Adolescents' Emotional Experiences of Mother–Adolescent Conflict Predict Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

Research on adolescent emotion has generally focused on expressions of emotion; however, there are reasons to believe that adolescents' experiences of emotion may be related to adolescent development in unique and important ways. This study examined the relation of adolescents' emotional experiences of conflict with their mothers to their internalizing and externalizing symptoms at three time points, each a year apart. After participating in videotaped conflict negotiation tasks with their mothers, adolescents (N=80) watched the videotape of their interactions and used a joystick to make continuous ratings of how negative, positive, or neutral they felt during the discussions. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to assess relations among their continuous emotion ratings and their internalizing and externalizing symptoms 1 year before the interaction task, at the time of the interaction task, and 1 year later. Adolescents' externalizing symptoms at the time of the conflict task were associated with negative emotion that decreased across the conflict discussion. Relations between emotional experience and internalizing symptoms a year later were moderated by adolescent gender, revealing that a tolerance for increasing negative emotion predicts fewer future internalizing symptoms for girls. The importance of adolescents' ability to tolerate negative emotion during normal developmental conflicts is discussed.     

Changes in Externalizing and Internalizing Problems of Adolescents in Foster Care

Using a developmental psychopathology framework, this study aimed to examine changes in externalizing and internalizing problems of adolescents in foster care and to determine whether type of maltreatment, gender, and age influenced trajectories. Authors used 3 waves of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well‐Being. Growth‐curve analyses of 106 adolescents aged 13–16 in foster care revealed that externalizing and internalizing problems decreased over time. Adolescents, particularly boys, placed in foster care as a result of sexual abuse, physical abuse, or neglect demonstrated faster decreases in externalizing problems and, similarly but to a weaker degree, internalizing problems than did those placed in foster care as a result of other forms of maltreatment.     

Caregiver qualities,family closeness,and the well-being of adolescents engaged in the child welfare system

Children who come into contact with the child welfare system are at greater risk of experiencing internalizing and externalizing behaviors. This secondary analysis of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being explored how caregiver characteristics and behaviors, and caregiver–child closeness influence these outcomes over time. The final sample was 877 caregiver and adolescent (11–17 years old) dyads. Weighted multivariate regression analyses were performed. Caregiver characteristics associated with depressive symptoms included age and education; caregiver health was not associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors. For adolescents, being female, older, or Hispanic was associated with internalizing behaviors. Although not significant for externalizing behaviors, caregiver–adolescent closeness was protective against internalizing behaviors. Understanding factors that contribute to the mental health of child-welfare-exposed adolescents has far-reaching implications for family-based interventions with child-welfare-involved youth.     

The association between perception of relationship with caregivers and behaviours of youth in foster care: a child and caregiver perspective

The transition into foster care can be difficult for children. Research has consistently shown an increased risk for children in foster care to exhibit higher levels of problem behaviours in comparison to youth in the general population. The purpose of this study was to analyse the associations between the youths' perception of their relationship with their caregiver on their perception of their own internalizing and externalizing behaviours as well as the youths' perception of the relationships with caregivers and how caregivers report of youths' internalizing and externalizing behaviours. This study utilized the secondary data from the general release version of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being [National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (2009) Introduction to the wave 1 general and restricted use releases, Nation Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Ithaca, NY]. Significant relationships between youths' perception of relationship with their caregiver were found with both youth perception of internalizing behaviours and caregiver perception of internalizing and externalizing behaviours. Results are explained with implications for practice, training, research and policy.     

