Externalizing Behavior Problems and Low Academic Achievement: Does a Causal Relation Exist?

Mediation of executive functions in the relationship between motor skills and psychosocial health in preschool children

Purpose

Early motor skills develop alongside executive functions and psychosocial health. However, the interaction between these elements in early childhood is not well-studied. This study aimed to examine whether executive functions mediate the relationship between motor skills and psychosocial health.

Methods

A total of 452 children (mean age = 6.14 ± 0.29 years, 48.9 % female) were included in this cross-sectional study. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2) was used to assess motor skills. Executive functions were measured using the Go/No-Go Test, Dimensional Change Card Sort Test, and List Sorting Working Memory Test from the Early Years Toolbox (ages 3-7). Social skills and problem behaviors were assessed using the preschool version of the Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scale (SSIS-RS). Structural equation modeling (SEM) with maximum likelihood estimation was employed to examine the mediating role of executive functions.

Results

Gross motor skills were positively associated with inhibition (β = 0.41, p < 0.01), shifting (β = 0.20, p < 0.01), working memory (β = 0.30, p < 0.01), social skills (β = 0.50, p < 0.05), and negatively associated with problem behaviors (β = -0.23, p < 0.05). Inhibition (β = 0.107, p < 0.001) and shifting (β = -0.018, p < 0.05) mediated the relationship between gross motor skills and social skills. Additionally, inhibition (β = -0.086, p < 0.001) and shifting (β = 0.019, p < 0.05) mediated the relationship between gross motor skills and problem behaviors. Fine motor skills were positively associated with inhibition (β = 0.35, p < 0.01), shifting (β = 0.16, p < 0.01), and working memory (β = 0.21, p < 0.01), but not significantly related to social skills (β = 0.08, p > 0.05) or problem behaviors (β = 0, p > 0.05). Inhibition (β = 0.144, p = 0.001) mediated the relationship between fine motor skills and social skills, while both inhibition (β = -0.102, p = 0.001) and shifting (β = 0.014, p = 0.041) mediated the relationship between fine motor skills and problem behaviors.

Conclusion

Executive functions significantly mediate the association between motor skills and psychosocial health in preschool children. Future experimental studies are required to examine causality in young children.

Predictors of Academic Performance Trajectories Across Early and Middle Adolescence: Links with Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Although there is ample evidence linking academic and behavioral domains, few studies have examined the long-term, varied impacts of academic performance trajectories on problem behavior outcomes, particularly in early and middle adolescence. This study examined the different three-year academic performance trajectories, their links with behavioral outcomes, and the demographic and educational predictors that distinguish these patterns. The sample consisted of 10,279 Chinese adolescents (46.43% girls; Mage = 12.97 years, SD = 0.89). Three trajectory groups emerged: Moderate Start with Steady Growth (45.93%), High Start with Accelerated Growth (36.89%), and Low Start with Minimal Growth (17.17%). Demographic and educational factors (i.e., age, parents' education, family income, family size, school climate, rank, and sector) predicted group membership. The High Start with Accelerated Growth group exhibited fewer externalizing problems than the other groups. The results underscored the differences in academic performance trajectories and their associations with the predictors and outcomes of problem behaviors, which has implications for academic and behavioral development.

Utility of Parent and Teacher Behavior Ratings for Self-Regulatory Outcomes of Preschool Children: A Multi-Study Examination

Despite frequent reliance on teacher and parent ratings of children's behavior for multi-informant assessment, agreement between teachers' and parents' ratings is low. This study examined the predictive utility of teacher and parent ratings for children's self-regulatory outcomes (i.e., executive function, continuous performance task) in four studies. Study 1 included 163 children ranging from 31 to 84 months of age (M = 55.58 months, SD = 8.43). Study 2 included 1,088 children ranging from 48 to 63 months of age (M = 55.15, SD = 3.65). Study 3 included 246 bilingual Spanish-speaking children ranging from 40 to 72 months of age (M = 56.66, SD = 6.06). Study 4 included 280 children ranging from 38 to 75 months of age (M = 55.92, SD = 4.16). Across studies, parents and teachers rated children's externalizing behaviors on the Conners' Rating Scale, the Strength and Weaknesses of ADHD-Symptoms and Normal Behavior Scale, or both; children completed a variety of performance-based self-regulation tasks. The strength of associations of parent and teacher ratings with self-regulatory outcomes was compared, and regression analyses determined the unique and overlapping variance accounted for by different raters. Teachers' ratings had larger associations with self-regulation than did parents' ratings across outcomes and studies-except for two instances in Study 4 where the associations for teachers' and parents' ratings were equal. These findings indicate that teachers supply more useful information than parents, possibly because teachers have better-informed expectations of children's behavior, and they raise questions about the utility of multi-informant assessment, at least with preschool children.

