The consequents of problem behavior in toddler children

Three hundred children (ages 18–27 months) were observed as they entered peer play groups consisting of 12–15 children and 2–3 caregivers. One hundred and sixty-eight of the children were boys and 142 were girls. A schedule was used that allowed the observer to code the child's behavior and the reaction of peers and caregivers to that behavior. Four different categories of child problems were selected for study: conduct problems with aggression, withdrawn undersocialized behaviors, separation anxiety, and dependent personality. Three different questions were asked concerning the persistence and consequences of problem behaviors in toddler children: Do the behaviors persist over a period of 1 year to 2 years; what kinds of reactions does a child who is engaged in the behaviors defined in these categories receive from peers and teachers; and how do the reactions received from peers and teachers of problem children compare to those of the average of their own class? The stability of problem behaviors and the reactions received by the child were related to gender of the child and sexappropriateness of the behavior.     

Reflections on the recent history and the present challenges of personality psychology

The recent history of personality psychology is rapidly reviewed with the aim of indicating significant cues of the progress which has taken place and of the problems which are still pending. In this regard, a three-stage model of progress provides the arguments which introduce personality psychology into the domain of ‘complexity’. Readmission of individual differences in the investigation of basic processes, attention to marginal perturbances in between non-significant deviations, and use of circumplex models to make sense of multiple facets of phenomena are indicated as viable avenues to the complexity of personality psychology.     

The disappointing gift: dispositional and situational moderators of emotional expressions

Inferences about emotions in children are limited by studies that rely on only one research method. Convergence across methods provides a stronger basis for inference by identifying method variance. This multimethod study of 116 children (mean age = 8.21 years) examined emotional displays during social exchange. Each child received a desirable gift and later an undesirable gift after performing tasks, with or without mother present. Children’s reactions were observed and coded. Children displayed more positive affect with mother present than with mother absent. Independent ratings of children by adults revealed that children lower in the personality dimension of Agreeableness displayed more negative emotion than their peers following the receipt of an undesirable gift. A curvilinear interaction between Agreeableness and mother condition predicted negative affect displays. Emotional assessment is discussed in terms of links to social exchange and the development of expressive behavior.     

Maternal sensitivity and behaviour problems in young children with developmental delay

Children with developmental delay are at increased risk for behaviour problems, but little is known about risk and resilience factors. Previous research has established links between maternal sensitivity and behaviour problems in typically developing children, but no studies have examined maternal sensitivity in the development of behaviour problems in children with developmental delay. In this study, we coded videotaped interactions of 30 2‐year‐olds with developmental delay and their mothers using the maternal behaviour Q‐sort and a child behaviour coding system. Mothers completed the child behaviour checklist when their children were 2 and 3 years old. Results revealed significant inverse relations between maternal sensitivity and concurrent and later externalizing problems, and significant positive relations between maternal sensitivity and concurrent observed appropriate behaviour (compliance and social engagement). This study informs developmental theory and identifies an important maternal variable that may reduce the risk of behaviour problems in children with developmental delay. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is it all in the reward? Peers influence risk‐taking behaviour in young adulthood

The presence of peers is suggested to increase risk‐taking behaviour by heightening response to reward. The current study investigated this using a computerized financial risk‐taking task which was performed twice by a group of young adults (n = 201, median age 19.8 years): once alone and once while in the presence of two peers. An overall increase in risk‐taking was observed when with peers compared to when alone (CHANGE). CHANGE was positively associated with self‐reported levels of reward responsiveness and fun seeking while older age and lack of perseverance were associated with reduced CHANGE. The association between risk‐taking when with peers and both resistance to the influence of peers and age was indirect through reward responsiveness. Reward responsiveness was positively associated with impulsiveness. Only in those who showed a peer‐related decrease in risk‐taking (1/3 of participants), risk‐taking in the presence of peers was associated with increased impulsiveness. The current findings suggest an important role for reward responsiveness in risk‐taking behaviour and demonstrate the influence of peers. Increased understanding of these processes has direct implications for prevention and intervention efforts. Placing risk‐taking behaviour within varying (social) contexts with an eye for differences in personality, development, and emotions provides ample scope for future research.     

