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This study explored the implications of low-income mothers' entry into post-secondary education (PSE) during their children's first five years of life. Using propensity score matching to analyze data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979, we examined associations between maternal entry into PSE during early childhood and children's short- and long-term (ages 7 and 13, respectively) academic and socioemotional outcomes. We found that mothers' entry into PSE during early childhood had no short-term effects on children. There were, however, long-term positive effects on academic outcomes among children with a coresident father figure, and negative effects on behavior. We also tested explanatory mechanisms and found that maternal PSE entry had positive long-term effects on household income, but income did not mediate effects on long-term child outcomes. Further, maternal PSE had no effects on the home learning environment, mothers' educational expectations for children, maternal presence at home, or family climate. • Maternal PSE entry during early childhood has no short-term effects on children. • Maternal PSE has long-term academic benefits for children with coresident fathers. • Maternal PSE has long-term negative effects on children's behavior. • Maternal PSE has long-term positive effects on household income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Youth follow one of three drinking trajectories: normative, early-onset, late-onset. • Parents' alcohol use predicts their offsprings' drinking trajectories. • Mothers', but not fathers', alcohol use predicts youths' early-onset drinking. • Low alcohol use in mothers and fathers predicts a late-onset drinking trajectory. • Insufficient family income is associated with non-normative drinking trajectories. Research shows that parental alcohol use predicts youths' alcohol use, but this intergenerational continuity may vary across countries, and little is known about its moderators. This study examined for the first time the intergenerational continuity in alcohol use in a population sample of families in Canada, and tested whether it varied by youths' sex, family income, or family structure. We used prospective longitudinal data on 1632 families from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), a representative sample from the province of Quebec, Canada. Youths self-reported alcohol use and binge drinking frequency at seven timepoints from early adolescence to early adulthood. Predictors were mothers' and fathers' self-reported alcohol use from youths' infancy through age 13, and mother-reported socioeconomic variables. We identified three trajectories of alcohol use from ages 13 to 21 years: normative, late-onset and early-onset. Maternal alcohol use increased the youths' risk of following the early-onset trajectory of alcohol use, while both parents' alcohol use decreased the odds of the youths following the late-onset trajectory, compared to the normative trajectory. Insufficient family income increased youths' risk of following either the early-onset or late-onset trajectories. Mothers' and fathers' alcohol use did not interact in predicting youths' trajectory, and we found no moderating effects of the youths' sex, insufficient income, or years as a single-parent family. The results suggest modest intergenerational continuity of alcohol use in Quebec families which may be used, with income insufficiency, to help identify at-risk children for targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Testosterone is the key hormone for the development of male reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics. In addition, testosterone is associated with behavioural traits, including sexual behaviour and social dominance. The level of circulating testosterone in the human body is determined by genetic and environmental factors. Twin studies have shown moderate to high heritability in adolescence and adulthood, but heritability in early childhood has not been investigated. This study aimed at disentangling the genetic and environmental contributions to testosterone levels soon after birth. Methods: Using a sample of 314 twin pairs, saliva testosterone levels were measured at 5 months after birth. Quantitative genetic modelling was used to assess genetic and environmental contributions to the variation in testosterone levels. Results: Variation in testosterone levels was explained by common (56.6%) and unique (43.4%) environmental factors. Conclusions: Taken together, these data from the largest study of twin testosterone levels suggest that, in contrast to findings in adulthood, environmental factors determine the interindividual variability in testosterone levels in early infancy. This may have consequences for the development of sex-related behaviour during childhood and calls for studies designed to unravel specific genetic and environmental factors involved in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests whether young adolescents' achievement and behavior are associated with their mother's entry into post-secondary education (PSE) during their middle childhood years. It also examines five family processes that may link maternal PSE to development in middle childhood (income, home learning environment, mother's educational expectations for child, maternal presence, and family affective climate). The sample selects low-income families from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979. Propensity score weighting adjusts for mothers' self-selection into PSE. We find that adolescents whose mothers entered PSE in their middle childhood scored higher than their peers on math, but similarly on reading, behavior problems, delinquency, and substance use. There were no associations between mothers' PSE entry and the proposed mediators. • Mothers who return to school may boost child achievement but impair behavior. • This study examined low-income families in a national, longitudinal sample using propensity score weighting. • We examined adolescents whose mother entered post-secondary education in their middle childhood years • They scored slightly higher than matched peers on math but the same on reading and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irritability is a substrate of more than one dozen clinical syndromes. Thus, identifying when it is atypical and interfering with functioning is crucial to the prevention of mental disorder in the earliest phase of the clinical sequence. Advances in developmentally based measurement of irritability have enabled differentiation of normative irritable mood and tantrums from indicators of concern, beginning in infancy. However, developmentally sensitive assessments of irritability-related impairment are lacking. We introduce the Early Childhood Irritability-Related Impairment Interview (E-CRI), which assesses impairment associated with irritable mood and tantrums across contexts. Reliability and validity are established across two independent samples varied by developmental period: the Emotional Growth preschool sample (EmoGrow; N = 151, M = 4.82 years) and the When to Worry infant/toddler sample (W2W; N = 330, M = 14 months). We generated a well-fitting two-factor E-CRI model, with tantrum- and irritable mood-related impairment factors. The E-CRI exhibited good interrater, test-retest, and longitudinal reliability. Construct and clinical validity were also demonstrated. In both samples, E-CRI factors showed association to internalizing and externalizing problems, and to caregiver-reported concern in W2W. Tantrum-related impairment demonstrated stronger and more consistent explanatory value across outcomes, while mood-related impairment added explanatory utility for internalizing problems. The E-CRI also showed incremental utility beyond variance explained by the Family Life Impairment Scale (FLIS) survey indicator of developmental impairment. The E-CRI holds promise as an indicator of impairment to inform identification of typical versus atypical patterns reflecting early emerging irritability-related syndromes in the initial phase of the clinical sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the frequent clinical observation that toddlers with less expressive language have more severe temper tantrums. A representative sample of 2001 mothers reported on their toddler's expressive vocabulary and frequency of different temper tantrum behaviors, a prominent feature of irritability and an emergent marker of mental health risk. Results revealed that 12- to 38-month-olds with fewer spoken words demonstrated more severe (frequent and dysregulated) temper tantrums. Toddlers who were late talkers at 24–30 months also had more severe tantrums; their relative risk of having severe tantrums was 1.96 times greater than peers with typical language. These results are the first to show that language and temper tantrums are related, and that this relation is present in the second year of life. These findings point to the importance of assessing both language and mental health risk in order to promote earlier identification and intervention for early childhood disorders. • Expressive language is associated with temper tantrums in 12–38-month-olds. • Late talkers, i.e., children with language delay, have more severe temper tantrums. • Relative risk for severe tantrums is nearly 2x greater for late talkers. • A relation between emergent language and mental health risk is evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]