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Budget analysis entities often cannot capture the full downstream impacts of investments in prevention services, programs, and interventions. This study describes and applies an approach to synthesizing existing literature to more fully account for these effects. This study reviewed meta-analyses in PubMed published between Jan 1, 2010 and Dec 31, 2019. The initial search included meta-analyses on the association between health risk factors, including maternal behavioral health, intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, depression, and obesity, with a later health condition. Through a snowball sampling-type approach, the endpoints of the meta-analyses identified became search terms for a subsequent search, until each health risk was connected to one of the ten costliest health conditions. These results were synthesized to create a path model connecting the health risks to the high-cost health conditions in a cascade. Thirty-seven meta-analyses were included. They connected early-life health risk factors with six high-cost health conditions: hypertension, diabetes, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, mental disorders, heart conditions, and trauma-related disorders. If confounders could be controlled for and causality inferred, the cascading associations could be used to more fully account for downstream impacts of preventive interventions. This would support budget analysis entities to better include potential savings from investments in chronic disease prevention and promote greater implementation at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined whether participation in adolescent substance use prevention programming can enhance long-term resilience into adulthood such that individuals were better able to cope with adversities during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, yielding benefits for the individuals, their partners/spouses, and children; 197 adults (28–30 years old) who entered the PROSPER randomized trial of substance use prevention programming as 6th graders and subsequently had become parents—and 128 of their partners—participated in two waves of long-term follow-up data collection. Respondents completed questionnaires on substance use, adjustment, parenting quality, and children's mood and behavior problems 15 years after baseline, and again via an online survey in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results were mixed, with some indications of better adjustment of PROSPER intervention compared to control participants during the early phase of the pandemic (less increase in alcohol use and less decrease in parenting warmth) and their children (lower levels of externalizing and internalizing problems) but several null results as well (no differences in other substance use behaviors, other parenting measures, or parent depression). Adolescent substance use prevention programs can foster long-term individual and interpersonal resilience factors that allow participants—as well as their children—to adapt and cope with unforeseen periods of acute stress and adversity with less deterioration in health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this pilot study are to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a peer-delivered co-parenting program, Autism Parent Navigators (APN), for parents of children recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thirty families (63 caregivers) participated in a mixed-method quasi-experimental test of the six-week intervention. Feasibility and acceptability data were collected weekly. Outcome data were collected at baseline, post-test, and 3-month follow-up. The findings suggest that the APN program was generally feasible to deliver in a community setting and was acceptable to parents of children with ASD. The results also offer promising preliminary evidence of the program's impact on parents' ASD service navigation, co-parent relationship quality and parent well-being. APN could be an effective tool for supporting families in the months following their child's diagnosis. Highlights: This is a pilot study of a brief, peer-delivered, home-visiting program for parents of children with ASD. Parents and caregivers had high rates of program completion and reported the intervention to have high acceptability. The partner community organization and peer-support interventionists found the intervention feasible to deliver and suggested improvements. Parents and caregivers reported improvements in family empowerment and parent well-being, and mothers reported improvements in coparenting quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of romantic relationships formed during early adulthood has critical implications for physical and psychological wellbeing, future romantic relationships, and subsequent parenting of the next generation. The present study evaluates the cross-over effects of the PROSPER-delivered adolescent substance use prevention programming on young adult romantic relationship functioning through a long-term developmental cascade of adolescent skills and behaviors, along with subsequent family-of-origin functioning. Prospective, longitudinal, bivariate growth models were used to analyze the effects of the PROSPER-delivered interventions in a sample of 1008 youths living in rural and semi-rural communities in Iowa and Pennsylvania, starting in sixth grade (AgeM = 11.8; 62% female) who were in a steady romantic relationship at the young adult assessment (AgeM = 19.5). Findings indicated a cascading effect through which PROSPER promotes adolescent problem-solving skills during early-to-mid-adolescence; problem-solving skills were associated with better family functioning during mid-adolescence; and family functioning was associated with better romantic relationship quality, indicated by lower levels of relationship violence and more effective relationship problem-solving in young adulthood. PROSPER, which primarily targets adolescent substance misuse and conduct problem prevention, has lasting, collateral effects that benefit young adults in their romantic relationship functioning — which may have further downstream benefits for their own