Self-esteem: A mediator between peer relationships and behaviors of adolescents in foster care

Youth in foster care have been shown to be at risk for a range of negative behaviors. Developmental research has highlighted the important role that peer relationships can play in an adolescent's development. For youth in foster care, peer relationships can also play an important role in both youths' internal perception of themselves and their enacted behaviors. This study utilized National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing, a national secondary dataset to analyze the connection between peer relationships for youths in long-term foster care and their report of internalizing, externalizing, and delinquent behaviors (n = 188). Additionally, the self-esteem of adolescents was explored as a potential mediator between peer relationships and these behaviors. Preliminary analyses indicated that peer relationships had a significant association with all three of the identified behaviors: internalizing, externalizing, and delinquent behaviors of youths in foster care. Self-esteem was found to be a significant mediator between peer relationships and adolescents' report of their internalizing, externalizing, and delinquent behaviors. Clinical implications for therapeutic services that focuses on the adolescent's self-image and potential policy implications are discussed.     

Residential Mobility and Adolescent Achievement and Behavior: Understanding Timing and Extent of Mobility

Residential mobility is generally viewed as an adverse event for adolescents' development. Less is known about whether moving during adolescence, childhood, or both periods explains this connection and whether the extent of mobility matters. Analytic shortcomings with much of the research call into question extant findings. We examined associations between childhood, adolescent, and child–adolescent mobility and adolescents' achievement (math and reading) and behavior problems (internalizing and externalizing). With a multisite, longitudinal sample (N = 1,056), we employed propensity score methods, which mitigate concerns about selection bias on observed variables, to investigate relationships. Results suggest that multiple, child–adolescent movers had more internalizing problems in adolescence than their stable peers, but did not differ on externalizing problems or achievement.     

The Role of Socialization,Effortful Control,and Ego Resiliency in French Adolescents' Social Functioning

The relations among effortful control, ego resiliency, socialization, and social functioning were examined with a sample of 182 French adolescents (14–20 years old). Adolescents, their parents, and/or teachers completed questionnaires on these constructs. Effortful control and ego resiliency were correlated with adolescents' social functioning, especially with low externalizing and internalizing behaviors and sometimes with high peer competence. Furthermore, aspects of socialization (parenting practices more than family expressiveness) were associated with adolescents' effortful control, ego resiliency, and social functioning. Effortful control and ego resiliency mediated the relations between parental socialization and adolescents' peer competence and internalizing problems. Furthermore, effortful control mediated the relations between socialization and adolescents' externalizing behavior. Findings are discussed in terms of cultural and developmental variation.     

Substance use in youth adopted from foster care: Developmental mechanisms of risk

Children who enter foster care are at unique risk for developing substance abuse due to experiencing early life stressors. A large body of research has revealed robust effects of various stressors on later substance use, implicating the role of early neurobiological changes that create chronic internalizing problems. However, less literature has investigated externalizing behavior as a mechanism underlying this relationship. Moreover, few studies have examined these mechanisms through a model of cumulative risk. The present study examined whether the prospective association between cumulative pre-adoptive risk (e.g., maltreatment, age at placement, foster placement instability, ever having lived with birth parent) and adolescent/young-adult substance use was mediated by childhood internalizing and externalizing problems in youth adopted from foster care. Participants included 82 adoptees, most with histories of prenatal substance exposure (72%). We tested parent-rated internalizing and externalizing problems across 5 years in childhood as simultaneous mediators of cumulative risk and level of substance use 11–15 years later. Bootstrapping mediation procedures, controlling for age, prenatal substance exposure, adolescent/young adult mental health symptomatology, and youth participation in follow-up, revealed a significant indirect effect of cumulative risk on substance use through childhood internalizing problems, but not externalizing problems. These results underline the importance of mitigating early risk for children in the child welfare system and call for targeting childhood emotion dysregulation to reduce likelihood of substance abuse among previously high-risk adoptees. Nevertheless, low rates of substance use overall in the present sample underscore the positive impact of adoptive placement on mitigating risk for substance abuse among foster youth.     

