Relationships among stressful life events,temperament, problem behavior,and global life satisfaction in adolescents

The relationships among stressful life events (SLEs), temperament, externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and global life satisfaction were investigated. The Students' Life Satisfaction Scale, the Youth Self Report (YSR) form of the Child Behavior Checklist, a portion of the Life Events Checklist, and the Abbreviated Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, were administered to 1,201 adolescents in grades 6 through 12 in a small city in the Southeast. A modest correlation was found between life satisfaction and Extraversion, whereas moderate correlations were found between life satisfaction and Neuroticism and life satisfaction and SLEs. Based upon hierarchical regression analyses, temperament variables accounted for approximately 16% of the variance in predictions of life satisfaction ratings. When SLEs were added, an additional 3% of the variance in life satisfaction ratings was subsequently explained. Life satisfaction did not operate as a moderator between SLEs and problem behavior. However, when global life satisfaction was added as a mediator variable, results indicated a partial mediational effect, particularly on internalizing behavior. Limitations of the study as well as implications for comprehensive psychological assessments are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 39: 677–687, 2002.     

Relationships between social support sources and early adolescents' mental health: The moderating effect of student achievement level

This study examined how perceived social support from parents, classmates, and teachers jointly and uniquely predicted psychopathology (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and wellness (i.e., life satisfaction) in a sample of 390 middle‐school students. This study also explored the protective nature of high student academic achievement in the relationship between social support and mental health. Social support was a significant predictor of all mental health outcomes, particularly life satisfaction. Although classmate and teacher support were significant unique predictors of students' internalizing and externalizing symptoms, respectively, parent support emerged as the strongest predictor of all indicators of mental health. Academic achievement moderated the direction and strength of the relationships between externalizing behavior and (a) classmate support, and (b) parent support, respectively. Specifically, classmate support emerged as adaptive for average‐ and high‐achieving students only, whereas academic achievement functioned as a protective factor against the manifestation of externalizing psychopathology among students with low parental support. Implications for school psychologists and directions for future research are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The relationship between protective factors and outcomes for children investigated for maltreatment

ObjectivesThis research explores the relationship between hypothesized protective factors and outcomes for children investigated for maltreatment.MethodsUsing data from the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), we ran logistic regression models to examine the relationship between hypothesized protective factors (social competence, adaptive functioning skills, and peer relationships) and outcomes (externalizing behavior, internalizing behavior, reading competence).ResultsFor each hypothesized protective factor, we found variation in individual scores and sample mean scores at the lower end of the scales, indicating that these children fare worse than most children. However, many children experienced large changes in their individual scores over time suggesting that children can and do improve on these hypothesized protective factors. In examining the relationship between hypothesized protective factors and outcomes, children with higher levels of social competence were significantly more likely to be in the normal range for both externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Children with higher mean adaptive functioning skills were more likely to be in the normal range for both externalizing behavior and reading competence. The positive nature of the child's peer relationships was also related to externalizing behavior and reading competence.ConclusionsOverall, our analyses support the idea that social competence, adaptive functioning skills, and peer relationships are related to outcomes for children investigated for maltreatment. While further research is needed to establish a causal link, this work identifies three individual-level hypothesized protective factors as potential sources of variation in outcomes.Practice implicationsTo prevent or alleviate the harmful consequences maltreatment, it is necessary to understand factors that help children move beyond poor outcomes. Our analyses suggest that a strong relationship exists between a child's social competence, adaptive functioning skills and positive peer relationships and select outcomes three years after being investigated for maltreatment. With these individual-level protective factors related to more positive outcomes, it suggests that intervening to increase protective factors could improve outcomes for maltreated and at-risk children.     

Salivary cortisol as a predictor of socioemotional adjustment during kindergarten: a prospective study

This study, based on a sample of 172 children, examined the relation between average afternoon salivary cortisol levels measured at home at age 4.5 years and socioemotional adjustment a year and a half later, as reported by mothers, fathers, and teachers. Cortisol levels were hypothesized to be positively associated with withdrawal-type behaviors (e.g., internalizing, social wariness) and inversely related to approach-type behaviors, both negative and positive (e.g., externalizing, school engagement). Higher cortisol levels at age 4.5 predicted more internalizing behavior and social wariness as reported by teachers and mothers, although child gender moderated the relation between cortisol and mother report measures. An inverse relation was found between boys' cortisol levels and father report of externalizing behavior. A marginal inverse relation was found between child cortisol levels and teacher report of school engagement. Behavior assessed concurrently with cortisol collection did not account for the prospective relations observed,suggesting that cortisol adds uniquely to an understanding of behavioral development.     

