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Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate correlations between stuttering severity and satisfaction with life (SWL), self-acceptance (SA), self-compassion (SC), and avoidance among people who stutter (PWS) and did seek support or did not seek support from family, friends, and the National Stuttering Association (NSA). Method: This study surveyed 47 self-identified PWS from a larger study in order to obtain information on background, avoidance, SA, SWL, and SC. Correlation analyses were used to examine concurrent associations. Results: Stuttering severity was significantly correlated with lower SA and higher avoidance among PWS who did not seek support from friends. Stuttering severity was not significantly correlated with lower SA, lower SC, or higher avoidance among PWS who sought support from friends or family. However, correlations between stuttering severity and lower SWL were similarly strong and significant among PWS who did and did not seek support from friends and from family. Stuttering severity was significantly correlated with lower SA and lower SWL among PWS who sought support from the NSA, but not correlated with these variables among PWS who did not seek support from the NSA. Conclusions: Correlations between greater stuttering severity and lowered SWL, SA, SC, and increased avoidance were not reduced with presence of formal support (i.e., NSA) but were nonsignificant with support from friends in some cases. Additional research is needed to address why a person is more or less likely to seek support and the impact support has on the life of the person. The clinical implications involve determining help-seeking behavior and the potential barriers to help-seeking.

Youth from lower-income families experience adjustment problems at higher rates than higher-income peers. While adolescents have little control over family income, they do have some agency over their sleep and physical activity, two factors that have been shown to mitigate the risk of maladjustment. To test this, sleep and physical activity were examined as moderators of the longitudinal relationship between family income (indexed by income-to-needs ratio) and trajectories of adolescent adjustment problems.Participants included a socioeconomically diverse community sample of 252 US youth (53% female; 33% Black, 67% White) in 2012-2015. Actigraphy-based sleep duration and quality were indexed, respectively, by minutes (sleep onset to wake excluding awakenings) and efficiency (% minutes scored as sleep from onset to wake). Physical activity and adjustment were youth-reported. Outcomes included internalizing (anxious/depressive) and rule-breaking behavior. Latent growth models estimated trajectories of adjustment across ages 16 and 18 years conditional on family income, sleep, physical activity, and their interactions.Relationships between family income and change in internalizing symptoms were moderated by sleep minutes, and associations between income and change in internalizing symptoms and rule-breaking behavior were moderated conjointly by sleep efficiency and physical activity.Under conditions of high-quality sleep and more physical activity, adolescents with lower income reported fewer adjustment problems. Conversely, youth with both poor sleep and low physical activity were at the highest risk for maladjustment over time. Findings enhance understanding of individual differences in trajectories of mental health associated with bioregulation, health behaviors, and the sociocultural context.

Little is known regarding the processes that occur when parents support their child who is being victimized by peers. The current study utilized in-depth interviews with 11 fourth- through sixth-grade early adolescents and their mothers as to the processes that occurred when the mothers attempted to help their child cope with peer victimization. Findings indicated a support-giving process that often started after initial disclosure of the victimization and continued for months or even years. Mothers’ responses included teaching their child how to respond to peer victimization, actively intervening, and enacting compensatory behaviors. Dyads reported individual and joint evaluation of the effectiveness of responses, and participants emphasized the role of communication for effective coping. A conceptual framework is presented to help generate novel lines of inquiry into the processes that occur when parents assist their peer-victimized adolescent and examine the applicability of the findings to more diverse samples and family climates.

We evaluated whether the association between deviant peer affiliation and onset of substance use is conditional upon sex and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) reactivity as measured by pre-ejection period (PEP). Community-sampled adolescents (N = 251; M = 15.78 years; 53% female; 66% White, 34% Black) participated in three waves. PEP reactivity was collected during a mirror star-tracer stress task. Alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, or any substance use, as well as binge drinking and sexual activity involving substance use were outcomes predicted by affiliation with deviant peers and two- and three-way interactions with sex and PEP reactivity. Probability of substance use increased over time, but this was amplified for adolescents with greater deviant peer affiliation in conjunction with blunted PEP reactivity. The same pattern of results was also found for prediction of binge drinking and sexual activity involving substance use. Findings are discussed in the context of biosocial models of adolescent substance use and health risk behaviors.

Sleep is a robust predictor of child and adolescent development. Race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and related experiences (e.g., discrimination) are associated with sleep, but researchers have just begun to understand the role of sleep in the development of racial/ethnic and SES disparities in broader psychosocial adjustment and cognitive functioning during childhood and adolescence. In this article, we discuss poor sleep as a potential mechanism contributing to the development of such disparities, and better sleep as a potential protective factor that diminishes such disparities. We conclude by offering recommendations for research to advance understanding of sleep as a key bioregulatory system that may underlie or protect against detrimental developmental outcomes related to socioeconomic adversity and belonging to a historically minoritized group.

