Developmental cascades: linking academic achievement and externalizing and internalizing symptoms over 20 years

A network approach to personality vulnerability symptom structure across early, middle, and late adolescence: Insights from a large-scale sample

BACKGROUND

The two-polarity model of personality development posits that personality vulnerabilities, specifically dependency and self-criticism, play a critical role in adolescent psychopathology risk. This theoretical framework emphasizes the importance of understanding how these vulnerabilities manifest and develop during adolescence, as adolescents face distinct developmental challenges at different stages. However, existing research overlooks the impact of stage-specific challenges on the development of personality vulnerabilities.

METHOD

This study included 24,946 Chinese adolescents (Mage ± SD = 15.50 ± 2.03; 46.50 % girls) divided into three age groups: early (10-13 years, N = 4652), middle (14-17 years, N = 15,065), and late (18-20 years, N = 5229). We employed network analysis to investigate the symptom structure of self-criticism and dependency through different adolescent stages, focusing on core symptoms (highly connected nodes), bridges (links between dependency and self-criticism), and potential causal relationships.

RESULT

Feelings of disappointing others and loneliness after arguments are consistently central to self-criticism and dependency, respectively. Connections between these vulnerabilities change across stages. Evidence from the directed acyclic graph suggests that self-criticism gradually replaces dependency as the key to triggering experiences of personality vulnerability from early to late adolescence.

CONCLUSION

This study identified the personality vulnerability network structure across three stages of adolescents. The results highlight a developmental shift in the triggering sequences of personality vulnerability, moving from predominantly dependency in early adolescence to increased self-criticism in later stages. These insights underscore the significance of the developmental context in shaping personality vulnerabilities across adolescence and offer crucial directions for stage-specific interventions.

Smart Beginnings Predicts Reduced Externalizing Behavior Via Parental Negative Demeanor During Discipline

The goal of this study was to examine the impacts of the Smart Beginnings (SB) intervention, a tiered model that combines universal primary prevention and targeted secondary prevention, on parental negative affect during discipline and children's externalizing behavior. Analyses included 273 families who were randomly assigned to SB or control groups at birth. Parental negative affect during discipline and child externalizing behavior were assessed through parent report at age four and six, respectively. Compared to the control group, families in SB had significantly reduced parental negative affect during discipline, with indirect effects on children's externalizing behavior through impacts on parent affect during discipline, both for the full sample and specifically for families with increased risks. Findings suggest that interventions aimed at promoting positive parent-child interactions may have important impacts on parenting behaviors and may prevent the onset of child behavior problems, with important implications for the implementation of preventive interventions. This study examined the impacts of the Smart Beginnings (SB) tiered model, which combines universal primary prevention and targeted secondary prevention, on parental negative demeanor during discipline-negative parental behavioral traits that are expressed through anger, verbal aggression, or demeaning behavior-and children's externalizing behavior. Analyses included 273 families randomly assigned to SB or control groups at birth. Parental negative demeanor during discipline was assessed through parent report (Socolar Discipline Survey) at age four and child externalizing behavior (CBCL) at age six. Compared to controls, regression analyses indicated that families in SB had significantly reduced parental negative demeanor during discipline, with mediation analyses suggesting indirect effects on child externalizing through impacts on parent demeanor during discipline, moderated by family risk level. Findings indicate that interventions aimed at promoting positive parent-child interactions may impact parenting behaviors and prevent onset of child behavior problems, with important implications for implementation of preventive interventions.

Longitudinal analysis of the ABCD® study

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development® (ABCD) Study provides a unique opportunity to investigate developmental processes in a large, diverse cohort of youths, aged approximately 9-10 at baseline and assessed annually for 10 years. Given the size and complexity of the ABCD Study, researchers analyzing its data will encounter a myriad of methodological and analytical considerations. This review provides an examination of key concepts and techniques related to longitudinal analyses of the ABCD Study data, including: (1) characterization of the factors associated with variation in developmental trajectories; (2) assessment of how level and timing of exposures may impact subsequent development; (3) quantification of how variation in developmental domains may be associated with outcomes, including mediation models and reciprocal relationships. We emphasize the importance of selecting appropriate statistical models to address these research questions. By presenting the advantages and potential challenges of longitudinal analyses in the ABCD Study, this review seeks to equip researchers with foundational knowledge and tools to make informed decisions as they navigate and effectively analyze and interpret the multi-dimensional longitudinal data currently available.

Transactional Relations between Study Habits and Behavioral Problem during Middle Childhood: an Actor-Partner analysis in Chinese Friendship Dyads

This longitudinal study examined the transactional relations between study habits and behavioral problems within and between children and the potential gender differences in the above relations during middle childhood in China. The participants were 260 children, drawn from 157 stable friendship dyads, who were initially in third and fourth grades (T1 Mage = 9.84 years). Parents completed internalizing and externalizing problem measures, children completed internalizing/externalizing problem and peer nomination measures and teacher reported study habits at two time points one year apart. The actor-partner analysis revealed that children's internalizing problems negatively predicted their friends' study habits one year later, and their externalizing problems negatively predicted their own and their friends' study habits one year later. However, only girls' study habits negatively and marginally predicted their friends' externalizing problems. The results suggest that instructions integrating study habits and behavioral problems among peers may be an important avenue for enhancing children's academic and social-emotion development in China, but these interventions should be distinct for boys and girls.

Associations between trajectories of depressive symptoms and cognitive performance in Chinese adolescents

Subclinical depressive symptoms and the associated risk of cognitive deficits have been overlooked. We aimed to investigate depressive symptom trajectories and the effect of depressive symptoms on cognitive performance among Chinese adolescents. The research population of our study was 1314 adolescents aged 10-15 years old from the China Family Panel Studies. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was used to assess the depressive symptoms of adolescents. Vocabulary and mathematics tests were used to test fluid intelligence. Memory and number series tests were used to test crystal intelligence. The 6-year depressive symptom trajectories of adolescents were identified by the latent class mixed model. Linear regression models and Generalized Estimating Equation models were applied to test the associations between depressive symptom trajectories and cognitive performance. We identified three distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms: (a) low depressive symptom trajectory (88.51%), (b) remitting depressive symptom trajectory (5.86%), (c) decreasing depressive symptom trajectory (5.63%). We found that decreasing depressive symptom trajectory predicted worse fluid intelligence (β: -0.51, 95% CI: -0.88, -0.13) and crystal intelligence (β: -2.09, 95% CI: -3.78, -0.41) compared with low depressive symptom trajectory. Gender-stratified analysis showed that the negative association between depressive symptoms trajectory and crystal intelligence was only found in males. Depressive symptom episodes in early adolescence were associated with worse cognitive performance later. Performing mental health screenings, especially during the sensitive windows of cognitive development, is critical to reducing the negative impact of depressive symptoms.

