Aggression among youth is a public health problem that is often studied in the context of how youth interpret social information. Social cognitive factors, especially hostile attribution biases, have been identified as risk factors for the development of youth aggression, particularly across the transition to middle school. Parental behaviors,…

Purpose: Violence against children increases in adolescence, but there is a research and practice gap in research-supported child abuse prevention for the adolescent years. A pilot program for low-resource settings was developed in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations, government, and academics in South Africa, using research-supported…

Two studies tested hypotheses about the distinctive psychological consequences of children's patterns of responding to interparental conflict. In Study 1, 174 preschool children (M = 4.0 years) and their mothers participated in a cross-sectional design. In Study 2, 243 preschool children (M = 4.6 years) and their parents participated in 2 annual…

Compared to adults without disabilities, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are more likely to experience social victimization. This study examined responses of caregivers of 146 adults with IDD on questionnaires concerning demographics and behavioral characteristics as well as a newly developed Social Vulnerability…

This study explores the associations between mothers' religiosity, and families' and children's functioning in a stratified random sample of 695 Catholic and Protestant mother-child dyads in socially deprived areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a region which has experienced centuries of sectarian conflict between Protestant Unionists and…

Adolescence can be a period of increased problem behavior, and parents often report this stage of development as being one of increased conflict with high levels of parenting-related stress and lower levels of confidence in parenting abilities. As a result, parents of adolescents seek out parenting information and support much more often than do…

Little is known about the early childhood indicators of adolescent risk. The link between trajectories of externalizing behavioral problems and early adolescent risk behavior was examined in a longitudinal sample of 875 child participants in the LONGSCAN studies. Five trajectory groups of children defined by externalizing behavior problems were…

Objective: To evaluate the social and emotional adjustment of 219 children in families with varying levels of intimate partner violence (IPV) using a model of risk and protection. To explore factors that differentiate children with poor adjustment from those with resilience. Methodology: Mothers who experienced IPV in the past year and their…

This study examined gender and age differences in children's psychological response to parental victimization in a convenience sample of African American children. Thirty youths, ages six to 12, whose parents had been a victim of community violence (that is, gunshot or stabbing), and a control group of 30 children matched on variables of race,…