A Convolution Estimator for the Density of Nonlinear Regression Observations

Abstract. The problem of estimating an unknown density function has been widely studied. In this article, we present a convolution estimator for the density of the responses in a nonlinear heterogenous regression model. The rate of convergence for the mean square error of the convolution estimator is of order n ^?1 under certain regularity conditions. This is faster than the rate for the kernel density method. We derive explicit expressions for the asymptotic variance and the bias of the new estimator, and further a data‐driven bandwidth selector is proposed. We conduct simulation experiments to check the finite sample properties, and the convolution estimator performs substantially better than the kernel density estimator for well‐behaved noise densities.     

Predictors of Longitudinal Growth in Inhibitory Control in Early Childhood

In the current study, we examined latent growth in 731 young children's inhibitory control from the ages of two to four years, and whether demographic characteristics or parenting behaviors were related to initial levels and growth in inhibitory control. As part of an ongoing longitudinal evaluation of the family check‐up, children's inhibitory control was assessed yearly at the ages of two to four years. Inhibitory control was initially low and increased linearly to the age of four years. High levels of harsh parenting and male gender were associated with low initial status in inhibitory control. High levels of parental positive behavior support were associated with faster growth. Extreme family poverty and African‐American ethnicity were also associated with slower growth. The results highlight parenting as a target for early interventions in contexts of high socioeconomic risk.     

Temporal Dynamics Linking Aspects of Parent Monitoring with Early Adolescent Antisocial Behavior

This longitudinal study examined the covariation between parents' use of control and solicitation, youth willingness to self-disclose to parents, and youth antisocial behavior from ages 13 to 14. Structural equation analyses were conducted on a combined sample of Italian (N  =  152) and French Canadian (N  =  151) adolescents. Analyses tested for longitudinal cross-lagged effects while controlling for stability and all concurrent associations. Although bivariate correlations showed consistent associations among these constructs, both concurrently and over one year, SEM results revealed virtually no cross-lagged effects, after controlling for concurrent associations and stability. These findings suggest that the actual causal effects of parenting and youth behavior may best be conceptualized as occurring in the moment, rather than over extended periods of time. Results also showed that parental control and solicitation demonstrated very different associations with youth antisocial behavior, and should therefore be considered separately for research and prevention.     

Methodological Issues in the Use of Peer Sociometric Nominations with Middle School Youth

Studies reporting sociometric assessments based on nominations have been characterized by important methodological inconsistencies when conducted in the middle school context. The purpose of this study was to examine (1) the possibility of a response bias when participants are provided with a long roster sorted alphabetically, (2) the impact of including or not other‐sex peers in the voting population, and (3) the impact of including or not all the grademates in the voting population. Participants were 664 sixth graders from three middle schools. Peer nominations for sociometric items (i.e., like most and like least), as well as teacher ratings of antisocial behavior and records of academic performance, were collected. A sequence effect in peer nominations was found, suggesting that students whose names were listed higher on the rosters received more nominations than did students whose names were listed lower on the list. Moreover, results indicated that the nominations received from the other‐sex grademates and from the grademates outside the classroom improved the predictive validity of the sociometric measure. The implications of these results for the use of sociometric assessment in middle schools are discussed.     

Family Check Up effects on adolescent arrest trajectories: Variation by developmental subtype

This study examines the effect of the Family Check Up intervention on the probability of arrests from ages 12 to 17 years for youth following heterogeneous developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior. Latent Growth Mixture Modeling results supported the presence of three developmental trajectories of arrests, including a large group of youth with few police contacts, a smaller group of youth showing early onset and chronic arrests, and a group with adolescent-onset arrests. In line with hypotheses, effects of intervention were seen within the adolescent-onset group, but not in the early onset chronic arrest trajectory group, or those youth with little police contact. The trajectory groups were differentiated by peer, family, behavioral and academic risk variables at age 11.     