The Joint Development of Self-Regulation and Expressive Language in Preschool Classrooms: Preliminary Evidence from a Low-Income Sample

Self-regulation and expressive language are theorized to develop in tandem, shaped by children's social interactions in context, including interactions with teachers and peers in the preschool classroom. In the present study, we examined reciprocal associations between two components of self-regulation (behavior regulation and emotion regulation) and two components of expressive language skills (expressive vocabulary and narrative language) across two time points during the preschool year. We also explored whether individual children's interactions with teachers and peers moderate these associations. Participants were 767 preschool children (49% female; M = 53 months old; 49% Black, 22% White, 13% Hispanic, 14% multiracial/other) from low-income households. A multivariate latent change score model provided evidence that early self-regulation predicts increases in expressive language; fall emotion regulation predicted increases in narrative language and fall behavior regulation predicted increases in expressive vocabulary. Empirical support was also found for early expressive language predicting increases in self-regulation; fall expressive vocabulary predicted increases in behavior regulation. Moderation analysis indicated that some of these associations depended on individual children's interactions with peers, but not with teachers. Results provide preliminary evidence for the joint development of expressive language and self-regulation in early childhood classrooms.

Social Support and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents: The Differential Influences of Family, Friends, and Teachers

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is common among adolescents and is associated with a range of detrimental consequences. Family, teachers, and friends are essential sources of social support for adolescents. Increased social support from these sources may reduce NSSI behaviors among adolescents. However, it is uncertain if each source of social support retains its significance when their influences are evaluated simultaneously, and how each source influences the others to impact NSSI behaviors. To address this gap, this research investigated the direct and indirect effects of each source of social support on adolescent NSSI using cross-lagged panel model (CLPM), as well as whether these relationships varied by sex. A total of 3098 Chinese adolescents with a range of 10 to 15 years old (Mage = 13.27, SD = 0.73, 42.4% girls) completed assessments on three waves across approximately two years. The results indicated that teacher support compared to family and friend support showed the strongest association with NSSI behaviors and mediated the relationship between family support and NSSI. These findings highlight teacher support as a hub in the role of social support on NSSI and emphasize the importance of the connections between teacher and family support.

Paternal Depression at Kindergarten Entry and Teacher-Reported Behavior at Age 9 Years

INTRODUCTION

This study investigated associations between paternal depression when children were age 5 years and teacher-reported behavioral problems at age 9 years.

METHODS

1,422 children in a U.S. cohort study of mostly nonmarital births were studied. Data collection, which is ongoing, began in 1998-2000. Behavioral outcomes were measured in 2009-2010, when the children transitioned to middle school. Analysis was conducted in 2023-2024. Negative binomial regression models of associations between paternal depression and children's behavior and social skill scores and logistic regression models of associations between paternal depression and high (≥1 sSD above mean) or low (≥1 SD below mean) scores were estimated.

RESULTS

Adjusting for child/paternal/family characteristics and maternal depression, paternal depression was associated with a 36% higher oppositional score (IRR=1.36; 95% CI=1.02, 1.82), 37% higher hyperactive score (IRR=1.37; 95% CI=1.11, 1.69) and 25% higher ADHD score (IRR=1.25; 95% CI=1.08, 1.46) but not associated with cognitive problem/inattention score. A similar pattern was apparent for high behavior problem scores, with AORs from 1.78 to 1.85. Paternal depression was associated with an 11% lower positive social skills score and a 25% higher problematic behavior score with similar associations across subscales. Similar patterns were apparent for some high problematic and low positive social skills.

CONCLUSIONS

Paternal depression when children transitioned to kindergarten was associated with poorer teacher ratings of behaviors and social skills at age 9 years. These findings suggest a need for interventions that identify and support fathers with depressive symptoms and their children.

Longitudinal Relationship between Aggressive Behavior and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury among Adolescent Boys and Girls: The Mediating Role of Peer Victimization

Although a large body of research has found associations between aggressive behavior and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), evidence for the directionality, underlying mechanisms, and potential gender differences in their associations remain unclear. To address the gaps, this study investigated the bidirectional relationship between aggressive behavior and NSSI, the mediating role of peer victimization (physical and relational victimization), and gender differences in these associations among a sample of Chinese adolescents. Using a longitudinal design, a total of 1394 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 13.39, SD = 0.59, 43.3% girls) completed surveys across three waves, with intervals of nine and six months, respectively. The results revealed that within the total sample, T1 aggressive behavior positively predicted T2 physical victimization, and T2 physical victimization positively predicted T3 NSSI. T1 NSSI positively predicted T2 relational victimization, and T2 relational victimization positively predicted T3 aggressive behavior. However, the indirect effect of T1 aggressive behavior on T3 NSSI mediated by T2 physical victimization was significant only for boys. The indirect effect of T1 NSSI on T3 aggressive behavior mediated by T2 relational victimization was significant only for girls. These findings highlighted the importance of considering the gender-specific process underlying the relationship between aggressive behavior and NSSI, thus guiding the development of gender-informed prevention and intervention strategies.

Bullying Victimization, Non-suicidal Self-injury, and Psychotic-like Experiences in Chinese Rural Adolescents: Exploring Transactional Associations

Previous research has provided clues to the association between bullying victimization, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). However, these studies have been limited in their failure to examine both the directions of the associations and the underlying mediating mechanisms. Furthermore, there has been little investigation into the longitudinal associations among these variables in rural adolescents. This study aimed to address the aforementioned limitations by examining the bidirectional associations and the potential mediating mechanisms among bullying victimization, NSSI, and PLEs in a sample of Chinese rural adolescents. A total of 526 junior middle school students (42.6% males; average age = 14.62, SD = 1.15, age range = 12 to 16 years old) from a rural county in Guangdong province, China were recruited and assessed at three time points spanning one year. Cross-Lagged Panel Models (CLPMs) were employed to investigate the prospective focal longitudinal associations. CLPMs revealed that notable reciprocal associations were observed between bullying victimization and NSSI, as well as between NSSI and PLEs. Moreover, PLEs at Time 1 significantly predicted bullying victimization at Time 2. Additionally, only the indirect path from Time 1 PLEs to Time 3 bullying victimization via Time 2 NSSI was significant. This study sheds light on the bidirectional associations and underlying mediating mechanisms among bullying victimization, NSSI, and PLEs in rural adolescents. The findings highlight the importance of considering the complex interplay between these factors and the need for targeted interventions to address the mental health concerns in this population.

Umbrella review of meta-analyses on the risk factors, protective factors, consequences and interventions of cyberbullying victimization

The increasing prevalence of cyberbullying victimization has become a commonplace issue globally. Although research has explored various predictors and consequences of cyberbullying victimization, most focus on a narrow range of variables or contexts, highlighting the need to comprehensively review and synthesize the wealth of empirical findings. We conducted a systematic review of meta-analyses on cyberbullying victimization, incorporating 56 meta-analyses and 296 effect sizes (sample size range 421-1,136,080, sample size median 53,183; searched via EBSCOhost ERIC, EBSCOhost PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, 13 cyberbullying-related journals, Google Scholar and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses) to address the following critical questions: (1) What are the crucial sociodemographic and psychological profiles of cyberbullying victims? (2) What critical contextual and environmental factors are associated with cyberbullying victimization? (3) What are the key psychological and behavioural consequences of cyberbullying victimization? (4) How effective are existing interventions in mitigating impacts of cyberbullying? Included meta-analyses had to focus on cyberbullying victimization and report at least one predictor or consequence. A quality assessment was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Instrument for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses. Findings suggest that females, school-aged populations, traditional bullying victims and frequent internet users were more likely to be cyberbullied. Unregulated school environments and unsupportive parental relationships were also associated with increased cyberbullying victimization. Cyberbullying victimization was consistently associated with negative psychological outcomes, lower school performance and maladaptive coping behaviours. More importantly, the current review found that cyberbullying intervention programmes show promising results. The current review underscores the importance of devoting adequate resources to mitigating cyberbullying victimization.

