Teacher ratings of children's problem and competence behaviors: Normative and parametric characteristics

Teacher-rated adjustment differences among young elementary school children from (a) a recent sample and a 1974 cohort, and (b) urban/suburban, male/female, and grade-level subgroups were examined. A problem behavior checklist (Classroom Adjustment Rating Scale) and a school competence measure (Health Resources Inventory) for 974 children from 5 urban and 5 suburban schools were completed by 101 first- to fourth-grade teachers. Children from the more current cohort were rated as significantly more maladjusted than those from the earlier sample on 8 of 10 adjustment variables. In the recent sample, girls and suburban children evidenced a greater number of school competencies and fewer problem behaviors than boys and urban children, respectively. The implications of these findings for the future use of the teacher rating scales are discussed.     

The relations between maternal behaviors and urban preschool children's internal working models of attachment security

Interviewed 93 African-American, low-income women who had become pregnant as teenagers and their preschool-aged children in their homes. Mothers answered questions regarding their everyday stresses and feelings of depression. Children were assessed for receptive vocabulary ability, then video-taped completing five stories thematically related to attachment experiences with mother and rated on their security of attachment. Mothers and children were also videotaped playing together, and mothers were assessed on their sensitivity to their children's cues. After controlling for children's age and receptive vocabulary ability, mothers' sensitivity significantly predicted children's level of attachment security. The positive association between maternal sensitivity and children's security of attachment, and the strengths and weaknesses of administering the Attachment Story-Completion Task in the home with this population, are discussed. Implications for assessing attachment in the home are considered.     

Differential predictive value of parents' and teachers' reports of children's problem behaviors: A longitudinal study

This study investigated the prediction of signs of disturbance in 946 children originally aged 4 to 11 years from the general population across a 6-year period. Parents' and teachers' ratings obtained via the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher's Report Form (TRF) were tested as predictors of (a) academic problems, (b) school behavior problems, (c) receipt of mental health services, (d) child's need for professional help, (e) suicidal behavior, and (f) police contacts. Total problem scores in the deviant range on the CBCL or TRF were significantly associated with poor outcomes 6 years later. The combination of deviant scores on both the CBCL and TRF was a powerful predictor of poor outcomes with 56% of the girls, and 36% of the boys with total problem scores in the deviant range on both instruments maladjusted 6 years later. The CBCL syndromes Attention Problems and Delinquent Behavior, and the TRF syndromes Delinquent Behavior, Somatic Complaints, and Social Problems significantly predicted poor outcomes. Teachers' reports predicted poor outcomes equally well or even somewhat better than parents' reports. It is important to include teacher information in the diagnostic assessment of children.We wish to thank Dr. Thomas Achenbach for his helpful advice. This research was supported by grants from the Sophia Foundation for Medical Research, and the Health Research Promotion Program.     

Stability of aggressive behaviors and children's peer relationships

The present research longitudinally evaluated the association of group and dyadic peer relation factors to the stability of aggression. Beginning in grades 2 through 5, children (N = 212) completed peer nominations for aggressive behaviors, sociometric ratings, sociometric nominations (like most and like least), and friendship nominations for 2 successive years. Children were classified into four Stability of Aggression Groups: Never Aggressive, Stable Aggressive, Discontinued Aggression, Became Aggressive. Aggressive children were evaluated as more disliked at each time of testing (i.e., Stable Aggressive and Discontinued Aggression at Time 1; Stable Aggressive and Became Aggressive at Time 2). Furthermore, sociometric ratings of children at Time 1 who became aggressive by Time 2 foreshadowed this transition. Children who discontinued aggressive behaviors were friends with children who were evaluated by peers as significantly less aggressive than the friends of children who continued aggressive behaviors. These findings suggest that early identification of children at risk for developing aggressive behavior may be possible through group‐level peer evaluations, and identification of those at risk for continuing aggressive behavior may be possible through the evaluation of special dyadic friendships. Aggr. Behav. 26:277–290, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Gender biases in children's appraisals of injury risk and other children's risk-taking behaviors

Children ages 6, 8, and 10 years were given tasks designed to assess their beliefs about risk of injury from activities. Children were asked to appraise the risk of injury for boys and girls engaging in various play behaviors and to judge the sex of the character in stories about children engaging in activities that result in injuries. Results revealed gender biases in children's appraisals of injury risk: Both boys and girls rated boys as having a lower likelihood of injury than girls even though the boys and girls were engaging in the exact same activities. Children also showed higher accuracy in identifying the sex of the character in stories of boys' injuries than girls' injuries, and accuracy improved with the participant's age. Overall, the results indicate that by the age of 6 years children already have differential beliefs about injury vulnerability for boys and girls. Although boys routinely experience more injuries than girls, children rate girls as having a greater risk of injury than boys. With increasing age, school-age children develop a greater awareness of the ways in which boys and girls differ in risk-taking activities that lead to injury outcomes.     