relationships and those of their children (i.e., intergenerational transmission effects). These findings add to the growing body of literature evidencing important cross-over effects of widely disseminated substance use prevention programs delivered during adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving sustained engagement in family-based preventive intervention programs is a serious challenge faced by program implementers. Despite the evidence supporting the effectiveness and potential population-level impacts for these programs, their actual impact is limited by challenges around retention of participants. In order to inform efforts to better retain families, it is critical to understand the different patterns of attendance that emerge across the duration of program implementation and the factors that are associated with each attendance pattern. In this study, we identified latent classes of attendance patterns across the seven program sessions of the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth Ages 10–14 (SFP 10–14). Youth and their parents who attended at least one SFP 10–14 program session together were included in the analysis. Four distinct classes emerged: First-Session Attenders (7%), Early Attenders (9%), Declining-High Attenders (18%), and Consistent-High Attenders (66%). An examination of individual, family, and sociodemographic predictors of class membership revealed that adolescent school bonding predicted families having relatively high attendance, adolescent involvement with deviant peers predicted early dropout, and family low-income status predicted early dropout. Findings point to the need for potential targeted strategies for retaining these groups, such as involving school personnel, employing brief interventions to identify and address barriers at the outset, and leveraging the positive influence of Consistent-High Attenders. Findings also shed light on ways to reach those who may continue to drop out early, such as restructuring program content to address critical material early in the program. This study adds to the growing body of literature that seeks to understand for whom, when, and in which ways program dropout occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the developmental course of informant discrepancies in adolescent aggressive behavior problems, though whether aggression increases or decreases over time depends on reporter. Evaluating discrepancies longitudinally can uncover patterns of agreement/disagreement between reporters across time and determine contexts that give rise to these differences. This study addresses longitudinal informant discrepancies by examining parent-report and adolescent report of adolescent aggressive behavior problems over time and further investigates possible contextual factors related to the longitudinal discrepancy. Five-waves (from age 11.5 to 15) of multi-informant data from the PROSPER project (N = 977; 52% female; 87% Caucasian) were used to test longitudinal change in informant discrepancies between mother-, father-, and adolescent-reported aggressive behavior problems. Results showed that parents reported more aggression than their adolescents at age 11.5 and that the discrepancy at first converged over time before diverging. By age 15, adolescents reported more aggression than their parents. Parental hostility, family status, and adolescent gender predicted change in informant discrepancies. Practical and developmental implications are discussed for assessing and determining accurate change in adolescent aggressive behavior problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friendships form an important context in which adolescents initiate and establish alcohol use patterns, but not all adolescents may be equally affected by this context. Therefore, this study tests whether parenting practices (i.e., parental discipline, parental knowledge, unsupervised time with peers) and individual beliefs (i.e., alcohol descriptive norms, positive social expectations, moral approval of alcohol use) moderate friend selection and influence around alcohol use. Stochastic actor-based models were used to analyze longitudinal social network and survey data from 12,335 adolescents (aged 11 to 17, 51.3% female) who were participating in the PROSPER project. A separate model was estimated for each moderating variable. Adolescents who reported consistent parental discipline, less unsupervised time with peers, higher descriptive alcohol use norms, and less positive social expectations about alcohol use were less likely to select alcohol-using friends. Those who reported consistent parental discipline, better parental knowledge, lower descriptive alcohol use norms, and less positive social expectations were more influenced by their friends' level of alcohol use. Thus, adolescents with these characteristics whose friends frequently use alcohol are at greater risk whereas those whose friends do not use alcohol are at lower risk of using alcohol. The findings show that, although selection and influence processes are connected, they may function in different ways for different groups of adolescents. For some adolescents, it is particularly important to prevent them from selecting alcohol-using friends, because they are more susceptible to influence from such friends. These peer network dynamics might explain how proximal outcomes targeted by many prevention programs (i.e., parenting practices and individual beliefs) translate into changes in alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) among teens who are pregnant or parenting, the field is lacking evidence-based prevention programs designed for this population. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively adapt the evidence-based Safe Dates IPV prevention program and conduct a pilot study of the adapted program with female teens who were pregnant or parenting. We completed formative research including a literature review, focus groups, and pre-testing of adapted content to inform the revised curriculum. We then conducted a randomized controlled trial with 32 teens (average age = 17) to compare the adapted program to the original program on implementation characteristics and outcomes, including IPV perpetration and victimization. Directions of effect favored the adapted program over the original program for 18 out of 21 implementation outcomes for which models could be estimated and for 11 of 12 participant outcomes. The strongest effects, all favoring the adapted program, were found for observer-reported adherence to the curriculum, participant ratings of the relevance of characters and scenarios, participant knowledge of ways to get help for abuse, and attitudes toward IPV. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of the adapted program for this target population and suggest that the program may be efficacious when evaluated in a larger study. Highlights: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is common among teens who are pregnant or parenting, but IPV prevention programs have not been tailored for this population. This study adapted and pilot tested an IPV prevention program for teen mothers using a randomized controlled trial. Feasibility, acceptability, and participant outcomes were better for the adapted program than for the original program. Results suggest advantages in carefully adapting IPV prevention programs to address unique needs of teen mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research demonstrates significant associations between coparenting conflict and child adjustment problems. However, the implications of youth adjustment for coparenting, especially during youth's adolescence, remain poorly understood. Addressing several gaps in the literature, this study examines the longitudinal trajectory of mothers' and fathers' reported coparenting conflict from youth ages 10–17 and tests bidirectional associations between youth social anxiety, hostility, risk-taking behaviors, and mothers' and fathers' coparenting conflict. Participants include 757 mothers, fathers, and youth in two-parent families (M youth age = 11.28, SD = 0.49; 53% female) who participated in 5 waves of data collection when youth were in the 6th to 9th grades. Multilevel growth curve models revealed significant non-linear change in mothers' and fathers' coparenting conflict, such that coparenting conflict declined through youth's transition to adolescence, leveled off in early adolescence, and declined in the mid-late adolescent years. Cross-lagged models showed significant positive associations between youth social anxiety and hostility and coparenting conflict at the following time point, but coparenting conflict did not predict later youth adjustment problems in these domains. There were significant bidirectional associations between mother-reported coparenting conflict and youth risk-taking behaviors; the associations between coparenting conflict and risk-taking were not significant for fathers. The findings demonstrate that investigating longitudinal associations between youth adjustment and coparenting conflict may provide new insights into the role of child effects for mothers' and fathers' coparenting experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delinquent youth often experience depression, but depression's impact on their future deviance is unclear. Using survey and social network data on a panel of 9th graders (N = 8701; Mage at baseline = 15.6; 48% male; 85% white; 18% eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch) followed throughout high school, this study tested whether depressive symptoms predicted later deviance or deviant peer affiliations among already delinquent youth. A latent class analysis revealed that 4% of respondents showed above-average levels of delinquency but not depressive symptoms, and 3% were above average on both. Compared to the delinquent-only group, the delinquent-depressed group went on to have less deviant friends, and to engage in less deviance themselves. However, peer deviance was not a reliable explanation for the reductions in respondents' own future deviance. Depressive symptoms thus may play a protective role against continued delinquency and substance use among youth who are already delinquent, but it is not because they reduce deviant peer affiliations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined combinations of warmth and hostility in mother-father-adolescent triadic relationships when adolescents were in 6th grade and associations with adolescent middle school substance initiation. We conducted a latent profile analysis with a sample of 687 two-parent families (52.4% of adolescents were female, mean age = 11.27 at 6th grade). These analyses revealed five profiles of triadic relationships, labeled as: cohesive families (46%, high warmth and low hostility in all three dyads), compensatory families (24%, low interparental warmth but high parent-adolescent warmth), disengaged families (13%, average to low warmth and hostility in three dyads), distressed families (9%, high hostility and low warmth in all three dyads), and conflictual families (8%, high hostility and average warmth in all three dyads). There were significant differences across triadic relationship profiles in rate of alcohol initiation during middle school. Specifically, adolescents in distressed families and conflictual families initiated alcohol at higher rates than adolescents in other types of families. Cohesive families and compensatory families initiated alcohol at the lowest rates among all five types of families. Similar patterns appeared for drunkenness and cigarettes. Implications for family-based interventions to decrease adolescent substance use and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the psychometric characteristics of the Coparenting Relationship Scale when administered in fathers during pregnancy. During the first trimester of a partner's pregnancy, 91 primiparous fathers completed the Coparenting Relationship Scale—Father's Prenatal Version (CRS-FPV), and self-report measures of depressive and anxious symptoms, adult attachment, and partner's relationship quality. The CRS-FPV revealed good internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors: lack of coparenting support, coparenting conflict, coparenting disagreement, and coparenting undermining. