Longitudinal Discrepancy in Adolescent Aggressive Behavior Problems: Differences by Reporter and Contextual Factors

Direct and Indirect Longitudinal Associations of Mother and Father Engagement in Middle Childhood on Adolescent Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors

Parent engagement is an important aspect of parenting during childhood. However, little is known about the unique longitudinal associations of mother and father engagement with adolescents' externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. This study uses Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study data to examine the potential direct and indirect associations of parent engagement at age 9 on adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors at age 15. The analytic sample size is 1349, and at age 9, the mean age of children was 9.40 years (SD = 0.37). Forty-eight percent of children were female and 68% of them were from the married families. The results show that while controlling for mother engagement, higher father engagement at age 9 was directly associated with fewer adolescent internalizing behaviors, only among adolescent boys and in married families. In addition, among adolescent boys, father engagement had an indirect association with externalizing behaviors through father-child closeness. Mother engagement, however, is only found to have an indirect association with adolescents' externalizing and internalizing behaviors through maternal hostility (while controlling for father engagement). The results for mother engagement held for boys and in married families only. The findings indicate that both mother and father engagement during childhood is important and helpful to prevent adolescent problem behaviors directly or indirectly via parent-child relationship.

Deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression during early adolescence: within-person effects and between-person differences

Abundant studies have explored the relations among deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression without separating within-person from between-person effects. Moreover, it is unclear whether self-control mediates the associations between deviant peer affiliation and aggression during early adolescence. This longitudinal study used Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model to examine the dynamic relations among deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression within individuals, including examining whether self-control mediated the relations between deviant peer affiliation and aggression. A total of 4078 early adolescents (54% boys, Mage = 9.91, SD = 0.73) completed questionnaires on four occasions across 2 years. Results indicated: (a) Deviant peer affiliation and aggression positively predicted each other; (b) Self-control and aggression negatively predicted each other but were unstable; (c) Deviant peer affiliation and self-control negatively predicted each other; and (d) Self-control mediated the path from aggression to deviant peer affiliation, but not vice versa. The results more precisely identify the relations among deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression within individuals, providing valuable information for prevention and intervention programs targeted at alleviating early adolescent aggression.

Cross-informant ratings on emotional and behavioral problems in Nepali adolescents: A comparison of adolescents' self-reports with parents' and teachers' reports

BACKGROUND

Studies on cross-informant agreement on adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs) are sparse in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to assess parent-adolescent and teacher-adolescent agreement on EBPs and associated factors in Nepal.

METHODS

This cross-sectional survey included 1904 school-going adolescents aged 11-18, enrolled in government and private schools located in sixteen districts of Nepal. The Nepali versions of the Youth Self Report, Child Behavior Checklist, and Teacher's Report Form were administered to assess EBPs reported by adolescents, their parents, and teachers, respectively. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done to assess mean differences in problem scores. Pearson's correlation was used to assess cross-informant agreement. Linear regression analysis was used to explore factors associated with cross-informant discrepancies in EBPs.

RESULTS

Adolescents reported significantly more problems than their parents and teachers. Mean Total Problem scores for the 90 common items in the adolescents' self-reports, parent reports, and teacher reports were 34.5 (standard deviation [SD]: 21.4), 24.1 (SD = 19.2), and 20.2 (SD = 17.5) respectively. Parent-adolescent agreement on Total Problems was moderate, whereas teacher-adolescent agreement was low. The parent-adolescent agreement was moderate to low for the two broadband scales and all syndrome scales, whereas the teacher-adolescent agreement was low for all scales. Female gender and ethnic minority status impacted both parent-adolescent and teacher-adolescent discrepancies. Family stress/conflicts impacted parent-adolescent discrepancies, while academic performance impacted teacher-adolescent discrepancies.

CONCLUSIONS

Nepali adolescents reported more EBPs than their parents and teachers. The agreement between adolescents' self-reports and reports by their parents and teachers was moderate to low. Gender, caste/ethnicity, family stress/conflicts, and academic performance were associated with cross-informant discrepancies. It is crucial to collect information from different sources, consider context-specific needs, and discern factors influencing cross-informant discrepancies to accurately assess adolescents' EBPs and develop personalized approaches to treatment planning.

