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Links between global levels of maternal depressive symptoms and parenting behavior in early childhood are well established. However, depression is a heterogeneous disorder and little is known about how individual differences in depression symptoms may be differentially associated with different types of parenting behavior. We aimed to uncover nuance in the relationship between depression and parenting behavior by examining individual differences in symptoms of maternal depression and associations with parenting behavior with 2- and 3-year-old children. Participants included 714 diverse, low-income mothers and their 2-year-old children. Maternal depression symptoms were self-reported at child age 2. Three domains of parenting behavior (harsh, positive, and disengaged) were coded from mother-child interactions at ages 2 and 3. Individual differences in maternal depressive symptoms at child age 2 comprised five profiles: low, interpersonal rejection, moderate, high depressed affect and physical, and severe. Women with the high depressed affect and physical profile demonstrated the greatest risk for parenting challenges with higher levels of harsh parenting at child age 2 compared to all other profiles and higher levels of disengaged parenting at child age 3 compared to the low, moderate, and severe profiles. Unexpectedly, positive parenting did not differ by maternal depression profile at either age. There is wide heterogeneity in symptoms of depression among mothers of 2-year-old children that is clinically relevant for different dimensions of parenting. Physical and depressed affect symptoms in particular may present risk for harsh parenting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Externalizing behavior in early adolescence is associated with alcohol use in adolescence and early adulthood and these behaviors often emerge as part of a developmental sequence. This pattern can be the result of heterotypic continuity, in which different behaviors emerge over time based on an underlying shared etiology. In particular, there is largely a shared genetic etiology underlying externalizing and substance use behaviors. We examined whether polygenic risk for alcohol use disorder predicted (1) externalizing behavior in early adolescence and alcohol use in adolescence in the Early Steps Multisite sample and (2) externalizing behavior in adolescence and alcohol use in early adulthood in the Project Alliance 1 (PAL1) sample. We examined associations separately for African Americans and European Americans. When examining European Americans in the Early Steps sample, greater polygenic risk was associated with externalizing behavior in early adolescence. In European Americans in PAL1, we found greater polygenic risk was associated with alcohol use in early adulthood. Effects were largely absent in African Americans in both samples. Results imply that genetic predisposition for alcohol use disorder may increase risk for externalizing and alcohol use as these behaviors emerge developmentally.

Longitudinal research to understand individual risk factors in childhood associated with exposure to violence and substance use is needed to inform prevention efforts. The present study tested indirect associations between age 8.5 externalizing behaviors and age 16 substance use through age 9.5 violence victimization and witnessing. Participants were 650 racially diverse (48.6% European American, 28.1% African American, 13.3% multiracial, and 10.0% other), predominantly socioeconomically disadvantaged youth (49% female). Externalizing behaviors were associated with higher levels of violence victimization and witnessing. The indirect path from externalizing behaviors to substance use was significant through victimization but not witnessing violence. Interventions aimed at reducing early externalizing behaviors may reduce risk for violence victimization, which may, in turn, reduce risk for adolescent substance use.

OBJECTIVE: The present study used a longitudinal design to examine associations between paternal depressive symptoms in toddlerhood and children’s psychosocial adjustment during the preschool and school-age periods. Maternal depressive symptoms and intervention status were tested as moderators of associations between paternal depressive symptoms and child maladjustment. METHOD: The sample (n = 264, 48% female, 62% White, 14% Black, 14% bi-racial, 11% another racial group, and 86% non-Hispanic/Latinx) represented a subsample of families from the Early Steps Multisite Study, a clinical randomized trial testing the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up among low-income families using Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement Services in three communities varied in urbanicity. Fathers and mothers reported their levels of depressive symptoms at child age 2, primary caregivers (mostly mothers) contributed measures of child adjustment at ages 5, 8.5, and 9.5, and teachers completed questionnaires about child adjustment at ages 8.5 and 9.5. RESULTS: Direct relations were found between paternal depressive symptoms and primary caregivers’ reports of children’s preschool and school-age internalizing problems. Furthermore, higher levels of paternal depression were associated with higher levels of children’s later adjustment problems at preschool-age when maternal depressive symptoms were mild or higher. The Family Check-Up attenuated relations between paternal depressive symptoms and children’s internalizing problems at school-age. CONCLUSIONS: These findings have important implications for future research on preventing children’s early-emerging problem behaviors at home, suggesting that addressing paternal depressive symptoms in early childhood may be an important intervention target, especially in the context of maternal depression.

Possessing informative tools to predict who is most at risk for antisocial behavior in adolescence is important to help identify families most in need of early intervention. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) have been shown to predict antisocial behavior, but it remains unclear whether PRSs provide additional benefit above more conventional tools to early risk detection for antisocial behavior. This study examined the utility of a PRS in predicting adolescents' antisocial behavior after accounting for a broad index of children's contextual and individual risk factors for antisocial behavior. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal family-based prevention study (N = 463; N

Inspired by Life History Theory, studies have found support for a link between pubertal timing and self-regulation in low-resource environments. This study builds on this body of research by examining the mediated effect of pubertal timing on sexual activity through effortful control in adolescence. The sample consisted of 728 adolescents and their families comprising both experimental and control group within a randomized trial intervention. Income-to-Needs (ITN) was measured at age 4 and 7.5 to establish two groups (low-ITN and Medium/High-ITN). Pubertal timing was measured at age 10.5, effortful control at age 14, and sexual activity was assessed at age 16. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized model. The link between pubertal timing and sexual activity mediated by effortful control was found to be significant but only in the poor-resource group (i.e., low-ITN). Specifically, more advanced pubertal maturity was associated with lower levels of adolescent effortful control, which in turn was associated with more sexual activity at age 16. Findings were replicated with cannabis use replacing sexual activity. As this study shows a different operating link from more advanced pubertal timing to sexual behavior and cannabis use in resource-poor environments, potential implications for prevention programs are discussed.

