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Childhood behavior problems are associated with reduced labor market participation and lower earnings in adulthood, but little is known about the pathways and mechanisms that explain these associations. Drawing on a 33‐year prospective birth cohort of White males from low‐income backgrounds (n = 1040), we conducted a path analysis linking participants' teacher‐rated behavior problems at age 6 years—that is, inattention, hyperactivity, aggression‐opposition, and low prosociality—to employment earnings at age 35–39 years obtained from tax records. We examined three psychosocial mediators at age 11–12 years (academic, behavioral, social) and two mediators at age 25 years (non‐high school graduation, criminal convictions). Our findings support the notion that multiple psychosocial pathways—especially low education attainment—link kindergarten behavior problems to lower employment earnings decades later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the contribution of nonparental child-care services received during the preschool years to the development of social behavior between kindergarten and the end of elementary school with a birth cohort from Québec, Canada (N = 1,544). Mothers reported on the use of child-care services, while elementary school teachers rated children's shyness, social withdrawal, prosociality, opposition, and aggression. Children who received nonparental child-care services were less shy, less socially withdrawn, more oppositional, and more aggressive at school entry (age 6 years). However, these differences disappeared during elementary school as children who received exclusive parental care caught up with those who received nonparental care services. This "catch-up" effect from the perspective of children's adaptation to the social group is discussed.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine bidirectional associations of adolescents' internalizing symptoms with dating violence victimization and perpetration. We conducted secondary analyses of the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development data (n = 974). Each adolescent completed items from the Conflict Tactics Scale (at ages 15 and 17 years) to assess psychological, physical, and sexual dating violence victimization and perpetration in the past 12 months. Adolescents' symptoms of depression and general anxiety in the past 12 months were self-reported (at ages 15 and 17 years) using The Mental Health and Social Inadaptation Assessment for Adolescents. There were concurrent associations of adolescents' internalizing symptoms with dating violence victimization and perpetration. Internalizing symptoms at age 15 years were positively associated with dating violence victimization and perpetration 2 years later in both males and females, even after adjusting for baseline characteristics. However, neither dating violence victimization nor perpetration at age 15 years was associated with internalizing symptoms 2 years later. For males and females, internalizing symptoms put adolescents at risk for future dating violence victimization and perpetration. Interventions that target internalizing symptoms may have the potential to decrease subsequent dating violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peer victimization is associated with a wide range of mental health problems in youth, yet few studies described its association with mental health comorbidities. Methods: To test the association between peer victimization timing and intensity and mental health comorbidities, we used data from 1216 participants drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a population-based birth cohort. Peer victimization was self-reported at ages 6–17 years, and modeled as four trajectory groups: low, childhood-limited, moderate adolescence-emerging, and high-chronic. The outcomes were the number and the type of co-occurring self-reported mental health problems at age 20 years. Associations were estimated using negative binomial and multinomial logistic regression models and adjusted for parent, family, and child characteristics using propensity score inverse probability weights. Results: Youth in all peer victimization groups had higher rates of co-occurring mental health problems and higher likelihood of comorbid internalizing-externalizing problems [odds ratios ranged from 2.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.52–2.79 for childhood-limited to 4.34, 95% CI 3.15–5.98 for high-chronic victimization] compared to those in the low victimization group. The strength of these associations was highest for the high-chronic group, followed by moderate adolescence-emerging and childhood-limited groups. All groups also presented higher likelihood of internalizing-only problems relative to the low peer victimization group. Conclusions: Irrespective of timing and intensity, self-reported peer victimization was associated with mental health comorbidities in young adulthood, with the strongest associations observed for high-chronic peer victimization. Tackling peer victimization, especially when persistent over time, could play a role in reducing severe and complex mental health problems in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peer victimisation has been associated with depressive symptoms during adolescence, however not all peer victimised adolescents will exhibit such symptoms. This study tested whether having a genetic predisposition to developing depression increased the risk of experiencing depressive symptoms in peer victimised youth. To date, no study has explored such