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Ecological theories emphasize associations between children and elements within their family system, such as the marital relationship. Within a developmental perspective, we longitudinally examined (a) dynamic associations between marital stress and children's externalizing behavior, (b) mediation of these associations by parental sense of competence, and (c) the extent to which associations are similar for mothers and fathers. The sample consisted of 369 two-parent families (46.1% boys; Mage at Time 1 = 7.70 years; 368 mothers, 355 fathers). Marital stress related to having a child, children's externalizing behavior, and perceived parental competence were assessed three times across 8 years. Multigroup analyses were used to examine models for both parents simultaneously and test for similarity in associations across spouses. A bivariate latent growth model indicated positive associated change between marital stress and externalizing behavior, supporting the idea of codevelopment. The cross-lagged panel model revealed a reciprocal relation between marital stress and perceived parental competence across a time interval of 6 years. Additionally, two elicitation effects appeared during adolescence, showing that parents who reported higher externalizing problems in early adolescence reported more marital stress and a lower sense of competence two years later. Similar associations were found for mothers and fathers. Overall, this study indicates that marital stress and externalizing behavior codevelop over time and supports literature on developmental differences regarding interrelations between subsystems and individuals within the family system. (PsycINFO Database Record

The general factor of psychopathology (GP, or p factor) and the Dysregulation Profile (DP) are two conceptually similar, but independently developed approaches to understand psychopathology. GP and DP models and their stability, antecedents and outcomes are studied in a longitudinal sample of 1073 children (49.8% female). GP and DP models were estimated at ages 8 and 14 years using the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self Report (YSR). Early childhood antecedents and adolescent outcomes were derived using a multi-method multi-informant approach. Results showed that the general GP and DP had similar key symptoms and were similarly related to early-childhood antecedents (e.g., lower effortful control, higher maternal depression) and adolescent outcomes (e.g., reduced academic functioning, poorer mental health). This study demonstrates that GP and DP are highly similar constructs in middle childhood and adolescence, both describing a general vulnerability for psychopathology with (emotional) dysregulation at its core. Scientific integration of these approaches could lead to a better understanding of the structure, antecedents and outcomes of psychopathology.

Negative thinking is seen as an important mediating factor in the development of prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a syndrome encompassing debilitating symptoms of grief. No measure of specific grief related cognitions is available yet. Based on an adult measure of negative thinking in adults we developed a questionnaire for children, the Grief Cognitions Questionnaire for Children (GCQ-C). This study investigated several psychometric properties of the GCQ-C. Both reliability and validity were investigated in this study, in which hundred fifty-one children and adolescents (aged 8–18 years) participated. Findings showed that items of the GCQ-C represented one underlying dimension. Furthermore, the internal consistency and temporal stability were found to be adequate. Third, the findings supported the concurrent validity (e.g., significant positive correlations with self-report indices of PGD, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder), convergent and divergent validity of the GCQ-C. This study provides further evidence for the importance of negative thinking in PGD in children and adolescents.

This study examined trajectories of aggression and rule breaking during the transition from childhood to adolescence (ages 9–15), and determined whether these trajectories were predicted by lower order personality facets, overreactive parenting, and their interaction. At three time points separated by 2-year intervals, mothers and fathers reported on their children's aggression and rule breaking (N = 290, M age = 8.8 years at Time 1). At Time 1, parents reported on their children's personality traits and their own overreactivity. Growth mixture modeling identified three aggression trajectories (low decreasing, high decreasing, and high increasing) and two rule-breaking trajectories (low and high). Lower optimism and compliance and higher energy predicted trajectories for both aggression and rule breaking, whereas higher expressiveness and irritability and lower orderliness and perseverance were unique risk factors for increasing aggression into adolescence. Lower concentration was a unique risk factor for increasing rule breaking. Parental overreactivity predicted higher trajectories of aggression but not rule breaking. Only two Trait × Overreactivity interactions were found. Our results indicate that personality facets could differentiate children at risk for different developmental trajectories of aggression and rule breaking.

Deze longitudinale studie onderzocht in welke mate huwelijksstress en externaliserend probleemgedrag van jongeren zich in samenhang ontwikkelen en in hoeverre ouderlijke competentiebeleving een verklarende rol speelt in deze samenhang. Moeders en vaders van 369 gezinnen (46,1 % jongens, MleeftijdT1 = 7,7 jaar) vulden drie maal vragenlijsten in (2001, 2007, 2009). De resultaten lieten allereerst zien dat een sterkere daling van huwelijksstress in de loop van acht jaar samenhing met een sterkere daling van externaliserend probleemgedrag. Ten tweede werd de mediërende rol van competentiegevoelens niet bevestigd. Ten derde was meer huwelijksstress gerelateerd aan een lagere competentiebeleving en hing, andersom, een lagere competentiebeleving samen met meer huwelijksstress, in de loop van zes jaar. Tot slot was meer externaliserend probleemgedrag gerelateerd aan meer huwelijksstress en een lagere ouderlijke competentiebeleving tijdens de adolescentie. Verbanden waren analoog voor moeders en vaders. Resultaten bevestigen dat gezinsinterventies gericht op het versterken van ouderlijke competentiegevoelens en opvoedgedrag aandacht zouden moeten besteden aan steun en stress in de huwelijksrelatie.

