Search

The developmental association between disruptive behaviors (DBs: hyperactivity-impulsivity, non-compliance, physical aggression) and internalizing problems in early childhood is not well understood and has generated competing hypotheses and mixed results. Using a person-centered strategy, the present study aimed to examine concurrent trajectories of DBs and trajectories of internalizing problems from age 1.5 to 5 years in a population-representative sample (N = 2057; 50.7% boys). Six trajectories of DBs and three trajectories of internalizing problems, based on parent reports and obtained via latent growth modeling across five periods of assessment, were used as longitudinal indicators of each type of behaviors. Children following low or moderate trajectories served as the reference class. Compared to children in the reference class, those in trajectory classes characterized by high levels of co-occurring DBs (OR = 6.60) and, to a lesser extent, those in single high DB classes (OR = 2.78) were more likely to follow a high trajectory of internalizing problems simultaneously. These results support a multiple problem hypothesis regarding the association between DBs and internalizing problems, consistent with a developmental perspective that includes a general factor underpinning different psychopathologies. These findings highlight the importance of considering the co-occurrence between DBs and internalizing problems when studying either construct in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether child temperament (negative emotionality, 5 months) moderated the association between maternal stimulation (5 months–2½ years) and academic readiness and achievement (vocabulary, mathematics, and reading). We applied structural equation modeling to the data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (N = 1121–1448; mostly Whites; 47% girls). Compared to children with low negative emotionality, those with high negative emotionality had higher levels of academic readiness (6 years) and mathematics achievement (7 years) when exposed to high levels of maternal stimulation (β = 3.17, p <.01 and β = 2.91, p <.01, respectively). The results support the differential susceptibility model whereby highly emotionally negative children were more susceptible to the influences of low and high levels of maternal stimulation in academic readiness and mathematics achievement's developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exposure to socioeconomic adversity is hypothesized to impact hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity and cortisol secretion, but existing evidence is inconsistent. Yet, few studies have investigated this association using a developmental approach that considers potential protective contextual factors. This study examined the role of stability and changes in family socioeconomic status (SES) in the prediction of multiple cortisol indicators and tested whether social support moderated these associations. Methods: Participants were part of a population‐based sample of twin pairs recruited at birth. Family SES was assessed in early childhood (ages 0–5) and mid‐adolescence (age 14). Social support was assessed at ages 14 and 19. Diurnal cortisol (n = 569) was measured at age 14 at awakening, 30 min later, in the afternoon and evening over four non‐consecutive days. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC, n = 704) was measured at age 19. All data were collected before the pandemic and multilevel regression models were conducted to account for the nested data structure. Results: Youth exposed to lower family SES levels in childhood and mid‐adolescence had a flatter diurnal slope and higher HCC compared with those who experienced upward socioeconomic mobility in mid‐adolescence. Contrastingly, mid‐adolescence SES showed no association with the diurnal slope or HCC for youth from higher‐SES households in early childhood. Moreover, youth raised in higher‐SES families in early childhood had a higher CAR in mid‐adolescence if they reported greater social support in mid‐adolescence. Social support also moderated the SES‐cortisol association in mid‐adolescence, with higher‐SES youth showing higher awakening cortisol secretion when reporting more social support. Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis that early socioeconomic adversity sensitizes HPA axis activity to later socioeconomic disadvantage, which may bear consequences for socioemotional and behavioral functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the failure model (Patterson & Capaldi, 1990), peer rejection is the intermediary link between problem behaviors and internalizing symptoms. The present study tested the model with 464 monozygotic and same‐sex dizygotic twin pairs (234 female, 230 male dyads). Teacher‐reported reactive aggression and internalizing symptoms, and peer‐reported peer rejection were collected at ages 6, 7, and 10 (from 2001 to 2008). Support for the failure model emerged in conventional non‐genetically controlled analyses, but not twin‐difference score analyses (which remove shared environmental and genetic contributions). Univariate biometric models attributed minimal variance in failure model variables to shared environmental factors, suggesting that genetic factors play an important unacknowledged role in developmental pathways historically