Developmental pathways of behavior problems in the young child: factors associated with continuity and change

The continuity and discontinuity of behavioral problems from age 4 through age 7 until 10 were examined in 120 children. The mothers rated childhood behavior problems at the three age points. Problems were defined as above 80th percentile. Individual transition classification of problematic and non-problematic children showed that 7% had stable behavior problems, 60% stable non-problematic behavior and the rest displayed transitions related to either onset or offset of problems. The mechanisms involved in onset were different from those involved in offset. Children showing onset of problems had fewer friends, participated less often in organized leisure activities and were more passive in class than the well-functioning children. Maternal characteristics such as continued education, current employment and high educational ambitions for the child were associated with having children changing their pathway from risk to an adaptive one.     

Therapeutic techniques vs therapeutic relationships in child behavior therapy

The parents of 56 children who had received behavior therapy rated a number of variables, including the degree to which they viewed the therapeutic relationship versus the specific techniques used in treatment as important, the extent to which the child improved in therapy, and the child's present functioning. Therapists also provided ratings of clinical improvement. Even though parents gave the highest ratings for the importance of the relationship in therapy, the correlation between technique and clinical outcome was statistically significant while the correlations between the relationship and outcome was not. These statistical associations also held when therapists rated improvement. Also, therapists saw greater improvement in children than did the parents. Over-all, the results support the view that the relationship and techniques are interwoven and are both perceived as important factors in treatment.     

Developmental differences in cognitive diatheses for child depression

We studied developmental changes in the relation between cognitive style (i.e., attributional style and cognitive errors) and depression in children. Subjects included 409 fourth-, sixth-, and eighth-grade school children. We hypothesized (1) that evidence congruent with a cognitive diathesis model of depression would emerge with development across middle childhood, (2) that Event × Cognitive Style × Age interactions would be specific to some domains of stressful events but not others, and (3) that interactions would be especially prominent in domains that children regarded as personally important. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that cognitive style moderated the relation between events and self-reported depressive symptoms only in later childhood, and that such interactions were specific to certain domains of stressful events and cognitions. The importance of distinguishing among types of stress and cognitions in future tests of diathesis-stress models of childhood depression are discussed. Implications of developmental differences in the psychopathology of child depression also emerge.     

Setting generality: some specific and general effects of child behavior therapy

The present study attempted to assess experimentally, functional relationships between home and school settings. Two children, both considered deviant in their homes and in their schools, were observed in both settings. The observations revealed that the children's deviant behaviors at home were quite similar to their deviant behaviors at school. Contingency operations were then performed in the children's homes. Results showed that the children's behavior changed predictably in the homes and remained at baseline level in school.     

Adult interpretations of child behavior

This study extends an earlier study (Meyer & Sobieszek, 1972) of the effects of the sex of a child on adult interpretations of its behavior. Videotapes of two 17-month-old children were shown to a sample of 69 adults, who were asked to rate each child's behavior on a number of sex-linked adjectives. Half of the time the sex of the child was wrongly misdescribed. Results from the present study support most findings of the earlier research. Female subjects, especially those reporting high contact with children, described children as possessing fewer stereotypical characteristics of their attributed sex than did male subjects. In addition, males and females attributed more of any qualities to same-sex children and also liked same-sex children more. Males also are more confident in rating same-sex children, while females are somewhat likelier to express more confidence in their ratings of male children.A version of this article was presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Toronto, 1974.     

Developmental factors and performance in remedial courses

This study investigated the relations between various developmental factors and performance in remedial courses. The Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory, Iowa Managing Emotions Inventory, and Iowa Developing Competency Inventory were administered to 231 students enrolled in a developmental studies program at a large state university (enrollment about 25,000). Regression analyses indicated that various developmental measures accounted for a small effect (amount of variance accounted for ranged from 2% to 7%) on performance in remedial courses. The percentage of variance accounted for by the three inventories was similar to what could be accounted for by more traditional measures of SAT scores and high-school grade point averages. The percentage of variance accounted for by traditional measures ranged from 2% to 10%.     

Child behavior,maternal depression,and social coercion as factors in the quality of child care

Observational and self-report data were obtained in the homes of 33 mother-child dyads. These volunteer, normal subjects were monitored with respect to their affectionate and aversive interactions, and the mothers were asked to provide three categories of self-report data. Mothers made observational judgments of their children, their own feelings of depression, and the valences of their interactions with adults. Multiple regression analyses were then employed to predict the mothers' child care behaviors, which were composed of observed mother responses and mother observational judgments. In addition, conditional probability analyses were conducted to examine the directionality of correlations between observed mother-child interchanges. Results showed child behavior to be the best single predictor of how the mothers responded to their children, followed by maternal depression and mother coercive interactions with adults. Child behavior was shown to be a significant antecedent cue for the maternal responses. However, the findings also showed that mother observational judgments about their children had little to do with how the children behaved. Rather, the maternal judgments were best predicted by mother depression, mother coercive interchanges with adults, and the mothers' observed aversive responses to their children. Results were interpreted within a systems framework in which maternal care is viewed as a response that is triangulated by adult-and child-produced stimuli.     

Developmental theory and the practice of clinical child psychology

Examined developmental theory and its relevance for the practice of clinical child psychology. Following a brief review of basic principles of developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology, implications of a developmental perspective are explored for the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of childhood disorders. Although it is obvious that many developmental issues confront the clinical child psychologist and that we have learned much about translating developmental theory into clinical practice, we conclude we have a long way to go before we can assert that a true developmental-clinical child interface has been realized.     

Developmental retardation in infants as a concomitant of physical child abuse

The impact of child abuse on the developmental functioning of infants was investigated. Thirty verified cases of physically abused children were compared to a reference group of 30 nonabused children matched for age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. Abused children scored significantly lower in terms of cognitive and motor development as measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Developmental delays on three of the four sectors of the Denver Developmental Screening Test, personal-social, language, and gross motor, were also found in the abused children. There were, however, relatively few item differences between the two groups on the 30 more general behavioral variables constituting the Bayley Infant Behavior Record. Results appear to confirm clinical observation of abused children as developmentally retarded with specific delays in the language and gross motor areas. Although methodologically complex, longitudinal studies are clearly indicated to assess the stability and/or reversibility of the present findings.The author is indebted to John E. Overall for statistical analysis of the data, and to Drs. Joan Hebeler, Margaret McNeese, Manon Brenner, and Sally Robinson for their invaluable assistance in obtaining children for this study, and to the M. D. Anderson Foundation for their support of this project.     

Developmental sequences in the age of onset of disruptive child behaviors

Retrospective and prospective reports of the onset of disruptive child behaviors were analyzed in a sample of clinic-referred boys. The younger boys (ages 7–9 years), compared with the older boys (ages 10–12 years), showed the highest level of disruptive behavior and, judging from mothers' reports, had the fastest progression of onsets from less serious to more serious problem behaviors. Despite some overlap, developmental sequences in problem behavior within the domains of hyperactivity/inattention, oppositional behavior, and conduct problems were similar across the two age groups. This was also the case for developmental sequences of overt or confrontive problem behaviors and covert or concealing conduct problems. Sequences of the onset of oppositional behavior and conduct problems were validated through prospective data, based on the information from mothers, teachers, and boys themselves. The implications of the findings are discussed for the formulation of developmental pathways of behavior and the analysis of causal factors.