Applying an Indigenous Connectedness Framework to Examine Environmental Risk and Protective Factors for Urban American Indian Children's Executive Function Development

Indigenous frameworks suggest environmental risk and protective factors for American Indian (AI) children's development can be understood in terms of connecting and disconnecting forces in five domains: spirituality, family, intergenerational ties, community, and environment/land. This study examined the prevalence of these forces among 156 urban AI parents and their children (mean age = 10.69, SD = 1.92) and investigated associations with child executive function (EF). Parents reported on three disconnecting forces (parent stressful life events, discrimination, and neighborhood risks) and two connecting forces (knowledge of tribal history and engagement with cultural beliefs and traditional practices). Parents rated children's EF using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and a subsample of children (n = 81) provided self-report EF data. Controlling for income and child age, connecting forces (parent engagement with cultural beliefs and traditional practices and knowledge of tribal history) were associated with higher parent-reported and child self-reported EF, while disconnecting forces (discrimination and neighborhood risk) were related to lower child EF. Findings highlight the protective role of cultural connectedness for urban AI children's cognitive development, and the importance of centering Indigenous theory in risk and resilience research with AI families.

Psychiatric Symptoms, Cognition, and Symptom Severity in Children

Importance

Mental illnesses are a leading cause of disability globally, and functional disability is often in part caused by cognitive impairments across psychiatric disorders. However, studies have consistently reported seemingly opposite findings regarding the association between cognition and psychiatric symptoms.

Objective

To determine if the association between general cognition and mental health symptoms diverges at different symptom severities in children.

Design, Setting, and Participants

A total of 5175 children with complete data at 2 time points assessed 2 years apart (aged 9 to 11 years at the first assessment) from the ongoing Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study were evaluated for a general cognition factor and mental health symptoms from September 2016 to August 2020 at 21 sites across the US. Polynomial and generalized additive models afforded derivation of continuous associations between cognition and psychiatric symptoms across different ranges of symptom severity. Data were analyzed from December 2022 to April 2024.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Aggregate cognitive test scores (general cognition) were primarily evaluated in relation to total and subscale-specific symptoms reported from the Child Behavioral Checklist.

Results

The sample included 5175 children (2713 male [52.4%] and 2462 female [47.6%]; mean [SD] age, 10.9 [1.18] years). Previously reported mixed findings regarding the association between general cognition and symptoms may consist of several underlying, opposed associations that depend on the class and severity of symptoms. Linear models recovered differing associations between general cognition and mental health symptoms, depending on the range of symptom severities queried. Nonlinear models confirm that internalizing symptoms were significantly positively associated with cognition at low symptom burdens higher cognition = more symptoms) and significantly negatively associated with cognition at high symptom burdens.

Conclusions and Relevance

The association between mental health symptoms and general cognition in this study was nonlinear. Internalizing symptoms were both positively and negatively associated with general cognition at a significant level, depending on the range of symptom severities queried in the analysis sample. These results appear to reconcile mixed findings in prior studies, which implicitly assume that symptom severity tracks linearly with cognitive ability across the entire spectrum of mental health. As the association between cognition and symptoms may be opposite in low vs high symptom severity samples, these results reveal the necessity of clinical enrichment in studies of cognitive impairment.

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.

Changes in the association between educational achievement, attainment and subsequent mental health: A survival analysis of 21 Swedish graduation cohorts

BACKGROUND

Low academic achievement and low educational attainment in adolescence is associated with higher risks of internalizing disorders later in life. However, less is known regarding if these associations vary over time across cohorts. The aim of this study was to investigate temporal changes in the association between academic achievement or educational attainment and subsequent inpatient treatment for internalizing disorders among Swedish youths.

METHODS

Register data on all students graduating from compulsory school in Sweden between 1990 and 2010 (N = 2 252 703) were used. Students were followed for a maximum of 8 years using discrete time proportional hazard models. Internalized disorders were measured by specialized inpatient psychiatric care for depression or anxiety disorders. Academic achievement was measured by grades at the end of compulsory school, and educational attainment by completion of upper secondary school.

RESULTS

The positive association between inpatient treatment for internalizing disorders and both low compulsory school achievement and non-completion of upper secondary school became stronger in more recent cohorts. The results were completely driven by girls and native-born youth.

CONCLUSIONS

Low compulsory school achievements and failure to complete upper secondary school has become more important risk factors for inpatient treatment for internalizing disorders, particularly in native-born youth and girls. More research is needed to establish whether youth with internalizing disorders increasingly fail in school or whether low achievement has become more harmful for mental health.

Associations between academic achievement and internalizing disorders in Swedish students aged 16 years between 1990 and 2018

BACKGROUND

Rising rates of internalizing disorders and rising rates of school failure among adolescents are growing concerns. Despite the strong association between academic achievement and internalizing disorders, possible links between these two trends have not been investigated. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the development of the cross-sectional associations between academic achievement and internalizing disorders in Swedish students aged 16 years between 1990 and 2018.

METHODS

Register data on specialist psychiatric care and prescriptions of psycholeptic and psychotropic drugs were linked to data on students' school grades in the last year of compulsory school. The total sample size was 3,089,674 students. Logistic regression models with internalizing disorders as the dependent variable, and graduation year and academic achievement as independent variables, were estimated.

RESULTS

Throughout the period, there was a strong negative association between academic achievement and internalizing disorders. Low-achieving students had by far the highest risks of internalizing disorders. In absolute terms, the increase in internalizing disorders was clearly largest for low-achieving students. The relative risks for low-achieving compared to higher achieving students increased between 1990 and 2010 and declined after 2010.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found consistently large, and at least until 2010 growing, achievement-related inequalities in internalizing disorders among Swedish adolescents between 1990 and 2018, with the lowest achieving students having disproportionally high risks. The increasingly pronounced concentration of internalizing disorders in the lowest rungs of the achievement distribution suggests that preventive interventions should focus on supporting this doubly disadvantaged group of students.

Father presence, adolescent girls' resilience, psychological security, and achievement goal orientation: examining direct and indirect associations

In the developmental research, studies on the importance of fathers in the parent-child relationship is insufficient, especially the father-daughter relationship. Thus far, a few studies have investigated whether father presence influences adolescent daughters' resilience. Therefore, this study investigated the extent to which intermediary factors affect the relationship between father presence and daughters' resilience. A total of 718 Chinese female high school students participated in a questionnaire survey. The results showed father presence was positively related to resilience in female high school students. Additionally, psychological security fully mediated the relationship between father presence and daughters' resilience, whereas achievement goal orientation partially mediated this relationship; specifically, the mastery-approach and performance-approach orientations. The results highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implications of father presence and daughter's resilience in Chinese culture.