ascribed to nonshared experiences in the failure model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated whether distinct developmental patterns of externalizing behaviors (EBs: hyperactivity–impulsivity, noncompliance, physical aggression) based on parent reports were repeatedly and differentially associated with separate dimensions of internalizing problems such as general anxiety, separation anxiety, and depressive symptoms across the early, middle, and late preschool years in a population birth cohort (N = 2,057, 50.7% boys). Six high trajectory classes obtained by latent growth modeling were used as longitudinal indicators of single EB and co-occurrent EBs. Children following low or moderate trajectories for all EBs served as the reference class. Results revealed that children in trajectory classes reflecting high levels of co-occurring EBs showed higher levels of general anxiety, separation anxiety, and depressive symptoms across the preschool years. In contrast, children in trajectory classes reflecting single EB manifested higher levels of some, but not all, dimensions of internalizing problems. In addition, their scores varied from one period to another. No sex differences were observed in the above associations. These results underline the need for comprehensive assessments across distinct types of EBs and internalizing problems to better reflect the characteristics that distinguish individual children. Finally, results suggest that children showing early co-occurrent EBs and internalizing symptoms may be an important group to target for in-depth assessment and possibly preventive intervention. Public Significance Statement: Children who show a high level of externalizing behaviors (EB: hyperactivity–impulsivity, noncompliance, or physical aggression) from the early to late preschool years—and especially preschoolers with high levels of multiple EBs—also present higher levels of anxiety, separation anxiety, and depressive symptoms. These findings are consistent with a developmental approach to psychopathology and emphasize the importance of early preventive evaluation and potential intervention with these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Emerging adulthood (18-25 years) is associated with peak prevalence of cannabis use. Although population-based longitudinal studies have found little change in cannabis use among emerging adults during COVID-19, research examining changes among vulnerable subgroups is lacking. The present study examined the association between emotion dysregulation at 23 years and change in cannabis use frequency and problem cannabis use among a large sample of emerging adults, from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Longitudinal data were analyzed from 1,226 emerging adults (59% female; n = 738 reported cannabis use) who completed online surveys before the pandemic (2019; age 21) and 1 year into COVID-19 (2021; age 23) as part of the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Results: There was no significant overall within-person change in cannabis use outcomes during COVID-19 among the emerging adult sample. However, emotional clarity (a dimension of emotion dysregulation) at 23 years significantly moderated change in problem cannabis use during COVID-19. Namely, low emotional clarity at 23 years was associated with increased problem cannabis use (B = 0.79, 95% CI [0.23, 1.34]), whereas high emotional clarity at 23 years was associated with decreased problem cannabis use (B = -0.68, 95% CI [-1.27, -0.09]) during COVID-19, among men only. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need to consider changes in cannabis use during COVID-19 among emerging adults with elevated emotion dysregulation (and particularly, low emotional clarity among men) and reiterate the need for supports and targeted interventions to reduce cannabis use and decrease associated harms as society emerges from COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a genetically informed design based on twins, this study tested the association between chronic peer victimization from ages 12 to 17 and later cortisol secretion at age 19 and the moderating effect of social support in this regard. These associations were examined while also considering the effects of genetic factors and concurrent victimization experiences at age 19. Participants (148 monozygotic [MZ] and 227 dizygotic [DZ] twin pairs; 56% girls) reported on their peer victimization and social support from the mother, father, and best friend from ages 12 through 17. At age 19, they reported on victimization in college, at work, and in romantic relationships and provided a hair sample for cortisol measurement. Growth mixture modeling identified three victimization trajectories: low (34%), moderate (55%), and high (11%). Biometric modeling showed that a high trajectory of peer victimization in adolescence predicted lower cortisol levels compared with a low trajectory, but only at very low levels of friends’ support. Parental support did not moderate this association and no sex moderation was found. These results highlight not only the potential disruptive influence of chronic peer victimization on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning but also the buffering role of friendship when facing such adverse social experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]