Profiles of externalizing behavior problems for boys and girls across preschool: The roles of emotion regulation and inattention.

Although externalizing behavior typically peaks in toddlerhood and decreases by school entry, some children do not show this normative decline. A sample of 383 boys and girls was assessed at ages 2, 4, and 5 for externalizing behavior and at age 2 on measures of emotion regulation and inattention. A longitudinal latent profile analysis was performed and resulted in 4 longitudinal profiles of externalizing behavior for each gender. Poor emotion regulation and inattention were important predictors of membership in the chronic-clinical profile for girls, whereas socioeconomic status and inattention were important predictors of membership in the chronic-clinical profile for boys. Results are discussed with respect to the development of adaptive skills that lead to normative declines in externalizing behavior across childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hard-to-manage preschool boys: externalizing behavior, social competence, and family context at two-year followup

Boys, identified as hard to manage in preschool, were followed up 2 years after initial assessment. Mothers, fathers, and teachers continued to rate hard-to-manage boys as having more problems with attention and impulse control, and as more oppositional, than comparison boys who had been problem-free at intake; problem boys also were rated as less socially competent by all three informants. Differences in severity were apparent as a function of initial referral source. Boys identified as showing significant problems by at least two informants (28% of the problem boys) were especially low in social competence and their mothers reported more symptoms of depression and parenting stress. Family adversity, lower IQ, and severity of symptoms at intake discriminated boys with continuing problems from those with less serious difficulties at followup. Control boys with potentially emerging problems were characterized by more family problems than the remaining control boys. Implications for the development of problems in young children are discussed.     

Teacher ratings predict peer ratings of aggression at 3-year follow-up in boys with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.

Compared initial and 3-yr follow-up peer ratings of 19 boys, who were in Grades 1–3 at the beginning of the study, who had attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH). When the entire group was considered, nominations on the Aggression and Likability factors of a pupil evaluation inventory improved. Subgroups were created using teacher ratings on an aggression scale. Peer ratings of Aggression improved for Ss whom teachers rated below the median on the aggression scale but not for Ss rated above the median. Subgroups reflecting other teacher and peer ratings were less effective in predicting differential change in peer ratings of ADDH Ss. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening of child behavior problems for prevention programs at school entry.

Targeted programs designed to prevent conduct problems in childhood and adolescence rely on screening systems to identify high-risk individuals. This study examines the proximal usefulness of a multiple-gating approach to screening, using teacher and parent ratings in a 2-step procedure with a sample of 382 kindergarten children. The study explored differences in the accuracy of the 2 steps of screening information and whether parents' reports of parenting practices augments the prediction of negative outcomes. The 2-step screening system was found to effectively predict negative behavior outcomes over 1 year later, although some false-positive and false-negative predictions were evident. The Parenting Practices Screen did not substantially add to prediction accuracy. The discussion emphasizes the potential contributions and problems of using screening measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family processes and risk for externalizing behavior problems among African American and Hispanic boys.

This study examined the relationship between family processes and risk for externalizing behavior problems among urban African American and Hispanic youth. The structural analysis of social behavior was used to code family interactions. Results indicate that high-risk boys were more submissive and less warm than low-risk boys. When they did assert themselves, high-risk boys tended to do so in a hostile manner. Parents of high-risk boys were more punitive and less nurturant than parents of low-risk boys. Regardless of risk status, African American boys were more assertive than Hispanic boys and African American parents were less controlling than Hispanic parents. These findings complement previous research on the development of antisocial behavior by highlighting the role of the adolescent in family processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective predictors of body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys: A five-year longitudinal study.

This study investigated prospective risk factors for increases in body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and boys in the Eating Among Teens Project. At the time of first assessment (Time 1), participants were a cohort of early adolescent girls (N=440) and boys (N=366) and a cohort of middle adolescent girls (N=946) and boys (N=764). Participants were followed up 5 years later (Time 2). Potential prospective risk factors examined included body mass index, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, parent dieting environment, peer environment, and psychological factors. Predictors of Time 2 body dissatisfaction were Time 1 body dissatisfaction, body mass index, socioeconomic status, being African American, friend dieting and teasing, self-esteem, and depression. However, the profile of predictors differed across the samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neurological correlates of reward responding in adolescents with and without externalizing behavior disorders.

