Aggression toward female partners by at-risk young men: The contribution of male adolescent friendships.

Deviancy training was examined as a risk factor for physical and psychological aggression toward a female partner among boys and young men in the Oregon Youth Study. Hostile talk about women during videotaped male friendship interactions was hypothesized to indicate a process by which aggression toward women is reinforced within male peer networks. Both antisocial behavior and hostile talk were predicted to be associated with later aggression toward a female partner. Prospective developmental models were tested from 9–10 years of age through young adulthood. Findings indicated that the relation of deviant peer association in adolescence and later aggression toward a partner was mediated by antisocial behavior; observed hostile talk about women with male peers explained additional variance in aggression toward a partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical aggression in a community sample of at-risk young couples: Gender comparisons for high frequency, injury, and fear.

The associations of frequent physical aggression, injury, and fear were examined for a community-based sample of at-risk young couples who were dating, cohabiting, or married. It was hypothesized that frequent physical aggression toward a partner, in the range of shelter samples, is largely caused by antisocial behavior and mutual couple conflict and, thus, that there would be greater similarity across genders in such behavior than has previously been supposed. It was also predicted that levels of injury and fear would be higher in women but that some men would experience these impacts. Findings indicated similarity across genders both in the prevalence of frequent aggression and in its association with antisocial behavior. Furthermore, such aggression was likely to be bidirectional in couples. Contrary to the hypothesis of the study, rates of injury and fear for the women were not significantly higher than for the men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Association of Antisocial Behavior and Depressive Symptoms Between Partners and Risk for Aggression in Romantic Relationships.

This study examined the extent to which antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms were associated between romantic partners and whether the partner's antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms affected the individual's aggression toward the partner above and beyond the contribution of his or her own symptoms. Questions were examined concurrently and longitudinally for 79 couples from a young, at-risk sample. There were reliable associations between partners' antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms. Women's antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms were significantly related to concurrent levels of men's physical and psychological aggression. Women's depressive symptoms remained significant in predicting men's psychological aggression over time. Overall, men's risk factors had little effect on their partners' aggression. Findings suggest that interventions to reduce partner violence need to consider the potential influence of partner, as well as perpetrator characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent and family predictors of physical aggression, communication, and satisfaction in young adult couples: A prospective analysis.

This study tested a model wherein the family conflict, depression, and antisocial behavior of 254 adolescents (mean age?=?17 years; 63% female) are prospectively related to functioning within a marital (51 %) or dating relationship in young adulthood (mean age?=?23 years). Family aversive communication in adolescence and adolescent antisocial behavior predicted couple physical aggression. Family aversive communication predicted dyadic satisfaction and aversive couple communication for married women and dating men. Among those with partners who reported little antisocial behavior, adolescent antisocial behavior inversely predicted couple satisfaction and facilitative behavior. Partner antisocial behavior did not mediate the relation between adolescent characteristics and couple functioning. Findings emphasize the importance of the early family environment and psychopathology of the adolescent in the development of adaptive couple relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent psychosocial risk factors for severe intimate partner violence in young adulthood.

The authors examined prospective measures of psychosocial risk factors as predictors of severe intimate partner violence among a community sample of 610 young adults at risk for intergenerational transmission of depression. The hypothesized risk factors were youth history of depression by age 15 and maternal history of depression. Youth social functioning at age 15 was tested as a mediator of these associations. Results showed that youth history of depression by age 15 predicted victimization at age 20. Severe violence perpetration was predicted by maternal depressive history among women but not men. Youth social functioning was a partial mediator of both associations. In sum, the findings suggest that psychosocial factors observed in adolescence may contribute to the risk of experiencing severe intimate partner violence during young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trajectories of antisocial behavior and psychosocial maturity from adolescence to young adulthood.

Most theorizing about desistance from antisocial behavior in late adolescence has emphasized the importance of individuals’ transition into adult roles. In contrast, little research has examined how psychological development in late adolescence and early adulthood contributes desistance. The present study examined trajectories of antisocial behavior among serious juvenile offenders from 14 through 22 years of age and tested how impulse control, suppression of aggression, future orientation, consideration of others, personal responsibility, and resistance to peer influence distinguished between youths who persisted in antisocial behavior and youths who desisted. Different patterns of development in psychosocial maturity from adolescence to early adulthood, especially with respect to impulse control and suppression of aggression, distinguished among individuals who followed different trajectories of antisocial behavior. Compared with individuals who desisted from antisocial behavior, youths who persisted in antisocial behavior exhibited deficits in elements of psychosocial maturity, particularly in impulse control, suppression of aggression, and future orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational continuity in parenting behavior: Mediating pathways and child effects.

