Faculty Bibliography

Although prior research suggests that children show rapid change in socioemotional functioning and aggression throughout early childhood, little is known about how these factors may be associated with the development of callous-unemotional (CU) features. This study investigated the parallel development of, and reciprocal relationships between, emotion understanding (EU) and aggression across early childhood, as well as how they play a role in the development of CU features. Parallel latent growth curve modeling was used to examine longitudinal reciprocal relationships between EU and aggression in a sample of 498 primarily Black (i.e., African-American or Afro-Caribbean) preschoolers (49.5% male, 89.2% Black, M_age = 4.1), followed with six waves over a 45-month period from pre-kindergarten through grade 2. CU features were included as a baseline covariate, as well as an outcome, of EU and aggression growth factors. Children with lower levels of EU at age 4 displayed higher linear increases in aggression over time. EU at age 4 had a significant indirect effect on CU features at age 8 via its association with linear increases in aggression. Findings suggest that EU is influential in the early development of aggression, which may in turn influence the development or exacerbation of CU features. Children's EU in early childhood, especially concerning others' distress, may be an important component of preventive intervention efforts for young children at risk for serious antisocial behavior.

Introduction: Child fatigue has been associated with behavioral outcomes, including aggression, hyperactivity, and conduct problems, which may affect academic performance. We explored whether fatigue was associated with external behavioral health outcomes in a predominantly Black (Afro-Caribbean and African-American) student population (90%). Ratings of parent and teacher agreement of child fatigue was evaluated. This analysis was part of a larger research program, which included a cluster randomized controlled trial in ten public elementary schools in historically disinvested neighborhoods.
Method(s): A total of 804 first-graders (7+/- 0.6 years old) participated in the study focused on child self-regulation, mental health achievement, parenting and parent involvement. Externalizing behaviors (i.e., conduct problems, aggression, and hyperactivity) were reported by teachers using the Behavior System for Children (BASC-2). A composite score of teacher-perceived child fatigue was created based on ratings of child fatigue, morning alertness, and falling asleep in class. Parent perception of child fatigue was assessed using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between teacher's reports of child fatigue and externalizing behavior problems. Cohen's kappa coefficient assessed parent and teacher agreement of child fatigue based on categorical classification of presence of child fatigue.
Result(s): Children who were perceived as fatigued (i.e., tiredness and falling asleep in class) by their teacher were more likely to have a high BASC externalizing composite score (T=60 cut off) (beta = -0.24, p<.001). Cohen's kappa of 0.004 (p<0.05) showed a slight discordance in perception of child fatigue comparing reports from teachers and parents, although results were not significant.
Conclusion(s): Teacher perception of child fatigue was significantly associated with teacher BASC T-score of child externalizing behavior outcomes. Future studies should explore longitudinal relationships between fatigue and mental health

Emotion knowledge, the ability to accurately perceive and label emotions, predicts higher quality peer relations, higher social competence, higher academic achievement, and fewer behaviour problems. Less is known, however, about predictors of early development of emotion knowledge. This study examines emotion knowledge development among children attending pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten programmes in high-poverty urban schools. The study considers child pre-academic abilities, self-regulation, peer relations and parental education as predictors of emotion knowledge development over two years. The sample (n = 1034) of children living in historically disinvested neighbourhoods was primarily Black (85%) and low-income (∼61%). The sample was part of a longitudinal follow-up study of a cluster (school) randomised controlled trial in ten public elementary schools. Children's emotion knowledge was assessed with a series of tasks three times over a two-year period. At baseline, parents and teachers reported on peer relations, children completed a test of pre-academic abilities, independent observers rated child self-regulation, and parents reported on their educational attainment. Results demonstrate that emotion knowledge increases over time, and pre-academic abilities, self-regulation, peer relations, and parent education independently predict children's emotion knowledge. This study highlights multiple factors that predict emotion knowledge among primarily Black children living in historically disinvested neighbourhoods.