Many adolescents experience or witness aggression by peers at school. The purpose of the current study was to examine associations between exposure to peer aggression (i.e., peer victimization and witnessing school violence) and sleep problems and whether these associations are moderated by parental acceptance. Participants included 272 adolescents attending high school (M age = 17.27 years; 49% female; 59% White/European American, 41% Black/African American). Adolescents reported on exposure to peer aggression, parental acceptance, and two key sleep domains: sleep quality problems and daytime sleepiness. Results indicated that exposure to peer aggression was directly associated with poor sleep quality and sleepiness. Furthermore, peer victimization and witnessing school violence interacted with parental acceptance to predict sleep quality. Specifically, exposure to peer aggression was associated with sleep quality problems at higher (but not lower) levels of parental acceptance. The lowest levels of sleep quality problems were apparent at low levels of peer aggression and high levels of parental acceptance, but parental acceptance did not protect adolescents with high exposure to peer aggression against sleep problems. Findings illustrate the importance of considering moderators of effects and the conjoint roles of family and peer processes when considering individual differences in adolescents' sleep. Future research should examine whether parental strategies targeted to address peer victimization are protective against the detrimental effects of exposure to peer aggression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Despite the expected benefits of organized activity involvement (e.g., sports, clubs), inconsistencies in associations between activity involvement and internalizing and externalizing problems may be explained in part by limitations of measurements and variations between individuals. To address these gaps, a latent variable of organized activity participation was tested as a predictor of internalizing and externalizing problems, and initial child adjustment was tested as a moderator of the outcomes from activity participation. Participants included 431 adolescents (52.2% female; ages 12-13 in seventh grade) from the Child Development Project. Adolescents self-reported activity involvement (seventh grade) and internalizing problems (seventh and ninth grades); mothers reported on adolescents' externalizing problems (seventh and eighth grade). Structural equation models showed that an activity involvement latent variable predicted lower internalizing problems. The interaction between activity involvement and initial level of externalizing problems predicted externalizing problems. Specifically, higher levels of activity involvement predicted lower levels of externalizing problems at initially lower levels of externalizing problems. However, at higher levels of initial externalizing problems, higher levels of activity involvement predicted higher levels of externalizing problems. The results suggest that activity involvement reduces risk for subsequent internalizing problems but could increase or decrease risk for subsequent externalizing problems depending on initial levels of externalizing problems.

Stress coping theories suggest that the effectiveness of coping depends on the level of stress experienced. Existing research shows that efforts to cope with high levels of peer victimization may not prevent subsequent peer victimization. Additionally, associations between coping and peer victimization often differ between boys and girls. The present study included 242 participants (51% girls; 34% Black, 65% White; Mage = 15.75 years). Adolescents reported on coping with peer stress at age 16 and on overt and relational peer victimization at ages 16 and 17. Greater use of primary control engaged coping (e.g., problem-solving) was associated positively with overt peer victimization for boys with higher initial overt victimization. Primary control coping was also associated positively with relational victimization regardless of gender or initial relational peer victimization. Secondary control coping (e.g., cognitive distancing) was associated negatively with overt peer victimization. Secondary control coping was also associated negatively with relational victimization for boys. Greater use of disengaged coping (e.g., avoidance) was associated positively with overt and relational peer victimization for girls with higher initial victimization. Gender differences and the context and level of stress should be considered in future research and interventions related to coping with peer stress.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of parasympathetic nervous system activity, has been linked with sleep quality among children with neurotypical development. The current study extended examination of these processes to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a group at considerable risk for sleep problems. Participants included 54 children with ASD (aged 6-10 years, 43% Hispanic). RSA data were collected via a wired MindWare system during a 3-min baseline and a 3-min challenge task. Parents reported on their children's sleep problems and sleep duration using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Abbreviated. Although no significant correlations emerged between RSA indices and parent-reported child sleep, baseline RSA and RSA reactivity interacted in the prediction of sleep problems. For children with higher RSA reactivity, higher baseline RSA was associated with fewer sleep problems, but for children with lower RSA reactivity, baseline RSA was not predictive. No main effects or interactions of RSA predicted sleep duration. Findings suggest resilience against sleep problems for children with ASD presenting with higher baseline RSA and higher RSA reactivity. Implications of these results center upon directly targeting psychophysiology (i.e., parasympathetic nervous system regulation) as a possible mechanism to improve sleep in children with ASD, and developing personalized interventions based on physiological markers of risk and resilience.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience significant difficulties with emotion regulation. Theory and empirical evidence suggest substantial biological contributions to regulatory challenges, which may be related to core ASD symptoms. Respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA) is a measure of parasympathetic nervous system activity that serves as a putative biomarker for emotion regulation. Higher baseline RSA and more RSA reactivity (parasympathetic withdrawal; RSA-R) in response to challenge appear adaptive in non-clinical populations, but existing evidence for children with ASD remains inconclusive. The current study examined correlates of observed emotion dysregulation in 61 children with ASD between the ages of 6 and 10 years, including ASD symptom levels as well as both baseline RSA and concurrent RSA reactivity. Consistent with previous research, ASD symptom level was significantly correlated with observed dysregulation whereas additional factors such as child IQ were not. Baseline RSA was unrelated to observed dysregulation, but higher RSA reactivity predicted concurrent dysregulation above and beyond the contribution of child ASD symptoms. Findings contribute to an emerging understanding of dysregulation in these children, raise questions about the utility of traditional baseline RSA measures for this population, and clarify the functional significance of RSA reactivity as a risk factor for emotion dysregulation in children with ASD.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at considerable risk for difficulties with emotion regulation and related functioning. Although it is commonly accepted that parents contribute to adaptive child regulation, as indexed by observable child behavior, theory and recent evidence suggest that parenting may also influence relevant underlying child physiological tendencies. The current study examined concurrent associations between two elements of parental socialization of emotion and measures of both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity in 61 children with ASD aged 6 to 10 years. To index parental socialization, parents reported on their reactions to their children’s negative emotions, and parental scaffolding was coded from a dyadic problem-solving task. Children’s baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), electrodermal reactivity (EDA-R), and RSA reactivity in response to challenge were obtained as measures of the children’s physiological activity. Regression analyses indicated that supportive parent reactions were related to higher child baseline RSA, a biomarker of regulatory capacity. Fewer unsupportive parent reactions and higher quality scaffolding were associated with higher EDA-R, a physiological index of inhibition. The identification of these concurrent associations represents a first step in understanding the complex and likely bidirectional interplay between parent socialization and child physiological reactivity and regulation in this high-risk population.