This prospective, longitudinal investigation examined mechanisms proposed to explain continuities in parenting behavior across 2 generations (G1, G2). Data came from 187 G2 adults, their mothers (G1), and their children (G3). Prospective information regarding G2 was collected both during adolescence and early adulthood. G1 data were collected during G2’s adolescence, and G3 data were generated during the preschool years. Assessments included both observational and self-report measures. The results indicated a direct relationship between G1 and G2 harsh parenting, and between G1 and G2 positive parenting. As predicted, specific mediators accounted for intergenerational continuity in particular types of parenting behavior. G2 externalizing behavior mediated the relationship between G1 and G2 harsh parenting, whereas G2 academic attainment mediated the relationship between G1 and G2 positive parenting. In addition, the hypothesized mediating pathways remained statistically significant after taking into account possible G2 effects on G1 parenting and G3 effects on G2 parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Heterosexual risk behaviors in at-risk young men from early adolescence to young adulthood: Prevalence, prediction, and association with STD contraction.

Health-compromising lifestyles involve stable patterns of behavior and are associated with high-risk social environments and accelerated developmental trajectories. Developmentally, antisocial behavior is associated with such lifestyles. Mediational models predicting a measure of lifetime average sexual risk behavior assessed over a 10-year period (from ages 13-14 to 22-23 years) were examined for a sample of at-risk young men. The measure included years of abstinence from intercourse as well as levels of 3 key heterosexual indicators of risk: frequency of intercourse, number of intercourse partners, and condom use. Predictors included lifetime average measures of contextual, family, and peer process variables and individual behaviors. In addition, similar models for prediction of STD contraction were assessed. A younger age of onset of intercourse was associated with higher numbers of intercourse partners after onset. As hypothesized, findings indicated mediational associations of socioeconomic status, parental monitoring, deviant-peer association, antisocial behavior, and substance use in the prediction of sexual risk behavior. Lower condom use also predicted STD contraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family interaction as antecedent to the direction of male aggressiveness.

In a longitudinal study of antisocial aggressiveness in males, reports on direct observation of behavior in childhood and early adolescence were used to rate general level of aggressiveness. Criminal records were used to ascertain antisocial behavior during adolescence and adulthood. To distinguish between conditions which contribute to socialized aggressiveness and those which direct aggression into antisocial channels, the family backgrounds of men who had been equally aggressive in childhood were compared. The results suggest that extreme neglect and punitiveness, coupled with a deviant-aggressive paternal model produces antisocial aggressiveness. In contrast (thought not contradiction), moderate neglect, moderate punitiveness, and ineffective controls produce socialized aggressiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The intergenerational transmission of parenting: Closing comments for the special section.

The 5 studies in this special section both confirm prior findings regarding the intergenerational transmission of parenting and provide important new evidence regarding the intergenerational transmission of positive parenting and the developmental mediators that seem involved in that transmission. Consistent with earlier research, the findings suggest that harsh parenting in the 1st generation (G1) predicts similar behavior in the 2nd generation (G2) primarily through the exacerbation of G2 conduct problems. In contrast, replicated findings in this set of articles indicate that intergenerational continuities in positive parenting likely stem from the social and academic competencies such parenting engenders in the next generation. In addition, these 5 studies demonstrate that the evidence for intergenerational continuity in parenting is robust across diverse study samples, different types of measurement, different lengths of time, and after the introduction of a variety of control variables. Important next steps in this area of inquiry should include the study of moderator variables that will explain discontinuities as well as continuities in G1 and G2 parenting. Also important will be research on genetic and epigenetic processes that contribute to similarities and dissimilarities in parenting across generations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A prospective three generational study of fathers’ constructive parenting: Influences from family of origin, adolescent adjustment, and offspring temperament.