Examining the Effectiveness of an Intensive Telemental Health Treatment for Pediatric Anxiety and OCD During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Pediatric Mental Health Crisis

Despite research supporting the efficacy of weekly outpatient videoconferencing-based cognitive behavioral therapy (VCBT), limited evidence exists about the benefits of leveraging VCBT for brief intensive formats. We examined the effectiveness of an intensive outpatient VCBT targeting pediatric anxiety and OCD. Quasi-experimental design was used to compare outcomes of intensive, in-person, group-based cognitive-behavioral therapy with medication management and caregiver guidance pre-pandemic, to a similar VCBT peri-pandemic (n = 130). Pretreatment and posttreatment assessments included patient- and caregiver-report of anxiety and functional impairment. Analyses of covariance were conducted, examining changes in anxiety and impairment between treatment groups, controlling for admission levels. No significant differences in posttreatment anxiety or impairment were observed between conditions. This study illustrates that intensive, group-based treatment for pediatric anxiety and OCD using VCBT is associated with comparable reductions in anxiety and impairment. It marks a crucial step toward providing broader access to quality care for youth in need.

Predictors of Stability/Change in Observed Parenting Patterns Across Early Childhood: A Latent Transition Approach

Parenting has long been a topic of research based on its importance for family and child outcomes. Recent methodological advances in person-centered approaches suggest that our understanding of parenting could be further advanced by examining parenting typologies across various parenting behaviors longitudinally. Accordingly, the current study aims to examine latent transitions in parenting practice patterns across four annual assessments during early childhood and examine whether individual- and family-level factors at baseline discriminate parenting transition patterns. Data from four waves (ages 2, 3, 4, and 5) of a study of 731 caregiver-child dyads from a randomized controlled trial were used. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) were conducted to investigate underlying types of parenting practices at each age and longitudinal parenting practice transition patterns that represent continuity and change. For the LCA, two latent classes emerged at all four waves, representing 'lower warmth; higher negative interaction' (Dysregulated) and 'higher warmth; lower negative interaction' (Warm) parenting groups. The LTA model with two classes at all waves was conducted with good fit. The results showed diversity in the transition patterns over time, especially non-linear patterns of parenting across early childhood. Using multinominal logistic regression, six transition patterns, collapsed from 16 possible patterns, were predicted by family factors such as child sex, family income, primary caregivers' race, parental involvement, child inhibitory control, and child externalizing behaviors. Findings have implications for parenting assessment, practice, and analysis.

Leaders of Peer Groups in Chinese Early Adolescents: The Roles of Social, Academic, and Psychological Characteristics in Group Leadership

Leadership in peer groups is an important issue in adolescent socioemotional development, yet it has received limited attention in research. This one-year longitudinal study examined peer group leadership and the roles of social, academic, and psychological characteristics in the dynamics of group leadership. Participants included 1061 Chinese students (initial mean age =11.17 years; SD = 6.98 months; 49.4% female). Data were collected from peer assessments, teacher ratings, and self-reports. The longitudinal social network analysis (SIENA) indicated that peer group leadership was fluid with leadership status evolving over time across groups in a hierarchical manner. Adolescents displaying higher social competence and aggression and lower shyness were more likely to become group leaders. Academic performance and loneliness were not significantly associated with the dynamics of peer group leadership. The results help understand peer group leadership and contributions of social behaviors to the attainment of leadership status in peer groups in early adolescence.

"Weeding out" violence? Translational perspectives on the neuropsychobiological links between cannabis and aggression

Recent shifts in societal attitudes towards cannabis have led to a dramatic increase in consumption rates in many Western countries, particularly among young people. This trend has shed light on a significant link between cannabis use disorder (CUD) and pathological reactive aggression, a condition involving disproportionate aggressive and violent reactions to minor provocations. The discourse on the connection between cannabis use and aggression is frequently enmeshed in political and legal discussions, leading to a polarized understanding of the causative relationship between cannabis use and aggression. However, integrative analyses from both human and animal research indicate a complex, bidirectional interplay between cannabis misuse and pathological aggression. On the one hand, emerging research reveals a shared genetic and environmental predisposition for both cannabis use and aggression, suggesting a common underlying biological mechanism. On the other hand, there is evidence that cannabis consumption can lead to violent behaviors while also being used as a self-medication strategy to mitigate the negative emotions associated with pathological reactive aggression. This suggests that the coexistence of pathological aggression and CUD may result from overlapping vulnerabilities, potentially creating a self-perpetuating cycle where each condition exacerbates the other, escalating into externalizing and violent behaviors. This article aims to synthesize existing research on the intricate connections between these issues and propose a theoretical model to explain the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning this complex relationship.

A Pathway to Positive Youth Development: Unpacking the Asian American Youth Paradox and Cultural Orientations among Filipino American and Korean American Youth

This study used longitudinal survey data of Filipino American and Korean American youth in the Chicago Metropolitan area (N = 786, MAGE = 15.00, SD = 1.91 at Wave 1 in 2014) to examine whether and how a set of organized predictors (i.e., universal predictors of youth outcomes and cultural orientations) independently and collectively explains internalizing and externalizing problems and academic performance. The results were that universal predictors such as youth antisocial beliefs, peer antisocial behaviors, and the quality of parent-child relations, were extensively predictive of youth outcomes in the expected directions. The magnitudes of universal predictors were largely unchanged when bilinear and multidimensional cultural orientation variables were accounted for together. The magnitudes of cultural orientation variables were slightly attenuated in full models but showed independent associations with youth outcomes. Specifically, English and heritage language proficiencies were protective of externalizing and internalizing problems. Behavioral practices in respective cultures increased youth problems. In addition, ethnic identity, although beneficial to mental health, can increase externalizing problems. The findings of this study provide insights into understanding the mixed outcomes among Asian Americans and important empirical evidence that can inform intervention programs to prevent youth problems, ultimately toward a pathway to positive youth development among Asian American youth.

Testing the temporal precedence of family functioning and child psychopathology in the LONGSCAN sample

Family functioning may serve as protective or risk factors in the development of youth psychopathology. However, few studies have examined the potentially reciprocal relation between child psychopathology and family functioning. To fill this gap in the literature, this study tested for time-ordered associations between measures of family functioning (e.g., cohesion, conflict, and emotional expressiveness) and child psychopathology (e.g., total behavior problems, externalizing, and internalizing problems) using data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN; N = 1143, 52.3% female, Nwaves = 5). We used a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model to identify whether child psychopathology preceded and predicted family functioning, the reverse, or both processes occurred simultaneously. At the between-person level, families who tended to have more cohesion, who lacked conflict, and who expressed their emotions had lower levels of child psychopathology. At the within-person level in childhood, we found minimal evidence for time-ordered associations. In adolescence, however, a clear pattern whereby early psychopathology consistently predicted subsequent family functioning emerged, and the reverse direction was rarely found. Results indicate a complex dynamic relation between the family unit and child that have important implications for developmental models that contextualize risk and resilience within the family unit.

Between- and within-child level associations between externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in a nationally representative sample of US elementary school children

BACKGROUND

Both transactional and common etiological models have been proposed as explanations of why externalizing behavior problems (EBP) and internalizing behavior problems (IBP) co-occur in children. Yet little research has empirically evaluated these competing theoretical explanations. We examined whether EBP and IBP are transactionally related at the within-child level while also identifying antecedents commonly associated with between-child differences in underlying stability of both EBP and IBP across elementary school.

