Predicting individual differences in attention, memory, and planning in first graders from experiences at home, child care, and school

This study adds to the growing literature linking children's experiences in the environment to individual differences in their developing skills in attention, memory, and planning. The authors asked about the extent to which stimulating and sensitive care in the family and in the child-care or school environments would predict these cognitive outcomes. The authors also questioned the primacy of experiences in the first 3 years of life. Data from a sample of 700 first graders whose experiences in the home and in child care or school were evaluated since early infancy revealed that the cumulative quality of the child-rearing environment was related to attention and memory but not to planning and that the quality of the family environment was more strongly associated with outcomes than was the quality of child care and of school. The quality of both children's early (6 through 36 months) and later (54 months and first grade) environments predicted performance on the attention and memory tasks.     

Decoupling the Relation Between Risk Factors for Conduct Problems and the Receipt of Intervention Services: Participation Across Multiple Components of a Prevention Program

This study examined whether the link between risk factors for conduct problems and low rates of participation in mental health treatment could be decoupled through the provision of integrated prevention services in multiple easily-accessible contexts. It included 445 families of first-grade children (55% minority), living in four diverse communities, and selected for early signs of conduct problems. Results indicated that, under the right circumstances, these children and families could be enticed to participate at high rates in school-based services, therapeutic groups, and home visits. Because different sets of risk factors were related to different profiles of participation across the components of the prevention program, findings highlight the need to offer services in multiple contexts to reach all children and families who might benefit from them. Ellen Pinderhughes's and Karen Bierman's colleagues in the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group are, in alphabetical order, John D. Coie, Duke University; Kenneth A. Dodge, Duke University; E. Michael Foster, University of North Carolina; Mark T. Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University; John E. Lochman, University of Alabama; and Robert J. McMahon, University of Washington.     

The multidimensional nature and multicultural validity of a new measure of social anxiety: the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults

Much has been written about the situations most often feared by persons with social phobia, and several self-report measures are frequently used to assess such feared situations. However, it is not clear whether the situations feared by persons with social phobia form unidimensional or multidimensional factors. If these situations are multidimensional, reliance on a total score of feared situations would not reflect important differences between those dimensions. This research examined the multidimensional nature and multicultural validity of a newly developed instrument (the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults [SAQ-A]) in two studies with a total of 539 patients diagnosed with social phobia and 15,753 nonpatients from 20 different countries. The structure (five clear and solid factors) and psychometric properties of the final instrument (the SAQ-A30) support the multidimensional nature of social anxiety and provide a new perspective in the assessment of social phobia.     

Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Social Preference During the Early School Years: Mediation by Maternal Warmth and Child Emotion Regulation

This longitudinal study examined processes that mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and peer social preference during the early school years. Three hundred and fifty six kindergarten children (182 boys) and their mothers participated in the study. During kindergarten, mothers reported their level of depressive symptomatology. In first grade, teachers rated children’s emotion regulation at school and observers rated the affective quality of mother-child interactions. During second grade, children’s social preference was assessed by peer nomination. Results indicated that mothers’ level of depressive symptomatology negatively predicted their child’s social preference 2 years later, controlling for the family SES and teacher-rated social preference during kindergarten. Among European American families, the association between maternal depressive symptoms and social preference was partially mediated by maternal warmth and the child’s emotion regulation. Although the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and children peer preference was stronger among African American families than Europrean American families, its mediation by the maternal warmth and child’s emotion regulation was not found in African American families.