This commentary reviews advances gleaned from the current set of papers to Motivational Interviewing (MI) in prevention science. We begin by acknowledging the pioneering work of Miller and Rollnick to develop the construct of MI, then Dishion's use of MI principles to adapt applications of MI for the field of prevention science. We then highlight some of the contributions provided by the current set of papers and other recent extensions of MI. These novel applications are directed to parents, teachers, and older youth in the service of facilitating behavior change to promote youth development.

The present study tested models of polygenic by environment interaction between early childhood family instability and polygenic risk for aggression predicting developmental trajectories of aggression from middle childhood to adolescence. With a longitudinal sample of 515 racially and ethnically diverse children from low-income families, primary caregivers reported on multiple components of family instability annually from child ages 2–5 years. A conservative polygenic risk score (p = 0.05) was generated based on a prior meta-genome wide association study. Trajectories of aggression were identified using a curve of factors model based on a composite of primary caregiver, alternate caregiver, and teacher reports at five ages from 7.5 to 14 years. The family instability by polygenic interaction predicted growth in children’s aggression such that children with lower levels of family instability and lower polygenic risk exhibited a steeper decline in aggression from 7.5 to 14. Findings support the need to model gene-environment interplay to elucidate the role of genetics in the development of aggressive behaviors.

Hundreds of studies have documented an association between depression in mothers and behavior problems in children. Theory and empirical findings suggest this association may be confounded by other factors, but little attention has been paid to this issue. We used propensity score methods in a sample of 731 low-income families assessed repeatedly from child age 2 through 14 years to produce a weighted sample of families that were similar at child age 3 years except for mothers' depression. Depressive symptomatology was measured via self-report rating scale. Mothers were categorized as having clinically-elevated versus non-clinically-elevated scores based on an established threshold. Mothers with elevated versus nonelevated scores were equated on 89 other relevant characteristics (e.g., SES, child behavior, marital conflict). We then compared the equated groups on mother, secondary caregiver, and teacher ratings of child externalizing and internalizing behavior from child ages 4 to 14 years. Prior to equating, the mean prima facie effect of exposure to clinically-elevated mothers' depression scores at child age 3 years was d = 0.45 per mothers, d = 0.26 per secondary caregivers, and d = 0.13 per teachers. After equating, the mean adjusted effect was d = 0.07 per mothers, d = 0.01 per secondary caregivers, and d = 0.03 per teachers. Findings suggest that a substantial portion of the prima facie association between mothers' depression and later child behavior problems is accounted for by confounding variables rather than a causal effect of depressive symptoms per se. To fully understand why children of depressed mothers exhibit more behavior problems, a multicausal theory is needed that jointly considers the cluster of co-occurring clinical features that often accompany maternal depression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Aggressive behavior in middle childhood can contribute to peer rejection, subsequently increasing risk for substance use in adolescence. However, the quality of peer relationships a child experiences can be associated with his or her genetic predisposition, a genotype–environment correlation (rGE). In addition, recent evidence indicates that psychosocial preventive interventions can buffer genetic predispositions for negative behavior. The current study examined associations between polygenic risk for aggression, aggressive behavior, and peer rejection from 8.5 to 10.5 years, and the subsequent influence of peer rejection on marijuana use in adolescence (n = 515; 256 control, 259 intervention). Associations were examined separately in control and intervention groups for children of families who participated in a randomized controlled trial of the family-based preventive intervention, the Family Check-Up . Using time-varying effect modeling (TVEM), polygenic risk for aggression was associated with peer rejection from approximately age 8.50 to 9.50 in the control group but no associations were present in the intervention group. Subsequent analyses showed peer rejection mediated the association between polygenic risk for aggression and adolescent marijuana use in the control group. The role of rGEs in middle childhood peer processes and implications for preventive intervention programs for adolescent substance use are discussed.

This study examined caregivers’ longitudinal reports of adolescent multiracial categorization across the ages of 9.5, 10.5, and 14 years, and adolescents’ reports of their own multiracial categorization at the age of 14 years. A portion of caregivers’ reports of adolescent multiracial status were inconsistent across the years of the study; some adolescents’ and caregivers’ responses differed when questions assessing multiracial status were phrased in different ways; and adolescent and caregiver reports did not always align when adolescents were 14 years old. Given these findings, we recommend that researchers consider using multiple methods of racial data collection and collapsing the results to report estimated ranges of racial representation in samples, rather than specific percentages. Furthermore, when racial data must be provided by a single informant in the context of early adolescence, we suggest that researchers should think critically about which group’s perspective, adolescents’ or caregivers’, is more relevant to the research questions at hand.