Early Parental Positive Behavior Support and Childhood Adjustment: Addressing Enduring Questions with New Methods

A large literature provides strong empirical support for the influence of parenting on child outcomes. The current study addresses enduring research questions testing the importance of early parenting behavior to children's adjustment. Specifically, we developed and tested a novel multi‐method observational measure of parental positive behavior support at age 2. Next, we tested whether early parental positive behavior support was related to child adjustment at school age, within a multi‐agent and multi‐method measurement approach and design. Observational and parent‐reported data from mother–child dyads (N = 731; 49 percent female) were collected from a high‐risk sample at age 2. Follow‐up data were collected via teacher report and child assessment at age 7.5. The results supported combining three different observational methods to assess positive behavior support at age 2 within a latent factor. Further, parents' observed positive behavior support at age 2 predicted multiple types of teacher‐reported and child‐assessed problem behavior and competencies at 7.5 years old. Results supported the validity and predictive capability of a multi‐method observational measure of parenting and the importance of a continued focus on the early years within preventive interventions.     

Proactive Parenting and Children's Effortful Control: Mediating Role of Language and Indirect Intervention Effects

We examined associations of proactive parenting, child verbal ability, and child effortful control within the context of a randomized prevention trial focused on enhancing parenting practices in low‐income families. Participants (N = 731) were assessed annually from the age of two to five, with half randomly assigned to the Family Check‐Up (FCU). Results indicated that the child's verbal ability at the age of three partially mediated the influence of proactive parenting at the age of two on children's effortful control at the age of five. More importantly, the FCU indirectly facilitated children's effortful control by sequentially improving proactive parenting and children's verbal ability. The findings are discussed with respect to taking a more integrative approach to understanding early predictors and the promotion of self‐regulation in early childhood.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of Parenting Practices,Couple Satisfaction,and Child Behavior Problems

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between couple relationship satisfaction, parenting practices, parent depression, and child problem behaviors. The study participants (n = 148) were part of a larger experimental study that examined the effectiveness of a brief family-centered intervention, the Family Check-Up model. Regression analysis results indicated that our proposed model accounted for 38% of the variance in child problem behavior at Time 2, with child problem behavior and couple relationship satisfaction at child age 2 years each accounting for a significant portion of the variance in child problem behavior at age 3. Couple relationship satisfaction directly predicted child behavior problems over time. Clinical and research implications are discussed.     

Deviant Talk in Adolescent Friendships: A Step Toward Measuring a Pathogenic Attractor Process

Deviant talk in adolescent friendships has been previously found to predict escalations in substance use, delinquency, and violence. The current paper extends past work on deviant talk by examining its dynamic, self‐organizing properties. From the direct observations of peer interactions, a simple measure was developed that indicated whether, as an interaction unfolded, deviant talk bouts became longer in duration (indicating an attractor state). Participants included 102 high‐risk adolescents and their friends. A time‐series of the duration of each successive deviant talk bout over the course of an interaction was created for all dyads. Slope values were derived from the time‐series and used as an index of attractor strength. As hypothesized, the attractor index predicted serious authority conflict (arrests, school expulsion) and drug abuse three years later, after controlling for prior problem behavior, family coercion and deviant peer associations. The findings suggest that the process by which adolescents become increasingly absorbed in deviant talk is an important underlying mechanism in the development of serious antisocial behavior.     

Friendships and Violent Behavior During Adolescence

This study investigated the extent to which interpersonal processes within male friendships are associated with violent behavior patterns during adolescence. At ages 13-14, 15-16, and 17-18, we observed the participants (206 boys) in our laboratory discussing problem solving situations with a close friend. Although the boys typically brought in different friends for each of the three assessments, we found considerable continuity in the boys' behaviors, most notably in the topics discussed. In particular, the tendency of a dyad to engage in deviant and violent talk was uniquely associated with violence in adolescence, controlling for childhood antisocial behavior and coercive discipline practices in the home. These findings suggest that adolescent violence is embedded within enduring social interactional patterns of friendships, where the faces change but the process remains the same.