Observed Interactions Indicate Protective Effects of Relationships With Parents for Referred Adolescents

This study examined whether the quality of parent–adolescent interactions moderate the association between stressful life events and internalizing and externalizing problems in referred adolescents (N=101, M age 13.41 years, SD=1.81). Adolescents and their parents reported on psychological problems at the time of referral and 4 years later. At follow‐up parents reported on stressful life events and an interaction task was conducted to observe autonomy and relatedness promoting behaviors. For adolescents exposed to stressful events, levels of internalizing and externalizing problems went up except if observed parent–adolescent interactions were characterized by high autonomy and relatedness. The results implied that autonomy and relatedness protect adolescents against the deleterious effects of stressful life events. These findings build on previous research showing for psychologically vulnerable adolescents that parenting that promotes autonomy while maintaining relatedness is associated with resilience in times of stress.     

Compulsory residential care: An examination of treatment improvement of individual and family functioning

The aim of the present study was to examine the treatment progress of both adolescent's and their families' functioning in a new compulsory residential treatment program. The sample consisted of 339 admitted adolescents (56.3% boys). The mean age at time of entry was 15.69 (SD = 1.30). Adolescents stayed on average 9.42 months (SD = 4.66) in a new residential treatment program. Data on adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed using self-reports, parent reports, and group care worker reports. In addition, adolescents reported their substance use and delinquency and parents also reported family functioning and level of perceived parental stress. The findings revealed a significant decrease in adolescents' self-reported internalizing and externalizing problems, delinquency, and substance use. According to parent ratings, a significant improvement was found concerning adolescents' problem behaviors during treatment. However, according care worker ratings, adolescents showed no improvement on internalizing problems and showed an increase in externalizing problems. Concerning families, although there was no improvement in family functioning, parental stress significantly improved over time. Further research should examine whether improvements experienced during treatment are maintained after treatment.     

Co-development of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems during early childhood among child welfare-involved children

Using parallel-process latent growth curve modeling, we examine developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and identify early risk factors for behavior problems among 329 child welfare-involved children followed from age 2 years to 5 years. Data are drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II. On average, internalizing behavior problems remained stable, while externalizing behavior problems decreased over time. Higher initial levels of internalizing behavior problems were associated with higher initial levels of externalizing behavior problems. Rates of change also had positive cross-domain relationships. Child neglect, exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), insecure caregiver-child attachment, and caregiver mental health problems were associated with higher initial levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Exposure to IPV, out-of-home care, and caregiver drug use predicted rates of change in behavior problems. Our findings highlight the importance of comprehensive assessment and treatment for co-occurring internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in young children involved in the child welfare system. Results also indicate the need for identifying and addressing early risk factors to prevent early onset and continued development of behavior problems in high-risk children.     

Socioemotional functioning across the transition to lower secondary school: The role of temperament and relationships with mothers and teachers

This Finnish longitudinal study investigated the role of relationships with mothers (n = 631) and teachers (n = 56), and adolescents' (n = 848; 53.9% girls, 46.1% boys) temperament in the development of the adolescents' socioemotional functioning during the transition to lower secondary school (Grade 6 to Grade 7; age in Grade 6: M = 12.32, SD = 0.36). The results showed that mother–adolescent closeness predicted a higher level and teacher–adolescent closeness predicted a smaller decrease in prosocial behavior. Teacher–adolescent conflict predicted a higher level, and mother–adolescent conflict predicted an increase in externalizing problems. Only temperament predicted internalizing problems. In addition, relationship quality both mediated and moderated some of the associations between temperament and socioemotional functioning.     

Role of Parent and Peer Relationships and Individual Characteristics in Middle School Children's Behavioral Outcomes in the Face of Community Violence

This study examines processes linking inner‐city community violence exposure to subsequent internalizing and externalizing problems. Hypothesized risk and protective factors from 3 ecological domains—children's parent and peer relationships and individual characteristics—were examined for mediating, moderating, or independent roles in predicting problem behavior among 667 children over 3 years of middle school. Mediation was not found. However, parent and peer variables moderated the association between exposure and internalizing problems. Under high exposure, normally protective factors (e.g., attachment to parents) were less effective in mitigating exposure's effects than under low exposure; attachment to friends was more effective. Individual competence was independently associated with decreased internalizing problems. Variables from all domains, and exposure, were independently associated with externalizing problems. Protective factors (e.g., parent attachment) predicted decreased problems; risk factors (e.g., friends' delinquency) predicted increased problems. Results indicate community violence reduction as essential in averting inner‐city adolescents' poor behavioral outcomes.     