Challenges in the Transition to Kindergarten and Children's Well-Being Through Elementary School: Do School Transition Supports Matter?

This study examined how transition supports (i.e., school or classroom activities intended to support children and families during the transition to kindergarten) cluster within schools and how schools' use of transition supports are consequential for children's transition challenges (i.e., psychological adjustment during the transition to kindergarten) and academic and socioemotional well-being across elementary school. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2011 Cohort (ECLS-K 2011; N = 13,390), the current study illuminated the immediate and sustained association between transition challenges and children's academic and socioemotional outcomes. Mediation models demonstrated that children attending schools which offer high levels of basic transition supports experienced fewer transition challenges and in turn, experienced higher achievement, and better socioemotional well-being. Conversely, moderation models demonstrated that the links between transition challenges and children's outcomes did not vary based on schools' constellations of transition supports. The results serve as valuable insights for guiding interventions during the transition to kindergarten.

Relations Between Academic and Behavioral Adaptations: The Antecedent Effects of Executive Function

Using a large sample (n = 1163) from the National Institute of Child Health and Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model was employed to unpack the between-person and within-person aspects in the relations between children's academic performance and externalizing/internalizing behaviors during primary school and examined the predictive role of early executive function. Results showed that the reciprocal relations between state-level fluctuations in children's behavioral problems and academic performance were largely unsupported. Children with more advanced early executive function were found to have better academic performance and fewer behavioral problems throughout primary school, supporting the antecedent role of early executive function. These findings suggest that fostering executive function skills early on could be a key strategy for improving both academic outcomes and behavioral adjustment in children.

The Impact of Maternal Childhood Trauma on Children's Problem Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Maternal Depression and the Moderating Role of Mindful Parenting

Objective

This study investigates the impact of maternal childhood trauma on children's problem behaviors, focusing on the mediating role of maternal depression and the moderating role of mindful parenting.

Methods

The study used a convenience sampling method to survey 385 mother-child pairs from kindergartens in Jinan, China. Data were collected in two waves, and various validated questionnaires were used to assess maternal childhood trauma, depression, mindful parenting, and children's problem behaviors.

Results

Maternal childhood trauma positively predicted children's problem behaviors. Maternal depression was found to mediate this relationship. Mindful parenting moderated the effects of maternal childhood trauma and depression on children's problem behaviors, with high levels of mindful parenting mitigating these adverse effects.

Conclusion

Maternal childhood trauma impacts children's problem behaviors both directly and indirectly through maternal depression. Mindful parenting serves as a protective factor, reducing the negative impact of maternal childhood trauma and depression on children's problem behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of interventions aimed at enhancing mindful parenting practices to improve child outcomes.

The relation between reading and externalizing behavior: a correlational meta-analysis

Reading proficiency is important because it has life-long consequences and influences success in other academic areas. Many students with behavior problems are poor readers and many students with learning disabilities have more behavior problems than their typical peers. We conducted a correlational meta-analysis to examine the association between reading and externalizing behavior in students ages 5-12. We identified 33 studies that reported 88 effect sizes. Using a random-effects linear regression model with robust variance estimation, we found a significant, negative correlation (r= -0.1698, SE = 0.01, p < 0.0001) between reading and externalizing behavior. We tested several moderators related to measurement and sample characteristics. We found that rater type, behavior dimension (e.g., aggression), time between longitudinal measurement points, age of the sample, and percentage male of the sample moderated the relation between reading and behavior. Whether the reading assessment measured comprehension or word reading and socioeconomic status of the sample did not moderate the relation. Understanding the association between reading and externalizing behavior has implications for disability identification and intervention practices for children in elementary school. Future research should examine shared cognitive factors and environmental influences that explain the relation between the constructs.

Comparing the Predictive Utility of Parent and Teacher Reports of Externalizing Behaviors on Concurrent Academic Achievement in Preschool-Aged Children

Discrepancies between teacher and parent reports of children's externalizing behaviors are well documented. However, less research has examined the associations these different ratings have with objective indicators of functioning in other domains. The goal of this study was to compare the strength of association of parent and teacher reports of externalizing behaviors with children's early academic skills. The sample consisted of 695 children (376 boys, 318 girls, 1 unknown) who ranged between 48 months and 63 months of age (mean age = 55.05; SD = 3.63) at time of initial assessment. Children completed standardized measures of early academic skills; parents and teachers completed the Conners Rating Scale. Steiger's Z tests were performed to compare the strength of associations between parent and teacher ratings on children's early academic skills. Multi-level regressions examined the unique predictive variance each rater accounted for. Teacher ratings of inattentive and oppositional defiant behaviors had stronger associations with children's early academic skills than did parent ratings for most measures of early academic skills, but there were no significant differences for ratings of hyperactive/impulsive behaviors. Multivariate analyses revealed that only teacher ratings of inattentive behaviors accounted for notable portions of unique variance in early academic skills. Children's externalizing behaviors were related to their early academic skills. However, these results suggest that teachers contributed more unique variance, possibly due to their access to a normative reference group.