How youth cope with peer victimization affects their psychosocial adjustment. Although coping processes can be facilitated or hindered by the relational context, social-contextual correlates of coping largely have been overlooked in the peer victimization literature. This special issue addresses this gap by bringing together a series of empirical papers that examine the roles of teachers, peers, and parents in youths’ responses to peer victimization. Multiple methodologies and perspectives are presented, providing a rich foundation for future research. We conclude this special issue with a conceptual paper that explores how different kinds of parental responses to peer victimization influence youths’ ability to cope with peer victimization, as well as their psychosocial development more broadly.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate relations between autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity across the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches and multiple sleep parameters in adolescence. Participants were 244 adolescents (M(age) = 15.79 years old, SD = 9.56 months; 67.2% White/European-American, 32.8% Black/African-American). Parasympathetic activity was indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) withdrawal and sympathetic activity was indexed by skin conductance level reactivity (SCL-r), which were examined in response to a laboratory-based stressor (star-tracing task). Sleep was assessed with actigraphs in adolescents’ homes for seven consecutive nights. Two sleep parameters were examined: sleep duration indexed by actual sleep minutes and sleep quality indexed by sleep efficiency from sleep onset to wake time. Regression analyses showed that more RSA withdrawal (lower RSA during task than baseline) was associated with shorter sleep, and more SCL-r (higher SCL during task than baseline) was associated with poorer sleep efficiency. Moderation analyses showed that associations linking RSA withdrawal with fewer sleep minutes and poorer sleep efficiency, and SCL-r with fewer sleep minutes were significant only for boys. Results illustrate that higher daytime physiological reactivity (increased RSA withdrawal and SCL-r) is negatively associated with sleep duration and efficiency for adolescents, especially boys.

Scientific evidence for effective parental responses to peer victimization (PRPV) is sorely lacking. In this conceptual article, we first consider direct parental efforts to reduce peer victimization (i.e., direct PRPV) through explicitly coaching children about how to cope with peer victimization or intervening in the situation. We encourage researchers to examine whether and how direct PRPV may be successful, acknowledge possible limitations, and explore other forms of parental influence in the context of peer victimization. As an alternative or supplemental approach, we describe indirect, or compensatory, parental efforts to support the psychological health of children who experience peer victimization (i.e., compensatory PRPV). We provide illustrations of compensatory PRPV in which parents step up their efforts to encourage positive self-appraisals, facilitate positive social interactions, and support activity involvement in response to children’s experiences of peer victimization. We also suggest directions for future research on PRPV.

Sleep and autonomic nervous system functioning are important bioregulatory systems. Poor sleep and low baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of parasympathetic nervous system activity, are associated with externalizing behaviors and depressive symptoms in youth. Rarely, however, have measures of these systems been examined conjointly. The present study examined baseline RSA (RSA-B) as a moderator of longitudinal relations between adolescent sleep and adjustment. Participants were 256 adolescents (52% girls, 66% White/European American, 34% Black/African American) from small towns and surrounding rural communities in the southeastern United States. Sleep (minutes, efficiency, variability in minutes and efficiency) was assessed at age 15 via actigraphs across seven nights. RSA-B was derived from electrocardiogram data collected at rest. Adolescents self-reported externalizing problems and depressive symptoms at ages 15 and 17. Controlling for age 15 adjustment, findings generally demonstrated that sleep predicted age 17 adjustment particularly at higher (rather than lower) levels of RSA-B, such that adolescents with good sleep (more minutes and lower variability) and high RSA-B were at lowest risk for maladjustment. The results highlight the value of examining multiple bioregulatory processes conjointly and suggest that promoting good sleep habits and regulation of physiological arousal should support adolescent adjustment.