A biopsychosocial model of the development of chronic conduct problems in adolescence

A biopsychosocial model of the development of adolescent chronic conduct problems is presented and supported through a review of empirical findings. This model posits that biological dispositions and sociocultural contexts place certain children at risk in early life but that life experiences with parents, peers. and social institutions increment and mediate this risk. A transactional developmental model is best equipped to describe the emergence of chronic antisocial behavior across time. Reciprocal influences among dispositions, contexts, and life experiences lead to recursive iterations across time that exacerbate or diminish antisocial development. Cognitive and emotional processes within the child, including the acquisition of knowledge and social-information-processing patterns, mediate the relation between life experiences and conduct problem outcomes. Implications for prevention research and public policy are noted.     

Prosocial children,bullies and victims: An investigation of their sociometric status,empathy and social problem‐solving strategies

This study investigates links between children's social behaviour and their sociometric status, empathy and social problem‐solving strategies. Sociometric ratings were obtained from a sample of 131 9–10‐year‐old children drawn from two matched schools. Each child also completed a newly developed and empirically derived Social Behaviour Questionnaire. This questionnaire led to the identification of 21 prosocial children, 23 bullies and 14 victims of bullying. Children in these subgroups were then assessed on measures of empathy and social problem‐solving. Prosocial children were significantly more popular than the other role groups, and bully‐victims were most frequently rejected by their peers. Prosocial children also showed greater empathic awareness than either bullies or victims, but gender was the significant source of variance. Prosocial children and victims responded more constructively than did bullies to socially awkward situations, and bullies were less aware than prosocial children of the possible negative consequences of their solution strategies.     

Peer interaction in child care centres at 15 and 23 months: stability and links with children's socio-emotional adjustment

In this longitudinal study, 70 children were observed during 90 min of free play in their child care centres at 15 and 23 months of age. The children (39 boys and 31 girls) attended 51 different care groups in 39 centres. The occurrence and stability of peer interactions in the second year of life and their relations to children's socio-emotional adjustment were examined. The frequency of children's negative initiatives towards peers showed significant inter-individual stability from 15 to 23 months and predicted child aggressive/disruptive behaviour at 23 months as rated by professional caregivers in child care. Involvement in positive interactions with peers, and particularly positive responses to peer behaviours at 15 months, predicted well-being in child care at 23 months as rated by professional caregivers. The frequency of negative initiatives towards peers significantly increased and the frequency of positive responses to peer behaviours significantly decreased from 15 to 23 months.     

Double Jeopardy: Child and School Characteristics That Predict Aggressive-Disruptive Behavior in First Grade

High rates of aggressive-disruptive behavior exhibited by children during their initial years of elementary school increase their risk for significant behavioral adjustment problems with teachers and peers. The purpose of the present study was to examine the unique and combined contributions of child vulnerabilities and school context to the development of aggressive-disruptive student behavior during first grade. Parent ratings and child interviews assessed three child characteristics associated with risk for the development of aggressive behavior problems in elementary school (aggressive-disruptive behaviors at home, attention problems, and social cognitions) in a sample of 755 first-grade children in four demographically diverse American communities. Two school characteristics associated with student aggressive-disruptive behavior problems (low-quality classroom context, school poverty levels) were also assessed. Linear and multilevel analyses showed that both child and school characteristics made independent and cumulative contributions to the development of student aggressive-disruptive behavior at school. Although rates of student aggressive-disruptive behavior varied by gender and race, the predictive model generalized across all groups of children in the study.     

The Role of Maternal and Child ADHD Symptoms in Shaping Interpersonal Relationships

The current study investigated the influence of maternal ADHD symptoms on: (a) mothers’ own social functioning; (b) their child’s social functioning; and (c) parent–child interactions following a lab-based playgroup involving children and their peers. Participants were 103 biological mothers of children ages 6–10. Approximately half of the children had ADHD, and the remainder were comparison youth. After statistical control of children’s ADHD diagnostic status and mothers’ educational attainment, mothers’ own inattentive ADHD symptoms predicted poorer self-reported social skills. Children with ADHD were reported to have more social problems by parents and teachers, as well as received fewer positive sociometric nominations from playgroup peers relative to children without ADHD. After control of child ADHD status, higher maternal inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity each predicted children having more parent-reported social problems; maternal inattention predicted children receiving more negative sociometric nominations from playgroup peers. There were interactions between maternal ADHD symptoms and children’s ADHD diagnostic status in predicting some child behaviors and parent–child relationship measures. Specifically, maternal inattention was associated with decreased prosocial behavior for children without ADHD, but did not influence the prosocial behavior of children with ADHD. Maternal inattention was associated with mothers’ decreased corrective feedback and, at a trend level, decreased irritability toward their children with ADHD, but there was no relationship between maternal inattention and maternal behaviors for children without ADHD. A similar pattern was observed for maternal hyperactivity/impulsivity and mothers’ observed irritability towards their children. Treatment implications of findings are discussed.     