gene–environment interaction using a polygenic risk score for depression (PRS‐depression) in the context of peer victimisation and depressive symptoms in adolescence. Methods: The sample included 748 participants born in 1997/98 from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development with genotype data and prospectively collected information on peer victimisation (12–13 years) obtained from both self‐ and teacher‐reports, as well as self‐reported depressive symptoms (15–17 years). The PRS‐depression was based on the genome‐wide association meta‐analysis of broad depression by Howard et al. (2019). Results: Self‐ and teacher‐reported peer victimisation in early adolescence were both associated with depressive symptoms in adolescence (β = 0.34, p <.001; β = 0.14, p =.001 respectively), and this association remained significant when accounting for PRS‐depression (β = 0.33, p <.001; β = 0.13, p =.002 respectively). PRS‐depression was independently associated with depressive symptoms, but there was no significant PRS‐depression by peer victimisation interaction (self‐reported and teacher‐reported). PRS‐depression was correlated with self‐reported, but not teacher‐reported, peer victimisation. Conclusions: Our findings suggested that a partial measure of an individual's genetic predisposition to depression, as measured by PRS‐depression, and being exposed to peer victimisation (self‐ and teacher‐reported) were independently associated with depressive symptoms in adolescence. Furthermore, PRS‐depression did not exacerbate the risk of depressive symptoms among adolescents who had been peer victimised. Lastly, we found evidence of a gene–environment correlation between PRS‐depression and self‐reported peer victimisation. Future studies are needed to replicate this finding and to further understand the role of genetic predispositions in experiencing depressive symptoms following peer victimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether high quantities of center‐based care cause behavior problems is a controversial question. Studies using covariate adjustment for selection factors have detected relations between center care and behavior problems, but studies with stronger internal validity less often find such evidence. We examined whether within‐child changes in hours in center‐based care predicted changes in externalizing problems in toddlers and preschoolers (N = 10,105; 49% female; data collection 1993–2012) in seven studies, including from Germany, Netherlands, Norway, two from Canada and two from the U.S. Race/ethnicity data were only collected in the United States (57% and 80% White; 42% and 13% African‐American; 1.2% and 5% Latinx). Meta‐analyses showed no association (r =.00, p =.88) between hours in center‐based care and externalizing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the psychometric properties of the Social Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ), a 30-item questionnaire evaluating social (e.g., disruptive behaviors, bullying) and emotional problems (e.g., anxiety, depression) among children aged 3.5–12 years. Children (n = 1,950, 50.21% boys) were drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Mothers reported the frequency with which children presented social and emotional behaviors from 3.5 to 8 years of age, and teachers from 6 to 12 years. We assessed internal structure using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, reliability using Cronbach's alpha, and convergent and discriminant validity using a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) approach. The six-factor (emotional distress, withdrawal, impulsive/hyperactive/inattentive, disruptive behaviors, prosocial behaviors, and peer relationships difficulties) structure of the SBQ showed good fit from ages 3.5 to 12 years. Reliability estimates were good to excellent (alphas >.7), and MTMM showed good convergent and discriminant validity. Overall, the SBQ presented good psychometric properties with a large population-based sample aged 3.5–12 years. Further studies should assess its screening potential by investigating its convergent validity with diagnostic information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the link between behavior in kindergarten and adult-life welfare receipt. Teacher-rated behavioral assessments were obtained for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression–opposition, anxiety, and prosociality when children (n =2960) were aged 5–6 years and linked to their tax return records from age 18–35 years. We used group-based based trajectory modeling to identify distinct trajectories of welfare receipt and multinomial logistic regression models to examine the association between behaviors and trajectory group membership. The child's sex, IQ, and family background were adjusted for. Four trajectories of welfare receipt were identified: low (n = 2,390, 80.7%), declining (n = 260, 8.8%), rising (n = 150, 5.2%), and chronic (n = 160, 5.4%). Relative to the low trajectory, inattention and aggression–opposition at age 6 years were associated with increased risk of following a declining, rising, and chronic trajectory of welfare receipt, independent of hyperactivity and anxiety. Prosocial behaviors were independently associated with a lower risk of following a chronic trajectory. This study shows that kindergarten children exhibiting high inattention and aggression–opposition and low prosocial behaviors may be at increased risk of long-term welfare receipt in adulthood. The implications for early screening, monitoring, and prevention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]