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good model fit. Significant associations between the CRS-FPV and the original CRS subscales were found. Hypothesized associations between the CRS-FPV subscales and individual (depressive and anxious symptoms and adult attachment) and dyadic (partner's relationship quality) constructs were also significant. The present study suggested that the CRS-FPV is a reliable multidimensional measure to assess coparenting in fathers during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family-based prevention programs increasingly are being disseminated and can be effective for an array of adolescent problem behaviors, including substance use initiation. Yet, we continue to have little understanding of how and why these programs work. Increased specificity in our understanding of what components drive program effects can facilitate refinement of programs, with potential for greater impact at a lower cost. Using attendance data, previously coded intervention components, and a previously developed propensity model to adjust for potential bias, this study evaluated content component-specific dosage effects of the Strengthening Families Program: for Parents and Youth Ages 10-14 on three substance use initiation outcomes by grade 12. Results indicated that greater dosages of program content related to (a) parental monitoring and behavior management strategies and (b) promoting positive family relationships had potent and robust effects on reduction of risk for initiating drunkenness and marijuana use and (c) self-regulation and stress management had potent and robust effects on reduction of risk for initiating cigarette and marijuana use. Results indicate potential critical components within SFP 10-14 and offer a path forward for continuing work in efforts to optimize this widely disseminated program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peers play an important role in adolescence, a time when self-harm arises as a major health risk, but little is known about the social networks of adolescents who cut. Peer network positions can affect mental distress related to cutting or provide direct social motivations for self-harm. This study uses PROSPER survey data from U.S. high school students (n = 11,160, 48% male, grades 11 and 12), finding that social networks predict self-cutting net of demographics and depressive symptoms. In final models, bridging peers predicts higher self-cutting, while claiming more friends predicts lower cutting for boys. The findings suggest that researchers and practitioners should consider peer networks both a beneficial resource and source of risk associated with cutting for teens and recognize the sociostructural contexts of self-harm for adolescents more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well-liked adolescents are more likely than their peers to engage in sexual behaviors, which may place them at higher risk of negative outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy. Yet, little is known regarding whether peer acceptance in adolescence predicts sexual outcomes in young adulthood. Understanding developmental links between peer acceptance and sexual outcomes will inform theories of how peers affect health and can help identify targets for health promotion efforts. Using longitudinal sociometric data from 1878 participants in the PROSPER study (54% female, 82% White, mean age = 11.79 at baseline), the present research examined the association of adolescent peer acceptance, reported annually from grades 6–11, with adolescent and young adult sexual outcomes. Well-liked adolescents were more likely to have sexual intercourse by age 16. At age 19, well-liked individuals were more likely to have had sexual intercourse but were less likely to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. For boys but not girls, peer acceptance was linked to having more past year sexual partners in young adulthood. Adolescent peer acceptance was not associated with other young adult sexual outcomes, such as sex without a condom or casual sex. Overall, well-liked adolescents demonstrated healthy sexual development into young adulthood, despite a higher likelihood of sexual initiation early in adolescence. Findings demonstrate the importance of peer acceptance for healthy development into young adulthood and suggest that well-liked adolescents may be appropriate targets for peer-led sexual health education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Better integrating human developmental factors in genomic research is part of a set of next steps for testing gene-by-environment interaction hypotheses. This study adds to this work by extending prior research using time-varying effect modeling (TVEM) to evaluate the longitudinal associations between the PROSPER preventive intervention delivery system, a GABRA2 haplotype linked to alcohol use, and their interaction on adolescent delinquency. Logistic and Poisson analyses on eight waves of data spanning ages 11 to 19 (60% female, 90% Caucasian) showed the intervention reduced delinquency from ages 13 to 16. Moreover, interaction analysis revealed that the effect of the multicomponent intervention was significantly greater for T-allele carriers of the GABRA2 SNP rs279845, but only during the 13 to 16 age period. The results are discussed in terms of adolescent delinquency normativeness, implications for preventive intervention research, and the utility of incorporating development in GxE research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social isolation is broadly associated with poor mental health and risky behaviors in adolescence, a time when peers are critical for healthy development. However, expectations for isolates’ substance use remain unclear. Isolation in adolescence may signal deviant attitudes or spur self-medication, resulting in higher substance use. Conversely, isolates may lack access to substances, leading to lower use. Although treated as a homogeneous social condition for teens in much research, isolation represents a multifaceted experience with structurally distinct network components that present different risks for substance use. This study decomposes isolation into conceptually distinct dimensions that are then interacted to create a systematic typology of isolation