Unique pathways to adolescents' co-occurring internalizing/externalizing problems, a severe and common form of psychopathology, remain poorly delineated; this paucity of knowledge impedes the development of personalized interventions. We examined established measures of genetic risk and early childhood temperamental dimensions to clarify potentially distinct pathways to adolescents' co-occurring internalizing/externalizing problems. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal randomized controlled trial of a family-based intervention. The study employed multiple informants and methods, including observer ratings of toddlers' negative affectivity and behavioral inhibition, and primary caregiver ratings of toddlers' inhibitory control; internalizing and aggression polygenic risk scores (PRS) based on prior meta-genome-wide association studies (GWAS); and parents' and teachers' reports of adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems. Higher levels of the aggression PRS indirectly predicted primary caregiver- and teacher-reported co-occurring problems relative to all other groups through greater early childhood negative affectivity. Lower levels of the aggression PRS and higher levels of the internalizing PRS indirectly predicted co-occurring problems relative to the externalizing "only" and low problem groups (primary caregivers only) through greater early childhood behavioral inhibition. Findings suggest two different genetic pathways to co-occurring problems that could lead to distinct prevention and intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Extracurricular involvement in the school-age years has widespread potential benefits for children’s subsequent socioemotional development, especially for low-income youth. However, there is a dearth of research on interventions aimed at increasing school-age extracurricular involvement in low-income youth. Thus, the present study aimed to test the collateral effect of a brief, family-focused intervention for low-income families, the Family Check-Up, on children’s school-age extracurricular involvement via improvements in maternal Positive Behavior Support in early childhood. The sample (n = 630, 50% female, 50% White, 28% Black/African American) represented a subsample of families from the Early Steps Multisite Study. At age 2, families were randomly assigned to the Family Check-Up or Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement Services as usual. Mother-child dyads participated in observed interaction tasks at child ages 2 and 3 that were subsequently coded to assess positive behavior support. Primary caregivers reported on children’s school-age extracurricular involvement at ages 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5. Results indicated that although there was not a direct path between intervention status and children’s school-age extracurricular involvement, a significant indirect path emerged from intervention group to changes in positive behavior support between ages 2 to 3 to children’s school-age extracurricular involvement. The results are discussed in terms of implications for designing preventive interventions in early childhood that promote extracurricular involvement at school-age, particularly for children at risk for maladaptive outcomes.

The present study tested the moderating role of interparental relationship quality and child inhibitory control on the stability of paternal depression over time and associations between paternal depression and child internalizing problems in early childhood. Participants were a subsample (n = 166) of families from the Early Steps Multisite study, a longitudinal study of low-income parents and children. Interparental relationship quality (age 2) attenuated the association between paternal depressive symptoms at age 2 and paternal depressive symptoms at age 3. Both interparental relationship quality (age 3) and child inhibitory control (age 3) attenuated the association between paternal depressive symptoms (age 3) and age 4 child internalizing problems. Results suggest that high interparental relationship quality may be a protective factor in terms of lessening the stability of paternal depressive symptoms over time, as well as the association between paternal depression and later child internalizing problems. Similarly, high levels of inhibitory control may buffer children from the negative effects of paternal depression on the development of internalizing problems.

Previous research on microaggressive experiences has focused primarily on those based on race/ethnicity. For the present study, we examined both race/ethnic and socio-economic status (SES) microaggressions reported by a diverse sample of low-income primary caregivers (PCs) of young children. Data were collected at four assessment time points from 617 White, African American (AA), and Latinx PCs (Mage = 28.2, SD = 6.9; 99% female) residing in one of three cities located in different regions of the United States. After controlling for PC education, annual family income, study site location, and intervention group status, analyses revealed that AA PCs reported a higher frequency of race/ethnic microaggressions than levels reported by White and Latinx PCs at four and one assessment time points, respectively and a higher frequency of SES microaggressions than levels reported by White and Latinx PCs at two assessment time points each. Within-group comparisons found that AA and Latinx PCs reported significantly higher frequencies of race/ethnic compared to SES microaggressions, while White PCs reported significantly higher frequencies of SES compared to race/ethnic microaggressions. Among the AA and Latinx PCs, the frequency of microaggressive experiences varied by geographic location. Future directions for research on microaggressions and implications for interventions for low-income PCs are reviewed.

This study examined the long-term effects of a randomized controlled trial of the Family Check-Up (FCU) intervention initiated at age 2 on inhibitory control in middle childhood and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. We hypothesized that the FCU would promote higher inhibitory control in middle childhood relative to the control group, which in turn would be associated with lower internalizing and externalizing symptomology at age 14. Participants were 731 families, with half (n = 367) of the families assigned to the FCU intervention. Using an intent-to-treat design, results indicate that the FCU intervention was indirectly associated with both lower internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 14 via its effect on increased inhibitory control in middle childhood (i.e., ages 8.5–10.5). Findings highlight the potential for interventions initiated in toddlerhood to have long-term impacts on self-regulation processes, which can further reduce the risk for behavioral and emotional difficulties in adolescence.

This study examined associations between trajectories of family instability across early childhood and trajectories of externalizing behaviors from middle childhood to adolescence. Growth mixture models were fit to annual caregiver reports of instability from child ages 2-5 (N = 731; 49% girls, 50% White). A curve of factors model was fit to externalizing behaviors from child ages 7.5-14. Chronic, elevated instability across early childhood predicted elevated externalizing behaviors from middle childhood to adolescence. Data collection spanned from 2002 to 2017. Increasing or declining levels of instability predicted elevated externalizing behaviors in middle to late childhood, but not in adolescence. Caregiver depressive symptoms mediated the association between instability and the externalizing behavior intercept. Intervening on chronic instability may reduce child externalizing problems.

