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Emotion regulation is a key challenge of early childhood. The present study examined emotion regulation behaviour longitudinally from infancy to preschool. The continuity of emotion regulation was explored within the larger ecological context of maternal childhood histories of aggression and social withdrawal and maternal use of constructive and non-constructive behaviours. Forty-five mothers with childhood histories of aggression or social withdrawal from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a prospective, longitudinal, intergenerational study, participated with their preschool children. Infants' emotion regulation behaviour was observed during interactions with their mothers when they were 5½ months of age. Emotion regulation in these same children as preschoolers was coded during an interference task using the Preschooler Self-Regulatory Scheme. Longitudinal findings demonstrated continuity in children's use of emotion regulation behaviours from infancy to preschool. Higher maternal childhood histories of risk, specifically social withdrawal, contributed to the prediction of preschoolers' increased attention-seeking behaviours. Mothers' use of non-constructive verbalizations predicted more maladaptive styles of emotion regulation in their preschoolers. The findings highlight the importance of helping children develop adaptive emotion regulation skills from a young age and have implications for the design of preventive intervention programmes to help parents foster children's emotion regulation abilities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The present study sought to determine if exposure to common childhood medical problems (i.e., infections and atopic disorders [e.g., allergies, asthma]) may dysregulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Longitudinal data from 96 youth were used to examine this possibility. Medical records were drawn from government databases indicating the frequency of visits to healthcare facilities for infections and atopic disorders from infancy to early adolescence. During early adolescence, participants provided salivary cortisol samples from awakening until bedtime over 2 consecutive days. Individuals with a history of increased number visits for infections across childhood displayed elevated levels of cortisol at awakening whereas individuals with childhood histories of visits for atopic disorders displayed blunted diurnal cortisol slopes. These findings build on previous research documenting associations between infections and atopic disorders and cortisol by identifying longitudinal linkages from early health problems to later HPA axis functioning. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 56: 897-907, 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioural disinhibition and depression symptoms have both been suggested as potential mechanisms linking conduct problems (CP) to adolescent substance use; however, their roles have yet to be conclusively identified. The current project examines whether these mental health characteristics mediate the association between CP and early adolescent substance use. Participants (N = 744) were drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study on children with and without early CP. Structural equation models showed significant associations between CP at T1 (6.3 to 10.6 years old) and both depression symptoms and behavioural disinhibition 3 years later (T4). While depression symptoms at T4 were not associated with substance use at T6, behavioural disinhibition was. A significant partial indirect effect also emerged for behavioural disinhibition in the association between CP and substance use, but this effect disappeared once we controlled for age. Clinical implications of our study include a focus on global CP symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine agreement between parental reports of head injury and evidence of head injury in medical records and to compare these two measures in predicting early conduct disorder (CD). Design and Setting: Parent survey data was compared with records of child head injury from the National Health Services Register (Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec, RAMQ) administrative database. Participants: Children (N = 685) ages 6–9 with and without CD. There were 147 children with RAMQ recorded head injury and 39 children with parent-reported head injury. Main Measures: Indication of one or more head injury before 6 years of age as reported by parents and/or as noted in medical data. Early CD (present by age 9) according to parents and/or teachers. Results: Results indicated poor agreement between the two forms of reporting κ =.161 (95% CI,.083 to.239), p < 0.001. Medical data significantly predicted the presence of CD in children, with a RAMQ coded head injury suggesting a child was 1.88 times more likely to have CD. Parent reports of head injuries did not significantly predict CD. Conclusion: Medical data should be prioritized in research addressing pediatric head injury, given that parent reports may fail to capture incidence of injury and therefore may be less predictive of other known correlates of head injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dating violence during adolescence is a major public health issue: it is highly prevalent and extensive research has documented its physical and psychological consequences, yet very little has focused on its sexual consequences. The present study investigated the longitudinal associations between dating violence victimization (psychological, sexual or physical) and sexual well-being (sexual satisfaction and sexual distress) among 1442 sexually active adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years who completed at least one of three data waves (51.1% girls; 45.7% boys; 0.3% non-binary; 3.0% varying gender identity). The study also examined whether these associations differed by gender identity and sexual minority status. Adolescents completed online questionnaires on electronic tablets during class. The results indicated that