Prospective associations linking parental responses to peer victimization (i.e., coping suggestions, school contact) with adolescents’ coping and experiences of peer victimization were examined. Participants were 203 adolescents ([Formula: see text] = 12.16 years, SD = 0.98) and a parent (81% mothers). At Time 1, parents provided open-ended responses to a hypothetical peer victimization scenario. At Time 1 and Time 2, adolescents reported on peer victimization and coping with peer victimization. Parents’ active-engaged responses to the hypothetical scenario (e.g., approaching the school) predicted more adolescent-reported conflict resolution and support seeking, whereas parents’ passive-disengaged responses (e.g., tell an adult) predicted less adolescent-reported support seeking over time. Somewhat surprisingly, parents’ positive and negative appraisals predicted less conflict resolution and revenge seeking, respectively. Parents’ suggestions to be assertive predicted more peer victimization over time. Some gender differences emerged in associations between parents’ responses and adolescents’ coping and peer victimization. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit significant difficulties with emotion regulation and reactivity, which may be linked to underlying psychophysiology. The present study examined associations between autonomic nervous system activity and individual differences in externalizing behavior problems in children with ASD. A multisystem approach was adopted to consider the interplay between markers of sympathetic (electrodermal reactivity-EDA-R) and parasympathetic reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity-RSA-R) in relation to behavioral challenges. Fifty-two children with ASD ages 6-10 years contributed complete psychophysiological data. Measures of EDA-R and RSA-R (RSA withdrawal) were obtained in response to a laboratory challenge task and parents reported on child externalizing behavior problems using a standardized questionnaire and a structured clinical interview. An equifinality model was supported, with two distinct psychophysiological pathways linked to heightened externalizing behavior problems. Greater RSA-R was associated with more externalizing problems in the context of higher levels of EDA-R, and lower EDA-R was associated with increased externalizing problems at lower levels of RSA-R. Findings underscore the importance of considering the role of psychophysiology in the unfolding of comorbid externalizing problems in children with ASD. Potential implications for tailoring coregulatory supports are discussed. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1805-1816. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit elevated rates of challenging behavior. This study identified specific psychophysiological profiles (low sympathetic-low parasympathetic reactivity, and high sympathetic-high parasympathetic reactivity) that may place these children at greater risk for behavior problems. Findings have implications for better understanding behavioral challenges in children with ASD, and for tailoring supports to address underlying psychophysiology.

The deleterious effects of marital conflict on youth outcomes are well-documented in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. To date, longitudinal studies have focused on repeated measures of youths' outcomes and the temporal dynamics of marital conflict have largely been ignored. Marital conflict changes over time as contextual and relationship characteristics change, and these patterns of change may provide unique predictive power in accounting for differences in youth outcomes. This study provides a novel exploration of an old idea by focusing on dynamic patterns of marital conflict in predicting trajectories of adolescents' adjustment. All variables were measured at ages 16, 17, and 18 with 252 adolescents (53% female) enrolled in the longitudinal Family Stress and Youth Development Study. Latent growth curve models with latent variable interactions were used to determine whether marital conflict at age 16 (intercept), change over time in marital conflict (slope), and the intercept-slope interaction predicted change over time in adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms and levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 18. Youth exposed to high and increasing levels of marital conflict reported high and stable levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms across adolescence. Adolescents exposed to low and decreasing levels of marital conflict had consistently fewer symptoms. Furthermore, exposure to initially low but increasing levels of marital conflict was associated with increases in problems across adolescence, which contrasted with findings for youth with initially high marital conflict exposure that decreased over time. Findings are discussed in relation to both conceptual and methodological advances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

BACKGROUND: The present study examined associations between permissive parenting, deviant peer affiliations, and externalizing behavior across mid to late adolescence in a plausible indirect effects model of change over time with deviant peer affiliation serving as the mediator. We also evaluated potential conditional indirect effects wherein these relationships may be moderated by sex and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, indexed by skin conductance level (SCL) reactivity. METHOD: Participants included 242 community-sampled adolescents (M = 15.79 years; 48% boys; 66% European American, 34% African American) with two additional longitudinal assessments lagged by one year. Permissive parenting, SCL reactivity, and sex were considered as time invariant predictors of repeated measures of deviant peer affiliation and externalizing behavior in latent growth models that tested whether any of the direct or indirect associations were conditional on sex or SCL reactivity. RESULTS: Evidence was found for indirect effects of permissive parenting on externalizing behavior via deviant peer affiliation, but only for males with lower SCL reactivity to stress. Additionally, these effects were found on latent intercepts, but not slopes indexing change over time, perhaps reflecting established individual differences in relationships among these variables. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are discussed in the context of biosocial models of adolescent development and risk factors that may inform interventions for vulnerable youth.

Despite the expected benefits of organized activity involvement (e.g., sports, clubs), inconsistencies in associations between activity involvement and internalizing and externalizing problems may be explained in part by limitations of measurements and variations between individuals. To address these gaps, a latent variable of organized activity participation was tested as a predictor of internalizing and externalizing problems, and initial child adjustment was tested as a moderator of the outcomes from activity participation. Participants included 431 adolescents (52.2% female; ages 12-13 in seventh grade) from the Child Development Project. Adolescents self-reported activity involvement (seventh grade) and internalizing problems (seventh and ninth grades); mothers reported on adolescents' externalizing problems (seventh and eighth grade). Structural equation models showed that an activity involvement latent variable predicted lower internalizing problems. The interaction between activity involvement and initial level of externalizing problems predicted externalizing problems. Specifically, higher levels of activity involvement predicted lower levels of externalizing problems at initially lower levels of externalizing problems. However, at higher levels of initial externalizing problems, higher levels of activity involvement predicted higher levels of externalizing problems. The results suggest that activity involvement reduces risk for subsequent internalizing problems but could increase or decrease risk for subsequent externalizing problems depending on initial levels of externalizing problems.