This prospective, intergenerational study considered multiple influences on 102 fathers’ constructive parenting of 181 children. Fathers in the 2nd generation (G2) were recruited as boys on the basis of neighborhood risk for delinquency and assessed through early adulthood. The fathers’ parents (G1) and the G2 mothers of G3 also participated. A multiagent, multimethod approach was used to measure G1 and G2 constructive parenting (monitoring, discipline, warmth, and involvement), G2 positive adolescent adjustment, and problem behavior in all 3 generations, including G3 difficult temperament and externalizing problems in early and middle childhood, respectively. Path modeling supported direct transmission of G1 constructive parenting of G2 in late childhood to G2 constructive parenting of G3 in middle childhood. Of note, G1 parenting indirectly influenced G2 parenting through G2 positive adjustment but not through G2 adolescent antisocial behavior. G1 parenting influenced G2 parenting in both early and middle childhood of G3. G2 parenting influenced G3 problem behavior but not vice versa. Intergenerational continuities in parenting persisted, even when additional influences were considered. Transmission pathways are not limited to life-course adversity. Rather, constructive parenting is maintained, in part, by engendering positive adjustment in offspring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental perspective on antisocial behavior.

A developmental model of antisocial behavior is outlined. Recent findings are reviewed that concern the etiology and course of antisocial behavior from early childhood through adolescence. Evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that the route to chronic delinquency is marked by a reliable developmental sequence of experiences. As a first step, ineffective parenting practices are viewed as determinants for childhood conduct disorders. The general model also takes into account the contextual variables that influence the family interaction process. As a second step, the conduct-disordered behaviors lead to academic failure and peer rejection. These dual failures lead, in turn, to increased risk for depressed mood and involvement in a deviant peer group. This third step usually occurs during later childhood and early adolescence. It is assumed that children following this developmental sequence are at high risk for engaging in chronic delinquent behavior. Finally, implications for prevention and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Posttraining estradiol injections enhance memory in ovariectomized rats: cholinergic blockade and synergism

Three models (independent, interdependent, and mediational) were hypothesized in this study, to examine the interrelation of personality, family, and peer determinants and their effects on tobacco use by young adults. Mothers were first interviewed about their children when they were between the ages of 1 and 10 years old. Three subsequent interviews were conducted with the children when they reached adolescence and young adulthood. Results show support for the mediational model. In accordance with family interactional framework conceptions, there was a sequence in patterning: from parenting during early adolescence; to personality and peer factors, extending to smoking in late adolescence; and culminating in smoking in adulthood. With a developmental approach, a number of psychosocial measures were related in both younger and older children. Nevertheless, some interesting developmental differences emerged. The findings suggest at least four possible targets for therapeutic or preventive intervention: the parent, the child, the adolescent, and the peer group.     

Physical aggression in early marriage: Prerelationship and relationship effects.

Spousal physical aggression at 30 mo after marriage was predicted for 393 young couples who were interviewed for a longitudinal study. The prerelationship predictor variables were history of violence in the family of origin, aggression against others during childhood and adolescence, and personality characteristics. Relationship predictor variables were marital discord and spouse-specific psychological aggression, both measured at 18 mo after marriage. The findings suggest that predictive models are different for husbands and wives. For both sexes, there were direct paths to marital violence that were not mediated by characteristics of the relationship, as well as paths that originated in or flowed through indicators of the marital relationship. Implications for intervention through marital therapy, individual therapy, or both are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Externalizing behavior problems and academic underachievement in childhood and adolescence: Causal relationships and underlying mechanisms.

Reviews conceptual and measurement issues surrounding externalizing behavior problems and academic underachievement, the strength and specificity of the covariation between these domains, and the viability of explanatory models that link these areas. In childhood, inattention and hyperactivity are stronger correlates of academic problems than is aggression; by adolescence, however, antisocial behavior and delinquency are clearly associated with underachievement. Whereas investigations with designs that allow accurate causal inference are scarce, unidirectional paths from one domain to the other have received little support. The overlap of externalizing problems with cognitive and readiness deficits early in development suggests the influence of antecedent variables. Low socioeconomic status (SES), family adversity, subaverage IQ, language deficits, and neurodevelopmental delay are explored as possible underlying factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting and antisocial behavior: A model of the relationship between adolescent self-disclosure, parental closeness, parental control, and adolescent antisocial behavior.