psychological, physical (except for boys), and sexual dating violence victimization were all associated with lower sexual satisfaction and greater sexual distress over time. Moreover, the between-level associations between dating violence and poorer sexual outcomes were stronger among girls and gender varying adolescents than among boys. The within-level association between physical dating violence and sexual satisfaction was significant among adolescents with a nonvarying sexual minority status, but not among those with a nonvarying heterosexual status or that varied in sexual minority status. Findings offer cues for dating violence prevention and intervention programs by suggesting the need to examine sexual well-being over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dual Failure Model suggests that peer victimization (social failure) and academic difficulties (academic failure) mediate the association between externalizing and later internalizing problems. The present study sought to better understand why children with externalizing problems develop later internalizing problems by testing the Dual Failure Model using a sample of 744 children (aged 6 to 10 at Time 1 [T1]), of whom 434 (44.7% girls) presented with high levels of conduct problems at study inception. Both parent and teacher ratings of externalizing and internalizing problems support the social failure pathway, but not the academic failure pathway. Children with externalizing behaviors at T1 who developed internalizing problems 2 years later did so via their experiences of peer victimization. These results apply for both boys and girls and do not vary according to child age at T1 or the level of conduct problems at study inception. These findings underscore the importance of early screening and intervention for externalizing behavioral problems in order to reduce subsequent peer victimization and internalizing problems. Findings regarding the consequences of internalizing are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adolescents with a history of conduct problems (CP) are at heightened risk of increased service utilization as they develop. While the mechanisms underlying this association are unclear, early CP have also been linked with peer victimization and internalizing problems. The goals of the current study were: (1) to examine peer victimization and internalizing problems as potential serial mediators explaining increased medical and psychiatric service use in adolescents with a history of childhood CP, and; (2) to explore whether the proposed mediation models vary by sex., Methods: Participants ( N = 744; 53% boys, Mage = 8.39 years) from an ongoing longitudinal study that began in 2008 in Québec, Canada were recruited and assessed for CP, service use, and other behaviours via self-, parent- and teacher-reported questionnaires. Serial mediation analyses were conducted to examine the effects of peer victimization and internalizing problems on the association between childhood CP and adolescent medical and psychiatric service use, controlling for sex and household income., Results: Adolescents with childhood CP reported higher medical and psychiatric service use than non-CP peers. Peer victimization and internalizing problems significantly mediated this association in both general medical and psychiatric service use models. The models did not vary by sex., Conclusions: Findings support higher levels of service use in adolescents with a history of CP, mediated by peer victimization and internalizing problems. Specifically, results highlight the importance of examining peer and socioemotional factors that may explain the increased service usage observed among youth with CP, to support better health outcomes.

Objectives: Sleep is important for adolescent health. The unique needs of suprabinary youth (youth with gender identities outside of the gender binary), along with the growing number of youth with these identities, underscores the need to better understand sleep health within this population. The current study's objectives were to (1) examine differences in sleep health between suprabinary and binary youth and (2) explore how social support, peer victimization, and technology use accounted for these differences., Methods: Data were drawn from the 2017/2018 Health Behavior in School Aged Children Survey. Adolescents (individuals ages 14 to 17, n = 10,186), indicated whether they were suprabinary (n = 182) or binary (n = 10,004), and completed measures of sleep health (difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying awake, weekday and weekend sleep length), covariates (age, family affluence, race/ethnicity, depressive symptoms), as well as variables that may account for differences between suprabinary and binary youth (family, friend, and teacher support, as well as peer victimization, and technology use before bed)., Results: Suprabinary youth reported worse sleep health on all outcomes, and differences persisted for both difficulty falling asleep and weekday sleep hours accounting for covariates. Significant indirect effects between suprabinary status were observed across all sleep outcomes for family support and school climate. Indirect effects for sleep quality were also observed via peer victimization., Conclusions: Findings support the relevance of looking at basic health processes like sleep to better understand how the stressors associated with suprabinary status impact health outcomes among this vulnerable population., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicts of interest We have no conflicts of interest, real or perceived, to report., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Adolescent alcohol use has significant consequences for concurrent and longitudinal health and wellbeing, with sexual minority youth consistently reporting higher levels of alcohol use than their heterosexual peers. Understanding how individual-difference variables like aggressive behavior are associated with variability in sexual minority adolescents' higher levels of alcohol use offers novel theoretical insight into this vulnerability. The 81,509 participants