult Outcomes: High- and Low-Risk Samples.

Current understanding of the predictive validity of callous-unemotional (CU) traits is limited by (a) the focus on externalizing psychopathology and antisocial behaviors, (b) a lack of long-term prospective longitudinal data, (c) samples comprised of high-risk or low-risk individuals. We tested whether adolescent CU traits and conduct problems were associated with theoretically relevant adult outcomes 12-18 years later. Participants were drawn from two studies: higher-risk Fast Track (FT; n = 754) and lower-risk Child Development Project (CDP; n = 585). FT: conduct problems positively predicted externalizing and internalizing psychopathology and partner violence, and negatively predicted health, wellbeing, and education. Three conduct problems × CU traits interaction effects were also found. CDP: CU traits positively predicted depression and negatively predicted health and education; conduct problems positively predicted externalizing and internalizing psychopathology and substance use, and negatively predicted wellbeing. CU traits did not provide incremental predictive validity for multiple adult outcomes relative to conduct problems.

A defensive mindset: A pattern of social information processing that develops early and predicts life course outcomes.

The hypothesis was tested that some children develop a defensive mindset that subsumes individual social information processing (SIP) steps, grows from early experiences, and guides long-term outcomes. In Study 1 (Fast Track [FT]), 463 age-5 children (45% girls; 43% Black) were first assessed in 1991 and followed through age 32 (83% retention). In Study 2 (Child Development Project [CDP]), 585 age-5 children (48% girls, 17% Black) were first assessed in 1987 and followed through age 34 (78% retention). In both studies, measures were collected of early adverse experiences, defensive mindset and SIP, and adult outcomes. Across both studies, a robust latent construct of school-age defensive mindset was validated empirically (comparative fit index = .99 in each study) and found to mediate the impact of early child abuse (38% in FT and 29% in CDP of total effect) and peer social rejection (14% in FT and 7% in CDP of total effect) on adult incarceration.

Cumulative early childhood adversity and later antisocial behavior: The mediating role of passive avoidance.

Twenty-six percent of children experience a traumatic event by the age of 4. Negative events during childhood have deleterious correlates later in life, including antisocial behavior. However, the mechanisms that play into this relation are unclear. We explored deficits in neurocognitive functioning, specifically problems in passive avoidance, a construct with elements of inhibitory control and learning as a potential acquired mediator for the pathway between cumulative early childhood adversity from birth to age 7 and later antisocial behavior through age 18, using prospective longitudinal data from 585 participants. Path analyses showed that cumulative early childhood adversity predicted impaired passive avoidance during adolescence and increased antisocial behavior during late adolescence. Furthermore, poor neurocognition, namely, passive avoidance, predicted later antisocial behavior and significantly mediated the relation between cumulative early childhood adversity and later antisocial behavior. This research has implications for understanding the development of later antisocial behavior and points to a potential target for neurocognitive intervention within the pathway from cumulative early childhood adversity to later antisocial behavior.

Coping with Relationship Stress in Adolescence: A Decade in Review.

At a moment in history when stress levels among adolescents are high and coping capacities are taxed, it seems timely and important to review a decade's accomplishments in elucidating how, and with what effects, adolescents cope with relationship stress. We provide an update on research about coping with parent, peer, and romantic stress and discuss the effectiveness of coping strategies across cultures, developmental periods, and levels of social stress. We explore relations between coping and other automatic and reflective responses to stress and highlight innovations in lab-based and ambulatory assessments. We recommend studies of variability in the success of coping at different intensities of relationship stress and research with real-time and repeated assessments to capture the process of coping.

Organized Activity Involvement Predicts Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Adolescence.

Despite the expected benefits of organized activity involvement (e.g., sports, clubs), inconsistencies in associations between activity involvement and internalizing and externalizing problems may be explained in part by limitations of measurements and variations between individuals. To address these gaps, a latent variable of organized activity participation was tested as a predictor of internalizing and externalizing problems, and initial child adjustment was tested as a moderator of the outcomes from activity participation. Participants included 431 adolescents (52.2% female; ages 12-13 in seventh grade) from the Child Development Project. Adolescents self-reported activity involvement (seventh grade) and internalizing problems (seventh and ninth grades); mothers reported on adolescents' externalizing problems (seventh and eighth grade). Structural equation models showed that an activity involvement latent variable predicted lower internalizing problems. The interaction between activity involvement and initial level of externalizing problems predicted externalizing problems. Specifically, higher levels of activity involvement predicted lower levels of externalizing problems at initially lower levels of externalizing problems. However, at higher levels of initial externalizing problems, higher levels of activity involvement predicted higher levels of externalizing problems. The results suggest that activity involvement reduces risk for subsequent internalizing problems but could increase or decrease risk for subsequent externalizing problems depending on initial levels of externalizing problems.

