Externalizing behavior problems are related to many problematic outcomes for children and adolescents in their home, school, and community settings. Given the ramifications of difficulties related to externalizing behavior problems, the present study examines the relationships among adolescents' externalizing behavior problems, characteristics of adolescents' families, and their perceived neighborhood support in a sample of adolescents who are in the Sixth through Eighth Grades. As part of this study, adolescents were assessed one time in their school setting with a set of brief questionnaires. In particular, adolescents completed measures assessing their levels of externalizing behavior problems, characteristics of their families, their perceptions of neighborhood support and of their teachers, and their ratings of their own acculturation. Results suggest that, although a moderation relationship does not exist between parental warmth, neighborhood support, and the development of externalizing behavior problems, variables such as maternal warmth, overall parental emotional support, and overall neighborhood support are important predictors of the development of externalizing behavior problems. Further regression analyses reveal that, in addition to neighborhood and parental characteristics, adolescents' perceived social acceptance and global self-worth are significant predictors of adolescents' externalizing behavior problems. In conclusion, when identifying adolescents who are at risk for the development of externalizing behavior problems, an ecological conceptualization encompassing culture, community, and home environments can be helpful.

acase@tulane.edu / Research has demonstrated that high levels of teacher turnover are correlated with poorer student outcomes, including lower levels of educational quality, poorer academic outcomes, greater difficulties with emotion regulation, and greater externalizing behaviors. However, the research on teacher turnover in early childhood educational settings is limited. Furthermore, the conceptualization of teacher turnover in preschool settings has been fairly limited, not typically including alternative types of teacher-child relationship disruptions, such as teachers moving to another classroom within the same preschool. The current study added to the area of early childhood research by longitudinally examining the relationship between teacher ratings of work environment, teacher turnover, and preschool externalizing behaviors in a sample of low-income preschoolers (N = 2172) and their teachers (N = 126). Results indicated relatively low levels of teacher turnover in the current sample (5 %). This is likely explained by teacher demographics (e.g., education and years teaching), school factors (e.g., positive work environments), and preschooler behavior (e.g., low levels of externalizing behaviors). These findings suggest that future research should examine ways to manipulate teaching environments and increase supports for teachers in preschool settings in an effort to increase teachers’ decisions to remain in the teaching profession and thus positively impact preschooler functioning. / 1 / Corey Black

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Kindergarten Class), this research explored the developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing behaviors during the elementary school years, with an emphasis on the connections between these behaviors, how they are embedded in social structural settings defined by broad stratification systems, and what their implications are for the future. Specifically, this study was organized around three aims: (1) To estimate trajectories of internalizing and externalizing behaviors (e.g., co-occurrence and dynamic interplay); (2) To explore variations in those trajectories across segments of the population (e.g., race/ethnicity); and (3) To examine the links between children's internalizing and externalizing pathways in elementary school and their 8th grade academic functioning, as well as possible group variation in those links. Four analytical techniques -- growth curve analysis, latent class growth analysis, cross-lagged modeling and regression analysis -- were used. Results indicated a low incidence of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the whole sample as well as small incremental changes over time and small differences across groups. More in-depth investigation revealed that children of Black parents and boys were at greater risk for present and future problematic behaviors, and boys and children of immigrants were at greater risk for future academic failure when their earlier overall combined symptom trajectories fell in the risky category. In addition, the general patterns of children's internalizing symptoms serving as protective factors for future externalizing symptoms and of externalizing symptoms serving as risk factors for future internalizing symptoms tended to be most consistent among children of White parents and children of non-immigrants. Moreover, findings revealed that what matters about the symptom trajectories in relation to later school functioning is not just the initial level of symptoms but also the change in levels from kindergarten through fifth grade. Overall, this study suggested that intervention efforts need to take into account both the symptomatic child's initial (and overall) levels of symptoms as well as over-time change of symptoms when putting together a specific intervention plan for the affected individual. Finer prevention and intervention efforts are also needed for boys and for children of immigrants to facilitate positive academic functioning. / text

