Preschool Antecedents of Internalizing Problems in Children Beginning School: The Role of Social Maladaptation

The quality of children's social adaptation in preschool was related to levels of internalizing problem behavior following transition to kindergarten. Measures of peer acceptance, social skills, and social problem-solving ability were assessed in 79 4-5 year old children, and related to teacher's ratings of anxious/withdrawn behavior assessed concurrently and one year later. Boys and girls did not differ in mean levels of symptoms, but girls tended to show higher levels of stability in internalizing problem behavior than boys. As predicted, preschool-age children with relatively high rates of internalizing problem behavior tended to manifest lower levels of social competence than others. Moreover, low levels of social competence in preschool were robust predictors of persistently high levels of internalizing problems across the two time periods.     

Parental reactions to children's negative emotions: longitudinal relations to quality of children's social functioning

Relations between self-reported parental reactions to children's negative emotions (PNRs) and children's socially appropriate/problem behavior and negative emotionality were examined longitudinally. Evidence was consistent with the conclusion that relations between children's externalizing (but not internalizing) emotion and parental punitive reactions to children's negative emotions are bidirectional. Reports of PNRs generally were correlated with low quality of social functioning. In structural models, mother-reported problem behavior at ages 10-12 was at least marginally predicted from mother-reported problem behavior, children's regulation, and parental punitive or distress reactions. Moreover, parental distress and punitive reactions at ages 6-8 predicted reports of children's regulation at ages 8-10, and regulation predicted parental punitive reactions at ages 10-12. Father reports of problem behavior at ages 10-12 were predicted by earlier problem behavior and parental distress or punitive reactions; some of the relations between regulation and parental reactions were similar to those in the models for mother-reported problem behavior. Parental perceptions of their reactions were substantially correlated over 6 years. Some nonsupportive reactions declined in the early to mid-school years, but all increased into late childhood/early adolescence.     

The Relationship between Children's Emotional and Behavioral Problems and the Social Responses of Elementary School Teachers

This study examined the relationship between children's emotional and behavioral problems and teachers' social responding. Elementary school students completed the Children's Depression Inventory and a parent completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Teachers rated children on measures of interpersonal attractiveness and personal rejection. Teachers' ratings of student interpersonal attractiveness were significantly correlated with the level of student depression, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and overall psychopathology. However, teachers' ratings of personal rejection toward students only correlated with externalizing behavior problems. Family income was also related to child adjustment and teacher ratings. Externalizing behavior problems best predicted both lower interpersonal attractiveness and increased personal rejection, even after controlling for family income. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Preschool Antecedents of Internalizing Problems in Children Beginning School: The Role of Social Maladaptation

The quality of children's social adaptation in preschool was related to levels of internalizing problem behavior following transition to kindergarten. Measures of peer acceptance, social skills, and social problem-solving ability were assessed in 79 4–5 year old children, and related to teacher's ratings of anxious/withdrawn behavior assessed concurrently and one year later. Boys and girls did not differ in mean levels of symptoms, but girls tended to show higher levels of stability in internalizing problem behavior than boys. As predicted, preschool-age children with relatively high rates of internalizing problem behavior tended to manifest lower levels of social competence than others. Moreover, low levels of social competence in preschool were robust predictors of persistently high levels of internalizing problems across the two time periods.     

Supportive parenting, Ecological Context, and Children's Adjustment: A seven-Year Longitudianl Study

Two major questions regarding the possible impact of early supportive parenting (SP) on children's school adjustment were addressed:(1) Does SP assessed prekindergarten predict grade 6 adjustment after controlling for early barsh parenting (HP)? (2) Does SP moderate (buffer) the impact of early family adversity on grade 6 adjustment? Parenting and family adversity data were drawn from home-visit interviews with 585 mothers conducted prekindergarten. Four SP measure were derived: mother-to-child warmth, proactive teaching, inductive discipline, and positive involvement. HP was indexed as the use of harsh, physical disciple. Family adversity indicators were socioeconomic disadvantage, family stress, and single parenthood. Children 's adjustment (behavior problems, social skills, and academic performance) in kindergarten and grade 6 was assessedvia teacher ratings and school records. SP predicted adjustment in grade 6, even after controlling for kindergarten adjustment and HP. High levels of SP mitigated the effects of family adversity on later behavior problems. These findings implicate both direct (main effect)and indirect (moderator of adversity) processes in the linkage between positive and supportive aspects of parenting and children's school adjustment.     