Adolescent social withdrawal, parental psychological control, and parental knowledge across seven years: A developmental cascade model.

INTRODUCTION: Social withdrawal can be problematic for adolescents, increasing the risk of poor self-efficacy, self-esteem, and academic achievement, and increased levels of depression and anxiety. This prospective study follows students across adolescence, investigating links between social withdrawal and two types of parenting hypothesized to impact or be reactive to changes in social withdrawal. METHODS: Adolescent social withdrawal and parenting were assessed across seven years in a U.S. sample, beginning when students were in 6th grade and ending in 12th grade. The sample consisted of 534 adolescents (260 girls and 274 boys, 82% Euro- and 16% African-American). Social withdrawal was assessed in four grades using at least two informants (teachers, mothers, and/or adolescents). Mothers' and fathers' psychological control and monitoring-related knowledge were assessed by adolescents at two time points. A developmental cascade analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling to assess how withdrawal and control-related parenting impact each other transactionally over time. Analyses included a test for gender differences in the model. RESULTS: The cascade model revealed that, controlling for previous levels of social withdrawal and parenting, earlier social withdrawal positively predicted psychological control and negatively predicted monitoring knowledge, and earlier parental psychological control-but not monitoring knowledge-predicted later social withdrawal. No adolescent gender differences were identified in the associations between social withdrawal and parental knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers insight into the mechanisms by which adolescents become more or less withdrawn over time, and suggests psychological control as a point of psychoeducation or intervention for parents.

Serotonin functioning and adolescents' alcohol use: A genetically informed study examining mechanisms of risk.

The current study used data from two longitudinal samples to test whether self-regulation, depressive symptoms, and aggression/antisociality were mediators in the relation between a polygenic score indexing serotonin (5-HT) functioning and alcohol use in adolescence. The results from an independent genome-wide association study of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid were used to create 5-HT polygenic risk scores. Adolescents and/or parents reported on adolescents' self-regulation (Time 1), depressive symptoms (Time 2), aggression/antisociality (Time 2), and alcohol use (Time 3). The results showed that 5-HT polygenic risk did not predict self-regulation. However, adolescents with higher levels of 5-HT polygenic risk showed greater depression and aggression/antisociality. Adolescents' aggression/antisociality mediated the relation between 5-HT polygenic risk and later alcohol use. Deficits in self-regulation also predicted depression and aggression/antisociality, and indirectly predicted alcohol use through aggression/antisociality. Pathways to alcohol use were especially salient for males from families with low parental education in one of the two samples. The results provide insights into the longitudinal mechanisms underlying the relation between 5-HT functioning and alcohol use (i.e., earlier aggression/antisociality). There was no evidence that genetically based variation in 5-HT functioning predisposed individuals to deficits in self-regulation. Genetically based variation in 5-HT functioning and self-regulation might be separate, transdiagnostic risk factors for several types of psychopathology.

Dysregulation in children: Origins and implications from age 5 to age 28.

Research shows that childhood dysregulation is associated with later psychiatric disorders. It does not yet resolve discrepancies in the operationalization of dysregulation. It is also far from settled on the origins and implications of individual differences in dysregulation. This study tested several operational definitions of dysregulation using Achenbach attention, anxious/depressed, and aggression subscales. Individual growth curves of dysregulation were computed, and predictors of growth differences were considered. The study also compared the predictive utility of the dysregulation indexes to standard externalizing and internalizing indexes. Dysregulation was indexed annually for 24 years in a community sample (n = 585). Hierarchical linear models considered changes in dysregulation in relation to possible influences from parenting, family stress, child temperament, language, and peer relations. In a test of the meaning of dysregulation, it was related to functional and psychiatric outcomes in adulthood. Dysregulation predictions were further compared to those of the more standard internalizing and externalizing indexes. Growth curve analyses showed strong stability of dysregulation. Initial levels of dysregulation were predicted by temperamental resistance to control, and change in dysregulation was predicted by poor language ability and peer relations. Dysregulation and externalizing problems were associated with negative adult outcomes to a similar extent.

Relationship Education for Incarcerated Adults.

