Search

Data gathered from 2 longitudinal studies (the Christchurch Health and Development study of a birth cohort of 1,265 New Zealand participants studied to 21 years and the Quebec Study of 240 Canadian participants studied to 13 years) was used to examine the linkages between deviant peer affiliations and depression in adolescence. Both studies produced similar conclusions: a) increasing peer affiliations were associated with significant (p < .0001) increases in depressive symptoms; b) the associations between peer affiliations and depression could not be fully explained by confounding factors; and c) peer affiliations and depressive symptoms were linked by a causal chain process in which deviant peer affiliations led to increased externalizing behaviors with the negative consequences of these behaviors leading to depression.

The present study was designed to assess the influence of deviant peer affiliations on crime and substance use in adolescence/young adulthood. Data were used from a 21-year longitudinal study of health, development, and adjustment of a birth cohort of 1,265 New Zealand children. Annual assessments of deviant peer affiliations were obtained for the period from age 14–21 years, together with measures of psychosocial outcomes including, violent crime, property crime, alcohol abuse, cannabis abuse, and nicotine dependence. Affiliating with deviant peers was found to be significantly associated with each of these outcomes (p < .0001). Statistical control for confounding by both fixed and time dynamic factors reduced the strength of association between deviant peer affiliations and outcome measures. Nevertheless, deviant peer affiliations remained significantly associated (p < .0001) with all outcomes. For violent/property crime, cannabis and alcohol abuse there was significant evidence of age-related variation in the strength of association with deviant peer affiliations, with deviant peer affiliations having greater influence on younger participants (14–15 years) than older participants (20–21 years). These results suggest that deviant peer affiliations are associated with increased rates of a range of adjustment problems in adolescence/young adulthood with deviant peer affiliations being most influential at younger ages.

The stability of child conduct and oppositional defiant behaviors during the period from 7 to 15 years was studied in a birth cohort of New Zealand children. These data were analyzed using two methods. In the first method the observed state to state changes in childhood behavioral tendencies were analyzed using empirical transition matrices. These results suggested that children classified as cases showed high rates of symptom remission, with approximately 50% of cases being classified as noncases 2 years later. In the second approach the data were analyzed using a latent Markov model which took account of errors of measurement in the classification of children. This analysis suggested the presence of strong continuities in childhood problem behaviors, with only 14% of children showing remission of behavioral problems within a 2-year period. The differences in the estimates yielded by the empirical transition matrices and the latent analyses were explained by the fact that there were relatively high probabilities that children who were cases were misclassified as a result of measurement errors.

This paper uses data from a sample of 337 parents studied at age 30 to examine the linkages between childhood conduct problems assessed at ages 7–9 and later partnership and parenting outcomes. The key findings of this study were: 1) increasing levels of childhood conduct problems were associated with increased risk of partnership difficulties, including relationship ambiguity, inter-partner conflict/violence and lower levels of relationship satisfaction; 2) increasing levels of childhood conduct problems were associated with increased risk of parenting difficulties, including over-reactivity, lax and inconsistent discipline, child physical punishment and lower levels of parental warmth and sensitivity. These findings were consistent across both parent reports and interviewer ratings, and in nearly all cases remained after extensive adjustment for confounding and selection bias. Study findings add to the growing body of evidence documenting the adverse consequences of early conduct problems for later adult interpersonal relationships and parenting behaviors.

There have been continuing concerns about the extent to which maternal depression may influence maternal reports of child behavior. To examine this issue, a series of structural equation models of the relationships between maternal depression and errors in maternal reports of child behavior was proposed and tested. These models assumed that (a) maternal depression was unrelated to maternal reporting behavior; (b) maternal depression causally influenced maternal reporting accuracy; (c) maternal depression was correlated with reporting accuracy. These models were fitted to data on maternal depression and multiple-informant (mother, teacher, child) reports of conduct disorder and attention deficit behaviors for a birth cohort of 12- and 13-year-old New Zealand children. The results of model fitting suggested the presence of small to moderate correlations (r = +.13 to +.40) between maternal depression and maternal reporting errors, indicating the presence of a tendency for increasing maternal depression to be associated with a tendency for mothers to over-report child behavior problems. However, independently of any effects of maternal depression on maternal reporting errors there was evidence of small but significant associations (r = .10 to .17; p.05) between maternal depression and child conduct disorder and attention deficit behaviors.

The present study was designed to assess the influence of deviant peer affiliations on crime and substance use in adolescence/young adulthood. Data were used from a 21-year longitudinal study of health, development, and adjustment of a birth cohort of 1,265 New Zealand children. Annual assessments of deviant peer affiliations were obtained for the period from age 14-21 years, together with measures of psychosocial outcomes including, violent crime, property crime, alcohol abuse, cannabis abuse, and nicotine dependence. Affiliating with deviant peers was found to be significantly associated with each of these outcomes (p.0001). Statistical control for confounding by both fixed and time dynamic factors reduced the strength of association between deviant peer affiliations and outcome measures. Nevertheless, deviant peer affiliations remained significantly associated (p.0001) with all outcomes. For violent/property crime, cannabis and alcohol abuse there was significant evidence of age-related variation in the strength of association with deviant peer affiliations, with deviant peer affiliations having greater influence on younger participants (14-15 years) than older participants (20-21 years). These results suggest that deviant peer affiliations are associated with increased rates of a range of adjustment problems in adolescence/young adulthood with deviant peer affiliations being most influential at younger ages.

The associations between early onset (prior to 15 years of age) cannabis use and rates of mental health or adjustment problems during the period from 15 to 16 years of age were studied in a New Zealand birth cohort. Early onset cannabis users were at increased risks of later substance use behaviors, conduct/oppositional disorders, juvenile offending, severe truancy, school dropout, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Early cannabis users had odds of these outcomes ranging from 2.7 to 30.8 times higher than the odds for those who did not use cannabis prior to age 15. Most of the elevated risks of early onset users were explained by the fact that they were a high-risk groups of adolescents characterized by family disadvantages, early adjustment problems, and high affiliations with substance-using or delinquent peers. Nonetheless, even after adjustment for a wide range of confounding factors, early onset users had increased risks of later cannabis use. It is concluded that while most of the elevated risks of early onset users were explained by social, family, and individual characteristics of this group, early onset users were at increased risks of later cannabis use.