Learning social attitudes: children's sensitivity to the nonverbal behaviors of adult models during interracial interactions

White children show marked ingroup race preferences and a relative devaluation of Black people. The origin of these early interracial attitudes is to a large extent still unclear. The studies here test the possibility that preschool-aged children are particularly sensitive to the nonverbal behaviors performed by White adults during interracial interactions. In Study 1, children were shown a video displaying an interaction between a White and a Black adult. Across conditions, the White adult's verbal behaviors were either friendly or neutral, whereas his nonverbal behaviors showed either easiness (e.g., closeness, high eye contact) or uneasiness (e.g., distance, avoidance of eye contact). Results revealed that participants shaped their attitudes toward the Black target accordingly, independently from the White adults' verbal behaviors. Study 2 replicated the basic findings and demonstrated that the observed effects generalized to other Black targets. Results are discussed in relation to current approaches to understanding the formation of racial attitudes among children.     

Relations among mothers' expressivity, children's effortful control, and their problem behaviors: a four-year longitudinal study

Longitudinal relations between mothers' expressivity, children's effortful control, and their problem behaviors were examined when children (N = 181) were 6.5-10 years old (T2) and again 2 (T3) and 4 (T4) years later. Mothers reported on their expression of positive and negative dominant emotion. Mothers and teachers reported on children's effortful control and externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. In structural equation models, variables exhibited consistency over time. Further, the relation between mothers' expressivity (positive minus negative dominant emotion) at T2 and children's externalizing problems at T4 was mediated by T3 effortful control. The same process of mediation was significant for teacher- but not mother-reported internalizing problems. The results provide one explanation for how emotion-related socializing behaviors influence children's problem behaviors.     

Latent variable models for analyzing children's processing ability

In this paper, we develop a latent processing ability model to analyze the speed of processing ability data. Our approach can not only effectively evaluate the effects of covariates on the latent processing ability, but also estimate the latent trait of each child by calculating its posterior mean. In addition, we derive the correlations structure of latent traits among different age groups. Simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of our proposed model. The results indicated that the estimation of model parameters is satisfactory overall. The method is evaluated using real data from children aged 4–7 years in Changchun, China.     

On structural models for analyzing change

The recommendation to base the analysis of multi-wave data upon explicit models for change is advocated. Several univariate and multivariate models are described, which emerge from an interaction between the classical test theory and the structural equation modeling approach. The resulting structural models for analyzing change reflect in some of their parameters substantively interesting aspects of intra- and interindividual change in follow-up studies. The models are viewed as an alternative to an ANOVA-based analysis of longitudinal data, and are illustrated on data from a cognitive intervention study of old adults (Bakes et al , 1986). The approach presents a useful means of analyzing change over time, and is applicable for purposes of (latent) growth curve analysis when analysis of variance assumptions are violated (e.g., Schaie & Hertzog, 1982; Morrison, 1976).     

How interviewers' nonverbal behaviors can affect children's perceptions and suggestibility

We conducted two studies to examine how interviewers' nonverbal behaviors affect children's perceptions and suggestibility. In the first study, 42 8- to 10-year-olds watched video clips showing an interviewer displaying combinations of supportive and nonsupportive nonverbal behaviors and were asked to rate the interviewer on six attributes (e.g., friendliness, strictness). Smiling received high ratings on the positive attributes (i.e., friendly, helpful, and sincere), and fidgeting received high ratings on the negative attributes (i.e., strict, bored, and stressed). For the second study, 86 8- to 10-year-olds participated in a learning activity about the vocal chords. One week later, they were interviewed individually about the activity by an interviewer adopting either the supportive (i.e., smiling) or nonsupportive (i.e., fidgeting) behavior. Children questioned by the nonsupportive interviewer were less accurate and more likely to falsely report having been touched than were those questioned by the supportive interviewer. Children questioned by the supportive interviewer were also more likely to say that they did not know an answer than were children questioned by the nonsupportive interviewer. Participants in both conditions gave more correct answers to questions about central, as opposed to peripheral, details of the activity. Implications of these findings for the appropriate interviewing of child witnesses are discussed.     