This study is an exploratory examination of how different forms of child abuse affect adolescent victims. The study examines whether victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, or witnessing domestic violence exhibit negative functioning behaviours such as depression, drug use, or involvement in the Youth Criminal Justice Act. It also measures how abuse chronicity and poly-victimization moderate the relationship between the form of abuse and negative functioning. These relationships were quantitatively tested through three logistic regression models. It was found that there was a relationship between abuse type and negative functioning, and that chronicity and poly-victimization played important roles in determining functioning behaviours. This study contributes to the growing body of child abuse research that is attempting to build a comprehensive understanding of why and how abuse affects victims, and will inform service providers who could use such connections to identify and treat potential functioning problems in victims.

This study is an exploratory examination of how different forms of child abuse affect adolescent victims. The study examines whether victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, or witnessing domestic violence exhibit negative functioning behaviours such as depression, drug use, or involvement in the Youth Criminal Justice Act. It also measures how abuse chronicity and poly-victimization moderate the relationship between the form of abuse and negative functioning. These relationships were quantitatively tested through three logistic regression models. It was found that there was a relationship between abuse type and negative functioning, and that chronicity and poly-victimization played important roles in determining functioning behaviours. This study contributes to the growing body of child abuse research that is attempting to build a comprehensive understanding of why and how abuse affects victims, and will inform service providers who could use such connections to identify and treat potential functioning problems in victims.

The association between constructive and destructive conflict and children’s (age three) externalizing behaviors was examined utilizing the Building Strong Families (BSF) data set. The study included 3,328 mothers and 3,148 fathers reporting on conflict behavior, and mother’s reports on children’s externalizing behaviors. My hypotheses indicated that the more constructive conflict, the less externalizing behaviors exhibited while the more destructive conflict, the more externalizing behaviors shown by the children. The majority of the literature demonstrated similar results to my hypotheses, however primarily focusing on mother’s conflict rather than the father’s conflict methods. Similarly, there was little focus on constructive conflict in the literature. Younger children (age three) were of interest for this study due to the lack of research involving these variables and this age group. The specific emotions theory was utilized to shape and inform my hypotheses. The results for this study supported my hypothesis concerning destructive conflict, but rejected the other discussing constructive conflict. Mothers’ correlations of conflict methods with externalizing behaviors were statistically significant while the fathers’ correlations were not. These analyses indicate further research of constructive conflict and its effects on younger children.

This study was designed to increase our understanding of remitted major depressive disorder among parents and how it relates to child externalizing problems. Specifically, various facets that may differentiate one remitted clinical depressive presentation from another were investigated: past depression severity, past depression chronicity, and residual or current levels of depressive symptoms. Relations of these characteristics of parent depression with youth externalizing symptomatology, as well as the mediating role of negative parenting, were studied among 118 parent-child dyads across two sites. Specifically, three hypotheses were tested: (1) all three indicators of parental depression would have a significant relationship with adolescent externalizing problems when examined individually; (2) when examined simultaneously, past depression chronicity and current depressive symptoms, but not past depression severity, would each have a unique association with young adolescent externalizing outcomes; and (3) negative parenting would partially mediate the relationship of each of the three indicators (i.e., current parental symptoms, past depression chronicity, past depression severity) with child externalizing behavior. Results revealed that residual parent depressive symptoms were most salient in their association with youth externalizing behavior. Further, negative parenting mediated this relationship for parent, but not child, report of child problem behavior. Findings highlight the importance of further research to investigate remitted clinical depression in parent populations, and the impact on child behavioral adjustment. As well, implications for preventive and other intervention efforts are considered.