As relationship education (RE) programs become more widely implemented, it is important to measure and document the changes associated with RE for diverse audiences. Also, researchers have been challenged to examine the impact of RE with more disadvantaged groups. While we are seeing an increase in this area, only three studies have examined RE with an incarcerated sample. These previous studies examined only those currently in a relationship and focused primarily on couple functioning. The aim of this study was to expand the existing literature by examining RE with a broader sample of incarcerated adults, regardless of current relationship status, and to expand our understanding of its association with outcomes beyond the couple domain by also including measures of individual and parental functioning. In addition, we examined whether change from pre- to posttest was moderated by individual characteristics. Using a sample of incarcerated adults (N = 122), the study found positive change in three domains of functioning (couple, individual, and parental). Specifically, results indicated change on five of the eight outcome variables examined. Overall, we found both similarities and differences among program participants on changes from pre- to posttest. For the majority of outcomes, the positive change from pre- to posttest emerged regardless of individual characteristics.

Romantic relationships and alcohol use: A long-term, developmental perspective.

This study considers the developmental origins of alcohol use in young adulthood. Despite substantial evidence linking committed romantic relationships to less problematic alcohol use in adulthood, the uniformity of these protective benefits across different romantic relationships is unclear. Further, the extent to which the establishment and maintenance of these romantic relationships is preceded by earlier adolescence alcohol use remains unknown. To address these gaps in the literature, the current study utilized multitiple-dimensional, multiple-informant data spanning 20 years on 585 individuals in the Child Development Project. Findings from both variable- and person-centered analyses support a progression of associations predicting adolescent alcohol use (ages 15-16), drinking, and romantic relationships in early adulthood (ages 18-25), and then problematic young adult alcohol use (age 27). Although adolescent alcohol use predicted greater romantic involvement and turnover in early adulthood, romantic involvement, but not turnover, appeared to reduce the likelihood of later problematic drinking. These findings remained robust even after accounting for a wide array of selection and socialization factors. Moreover, characteristics of the individuals (e.g., gender) and of their romantic relationships (e.g., partner substance use problems and romantic relationship satisfaction) did not moderate these findings. Findings underscore the importance of using a developmental-relational perspective to consider the antecedents and consequences of alcohol use early in the life span.

Are They Listening? Parental Social Coaching and Parenting Emotional Climate Predict Adolescent Receptivity.

Associations linking parenting emotional climate and quality of parental social coaching with young adolescents' receptivity to parental social coaching were examined (N = 80). Parenting emotional climate was assessed with adolescent-reported parental warmth and hostility. Quality of parental social coaching (i.e., prosocial advice, benign framing) was assessed via parent-report and behavioral observations during a parent-adolescent discussion about negative peer evaluation. An adolescent receptivity latent variable score was derived from observations of adolescents' behavior during the discussion, change in adolescents' peer response plan following the discussion, and adolescent-reported tendency to seek social advice from the parent. Parenting climate moderated associations between coaching and receptivity: Higher quality coaching was associated with greater receptivity in the context of a more positive climate. Analyses suggested a stronger association between coaching and receptivity among younger compared to older adolescents.

Describing and predicting developmental profiles of externalizing problems from childhood to adulthood.

This longitudinal study considers externalizing behavior problems from ages 5 to 27 (N = 585). Externalizing problem ratings by mothers, fathers, teachers, peers, and self-report were modeled with growth curves. Risk and protective factors across many different domains and time frames were included as predictors of the trajectories. A major contribution of the study is in demonstrating how heterotypic continuity and changing measures can be handled in modeling changes in externalizing behavior over long developmental periods. On average, externalizing problems decreased from early childhood to preadolescence, increased during adolescence, and decreased from late adolescence to adulthood. There was strong nonlinear continuity in externalizing problems over time. Family process, peer process, stress, and individual characteristics predicted externalizing problems beyond the strong continuity of externalizing problems. The model accounted for 70% of the variability in the development of externalizing problems. The model's predicted values showed moderate sensitivity and specificity in prediction of arrests, illegal drug use, and drunk driving. Overall, the study showed that by using changing, developmentally relevant measures and simultaneously taking into account numerous characteristics of children and their living situations, research can model lengthy spans of development and improve predictions of the development of later, severe externalizing problems.

Developmental mediation of genetic variation in response to the Fast Track prevention program.