CLASSROOM QUALITY AND STUDENT BEHAVIOR TRAJECTORIES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Student behavioral concerns are a top priority for school psychologists. This project took an ecological systems perspective by examining the contribution of students’ initial externalizing and internalizing behaviors and the quality of their classroom environments to their behavioral outcomes across one school year. Participants included 322 elementary students and their 32 teachers. Results suggested that externalizing and internalizing behaviors were stable over time. However, the correlation between fall and spring internalizing behavior was accentuated if students also had high externalizing behavior in the fall. Poor spring behavioral engagement was predicted by students’ fall internalizing (but not externalizing) behavior. Importantly, classrooms high in emotional support attenuated the stability of students’ internalizing behavior. In addition, students’ fall externalizing behavior appeared to be associated with reduced spring internalizing behavior in classrooms high in emotional support or classroom organization. Findings underscore the importance of considering both student‐ and classroom‐level factors when predicting elementary students’ behavioral outcomes.     

Mutual Relations Between Mothers' Depressive Symptoms and Hostile-Controlling Behavior and Young Children's Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior Problems

Objective. This study considered the role of mothers' depressive symptoms and hostile-controlling behavior in young children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Pathways of influence between mothers' depressive symptoms and hostile-controlling behavior and children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems also were examined. Design. Data were collected at child ages 4 and 6 years from a nonclinical, community sample of 51 mothers and their children. At both assessments, mothers' behavior was observed during a structured mother - child play activity, and mothers completed questionnaires to assess their depressive symptoms and children's externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Results. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed different patterns of findings across the 2 assessments as well as different patterns of findings for children's externalizing versus internalizing behaviors. At age 4, mothers' depressive symptoms and hostile-controlling behavior predicted children's externalizing behaviors; at age 6, only mothers' hostile-controlling behavior predicted children's externalizing behaviors. Regarding children's internalizing behaviors, mothers' depressive symptoms were significant predictors at child age 4; however, by age 6, mothers' depressive symptoms were no longer significant predictors. When longitudinal modeling was applied to the data, some support for both maternal and child effects was found. Conclusions. Findings highlight the importance of considering mothers' depressive symptoms and hostile-controlling behavior in predicting children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and suggest different etiological pathways for externalizing versus internalizing expressions of dysfunction.     

Parental Depression,Overreactive Parenting,and Early Childhood Externalizing Problems: Moderation by Social Support

This study used a large (N = 519), longitudinal sample of adoptive families to test overreactive parenting as a mediator of associations between parental depressive symptoms and early childhood externalizing, and parents’ social support satisfaction as a moderator. Maternal parenting (18 months) mediated the association between maternal depressive symptoms (9 months) and child externalizing problems (27 months). Paternal parenting was not a significant mediator. Unexpectedly, we found a cross-over effect for the moderating role of social support satisfaction, such that partners’ social support satisfaction reduced the strength of the association between each parent's own depressive symptoms and overreactive parenting. Results point to the importance of accounting for broader family context in predicting early childhood parenting and child outcomes.     

Internalizing and externalizing in adolescence: the roles of academic self‐efficacy and gender

This study examines academic self‐efficacy and gender as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behaviors in adolescence. In addition, the role of gender was considered as a moderator in the relationship between academic self‐efficacy and internalizing/externalizing difficulties. Participants were 4,318 predominantly African American, low‐income high school students who completed self‐report measures on the constructs of interest. Academic self‐efficacy and gender were both significant predictors of risk for internalizing problems, whereas only academic self‐efficacy predicted risk for externalizing (hyperactivity/distractibility) problems. Gender did not predict externalizing difficulties, nor did gender serve as a moderator in any analysis. Implications include focusing on academic self‐efficacy in the development of strategies for prevention and intervention of internalizing and externalizing problems.     

Effects of Parental Depressive Symptoms on Child Adjustment Moderated by Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Activity: Within‐ and Between‐Family Risk

Child hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) activity was investigated as a moderator of parental depressive symptom effects on child behavior in an adoption sample (n = 210 families). Adoptive parents' depressive symptoms and child internalizing and externalizing were assessed at 18, 27, and 54 months, and child morning and evening HPA activity measured through salivary cortisol at 54 months. Children's daily cortisol levels and day‐to‐day variability were tested as moderators of longitudinal associations between parent and child symptoms at within‐ and between‐family levels. Mothers' symptoms related directly to child internalizing, but child evening cortisol moderated effects of fathers' symptoms on internalizing, and of both parents' symptoms on externalizing. Different paths of within‐family risk dynamics versus between‐family risk synergy were found for internalizing versus externalizing outcomes.     