METHODS

We analyzed a nationally representative and longitudinal sample of US schoolchildren (N = 7,326; 51% male) using random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM). We used teacher ratings of EBP and IBP as annually assessed from the spring of kindergarten (Mage = 6.12 years) through the spring of 5th grade (Mage = 11.09 years). Early childhood antecedents included child internal (i.e. inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and language/literacy) and external factors (i.e. parental warmth, harsh parenting, parenting stress, and maternal depressive symptoms).

RESULTS

We found little evidence for within-child, transactional relations between EBP and IBP. Both types of behavior problems instead were substantially associated at the between-child level. Inhibitory control was the strongest common antecedent that explained this longitudinal overlap. Cognitive flexibility, working memory, language/literacy skills, and maternal depression contributed specifically to the stability of IBP. Measures of parenting were specific to the stability of EBP.

CONCLUSIONS

Common etiological factors rather than transactional relations better explain the co-occurrence of EBP and IBP during elementary school. Inhibitory control is a promising target of early intervention efforts for schoolchildren at risk of displaying both EBP and IBP.

Dynamic interplay of developing internalising and externalising mental health from early childhood to mid-adolescence: Teasing apart trait, state, and cross-cohort effects

The current study examined the within-child, between-child, and between-cohort effects in the longitudinal relations between and within the internalising and externalising mental health symptoms' domains. Leveraging the data of 5998 children (ages 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 years; 49% female) from the sequential Growing Up in Australia dual-cohort, multigroup longitudinal measurement invariance, and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were deployed. Multigroup longitudinal measurement invariance revealed that the measurements of peer problems, emotional symptoms, and hyperactivity were strictly invariant, whereas conduct problems were partially strictly invariant across cohorts over time. The two cohorts did not display significant differences in the structural relations between internalising and externalising mental health symptoms, indicating the stability of the findings. In the internalising symptoms' domain, moderate to strong reciprocal effects were found from middle childhood onwards. In the externalising symptoms' domain, the results of reciprocal effects between conduct problems and hyperactivity were mainly not significant. Across domains, the reciprocal associations of emotional symptoms with hyperactivity and conduct problems were sporadic or non-existent. Peer problems were reciprocally associated with conduct problems and hyperactivity from middle childhood onwards. Overall, the findings clearly highlight the interdependence of developing internalising and externalising symptoms and reveal new insights about the early life-course development of internalising and externalising mental health symptoms.

Longitudinal Association and Mediating Mechanism Between Externalizing and Internalizing Problems Among Children: A Within-Person Analysis

OBJECTIVE

In this multi-informant, 3-year longitudinal study, the bidirectional relations between externalizing and internalizing problems were investigated, along with whether peer victimization and academic achievement mediated their relations after separating between-person effects from within-person effects.

METHOD

A sample of 3238 Chinese children (55.02% boys; Mage T1 = 9.89 years) reported semiannually on peer victimization and both externalizing and internalizing problems, and parents reported on their children's externalizing and internalizing problems. Students' objective academic achievement data (i.e. final exam scores) were obtained from school records.

RESULTS

Random intercepts cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM) revealed that neither academic achievement nor peer victimization mediated the relations between externalizing and internalizing problems in both self and parent reports at the within-person level. The cross-lagged panel models (CLPM) results supported that peer victimization (but not academic achievement) mediated the relations from internalizing to externalizing problems or externalizing to internalizing problems, whether self-reported or parent-reported. This study also identified meaningful sex differences in focal relations among children.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings illustrate the importance of distinguishing within-person and between- person associations, with within- person findings failing to support the hypothesized mediating pathways of the Dual Failure or Acting Out Models among children.

Early risk for child externalising symptoms: Examining genetic, prenatal, temperamental and parental influences

This study utilized the Early Growth and Development Study (N = 561 adoptive children; 57.2% male, 55.3% White), a study of children adopted at birth, to examine heritable (birth parent psychopathology) and prenatal risk (prenatal maternal distress and smoking during pregnancy), infant negative affectivity, adoptive parent over-reactivity and warmth as independent predictors of childhood externalizing symptoms. The current study evaluated if: (1) infant negative affectivity and over-reactive parenting are candidate mediators for the effects of heritable and prenatal risk on externalizing symptoms and (2) parental warmth weakens the influence of heritable risk, prenatal risk, negative affectivity, and over-reactive parenting on externalizing symptoms. There were main effects of heritable risk, infant negative affectivity, and over-reactive parenting on child externalizing symptoms. The study found no support for the hypothesized mediation and moderation effects, suggesting that targeting parental over-reactivity rather than warmth would be more effective in reducing risk for childhood externalizing symptoms.

Examining bidirectional relations between sleep problems and non-suicidal self-injury/suicidal behavior in adolescents: emotion regulation difficulties and externalizing problems as mediators

Based on previous empirical evidences and theoretical framework, sleep problems and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI)/suicidal behavior may bidirectionally related to one another. However, this still needs to be examined through longitudinal research. Moreover, the mediating mechanisms accounting for their potential bidirectional relations have yet to be fully investigated. This study thus aimed to evaluate whether sleep problems and NSSI/suicidal behavior promoted each other directly or indirectly through the mediating roles of emotion regulation difficulties (ERD) and externalizing problems. A total of 1648 Chinese adolescents (48.12% boys; Mage = 13.69; SD = 0.82; Age range = 11-16 years old at T1) completed self-report measures on 3-time points across 1 year. Cross-lagged panel models were used to examine the focal longitudinal associations. Results revealed a predictive effect of sleep problems on NSSI and a positive bidirectional relation between sleep problems and suicidal behavior. Moreover, sleep problems exerted an indirect effect on NSSI through ERD, and vice versa. Additionally, both ERD and externalizing problems served as mediators in the pathway from suicidal behavior to sleep problems. This study disentangled the differential mediating roles of ERD and externalizing problems in the longitudinal associations between sleep problems and NSSI/suicidal behavior, which may help provide a more holistic theoretical framework through which to precisely identify key targets for early prevention and intervention of sleep problems and NSSI/suicidal behavior in adolescents.

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.

The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Preterm Delivery: A Latent Class Approach

Background: Racial and socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in preterm delivery (PTD) have existed in the United States for decades. Disproportionate maternal exposures to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may increase the risk for adverse birth outcomes. Moreover, racial and SES disparities exist in the prevalence of ACEs, underscoring the need for research that examines whether ACEs contribute to racial and SES disparities in PTD. Methods: We examined the relationship between ACEs and PTD in a longitudinal sample of N = 3,884 women from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1994-2018). We applied latent class analysis to (1) identify subgroups of women characterized by patterns of ACE occurrence; (2) estimate the association between latent class membership (LCM) and PTD, and (3) examine whether race and SES influence LCM or the association between LCM and PTD. Results: Two latent classes were identified, with women in the high ACEs class characterized by a higher probability of emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and foster care placement compared with the low ACEs class, but neither class was associated with PTD. Race and SES did not predict LCM. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ACEs may not impact PTD risk in previously hypothesized ways. Future research should assess the impact of ACEs on the probability of having live birth pregnancies as well as the role of potential protective factors in mitigating the impact of ACEs on PTD.