The present study tested the protective role of youth's school-age extracurricular involvement and multiple informants' reports of adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of youth from low-income households.Participating youth (n = 635, 49% female, 49% White, 28% Black/African American, 14% biracial, 8% other race, 13% Hispanic/Latinx) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. At ages 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5, primary caregivers reported the number of extracurricular activities for which youth participated (Parent Aftercare Survey). At ages 14 and 16, measures of internalizing and externalizing problems were collected from primary and alternate caregivers (Child Behavior Checklist) and target youth (Child Depression Inventory-Short Form, Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, and Self-Report of Delinquency). At age 16, target youth also contributed measures of risky sexual behaviors and substance use (Youth Risk Behavior Survey). Teachers contributed measures of youth's internalizing and externalizing problems at age 14 (Teacher Report Form).After accounting for the effects of multiple sociodemographic factors, initial levels of child problem behavior, and intervention group status, structural equation models revealed that school-age extracurricular involvement was inversely associated with latent factors representing adolescent externalizing, but not internalizing, problems at ages 14 (β = -.13, p.01) and 16 (β = -.12, p = .02).The present study suggests that low-income, school-age children's involvement in extracurricular activities serves a protective function in relation to adolescent externalizing problems. Future studies should assess underlying mechanisms and expand the scope of adolescent outcomes to include prosocial functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective The present study examined prevention effects of the family check-up (FCU) prevention program on longitudinal changes in youth depression, using harmonized data collected across three prevention trials, including one trial initiated in early childhood and two initiated in early adolescence (total N = 2,322). Method Data from parent and youth reports of youth depression were harmonized using Moderated Nonlinear Factor Analysis (MNLFA), which provides a robust means to examine differential item functioning (DIF) across subgroups of participants (e.g., age groups, ethnic groups), and creates scale scores based on all available items while accounting for individual differences. Long-term intervention effects were tested using a multi-informant growth model examining changes in depression from baseline to up to 14-year postbaseline. Results Across trials, significant long-term effects of the FCU on reductions in depression were observed, although effects were found to wane after approximately 10 years. Conclusion FCU effects on depression across trials were attained with a relatively brief parenting program designed to reduce behavior problems and improve relational functioning that emphasized parental motivation to change while supporting positive parenting strategies. Implications of these results are discussed, along with directions for future work in this area. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Inhibitory control skills are important for academic outcomes across childhood, but it is unknown whether inhibitory control is implicated in the association between genetic variation and academic performance. This study examined the relationship between a GWAS-based (EduYears) polygenic score indexing educational attainment (EA PGS) and inhibitory control in early (Mage = 3.80 years) and middle childhood (Mage = 9.18 years), and whether inhibitory control in early childhood mediated the relation between EA PGS and academic skills. The sample comprised 731 low-income and racially/ethnically diverse children and their families from the longitudinal early steps multisite study. EA PGS predicted middle childhood inhibitory control (estimate = 0.09, SE = 0.05, p

The effects of rurality on physical and mental health are examined in analyses of a national dataset, the Community Tracking Survey, 2000-2001, that includes individual level observations from household interviews. We merge it with county level data reflecting community resources and use econometric methods to analyze this multi-level data. The statistical analysis of the impact of the choice of definition on outcomes and on the estimates and significance of explanatory variables in the model is presented using modern econometric methods, and differences in results for mental health and physical health are evaluated.

OBJECTIVE We evaluated whether initiating the Family Check-Up (FCU) during early childhood prevented a severe form of psychopathology in adolescence-co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems-and whether effects operated indirectly through early childhood maternal depression and parents' positive behavior support. METHOD Participants were drawn from a randomized controlled trial of the FCU (50.2% FCU; 49.5% girls; 46.6% Caucasian, and 27.6% Black; 13.4% Hispanic/Latino). At Ages 2 and 3, mothers self-reported depression, and primary caregivers' (PCs') positive behavior support was coded by trained observers. PCs, alternate caregivers (ACs), and teachers reported on 14-year-olds' problem behaviors. Latent profile analyses (LPAs) identified problem behavior groups for each reporter, which were outcomes in multinomial logistic regressions (PC, n = 672; AC, n = 652; teacher, n = 667). RESULTS LPAs identified a low-problem, internalizing-only, externalizing-only, and co-occurring-problem group for each reporter. For PC- and AC-reported outcomes, the FCU predicted a lower likelihood that adolescents belonged to the co-occurring group relative to the low-problem, externalizing-only (p < .05), and internalizing-only (p < .05 for PC, p < 0.10 for AC) groups; these effects operated through maternal depression (p < .05). For teacher-reported outcomes, the FCU predicted a lower likelihood that adolescents belonged to the co-occurring group relative to the low-problem, internalizing-only, and externalizing-only (p < 0.05) groups; effects operated through positive behavior support (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Early delivery of the FCU indirectly prevented adolescents' co-occurring internalizing/externalizing problems in both home and school contexts by improving the quality of the early home environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Adolescents experience more police-initiated contacts resulting from relatively minor infractions than any other group, and often these interactions do not result in notable legal consequences. However, such interactions may have long-term consequences for adolescent perceptions of the justice system. Using data from the age 15 wave of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, our study examines associations between situational and process features of police contact and legal cynicism in adolescence, accounting for demographic characteristics, self-reported delinquency, neighborhood context, and stop outcome. Relative to youth who experienced only vicarious police contact, youth who had direct or both direct and vicarious police contact reported higher levels of legal cynicism. Youth perceptions of procedural justice were associated with lower legal cynicism. Situational features of police contact such as harsh language and frisking were related to higher legal cynicism. Directions for future research, including the need for longitudinal research on this topic, are discussed.

Previous approaches for creating polygenic risk scores (PRSs) do not explicitly consider the biological or developmental relevance of the genetic variants selected for inclusion. We applied gene set enrichment analysis to meta-GWAS data to create developmentally targeted, functionally informed PRSs. Using two developmentally matched meta-GWAS discovery samples, separate PRSs were formed, then examined in time-varying effect models of aggression in a second, longitudinal sample of children (n = 515, 49% female) in early childhood (2–5 years old), and middle childhood (7.5–10.5 years old). Functional PRSs were associated with aggression in both the early and middle childhood models.

