Parental and family risk factors for substance use in inner-city African-American children and adolescents

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a multidimensional model of parental and family influences on risk for substance use in inner-city African-American primary grade children and their adolescent siblings. The risk factors investigated were conceptually grouped into three broad domains of family influences and the respective indices computed: parental risk attributes, family risk attributes, and parenting styles. Parenting styles were captured as indicators of a latent construct, poor parenting. In study 1, we hypothesized that the parental and family risk variables would be mediated through parenting styles to predict intentions to use drugs, actual drug use, positive drug attitudes, and negative drug attitudes in a sample of 455 inner-city African-American families and their primary-grade children. In study 2, the substance use risk model was tested on a sample of 59 adolescent sibilings to determine whether the pattern of parental and family factors that contributed to early high-risk attitudes and behaviors in children would predict drug attitudes and behaviors in teen siblings. The results confirmed our expectations that parental and family risks were important predictors of childrens' negative drug attitudes and intentions to use drugs in the future and that positive parental and family characteristics would protect against future risk by enhancing negative drug attitudes. Also, substance use attitudes and behaviors in the teen siblings were predicted primarily by family risk characteristics. The family risk index also predicted frequency of use of hard drugs, but only when mediated through poor parenting. The implications of these results for future research are discussed.     

Parental self-esteem and behavior problems in children: Similarities between mothers and fathers

The relationship between parental self-esteem and behavior problems in children was investigated using 1624 married couple's responses from the National Survey of Families and Households. The sample was weighted to be nationally representative in terms of race and ethnicity. It was hypothesized that the existence of behavior problems among children would be associated with low self-esteem among parents and that the parent's gender, child's gender, parents' gender role attitudes, and parental employment would moderate this relationship. The results indicated that parental self-esteem is negatively associated with behavior problems in children. However, none of the moderating variables had a significant impact. This suggests that the relationship between parental self-esteem and behavior problems among children is robust and does not vary appreciably with the gender of the parent, the gender of the child, the attitudes of the parent, or the employment of the parent.     

Parent predictors of changes in child behavior problems

The present study examined whether ineffective discipline, single parent status, social support, parent involvement, and parent depression predicted changes in preschoolers' (N = 129) behavior problems. This study also evaluated whether child sex and ethnicity moderated the relations between these variables and changes in problem behavior. Parents completed questionnaires at the beginning of the study, and parent, teacher, and observational ratings of children's behavior problems were collected twice during the school year. Parents' own social support predicted improvement for boys and parent depression was associated with worsening symptoms for girls. Single parenthood and parent involvement predicted changes in behavior problems for the sample as a whole. Several significant ethnic differences emerged, highlighting the importance of considering cultural context in studies of parenting and child externalizing behavior.     

Parental corporal punishment predicts behavior problems in early childhood.

Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (Research Triangle Institute, 2002), this study examined the impact of corporal punishment (CP) on children's behavior problems. Longitudinal analyses were specified that controlled for covarying contextual and parenting variables and that partialed child effects. The results indicate that parental CP uniquely contributes to negative behavioral adjustment in children at both 36 months and at 1st grade, with the effects at the earlier age more pronounced in children with difficult temperaments. Parents and mental health professionals who work to modify children's negative behavior should be aware of the unique impact that CP likely plays in triggering and maintaining children's behavior problems. Broad-based family policies that reduce the use of this parenting behavior would potentially increase children's mental health and decrease the incidence of children's behavior problems.     

Lateralized brain injury and behavior problems in children

This study investigated the types of behavior problems found in children with lateralized brain lesions. Children referred for neuropsychological assessment were assigned to dominant (DH) or nondominant (NDH) groups on the basis of history of neurological disease or injury, findings on neurological examination, functional and structural laboratory findings, and neuropsychological assessment. Over two-thirds fell into the clinical range of behavior problems by parental report on the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist. Degrees of pathology were nearly equal. DH children showed more externalizing than internalizing symptomatology. NDH children showed more internalizing than externalizing behavior problems. Results are discussed in terms of symptom formation based on lateralization of lesion.     

Primary prevention of behavior problems in mexican-american children

A primary prevention program, the Houston Parent-Child Development Center, directed towards infants and their parents, has effectively reduced the frequency of behavior problems for these children 5 to 8 years after the program's completion. Teacher ratings showed significantly fewer acting-out, aggressive behaviors for program children. Ratings of classroom behaviors found program children significantly less hostile and more considerate than control boys. This appears to be the first primary prevention program to have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing behavior problems over such a long time.     