Mother–child affect and emotion socialization processes across the late preschool period: predictions of emerging behaviour problems

The current study examined concurrent and longitudinal relations between maternal negative affective behaviour and child negative emotional expression in preschool age children with (n=96) or without (n=126) an early developmental risk, as well as the predictions of later behaviour problems. Maternal negative affective behaviour, child externalizing emotional expression, and child internalizing emotional expression were observed during a number of lab tasks at child ages 4 and 5, and child externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems were assessed via maternal questionnaire at age 6. Path analyses using structural equation modeling were utilized to test the relations among the variables at ages 4, 5, and 6. A parent‐driven model of emotion socialization emerged, wherein stronger relations were found among maternal negative affect and child externalizing emotions and behaviours than among maternal negative affect and child internalizing emotions and behaviours. Early child risk did not appear to alter the overall emotion socialization process, although higher levels of maternal and child negativity were observed for the children with a developmental risk. Results underscore the complexity of emotion socialization processes throughout the preschool period. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reformulating infant and toddler social competence with peers

Efforts to identify children at risk for social and academic difficulties at an early age have begun to apply conceptualizations of social competence with peers from childhood to infancy and toddlerhood. These attempts have had limited success, in part because social behaviors studied in later childhood such as negative or aggressive acts may not capture relevant dimensions of social competence with peers during the infant and toddler years. The present study conducted an exploratory factor analysis to begin developing a conceptualization of social competence with peers that is appropriate for use with infants and toddlers, and that captures individual differences capable of predicting later social functioning. Results indicate three dimensions of infant and toddler social competence with peers: peer sociability, active peer refusal, and passive peer avoidance. Negative and aggressive behaviors loaded on each of the three factors rather than emerging as a unique dimension of social competence. Each factor demonstrated both convergent and predictive validity, indicating that early identification of social skills remains a reasonable goal for practitioners and researchers alike. Finally, antecedents within children, families, and out-of-home child care environments helped to explain individual variability in each of these three factors of social competence with peers.     

Extending the spectrum idea: child personality,parenting and psychopathology

The spectrum hypothesis, postulating that differences between referred and non‐referred samples are confined to mean level differences, is elaborated by exploring whether the covariation between child problem behaviour and its predictors—child personality and parenting, rated by mothers—is similar in referred (N = 205) and non‐referred (N = 596) children and whether personality by parenting interactions can be generalized across samples. Results showed significant mean level differences for all the variables. Both personality and parenting explained problem behaviour, with some differences in strength of the effects across samples. Parenting by personality interactions mainly predicted externalizing behaviour, with benevolence and conscientiousness as the most prominent moderators. Results confirmed that moderators of problem behaviour operate similarly in the two samples, thus corroborating the spectrum hypothesis. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Role of a Model's Age for Young Children's Imitation: A Research Review

The influence of a model's age on young children's behaviour has been a subject of considerable debate among developmental theorists. Despite the recent surge of interest, controversy remains about the nature of peer influence in early life. This article reviews studies that investigated the influence of a model's age on young children's behaviour in the first 5 years of life, and presents an account of seemingly mixed results. We propose that children imitate familiar behaviour for social reasons, such as in order to identify with the model or to communicate likeness. Since age is an important indicator of the degree of being alike, we propose that children are more likely to imitate familiar behaviour from peers. In contrast, we propose that children primarily imitate novel behaviour for learning reasons. Since adults are perceived as being more competent than children, children are more likely to learn from adults. We further suggest that increased peer experience leads children to evaluate peers as valuable resources for learning novel behaviour in domains in which peers are knowledgeable. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children with behaviour problems: the influence of social competence and social relations on problem stability,school achievement and peer acceptance across the first six years of school