Toward better understanding the determinants of harsh parenting, the present study assessed prospective associations between mothers' and fathers' sleep problems and their harsh parenting toward their child using two waves of data. Children's gender was examined as a moderator of these associations. At the first wave, 257 families participated. Mean age was 36.15 years (SD = 5.70 years) for mothers, 39.78 years (SD = 7.54 years) for fathers, and 10.41 years (SD = 7.85 months) for children. The sample was diverse in terms of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status with approximately 68% identifying as White/European American and 29% identifying as Black/African American. After approximately 1 year, families participated in a second study wave. Parents' sleep was assessed using actigraphy (sleep minutes, sleep efficiency, and long wake episodes) and mothers and fathers reported on the occurrence of their psychological and physical forms of harsh parenting toward their child. After controlling for autoregressive effects, fewer sleep minutes, reduced sleep efficiency, and more frequent long wake episodes among fathers predicted greater harsh parenting among fathers 1 year later. Child gender moderated some of these associations such that relations between fathers' poorer-quality sleep and higher levels of harsh parenting were more pronounced for boys. Sleep problems among mothers did not predict mothers' harsh parenting over time. Findings build on a growing literature that has considered sleep in the family context and provide novel insight into the influence of parents' sleep on their parenting practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at considerable risk for difficulties with emotion regulation and related functioning. Although it is commonly accepted that parents contribute to adaptive child regulation, as indexed by observable child behavior, theory and recent evidence suggest that parenting may also influence relevant underlying child physiological tendencies. The current study examined concurrent associations between two elements of parental socialization of emotion and measures of both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity in 61 children with ASD aged 6 to 10 years. To index parental socialization, parents reported on their reactions to their children's negative emotions, and parental scaffolding was coded from a dyadic problem-solving task. Children's baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), electrodermal reactivity (EDA-R), and RSA reactivity in response to challenge were obtained as measures of the children's physiological activity. Regression analyses indicated that supportive parent reactions were related to higher child baseline RSA, a biomarker of regulatory capacity. Fewer unsupportive parent reactions and higher quality scaffolding were associated with higher EDA-R, a physiological index of inhibition. The identification of these concurrent associations represents a first step in understanding the complex and likely bidirectional interplay between parent socialization and child physiological reactivity and regulation in this high-risk population.

Study Objectives We examined initial levels (intercepts) of sleep–wake problems in childhood and changes in sleep–wake problems across late childhood (slopes) as predictors of externalizing behavior problems, depressive symptoms, and anxiety in adolescence. To ascertain the unique effects of childhood sleep problems on adolescent mental health, we controlled for both childhood mental health and adolescent sleep problems. Methods Participants were 199 youth (52% boys; 65% White/European American, 35% Black/African American). Sleep–wake problems (e.g. difficulty sleeping and waking up in the morning) were assessed during three time points in late childhood (ages 9, 10, and 11) with self-reports on the well-established School Sleep Habits Survey. At age 18, multiple domains of mental health (externalizing behavior problems, depressive symptoms, and anxiety) and sleep–wake problems were assessed. Results Latent growth curve modeling revealed that children with higher levels of sleep–wake problems at age 9 had consistently higher levels of such problems between ages 9 and 11. The initial level of sleep–wake problems at age 9 predicted externalizing behaviors, depressive symptoms, and anxiety at age 18, controlling for mental health in childhood and concurrent sleep–wake problems in adolescence. The slope of sleep–wake problems from ages 9 to 11 did not predict age 18 mental health. Conclusions Youth who had higher sleep–wake problems during late childhood had higher levels of mental health problems in adolescence even after controlling for childhood mental health and concurrent sleep–wake problems. Findings illustrate that childhood sleep problems may persist and predict adolescent mental health even when potentially confounding variables are rigorously controlled.

At a moment in history when stress levels among adolescents are high and coping capacities are taxed, it seems timely and important to review a decade's accomplishments in elucidating how, and with what effects, adolescents cope with relationship stress. We provide an update on research about coping with parent, peer, and romantic stress and discuss the effectiveness of coping strategies across cultures, developmental periods, and levels of social stress. We explore relations between coping and other automatic and reflective responses to stress and highlight innovations in lab-based and ambulatory assessments. We recommend studies of variability in the success of coping at different intensities of relationship stress and research with real-time and repeated assessments to capture the process of coping.

The present study investigates how coordination between stress responsivity of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) moderates the prospective effects of marital conflict on internalizing and externalizing symptoms across adolescence. Although an important avenue for psychophysiological research concerns how PNS and SNS responses jointly influence adjustment in the context of stress, these processes have rarely been studied in adolescence or longitudinally. Participants were 252 youth (53% female, 66% European American, 34% African American) who participated in laboratory assessments when they were 16, 17, and 18 years old. PNS activity (measured via respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and SNS activity (measured via skin conductance level [SCL]) were assessed during a resting baseline and in response to a laboratory-based challenge (star tracing). Parents and adolescents both reported on marital conflict and adolescents reported on their internalizing and externalizing symptoms. At higher levels of marital conflict, coactivation of PNS and SNS activity, characterized by increased RSA and increased SCL from baseline to challenge, predicted elevated internalizing symptoms and an increase in externalizing behavior across adolescence. Coinhibition, or decreased activity across both systems, also predicted an increase in internalizing symptoms over time. At lower levels of marital conflict, internalizing and externalizing symptoms were relatively low. Findings extend primarily cross-sectional work with younger children by demonstrating that coordination between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) moderates the longitudinal effects of marital conflict on psychological and behavioral maladjustment among adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record

This study examined whether the prospective association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms is moderated by early adolescents' affiliation value (i.e., desire for social contact and close relationships) and extracurricular commitment (i.e., importance attributed to involvement in adult-led organized activities). Data were collected initially from 123 early adolescents in the fifth or sixth grade and again ten months later, following the transition to middle school. The association between peer victimization and adolescent-reported depressive symptoms was stronger at higher levels of parent-reported affiliation value compared to lower levels of affiliation value, and this moderation effect was consistent across models with adolescent-, parent-, and teacher-reported peer victimization. In addition, teacher-reported peer victimization predicted depressive symptoms among adolescents who were not highly committed to an organized extracurricular activity. Results suggest that social values and extracurricular commitment may be useful prevention or intervention targets.