Follow-up of a preschool epidemiological sample: cross-age continuities and predictions of later adjustment with internalizing and externalizing dimensions of behavior

The continuity of behavioral adjustment from preschool through elementary school and junior high school years was examined. 541 children aged 9-15 years from a preschool epidemiological study were relocated and behavior checklist data obtained. Analyses focused on the relationship between internalizing and externalizing behavior dimensions from the preschool to follow-up periods. It was found that preschool externalizing symptoms were positively correlated with later externalizing and internalizing symptoms in the entire sample. Preschool internalizing symptoms, however, were predictive of later internalizing symptoms only for 2-year-old girls and 5- and 6-year-old boys. Similar results were obtained for clinically disturbed preschoolers. Results are consistent with previous findings regarding the longitudinal continuity of externalizing behavior but are at odds with reports of equal or greater stability of internalizing behavior. Given the magnitude of obtained correlations, even when significant, the results support the view that discontinuity rather than continuity in behavioral adjustment from preschool to later ages is the rule. The importance of examining other mediating variables in the prediction of behavioral adjustment and the need for models of development that encompass both stability and change are discussed.     

Family Conflict and Children's Behavior Problems: The Moderating Role of Child Temperament

Child temperament was examined as a moderator of the link between family conflict and child behavior problems. Temperament assessed in early childhood was used to predict the relation between family conflict and externalizing behavior problems measured during the early elementary school years. For children with difficult temperament, a strong association between subsequent family conflict and behavioral adjustment was predicted; for children with easy or intermediate temperaments, low to moderate associations were predicted. These hypotheses were tested across 3 temperament groups (easy, intermediate, and difficult). Data were collected from 108 children and families participating in the Fullerton Longitudinal Study at ages 3 through 10 years. Consistent with the hypotheses, the data provided support for the moderating role of temperament in predicting the association between family conflict and child externalizing behavior problems. These findings suggest that temperamental difficultness operates as a vulnerability factor with respect to the development of children's behavior problems in families with high conflict.     

Family adversity,positive peer relationships,and children's externalizing behavior: a longitudinal perspective on risk and resilience

Peer acceptance and friendships were examined as moderators in the link between family adversity and child externalizing behavioral problems. Data on family adversity (i.e., ecological disadvantage, violent marital conflict, and harsh discipline) and child temperament and social information processing were collected during home visits from 585 families with 5-year-old children. Children's peer acceptance, friendship, and friends' aggressiveness were assessed with sociometric methods in kindergarten and grade 1. Teachers provided ratings of children's externalizing behavior problems in grade 2. Peer acceptance served as a moderator for all three measures of family adversity, and friendship served as a moderator for harsh discipline. Examination of regression slopes indicated that family adversity was not significantly associated with child externalizing behavior at high levels of positive peer relationships. These moderating effects generally were not qualified by child gender, ethnicity, or friends' aggressiveness, nor were they accounted for by child temperament or social information-processing patterns. The need for process-oriented studies of risk and protective factors is stressed.     

Validity of the home and community social behavior scales: Comparisons with five behavior‐rating scales

Three separate studies focusing on convergent and discriminant validity evidence for the Home and Community Social Behavior Scales are presented. The HCSBS is a 65‐item social behavior‐rating scale for use by parents and caretakers of children and youth ages 5–18. It is a parent‐rating version of the School Social Behavior Scales. Within these studies, relationships with five behavior‐rating scales were examined: the Social Skills Rating System, Conners Parent Rating Scale–Revised‐Short Form, Child Behavior Checklist, and the child and adolescent versions of the Behavior Assessment System for Children. HCSBS Scale A, Social Competence, evidenced strong positive correlations with measures of social skills and adaptability, strong negative correlations with measures of externalizing behavior problems, and modest negative correlations with measures of internalizing and atypical behavior problems. HCSBS Scale B, Antisocial Behavior, evidenced strong positive correlations with measures of externalizing behavior problems, modest positive correlations with measures of internalizing and atypical behavior problems, and strong negative correlations with measures of social skills and adaptability. These results support the HCSBS as a measure of social competence and antisocial behavior of children and youth. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Relation between cognitive and motor performance in 5- to 6-year-old children: results from a large-scale cross-sectional study

The relation between cognitive and motor performance was studied in a sample of 378 children aged 5-6. Half of these children had no behavior problems; the others were selected for externalizing (38%) or internalizing problems (12%). Quantitative and qualitative aspects of motor performance were related to several aspects of cognition, after controlling for the influence of attention. No relation between global aspects of cognitive and motor performance was found. Specific positive relations were found between both aspects of motor performance, visual motor integration and working memory, and between quantitative aspects of motor performance and fluency. These findings reveal interesting parallels between normal cognitive and motor development in 5- to 6-year-old children that cannot be ascribed to attention processes.     

