Two prospective studies examined a theoretical model wherein exposure to victimization, resulting from early behavioral risk, heightens children's social alienation and subsequent deviant peer affiliation (DPA). Across Study 1 (298 girls, 287 boys; K-7th grade; 5-12 years) and Study 2 (338 girls, 298 boys; 2nd-6th grade; 8-12 years),…

The interaction between a temperament profile (four groups determined by high vs. low resistance to control [unmanageability] and unadaptability [novelty distress]) and family stress in predicting externalizing problems at school in children followed from kindergarten through eighth grade (ages 5-13) was investigated. The sample consisted of 556…

The present study characterized prototypical patterns of development in self-reported externalizing behavior, between 12 and 22 years of age, within a community sample of 452 genotyped individuals. A Caucasian subset (n = 378) was then examined to determine whether their probabilities of displaying discrete trajectories were differentially…

This study examined childhood antecedents and developmental outcomes associated with trajectories of mild and harsh parental physical discipline. Interview, questionnaire, and observational data were available from 499 children followed from ages 5 to 16 and from 258 children in an independent sample followed from ages 5 to 15. Analyses indicated…

This study examined the bidirectional development of aggressive response evaluation and decision (RED) and antisocial behavior across five time points in adolescence. Participants (n = 522) were asked to imagine themselves behaving aggressively while viewing videotaped ambiguous provocations and answered a set of RED questions following each…

Many social science theories that examine the connection between beliefs and behaviors assume that belief constructs will predict behaviors similarly across development. Converging research implies that this assumption may not be tenable across all ages or all belief constructs. Thus, to test this implication, the relation between behavior and…

A longitudinal model of parent academic involvement, behavioral problems, achievement, and aspirations was examined for 463 adolescents, followed from 7th (approximately 12 years old) through 11th (approximately 16 years old) grades. Parent academic involvement in 7th grade was negatively related to 8th-grade behavioral problems and positively…

Examined links between parental knowledge and adolescent delinquent behavior for correlated rates of developmental change and reciprocal associations from age 14 to 18. Found that parent knowledge was negatively correlated with delinquent behaviors at age 14 and knowledge increases over time were negatively correlated with increases in…

Longitudinal studies in two countries investigated impact of father absence on girls' early sexual activity (ESA) and teenage pregnancy. Findings indicated that greater exposure to father absence strongly related to elevated ESA and adolescent pregnancy risk. Elevated risk was not explained (U.S. sample) or only partly explained (New Zealand…

Although the onset of illicit substance use during adolescence can hit parents abruptly like a raging flood, its origins likely start as a trickle in early childhood. Understanding antecedent factors and how they grow into a stream that leads to adolescent drug use is important for theories of social development as well as policy formulations to…

Examined how peer acceptance and friendships moderated the link between family adversity and child externalizing behavioral problems. Found that peer acceptance in kindergarten and Grade 1 moderated the relationship between family adversity measures and externalizing behavior problems in Grade 2; friendship served as a moderator for harsh…

Investigated the relationship between sleep patterns and behavioral adjustment with 4- to 5-year-old children from low-income families. Found that disrupted child sleep patterns, including variability in parentally reported amount of sleep, variability in bedtime, and lateness of bedtime, predicted less optimal adjustment in preschool, even after…

Examined early childhood antecedents and behavior-problem correlates of monitoring and psychological control during early adolescence. Found that monitoring was anteceded by proactive parenting style and advantageous family-ecological characteristics. Psychological control was anteceded by harsh parenting and mothers' report of earlier child…

Unsupervised after-school peer contact was examined as a risk factor in developing externalizing problems among early adolescents. Longitudinal findings showed that unsupervised peer contact, lack of neighborhood safety, and low monitoring incrementally predicted grade seven externalizing problems, after controlling for family background factors…

Examined effects of early supportive parenting on children's school adjustment. Found that supportive parenting (maternal warmth, proactive teaching, inductive discipline, and positive involvement) predicted adjustment (behavior problems, social skills, and academic performance) in grade 6, even after controlling for kindergarten adjustment and…