The present study investigated longitudinal associations between behavioral and cognitive dimensions of parental social coaching (i.e., advice about how to behave or think about peer challenges) and young adolescents' peer acceptance, and whether such associations are moderated by youths' social skills. Time 1 (T1) participants included 123 young adolescents (M age = 12.03 years; 50% boys; 58.5% European American). Parents gave open-ended reports about their social coaching to hypothetical peer stress scenarios, which were coded from low to high quality on behavioral and cognitive dimensions. Parents and teachers reported on adolescent prosocial behavior (i.e., social-behavioral skills), and adolescents reported on their social appraisals and social self-efficacy (i.e., social-cognitive skills). At T1 (before the first year of middle school) and Time 2 (approximately 10 months later, after the first year of middle school), parents and teachers rated adolescent peer acceptance. Analyses revealed that parents' prosocial behavioral advice and benign cognitive framing independently predicted adolescents' higher peer acceptance prospectively (controlling for earlier levels of peer acceptance). Furthermore, adolescent social skills moderated links between coaching and peer acceptance. Specifically, adolescents with higher, but not lower, social-cognitive skills became more accepted in the context of higher-quality coaching, supporting a "capitalization" pattern, such that these youth may be better able to utilize coaching suggestions. Results underscore the utility of parents' behavioral advice and cognitive framing for adolescent peer adjustment across the middle school transition and suggest that optimal social-coaching strategies may depend in part on adolescent social skill level. (PsycINFO Database Record

This study examined the prospective association between peer victimization and subjective sleep quality among typically developing early adolescents. At Time 1 (T1), participants included 123 youth (50% boys; [Formula: see text] age = 12.03 years; 58.5% European American, 35% African American), along with one parent and teacher. Youth, parents, and teachers reported on youth’s experiences of peer victimization at T1. Youth reported on sleep quality at T1 and T2 (10 months later). Results from regression analyses revealed that youth-reported, but not parent- or teacher-reported, peer victimization predicted poorer sleep quality over time. Findings provide evidence that experiences of peer victimization can have a negative impact on youth’s sleep quality over time.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly exhibit co-occurring externalizing behavior problems, which can impede learning opportunities and contribute significantly to caregiver stress. Substantial theory and research has linked under-arousal of the sympathetic nervous system to increased externalizing problems in children without ASD, but under-arousal has not been considered as an explanatory mechanism for individual differences among children with ASD. We tested the notion that lower electrodermal activity (EDA) would predict more externalizing problems in children with ASD, and considered the degree to which parent co-regulatory support could buffer this risk. Forty children with ASD between the ages of 4 and 11 years and their primary caregivers participated in a laboratory visit that included various play, compliance, and problem-solving regulatory tasks. EDA was measured through wireless wrist sensors, parental scaffolding was observed during a dyadic problem-solving task, and parents rated their children’s externalizing behavior problems. As predicted, low EDA during the compliance-oriented tasks directly predicted higher child externalizing problems. Parental scaffolding moderated the link between under-arousal during the problem-solving regulatory tasks and externalizing problems such that the relation was observed in the context of low, but not high, support. Implications for relevant theories (e.g., fearlessness theory, stimulation-seeking theory) are discussed, and the potential for psychophysiological patterns to inform intervention with these children is considered.

OBJECTIVE. The present study investigated whether longitudinal associations between peer-related parenting behaviors (facilitation of peer interactions, social coaching about peer problems) and peer adjustment were moderated by young adolescents’ peer status. DESIGN. Participants included 123 young adolescents (M age = 12.03 years; 50% boys; 58.5% European American) at Time 1. At Time1 (summer before the middle school transition), parents reported on their facilitation of peer interaction opportunities and coaching strategies to a hypothetical peer exclusion situation; teachers reported on youth peer acceptance. At Times 1 and 2 (spring after the middle school transition), youth reported on peer adjustment (friendship quality, loneliness, peer victimization). RESULTS. Peer acceptance (pre-middle school transition) moderated prospective associations between peer-related parenting and peer adjustment, yielding two patterns of associations. Parental facilitation predicted better friendship quality and lower levels of loneliness over time among youth with high peer acceptance, but not among youth with low peer acceptance. In contrast, parental social coaching predicted better friendship quality among youth with low peer acceptance, but lower friendship quality among youth with high peer acceptance. CONCLUSIONS. Not all forms of positive peer-related parenting are equally beneficial for all youth. Well-accepted youth may have the social opportunities to take advantage of parental facilitation, whereas low-accepted youth may have greater social needs and benefit from support in the form of social coaching. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the literatures on peer-related parenting and peer adjustment.