were drawn from the Profiles of Student life: Attitudes and Behavior Study. They were ages 14-17 years (M = 15.38, SD = 1.09) and 50.1% were cisgender girls. For sexual identity, 88% were heterosexual, 5% were mostly heterosexual, were 4% bisexual, were 1% mostly gay or lesbian, and were 1% being gay or lesbian. Participants reported on alcohol use, aggressive behavior, and sexual identity. Gay/lesbian and mostly gay/lesbian adolescents who reported higher aggressive behavior had higher levels of alcohol use than their heterosexual peers who also reported higher aggressive behavior. The way in which aggressive behavior amplified the link between mostly gay/lesbian and gay/lesbian identities and alcohol use suggests the need for more research examining how this trait may heighten both exposure and reaction to minority stressors among some subgroups of sexual minority youth., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Self-continuity, or how an individual understands their sense of self as persisting from past to present and present to future, is an important aspect of the self-concept that is linked to mental health outcomes. This self-concept construct may be particularly pertinent for sexual minority populations, as living in a heterosexist environment may prove detrimental for the development of self-continuity. The current study examined self-continuity among sexual minority and heterosexual community college and university students (N = 292). Compared to their heterosexual peers, sexual minority participants reported lower levels of self-continuity. Self-continuity moderated the associations between victimization due to gender nonconformity and victimization due to sexual minority status and depressive symptoms, such that higher levels of self-continuity were protective among individuals who were experiencing higher levels of victimization due to gender nonconformity or sexual minority status. Findings will be discussed in terms of their implications for identity development among emerging adults.

Objectives Individuals with sexual minority identities (e.g., identities other than heterosexual such as gay, lesbian bisexual or mostly heterosexual) are at increased risk for a number of negative health outcomes compared to individuals who identify as heterosexuals. The majority of existing Canadian population-based studies on this topic, however, were conducted prior to major cultural and legal changes with regards to sexual minority population. Furthermore, much of the more recent work focuses on adolescents or identifies mental health outcomes among urban populations. The goal of the current study was to assess if sexual minority-based health disparities were observed within a population-based sample of adult men and women from Estrie, a semi-urban administrative region of Quebec. Method In 2014-15, an independent firm surveyed a random sample of adults in Estrie, Quebec. A total of 10,687 individuals completed telephone surveys about their mental health (psychological distress, depression, alcohol use and drug consumption) and their sexual identities (i.e., heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual or mostly heterosexual). Analyses were performed separately for men and women. Results Significant differences, specifically with regards to distress and cannabis use were observed across sexual minority status. Specifically, bisexual and mostly heterosexual participants reported poorer mental health outcomes compared with heterosexual participants. The majority of differences observed, however, were explained by variation in demographic variables (age, education, revenue and visible minority status). Conclusion These findings suggest the importance of demographic factors with regards to understanding vulnerability to mental health outcomes among sexual minority adults. Furthermore, the specific vulnerabilities experienced by mostly heterosexual and bisexual participants need to be taken into consideration by mental health professionals.

Background: Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behaviour in both girls and boys are predictive of a variety of health risks in adulthood. However, longitudinal examination of the predictive links between childhood aggression, negative physical health outcomes in adulthood and overall use of health care has not been done. We looked at use of health care and a variety of physical health outcomes in adulthood to extend the current body of knowledge regarding the long-term negative sequelae of childhood aggression., Methods: Participants of the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project were eligible for the current study if they had received medical care in the province of Quebec between 1992 and 2006, and if we were able to retrieve their medical and education records. Our primary outcome was use of the health care system, as determined using records from the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec and the Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux. Our controlled variables were socioeconomic status of the neighbourhood in which participants lived in 1986 and level of education. We used hierarchical multiple regression to explore the association between childhood behaviour and physical health in adulthood., Results: During the 15-year period studied, childhood agression corresponded to an increase in medical visits (8.1% per 1 standard deviation increase in agression), and injuries (10.7%) or lifestyle-related illnesses (44.2%), visits to specialists (6.2%) and visits to emergency departments (12.4%). We saw a positive relation between social withdrawal during childhood and government-funded visits to dentists. Peer-rated likeability during childhood showed negative relations with use of health care (overall), medical visits due to injuries and government-funded visits to dentists., Interpretation: Childhood aggression is a health risk that should be considered when designing interventions to improve public health and diminish the costs of medical services, particularly when considering interventions targeting children and families.