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Structured diagnostic interviews administered by lay people are commonly used to assess psychiatric disorders, including depression, in large epidemiologic studies. Many interviews utilize "gate" questions, such as screening questions, that allow interviewers to skip entire survey sections for a particular respondent, saving time and reducing respondent fatigue. However, most depression estimates based on these response data are predicated on the assumption that the gate questions function without measurement error or bias. The tenability of this assumption is questionable, and its violation could compromise the reliability and validity of those estimates of depression. In this study, we used a novel application of latent transition analysis to cross-sectional data, accounting for measurement error in different response pathways through the depression module in the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The analysis included data from 19,734 participants >18 years of age in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Epidemiologic Surveys. The latent transition analysis, allowing for measurement error in screening questions and exclusion criteria, produced a higher estimate of the lifetime probability of experiencing depression than did the algorithm based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision. This illustration of latent transition analysis applied to item-level data from a complex structured diagnostic tool with gate questions demonstrates the potential utility of an analytic approach that does not automatically assume gate questions function without measurement error. This model could also be used to probe for evidence of measurement bias in the form of differential item function when using structured diagnostic tools in different cultures and languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study was to prospectively investigate the effect of aggressive behavior and of classroom behavioral context, as measured in the fall of 1st grade, on the timing of 1st school removal across Grades 1-7 in a sample of predominately urban minority youths from Baltimore, Maryland. Using a multilevel discrete-time survival framework, we found that demographic characteristics of the students as well as early individual- and classroom-level of aggression contribute to the onset of school removal. Although early individual aggression was positively associated with the risk of school removal, initially higher levels of classroom aggression corresponded to lower risk of school removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental scientists frequently seek to understand effects of environmental contexts on development. Traditional analytic strategies assume similar environmental effects for all children, sometimes exploring possible moderating influences or exceptions (e.g., outliers) as a secondary step. These strategies are poorly matched to ecological models of human development that posit complex individual by environment interactions. An alternative conceptual framework is proposed that tests the hypothesis that the environment has differential (nonuniform) effects on children. A demonstration of the utility of this framework is provided by examining the effects of family resources on children's academic outcomes in a multisite study (N = 6,305). Three distinctive groups of children were identified, including 1 group particularly resilient to influence of low levels of family resources. Predictors of group differences including parenting and child demographics are tested, the replicability of the results are examined, and findings are contrasted with those obtained with traditional regression interaction effects. This approach is proposed as a partial solution to advance theories of the environment, social ecological systems research, and behavioral genetics to create well-tailored environments for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing problem-behavior trajectories can, be difficult. The data are generally categorical and often quite skewed, violating distributional assumptions of standard normal-theory statistical models. In this article, the authors present several currently available modeling options, all of which make appropriate distributional assumptions for the observed categorical data. Three are based on the generalized linear model: a hierarchical generalized linear model, a growth mixture model, and a latent class growth analysis. They also describe a longitudinal latent class analysis, which requires fewer assumptions than the first 3. Finally, they illustrate all of the models using actual longitudinal adolescent alcohol-use data. They guide the reader through the model-selection process, comparing the results in terms of convergence properties, fit and residuals, parsimony, and interpretability. Advances in computing and statistical software have made the tools for these type of analyses readily accessible to most researchers. Using appropriate models for categorical data will lead to more accurate and reliable results, and their application in real data settings could contribute to substantive advancements in the field of development and the science of prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on drinking behavior in the initial lapse after alcohol treatment. People who have undergone alcohol treatment may experience relapses but few studies describe drinking behavior after the initial lapse. The study examines the drinking behavior before and after the initial lapse in a group of five hundred sixty-three people undergoing alcohol treatment. The study found that occurrences of lapses decreased over time. It also found that alcohol dependence and coping behavior contributed to lapses and drinking behavior.