Introduction Sleep problems are associated with negative developmental outcomes in youth, and identification of vulnerability and protective factors is needed to explicate for whom and under which conditions adolescents may be most at risk. Towards this end, we examined socio-economic status (SES) as a moderator of associations between multiple sleep parameters and adolescents’ socio-emotional adjustment and cognitive functioning. Methods Participants were 272 adolescents (M age = 17.3 years; 49% girls) and their parents, residing in the Southeastern U.S.A. The sample was socioeconomically diverse and included 41% Black/African American and 59% White/European American youth. Using a cross-sectional design, adolescents' sleep was assessed with actigraphy (total sleep minutes; efficiency indicated by % of time asleep from sleep onset to wake time) and self-reports of sleep quality (sleep-wake problems). Mothers reported on youths’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and cognitive functioning was assessed with a standardized test battery. Results Moderation effects were found and illustrated that, for youth from families with lower SES, shorter and less efficient sleep and subjective sleep problems were associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms as well as lower cognitive performance. Conversely, longer and better-quality sleep protected against socio-emotional and cognitive difficulties otherwise observed for socioeconomically disadvantaged youth. Fewer relations between sleep and adjustment emerged for adolescents from families with higher SES. Conclusions Results reinforce a growing literature indicating that the relation between sleep and adjustment is stronger for youth from families with lower SES, who may especially benefit from better sleep.

Children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit significant difficulties with emotion regulation. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia is a biomarker for processes related to emotion regulation, with higher baseline rates linked to beneficial outcomes. Although reduction in respiratory sinus arrhythmia in response to challenge can index adaptive processes in community samples, excessive withdrawal may suggest loss of regulatory control among children with clinical concerns. Psychophysiological risk for problems may be protected against or exacerbated by parenting environments more or less supportive of the development of children’s regulatory competence. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia was examined in 61 children with autism spectrum disorder ages 6–10 years in relation to externalizing behavior, and parenting was considered as a moderator. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia was obtained during laboratory tasks, and positive parenting, negative parenting, and children’s externalizing behaviors were each indexed through multiple methods. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity interacted with negative, but not positive parenting. Higher respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity was associated with more externalizing behavior under conditions of higher negative parenting, but with lower externalizing behavior at lower levels of negative parenting. Similarly, negative parenting was only associated with externalizing behaviors in the context of high child respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity. Implications for our understanding of emotion regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder, and for related interventions, are discussed.

Associations between variability in sympathetic nervous system arousal and individual differences in symptom severity were examined for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thirty-four families participated in a laboratory visit that included continuous measurement of electrodermal activity (EDA) during a battery of naturalistic and structured parent-child, child alone, and direct testing tasks. Multiple indices of EDA were considered. Greater variability in EDA was associated with higher levels of ASD symptoms, with findings generally consistent across tasks. Intellectual functioning did not moderate the relation between EDA and ASD symptoms. Sympathetic arousal tendencies may represent an important individual difference factor for this population. Future directions and conceptualizations of EDA are discussed.

Prior research has demonstrated both socialization and selection effects for the relationship between antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing problems in adolescence. Less research has evaluated such effects postadolescence. In this study, a cross-lagged panel analysis was used to evaluate the extent of socialization (i.e., the effect of antisocial peer affiliation on subsequent externalizing disorders) and selection (i.e., the effect of externalizing disorders on subsequent antisocial peer affiliation) in the prospective relationships between antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing disorders from adolescence through young adulthood. Data from a community sample of 2,769 individuals (52% female) with assessments at ages 17, 20, 24, and 29 were used. Analyses with a latent externalizing measure (estimated using clinical symptom counts of nicotine dependence, alcohol use disorder, illicit drug use disorder, and adult antisocial behavior) and self-reported antisocial peer affiliation revealed significantly stronger socialization effects from age 17 to 20, followed by significantly stronger selection effects from age 20 to 24 and 24 to 29. To better understand the impact of college experience, moderation by college status was evaluated at each developmental transition. Results were generally consistent for those who were in or were not in college. Results suggest selection effects are more important in later developmental periods than earlier periods, particularly in relation to an overall liability toward externalizing disorders, likely due to more freedom in peer selection postadolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record

Purpose The purpose of the present study is to examine the association between workplace discrimination, vigilance, and job satisfaction in people who stutter and compare this with people who do not stutter. Method Seventy-two people who stutter (PWS) and 92 people who do not stutter (PWNS) participated in an online survey. Participants completed a survey assessing 6 different areas: (a) background information, (b) job satisfaction, (c) everyday discrimination, and (d) heightened vigilance. Mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable. Results There was a relationship between being a PWS and job satisfaction, discrimination, and vigilance. PWS were found to experience higher discrimination as well as be more vigilant. Discrimination and vigilance were found to mediate the relationship between stuttering and job satisfaction. Conclusion Results of this study indicate that the participants who stutter differ from PWNS in their job satisfaction, discrimination, and vigilance. Clinicians can prepare PWS with self-advocacy strategies, legal knowledge of what their rights are as an employee who identifies as a person who stutters with a disability, a legal understanding of workplace discrimination, and counseling on the impact of vigilance on workplace experiences.

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to evaluate self-acceptance and satisfaction with life with people who stutter and the influence of coping and resilience on the two factors. Method Forty-seven people who stutter (PWS) and 47 people who do not stutter (PWNS) participated in an online survey. Participants completed a survey assessing 6 main areas: (a) background information, (b) satisfaction with life, (c) coping, (d) avoidance, (e) self-acceptance, and resilience. Results Avoidant coping and maladaptive coping moderated the association between stuttering and self- acceptance but not satisfaction with life. Resilience was found to moderate the association between stuttering and self-acceptance as well as satisfaction with life. Conclusion Stuttering was associated with lower self-acceptance at higher levels of avoidant coping and maladaptive coping. PWS who have lower levels of resilience were more likely to have a lower satisfaction with life indicating that higher levels of resilience could serve as a protective factor for having a greater satisfaction with life. Further, stuttering was associated with lower self-acceptance at lower levels of resilient attitude. Resilience and coping appear to protect against having diminished self-acceptance and satisfaction with life for PWS.