Friendship Quality,Peer Group Affiliation,and Peer Antisocial Behavior as Moderators of the Link Between Negative Parenting and Adolescent Externalizing Behavior

Quality of peer relationships and perceived peer antisocial behavior were examined as moderators of the link between negative parenting and externalizing behavior problems in school from middle childhood to early adolescence. Data on negative parenting (i.e., unilateral parental decision making, low supervision and awareness, and harsh discipline) were collected from 362 parents in the summer preceding the adolescents' entry into Grade 6. Adolescent reports of positive peer relationships and peer antisocial behavior were assessed in the winter of Grade 7. The outcome measure was teacher report of adolescent externalizing behavior in the spring of Grade 7, controlling for externalizing behavior in Grade 5. High levels of friendship quality and peer group affiliation attenuated the association between unilateral parental decision making and adolescent externalizing behavior in school; this was particularly true when adolescents associated with peers perceived to be low in antisocial behavior. In addition, having low‐quality peer relationships and having peers perceived to be highly antisocial further amplified the association between unilateral parental decision making and adolescent externalizing behavior problems. Finally, high levels of friend and peer group antisocial behavior exacerbated the predictiveness of harsh discipline for adolescents' externalizing behavior.     

Concurrent child history and contextual predictors of children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in foster care

This study contributes to current research on the behavior problems of children in foster care by analyzing a more comprehensive set of concurrent child history and contextual predictors. Kinship home status and sibling status (i.e., whether the sibling is a biological sibling to the foster child) were evaluated as moderators of significant associations. Data were collected at the baseline of a foster parent training intervention program prior to any intervention services using parent phone interviews (N = 310, 51.6% male, M age = 7.57 years). Two linear hierarchical regressions were used to evaluate each set of predictors' association with behavior problems as well as each individual predictor's contribution. Results indicated that as a set, the contextual variables predicted a significant and unique amount of variability in the child's internalizing and externalizing behavior scores, whereas the child history variables did not. Specifically, the child's placement in a non-kinship home, being in a non-ethnically matched child-parent pair, higher parent stress scores, a greater number of prior group home placements, and higher internalizing behavior scores for the child predicted higher child externalizing scores. Higher parent stress scores, higher focal sibling externalizing behavior scores, and higher externalizing behavior scores for the child predicted higher internalizing scores for the child. The association between focal sibling externalizing behavior scores and child internalizing scores was moderated by kinship home status, such that there was a stronger association between the focal sibling's externalizing score and the child's internalizing score if the child was in a kinship compared to a non-kinship home. Implications for intervention services are discussed, particularly the importance of assessing the child's foster home environment when addressing the child's behavior problems.     

Family Loyalty and Adolescent Problem Behavior: The Validity of the Family Group Effect

Erratum . Journal of Law and Society Volume 32 Issue 3 The present study examined the relation between perceived justice and trust within family relationships and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problem behavior. Data were gathered from the father, the mother, and two of their adolescent children in 288 families. The social relations model was used to assess perceived justice and trust at the family level and the individual level. Adolescent internalizing and externalizing problem behavior turned out to be best predicted at the family level. Adolescents from families with less just or trustworthy climates showed more of these problem behaviors. Also associations between adolescent problem behavior and individual characteristics of the adolescents were found: adolescents who were generally viewed as less just/trustworthy were reported to have more problems. Our findings suggest that processes at different levels of family functioning (i.e., individual, whole‐family) should be taken into account when investigating associations between family characteristics and children's outcomes.     

