scholarly journals Stressful Life Circumstances, Resources for Support, and African American Children’s Psychological Symptoms

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison J. Woerpel ◽  
Willie Winston ◽  
Sonya S. Brady
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Child Support ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Externalizing Symptoms ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Adhd Symptoms ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms

This brief report examines African American children’s and caregivers’ exposure to stressors and perceived support in relation to children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Forty-six children aged 8 to 12 years and their primary caregivers were recruited from an urban school in the Midwestern United States and interviewed separately. Adjusting for child’s age and gender, caregiver’s gender, and number of caregivers in the family, child-reported stressful life events were associated with child-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms. When children reported greater support from caregivers, children reported fewer externalizing symptoms and caregivers reported fewer oppositional behaviors and ADHD symptoms on the part of their child. Caregivers’ health- and relationship-related stressors were associated with child-reported externalizing symptoms, as well as caregiver-reported ADHD symptoms. Family-based mental health services within schools and communities may improve caregiver and child support systems, reduce caregiver-child conflict, and promote resilience to stress among urban, low-income African American families.

scholarly journals Risk and protective factors for comorbid internalizing and externalizing problems among economically disadvantaged African American youth

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 1043-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingwen Liu ◽  
Brian Mustanski ◽  
Danielle Dick ◽  
John Bolland ◽  
Darlene A. Kertes
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Externalizing Problems ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing Problems ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing

AbstractComorbidity of internalizing and externalizing problems and its risk and protective factors have not been well incorporated into developmental research, especially among racial minority youth from high-poverty neighborhoods. The present study identified a latent comorbid factor as well as specific factors underlying internalizing and externalizing problems among 592 African American adolescents living in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods (291 male; M age = 15.9 years, SD = 1.43 years). Stressful life events and racial discrimination were associated with higher comorbid problems, whereas stressful life events and exposure to violence were associated with higher specific externalizing problems. Collective efficacy was associated with both lower specific externalizing problems and lower comorbid problems. Moreover, high collective efficacy buffered the risk effects of stressful life events and racial discrimination on comorbid problems. Our results demonstrated the advantages of latent variable modeling to understanding comorbidity by articulating impacts of risk factors on comorbid and specific components underlying internalizing and externalizing problems. They also highlighted the protective effect of collective efficacy in mitigating risks for these problems. These findings broadly call for more studies on comorbidities in developmental psychopathology among youth from diverse sociocultural backgrounds.

Risk and protective factors for comorbid internalizing and externalizing problems among economically disadvantaged African American youth

2016 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingwen Liu ◽  
Brian Mustanski ◽  
Danielle Dick ◽  
John Bolland ◽  
Darlene A. Kertes
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Externalizing Problems ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing Problems ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing

Abstract Comorbidity of internalizing and externalizing problems and its risk and protective factors have not been well incorporated into developmental research, especially among racial minority youth from high-poverty neighborhoods. The present study identified a latent comorbid factor as well as specific factors underlying internalizing and externalizing problems among 592 African American adolescents living in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods (291 male; M age = 15.9 years, SD = 1.43 years). Stressful life events and racial discrimination were associated with higher comorbid problems, whereas stressful life events and exposure to violence were associated with higher specific externalizing problems. Collective efficacy was associated with both lower specific externalizing problems and lower comorbid problems. Moreover, high collective efficacy buffered the risk effects of stressful life events and racial discrimination on comorbid problems. Our results demonstrated the advantages of latent variable modeling to understanding comorbidity by articulating impacts of risk factors on comorbid and specific components underlying internalizing and externalizing problems. They also highlighted the protective effect of collective efficacy in mitigating risks for these problems. Broadly, these findings call for more studies on comorbidities in developmental psychopathology among youth from diverse sociocultural backgrounds.

Abstract TP405: Psychological Outcomes After Childhood Arterial Ischemic Stroke

Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily C Maxwell ◽  
Tonia Ballantyne ◽  
Kathleen E Carlson ◽  
Amanda L Hollatz ◽  
KC Clevenger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Child Behavior Checklist ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Externalizing Symptoms ◽  
Neurological Injury ◽  
Normative Sample ◽  
Arterial Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Oppositional Defiant ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms

Introduction: Previous research has broadly documented that emotional and behavioral difficulties are seen after pediatric stroke; however, global ratings are generally reported without comparison to age-based norms. Additionally, little is known about the discrete symptomatology exhibited by these children. Thus, the goal of the present study was to evaluate specific psychological symptoms following childhood arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). Hypothesis: Children with AIS were predicted to have increased difficulties in both internalizing and externalizing symptoms compared to the normative sample. Age at AIS was anticipated to influence the presence of psychological symptoms, with internalizing symptoms occurring at higher levels when the AIS occurred at a later age. Methods: Participants were children ( n = 50, mean age = 12.1 years) who suffered an AIS during childhood (range = 1 month to 17.1 years). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist at least 10 months post-AIS (mean = 4.1 years). Children were divided into groups by age at AIS: early (<6 years), middle (6-10 years), or late (>10 years) childhood. Data were analyzed using one-sample t -tests and ANOVA. Results: Children with AIS had significantly greater problems on the following DSM-oriented scales compared to the normative sample (all p -values < 0.01): Affective Problems, Anxiety Problems, Somatic Problems, Oppositional Defiant Problems, and Conduct Problems. There was a significant age-at-AIS effect on the Anxiety Problems subscale, F (2, 49) = 3.31, p = 0.05, such that the early childhood group had significantly higher levels of anxiety compared to the late childhood group. Conclusions: Increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms were seen in children with AIS compared to the normative sample, and a higher percentage of children with AIS exceeded a clinically significant threshold in each domain. Contrary to expectations, children who had AIS at an earlier age showed greater number of anxiety symptoms relative to same-age peers. Possible mechanisms for the latter may include changes in family dynamics when young children suffer a neurological injury. These results support the need for careful psychological follow-up in this vulnerable population.

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