Becoming a Teenager after Early Surgical Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) Repair: Longitudinal Biopsychological Data on Mental Health and Maternal Involvement

Beside somatic strains of congenital heart diseases (CHD), affected children often show developmental impairments in the long term. Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is the most common congenital heart defect and early surgical repair is associated with positive somatic outcomes. However, psychological adjustment is of lifelong relevance. We investigated 24 children with a surgically-corrected isolated VSD and their mothers from primary school (6-9 years) to adolescence (10-14 years) and compared them to controls. Both times, mothers reported child internalizing/externalizing problems, mothers and children rated child quality of life, and children performed neurodevelopmental tests. Adolescents also rated internalizing/externalizing problems themselves, and their hair cortisol levels were analyzed. Maternal anxiety and proactive parenting behavior were considered as moderators. Results revealed no group differences in child neurodevelopment (language, cognition), externalizing problems, and cortisol levels at any time. In reports from mothers, internalizing problems (depression, anxiety) were elevated in children with a VSD at both times-when mothers reported anxiety symptoms themselves. In adolescent reports, VSD patients' quality of life was increased and internalizing problems were decreased-proactive parenting behavior went along with decreased symptoms in VSD-affected adolescents and with increased symptoms in controls. The findings pronounce the crucial role of parenting behavior and the influence of maternal anxieties on child mental health after surgical VSD repair and might highlight the need for parent-centered interventions.

Adolescent Mental Health and Family Economic Hardships: The Roles of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Family Conflict

Rising and economically disproportionate rates of adverse mental health outcomes among children and youth warrant research investigating the complex pathways stemming from socioeconomic status. While adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been considered a possible mechanism linking socioeconomic status (SES) and child and youth psychopathology in previous studies, less is understood about how family environments might condition these pathways. Using data from a longitudinal, multiple-wave study, the present study addresses this gap by examining the direct relationships between family economic status and youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms, if ACEs mediate these relationships, and if conflictual family environments moderate these direct and indirect relationships. The data were obtained from 5510 youth participants [mean age at baseline = 9.52 (SD = 0.50), 47.7% female, 2.1% Asian, 10.3% Black, 17.6% Hispanic, 9.8% Multiracial/Multiethnic, 60.2% White] and their caretakers from the baseline, 1-year, and 2-year follow up waves. Conditional process analysis assessed the direct, indirect, and moderated relationships in separate, equivalent models based on youth- versus caregiver-raters of ACEs and youth psychopathology to capture potential differences based on the rater. The results of both the youth- and caregiver-rated models indicated that lower family economic status directly predicted higher levels of externalizing symptoms, and ACEs indirectly accounted for higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Additionally, family conflict moderated some, but not all, of these relationships. The study's findings highlight that lower family economic status and ACEs, directly and indirectly, contribute to early adolescent psychopathology, and conflictual family environments can further intensify these relationships. Implementing empirically supported policies and interventions that target ACEs and family environments may disrupt deleterious pathways between SES and youth psychopathology.

Longitudinal Within-Family Association between Parental Monitoring and Adolescent Aggressive Behaviors: Mothering Versus Fathering

This study using PROSPER data (N = 977, age 11.5 to age 15) investigated the longitudinal within-family associations between parent-reported parental monitoring and adolescent aggression. Importantly, this study is the first one to examine parent gender and adolescent gender differences on these within-family associations. Results differed between mothers and fathers. There was a negative, bidirectional within-family association between maternal monitoring and adolescent aggression, such that more maternal monitoring than usual was associated with fewer adolescent aggressive behavior problems than usual within the same family, and vice versa. In contrast, during mid-adolescence, a positive, bidirectional within-family association between paternal monitoring and adolescent males' aggression was found, such that more paternal monitoring than usual was related to more adolescent males' aggression than usual within the same family, and vice versa. Practical implications on intervention strategies are discussed.