Multiple group analysis and general growth mixture modeling was used to determine whether aggressive-disruptive behavior trajectories during elementary school, and their association with young adulthood antisocial outcomes, vary by gender. Participants were assessed longitudinally beginning at age 6 as part of an evaluation of 2 school-based preventive programs. Two analogous trajectories were found for girls and boys: chronic high aggression-disruption (CHAD) and stable low aggression- disruption (LAD). A 3rd class of low moderate aggression-disruption (LMAD) for girls and increasing aggression-disruption (IAD) for boys also was found. Girls and boys in analogous CHAD classes did not differ in trajectory level and course, but girls in the CHAD and LAD classes had lower rates of antisocial outcomes than boys. Girls with the LMAD trajectory differed from boys with the IAD trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates body image concerns and disordered weight- and shape-related behaviors across adolescence and young adulthood in males and how patterns vary by sexual orientation. Participants were 5,388 males from the U.S. national Growing Up Today Study. In 2001, 2003, and 2005 (spanning ages 15-20 years), participants reported sexual orientation, past-year desire for toned/defined muscles and concerns with weight and shape, and past-year binge eating, restrictive dieting, purging (vomiting or laxative use), and use of products to increase muscularity (e.g., creatine, steroids). Latent class analyses identified 2 patterns at ages 15-16 years and 3 patterns at 17-18 and 19-20 years: healthy (all ages; low body image concerns and weight- and shape-related behaviors; 54-74% of observations), muscle-concerned (ages 17-18 and 19-20; relatively high muscularity concern and product use; 18-21% of observations), and lean-concerned (all ages; relatively high weight and shape concern, dieting, and binge eating; 19-28% of observations). Latent transition analyses revealed that sexual minority males (i.e., mostly heterosexual, gay, and bisexual) were more likely than completely heterosexual males to be lean-concerned at ages 17-18 and 19-20 years and to transition to the lean-concerned class from the healthy class. There were no sexual orientation differences in odds of being muscle-concerned. Both heterosexual and sexual minority males are at risk for presenting body image concerns and weight- and shape-related behaviors that may have deleterious health consequences. Results suggest the need for screening for concerns and behaviors related to leanness and muscularity in early adolescence among all males, regardless of sexual orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mothers living with HIV (MLH) face unique challenges that may compound parenting stress and impede effective parenting practices. Among the general population, research has demonstrated bidirectional longitudinal relations between parenting stress and parenting practices; yet, despite the additional stressors faced by MLH, these processes have not been examined longitudinally in this population. Utilizing the process model of parenting, the present study examined the longitudinal relations between parenting stress and parental involvement among a sample of MLH with children aged 6–14 years (N = 174). MLH completed self-report measures on their parenting stress and parental involvement at four timepoints spanning 15 months. Latent change score modeling was employed to examine how changes in parenting stress and changes in parental involvement were related across time. Results revealed that increases in parenting stress—specifically distress within the parental role—predicted subsequent decreases in parental involvement. The effects were unidirectional; parental involvement did not predict subsequent changes in parenting stress. Other aspects of parenting stress (perceptions of dysfunctional parent–child interactions and perceptions of the child's temperament as difficult) did not have significant longitudinal associations with changes in parental involvement. Results highlight the central role of parenting stress for MLH as a potential driving factor of parenting quality. Beyond supporting the use of effective parenting skills, clinical prevention and intervention efforts with families affected by HIV should also incorporate stress reduction techniques to increase MLH's capacity for active parental involvement and thereby support positive outcomes for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to test whether (a) discrimination is associated with past 30-day/current alcohol, cigarette, e-cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drug use among Black and White U.S. adults aged 18-28, (b) psychological distress (PD) and positive well-being (PW) are mediators of the discrimination-substance use relationships, and (c) the associations are moderated by race and sex. Using data from a 2017 U.S. nationally representative survey we conducted multiple-group moderated mediation analyses among 2,192 young adults aged 18-28 (508 Black males, 594 Black females, 533 White males, 557 White females). Black males had higher discrimination, Whites had higher PW, and females had higher PD scores. Discrimination was positively associated with PD and negatively associated with PW. Among all groups, discrimination was positively associated with other illicit drug (direct and indirect), and marijuana use through PD. Indirect effects were stronger among White males for other illicit drugs and Black males for marijuana. The indirect effect of discrimination and alcohol use through PW was positive for Black females and negative for all other groups examined. Among Black males only, discrimination was positively associated with cigarette and alcohol use through PD (positive) and cigarette smoking through PW (negative). This study highlights the negative influence of perceived discrimination on current licit and illicit substance use among Black and White young adults. Our results suggest that this relationship may be partially mediated by PD and PW, especially among Black male young adults. Future discrimination and substance use studies should consider potential mediation effects of poor mental health and differences by race and sex. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).