A typology of behavior problems in preschool children

The purpose of this study was to produce a typology of behavior problems in preschool children. Distinct subtypes were identified through the use of cluster analytic techniques on data from the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC)-Parent Rating Scales. Analyses were based on archival data collected on a sample of 268 children, aged 2 to 5 years, who were referred to determine their suitability for a day treatment program. Five distinct and reliable subtypes of preschool children's behavior problems emerged. Ratings of adaptive and social skills based on the BASC Adaptive Scales and measures from the Parenting Stress Index served as external variables to assess the distinctiveness of the derived subtypes. The findings provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the subtypes identified in this study that are consistent with the findings of previous subtyping investigations focusing on school-aged children.     

Parental expressed emotion toward children: prediction from early family functioning

Expressed emotion (EE), an index of family member criticism and emotional overinvolvement, predicts outcome among adults and children with mental disorders. However, limited research exists on factors contributing to EE. Aims of the current study were to (a) examine EE in mothers of young children; (b) assess relationships between demographic factors and EE in a diverse sample; and (c) investigate whether family stress and functioning, including quality of marital relationship, life events, maternal stress, and family environment, predict EE. In the current study, 276 mothers completed questionnaires when their children were between 1 and 3 years of age and a measure of EE when their children were in kindergarten. Results indicated that family expressiveness was the most consistent predictor of EE. Further research seems warranted to better delineate associations between family functioning and EE.     

Parental criticism and externalizing behavior problems in adolescents: the role of environment and genotype-environment correlation

Genetic factors are important for the association between parental negativity and child problem behavior, but it is not clear whether this is due to passive or evocative genotype-environment correlation (rGE). In this study, we applied the extended children-of-twins model to directly examine the presence of passive and evocative rGE as well as direct environmental effects in the association between parental criticism and adolescent externalizing problem behavior. The cross-sectional data come from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden (N = 909 pairs of adult twins) and from the Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development (N = 915 pairs of twin children). The results revealed that maternal criticism was primarily due to evocative rGE emanating from their adolescent's externalizing behavior. On the other hand, fathers' critical remarks tended to affect adolescent problem behavior in a direct environmental way. This suggests that previously reported differences in caretaking between mothers and fathers also are reflected in differences in why parenting is associated with externalizing behavior in offspring.     

Psychological processes and family variables as prosocial behavior predictors in a sample of Spanish adolescents

A review of personal and family variables that regulate prosocial behavior is based on a sample of 1,433 Spanish adolescents (ages 9 to 13; 743 boys and 690 girls) who were assessed on the Prosocial Reasoning Objective Measure, the Physical and Verbal Aggression Scale, the Emotional Instability Scale, the State-Trait Anger Inventory, the Child's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, the Prosocial Behavior Scale, and the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents. Discriminant analyses showed that empathy, self-control in anger-provoking situations, and affection in family relationships are the best predictors of prosocial behavior.     

Parental characteristics and interactional dysfunction in families with child behavior problems: A preliminary investigation

Thirty-six families with a preteenage behavior problem child were assessed on measures of marital discord, parental psychopathology, and three parental cognitive factors: knowledge of behavioral principles, tolerance for child deviancy, and expectations regarding their child's behavior. Nine nonproblem families with demographic characteristics similar to the problem families were also assessed. Correlational analyses across all families revealed a strong association between marital discord and the parental index of child behavior problems. While a number of significant associations were discovered between the various measures of marital discord, parental psychopathology, and parental cognitive factors, no other measure besides marital discord was associated with parental perception of child behavior problems. The nonproblem families and 15 of the problem families also participated in home observations obtained through random audio recordings during high interaction periods. These observational data indicated a significant relationship between parental perception of child behavior problems and parental negative behavior toward the child, but no significant relationship between parental perception of child behavior problems and child behavior, even when child behavior was weighted by parents' reactions to that behavior. Through sequential analysis, several contingent relations between parent and child behavior were discovered. Findings are discussed in relation to family systems theory.     

Parental affect and childrearing beliefs uniquely predict mothers' and fathers' ratings of children's behavior problems

The focus of this study was to examine the relations between parental characteristics and ratings of children's behavior problems. Although there is a considerable body of research that indicates that parental reports of children's behavior are biased by the characteristics of the parent, a number of limitations of past research have precluded definitive conclusions about the impact of individual characteristics. This study examined the role of parental affect and childrearing beliefs in determining parental ratings of child behavior in a selected sample of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. A series of analyses was specified in which teachers' and co-parents' ratings were controlled to examine the unique associations between parental characteristics and ratings of child behavior. After controlling for the co-parents' and teachers' ratings, both mothers' and fathers' psychological characteristics uniquely contributed to variation in their ratings of children's behavior problems. The specific affective and childrearing belief variables that accounted for variation in parental ratings varied by parent sex and the broadband rating analyzed. These analyses indicate the role that rater-specific characteristics may play in determining parents' assessments of child behavior.     