The aims of the present study were to investigate the role for problematic children of the child's social competence, teacher relations and behaviour with peers for later problem persistence, school performance and peer acceptance, in terms of moderating (protective and exacerbating) and independent effects. Groups of children with externalizing (n=26) and internalizing (n=25) problems and a non‐problematic group (n=44) were followed from grade 1–6. Teachers rated behaviour problems and social competence in the first, third and sixth grades, the teacher–child relationship in third grade, and school achievement in sixth grade. Behaviour with peers was assessed in observations in later elementary school. Peer acceptance was assessed through peer nominations in sixth grade. Both problem groups had lower social competence, school achievement and peer acceptance in sixth grade than the non‐problematic group. There were moderating and independent effects of social competence, teacher and peer relations on outcomes, but these applied mainly to children with internalizing problems. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exposure to Violence,Social Information Processing,and Problem Behavior in Preschool Children

Understanding the mechanisms by which early risk factors for social maladjustment contribute to disruptive behaviors in social settings is vital to developmental research and practice. A major risk factor for social maladjustment is early exposure to violence, which was examined in this short‐term longitudinal study in relation to social information processing (SIP) patterns and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 256 preschool children. Data on exposure to violence were obtained via parent report, data on SIP were obtained via child interview, and data on child problem behavior were obtained via teacher report. Findings supported the hypothesis that, compared to children not exposed to violence, children reported to witness and/or experience violence are more likely to attribute hostile intent to peers, generate aggressive responses, and evaluate socially unaccepted responses (aggressive and inept) as socially suitable. The former were also found to exhibit higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Finally, SIP mediated the link between exposure to violence and problem behavior thus supporting this study's general approach, which argues that the link between exposure to violence and children's problem behaviors are better understood within the context of their perceptions about social relationships. Aggr. Behav. 38:429‐441, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Differential effects of social and non‐social reward on response inhibition in children and adolescents

An important issue in the field of clinical and developmental psychopathology is whether cognitive control processes, such as response inhibition, can be specifically enhanced by motivation. To determine whether non‐social (i.e. monetary) and social (i.e. positive facial expressions) rewards are able to differentially improve response inhibition accuracy in typically developing children and adolescents, an ‘incentive’ go/no‐go task was applied with reward contingencies for successful inhibition. In addition, the impact of children's personality traits (such as reward seeking and empathy) on monetary and social reward responsiveness was assessed in 65 boys, ages 8 to 12 years. All subjects were tested twice: At baseline, inhibitory control was assessed without reward, and then subjects were pseudorandomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions, including (1) social reward only, (2) monetary reward only, (3) mixed social and monetary reward, or (4) a retest condition without reward. Both social and non‐social reward significantly improved task performance, although larger effects were observed for monetary reward. The higher the children scored on reward seeking scales, the larger was their improvement in response inhibition, but only if monetary reward was used. In addition, there was a tendency for an association between empathic skills and benefits from social reward. These data suggest that social incentives do not have an equally strong reinforcing value as compared to financial incentives. However, different personality traits seem to determine to what extent a child profits from different types of reward. Clinical implications regarding probable hyposensitivity to social reward in subjects with autism and dysregulated reward‐seeking behaviour in children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are discussed.     

Attachment at school age and academic performance.

The association between attachment and school-related cognitive functioning was longitudinally examined for a French Canadian sample of 108 school-age children. The affective quality of mother-child interaction patterns, child cognitive engagement, and quality of child attachment to mother were evaluated during a laboratory visit that included a separation-reunion procedure occurring when the children were approximately 6 years of age. Children's mastery motivation and academic performance were assessed 2 years later (at age 8). Analyses indicated that secure children had higher scores than their insecure peers on communication, cognitive engagement, and mastery motivation. Controlling children were at greatest risk for school underachievement, with the poorest performance on all measures except mastery motivation. Avoidant and ambivalent children were lowest on mastery motivation. Results of mediational analyses support the salience of mother-child interactional processes and child cognitive engagement at school age in explaining relations between attachment and cognitive functioning in school.     

Developmentally delayed children's influence attempts with mothers predict interactions with peers over time

We examined whether influence attempts of 4–6 year-old children with mild developmental delays occurring when interacting with their mothers predicted children's interactions with peers two years later. Hierarchical regressions controlling for relevant child characteristics and a measure of direct parental actions to influence their children's peer interactions revealed a consistent association between influence attempts with mothers and four important aspects of children's peer relationships: successful social bids to peers, initiations to peers, extent of involvement with peers, and overall level of peer interactions. Results were consistent with social communicative processes likely to emerge during children's influence attempts with mothers, which are relevant to peer relationships. The fact that influence attempts with mothers were associated with peer interactions over a time period when peers occupy a more dominant role in children's social relationships supports the role of indirect family influences as a potential intervention strategy to further the peer competence of children with delays.