Links between peer relationship difficulties, parental social coaching, and social anxiety were examined among young adolescents (N = 80). In a lab protocol simulating peer stress, adolescents led a 3-min conversation, while ostensibly being evaluated by (fictitious) peer judges. Parental coaching was measured via observed cognitive framing and advice-giving; parents also reported on their facilitation of access to peers, and their adolescent's peer victimization and rejection. Social anxiety was measured through both global- and context-specific reports. More socially anxious youths (1) experienced more peer rejection and (2) had parents who engaged in poorer quality coaching (i.e., lower prosocial advice, benign interpretation, and facilitation). Evidence of additive effects of peer problems and parenting was found, and the pattern of findings was similar after controlling for adolescent social skills. Results suggest that both negative peer experiences and parental coaching may need to be targeted to reduce social anxiety during early adolescence.

As relationship education (RE) programs become more widely implemented, it is important to measure and document the changes associated with RE for diverse audiences. Also, researchers have been challenged to examine the impact of RE with more disadvantaged groups. While we are seeing an increase in this area, only three studies have examined RE with an incarcerated sample. These previous studies examined only those currently in a relationship and focused primarily on couple functioning. The aim of this study was to expand the existing literature by examining RE with a broader sample of incarcerated adults, regardless of current relationship status, and to expand our understanding of its association with outcomes beyond the couple domain by also including measures of individual and parental functioning. In addition, we examined whether change from pre- to posttest was moderated by individual characteristics. Using a sample of incarcerated adults (N = 122), the study found positive change in three domains of functioning (couple, individual, and parental). Specifically, results indicated change on five of the eight outcome variables examined. Overall, we found both similarities and differences among program participants on changes from pre- to posttest. For the majority of outcomes, the positive change from pre- to posttest emerged regardless of individual characteristics.

We examined longitudinal relations between adult interpartner conflict (referred to as marital conflict) and children's subsequent sleep minutes and quality assessed objectively via actigraphy, and tested parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity indexed through respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity (RSA-R) and initial sleep as moderators of predictive associations. At Wave 1 (W1), children (85 boys, 75 girls) with a mean age of 9.43 years (SD=.69) reported on marital conflict, and their sleep was assessed with actigraphs for seven nights. Sleep minutes, sleep efficiency, sleep activity, and number of long wake episodes were derived. RSA-R was measured in response to a lab challenge. Sleep parameters were assessed again 1 year later at Wave 2 (W2; mean age=10.39; SD=.64). Analyses consistently revealed 3-way interactions among W1 marital conflict, sleep, and RSA-R as predictors of W2 sleep parameters. Sleep was stable among children with more sleep minutes and better sleep quality at W1 or low exposure to marital conflict at W1. Illustrating conditional risk, marital conflict predicted increased sleep problems (reduced sleep minutes, worse sleep quality) at W2 among children with poorer sleep at W1 in conjunction with less apt physiological regulation (i.e., lower levels of RSA-R or less vagal withdrawal) at W1. Findings build on the scant literature and underscore the importance of simultaneous consideration of bioregulatory systems (PNS and initial sleep in this study) in conjunction with family processes in the prediction of children's later sleep parameters.

Associations linking parenting emotional climate and quality of parental social coaching with young adolescents' receptivity to parental social coaching were examined (N = 80). Parenting emotional climate was assessed with adolescent-reported parental warmth and hostility. Quality of parental social coaching (i.e., prosocial advice, benign framing) was assessed via parent-report and behavioral observations during a parent-adolescent discussion about negative peer evaluation. An adolescent receptivity latent variable score was derived from observations of adolescents' behavior during the discussion, change in adolescents' peer response plan following the discussion, and adolescent-reported tendency to seek social advice from the parent. Parenting climate moderated associations between coaching and receptivity: Higher quality coaching was associated with greater receptivity in the context of a more positive climate. Analyses suggested a stronger association between coaching and receptivity among younger compared to older adolescents.

This study examined whether the longitudinal association between parental directing of friendships (i.e., encouraging or discouraging certain friendships) and young adolescents' friendship adjustment (i.e., friendship quality and friends' positive characteristics) was moderated by skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) to peer stress. Participants included 123 young adolescents (M age = 12.03 years at Time [T]1; 50% boys; 58.5% European Americans). At T1 (summer before the transition to middle school), parents reported on the extent to which they directed adolescents toward or away from certain peers, and adolescents' SCLR was assessed during a lab-based peer evaluation task. At T1 and T2 (spring of the first year of middle school), adolescents reported on the quality of their friendships and positive peer affiliations. Controlling for T1 friendship adjustment, parental directing predicted higher friendship quality and more positive peer affiliations, but only among young adolescents with lower SCLR, which was conceptualized as a marker of underarousal and insensitivity to stress. Results are discussed with reference to the developmental period of early adolescence and related research on interactions between parental control and child characteristics as predictors of adolescent adjustment.