Growth, Persistence, and Desistance of Alcohol Use for At-Risk Men in Their 30s.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about heterogeneity in men's drinking behaviors and their related consequences across mid-adulthood, and moreover, whether individual or social factors may predict such differences. This study examined 3 indicators of alcohol use, namely alcohol volume, heavy episodic drinking (HED), and drinking-related problems for men in their 30s. METHODS: Participants were 197 at-risk men from the Oregon Youth Study assessed 5 times across ages 29 to 38 years. Growth mixture modeling with count outcomes was used to examine unobserved heterogeneity in alcohol trajectories. Associations of latent classes of alcohol users with (i) classes for the other alcohol indicators, (ii) alcohol use by peers and romantic partners, (iii) alcohol classes previously extracted from ages 18 to 29 years, and (iv) past year alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnostic status at ages 35 to 36 years were examined. RESULTS: A 3-class solution afforded the best fit for each alcohol indicator. Alcohol problems were relatively established in the 30s, with an ascending use class found only for volume. Although relatively few men were in higher classes for all 3 indicators, 45% of the sample was in the highest class on at least 2 indicators of use. Peer drunkenness was a robust predictor of the alcohol classes. Concordance among classes of alcohol users was seen from the 20s to the 30s, with prior desistance likely to be maintained for alcohol volume and HED. AUD diagnoses at ages 35 to 36 years were more common in the higher classes obtained for alcohol volume and alcohol problems. CONCLUSIONS: Many men in their 30s engaged in a high volume of alcohol use without frequent engagement in HED, likely relating to continuing alcohol problems. The convergence of men's alcohol use with that of their peers found at younger ages was maintained into early mid-adulthood.

Improving child self-regulation and parenting in families of pre-kindergarten children with developmental disabilities and behavioral difficulties.

The transition to school may be particularly difficult for children with developmental disabilities and behavioral difficulties. Such children are likely to experience problems with self-regulation skills, which are critical to school adjustment. Additionally, inconsistent discipline practices and low parental involvement in children's schooling may contribute to a poor transition to school. This study employed a randomized clinical trial to examine the effects of a school readiness intervention that focused on children's self-regulation skills as well as parenting and parental involvement in school. Results showed that the intervention had positive effects on children's self-regulation in kindergarten as measured by teacher and observer reports. Additionally, the intervention significantly reduced ineffective parenting prior to school entry, which in turn affected parental involvement. This finding is significant because it demonstrates that parental involvement in school may be increased by efforts to improve parenting skills in general. Overall, the study demonstrated that school adjustment across kindergarten among children with developmental disabilities and behavioral difficulties can be enhanced through an intervention aimed specifically at improving school readiness skills.

Heterogeneity in growth and desistance of alcohol use for men in their 20s: prediction from early risk factors and association with treatment.

BACKGROUND: The course of men's alcohol use from ages 18 to 19 through 28 to 29 years was examined using growth mixture modeling (GMM) to determine alcohol trajectories for 3 conceptualizations of alcohol use: volume of use, heavy episodic drinking (HED), and drinking-related problems. Trajectory classes were validated against the young men's alcohol treatment history, and childhood/adolescent predictors of trajectory membership were examined. METHODS: Participants were 205 men from the Oregon Youth Study, an ongoing longitudinal study of predominantly White men recruited from higher crime neighborhoods who were assessed annually during their 20s. The multivariate association between 3 prospectively assessed risk factors-parental alcohol use, child antisocial behavior, and age at first drunken experience-and the latent classes extracted from the GMM were examined for each alcohol indicator. RESULTS: A 3-class-solution model best fit the data for each alcohol indicator. The classes for both HED and problematic drinking for the men were significantly associated with history of treatment for alcohol use. Overall, the findings indicated a relatively large class with persistently high volume of alcohol use across the 20s and a greater prevalence of desistance for HED and alcohol problems. Age at first intoxication was the best predictor of latent class membership, and men in the initially high-then-desisting alcohol classes had a high level of early risk. Concordance of trajectory class membership across alcohol indicators was moderate overall but particularly strong for higher problem groups, as almost all men in the increasing HED trajectory were also in the highest volume and alcohol problems trajectory classes. Levels of treatment were high for the higher and desisting HED and alcohol problems classes. CONCLUSIONS: Many of the men showed chronic alcohol use across the decade of the 20s and had problems resulting from their high usage. Whereas most of the men showed low and/or desisting HED across this period, desistance was less common for volume of use and for alcohol problems.

Immediate Effects of a School Readiness Intervention for Children in Foster Care.

RESEARCH FINDINGS: School readiness is a strong predictor of adjustment in elementary school and beyond. Children in foster care are at particular risk for academic and social difficulties in school. Limitations in self-regulatory skills and caregiver involvement among these children might contribute to a lack of school readiness. This study presents the immediate effects on school readiness of a targeted, short-term intervention designed to improve children's early literacy, prosocial, and self-regulatory skills during the summer before kindergarten entry: Kids in Transition to School (KITS). Using a randomized controlled trial design, 192 children in foster care were assigned to either an intervention or services as usual comparison condition. Multimethod, multiagent assessments were conducted immediately prior to and following the completion of the intervention. The results from structural equation modeling indicated that the intervention had significant, positive effects on early literacy and self-regulatory skills. PRACTICE: An efficacious, short-term, readily scalable, theoretically-based intervention targeted at specific vulnerabilities for children in foster care may help to improve their school readiness and eventual school adjustment.

Early elementary school adjustment of maltreated children in foster care: the roles of inhibitory control and caregiver involvement.