Friendship moderates prospective associations between social isolation and adjustment problems in young children

This longitudinal study investigated prospective links between social isolation and adjustment problems among 166 (77 girls, 89 boys) Finnish children ages 7 to 9. Peer nominations for social engagement and self-reports of internalizing and externalizing problems were collected in the spring of the 1st and 2nd grade. Friendship moderated prospective associations between peer and adjustment variables. Among friended children, there were no prospective associations between social isolation and either internalizing or externalizing problems. Among unfriended children, initial social isolation was positively linked to subsequent increases in internalizing and externalizing problems, and initial internalizing and externalizing problems predicted subsequent increases in social isolation. The findings suggest that friendship buffers against the adverse consequences associated with being isolated and presenting adjustment difficulties.     

The relations of regulation and emotionality to children's externalizing and internalizing problem behavior

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of different types of negative emotion and regulation and control to 55- to 97-month-olds' internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Parents and teachers provided information on children's (N = 214) adjustment, dispositional regulation and control, and emotion, and children's regulation was observed during several behavioral tasks. Internalizing was defined in two ways: as social withdrawal (to avoid overlap of items with measures of emotionality) or, more broadly, as anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic complaints. In general, children with externalizing problems, compared with children with internalizing problems and nondisordered children, were more prone to anger, impulsivity, and low regulation. Children with internalizing symptoms were prone to sadness, low attentional regulation, and low impulsivity. Relations between internalizing problems and emotionality were more frequent when the entire internalizing scale was used. Findings suggest that emotion and regulation are associated with adjustment in systematic ways and that there is an important difference between effortful control and less voluntary modes of control.     

Effects of early and later family violence on children's behavior problems and depression: a longitudinal, multi-informant perspective

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of different forms of family violence at two developmental stages by assessing a sample of 110 Israeli children, drawn from the case files of Israeli family service agencies, studied longitudinally in both middle childhood and adolescence. METHODS: Information about the children's adjustment was obtained from parents, teachers, and the children themselves when the children averaged 10.6 and 15.9 years of age using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Report Form (TRF), Youth Self-Report (YSR), and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Information about the history of family violence was obtained from the mothers, fathers, children, and social workers. RESULTS: The results paint a mixed picture of the effects of family violence on children and adolescents. The relationship between concurrent behavior problems and abuse group varied by informant and study phase, although they were strongest when children were the informants. Predictions regarding the relationship between early abuse and later adjustment were only partially confirmed. Different informants did not agree about which groups of children were most adversely affected, there was little stability over time in the pattern of reported effects, and children were more likely than other informants to report levels of maladjustment that varied depending on recent or concurrent exposure to family violence. Many families changed their abuse status over time, and children who were new victims at follow-up had the most internalizing problems. Girls were found to be at more risk for internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than boys. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple informants are necessary to evaluate and assess the effects of family violence on children's behavior. Younger children may be more susceptible to the effects of family violence than older children, but problems manifest by some children may not carry over to adolescence. Changes in family and parenting practices, as well as in children's capacity to appraise and cope with family violence may help mitigate the adverse effects of family violence.     

Physiological reactivity, social support, and memory in early childhood

The interactive effects of physiological reactivity and social support on children's memory were examined. Four- to 6-year-olds completed a laboratory protocol during which autonomic responses and salivary cortisol were measured. Memory was assessed shortly afterward and 2 weeks later. During the second interview, children were questioned by a supportive or nonsupportive interviewer. Few significant relations emerged between reactivity and children's short-term memory. Following a 2-week delay, cortisol reactivity was associated with poorer memory and autonomic reactivity was associated with increased accuracy among children questioned in a supportive manner but decreased accuracy among children questioned in a nonsupportive manner. Results question traditional conceptualizations of reactivity as a risk factor and instead suggest that reactivity may only confer risk in certain environmental contexts.     

The Relationship between Fathers' and Children's Communication Skills and Children's Behavior Problems: A Study of Head Start Children

This study focused on the communicative interaction of fathers with their Head Start children and the relationship of fathers' and children's communicative skills and child behavior problems early and late in the school year. The results indicate a relationship between children's communicative competence and social behavior. The structural models for externalizing and internalizing behavior confirm the hypothesis that father communication is linked to child communication skills and child communication is linked to behavior problems. The findings also suggest that children's communicative competence may have an ongoing direct effect on children's social behavior that transcends the impact that earlier social behavior has on later social behavior.     

