Child maltreatment and adolescent externalizing behavior: Examining the indirect and cross-lagged pathways of prosocial peer activities

Developmental Pathway from Childhood Abuse to Adolescent Peer Victimization: The Role of Rejection Sensitivity and Aggression

Despite the well-established relationship between early experiences of victimization and later re-victimization, little is known about the exact mechanism of this cycle of victimization. The present study examined whether the route from rejection sensitivity to aggression mediates the associations between different forms of childhood abuse and later peer victimization longitudinally. A total of 3525 adolescents (56.6% male; Mage = 13.21 ± 0.85) participated in this three-wave study, with a 6-month lag and a 9-month lag respectively. The results indicated that the association between childhood emotional abuse and peer victimization were independently mediated by aggression, and sequentially mediated by rejection sensitivity and aggression in both sexes. Sex differences existed regarding the association between childhood physical abuse and aggression, such that only in adolescent boys did physical abuse show significant effect on aggression, resulting in later peer victimization. In general, these findings suggest that maladaptive social-cognitive processes and behavioral patterns are crucial for understanding the mechanism of the vicious cycle of victimization, and sex differences must be considered when examining different types of childhood abuse.

Predictors of Trauma Symptoms Among Children Referred for Behavioral School-based Mental Health Counseling

Child mental health researchers often focus on interventions that improve externalizing problems (i.e., disruptive, aggressive, and impulsive behaviors), due to the relationship between children's externalizing behaviors and social, emotional, and academic disparities. School-based mental health counselors work to reduce externalizing problems due to the relationship between these behaviors and school-based problems, such as bullying victimization, school adjustment difficulties, and suspension. Children with complex trauma histories often exhibit externalizing problems. Unfortunately, limited research examines school trauma screening and guidelines for schools to effectively distinguish behavioral and trauma-related symptoms. As a result, we examined whether children's trauma symptoms predicted their externalizing problems that prompted referrals for school-based mental health counseling interventions at three Title-I elementary schools.

Childhood emotional but not physical or sexual maltreatment predicts prosocial behavior in late adolescence: A daily diary study

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment (CM), including physical, emotional, and sexual maltreatment, is detrimental to adolescents' psychological and behavioral outcomes. However, most studies on the relationship between CM and prosocial behavior focused on the overall experience of CM. Since different forms of CM exert various influences on adolescents, it is essential to find out which form of CM has the strongest link with prosocial behavior and the underlying mechanism behind it to fully understand this relationship and design a specific intervention for promoting prosocial behavior.

OBJECTIVE

Guided by internal working model theory and hopelessness theory, this study aimed to investigate the connections of multiple forms of CM with prosocial behavior, and explore the mediating mechanism of gratitude from the perspective of the broaden-and-build theory through a 14-day daily diary study.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 240 Chinese late adolescents (217 females; M_age = 19.02, SD_age = 1.83) from a college volunteered for this study and completed questionnaires regarding CM, gratitude, and prosocial behavior.

METHODS

A multilevel regression analysis was conducted to investigate which form of CM was correlated to prosocial behavior, and a multilevel mediation analysis was applied to examine the underlying mechanism (i.e., gratitude) behind this relationship.

RESULTS

The results of the multilevel regression analysis showed that it was childhood emotional maltreatment, but not physical or sexual maltreatment that negatively predicted prosocial behavior. The results of the multilevel mediation analysis indicated that gratitude mediated the relationship between childhood emotional maltreatment and prosocial behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from the present study highlight the predictive effect of childhood emotional maltreatment on late adolescents' prosocial behavior and the mediating role of gratitude in this link.

Early Emotional Experiences and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Roles of Psychological Suzhi and Subjective Socioeconomic Status

Prosocial behavior plays a vital role in adolescents’ well-being and social functioning, with the recall of early emotional experiences being a major influence. Positive experiences such as early memories of warmth and safeness (EMWS) contribute to prosocial interpersonal characteristics, whereas adverse experiences such as child psychological abuse and neglect (CPAN) lead to social withdrawal or behavioral problems. The direct effects of EMWS and CPAN on prosocial behavior were investigated in this study, along with the mediation effect of psychological suzhi and the moderation effect of subjective socioeconomic status (SSS). A sample of 948 adolescents (Mage = 14.05 years, SD = 1.68 years; 43.6% females) was randomly recruited to complete self-report questionnaires. Correlation results indicated that EMWS promoted prosocial behavior, whereas CPAN was negatively associated with prosocial behavior. Path analyses confirmed the mediating role of psychological suzhi on the effects of EMWS and CPAN on prosocial behavior. SSS was shown to moderate the effects of EMWS on prosocial behavior and CPAN on psychological suzhi. Compared to lower SSS, higher SSS would reinforce the positive impact of EMWS on prosocial behavior and exacerbate the negative impact of CPAN on psychological suzhi. The current study provided new insight into understanding the underlying mechanisms of prosocial behavior from the perspective of early emotional experiences.