subtypes representing different positions in the social space of the school. Each isolated position’s association with cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use is tested among 9th grade students (n = 10,310, 59% female, 83% white) using cross-sectional data from the PROSPER study. Different dimensions of isolation relate to substance use in distinct ways: unliked isolation is associated with lower alcohol use, whereas disengagement and outside orientation are linked to higher use of all three substances. Specifically, disengagement presents risks for cigarette and marijuana use among boys, and outside orientation is associated with cigarette use for girls. Overall, the adolescents disengaged from their school network who also identify close friends outside their grade are at greatest risk for substance use. This study indicates the importance of considering the distinct social positions of isolation to understand risks for both substance use and social isolation in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to develop and maintain healthy romantic relationships is a key developmental task in young adulthood. The present study investigated how adolescent interpersonal skills (assertiveness, positive engagement) and family processes (family climate, parenting practices) influence the development of young adult romantic relationship functioning. We evaluated cross-lag structural equation models with a sample of 974 early adolescents living in rural and semi-rural communities in Pennsylvania and Iowa, starting in sixth grade (mean age = 12.4, 62.1% female) and followed into young adulthood (mean age = 19.5). Findings revealed that adolescents who had experienced a more positive family climate and more competent parenting reported more effective problem-solving skills and less violent behavior in their young adult romantic relationships. Adolescent assertiveness was consistently positively associated with relationship problem-solving skills, and adolescents’ positive engagement with their family was associated with feeling more love in young adult romantic relationships. In addition, family functioning and adolescent interpersonal skills exhibited some reciprocal relations over the adolescent years. In summary, family processes and interpersonal skills are mutually influenced by each other across adolescence, and both have unique predictive implications to specific facets of young adult romantic relationship functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PROSPER model uses a three-tiered community partnership, university researcher, and Cooperative Extension-based technical assistance system to support the delivery of evidence-based interventions in communities. This study examines the trajectory and predictors of the collaborative relationship between technical assistance providers and community teams across the three phases of organization, implementation, and sustainability. Members of 14 PROmoting School-university-community Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) community teams and directors of local agencies rated communities' levels of readiness and adolescent substance use norms. Technical assistance providers rated their collaborative relationship with their teams at 14 occasions across 4.5 years. Results from mixed models show that levels of collaboration were stable until the sustainability phase, when they increased significantly. Team differences in change were significant during the implementation phase. Community readiness predicted levels of the collaborative relationship over time: high community readiness was associated with a high level of collaboration during organization, but a decline in collaboration during implementation. These results provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between technical assistance provision and community prevention teams and lead to recommendations to improve dissemination models to achieve a greater public health impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of family relationships and youth friendships are intricately linked. Previous studies have examined different mechanisms of family-peer linkage, but few have examined social anxiety. The present study examined whether parental rejection and family climate predicted changes in youth social anxiety, which in turn predicted changes in friendship quality and loneliness. Possible bidirectional associations also were examined. Data for mothers, fathers, and youth (Mage at Time 1 = 11.27; 52.3% were female) from 687 two-parent households over three time points are presented. Results from autoregressive, cross-lagged analyses revealed that father rejection (not mother rejection or family climate) at Time 1 (Fall of 6th Grade) predicted increased youth social anxiety at Time 2 (Spring of 7th Grade), which in turn, predicted increased loneliness at Time 3 (Spring of 8th Grade). The indirect effect of father rejection on loneliness was statistically significant. Mother rejection, father rejection, and a poor family climate were associated with decreased friendship quality and increased loneliness over time. Finally, there was some evidence of transactional associations between father rejection and youth social anxiety as well as between social anxiety and loneliness. This study’s findings underscore the important role of fathers in youth social anxiety and subsequent social adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventive intervention effects on adolescent alcohol misuse may differ based on genotypes in gene-by-intervention (G x I) interactions, and these G x I interactions may vary as a function of age. The current study uses a novel statistical method, time-varying effect modeling (TVEM), to test an age-varying interaction between a single nucleotide polymorphism in the GABRA2 gene (rs279845) and a preventive intervention in predicting alcohol misuse in a longitudinal study of adolescents (ages 11-20). The preventive intervention was PROSPER, a community-based system for delivery of family and school programs selected from a menu of evidence-based interventions. TVEM results revealed a significant age-varying GABRA2 x intervention interaction from ages 12 to 18, with the peak