Parents who hit and scream: Interactive effects of verbal and severe physical aggression on clinic-referred adolescents’ adjustment

The goals of this study were first, to delineate the co-occurrence of parental severe physical aggression and verbal aggression toward clinic-referred adolescents, and second, to examine the interactive effects of parental severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. This research involved 239 referrals of 11- to 18-year-old youth and their dual-parent families to a non-profit, private community mental health center in a semi-rural Midwest community. Multiple informants (i.e., adolescents and mothers) were used to assess parental aggression and adolescent behavior problems. More than half of clinic-referred adolescents (51%) experienced severe physical aggression and/or high verbal aggression from one or both parents. A pattern of interactive effects of mother-to-adolescent severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent behavior problems emerged, indicating that when severe physical aggression was present, mother-to-adolescent verbal aggression was positively associated with greater adolescent behavior problems whereas when severe physical aggression was not present, the links between verbal aggression and behavior problems was no longer significant. No interactive effects were found for father-to-adolescent severe physical aggression and verbal aggression on adolescent adjustment; however, higher father-to-adolescent verbal aggression was consistently linked to behavior problems above and beyond the influence of severe physical aggression. The results of this study should promote the practice of routinely assessing clinic-referred adolescents and their parents about their experiences of verbal aggression in addition to severe physical aggression and other forms of abuse.     

A prospective investigation of appraisals as mediators of the link between interparental conflict and child adjustment

This longitudinal study tested the role of children's appraisals of threat and self-blame as mediators of the association between interparental conflict and child adjustment in a sample of 298 Welsh children ages 11 to 12 years. Exposure to higher levels of interparental conflict at Time 1 predicted greater perceived threat and self-blame at Time 2, after accounting for the effects of Time 1 adjustment and appraisals on later appraisals. Perceived threat in turn was associated with increased internalizing problems at Tune 2, and self-blame was associated with higher externalizing problems. The pattern of results was largely consistent for child and parent reports of conflict and for boys and girls, though some gender differences were found in associations between appraisals and adjustment.     

Predictors of Behavior Problems in Three-Year-Old Sons of Alcoholics: Early Evidence for the Onset of Risk

We investigated risk factors in a population-based sample of alcoholic (father) and comparison families with 3-year-old sons. Alcoholic and comparison parents did not differ in socioeconomic status (SES), education, years married, family size, or cognitive functioning. Anti-social behavior and depression were significantly greater in alcoholic parents. High risk children were more impulsive than comparison children, but there were no differences in developmental age, IQ, or behavior problems. A higher percentage of high-risk children were rated in the extreme clinical range for behavior problems than were comparison children. For alcoholic families, mothers' ratings of their children's total behavior problems, externalizing behavior problems, and internalizing behavior problems were predicted by mothers' lifetime alcohol problems, current depression, and family SES. Father variables failed to predict children's behavior problems. Maternal variables were stronger predictors of their 3-year-old sons' problem behaviors than were paternal variables.     

Effortful Control,Behavior Problems,and Peer Relations: What Predicts Academic Adjustment in Kindergartners from Low-Income Families?

This study used a short-term longitudinal design to examine the role of effortful control, behavior problems, and peer relations in the academic adjustment of 74 kindergarten children from primarily low-income families. Teachers completed standardized measures of children's effortful control, internalizing and externalizing problems, school readiness, and academic skills. Children participated in a sociometric interview to assess peer relations. Research Findings: Correlational analyses indicate that children's effortful control, behavior problems in school, and peer relations are associated with academic adjustment variables at the end of the school year, including school readiness, reading skills, and math skills. Results of regression analyses indicate that household income and children's effortful control primarily account for variation in children's academic adjustment. The associations between children's effortful control and academic adjustment do not vary across the sex of the child or ethnicity. Mediational analyses indicate an indirect effect of effortful control on school readiness through children's internalizing problems. Practice or Policy: Effortful control emerged as a strong predictor of academic adjustment among kindergarten children from low-income families. Strategies for enhancing effortful control and school readiness among low-income children are discussed.     

Experiences in After-School Programs and Children's Adjustment in First-Grade Classrooms

The experiences of 150 children in after-school programs were examined in relation to performance in first grade. Three aspects of program experiences (emotional climate, quality of peer interactions, and program curriculum) were associated with the children's concurrent adjustment at school, controlling for family selection factors. Staff positivity in the after-school programs was associated with boys displaying fewer internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas staff negativity was related to boys obtaining poorer grades in reading and math. Program flexibility was associated with boys having better social skills. More frequent negative interactions with peers in the programs were related to more internalizing and externalizing problems, and poorer social skills at school. Boys who attended programs offering a larger number of different activities had more internalizing and externalizing problems, and poorer grades in reading and math. After-school experiences also were related to girls' behaviors, but associations were less apparent for girls than boys.     