This study used data collected from a sample of 840 Italian adolescents (418 boys; M age = 12.58) and their parents (657 mothers; M age = 43.78) to explore the relations between parenting, adolescent self-disclosure, and antisocial behavior. In the hypothesized model, parenting practices (e.g., parental monitoring and control) have direct effects on parental knowledge and antisocial behavior. Parenting style (e.g., parent–child closeness), on the other hand, is directly related to adolescent self-disclosure, which in turn is positively related to parental knowledge and negatively related to adolescents’ antisocial behavior. A structural equation model, which incorporated data from parents and adolescents, largely supported the hypothesized model. Gender-specific models also found some gender differences among adolescents and parents, as the hypothesized model adequately fit the subsample of mothers but not fathers. Mothers’ closeness to girls predicted their knowledge of their daughters’ behavior; mothers’ control predicted boys’ antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational transmission of relationship aggression: A prospective longitudinal study.

The present study examined whether physical and verbal aggression in the family of origin were associated with similar patterns of aggression in young adult couples. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 213 focal individuals who were followed from adolescence to adulthood. Results suggested that aggression in the family when focal participants were adolescents predicted aggression with romantic partners when participants were adults. The association between interparental aggression and later aggression in adult romantic unions was partially mediated through parents' aggression to focal participants when they were adolescents. Both physical and verbal aggression revealed the same pattern of findings. All together, these findings are consistent with a developmental-interactional perspective (Capaldi & Gorman-Smith, 2003) concerning the developmental origins of aggression in intimate relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting and toddler aggression in second-generation immigrant families: The moderating role of child temperament.

We investigated the influence of parenting practices in the prediction of child physical aggression in 94 second-generation Turkish immigrant families with 2-year-old toddlers, and the moderating role of child temperament. In a longitudinal study we tested both a dual-risk model and a differential susceptibility model. Observational data were obtained for mothers’ positive parenting and authoritarian discipline, and maternal reports for child temperament and physical aggression. All measures were repeated 1 year later. Child temperament at age 2 years was a significant predictor of child aggression 1 year later. We found no main effects of positive parenting or of authoritarian discipline for the prediction of child aggression. However, we found support for the dual-risk hypothesis: Toddlers with difficult temperaments were more adversely affected by a lack of positive parenting than other children, but they did not benefit more from high levels of positive parenting than toddlers with more easy temperaments. We found no interaction effects with child temperament for authoritarian discipline. These findings provide support for the generalizability of the dual-risk model of parenting and temperament to non-Western immigrant families with young children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal socialization of adolescent smoking: The intergenerational transmission of parenting and smoking.

A longitudinal multigenerational design was used to examine the intergenerational transmission of smoking and the correlated transmission of parental support and control. Whether maternal socialization of adolescent smoking (both general parenting practices and smoking-specific strategies) would predict adolescent smoking both directly and indirectly by affecting peer affiliations was tested. There was strong evidence for the intergenerational transmission of cigarette smoking and for the relation between peer smoking and adolescent smoking. Both general parenting practices and smoking-specific discussion and punishment were significantly related to adolescents' smoking, especially for adolescent-reported parenting. Support for the intergenerational transmission of parenting practices emerged only in mothers' reports of support. Results suggest expanding current peer-focused prevention efforts to include parental socialization strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Domain specificity in relationship history, social-information processing, and violent behavior in early adulthood.

Using prospective longitudinal data, we tested 5 hypotheses: (a) that the relation between earlier developmental experiences (peer social rejection and victimization in a romantic relationship) and adult violent behavior toward peers and romantic partners is specific to relationship domain; (b) that the relation between social-information processing (SIP) biases and subsequent violence is also specific to relational domain (romantic partner vs. peer); (c) that the relation between developmental experiences and SIP biases is domain specific; (d) that domain-specific SIP mediates the impact of earlier developmental experiences on later violent behavior; and (e) that harsh parenting early in life is a domain-general predictor of SIP and later violent behavior. Harsh parenting was assessed through interviews with parents when their children were age 5 years. Classroom sociometric assessments indexing peer rejection were completed in elementary school, and self-report of victimization by romantic partners was provided at age 18 years. SIP was assessed via interview at age 22 years, and violent behavior was measured via self- and partner report at ages 23 years and 24 years. Structural equation analyses revealed specificity in the relation between developmental experiences and violence and in the prediction to and from SIP in the peer domain, but not in the romantic-relationship domain. The impact of early harsh treatment on violence toward peers was mediated by SIP biases in the peer domain. These findings provide support for domain specificity in the peer domain but for cross-domain generality in the romantic relationship domain in the development of violent behavior in early adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)