Multidimensional Family Therapy for Justice-Involved Young Adults with Substance Use Disorders

The present study explored the acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, and outcomes of a young adult adaptation of multidimensional family therapy (MDFT), an evidence-based family treatment originally developed for adolescents. Participants included 22 individuals between the ages of 19 to 25 who were enrolled in a criminal drug court program. MDFT was found to be feasible and was delivered with strong fidelity to young adults and their families. Participants reported high satisfaction with MDFT, and 95% completed treatment. Analyses revealed statistically significant decreases in substance use on all indicators from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. Significant improvements were also noted in vocational functioning, including a 73% increase in full-time employment from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Criminal justice outcomes included a significant decrease in legal risk, and 86% of study participants had no rearrests from baseline through the 18-month follow-up period. The article concludes with recommendations for implementing family-based interventions with young adults, as well as future research directions in this important area.

Network analysis of maternal parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

An extensive literature has shown a strong connection between maternal parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. However, it has been difficult for previous research to map a dynamic concurrent and prospective relationships within and between types of parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. The present study addressed these issues using a network analysis approach and a longitudinal design.

METHODS

This study involved 591 Chinese adolescents (249 males; mean age at T1 = 13.53) and their mothers (mean age at T1 = 39.71) at two time points (T1 and T2) with eighteen months apart. Mothers reported their parenting practices including warmth, monitoring, inductive reasoning, hostility, and harshness, while adolescents reported their mental health problems including anxiety, depression, aggression, and conduct problems. Network analysis was conducted for contemporaneous networks at T1 and T2 and temporal networks from T1 to T2.

RESULTS

The contemporaneous networks revealed the negative association between monitoring and conduct problems served as the main pathway through which parenting practices and adolescent mental health mutually influenced each other, and further, warmth was the most influential parenting practice on adolescent mental health. The temporal network revealed that maternal hostility exerted the most influence on adolescent mental health problems, whereas adolescents' depression was most influenced by maternal parenting practices. Moreover, maternal hostility was most predicted by maternal harshness.

CONCLUSIONS

This study presents a novel perspective to gain a better understanding of the dynamics between and within maternal parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. Findings highlight maternal harshness and warmth as potential prevention and intervention targets for adolescent mental health problems.

Does it add up? Educational achievement mediates child maltreatment subtypes to allostatic load

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment (CM) has been linked to higher levels of allostatic load (AL) and educational achievement is a possible pathway and may differ across gender. It is also critical to determine if CM severity or specific subtypes of CM are more or less influential.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined educational achievement as a mediator linking cumulative and individual types of CM to AL and examined gender as a moderator.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Using two waves of data, 897 adults from the study Midlife in the United States were analyzed.

METHODS

Multiple group structural equation models stratified across gender to test were used cumulative maltreatment and maltreatment subtypes to AL and test gender as a moderator.

RESULTS

Overall CM was associated with educational achievement (β = -0.12, p < .01) and AL (β = 0.11, p < .05) and education was inversely associated with AL (β = -0.17, p < .001) in men but not women. The subtypes model revealed that physical abuse predicted lower level of education achievement (β = -0.20, p < .001) and among men. Educational achievement, in turn, was associated with lower levels of AL (β = -0.02, p = .002). Educational achievement was a possible pathway linking physical abuse to AL (β = 0.02, 95 % CI [0.001, 0.040]) among men but was non-significant in women. Gender did not moderate any of the pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

Educational achievement is a potentially modifiable social determinant of health that can be a focus of prevention and intervention efforts among men who were maltreated, particularly for those who experienced physical abuse.

Heavy episodic drinking in adolescence and alcohol-related problems in adulthood: A developmental approach to alcohol use across the life course

Heavy episodic drinking (HED) is a major public health concern, and youth who engage in HED are at increased risk for alcohol-related problems that continue into adulthood. Importantly, there is heterogeneity in the onset and course of adolescent HED, as youth exhibit different trajectories of initiation and progression into heavy drinking. Much of what is known about the etiology of adolescent HED and alcohol-related problems that persist into adulthood comes from studies of predominantly White, middle-class youth. Because alcohol use and related problems vary by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, it is unclear whether previous findings are relevant for understanding developmental antecedents and distal consequences of adolescent HED for minoritized individuals. In the current study, we utilize a developmental psychopathology perspective to fill this gap in the literature. Using a racially and economically diverse cohort followed from adolescence well into adulthood, we apply group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) to identify patterns of involvement in HED from age 14 to 17 years. We then investigate developmental antecedents of GBTM class membership, and alcohol-related distal outcomes in adulthood (∼ age 31 years) associated with GBTM class membership. Results highlight the importance of adolescent alcohol use in predicting future alcohol use in adulthood.

Relations among parenting, academic performance, and psychopathology: An investigation of developmental cascades and their interplay with maternal and paternal parenting

Little effort has been made to integrate developmental cascades with maternal/paternal parenting in a single investigation. The present study seeks to test cascading effects among academic and internalizing/externalizing symptoms and their associations with maternal/paternal parenting across three time points from 8 to 10 years. Data for this investigation came from a nationally representative prospective cohort study of children born in April through July of 2008 in South Korea who were followed up annually. The sample included 1,598 families (48.5% girls). Parents rated their parenting and teachers rated children's internalizing/externalizing problems and academic performance. Structural equation modeling showed that externalizing problems were negatively related to academic performance. Academic performance was negatively related to internalizing problems and positively related to maternal/paternal authoritative parenting, which in turn led to children's higher academic performance. Bidirectional relations were found between academic performance and externalizing problems and between paternal authoritative parenting and children's internalizing problems. Findings suggested cascading effects and their associations with parenting were not attributable to child gender, intelligence, or socioeconomic differences. These findings lend support to adjustment erosion and academic incompetence models and underscore the need for greater attention to the role that fathering may play in children's development and mothering.

Considering between- and within-person relations in auto-regressive cross-lagged panel models for developmental data

Longitudinal data can provide inferences at both the between-person and within-person levels of analysis, but only to the extent that the statistical models chosen for data analysis are specified to adequately capture these distinct sources of association. The present work focuses on auto-regressive cross-lagged panel models, which have long been used to examine time-lagged reciprocal relations and mediation among multiple variables measured repeatedly over time. Unfortunately, many common implementations of these models fail to distinguish between-person associations among individual differences in the variables' amounts and changes over time, and thus confound between-person and within-person relations either partially or entirely, leading to inaccurate results. Furthermore, in the increasingly complex model variants that continue to be developed, what is not easily appreciated is how substantial differences in interpretation can be created by what appear to be trivial differences in model specification. In the present work, we aimed to (a) help analysts become better acquainted with the some of the more common model variants that fall under this larger umbrella, and (b) explicate what characteristics of one's data and research questions should be considered in selecting a model. Supplementary Materials include annotated model syntax and output using Mplus, lavaan in R, and sem in Stata to help translate these concepts into practice.