Building on prior work using Tom Dishion's Family Check-Up, the current article examined intervention effects on dysregulated irritability in early childhood. Dysregulated irritability, defined as reactive and intense response to frustration, and prolonged angry mood, is an ideal marker of neurodevelopmental vulnerability to later psychopathology because it is a transdiagnostic indicator of decrements in self-regulation that are measurable in the first years of life that have lifelong implications for health and disease. This study is perhaps the first randomized trial to examine the direct effects of an evidence- and family-based intervention, the Family Check-Up (FCU), on irritability in early childhood and the effects of reductions in irritability on later risk of child internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. Data from the geographically and sociodemographically diverse multisite Early Steps randomized prevention trial were used. Path modeling revealed intervention effects on irritability at age 4, which predicted lower externalizing and internalizing symptoms at age 10.5. Results indicate that family-based programs initiated in early childhood can reduce early childhood irritability and later risk for psychopathology. This holds promise for earlier identification and prevention approaches that target transdiagnostic pathways. Implications for future basic and prevention research are discussed.

Several research teams have previously traced patterns of emerging conduct problems (CP) from early or middle childhood. The current study expands on this previous literature by using a genetically-informed, experimental, and long-term longitudinal design to examine trajectories of early-emerging conduct problems and early childhood discriminators of such patterns from the toddler period to adolescence. The sample represents a cohort of 731 toddlers and diverse families recruited based on socioeconomic, child, and family risk, varying in urbanicity and assessed on nine occasions between ages 2 and 14. In addition to examining child, family, and community level discriminators of patterns of emerging conduct problems, we were able to account for genetic susceptibility using polygenic scores and the study's experimental design to determine whether random assignment to the Family Check-Up (FCU) discriminated trajectory groups. In addition, in accord with differential susceptibility theory, we tested whether the effects of the FCU were stronger for those children with higher genetic susceptibility. Results augmented previous findings documenting the influence of child (inhibitory control [IC], gender) and family (harsh parenting, parental depression, and educational attainment) risk. In addition, children in the FCU were overrepresented in the persistent low versus persistent high CP group, but such direct effects were qualified by an interaction between the intervention and genetic susceptibility that was consistent with differential susceptibility. Implications are discussed for early identification and specifically, prevention efforts addressing early child and family risk.

OBJECTIVE. Assessment of fidelity that is effective, efficient, and differentiates from usual practices is critical for effectively implementing evidence-based programs for families. This quasi-experiemntal study sought to determine whether observational ratings of fidelity to the Family Check-Up (FCU) could differentiate between levels of clinician training in the model, and from services as usual, and whether rating segments of sessions could be equivalent to rating complete sessions. METHOD. Coders rated 75 videotaped sessions—complete and 20-minute segments—for fidelity, using a valid and reliable rating system across three groups: (1) highly trained in FCU with universal, routine monitoring; (2) minimally trained in FCU with optional, variable monitoring; and (3) services as usual with no training in the FCU. We hypothesized that certain dimensions of fidelity would differ by training, while others would not. RESULTS. The results indicated that, as expected, one dimension of fidelity to the FCU, Conceptually accurate to the FCU, was reliably different between the groups (χ(2) = 44.63, p

Discrimination has been shown to be related to diminished psychological adjustment and greater risk for substance use when personally experienced by adolescents and when their caregivers experience discrimination. Our research considers the impact of primary caregiver experiences of racial- and socioeconomic-based discrimination in early (age 3-5 years) and late childhood (age 9½) on adolescent disruptive behaviors (age 14) with a large sample of diverse caregiver-child dyads (N = 634). In addition, we examine the potential protective effects of parent-child relationship quality in early and late childhood in buffering the effects of caregiver discrimination on adolescent disruptive behaviors. We also explore possible gender differences in children's vulnerability to engage in disruptive behaviors in the context of caregiver experiences of discrimination. The findings from this study indicate that at trend level, early childhood experiences of primary caregiver discrimination (ages 3-5) predicted adolescent disruptive behaviors, accounting for the effects of more recent (age 9½) caregiver discrimination. In addition, parent-child relationship quality at age 9½ years was found to buffer the effects of late childhood (age 9½) primary caregiver discrimination on adolescent disruptive behaviors for both male and female youth. The findings highlight the need for prevention and intervention techniques that foster healthy and positive primary caregiver-child relationships.

Objective The present study had three primary objectives. First, pain trajectory from early childhood to early adolescence were modeled. Second, we examined how early childhood individual-, parental-, and family-level factors predict pain trajectories. Third, we evaluated consequences of pain trajectories in terms of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and substance use at age 16 years. Design The current paper is a secondary data analysis of a multisite longitudinal study. A total of 731 children and their families were followed from ages 2 to 16 years. Methods A growth mixture model (GMM) was used to identify pain trajectories from ages 2 to 14 years. Results The GMM revealed three distinct pain trajectories: (1) Low Pain Symptom (n = 572); (2) Increasing Pain Symptom (n = 106); and (3) U-shaped Pain Symptom (n = 53). Children who experienced greater harsh parenting and sleep disturbances in early childhood were more likely to belong to the Increasing Pain Symptom group, and those with greater anxious-depressed symptoms at age 2 years were more likely to belong to the U-shaped Pain Symptom group than the Low Pain Symptom group. Additionally, those youth in the Increasing Pain Symptom group, compared to the Low and U-shaped Pain Symptom groups, showed elevated anxiety symptoms at age 16 years. Conclusions Reducing harsh parenting and children’s sleep disturbances could be important targets for preventing pediatric pain problems. Children with increasing pain symptoms may also benefit from learning adaptive pain management skills to lower the risk of developing anxiety problems in late adolescence.