effect size seen around age 13 (IRR = 0.50). The intervention significantly reduced alcohol misuse for adolescents with the GABRA2 TT genotype from ages 12.5 to 17 but did not reduce alcohol use for adolescents with the GABRA2 A allele at any age. Differences in intervention effects by GABRA2 genotype were most pronounced from ages 13 to 16-a period when drinking is associated with increased risk for alcohol use disorder. Our findings provide additional evidence that intervention effects on adolescent alcohol misuse may differ by genotype, and provide novel evidence that the interaction between GABRA2 and intervention effects on alcohol use may vary with age. Implications for interventions targeting adolescent alcohol misuse are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the oxytocin receptor ( OXTR) gene's moderation of associations between exposure to a substance misuse intervention, average peer substance use, and adolescents' own alcohol use during the 9th-grade. OXTR genetic risk was measured using five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and peer substance use was based on youths' nominated closest friends' own reports of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, based on data from the PROSPER project. Regression models revealed several findings. First, low OXTR risk was linked to affiliating with friends who reported less substance use in the intervention condition but not the control condition. Second, affiliating with high substance-using friends predicted youth alcohol risk regardless of OXTR risk or intervention condition. Third, although high OXTR risk youth in the intervention condition who associated with low substance-using friends reported somewhat higher alcohol use than comparable youth in the control group, the absolute level of alcohol use among these youth was still among the lowest in the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the use of dynamical systems modeling techniques to evaluate self- and co-regulation of affect in couples' interactions before and after the transition to parenthood, and the impact of the Family Foundations program on these processes. Thirty-four heterosexual couples, randomized to intervention and control conditions, participated in videotaped dyadic interaction tasks at pretest (during pregnancy) and posttest (1 year after birth). Husbands' and wives' positivity and negativity were micro-coded throughout interactions. Individual negativity set-points, self-regulation, and partner co-regulatory processes during interactions were examined using a coupled oscillators model. Regarding self-regulatory processes, men exhibited amplification of negativity at the prenatal assessment that did not change at the postnatal assessment; women demonstrated no significant damping or amplification at pretest and a marginally significant change towards greater amplification at the postnatal assessment. In terms of partner-influenced regulatory dynamics, men's positive behaviors changed from damping to amplifying women's negative behaviors in the control group following the transition to parenthood, but exerted an even stronger damping effect on women's negative behaviors in the intervention group. The study highlights the advantages of dynamic modeling approaches in testing specific hypotheses in the study of self- and co-regulatory couple dynamics and demonstrates the potential of studying dynamic processes to further understanding of developmental and intervention-related change mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to parenthood is a stressful period for most parents as individuals and as couples, with variability in parent mental health and couple relationship functioning linked to children's long-term emotional, mental health, and academic outcomes. Few couple-focused prevention programs targeting this period have been shown to be effective. The purpose of this study was to test the short-term efficacy of a brief, universal, transition-to-parenthood intervention (Family Foundations) and report the results of this randomized trial at 10 months postpartum. This was a randomized controlled trial; 399 couples expecting their first child were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions after pretest. Intervention couples received a manualized nine-session (five prenatal and four postnatal classes) psychoeducational program delivered in small groups. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that intervention couples demonstrated better posttest levels than control couples on more than two thirds of measures of coparenting, parent mental health, parenting, child adjustment, and family violence. Program effects on family violence were particularly large. Of eight outcome variables that did not demonstrate main effects, seven showed moderated intervention impact; such that, intervention couples at higher levels of risk during pregnancy showed better outcomes than control couples at similar levels of risk. These findings replicate a prior smaller study of Family Foundations, indicating that the Family Foundations approach to supporting couples making the transition to parenthood can have broad impact for parents, family relationships, and children's adjustment. Program effects are consistent and benefit all families, with particularly notable effects for families at elevated prenatal risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher levels of parental knowledge about youth activities have been associated with lower levels of youth risky behavior. Yet little is known about how parental knowledge fluctuates during early adolescence and how those fluctuations are associated with the development of problem behavior. We use the term lability to describe within-person fluctuations in knowledge over time with higher lability indicating greater fluctuations in knowledge from year-to-year. This longitudinal study of rural adolescents (N = 840) investigated if change in parental knowledge across four waves of data from grades 6 to 8 is characterized by lability, and if greater lability is associated with higher youth substance use, delinquency, and internalizing problems in grade 9. Our models indicated that only some of the variance