Risk and protective factors for residential foster care adolescents

Based on Jessor's (1998) Problem Behavior Theory, this study investigated the relationship between risk and protective factors and adolescent psychopathology and adjustment. For this purpose, adolescent girls (n = 69) and boys (n = 71) living in residential foster homes in the city of Tehran, responded to an adapted version of the Adolescent Health and Development Questionnaire, Jessor, 1998) and their foster home caregivers rated the adolescents' internalizing/externalizing problems and prosocial behavior with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ, Goodman, 2001). This study identified several influential aspects at the levels of the individual, foster home, peers and community that serve as a direct risk and protective factors, and also documented indirect pathways of gender, individual, foster home, peers and community influence.Three main patterns, protective, protective and enhancing, and protective but reactive seemed to characterize most of the risk by protective factor interactions. The risk and protective factors associated with foster home adolescents' mental health are broadly in line with previous published findings. Based on the present findings, the extension of universal intervention programs designed within the framework of PBT and which address multiple targets seems justified to be used with foster care home adolescents.     

Acculturation Risk and Protective Factors and Mental Health Symptoms in Immigrant Latino Adolescents

Abstract

The aim of this investigation was to map factors that predicted internalizing, externalizing, social, and total behavioral problems in immigrant Latino adolescents. Interviews were conducted with 100 foreign-born Latino adolescents. Multiple regression analyses revealed two risk factors, perceived discrimination and parent-adolescent conflict, which were significant predictors of adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and total problems. Interaction terms indicated that adolescents who were highly involved in Latino culture and who experienced high parent-adolescent conflict were at risk for internalizing problems. Familism was a protective factor associated with lower levels of internalizing and total problems. However, the effect of familism was mediated by parent-adolescent conflict.     

Interparental Relationship Sensitivity Leads to Adolescent Internalizing Problems: Different Genotypes,Different Pathways

Several studies have established that child interparental conflict evaluations link parent relationship functioning and adolescent adjustment. Using differential susceptibility theory and its vantage sensitivity complement as their framework, the authors examined differences between adolescents who vary in the DRD4 7 repeat genotype (i.e., 7+ vs. 7?) in how both interparental conflict and positivity affect adolescents' evaluations of interparental conflict (i.e., threat appraisals) and how these evaluations affect internalizing problems. Results from longitudinal multiple‐group path models using PROSPER data (N = 452) supported the hypothesis that threat appraisals for 7+ adolescents would be more affected by perceptions of interparental positivity compared to 7? adolescents; however, threat appraisals for 7+ adolescents were also less affected by interparental conflict. Among 7? adolescents, interparental conflict perceptions were associated with higher threat appraisals, and no association was found for perceptions of positivity. For adolescents of both genotypes, higher threat was associated with greater internalizing problems.     

Within-family linkages between parental monitoring and adolescents externalizing problems with autonomy support as a moderator

Parents' monitoring efforts are thought to be effective in reducing children's future externalizing problems. Empirical evidence for this claim, however, is limited, as only few studies have unraveled the temporal ordering of these constructs. The present six-wave longitudinal study contributed to the existing literature by examining within-family linkages between monitoring efforts (behavioral control and solicitation) and adolescents' externalizing behaviors while controlling for between-family differences. In addition, it was assessed whether these associations differed when using child versus parent reports, differed for less versus more autonomy-supportive parents, and differed for fathers' versus mothers' monitoring efforts. Longitudinal data (six annual waves) of 497 adolescents (56.9% boys, M_age at T₁ = 13.03, SD = 0.46), their mothers (N = 495, M_age at T₁ = 44.41, SD = 4.45), and their fathers (N = 446, M_age at T₁ = 46.74, SD = 5.10) of the Dutch study Research on Adolescent Development and Relationships (RADAR) were used. Results showed no evidence for the claim that parents' monitoring efforts predict future externalizing problems. In contrast, we found some evidence for the idea that parents' monitoring efforts change in reaction to changes in externalizing problems; when adolescents reported higher levels of externalizing problems than usual in 1 year, this predicted less behavioral control from mothers in the next year. Linkages between monitoring efforts and externalizing problems did not differ between less or more autonomy-supportive parents. Overall, our findings suggest that monitoring efforts are not effective, but also not damaging, in relation to adolescents' externalizing problems.