This project examined the hypothesis that the impact of the Family Check-Up on parent use of positive behavior support would indirectly improve academic achievement scores at school age. The study included a sample of 731 high-risk families recruited from Women, Infant, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program settings in 3 geographically…

This article proposes an evolutionary model of risky behavior in adolescence and contrasts it with the prevailing developmental psychopathology model. The evolutionary model contends that understanding the evolutionary functions of adolescence is critical to explaining why adolescents engage in risky behavior and that successful intervention…

The measurement of parenting behaviors is important to the field of psychology and the goal of remediating problematic parenting as a means of reducing child problem behaviors. The Parenting Young Children (PARYC) is a self-report measure designed to address parenting behaviors relevant for the caregivers of young children, and was assessed in…

This project examined the unique predictive validity of parent ratings of toddler-age aggression, oppositionality, inattention, and hyperactivity-impulsivity to academic achievement at school-age in a sample of 566 high-risk children and families. The study also investigated potential indirect effects of the Family Check-Up on school-age academic…

This study examines the role of one component of emotion regulation, behavioral control, in the growth of children's early behavior problems by examining whether increases in parental positive behavior support brought about by a family-centered intervention were associated with greater child behavioral control, and whether greater behavioral…

The creation and cultivation of an imaginary companion is considered to be a healthy form of pretend play in early childhood, but there tends to be a less positive view of older children who have them. To test the extent that having an imaginary companion in middle school is associated with positive or negative outcomes, an ethnically diverse…

Seven hundred thirty-one income-eligible families in 3 geographical regions who were enrolled in a national food supplement program were screened and randomized to a brief family intervention. At child ages 2 and 3, the intervention group caregivers were offered the Family Check-Up and linked parenting support services. Latent growth models on…

Caregiver depression has been described as leading to overreport of child behavior problems. This study examines this "depression-distortion" hypothesis in terms of high-risk families of young adolescents. Questionnaire data were collected from mothers, teachers, and fathers, and self-report information was obtained from youth between ages 10 and…

This 4-year study of 698 young adolescents examined the covariates of early onset substance use from Grade 6 through Grade 9. The youth were randomly assigned to a family-centered Adolescent Transitions Program (ATP) condition. Variable-centered (zero-inflated Poisson growth model) and person-centered (latent growth mixture model) approaches were…

Despite recent research indicating that 1 of the pivotal times for identifying pathways to early conduct problems is the toddler period, few family-based preventive interventions have been specifically designed to modify child disruptive behavior during this age period. This randomized trial tested the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up in…

Examined deviancy training as a risk factor for aggression toward female partners among boys and young men in the longitudinal Oregon Youth Study. Found that the relation of adolescent deviant peer association and later aggression toward partners was mediated by antisocial behavior. Observed hostile talk about women with male peers explained…

This article focuses on three-year outcomes associated with a preventive intervention trial in which high-risk youth were aggregated into cognitive-behavioral groups. Analyses of covariance and latent growth modeling revealed that the intervention contributed to three-year escalations in self-reported smoking and teacher-reported delinquency.…

Studied adolescent participants in a group intervention program to determine the influence of peer reactions to problem behavior. Found that the impact of friendship is not always positive and can lead to unintended iatrogenic consequences. Concludes that adults' role in attending to children's peer contexts is perhaps the most critical for…

This study examined antecedents to early patterned alcohol and tobacco use and marijuana experimentation between ages 11 and 16 for an at-risk male sample. Findings suggested that family, peer, and child characteristics were inextricably connected within an ecology of development. A structural equation prediction model suggested a higher order…