in parental knowledge was accounted for by developmental trends. The remaining residual variance reflects within-person fluctuations around these trends, lability, and measurement and occasion-specific error. Even controlling for level and developmental trends in knowledge, higher knowledge lability (i.e., more fluctuation) was associated with increased risk for later alcohol and tobacco use, and for girls, higher delinquency and internalizing problems. Our findings suggest that lability in parental knowledge has unique implications for adolescent outcomes. The discussion focuses on mechanisms that may link knowledge lability to substance use. Interventions may be most effective if they teach parents to consistently and predictably decrease knowledge across early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how aspects of coalition functioning predict a coalition’s ability to promote high-quality implementation of evidence-based programs (EBPs). The study involved 62 Communities That Care (CTC) coalitions in Pennsylvania measured annually from 2003 to 2007. Findings indicate that the communities with higher levels of poverty and longer existing coalitions are related to lower support for high-quality EBP implementation. Several aspects of coalition functioning—including higher levels of funding; leadership strength; board efficiency; strong internal and external relationships; and fidelity to the CTC model—significantly predicted support for high-quality EBP implementation. Earlier measurements of coalition functioning (2003–2004 and 2005–2006) predicted EBP implementation (2007) more strongly than concurrent coalition assessments (2007). The discussion focuses on how coalitions and technical assistance providers can improve coalition support for the implementation of EBPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used data from a sample of 6th to 12th grade students ( N = 48,641, 51% female), nested in 192 schools, to determine if the influence of family-based protective factors varied across different school contexts. Hierarchical logistic regression models were used to examine the effects of individual-level family protective factors, relative to school-level aggregates of the same factors, on recent (past 30 days) use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Cross-level interactions indicated that the effect of the student’s level of family protection, relative to other students in their school, differed depending on the aggregated school level of family protection. The results suggested that the benefit of belonging to a well-functioning family was more influential for students attending schools characterized by higher-than-average aggregated levels of protection compared to students attending schools of lower-than-average protection. Thus, family-level factors offered less protection for students in relatively high-risk school contexts. These results were consistent with a protective–reactive interaction and suggest that a thorough understanding of adolescent substance use must consider the complex interplay among adolescents, their families, and their social environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether a psycho-educational program with modest dosage (eight sessions), delivered in a universal framework through childbirth education programs and targeting the coparenting relationship would have a positive impact on observed family interaction and child behavior at 6-month follow-up (child age 1 year). One hundred sixty-nine couples, randomized to intervention and control conditions, participated in videotaped family observation tasks at pretest (during pregnancy) and at child age 1 year (2003–2007). Coparenting, parenting, couple relationship, and child self-regulatory behaviors were coded by teams of raters. Intent-to-treat analyses of program effects controlled for age, education, and social desirability. Evidence of significant ( p < 0.05) program effects at follow-up emerged in all four domains. Effect sizes ranged from 0.28 to 1.01. Targeting the coparenting relationship at the transition to parenthood represents an effective, non-stigmatizing means of promoting parenting quality and child adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way that parents work together in their roles as parents, the coparenting relationship, has been linked to parental adjustment, parenting, and child outcomes. The coparenting relationship offers a potentially modifiable, circumscribed risk factor that could be targeted in family-focused prevention. This paper briefly outlines an integrated and comprehensive view of coparenting, and suggests that the time around the birth of the first child is an opportune moment for coparenting intervention. To support the development of such prevention programs, an outline of the possible goals of coparenting intervention is presented with a description of the processes by which enhanced coparenting may have effects in each area. The paper discusses several issues involved in developing and disseminating effective coparenting interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene's moderation of associations between exposure to a substance misuse intervention, average peer substance use, and adolescents' own alcohol use during the 9th-grade. OXTR genetic risk was measured using five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and peer substance use was based on youths' nominated closest friends' own reports of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, based on data from the PROSPER project. Regression models revealed several findings. First, low OXTR risk was linked to affiliating with friends who reported less substance use in the intervention condition but not the control condition. Second, affiliating with high substance-using friends predicted youth alcohol risk regardless of OXTR risk or intervention condition. Third, although high OXTR risk youth in the intervention condition who associated with low substance-using friends reported somewhat higher alcohol use than comparable youth in the control group, the absolute level of alcohol use among these youth was still among the lowest in the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]