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Temperament, parenting, and executive functioning (EF) are individual and contextual factors that have been identified to play a role in the development of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Specifically, exuberant temperament in toddlerhood has been associated with both adaptive and maladaptive outcomes, including ADHD symptoms. Therefore, it is important to understand factors that predict which exuberant children experience increased ADHD symptoms and the specific mechanisms through which early exuberant temperament impacts later ADHD symptoms. Using a multi-method, prospective longitudinal design, this study examined a moderated mediation model wherein the interactive effects of observed exuberance and parenting at age 3 predicted the development of parent-reported ADHD symptoms from childhood through adolescence (age 5, 7, 9, 12, and 15) via child EF (i.e., inhibitory control) at age 4. Parent–child dyads (n = 291) from a longitudinal study on child temperament were included. A piecewise model of ADHD symptom growth demonstrated stability in ADHD symptoms from age 5–9 and a decrease from age 9–15. Results support a moderated mediation model wherein an increase in ADHD symptoms throughout childhood was predicted from early childhood exuberant temperament by way of EF, but only for children whose parents displayed less directive parenting. Findings suggest identifiable early markers of risk, including temperament, parenting, and EF- pointing to possible targets for early intervention/prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given the robust evidence base for the efficacy of evidence‐based treatments targeting youth anxiety, researchers have advanced beyond efficacy outcome analysis to identify mechanisms of change and treatment directionality. Grounded in developmental transactional models, interventions for young children at risk for anxiety by virtue of behaviorally inhibited temperament often target parenting and child factors implicated in the early emergence and maintenance of anxiety. In particular, overcontrolling parenting moderates risk for anxiety among highly inhibited children, just as child inhibition has been shown to elicit overcontrolling parenting. Although longitudinal research has elucidated the temporal unfolding of factors that interact to place inhibited children at risk for anxiety, reciprocal transactions between these child and parent factors in the context of early interventions remain unknown. Method: This study addresses these gaps by examining mechanisms of change and treatment directionality (i.e., parent‐to‐child vs. child‐to‐parent influences) within a randomized controlled trial comparing two interventions for inhibited preschoolers (N = 151): the multicomponent Turtle Program ('Turtle') and the parent‐only Cool Little Kids program ('CLK'). Reciprocal relations between parent‐reported child anxiety, observed parenting, and parent‐reported accommodation of child anxiety were examined across four timepoints: pre‐, mid‐, and post‐treatment, and one‐year follow‐up (NCT02308826). Results: Hypotheses were tested via latent curve models with structured residuals (LCM‐SR) and latent change score (LCS) models. LCM‐SR results were consistent with the child‐to‐parent influences found in previous research on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for older anxious youth, but only emerged in Turtle. LCS analyses revealed bidirectional effects of changes in parent accommodation and child anxiety during and after intervention, but only in Turtle. Conclusion: Our findings coincide with developmental transactional models, suggesting that the development of child anxiety may result from child‐to‐parent influences rather than the reverse, and highlight the importance of targeting parent and child factors simultaneously in early interventions for young, inhibited children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Research suggests that certain parenting behaviors are best suited to promote optimal child development, depending on a child's distinctive temperamental presentation. This multimethod, longitudinal study examines the interactive effect of parenting and temperament in early childhood on the developmental trajectory of social anxiety in adolescence. Methods: Longitudinal growth modeling was used to examine the developmental trajectory of child social anxiety from age 9–15 and the interactive effect of parenting and child temperament at 36 months on the developmental trajectory of child social anxiety from age 9–15. Results: The slope of social anxiety from age 9–15 suggested a decrease in social anxiety throughout early adolescence. Furthermore, 36‐month behavioral inhibition (BI) predicted the trajectory of child social anxiety from age 9–15 when parents displayed low and high levels of dismissive and supportive parenting (at 36 months). Conclusions: Results support an interactive effect of infant temperament and parenting in early childhood (at 36 months) on the developmental trajectory of child social anxiety from age 9–15. Specifically, results suggest that engaging highly inhibited children with high supportive and low dismissive parenting may help reduce social anxiety over time in adolescence. Furthermore, parenting needs may differ for children high or low in BI to impact the developmental trajectory of social anxiety in adolescence, such that children who are high BI seem to benefit from low dismissive and high supportive parenting, and children who are low in BI seem to benefit more from high dismissive parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue consists of 23 articles focusing on parent socialization of emotion in children and adolescents as a transdiagnostic factor for the development of psychopathology. The papers in this special issue span various emotion socialization domains, methodologies, ages, and clinical and non-clinical populations, highlighting the promise, as well as complexities of, such transactional work. Our goals for this commentary include synthesizing the articles, highlighting common themes, and suggesting future research initiatives involving measurement, developmental, and cultural considerations. It is our hope that the research presented in this special issue will inspire future, high-quality research on this topic and ultimately improve outcomes for children and adolescents at risk for poor emotion regulation and psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]