The influence of adolescents essential and non-essential use of technology and Internet addiction on their physical and mental fatigues

This study explores the impact of Internet addiction (IA), age, and essential and non-essential technology usage time on the physical and mental fatigue of adolescents. The research surveyed 477 adolescents from Qatar and employed the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ) and Chalder's Fatigue Scale for data collection. Multiple linear regression and Mann-Whitney U tests were utilized for analysis. The findings indicate that IA, non-essential usage time, and age are positively associated with overall fatigue among adolescents. IA and non-essential usage time are positively linked to physical fatigue, while IA, non-essential usage time, and age are positive predictors of mental fatigue. However, essential usage time is negatively associated with mental fatigue. These results highlight the importance of distinguishing technology usage based on intent and necessity, as well as differentiating between physical and mental fatigue when examining problematic technology usage. This study is among the few conducted in the Middle Eastern context.

A longitudinal examination of school-related and mental health mediators linking emotion regulation to academic achievement

Emotion regulation is assumed to underlie academic achievement through different mechanisms (e.g., a positive orientation toward school and schoolwork, better mental health). However, few studies have contrasted these mediating mechanisms within a longitudinal analytic framework, which is necessary to determine which mechanism(s) are most likely to translate emotion regulation into academic success over time. The present study addressed this gap by examining whether children's emotion regulation capacities were associated with later academic achievement through school-related (i.e., school bonding and academic motivation) and mental health mediators (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms). Participants included 300 4- and 8-year-old children (n = 150 in each age cohort; 50% female) and their caregivers from Canada. Measures were collected over 4 years. Path analyses indicated that higher emotion regulation (T1; age 4/8 years) was associated with better academic achievement 3 years later (T4; age 7/11 years) through stronger school bonding and lower internalizing symptoms in the interim (T2; age 5/9 years; the indirect effect through internalizing symptoms held after controlling for initial levels of internalizing symptoms). Significant effects were derived from both caregiver and child informants when applicable and indirect effects held across age cohorts and genders. Findings highlight the interplay of social-emotional, academic, and mental health development across childhood, as well as the potential benefits of extending academic interventions to the social-emotional and mental health domains.

Developmental Trajectories of Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Youth and Associated Gender Differences: A Directed Network Perspective

Psychopathology in youth is highly prevalent and associated with psychopathology in adulthood. However, the developmental trajectories of psychopathology symptoms, including potential gender differences, are markedly underspecified. The present study employed a directed network approach to investigate longitudinal relationships and gender differences among eight transdiagnostic symptom domains across three years, in a homogenous age sample of youth participants (n = 6,414; mean baseline age = 10.0 years; 78.6% White; Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study). Anxious/depressed problems and aggressive behaviors were central symptoms and most predictive of increases in other symptom clusters at later timepoints. Rule-breaking behaviors, aggressive behaviors, and withdrawn/depressed problems emerged as bridge symptoms between externalizing and internalizing problems. Results supported cascade models in which externalizing problems predicted future internalizing problems, but internalizing problems also significantly predicted future externalizing problems, which is contrary to cascade models. Network structure, symptom centrality, and patterns of bridge symptoms differed between female and male participants, suggesting gender differences in the developmental trajectories of youth psychopathology. Results provide new insights into symptom trajectories and associated gender differences that may provide promising pathways for understanding disorder (dis)continuity and co-occurrence. The central and bridge symptoms identified here may have important implications for screening and early intervention for youth psychopathology.

Pubertal progression and its relationship to psychological and behavioral outcomes among adolescent boys

Variations in pubertal timing and tempo have relevance to psychosocial development. Accounting for pubertal timing, tempo, and psychosocial development simultaneously in a model remains challenging. This study aimed to document the typology of pubertal development in a cohort of Taiwanese adolescent boys and then to examine how the associations between psychosocial variables across time vary by the patterns of pubertal development. A group of adolescent boys (n = 1,368) reported pubertal signs and psychosocial variables for 3 years since seventh grade. The growth mixture model revealed three major classes of pubertal transition: average pubertal growth, late-onset with rapid catch-up, and late-onset with slow catch-up. In a cross-lagged panel model, the multigroup analysis found the regression coefficients mostly invariant across all three classes, except those between deviant behavior and subsequent changes in depressive symptoms that were significantly positive only in the late-onset with slow catch-up group. Adolescent boys in this group were estimated to have the highest marginal level of depressive symptoms and deviant behavior in ninth grade among the three classes. Our study highlights the heterogeneity in boys' pubertal development and the role of the pubertal development pattern in their psychosocial development.

Longitudinal associations between academic competence-building and depression symptoms in early adolescence

The longitudinal associations between academic competence-building and depression symptoms were investigated among 741 early adolescents in Singapore. Extending from past studies on academic achievement and depression, the current research tested two competing hypotheses - the academic incompetence hypothesis versus the adjustment erosion hypothesis using a 3-wave longitudinal study over an academic year. The former hypothesis suggests that prior deficits in academic competence-building lead to subsequent depression symptoms, whereas the latter posits that previous depression leads to subsequent deficits in competence-building. Longitudinal associations between a higher-order competence-building factor (operationalized using multiple constituent motivational variables) and depression were examined using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model. Results indicated that within-individual decreases in competence-building prospectively predicted subsequent within-individual increases in depression symptoms, but the opposite effect was not observed. Within-individual fluctuations in competence-building also predicted end-of-year grades and teacher-reported adjustment problems. Overall, the current findings were consistent with the academic incompetence hypothesis, suggesting that interventions aimed at sustaining academic competence-building could offer protection against the worsening of depression. These results clarified the within-individual developmental dynamics between academic competence-building and depression symptoms in adolescents over time.

The moderating role of adrenocortical reactivity in the associations between interparental conflict, emotional reactivity, and school adjustment

This study tested whether the associations between interparental conflict, children's emotional reactivity, and school adjustment were moderated by children's cortisol reactivity in a sample of young children (N = 243; mean age = 4.6 years at Wave 1; 56% female, 44% male) and their parents. Using a longitudinal, autoregressive design, observational assessments of children's emotional reactivity at Wave 2 mediated the relationship between an observational measure of Wave 1 conflict between parents and teacher's report of children's school adjustment at Wave 3. However, children's cortisol reactivity to parent conflict at Wave 1 moderated the first link, such that emotional reactivity operated as a mediator for children with heightened cortisol reactivity but not children with low cortisol reactivity. Moderation was expressed in a "for better" or "for worse" form hypothesized by biological sensitivity to context theory. Thus, children with high cortisol reactivity experienced greater emotional reactivity than their peers when faced with more destructive conflict but also lower emotional reactivity when exposed to more constructive interparental conflict. Results are discussed as to how they advance emotional security and biological sensitivity to context theories.

Anxiety, academic achievement, and academic self-concept: Meta-analytic syntheses of their relations across developmental periods

This systematic review examined how anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders relate to academic achievement, school dropout, and academic self-concept. Studies with children or adult samples were included in seven meta-analyses (ks for number of samples ranged from 5 to 156; N's for participants ranged from 780 to 37, 203). Results revealed significant but very small effect sizes for the relations between anxiety and overall academic achievement (r = -.06), language achievement (r = -.07), and math achievement (r = -.09), and a nonsignificant effect size for science achievement (r = -.01). Participants with greater anxiety were also significantly more likely to not complete high school (r = .11). They also had a poorer overall academic self-concept (r = -.25) and mathematics self-concept (r = -.30). Few methodological moderators (e.g., study design, age) were significant. Results show that anxiety does not strongly hinder academic achievement, but it is an important correlate of dropout and academic self-concept, which in turn could contribute to poorer life outcomes. Interventions and preventive programs need to consider ways to ameliorate the relations of anxiety with academic outcomes, especially school continuation and academic self-concept. Future studies should identify risk factors that may amplify these relations.