We conducted a developmental analysis of genetic moderation of the effect of the Fast Track intervention on adult externalizing psychopathology. The Fast Track intervention enrolled 891 children at high risk to develop externalizing behavior problems when they were in kindergarten. Half of the enrolled children were randomly assigned to receive 10 years of treatment, with a range of services and resources provided to the children and their families, and the other half to usual care (controls). We previously showed that the effect of the Fast Track intervention on participants' risk of externalizing psychopathology at age 25 years was moderated by a variant in the glucocorticoid receptor gene. Children who carried copies of the A allele of the single nucleotide polymorphism rs10482672 had the highest risk of externalizing psychopathology if they were in the control arm of the trial and the lowest risk of externalizing psychopathology if they were in the treatment arm. In this study, we test a developmental hypothesis about the origins of this for better and for worse Gene × Intervention interaction (G × I): that the observed G × I effect on adult psychopathology is mediated by the proximal impact of intervention on childhood externalizing problems and adolescent substance use and delinquency. We analyzed longitudinal data tracking the 270 European American children in the Fast Track randomized control trial with available genetic information (129 intervention children, 141 control group peers, 69% male) from kindergarten through age 25 years. Results show that the same pattern of for better and for worse susceptibility to intervention observed at the age 25 follow-up was evident already during childhood. At the elementary school follow-ups and at the middle/high school follow-ups, rs10482672 predicted better adjustment among children receiving the Fast Track intervention and worse adjustment among children in the control condition. In turn, these proximal G × I effects early in development mediated the ultimate G × I effect on externalizing psychopathology at age 25 years. We discuss the contribution of these findings to the growing literature on genetic susceptibility to environmental intervention.

Peer victimization during middle childhood as a lead indicator of internalizing problems and diagnostic outcomes in late adolescence.

We examined evidence that peer victimization in middle childhood is a lead indicator of internalizing behavior problems and diagnostic outcomes during adolescence. This research was conducted as part of an ongoing multisite longitudinal investigation. The participants were 388 children (198 boys, 190 girls). Peer victimization was assessed with a peer nomination inventory that was administered when the average age of the participants was approximately 8.5 years. Internalizing problems were assessed using a behavior problem checklist completed by mothers in 9 consecutive years, and a structured clinical interview was administered to the participants in the summer following high school graduation (10-11 years after the victimization assessment). Peer victimization in middle childhood was correlated with internalizing problems on a bivariate basis through the late years of adolescence. Multilevel analyses also revealed associations between peer victimization and increases in internalizing problems over time. In addition, peer victimization had a modest link to unipolar depressive disorders in late adolescence. Victimization in the peer group during middle childhood appears to be a marker of long-term risk for internalizing behavior problems and unipolar depression.

Peer victimization and social alienation: predicting deviant peer affiliation in middle school.

Two prospective studies examined a theoretical model wherein exposure to victimization, resulting from early behavioral risk, heightens children's social alienation and subsequent deviant peer affiliation (DPA). Across Study 1 (298 girls, 287 boys; K-7th grade; 5-12 years) and Study 2 (338 girls, 298 boys; 2nd-6th grade; 8-12 years), children, parents, peers, and teachers reported on children's externalizing behavior and internalizing symptoms, peer victimization, social alienation, and DPA. Path analyses supported the proposed pathway: Peer victimization predicted social alienation, which then predicted DPA. Early externalizing behavior set this path in motion and made an independent contribution to DPA. This research identifies an important pathway through which externalizing behavior and consequent peer victimization launch children onto a risky social trajectory.

Country, sex, and parent occupational status: moderators of the continuity of aggression from childhood to adulthood.

Using data from two American and one Finnish long-term longitudinal studies, we examined continuity of general aggression from age 8 to physical aggression in early adulthood (age 21-30) and whether continuity of aggression differed by country, sex, and parent occupational status. In all samples, childhood aggression was assessed via peer nominations and early adulthood aggression via self-reports. Multi-group structural equation models revealed significant continuity in aggression in the American samples but not in the Finnish sample. These relations did not differ by sex but did differ by parent occupational status: whereas there was no significant continuity among American children from professional family-of-origin backgrounds, there was significant continuity among American children from non-professional backgrounds.

Mothers' and fathers' autonomy-relevant parenting: longitudinal links with adolescents' externalizing and internalizing behavior.

The goal of this study was to advance the understanding of separate and joint effects of mothers' and fathers' autonomy-relevant parenting during early and middle adolescence. In a sample of 518 families, adolescents (49 % female; 83 % European American, 16 % African American, 1 % other ethnic groups) reported on their mothers' and fathers' psychological control and knowledge about adolescents' whereabouts, friends, and activities at ages 13 and 16. Mothers and adolescents reported on adolescents' externalizing and internalizing behaviors at ages 12, 14, 15, and 17. Adolescents perceived their mothers as using more psychological control and having more knowledge than their fathers, but there was moderate concordance between adolescents' perceptions of their mothers and fathers. More parental psychological control predicted increases in boys' and girls' internalizing problems and girls' externalizing problems. More parental knowledge predicted decreases in boys' externalizing and internalizing problems. The perceived levels of behavior of mothers and fathers did not interact with one another in predicting adolescent adjustment. The results generalize across early and late adolescence and across mothers' and adolescents' reports of behavior problems. Autonomy-relevant mothering and fathering predict changes in behavior problems during early and late adolescence, but only autonomy-relevant fathering accounts for unique variance in adolescent behavior problems.