Expectations about alcohol's effects and perceptions of peers' behaviors and beliefs related to alcohol use are each shown to strongly influence the timing of drinking onset during adolescence. The present study builds on prior work by examining the conjoint effects of within-person changes in these social-cognitive factors on age of adolescent…

The current study identified alcohol and cannabis use trajectories among a sample of Mexican-origin youth and examined cultural and familial correlates from childhood to adolescence. Mexican-origin youth (N = 674) from Northern California were assessed annually from ages 10 to 17 (8 waves). Latent class growth modeling examined variability in…

Why do many preterm children show delays in development? An integrated model of biological risk, children's capacities, and maternal stimulation was investigated in relation to cognitive functioning at toddler age. Participants were 200 Dutch children (gestational age = 32-41 weeks); 51% boys, 96% Dutch nationality, 71.5% highly educated mothers.…

Being able to form and maintain intimate relationships is an essential part of development and the early loss of a parent may negatively affect this ability. This study investigates the association between parental loss before the age of 18 years and the formation and dissolution of marriage and cohabitation relationships in adulthood, in relation…

A considerable body of literature suggests that children's child-care experiences may impact adrenocortical functioning in early childhood. Yet emerging findings also suggest that the magnitude and sometimes the direction of child-care effects on development may be markedly different for children from higher risk contexts. Using data from a large…

The articles in this special section bolster the already strong evidence base that personality differences in the trait of conscientiousness predict health. What is now needed is a research agenda for translating documented risk associations between low conscientiousness and poor health into policies and interventions that improve health outcomes…

Youth who exhibit externalizing problems during childhood and adolescence are at an increased risk for a wide range of detrimental life outcomes. Despite the profound consequences of externalizing problems for children, their families, and their communities, we know less about the precise trajectory of externalizing symptoms across late childhood…

Late-life well-being often shows steep deteriorations, but the contributing factors are not well understood, in part because data about people's final year of life are scarce. Here, we draw from and test theoretical perspectives that health-related vulnerabilities undermine the experience and skills older adults typically use to maintain…

Positive emotional engagement develops in the context of face-to-face interactions during the first 6 months of life. Deficits in emotional engagement are characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and may characterize the younger siblings of children with ASD (high-risk siblings). High-risk siblings are likely to exhibit a broad range of…

Maltreating mothers often struggle to respond sensitively to their children's distress. Examining psychophysiological processing of own child cues may offer insight into neurobiological mechanisms that promote sensitive parenting among high-risk mothers. The current study used event-related potential (ERP) methodology to examine associations…

Overeating (eating an unusually large amount of food) and binge eating (overeating with loss of control [LOC]) predict adverse health consequences in adolescence. We aimed to characterize the stability of and risk factors for these distinct but interrelated constructs during critical developmental transitions. We used a population-based sample (n…

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the initiation and peak of many harmful risk-taking behaviors such as smoking, which is among the most addictive and deadliest behaviors. Generic metatheories like the theory of triadic influence (TTI) suggest that interrelated risk factors across multiple domains (i.e., intrapersonal and…

This study examined infants' early visual attention (at 1 month of age) and social engagement (4 months) as predictors of their later joint attention (12 and 18 months). The sample (n = 325), drawn from the Maternal Lifestyle Study, a longitudinal multicenter project conducted at 4 centers of the National Institute of Child Health and Human…

Clinically meaningful behavior problems are thought to be present beginning in the early toddler years, yet few studies have investigated correlates of behavior problems assessed before age 2 years. The current study investigated the direct and interactive contributions of early infant and caregiver characteristics thought to play an important…

This study sought to identify trajectories of marijuana use in the Seattle Social Development Project (n = 808) sample from age 14 through 30, and to examine the extent to which individuals in these trajectories differed in their substance use problems, mental health, problem behavior, economic outcomes, and positive functioning at age 33. In…