Correlates and predictors of HIV risk among inner-city African American female teenagers

OBJECTIVE DESIGN: For human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related prevention initiatives to be most effective, they should be broad-based and incorporate multiple domains of influence. This study tested how several ecodevelopmental domains influenced HIV-risk related attitudes and behaviors in a community sample of African American female teens (N = 242). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measures were number of partners, frequency of intercourse, number of pregnancies, abstinence/condom use, HIV/AIDS-related attitudes and behaviors, and HIV testing. RESULTS: Structural Equation Modeling revealed many direct paths from ecodvelopmental domains to risky sexual behaviors. The findings include having more partners was associated with parental alcohol-related problems, more drug use, and a younger age at first intercourse. More frequent intercourse was associated with less cultural pride and more drug use. More pregnancies were related to a younger age at first intercourse and parental alcohol problems. HIV testing was associated with having experienced sexual abuse, an older age at first intercourse, and stronger self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Prevention programs that focus on risk reduction could expand their focus beyond sexual behavior to include a broad-range of psychosocial domains that are associated with HIV-risk. The effectiveness of prevention programs should be monitored carefully for appropriateness in different ethnic groups.     

Kindergarten predictors of boys' stable behavior problems at the end of elementary school

This study predicted stable social maladjustment at ages 10, 11, and 12 from teacher behavioral ratings in kindergarten and a measure of family demographics. Kindergarten teachers rated 1,034 boys on hyperactivity, aggression, inattention, anxiety–withdrawal, and prosocial behavior. Sociodemographic information was collected from the parents. At ages 10, 11, and 12, teacher, parent, peer, and self-report behavior ratings were collected on 743 boys. School achievement was documented from school records. Boys whose average scores on each of the five behavioral ratings across ages 10, 11, and 12 were above the 90th percentile according to at least two informants were defined as having stable behavioral problems. From teacher ratings collected in kindergarten and family demographics, logistic regression analyses predicted stable social maladjustment. For each negative outcome there was a unique set of predictors. The results are discussed with reference to the early identification of children who are at risk.This research was supported by a grant from the Conseil Québécois de la Recherche Sociale. We would also like to thank H. Beauchesne, H. Boileau, P. Charlebois, L. David, L. Desmarais-Gervais, S. Larivée, and M. LeBlanc for their participation.     

Parental divorce: long-term effects on mental health, family relations and adult sexual behavior

Specific long term effects of parental divorce were examined in a sample of 179 Icelanders, 20 to 30 years of age. The participants answered the Borromean Family Index, the Affect Balance Scale and a number of questions on sexual behavior and attitudes towards marriage and divorce. Results showed that compared to adults whose parents remained married, those of divorced parents reported more negative emotional experiences at the time of the study and had looser family ties. They also had greater number of short love affairs, had their first love affair at a younger age, had a greater number of sexual partners, and were younger at the time of their first sexual intercourse than adults whose parents remained married.     

Parental behavior patterns and conduct disorders in girls

Conduct-disordered (CD) girls, 9 to 11 years old, were compared to nonconduct-disordered (NCD) girls of the same age using parental reports about themselves and their children and child reports of themselves and their parents. Correlations were obtained between parental behavior patterns and the behavior patterns of the girls as perceived by three family members: mother, father, and the target child. The results indicated that (1) parents of CD girls were more hostile in some contexts than parents of NCD girls, (2) relationships between parental behavioral characteristics and children's behavioral characteristics were stronger and more numerous for mothers than for fathers, and (3) the children's perception of their own behaviors and the parents' marriages tended to correspond with their parents' perceptions. In general, the pattern of results suggests that, in terms of aggressive behavior patterns, female children may be modeling the behavior of their parents, particularly that of their mothers.This research was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid of Research awarded to the first author by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, and NIMH Grant No. MH35340. Portions of this paper were presented at the 18th Annual Convention of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Philadelphia, November 1984.     

Assessment-based intervention for severe behavior problems in a natural family context.

Functional assessments and assessment-based interventions were conducted with a boy with disabilities and severe problem behavior in the context of two family routines: using the bathroom in the family home and dining in a fast-food restaurant. A multiple baseline design demonstrated the effectiveness of the intervention package as implemented by the boy's mother in the two routines. The results provide a systematic replication and extension of behavior-analytic interventions in natural family contexts.