Early life stress and behavior problems in early childhood: Investigating the contributions of child temperament and executive functions to resilience

This preregistered study examined whether child temperament and executive functions moderated the longitudinal association between early life stress (ELS) and behavior problems. In a Dutch population-based cohort (n = 2803), parents reported on multiple stressors (age 0–6 years), child temperament (age 5), and executive functions (age 4), and teachers rated child internalizing and externalizing problems (age 7). Results showed that greater ELS was related to higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems, with betas reflecting small effects. Lower surgency buffered the positive association of ELS with externalizing problems, while better shifting capacities weakened the positive association between ELS and internalizing problems. Other child characteristics did not act as moderators. Findings underscore the importance of examining multiple protective factors simultaneously.     

Correlates of Attachment at School Age: Maternal Reported Stress, Mother-Child Interaction, and Behavior Problems

The contribution of attachment, maternal reported stress, and mother-child interaction to the prediction of teacher-reported behavior problems was examined for a French-Canadian sample of 121 school-age children. Attachment classifications were assigned on the basis of reunion behavior with mother when the children were between 5 and 7 years of age. Maternal reported stress and mother-child interaction patterns were assessed concurrent to the attachment measure, whereas behavior problems were evaluated both at ages 5 to 7 and 7 to 9 years. Security of attachment significantly predicted the likelihood of school-age behavior problems: Controlling/other children were most at risk for both externalizing and internalizing problems across both age periods. Younger ambivalent children presented clinical cut-off levels of externalizing problems, and older avoidant boys had higher internalizing scores. Patterns of maternal-reported stress and mother-child interaction differed across attachment groups and contributed to prediction of school-age behavior problems, partially mediating the relation between attachment and adaptation. Results support the importance of attachment in explaining school-age adaptation and validity of attachment coding for children of this age.     

Children’s Responses to Interparental Conflict: A Meta‐Analysis of Their Associations With Child Adjustment

A meta‐analysis examined the relations between children’s adjustment and children’s cognitive, affective, behavioral, and physiological responses to interparental conflict. Studies included children between 5 and 19 years of age. Moderate effect sizes were found for the associations between cognitions and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and self‐esteem problems, negative affect and behavioral responses and internalizing behavior problems, and behavioral responses and self‐esteem problems. Small to moderate effect sizes were found for the associations between cognitions and relational problems, negative affect and behavioral responses and externalizing behavior problems, and physiological reactions and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Effect sizes were, with 1 exception, larger for internalizing than for externalizing behavior problems. Age significantly moderated the majority of effect sizes.     

Peer victimization, poor academic achievement, and the link between childhood externalizing and internalizing problems

This study explored whether early elementary school aged children’s externalizing problems impede academic functioning and foster negative social experiences such as peer victimization, thereby making these children vulnerable for developing internalizing problems and possibly increasing their externalizing problems. It also explored whether early internalizing problems contributed to an increase in externalizing problems. The study examined 1,558 Canadian children from ages 6 to 8 years. Externalizing and internalizing problems, peer victimization, and school achievement were assessed annually. Externalizing problems lead to academic underachievement and experiences of peer victimization. Academic underachievement and peer victimization, in turn, predicted increases in internalizing problems and in externalizing problems. These pathways applied equally to boys and girls. No links from internalizing to externalizing problems were found.     

Student–Teacher Relationships and Students’ Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors: A Cross-Lagged Study in Secondary Education

The present study examined reciprocal influences between student–teacher relationship quality and students’ externalizing and internalizing behaviors in secondary education. Our sample included 1,219 secondary school students (49.1% boys; M_age = 13.53, SD = 1.77) from seventh, eighth, tenth, and eleventh grade. Students reported about their externalizing and internalizing behaviors and the quality of the relationships (closeness, conflict) with their Dutch and math teachers at three occasions within one school year. Cross-lagged path models showed positive reciprocal associations between conflict with the math teacher and externalizing behavior over time. For the Dutch teacher, externalizing behavior positively predicted conflict over time, but not the other way around. Externalizing behavior also negatively predicted closeness with both teachers over time.     

Sleep Tight,Act Right: Negative Affect,Sleep and Behavior Problems During Early Childhood

Temperamental negative affect and insufficient sleep have been independently associated with behavior problems during early childhood. However, it is unknown whether these factors interact to contribute to behavioral difficulties in young children. The current study examined the interactions between temperamental negative affect and both sleep onset time and sleep midpoint, assessed by actigraphy, in predicting externalizing and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 117 children (34–69 months of age). Children with high temperamental negative affect and either later sleep onset time or later sleep midpoint were more likely to exhibit externalizing and internalizing behaviors. These results emphasize the association between temperamental negative affect and behavioral difficulties, particularly for children with insufficient sleep.