Deze longitudinale studie onderzocht in welke mate huwelijksstress en externaliserend probleemgedrag van jongeren zich in samenhang ontwikkelen en in hoeverre ouderlijke competentiebeleving een verklarende rol speelt in deze samenhang. Moeders en vaders van 369 gezinnen (46,1 % jongens, MleeftijdT1 = 7,7 jaar) vulden drie maal vragenlijsten in (2001, 2007, 2009). De resultaten lieten allereerst zien dat een sterkere daling van huwelijksstress in de loop van acht jaar samenhing met een sterkere daling van externaliserend probleemgedrag. Ten tweede werd de mediërende rol van competentiegevoelens niet bevestigd. Ten derde was meer huwelijksstress gerelateerd aan een lagere competentiebeleving en hing, andersom, een lagere competentiebeleving samen met meer huwelijksstress, in de loop van zes jaar. Tot slot was meer externaliserend probleemgedrag gerelateerd aan meer huwelijksstress en een lagere ouderlijke competentiebeleving tijdens de adolescentie. Verbanden waren analoog voor moeders en vaders. Resultaten bevestigen dat gezinsinterventies gericht op het versterken van ouderlijke competentiegevoelens en opvoedgedrag aandacht zouden moeten besteden aan steun en stress in de huwelijksrelatie.

The Dysregulation Profile (DP) is a broad indicator of concurrent affective, behavioral, and cognitive dysregulation, often measured with the anxious/depressed, aggressive behavior, and attention problems syndrome scales of the Child Behavior Checklist. Despite an expanding body of research on the DP, knowledge of the normative developmental course of the DP from early childhood to adolescence is lacking. Furthermore, although we know that the DP longitudinally predicts personality pathology, no research yet has examined whether next to the DP in early childhood, the rate of change of the DP across development predicts personality pathology. Therefore, using cohort-sequential latent growth modeling in a population-based sample (N = 668), we examined the normative developmental course of mother-reported DP from ages 4 to 17 years and its associations with a wide range of adolescent-reported personality pathology dimensions 3 years later. The results showed that the DP follows a nonlinear developmental course with a peak in early adolescence. The initial level of the DP at age 4 and, to a lesser extent, the rate of change in the DP predicted a range of personality pathology dimensions in late adolescence. The findings suggest that the DP is a broad developmental precursor of personality pathology in late adolescence.

Objective This study examined long-term developmental changes in mother-rated lower-order facets of children's Big Five dimensions. Method Two independent community samples covering early childhood (2–4.5 years; N = 365, 39% girls) and middle childhood to the end of middle adolescence (6–17 years; N = 579, 50% girls) were used. All children had the Belgian nationality. Developmental changes were examined using cohort-sequential latent growth modeling on the 18 facets of the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children. Results In early childhood, changes were mostly similar across child gender. Between 2 and 4.5 years, several facets showed mean-level stability; others changed in the direction of less Extraversion and Emotional Stability, and more Benevolence and Imagination. The lower-order facets of Conscientiousness showed opposite changes. Gender differences became more apparent from middle childhood onward for facets of all dimensions except Imagination, for which no gender differences were found. Between 6 and 17 years, same-dimension facets showed different shapes of growth. Facets that changed linearly changed mostly in the direction of less Extraversion, Benevolence, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Imagination. Changes in facets for which nonlinear growth was found generally moved in direction or magnitude during developmental transitions. Conclusion This study provides comprehensive, fine-grained knowledge about personality development during the first two decades of life.

This study examined separate developmental trajectories of anxious and depressive symptoms from childhood to adolescence (9–15 years) in a community-based sample (N= 290). At three measurement points, mothers and fathers reported on their children's anxious and depressive symptoms, and at Time 1 they reported on lower order child personality facets and on their parenting. By means of growth mixture modeling, three developmental trajectories were identified for anxious symptoms: steady low (82%), moderate increasing–decreasing (5.9%), and high declining groups (12.1%). For depressive symptoms, two developmental trajectories were found: steady low (94.1%) and moderate increasing groups (5.9%). Higher shyness, irritability, and altruism predicted membership in more problematic anxious and depressive groups. The personality facets energy, optimism, compliance, and anxiety were unique predictors for class membership for anxious symptoms, and the effects of shyness, irritability, and compliance were moderated by overreactive parenting. Shyness and irritability increased the probability of following the moderate increasing–decreasing anxiety trajectory, but only in the context of high or average levels of overreactive parenting. Compliance increased the probability of following the moderate increasing–decreasing and high decreasing trajectories in the context of high overreactive parenting. Our results indicate that childhood personality facets differentiate trajectories of anxious and depressive symptoms in theoretically compelling ways.