The present study tested models of polygenic by environment interaction between early childhood family instability and polygenic risk for aggression predicting developmental trajectories of aggression from middle childhood to adolescence. With a longitudinal sample of 515 racially and ethnically diverse children from low-income families, primary caregivers reported on multiple components of family instability annually from child ages 2-5 years. A conservative polygenic risk score (p = 0.05) was generated based on a prior meta-genome wide association study. Trajectories of aggression were identified using a curve of factors model based on a composite of primary caregiver, alternate caregiver, and teacher reports at five ages from 7.5 to 14 years. The family instability by polygenic interaction predicted growth in children's aggression such that children with lower levels of family instability and lower polygenic risk exhibited a steeper decline in aggression from 7.5 to 14. Findings support the need to model gene-environment interplay to elucidate the role of genetics in the development of aggressive behaviors.

Child birth order (CBO) in the family has received little attention in the field of prevention science. CBO is relevant to early interventionists from a public health perspective, as the most widely disseminated home-visiting program has traditionally targeted mothers and their first-born children. The current paper revisits a previous publication by Shaw et al. (2009) on the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up (FCU) to evaluate CBO (firstborn vs. middle vs. youngest) as a moderator of treatment effects of the FCU in relation to improvements in parenting, maternal depressive symptoms, and child outcomes from ages 2 to 4 in a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse families (N = 709) with multiple children. Results suggest that the FCU elicited improvements in observed parenting from ages 2 to 3 primarily for target children who were the youngest or middle children, but not for firstborns. Findings are discussed in the context of implications for prevention science research, dissemination, and public policy.

High-quality evidence about the costs of effective interventions for children can provide a foundation for fiscally responsible policy capable of achieving impact. This study estimated the costs to society of the Family Check-up, an evidence-based brief home-visiting intervention for high-risk families implemented in the Early Steps multisite efficacy trial. Intervention arm families in three sites were offered 4 consecutive years of intervention, when target children were ages 2 through 5. Data for estimating total, average, and marginal costs and family burden (means and standard deviations, 2015 USD, discounted at 3% per year) came from a detailed database that prospectively documented resource use at the family level and a supplemental interview with trial leaders. Secondary analyses evaluated differences in costs among higher and lower risk families using repeated measures analysis of variance. Results indicated annual average costs of $1066 per family (SD = $400), with time spent by families valued at an additional $84 (SD = $99) on average. Costs declined significantly from ages 2 through 5. Once training and oversight patterns were established, additional families could be served at half the cost, $501 (SD = $404). On the margin, higher risk families cost more, $583 (SD = $444) compared to $463 (SD = $380) for lower risk families, but prior analyses showed they also benefited more. Sensitivity analyses indicated potential for wage-related cost savings in real-world implementation compared to the university-based trial. This study illustrates the dynamics of Family Check-up resource use over time and across families differing in risk.

Development involves synergistic interplay among genotypes and the physical and cultural environments, and integrating genetics into experimental designs that manipulate the environment can improve understanding of developmental psychopathology and intervention efficacy. Consistent with differential susceptibility theory, individuals can vary in their sensitivity to environmental conditions including intervention for reasons including their genotype. As a consequence, understanding genetic influences on intervention response is critical. Empirically, we tested an interaction between a genetic index representing sensitivity to the environment and the Family Check-Up intervention. Participants were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite randomized prevention trial that included a low-income and racially/ethnically diverse sample of children and their families followed longitudinally (n = 515). As hypothesized, polygenic sensitivity to the environment moderated the effects of the intervention on 10-year-old children's symptoms of internalizing psychopathology, such that children who were genetically sensitive and were randomly assigned to the intervention had fewer symptoms of child psychopathology than genetically sensitive children assigned to the control condition. A significant difference in internalizing symptoms assessed with a clinical interview emerged between the intervention and control groups for those 0.493 SD above the mean on polygenic sensitivity, or 25% of the sample. Similar to personalized medicine, it is time to understand individual and sociocultural differences in treatment response and individualize psychosocial interventions to reduce the burden of child psychopathology and maximize well-being for children growing up in a wide range of physical environments and cultures.

This study applied latent class analysis to a family-centered prevention trial in early childhood to identify subgroups of families with differential responsiveness to the Family Check-Up (FCU) intervention. The sample included 731 families with 2-year-olds randomized to the FCU or control condition and followed through age 5 with yearly follow-up assessments. A two-step mixture model was used to examine whether specific constellations of family characteristics at age 2 (baseline) were related to intervention response across ages 3, 4, and 5. The first step empirically identified latent classes of families based on several family risk and adjustment variables selected on the basis of previous research. The second step modeled the effect of the FCU on longitudinal change in children's problem behavior in each of the empirically derived latent classes. Results suggested a five-class solution, where a significant intervention effect of moderate to large size was observed in one of the five classes-the class characterized by child neglect, legal problems, and parental mental health issues. Pairwise comparisons revealed that the intervention effect was significantly greater in this class of families than in two other classes that were generally less at risk for the development of child disruptive behavior problems, albeit still low-income. Thus, findings suggest that (a) the FCU is most successful in reducing child problem behavior in more highly distressed, low-income families, and (b) the FCU may have little impact for relatively low-risk, low-income families. Future directions include the development of a brief screening process that can triage low-income families into groups that should be targeted for intervention, redirected to other services, monitored prospectively, or left alone.