Relatively poor treatment outcomes have been reported for children with conduct problems (CPs) and high levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., a lack of guilt, a lack of empathy, shallow affect), yet the mechanisms underlying this effect are poorly understood. Recently, growing evidence of aberrant reward/punishment processing in children with CU traits has suggested that punishment-based parenting strategies may be less effective among children with high levels of CU traits. Using a randomized controlled trial design, we conducted an experimental test of whether CU traits are associated with differential response to reward versus punishment components of evidence-based parent-training interventions for CPs. Parents of children (n = 74) 3 to 8 years of age were randomized to either 5 weeks of reward-based or 5 weeks of punishment-based parenting strategies, after which time each received the alternative intervention. Contrary to predictions, neither type nor dosage of parent training strategies was found to moderate the relation between CU traits and treatment response. Implications for the treatment of CPs in children with high levels of CU traits, and research into mechanisms of behavior change, are discussed.

Sedentary behavior and lack of physical activity are key modifiable behavioral risk factors for chronic health problems, such as obesity and diabetes. Little is known about how sedentary behavior and physical activity among adolescents spatially cluster. The objective was to detect spatial clustering of sedentary behavior and physical activity among Boston adolescents. Data were used from the 2008 Boston Youth Survey Geospatial Dataset, a sample of public high school students who responded to a sedentary behavior and physical activity questionnaire. Four binary variables were created: 1) TV watching (>2 hours/day), 2) video games (>2 hours/day), 3) total screen time (>2 hours/day); and 4) 20 minutes/day of physical activity (≥5 days/week). A spatial scan statistic was utilized to detect clustering of sedentary behavior and physical activity. One statistically significant cluster of TV watching emerged among Boston adolescents in the unadjusted model. Students inside the cluster were more than twice as likely to report > 2 hours/day of TV watching compared to respondents outside the cluster. No significant clusters of sedentary behavior and physical activity emerged. Findings suggest that TV watching is spatially clustered among Boston adolescents. Such findings may serve to inform public health policymakers by identifying specific locations in Boston that could provide opportunities for policy intervention. Future research should examine what is linked to the clusters, such as neighborhood environments and network effects.

This study tests whether a parenting intervention for families of preschoolers at risk for conduct problems can prevent later risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). Ninety-nine preschoolers at familial risk for conduct problems were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Ten years later, 45 preschoolers and 43 of their siblings completed an assessment of their romantic relationships, including measures of physical and psychological IPV. The study focuses on the 54 females, including targets (n = 27) and siblings (n = 27) who participated in a 10-year follow-up (M age = 16.5, SD = 5.2, range = 10-28). Using an intent-to-treat (ITT) design, multivariate regressions suggest that females from families randomly assigned to intervention in early childhood scored lower than those in the control condition on perceptions of dating violence as normative, beliefs about IPV prevalence, exposure to IPV in their own peer group, and expected sanction behaviors for IPV perpetration and victimization. Findings suggest that early parenting intervention may reduce association of high-risk females with aggressive peers and partners in adolescence.

BACKGROUND:We measured associations between parental incarceration and STI/HIV-related drug use and sex risk, assessing differences by race, age at first parental incarceration, and potential mediators of the relationship. METHODS:We used Waves I (adolescence), III (young adulthood), and IV (adulthood) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 11,884) to measure associations between age of parental incarceration (never; <8; 8-17; ≥18 years old) and marijuana and cocaine use, multiple partnerships, and STI in adolescence and adulthood among white, Black, and Hispanic participants and assessed mediation by sexual and physical abuse, mental disorder symptoms, and drug use. RESULTS:By Wave IV, approximately one in six had experienced a parental incarceration; higher prevalence observed among black (26%) and Hispanic (20%) versus white (15%) respondents (p < 0.0001). Parental incarceration at any age was moderately to strongly associated with STI/HIV risk outcomes. In multivariable models, parental incarceration at age <8 years old (versus never) remained strongly associated with STI/HIV risk in both adolescence and adulthood, with strongest associations among non-whites. Among black participants, parental incarceration at <8 years old was associated with over double the odds of adulthood use of marijuana (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.53, 95% confidence interval: 1.62, 3.95) and cocaine (AOR: 4.41, 95% CI: 2.05, 9.48). Delinquency, drug use, and mood disorders appeared to partially mediate the relationship. CONCLUSIONS:Children impacted by parental incarceration constitute priority populations for substance use and STI/HIV prevention and treatment. The unintended consequences of incarceration for children should be considered in decarceration discussions.