Maternal depression has been found to be a risk factor in the development of child psychopathology (Burke, 2003) and more specifically, in the development of child externalizing disorders (Brennan et al., 2000; Hay et al., 2003; Kim-Cohen et al., 2005). The relation between maternal depression and poor parenting has also been identified in a number of contexts (Lovejoy et al., 2000; Shay & Knutson, 2008), as has the relation between poor parenting and child externalizing disorders (Morrell & Murray, 2003; Pevalin et al., 2003). Because maternal depression confers risk on parenting and child outcome, this study was an attempt to reveal the specifics of how maternal depression relates to the development of child externalizing disorders. The proposed model purports that maternal depression, mediated by trait irritability, which then leads to harsh discipline, will result in the development of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder (CD), but not Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The model also purports that maternal depression, mediated by poor supervision will be associated with care neglect, as found in Knutson et al. (2005), leading to the development of ODD and CD, but not ADHD. Furthermore, it is proposed that child ADHD will not follow either the maternal depression--irritability--poor parenting pattern or maternal depression--supervisory neglect--care neglect pattern. One-hundred thirty four economically disadvantaged mothers who were enrolled in a study of parenting were assessed for depression using both dimensional and categorical measures of current and lifetime depression. Parenting was assessed using a variety of measures which assessed supervisory neglect, care and environmental neglect, and harsh discipline. Maternal irritability not specific to discipline was assessed using the Spielberger Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Spielberger, Johnson, Russell, Crane, Jacobs, & Wordent, 1985). Child externalizing disorders were evaluated based on parent and teacher report as ADHD and a combined ODD/CD construct. As hypothesized, child externalizing disorders were related to maternal depression. The findings of the current study indicate that the relation is not direct and that maternal depression, mediated by trait irritability, leads to poor parenting characterized by inconsistent discipline, and that this poor parenting leads to the development of child ODD and CD. Moreover, whether the index of maternal depression was based on current dimensional data or lifetime history of maternal depression, the results of the analyses supported the hypothesized relation between maternal depression and child ODD/CD. However, an unexpected direct relation between current maternal depression and child ADHD was found, whereas a lifetime history of maternal depression was unrelated to child ADHD. Nonetheless, the relation between maternal depression and child ADHD did not follow the same pattern as the relation between maternal depression and child ODD/CD. Findings suggest that maternal irritability and inconsistent parenting are central to the putative link between maternal depression and child ODD/CD and that depressed mothers should be treated in an effort to reduce the risk for development of child ODD and CD.

Increasingly, health providers are recognizing the importance of providing behavioral and mental health services to children and adolescents. As a result, school districts are adopting the School-Based Mental Health Program approach to provide mental health services to their students. The purpose of this study is to test if there is a disparity between children being referred due to externalizing behavior versus internalizing behaviors. The data was collected from archival sources, and it was analyzed utilizing the SPSS software for a quantitative and descriptive study. The findings indicated that students experiencing Internalizing and/or Externalizing behaviors are almost equally receiving services. This study found that most of the referrals were made by school counselors, only a few by parents and even less by students themselves. For this reason, the study’s recommendation is for social workers to engage in providing training for parents and students in identifying mental health issues before they become a significant problem.

Substantial empirical literatures link executive functioning (EF) and temperament, respectively, to externalizing behaviors (e.g., hyperactivity, impulsivity, conduct problems), but they rarely have been considered jointly. As indices of presumed brain function, neither neuropsychological scores nor temperament traits alone are sufficient as a comprehensive developmental model of externalizing behaviors. The current study aimed to examine the triangular relation among temperament traits, EF, and externalizing behaviors in a community sample of male youth. Participants included 174 male youth 11 to 16 years (M =13.4; SD=1.4) and their mothers. Youth were administered a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological measures tapping the broad domain of executive functions and overall intellectual functioning and completed a personality measure assessing both primary traits and broad temperaments. Mothers reported on their son's temperament and behaviors. Results indicated that, as expected, high Negative Temperament and Disinhibition were associated with both youth and mother reports of externalizing behaviors, with similar cross-informant associations. Specific EF dimensions were correlated with both temperament and externalizing behaviors and provided an incremental contribution above and beyond temperament in explaining externalizing behaviors. Results of the study contribute to the extant literature concerning the dimension of externalizing and inform future research on developing a comprehensive etiological model of externalizing behaviors.