A developmental cascade model of adolescent peer relationships, substance use, and psychopathological symptoms from child maltreatment

INTRODUCTION

Although previous studies have demonstrated high intercorrelations among deviant peer affiliation, substance use, externalizing and internalizing symptoms in adolescence, these studies have been limited because they did not examine 1) the associations over time by assuming one particular sequence; and 2) child maltreatment effects.

METHODS

This study included 617 adolescents (54.3 % girls, 55.6 % Black) at-risk of maltreatment living in the U.S and primarily low-income. Deviant peer affiliation was assessed at ages 12, 14, and 16 using 13 items from the modified version of the Youth Risk Behavior and Monitoring the Future Survey. Externalizing and internalizing symptoms were measured at ages 12, 14, and 16 using the Child Behavior Checklist. The number of substances used (ages 12, 14, 16, and 18) were created by summing the self-reported alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Each type of maltreatment (birth to age 12) was assessed using the self-report.

RESULTS

Autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation modeling explained the stability effects within each domain, as well as how different maltreatment types affect diverse developmental processes. Cross-lagged results showed the socialization effects of peers on substance use, whereas the peer selection effects on externalizing symptoms. Physical abuse was only associated with externalizing symptoms, while sexual abuse was associated with both externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Additionally, emotional abuse was associated with deviant peer affiliation and substance use.

CONCLUSIONS

Identifying the underlying reciprocal processes offers a deeper understanding of peer relationships in the substance use and externalizing symptoms among at-risk of maltreatment sample.

Maternal, Paternal, and Peer Relationships Differentially Predict Adolescent Behavioral Problems

The current study investigated how maternal, paternal, and peer social relationships predict adolescent behavioral problems using secondary data analyses of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). We aimed to examine differences between maternal and paternal relationships in predicting adolescent behavioral problems, and we hypothesized that parental relationships would more strongly predict adolescent behavioral problems than peer relationship in mid-adolescence. Participants were 929 adolescents at their 14-year-old visit. Hierarchical multiple regressions and multiple regression models revealed the following: Maternal relationship quality predicted fewer adolescent externalizing and total behavioral problems; paternal relationship quality predicted fewer internalizing problems; and peer popularity predicted fewer externalizing and total behavioral problems. In conclusion, mother-adolescent relationship may be more important for externalizing behavioral problems and father-adolescent relationship may be more important for internalizing behavioral problems. In middle adolescence, parental relationships are still more important than peer relationship in predicting adolescent behavioral problems. Study limitations and implications for research, policy, and practice were discussed.

Trajectories of Psychopathology According to Continuation or Discontinuation of Child Abuse: A Longitudinal Observational Study

Long-term exposure to childhood abuse and occurrence of mental illness are positively correlated. Using long-term tracking data in Korea, we identified the characteristics of children and adolescents who experienced abuse and impact thereof on their psychopathology. Using the Korea Welfare Panel data, 354 teenagers in grades 4–6 of elementary school participated, were assessed at baseline, and monitored 3 years later. They were categorized into Never, Occurrence, Continuation, and Discontinuation groups according to changes in the abuse experienced. Psychopathology was evaluated using K-CBCL. Childhood abuse experience significantly affected psychopathology. At the baseline, the Continuation and Discontinuation groups had a higher severity of psychopathology than the Never group. Psychopathology at the baseline was associated with whether the patient experienced abuse that year. In the follow-up observation, the risk of psychopathology in the Occurrence and Continuation groups was higher than that in the Never group. The Discontinuation group had decreased psychopathology, which was not clinically significant in the follow-up observation (INT aRR = 2.09; 95% CI 0.61–7.13, EXT aRR = 4.23; 95% CI 1.12–16.07). Stopping abuse in late childhood reduces adolescents’ psychopathology in the long term, meaning they can recover their normal developmental trajectory according to risk groups and provide effective interventions including discontinuation of abuse.