Externalizing Problems in Head Start Children: An Ecological Exploration

The increased familial and environmental stressors affecting Head Start families over the last two decades have precipitated an escalation of mental health difficulties among participant children (Yoshikawa & Knitzer, 1997). Using an ecological framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). this study explored externalizing behavior problems among a group of Head Start children in a suburban county. Children were assessed for externalizing behavior problems in the home and classroom. Additionally, parents participated in interviews about a variety of ecological factors related to children's behavior problems. Almost one-quarter of the children were identified by their parents as having externalizing behavioral problems in the borderline or clinical range. Twice as many girls as boys had borderline or clinical levels of behavioral problems. Child externalizing behavior was positively associated with child internalizing behavior, parent psychological symptomatology, child temperament, family environment, and exposure to community violence. Children with parent-identified externalizing behavior did have specific social problem-solving skills deficits. Additionally, they were observed to have high levels of specific inappropriate behavior, but did not exhibit high levels of teacher-rated behavior problems. The implications of these findings for Head Start program planning are discussed.     

Risk and Adversity,Parenting Quality,and Children's Social-Emotional Adjustment in Families Experiencing Homelessness

A multimethod, multi-informant design was used to examine links among sociodemographic risk, family adversity, parenting quality, and child adjustment in families experiencing homelessness. Participants were 245 homeless parents (M_age = 31.0, 63.6% African American) and their 4- to 6-year-old children (48.6% male). Path analyses revealed unique associations by risk domain: Higher sociodemographic risk predicted more externalizing behavior and poorer teacher–child relationships, whereas higher family adversity predicted more internalizing behavior. Parenting quality was positively associated with peer acceptance and buffered effects of family adversity on internalizing symptoms, consistent with a protective effect. Parenting quality was associated with lower externalizing behavior only when sociodemographic risk was below the sample mean. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

The relations of effortful control and impulsivity to children's resiliency and adjustment

The unique relations of effortful control and impulsivity to resiliency and adjustment were examined when children were 4.5 to 8 years old, and 2 years later. Parents and teachers reported on all constructs and children's attentional persistence was observed. In concurrent structural equation models, effortful control and impulsivity uniquely and directly predicted resiliency and externalizing problems and indirectly predicted internalizing problems (through resiliency). Teacher-reported anger moderated the relations of effortful control and impulsivity to externalizing problems. In the longitudinal model, all relations held at T2 except for the path from impulsivity to externalizing problems. Evidence of bidirectional effects also was obtained. The results indicate that effortful control and impulsivity are distinct constructs with some unique prediction of resiliency and adjustment.     

The Relation between Mothers' Hostile Attribution Tendencies and Children's Externalizing Behavior Problems: The Mediating Role of Mothers' Harsh Discipline Practices

This study examined relations among mothers' hostile attribution tendencies regarding their children's ambiguous problem behaviors, mothers' harsh discipline practices, and children's externalizing behavior problems. A community sample of 277 families (19% minority representation) living in three geographic regions of the United States was followed for over 4 years. Mothers' hostile attribution tendencies were assessed during the summer prior to children's entry into kindergarten through their responses to written vignettes. Mothers' harsh discipline practices were assessed concurrently through ratings by interviewers and reports by spouses. Children's externalizing behavior problems were assessed concurrently through written questionnaires by mothers and fathers and in the spring of kindergarten and first, second, and third grades through reports by teachers and peer sociometric nominations. Results of structural equations models demonstrated that mothers' hostile attribution tendencies predicted children's future externalizing behavior problems at school and that a large proportion of this relation was mediated by mothers' harsh discipline practices. These results remained virtually unchanged when controlling for initial levels of children's prekindergarten externalizing behavior problems at home.     

The relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children: the role of social support and social problem-solving skills

This study investigated the relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children, with particular emphasis on the potential main and stress-buffering effects of social support and social problem-solving skills. Third through fifth graders (N = 361) completed social support and social problem-solving measures. Their parents provided ratings of stress in the child's environment and ratings of the child's behavioral adjustment. Teachers provided ratings of the children's behavioral and academic adjustment. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed significant stress-buffering effects for social support and problem-solving skills on teacher-rated behavior problems, that is, higher levels of social support and problem-solving skills moderated the relation between stressful life events and behavior problems. A similar stress-buffering effect was found for problem-solving skills on grade-point average and parent-rated behavior problems. In terms of children's competent behaviors, analyses supported a main effect model of social support and problem-solving. Possible processes accounting for the main and stress-buffering effects are discussed.