Resilience in Adolescence: Prospective Self Moderates the Association of Early Life Adversity with Psychopathology

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Elizabeth Zinn ◽  
Edward Huntley ◽  
Daniel Keating

Introduction. Early life adversity (ELA) can result in negative health-outcomes, including psychopathology. Evidence suggests that adolescence is a critical developmental period for processing ELA. Identity formation, which is crucial to this developmental period, may moderate the effect between ELA and psychopathology. One potential moderating variable associated with identity formation is Prospective Self, a latent construct comprised of future-oriented attitudes and behaviors.Methods. Participants are from the first wave of an ongoing longitudinal study designed to characterize behavioral and cognitive correlates of risk behavior trajectories. A community sample of 10th and 12th grade adolescents (N = 2017, 55% female) were recruited from nine public school districts across eight Southeastern Michigan counties in the United States. Data were collected in schools during school hours or after school via self-report, computer-administered surveys. Structural equation modeling was used in the present study to assess Prospective Self as a latent construct and to evaluate the relationship between ELA, psychopathology, and Prospective Self.Results. Preliminary findings indicated a satisfactory fit for the construct Prospective Self. The predicted negative associations between Prospective Self and psychopathology were found and evidence of moderation was observed for externalizing behavior problems, such that the effects of ELA were lower for individuals with higher levels of Prospective Self. Conclusion. These results support the role of Prospective Self in conferring resilience against externalizing behavior problems associated with ELA among adolescents. Keywords: Adolescence, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Psychopathology, Self-concept, Adolescent Health, Early Life Adversity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Kulkarni ◽  
Amanda Sullivan ◽  
Jiwon Kim

Children’s low academic skills are associated with a variety of behavior problems and maladaptive outcomes throughout childhood and adulthood. Given the prevalence of behavioral disorders is approximately 19% of all US children, understanding of the mechanisms through which academic achievement and externalizing behavior problems interact can inform effective intervention to prevent persistent academic failure, chronic behavioral difficulties, and related negative long-term outcomes. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to systematically review research on the association between low academic achievement and externalizing behavior problems, as well as evaluate the research indicating causal linkages, if any, between the two domains. Five databases were searched, including OVID Medline, PsycInfo, Academic Search Premier, ERIC, Education Resource and PROQUEST. Search terms included statistical designs that could support a hypothetical causal association (e.g., structural equation modeling). We screened a total of 1,990 studies, of which 26 met the final inclusion criteria. In total, ten studies reported significant negative effects between the two domains, of which only six reported effect sizes that could be considered meaningful. All but two reported these effects in the direction of early externalizing behavior problems to later academic achievement. Overall, there was inconclusive evidence for either a causal or predictive relationship. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alysia Y. Blandon ◽  
Susan D. Calkins ◽  
Kevin J. Grimm ◽  
Susan P. Keane ◽  
Marion O'Brien

AbstractA developmental cascade model of early emotional and social competence predicting later peer acceptance was examined in a community sample of 440 children across the ages of 2 to 7. Children's externalizing behavior, emotion regulation, social skills within the classroom and peer acceptance were examined utilizing a multitrait–multimethod approach. A series of longitudinal cross-lag models that controlled for shared rater variance were fit using structural equation modeling. Results indicated there was considerable stability in children's externalizing behavior problems and classroom social skills over time. Contrary to expectations, there were no reciprocal influences between externalizing behavior problems and emotion regulation, although higher levels of emotion regulation were associated with decreases in subsequent levels of externalizing behaviors. Finally, children's early social skills also predicted later peer acceptance. Results underscore the complex associations among emotional and social functioning across early childhood.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
Guang Zeng ◽  
Zhengyi Chen ◽  
Pingfu Fu

Background: Although previous research has shown that internalizing and externalizing behavior problems often co-occur, the relationship between the developmental trajectories of these two types of behavior problems is understudied. The co-occurring evolutions of developmental trajectories of two behaviors has two components: 1) the correlation between the slopes of two behavior profiles (termed the association of the evolutions); and 2) the marginal correlation of two development trajectory profiles, which is the development of correlation between internalizing and externalizing behavior over time (termed the evolution of the association). The association of the evolutions and the evolution of the association have not been fully explored in the context of the development of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems among kindergarteners in the United States. Methods: The random-effects approach for joint modeling of multivariate longitudinal profiles was used to evaluate the co-development and its temporal pattern of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems on a nationally representative sample of 9791 kindergarteners from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). Results: here was a moderate positive association between the evolutions of the two behavior problems with correlation coefficient of 0.319. The evolution of association between the two behaviors was increasing over time with the correlation coefficient from 0.195 at the Fall of kindergarten to 0.291 by the time of fifth grade in general. Race and age groups act differently on the evolution of association. The associations were getting stronger for the Asian group and older groups than their peer groups. Conclusion: This investigation of the association of evolutions and the evolution of association between the internalizing and externalizing behaviors show that the two problem behaviors reciprocally reinforce each other and lead to increases in the other in a moderate strength and the strength is increasing over time.


2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4pt1) ◽  
pp. 891-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grazyna Kochanska ◽  
Sanghag Kim ◽  
Lea J. Boldt

AbstractAlthough children's active role in socialization has been long acknowledged, relevant research has typically focused on children's difficult temperament or negative behaviors that elicit coercive and adversarial processes, largely overlooking their capacity to act as positive, willing, even enthusiastic, active socialization agents. We studied the willing, receptive stance toward their mothers in a low-income sample of 186 children who were 24 to 44 months old. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a latent construct of willing stance, manifested as children's responsiveness to mothers in naturalistic interactions, responsive imitation in teaching contexts, and committed compliance with maternal prohibitions, all observed in the laboratory. Structural equation modeling analyses confirmed that ecological adversity undermined maternal responsiveness, and responsiveness, in turn, was linked to children's willing stance. A compromised willing stance predicted externalizing behavior problems, assessed 10 months later, and fully mediated the links between maternal responsiveness and those outcomes. Ecological adversity had a direct, unmediated effect on internalizing behavior problems. Considering children's active role as willing, receptive agents capable of embracing parental influence can lead to a more complete understanding of detrimental mechanisms that link ecological adversity with antisocial developmental pathways. It can also inform research on the normative socialization process, consistent with the objectives of developmental psychopathology.


2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Suveg ◽  
J. L. Hudson ◽  
G. Brewer ◽  
E. Flannery-Schroeder ◽  
E. Gosch ◽  
...  

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