Models of differential susceptibility hypothesize that neural function may be a marker of differential susceptibility to context, but no studies have tested this hypothesis. Using a sample of 310 young men from low-income urban neighborhoods, this study investigated amygdala reactivity to facial expressions as a moderator of the relations between…

The present study examined the relationship between salivary cortisol and maternal responsiveness in mothers of boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Maternal responsivity is strongly associated with child outcomes, and children with FXS are at risk for compromised development due to intellectual disability and problem behavior. Increased…

As U.S. infant mortality remains relatively unchanged and maternal mortality is rising, it is increasingly clear that service providers need to address many of the modifiable risks that determine birth outcomes prior to pregnancy. Health professionals have promoted preconception care for decades as a way to improve women's and infant's health. Yet…

Despite major steps towards providing early childhood care and education (ECCE) services in Kenya and Uganda, access to responsive services is still out of reach for many young children, and where available, they are often out of touch with local realities. In this paper, I trouble the universalising and totalising tendencies of the dominant…

Men who were sexually abused during childhood represent a highly stigmatized, marginalized population at risk for a variety of long-term mental health problems. Using the family integration dimension of Durkheim's theory of suicide, factors associated with suicidal ideation among a purposive sample of 487 men with histories of child sexual…

This study longitudinally assessed the effects of parental attachment on alcohol-related risks across the first year of college. Greater attachment to mother was associated with lower alcohol risk while weaker attachment to mother was related to more drinking and consequences near the end of the first year, even when controlling for baseline…

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., lack of empathy/guilt, uncaring attitudes) are believed to be a developmental antecedent to adult psychopathy and identify antisocial youth at risk for severe and persistent aggression. The psychosocial histories of antisocial and aggressive individuals with psychopathic traits are characterized by abusive or…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this article examined how early maternal characteristics, an adolescent's family environment, and the adolescent's own attitudes and behaviors were associated with the odds of a nonmarital teenage birth among youth born to teenage mothers. Multivariate analyses indicated that these domains…

This study extends past findings of heightened problems among affluent youth by examining adjustment patterns among boys in two academically elite, independent high schools: one for boys only and the other co-educational. Both samples manifested disproportionately high rates of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, but only the co-educational…

To determine familial risk of early suicide, data on cause of death of all Dutch residents aged 20-55 years who died between 1995 and 2001 were linked to data of their parents. Men whose father died by suicide had a higher odds of suicide themselves, relative to men whose father died of other causes (Odds Ratio (OR): 2.5; 95% confidence interval:…

Community studies indicating that affluence has social-emotional consequences for youth have conflated family and neighborhood wealth. We examined adolescent boys' delinquency and adolescent girls' anxiety-depression as a function of family, neighborhood, and cumulative affluence in a sample that is primarily of European-American descent, but…

Youth living in impoverished urban neighborhoods are at risk for becoming hopeless about their future and engaging in violent behaviors. The current study seeks to examine the longitudinal relationship between social connections, hopelessness trajectories, and subsequent violent behavior across adolescence. Our sample included 723 (49% female)…

Sex differences in disruptive behavior and sensitivity to social context are documented, but the intersection between them is rarely examined empirically. This report focuses on sex differences in observed disruptive behavior across interactional contexts and diagnostic status. Preschoolers (n = 327) were classified as nondisruptive (51%),…

Recently researchers have begun to explore the extent to which children's cognitive development is influenced by experiences in the family environment. Assessing mother-child dyads exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV), a population at risk for emotional and neurocognitive problems, we examined relationships between maternal emotional…

The current study tested sex-specific pathways to early puberty, sexual debut, and sexual risk taking, as specified by an integrated evolutionary-developmental model of adolescent sexual development and behavior. In a prospective study of 238 adolescents (n = 129 girls and n = 109 boys) followed from approximately 12-18 years of age, we tested for…