The impact of area level mental health interventions on outcomes for secondary school pupils: Evidence from the HeadStart programme in England

In light of the dramatic rise in mental health disorders amongst adolescents seen in the past decade across the world, there is an urgent need for robust evidence on what works to combat this trend. This paper provides the first robust evaluation of the impacts on school outcomes of 6-year funding programme (HeadStart) for area-level mental health interventions for adolescents. Exploiting educational administrative data on ten cohorts of state-educated secondary school students, we use the synthetic control method to construct counterfactual outcomes for areas that received the funding. We show that the funding did not affect students' absenteeism or academic attainment, but it prevented around 800 students (c. 10% of students typically excluded yearly) from being excluded in its first year. The transient nature of this effect suggests that sustained funding for intervention may be a necessary but not sufficient condition to maintain programme effectiveness over time.

Future-oriented cognition: links to mental health problems and mental wellbeing in preschool-aged and primary-school-aged children

Future-oriented cognition plays a manifold role for adults' mental health. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between future-oriented cognition and mental health in N = 191 children aged between 3 and 7 years. Parents completed an online-questionnaire including children's future-oriented cognition (e.g., episodic foresight; Children Future Thinking Questionnaire; CFTQ), children's mental health problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ), and wellbeing (Parent-rated Life Orientation Test of children; PLOT and Positive-Mental-Health Scale; PMH). More externalizing problems (especially hyperactivity) related to lower future-oriented cognition. For mental wellbeing, higher levels of optimism were associated with higher episodic foresight. Future-oriented cognition increased with age cross-sectionally. This increase was flatter at higher levels of wellbeing (indicated by lower pessimism). Results are discussed considering findings on the role of future-oriented cognition for mental health in adults and adolescents. Suggestions for future work are presented regarding the direction of the observed links and underlying mechanisms.

Children's Daily Living Routine Mediates the Relations Between Parent-Child Relationships and Child Adjustment Problems During School Suspension in Hong Kong

Young children's adjustment problems were found to be prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such adjustment problems may be dependent on children's relationships with their parents and children's daily living routine in the family during the pandemic-related school suspension period. This study examines how children's routine mediated the associations between parent-child relationships and child adjustment problems during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, when schools were suspended. The study collected data from 937 parents (87.8% mothers) of children aged 5-12 (M = 7.35 years, SD = 2.09; 50.5% girls). Parents reported on parent-child relationships, children's daily living routine, and child adjustment problems in an online survey. Our findings from structural equation modeling indicate that parent-child closeness was negatively related to child adjustment problems, whereas conflict was positively related to child adjustment problems. Children's routine mediated the associations between parent-child relationships (i.e., closeness and conflict) and child externalizing problems. However, children's routine did not mediate the associations between parent-child relationships (i.e., closeness and conflict) and child internalizing problems. The findings show that parents should be helped to establish routine, especially in difficult times when young children experience turbulence in their daily life, so as to reduce their adjustment problems, in particular of an externalizing nature.

Study protocol of a randomized trial of STRIPES: a schoolyear, peer-delivered high school intervention for students with ADHD

BACKGROUND

Youth with ADHD are at risk of academic impairments, dropping out of high school, and dysfunction in young adulthood. Interventions delivered early in high school could prevent these harmful outcomes, yet few high school students with ADHD receive treatment due to limited access to intervention providers. This study will test a peer-delivered intervention (STRIPES) for general education 9th grade students with impairing ADHD symptoms.

METHODS

A type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation design will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of STRIPES and explore the intervention's implementability. Analyses will test the impact of STRIPES vs. enhanced school services control on target mechanisms and determine whether differences in basic cognitive profiles moderate intervention response. The acceptability and feasibility of STRIPES and treatment moderators will also be examined.

DISCUSSION

This study will generate knowledge about the effectiveness and implementability of STRIPES, which will inform dissemination efforts in the future. A peer-delivered high school intervention for organization, time management, and planning skills can provide accessible and feasible treatment targeting declines in academic motivation, grades, and attendance during the ninth-grade year.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study is registered on OSF Registries (10.17605/OSF.IO/Q8V6S).

The school counselor's role in addressing ACEs: an intervention strategy

Children growing up with unemployed parents may be at higher risk of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The role of school counselors in identifying and providing services to children at risk of ACEs is important. In addition, the intervention strategy is expected to bridge the role between schools and the government in overcoming the risks of ACEs in the community.

Acculturation and Psychopathology

Acculturation and psychopathology are linked in integrated, interactional, intersectional, and dynamic ways that span different types of intercultural contact, levels of analysis, timescales, and contexts. A developmental psychopathology approach can be useful to explain why, how, and what about psychological acculturation results in later adaptation or maladaptation for acculturating youth and adults. This review applies a conceptual model of acculturation and developmental psychopathology to a widely used framework of acculturation variables producing an Integrated Process Framework of Acculturation Variables (IP-FAV). This new comprehensive framework depicts major predisposing acculturation conditions (why) as well as acculturation orientations and processes (how) that result in adaptation and maladaptation across the life span (what). The IP-FAV is unique in that it integrates both proximal and remote acculturation variables and explicates key acculturation processes to inform research, practice, and policy.

Educational level, attention problems, and externalizing behaviour in adolescence and early adulthood: the role of social causation and health-related selection-the TRAILS study

Social causation and health-related selection may contribute to educational differences in adolescents' attention problems and externalizing behaviour. The social causation hypothesis posits that the social environment influences adolescents' mental health. Conversely, the health-related selection hypothesis proposes that poor mental health predicts lower educational attainment. From past studies it is unclear which of these mechanisms predominates, as attention problems and externalizing behaviour have the potential to interfere with educational attainment, but may also be affected by differences in the educational context. Furthermore, educational gradients in mental health may reflect the impact of 'third variables' already present in childhood, such as parental socioeconomic status (SES), and IQ. We investigated both hypotheses in relation to educational differences in externalizing behaviour and attention problems throughout adolescence and young adulthood. We used data from a Dutch cohort (TRAILS Study; n = 2229), including five measurements of educational level, externalizing behaviour, and attention problems from around age 14-26 years. First, we evaluated the directionality in longitudinal associations between education, externalizing behaviour, and attention problems with and without adjusting for individual differences using fixed effects. Second, we assessed the role of IQ and parental SES in relation to attention problems, externalizing behaviour, and educational level. Attention problems predicted decreases in education throughout all of adolescence and young adulthood. Differences in parental SES contributed to increases in externalizing behaviour amongst the lower educational tracks in mid-adolescence. Childhood IQ and parental SES strongly predicted education around age 14. Parental SES, but not IQ, also predicted early adolescent attention problems and externalizing behaviour. Our results provide support for the health-related selection hypothesis in relation to attention problems and educational attainment. Further, our results highlight the role of social causation from parental SES in determining adolescent educational level, attention problems, and externalizing behaviour.