Opposing theories of striatal hyper- and hypodopaminergic functioning have been suggested in the pathophysiology of externalizing behavior disorders. To test these competing theories, the authors used functional MRI to evaluate neural activity during a simple reward task in 12- to 16-year-old boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and/or conduct disorder (n = 19) and in controls with no psychiatric condition (n = 11). The task proceeded in blocks during which participants received either (a) monetary incentives for correct responses or (b) no rewards for correct responses. Controls exhibited striatal activation only during reward, shifting to anterior cingulate activation during nonreward. In contrast, externalizing adolescents exhibited striatal activation during both reward and nonreward. Externalizing psychopathology appears to be characterized by deficits in processing the omission of predicted reward, which may render behaviors that are acquired through environmental contingencies difficult to extinguish when those contingencies change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns and correlates of agreement between parent, teacher, and male adolescent ratings of externalizing and internalizing problems.

The authors examined how well 394 triads of male youths, caregivers, and teachers agreed about youth problems reported on the Achenbach checklists. Dyadic agreement was measured through difference scores (subtracting the raw score of youth self-report from the caregiver's or teacher's score for shared items), q correlations between pairs of raters across items, and D2 (generalized distance between item profiles) for both externalizing and internalizing items. Teachers reported fewer internalizing and externalizing problems than did caregivers or youths. Teacher–youth disagreement was higher for African American than European American males about externalizing criteria. Caregiver depression and stress (but not paternal antisocial behavior or maternal substance abuse) correlated with higher disagreement with other informants about all criteria. These factors appear to increase disagreement about the level of problems but not about specific symptom patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Synergistic interaction of child manageability problems and parent-discipline tactics in predicting future growth in externalizing behavior for boys.

Manageability problems during early childhood for boys were hypothesized to disrupt parental discipline practices. In turn, disrupted parental discipline practices were hypothesized to interact with manageability problems during late childhood to predict change in antisocial behavior during the transition from elementary to middle school. Results indicated that maternal retrospective perceptions of unmanageability predicted observed maternal discipline practices, even when maternal antisocial behavior and depressed mood and the disruptive and antisocial behavior of the boy were statistically controlled. Graphical analyses and latent class growth models indicated that level of temper tantrums interacted with maternal discipline in predicting change in teacher ratings of antisocial behavior. The nature of the interaction indicated that maternal discipline was a risk factor for growth in antisocial behavior only for boys with high levels of tantrums. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk factors for disordered eating during early and middle adolescence: Prospective evidence from mainland Chinese boys and girls.

Despite evidence that sociocultural and psychological factors contribute to disordered eating, researchers have yet to examine the extent to which putative risk factors influence vulnerability for girls versus boys within and across phases of adolescence, particularly in non-Western cultures. In this study, early and middle adolescent samples from China (N = 2,909) completed measures of eating disorder pathology and putative risk factors at baseline and were reassessed 12 months later. Among both younger and older girls, elevations in appearance-focused interactions with friends, negative affect, and body dissatisfaction predicted increases in symptomatology at follow-up. In contrast, there was more discontinuity in risk factors relevant to samples of boys. Although media and friendship influences contributed to later disturbances among early adolescent boys, psychological factors, including body dissatisfaction and negative affect, had stronger effects in the multivariate model for older boys. Implications of finding are discussed in relation to adolescent development and a Chinese cultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of assessment center ratings for the prediction of performance ratings and school climate of school administrators.

Describes the validation of an assessment center used to select school administrators on the basis of ratings of 153 school administrators who had participated in the center between 1976 and 1981. Behaviorally anchored rating scales were obtained from supervisors, teachers, and support staff; and measures of 7 school climate dimensions were provided by teachers, students, and support staff. Results show a significant relationship between an overall assessment center placement recommendation and supervisory, teacher, and support staff ratings on most performance dimensions. Climate measures were significantly related to few assessment-center ratings regardless of the source of the climate measure. It is suggested that the assessment center proved valid for a sample from widely distant geographic areas and school districts of differing sizes and levels. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling of sex-typed behaviors: Effects on boys and girls.

80 preschoolers observed same-sex adults exhibiting 1 or 4 motor and verbal affectionate or aggressive response sequences during incidental modeling. Significantly more direct matches resulted with the single-sequence demonstrations, while multiple demonstrations led to significantly more response class matches. Differences in girls and boys regarding affectionate and aggressive behaviors are discussed. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal adjustment patterns of boys and girls experiencing early, middle, and late sexual intercourse.

This study examined the association between psychosocial development and the timing of first sexual intercourse in a sample of White, rural adolescents. Two theoretical models were tested. The first model, derived from problem behavior theory proposed that earlier timing of first sexual intercourse is associated with longitudinal patterns of transition proneness and poor psychosocial adjustment. The second model, the stage termination model, proposed that early first sexual intercourse interferes with subsequent development, thereby resulting in negative developmental outcomes. Problem behavior theory was supported. For both boys and girls, earlier timing of first sexual intercourse was associated with longitudinal patterns of greater transition proneness and poorer psychosocial adjustment The stage termination model was not supported. No evidence was found suggesting that early timing of first sexual intercourse results in negative psychosocial outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eating Attitudes Test and Eating Disorders Inventory: Norms for adolescent girls and boys.