Marital quality and social support satisfaction were tested as moderators of the association between maternal depressive symptoms and parenting during early childhood (18-36 months) among 2 large, divergent, longitudinal samples (n = 526; n = 570). Unexpectedly, in both samples the association between maternal depressive symptoms and reduced parenting quality was strongest in the context of high marital quality and high social support, and largely nonsignificant in the context of low marital quality and low social support. Possible explanations for these surprising findings are discussed. Results point to the importance of accounting for factors in the broader family context in predicting the association between depressive symptoms and maternal parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record

Maternal depression is among the most consistent and well-replicated risk factors for negative child outcomes, particularly in early childhood. Although children of depressed mothers are at an increased risk of adjustment problems, conversely, children with emotional or behavioral problems also have been found to adversely compromise maternal functioning, including increasing maternal depression. The purpose of this investigation was to examine transactional associations among maternal depression, parent-child coercive interaction, and children's conduct and emotional problems in early childhood using a cross-lagged panel model. Participants were 731 toddlers and families that were part of the Early Steps Multisite Study, a sample of diverse ethnic backgrounds and communities (i.e., rural, urban, suburban) recruited from Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement Centers. Analyses provided support for the existence of some modest transactional relations between parent-child coercion and maternal depression and between maternal depression and child conduct problems. Cross-lagged effects were somewhat stronger between children age 2-3 than age 3-4. Similar patterns were observed in the model with child emotional problems replacing conduct problems, but relations between coercion and maternal depression were attenuated in this model. In addition, the transactional hypothesis was more strongly supported when maternal versus secondary caregiver reports were used for child problem behavior. The findings have implications for the need to support caregivers and reinforce positive parenting practices within family-centered interventions in early childhood.

Objective To test whether a language screener administered during early childhood predicts special education referrals and placement in middle childhood. Study design A series of logistic regressions was conducted in a longitudinal study of 731 children. Predictor variables included scores on the early language screener (Fluharty Preschool Speech and Language Screening Test-Second Edition [Fluharty-2]) at ages 3 and 4 years, a standardized measure of academic achievement at age 5 years, and parent report of special education services at ages 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5 years. Results Results showed that higher scores on the Fluharty-2 predicted a reduced likelihood of having an individualized education program (OR 0.48), being referred for special education (OR 0.55), and being held back a grade (OR 0.37). These findings did not vary by sex, race, or ethnicity, and remained significant after controlling for male sex, behavior problems, parental education, and family income. The Fluharty-2 remained predictive of special education outcomes even after controlling for children's academic skills at age 5 years. Conclusions Results suggest that structured, brief assessments of language in early childhood are robust predictors of children's future engagement in special education services and low academic achievement. Primary care physicians may use a multipronged developmental surveillance and monitoring protocol designed to identify children who may need comprehensive evaluation and intervention. Early intervention may reduce the need for costly special education services in the future and reduce comorbid conditions.

The family serves an important function in many societies; however, the role of the family is especially crucial in minority cultures, since the family is the means by which that culture is passed on to future generations. Socioeconomic and historical contexts within each ethnic group create unique life experiences; however, there is still a striking lack of research that considers intra-ethnic diversity. In addition to the considerations of intra-ethnic variations within ethnic groups, minority students’ current status and relationships with the majority educational system cannot be well understood without the proper historical contexts. Poverty is often considered a major cause of chronic stress and thus often presents major difficulties for African American families. The discrepancy between Hispanic Americans and other groups on academic achievements has led to considerable research. The development of an ethnic identity within a majority culture is a relatively unexplored area of research, and the impact of identity on school achievement is still open to speculation.

This study investigates suicide risk in late childhood and early adolescence in relation to a family-centered intervention, the Family Check-Up, for problem behavior delivered in early childhood. At age 2, 731 low-income families receiving nutritional services from Women, Infants, and Children programs were randomized to the Family Check-Up intervention or to a control group. Trend-level main effects were observed on endorsement of suicide risk by parents or teachers from ages 7.5 to 14, with higher rates of suicide risk endorsement in youth in the control versus intervention condition. A significant indirect effect of intervention was also observed, with treatment-related improvements in inhibitory control across childhood predicting reductions in suicide-related risk both at age 10.5, assessed via diagnostic interviews with parents and youth, and at age 14, assessed via parent and teacher reports. Results add to the emerging body of work demonstrating long-term reductions in suicide risk related to family-focused preventive interventions, and highlight improvements in youth self-regulatory skills as an important mechanism of such reductions in risk.

The current project explores maternal inter-parental (IP) romantic partner satisfaction in relation to mother-child conflict and later peer and teacher relations from early to middle childhood among a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse mothers (N = 271) who were part of a longitudinal study testing the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up intervention. We hypothesized spillover effects from IP dissatisfaction during early childhood to mother-child conflict two years later. Greater mother-child conflict in turn was expected to lead to poorer peer relations and greater conflict with teachers in middle childhood. Results support a spillover effect from lower IP satisfaction at age 3 to higher mother-child conflict at age 5 to poorer peer relations and greater conflict with teachers at school at ages 8.5, 9.5, and 10.5. Mother-child conflict significantly mediates these pathways. Results support the importance of IP satisfaction and mother-child conflict in early childhood as critical factors in pathways leading to low-income children's social relationships at school during middle childhood.