In this study, 85 maltreated foster children and 56 non-maltreated community children (M age=3-6 years) were assessed across kindergarten and first grade to examine the hypothesis that inhibitory control and caregiver involvement mediate associations between a history of maltreatment and foster placement and early school adjustment. Specifically, academic and social-emotional competence were evaluated. The maltreated foster children performed more poorly in academic and social-emotional competence. Inhibitory control fully mediated the association of maltreatment and foster placement with academic competence, whereas inhibitory control and caregiver involvement mediated their association with social-emotional competence. The results suggest that inhibitory control and caregiver involvement might be promising targets for school readiness interventions for foster preschoolers.

Patterns and Correlates of Offender Versatility and Specialization across a 23-Year Span for At-Risk Young Men.

This study examined patterns and correlates of offender specialization versus versatility, or more random offenses, among 206 at-risk men. Both official records and self-report data of offending from late childhood to ages 31/32 were used. Aggregate-level and individual-level analyses indicated that the predominant offender pattern for this sample was versatility. Three correlates of offender versatility were examined (offense frequency, early onset, gang association). Aggregate-level findings consistently revealed offense frequency as a robust correlate of offender versatility, whereas individual-level findings differed among the three measures of offender versatility. The congruence of these findings with predictions from Patterson's (1982) coercion model is discussed.

Improving kindergarten readiness in children with developmental disabilities: Changes in neural correlates of response monitoring.

Among children diagnosed with developmental delays, difficulties in self-regulation are prominent and have been linked to school readiness problems. The current study sought to examine the impact of the Kids in Transition to School (KITS) school readiness intervention program on self-regulation, with a specific focus on response monitoring skills, among children with developmental delays. Children (n = 20 in the KITS group and n = 21 in a services as usual group) were administered a flanker task during which event-related potential data were collected to examine group differences in response monitoring. Findings indicated that children in the KITS group showed significant enhancement of a neural index of response monitoring post-intervention. Specifically, the KITS group showed a significant change in the magnitude of their feedback-related negativity in response to negative performance feedback from baseline to post-intervention, whereas children in the services as usual group did not. There were no significant differences between the groups for the error-related negativity or the error-related positivity on incorrect trials nor were there group differences in behavioral performance on the task at the post-intervention assessment. Overall, these findings provide support for the plasticity of response monitoring skills in young children and support the growing literature demonstrating improved self-regulation outcomes via intervention that enhances children's response monitoring.

Increasing pre-kindergarten early literacy skills in children with developmental disabilities and delays.

Two hundred and nine children receiving early childhood special education services for developmental disabilities or delays who also had behavioral, social, or attentional difficulties were included in a study of an intervention to increase school readiness, including early literacy skills. Results showed that the intervention had a significant positive effect on children's literacy skills from baseline to the end of summer before the start of kindergarten (d=.14). The intervention also had significant indirect effects on teacher ratings of children's literacy skills during the fall of their kindergarten year (ß=.09). Additionally, when scores were compared to standard benchmarks, a greater percentage of the children who received the intervention moved from being at risk for reading difficulties to having low risk. Overall, this study demonstrates that a school readiness intervention delivered prior to the start of kindergarten may help increase children's early literacy skills.

Early school engagement and late elementary outcomes for maltreated children in foster care.

Children with a history of maltreatment and placement into foster care face elevated risks of poor psychosocial outcomes including school failure, substance use, externalizing, and deviant peer association. For children in the general population, school engagement appears to be a promotive factor in preventing negative outcomes. In this study, differences in 3 dimensions of school engagement (behavioral, affective, and cognitive) in early elementary school were explored in maltreated children in foster care (n = 93) and a community comparison group of low-socioeconomic status, nonmaltreated children (n = 54). It was also hypothesized that these 3 dimensions of school engagement would mediate the association between being maltreated and in foster care and several outcomes in late elementary school (Grades 3-5): academic competence, endorsement of substance use, externalizing behaviors, and deviant peer association. Measures were multimethod and multi-informant. Results showed that the children in foster care had lower affective and cognitive school engagement than children in the community comparison group. Structural equation modeling revealed that both affective and cognitive school engagement mediated the association between group status and academic competence in late elementary school. Cognitive engagement also mediated the association between group status and engagement in risk behaviors. The identification of dimensions of early school engagement that predict later outcomes suggests potential points of intervention to change trajectories of academic and behavioral adjustment for maltreated children in foster care.

Growth in alcohol use in at-risk adolescent boys: two-part random effects prediction models.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use frequently onsets and shows rapid growth during the adolescent years, but few studies have examined growth in two indicators, namely in use and in volume given use, with prediction from key risk factors measured across the adolescent years. METHODS: Based on a dynamic developmental systems framework, we predicted that the general risk pathway associated with the development of antisocial behavior (namely poor parental practices and antisocial behavior/deviant peer association) would be associated with both indicators of use in Grade 6. Specific proximal social influences, namely alcohol use by parents and peers, were also hypothesized, with growth in peer use of alcohol expected to be predictive of growth. Predictors were assessed by youth, parent, and teacher reports, with alcohol use and volume assessed yearly by youth self-reports. Models were tested separately for the 3-year middle school period and the 4-year high school period. Hypotheses were tested for the Oregon Youth Study sample of approximately 200 at-risk boys. RESULTS: Findings indicated that alcohol use by both parents and peers were associated with initial levels of alcohol use and volume, but increases in peer use predicted growth in these indicators. Parental monitoring showed a protective effect on growth in volume in high school. CONCLUSION: Alcohol use by members of the adolescent's social network is critical to initiation of use, and peer use is critical to growth. With these predictors specific to alcohol use in the model, none of the general risk factors for antisocial behavior were significant.