Educational performance and conduct problem trajectories from childhood to adolescence: Observational and genetic associations in a Brazilian birth cohort

Background

Educational difficulties are an important potential influence on both the onset and course of children's conduct problems. This study evaluated the association between school failure and children's conduct problems in Brazil, a context with high rates of both conditions, using both observational and genetic approaches.

Methods

Prospective, population-based, birth cohort study in Pelotas city, Brazil. Parents reported on conduct problems four times between ages 4-15 years, and group-based trajectory analysis was used to classify 3469 children into trajectories of childhood-limited, early-onset persistent, adolescence-onset, or low conduct problems. School failure was measured as having repeated a school grade up to age 11, and a polygenic risk score (PRS) predicting educational attainment was calculated. Multinomial adjusted regression models were used to estimate the association between school failure (observational measure and the PRS) and conduct problem trajectories. To consider possible variation in effects of school failure by social context, interactions were tested with family income and school environment (using both observational and PRS methods).

Results

Children repeating a school grade had increased odds of being on to childhood-limited (OR: 1.57; 95% CI 1.21; 2.03), adolescence-onset (OR: 1.96; 95% CI 1.39; 2.75), or early-onset persistent trajectory (OR: 2.99; 95% CI 1.85; 4.83), compared to the low conduct problem trajectory. School failure also predicted increased risk for early-onset persistent problems versus the childhood-limited problems (OR: 1.91; 95% CI 1.17; 3.09). Using a genetic PRS approach, similar findings were observed. Associations varied according to the school environment: school failure had larger effects on children in better school environments.

Conclusion

School performance, whether measured in terms of repeating school grades or genetic susceptibility, was consistently associated with trajectories of child conduct problems into mid-adolescence. We also found a larger association for children in better school environments.

School Racial Segregation and the Health of Black Children

OBJECTIVES

Few researchers have evaluated whether school racial segregation, a key manifestation of structural racism, affects child health, despite its potential impacts on school quality, social networks, and stress from discrimination. We investigated whether school racial segregation affects Black children's health and health behaviors.

METHODS

We estimated the association of school segregation with child health, leveraging a natural experiment in which school districts in recent years experienced increased school segregation. School segregation was operationalized as the Black-White dissimilarity index. We used ordinary least squares models as well as quasi-experimental instrumental variables analysis, which can reduce bias from unobserved confounders. Data from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1997-2014, n = 1248 Black children) were linked with district-level school segregation measures. Multivariable regressions were adjusted for individual-, neighborhood-, and district-level covariates. We also performed subgroup analyses by child sex and age.

RESULTS

In instrumental variables models, a one standard deviation increase in school segregation was associated with increased behavioral problems (2.53 points on a 27-point scale; 95% CI, 0.26 to 4.80), probability of having ever drunk alcohol (0.23; 95% CI, 0.049 to 0.42), and drinking at least monthly (0.20; 95% CI, 0.053 to 0.35). School segregation was more strongly associated with drinking behaviors among girls.

CONCLUSIONS

School segregation was associated with worse outcomes on several measures of well-being among Black children, which may contribute to health inequities across the life span. These results highlight the need to promote school racial integration and support Black youth attending segregated schools.

Short-Term Exposure to Nature and Benefits for Students’ Cognitive Performance: a Review

There is growing interest recently in the outdoor environment surrounding schools where students spent time during breaks, in-school activities, and after-school programs. Several reviews have examined the impact of long-term exposures to nearby nature on students’ academic achievement, but none has focused on the effects of short-term contacts with nature on students’ cognitive performance. The aim of this review is to understand the context in which short-term passive exposures to greenness occur, how cognitive performance is measured, and the conditions under which cognitive benefits emerge at various educational levels. We reviewed 14 studies in the extant literature that report investigations involving students at different educational levels, from elementary school to university, in a short exposure to nature lasting from 10 to 90 min during a study day. The review shows that in 12 out of the 14 studies, across educational levels, cognitive benefits emerge in terms of directed attention restoration from mental fatigue due to contact with nature. A no-cost opportunity to sustain students’ cognition is a break in a green environment after mentally demanding activities.