Reducing problem behaviors in a residential unit using structural analysis and staff management procedures: A preliminary study

A structural analysis of the problem behaviors of 32 adults with mental retardation living together in a residential facility showed that a disproportionate number of these behaviors were associated with a period of time scheduled for leisure activities. A staff management program was implemented during this time which included activity and staff scheduling, staff inservice training, and staff performance monitoring and feedback. The results showed an 83% decrease in problem behaviors when the program was implemented during the leisure period and no decrease in problem behaviors during adjacent time periods where the program was not utilized. Follow-up assessments indicated maintenance of these decreased levels of behavior at 3 and 6 months. It was concluded that this approach of combining a structural analysis with staff management procedures was effective in reducing a high level of problem behavior in a residential setting. The results are discussed with regard to pragmatic strategies for the pretreatment analysis of problem behaviors in residential settings, and the role of organizational behavior management techniques in habilitative programing for individuals with behavior disorders.     

Family-strengthening approaches for the prevention of youth problem behaviors

Effective parenting is the most powerful way to reduce adolescent problem behaviors. Dissemination of research-based family interventions has been slow, with most practitioners still implementing ineffective programs. This article reviews 2 federal studies that involved national searches for effective family interventions targeting pre-birth to adolescence: Preventing Substance Abuse Among Children and Adolescents: Family-Centered Approaches (Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, 1998) and Strengthening America's Families (R. Alvarado, K. L. Kumpfer, K. Kendall, S. Beesley, & C. Lee-Cavaness, 2000). Results identified 3 effective prevention approaches, 13 principles of effectiveness, and 35 programs. Recommendations include increased dissemination research on training and technical assistance systems, adoption with fidelity and quality, and gender-, age-, and culturally sensitive adaptations.     

西方有关父母教养方式与青少年问题行为关系的理论及其研究综述

对父母教养方式和青少年问题行为之间关系的研究主要集中在西方心理学和社会学界,国内在此领域内的理论探讨和经验性研究都很缺乏。本文对近五十年来西方在父母教养方式和青少年问题行为发展之间的关系上的几种主要理论模型及部分经验性研究进行了客观的回顾,简要介绍了双因素论(危险性因素与保护性因素)、社会控制理论、社会背景模型和强制模型。     

Developmental models for children's temperament: alternatives to chronometric polynomial curves

Partridge and Lerner (2007), in a secondary analysis of the New York Longitudinal Study, employed a chronometric polynomial growth curve model to argue that the developmental course of difficult temperament follows a non‐linear trajectory over the first 5 years of life. The free curve slope intercept (FCSI) growth curve model of Meredith and Tisak (1990) is presented as a preferable conceptual alternative because it contains a number of currently popular statistical models, including repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance, factor mean, linear growth, linear factor analysis, and hierarchical linear models as special cases. As such, researchers can compare the fit of each of these models relative to the FCSI model, and, at times, to each other. The present paper conducts a re‐analysis of the data, and establishes that fit of the FCSI model is arguably better than other statistical alternatives. The FCSI model is also used as the basis for identifying subgroups of individuals with their qualitatively distinct growth patterns within a growth mixture modeling framework. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maternal employment and job satisfaction and their relationship to children's perceptions and behaviors

The impact of 179 mothers' maternal employment and maternal job satisfaction on their children's perceptions and behaviors was examined. The findings indicated that maternal employment was not related to job satisfaction or to children's perceptions or behaviors. Findings also indicated that maternal job satisfaction was not related to children's perceptions or their behaviors. It was hypothesized that maternal employment and maternal job satisfaction may not have the impact on family environment that has been previously suggested.     

The relationship between maternal psychiatric disorder and very young children's coping behaviors

The coping behavior of high-risk infants aged 4 to 36 months was investigated. Two groups of infants (n = 60) (mothers with and without psychiatric disorders) were rated using the Early Coping Inventory (ECI), an observational measure. Results indicated that children whose mothers had chronic psychiatric disorders demonstrated significantly less effective coping behavior on all subscales of the ECI (Sensorimotor Organization, Reactive Behavior, and Self-Initiated Behavior) and on 47 of the 48 items. The at-risk children's behavior was found to be more “situationally effective”; that is, behavior used effectively in one type of situation was not generalized to other types of situations. The greatest discrepancy between the groups was in self-initiated behavior. No significant effects of demographic variables or type or severity of psychiatric disorder were found. Implications for treatment of this high-risk group are discussed. © 1997 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health