The current study sought to advance our understanding of transactional processes among maternal depression, neighborhood deprivation, and child conduct problems (CP) using two samples of low-income families assessed repeatedly from early childhood to early adolescence. After accounting for initial levels of negative parenting, independent and reciprocal effects between maternal depressive symptoms and child CP were evident across both samples, beginning in early childhood and continuing through middle childhood and adolescence. In addition, neighborhood effects were consistently found in both samples after children reached age 5, with earlier neighborhood effects on child CP and maternal depression found in the one exclusively urban sample of families with male children. The results confirm prior research on the independent contribution of maternal depression and child CP to the maintenance of both problem behaviors. The findings also have implications for designing preventative and clinical interventions to address child CP for families living in high-risk neighborhoods.

A key challenge of community-based prevention programs is engaging families in the context of services settings involving children and families. The Family Check-Up (FCU) program is designed to engage families in parenting support appropriate to their level of need by use of assessment-enhanced motivational interviewing. This study involved families screened for risk who were seeking services at women, infant, and children's offices in three geographical regions (N = 731). Families in the randomized intervention group (N = 367) were offered the FCU yearly, from age 2 through 10. The results of multivariate modeling indicated that caregivers reporting high levels of perceived caregiving stress (i.e., depression, low parenting satisfaction, daily hassles) participated at a higher rate in two critical components (feedback and follow-up support interventions) of the FCU program over the 8-year trial period than caregivers reporting lesser degrees of stress. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of family-centered programs for the prevention of child behavior problems and directions for future research.

Several studies suggest that neighborhood deprivation is a unique risk factor in child and adolescent development of problem behavior. We sought to examine whether previously established intervention effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) on child conduct problems at age 7.5 would persist through age 9.5, and whether neighborhood deprivation would moderate these effects. In addition, we examined whether improvements in parent–child interaction during early childhood associated with the FCU would be related to later reductions in child aggression among families living in the highest risk neighborhoods. Using a multisite cohort of at-risk children identified on the basis of family, child, and socioeconomic risk and randomly assigned to the FCU, intervention effects were found to be moderated by neighborhood deprivation, such that they were only directly present for those living at moderate versus extreme levels of neighborhood deprivation. In addition, improvements in child aggression were evident for children living in extreme neighborhood deprivation when parents improved the quality of their parent–child interaction during the toddler period (i.e., moderated mediation). Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the possibilities and possible limitations in prevention of early problem behavior for those children living in extreme and moderate levels of poverty.

OBJECTIVE: The Family Check-Up (FCU) is a preventive intervention found to significantly reduce child conduct problems (CP). This study examined the extent to which parents reported that their child’s CP was a problem for them at baseline (baseline CP) as a moderator of FCU effects into middle childhood and moderated mediation models to explore positive parent-child dyadic interaction and maternal depressive symptoms as mediators. METHOD: Participants included 731 mother-child dyads followed from child ages 2 to 9.5 (49% female; 28% African American, 50% European American, 13% biracial, and 9% other; 13% self-reported as Hispanic), half assigned to the FCU. Maternal depressive symptoms, observed parent and child behavior (positive dyadic interaction), and CP were assessed annually. RESULTS: Support was found for baseline CP as a moderator of the FCU, with significant decreases in CP for children in the FCU demonstrating high baseline CP. The following associations did not differ between those with high versus low baseline CP. The FCU significantly increased positive dyadic interaction. Lower maternal depressive symptoms were associated with significantly lower CP. CONCLUSIONS: Findings add to existing evidence that preventive interventions are effective for high risk families, and the FCU is especially beneficial for children whose parents report high levels of CP in early childhood. Further, the FCU significantly improved positive dyadic interaction for families of children with both high and low baseline CP. PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE: Results of this study suggest that the FCU intervention is effective in reducing child CP through the school age years, particularly for children whose parents report high baseline problems.

This study examined the validity of micro social observations and macro ratings of parent-child interaction in early to middle childhood. Seven hundred and thirty-one families representing multiple ethnic groups were recruited and screened as at risk in the context of Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Nutritional Supplement service settings. Families were randomly assigned to the Family Checkup (FCU) intervention or the control condition at age 2 and videotaped in structured interactions in the home at ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. Parent-child interaction videotapes were micro-coded using the Relationship Affect Coding System (RACS) that captures the duration of two mutual dyadic states: positive engagement and coercion. Macro ratings of parenting skills were collected after coding the videotapes to assess parent use of positive behavior support and limit setting skills (or lack thereof). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the measurement model of macro ratings of limit setting and positive behavior support was not supported by the data, and thus, were excluded from further analyses. However, there was moderate stability in the families' micro social dynamics across early childhood and it showed significant improvements as a function of random assignment to the FCU. Moreover, parent-child dynamics were predictive of chronic behavior problems as rated by parents in middle childhood, but not emotional problems. We conclude with a discussion of the validity of the RACS and on methodological advantages of micro social coding over the statistical limitations of macro rating observations. Future directions are discussed for observation research in prevention science.

This study examined the impact of residential instability and family structure transitions on the development of internalizing and externalizing problems from age 2 through 10.5. Child's race was examined as a moderator. Caregiver reports of internalizing and externalizing behaviors were obtained on 665 children at ages 5 and 10.5. Early-childhood residential and family structure transitions predicted elevated internalizing and externalizing problems at ages 5 and 10.5, but only for Caucasian children. These findings suggest that residential and family structure instability during early childhood independently contribute to children's later emotional and behavioral development, but vary as a function of the child's race. Community organizations (e.g., Women, Infant, and Children) can connect turbulent families with resources to attenuate effects of residential and family structure instability.