Increasing attention has been given to measuring symptoms of eating disorders in adolescents, but representative norms for the two widely used measures, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI), have not been available. The present study collected normative data on 1,373 high school boys and girls in Grades 9–12. Significant sex, but not age, differences were obtained. Scores by boys did not differ by race or socioeconomic status (SES), whereas a few slight race and SES differences occurred among girls. Percentile ranks for raw scores are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic malnutrition and child behavior: Effects of early caloric supplementation on social and emotional functioning at school age.

138 chronically malnourished Ss (aged 6–8 yrs) were observed in social interactions in 6-S groups and administered a battery of cognitive tests, including the Bender-Gestalt. Independent variables were measures of maternal caloric supplementation (CAS) during pregnancy, and child CAS from birth to 2 yrs, and from age 2 to 4. High CAS from birth to 2 yrs predicted high levels of social involvement, both happy and angry affect, and moderate activity level at school age. Low CAS was associated with passivity, dependency on adults, and anxious behavior. These relationships were significant when socioeconomic status and maternal CAS were controlled. Cognitive measures were not strongly predicted by supplement intake. Results indicate the importance of adequate energy intake in infancy for later social–emotional development. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A short-term longitudinal study of Internet and computer game use by adolescent boys and girls: Prevalence, frequency of use, and psychosocial predictors.

Prevalence, frequency, and psychosocial predictors of Internet and computer game use were assessed with 803 male and 788 female adolescents across 2 time periods, 21 months apart. At Time 1, participants were in the 9th or 10th grade; at Time 2, they were in the 11th or 12th grade. Most girls (93.7%) and boys (94.7%) reported using the Internet at both time periods, whereas more boys (80.3%) than girls (28.8%) reported gaming at both time periods. Girls reported a small decrease over time in the frequency of hours spent per day on overall technology use, mostly due to a decrease in gaming. Both linear and curvilinear relations were examined between parental relationships, friendship quality, academic orientation, and well-being measured in early high school and the frequency of technology use in late high school. Being male significantly predicted both computer gaming and Internet use. There also were trends in favor of higher friendship quality and less positive parental relationships predicting higher frequency of Internet use. Importantly, moderate use of the Internet was associated with a more positive academic orientation than nonuse or high levels of use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental profiles of peer social preference over the course of elementary school: Associations with trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behavior.

Using a new longitudinal clustering technique, this study aimed to (a) empirically identify groups of children with distinct longitudinal profiles of peer social preference during elementary school; (b) compare these groups regarding their longitudinal pattern of classification into J. D. Coie, K. A. Dodge, and H. Coppotelli's (CDC; 1982) sociometric categories; and (c) compare these groups regarding their longitudinal trajectories of antisocial, hyperactive, and anxious behavior. Based on 299 children, 3 groups were identified: a stable popular group, a stable average group, and an unpopular group whose social preference decreased over time. Each of the groups showed considerable overlap over time with their closest corresponding CDC category (popular, average, rejected). Growth curve analyses showed that externalizing and internalizing behavior generally decreased over time, but overall means and the rates of decrease differed in the 3 groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ossification of the sesamoid bone at the base of the first finger in Czech boys and girls

Ossification of the sesamoid bone of the first finger was studied in left hand-and-wrist X-rays of 296 Czech boys and 272 girls 9 to 15 years old using data collected between 1962 and 1966. The logit and the YES or NO methods were used in treating the data. A sesamoid bone, clearly visible to the naked eye, was considered as positive and when it was not yet visible, as negative. The sesamoid bone was developed in 50 per cent of boys at the age of 13.6 years and in 50 per cent of girls at the age of 11.2 years. This stage preceded the age at onset of menarche in Czech girls by 1.9 years. Boys showed a greater variability (SD = 1.4) than girls (SD = 0.8). Both sexes with clearly visible (ossified) sesamoid bones in their first fingers showed to be, on the average, taller and heavier in comparison with the Czech standard and with those boys and girls of corresponding ages without the sesamoid bone. In contrast to the still continuing secular trend in stature in Czech youths, the age of menarche remained in the last cca 30 years unchanged. In view of the close link between bone age and onset of menarche which remained unchanged for the past 30 years, we may consider our finding as still applicable to present-day adolescents.