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Relatively little is known about the manifestation of conduct disorder among girls versus boys, despite increasing rates among girls. Moreover, it has been well-established that adolescent conduct disorder is correlated with other problem behaviors (e.g., substance use, status offenses, and risky sexual behaviors), and there is evidence that there are differences by sex and ethnicity in the likelihood of exhibiting specific patterns of these problem behaviors. It has been suggested that a dimensional approach may provide a more accurate conceptualization of adolescent externalizing behaviors, particularly among girls. To address these issues, this study used a nationally representative sample to examine patterns of adolescent problem behaviors across sex and ethnicity. Latent class analysis was used to determine classes of problem behaviors and to model differences in class membership by sex and ethnicity. Behaviors examined included violent and non-violent criminal behavior, drug and alcohol use, risky sexual activity, and status offenses. A model with five latent classes of problem behaviors provided the best representation of the data. One class represented high levels of problem behaviors, one represented low levels of problem behaviors, and three classes represented high levels of specific problem behaviors. These classes were characterized respectively by (a) high levels of criminal activity, (b) high levels of substance use, and (c) high levels of risky sexual activity. Differences existed in the likelihood of belonging to each class, such that boys were more likely to belong to the "high problem behavior," "criminal activity," and "risky sexual activity" classes. Girls were more likely to belong to the "substance use" and "low problem behavior" classes. These results suggest that a broader definition of externalizing behavior may more accurately capture adolescent behavior patterns, particularly among girls. Implications of findings and direction for future research are discussed. / Psychology

In psychological research, positive developmental outcomes in young adulthood are often conceptualized as the absence of psychological symptoms. However, positive outcome may be better understood as high levels of subjective wellbeing and adaptive interpersonal, occupational, and educational functioning. Nevertheless, a comprehensive model that takes into account multiple facets of youth behavior and transactional relations between youth and their environments as predictors of adjustment in young adulthood is lacking. Prior evidence implicates internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the development of subjective wellbeing, and emotion regulation as a reliable predictor and/or correlate of both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Parenting behaviors in childhood and youth substance use represent other shared risk or resilience factors that likely contribute to internalizing and externalizing behaviors, as well as subjective wellbeing and adaptive functioning outcomes in young adulthood. The current study examined an existing sample of youth who were recruited at ages 10-12 and were assessed again at ages 16 and 25. Analyses aimed to (a) identify subgroups of youth who vary in frequency and quality of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and emotion regulation at ages 10-12 and 16 using latent class analyses, (b) examine stability of and transitions in class membership from classes at ages 10-12 to classes at age 16 using latent transition analysis, (c) investigate parenting behaviors as predictors of stability and transitions among classes, and (d) investigate whether classes differ in cross-sectional and prospective levels of substance use, as well as subjective wellbeing and adaptive functioning in young adulthood. Results demonstrated that a 4-class model best fit the data at both time points. Classes of youth with (a) low symptoms and high emotion regulation; (b) low internalizing, moderate externalizing, and high emotion regulation; and (c) moderate internalizing, high externalizing, and low emotion regulation emerged at both time points. The fourth class at ages 10-12 was characterized by high social withdrawal and moderate hyperactivity and emotion regulation, and the fourth class at age 16 was characterized by moderate internalizing, low externalizing, and low emotion regulation. Latent transition analyses revealed transitions from several symptom classes at ages 10-12 into the age 16 Low Symptoms/High Emotion Regulation class, and also stability and transitions to other symptom classes. Predictor analyses indicated that levels of parenting behaviors (maternal and paternal acceptance, child-centeredness, use of guilt and anxiety to control youth, lax discipline, and nonenforcement of rules) were associated with transitions among and stability within classes, but findings were dependent on levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms among classes. Substance use differed cross-sectionally and prospectively across classes based on the substances considered. Further, subjective wellbeing was higher among age 16 classes characterized by low internalizing symptoms, low or moderate externalizing symptoms, and high emotion regulation. Adaptive functioning in select domains was also differentially associated with classes at both time points, with youth in the Low Symptoms/High Emotion Regulation classes experiencing better outcomes in certain areas. Results indicate that distinct classes of youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms and emotion regulation can be identified in late childhood and middle adolescence and are differentially associated with outcomes related to wellbeing and adaptive functioning in young adulthood. Further, the frequency and quality of co-occurring symptoms evidenced among youth may change over time as reflected in transitions from classes identified in middle childhood to adolescence. Emotion regulation and parenting may be potential targets for enhanced interventions intended to promote subjective wellbeing and adaptive functioning among youth with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. / Psychology

There is a paucity of research that has examined co-occurring oppositional defiant disorder and generalized anxiety disorder (ODD+GAD) symptoms and oppositional defiant disorder and separation anxiety disorder (ODD+SAD) symptoms among children. To address this gap, I investigated multiple explanations for the co-occurrence of ODD+GAD and ODD+SAD. Specifically, I investigated whether (a) GAD symptoms prospectively predicted ODD symptoms and SAD symptoms prospectively predicted ODD symptoms (Explanation 1), (b) ODD symptoms prospectively predicted GAD symptoms and ODD symptoms prospectively predicted SAD symptoms (Explanation 2), and (c) shared risk processes accounted for the co-occurrence of ODD+GAD and ODD+SAD (Explanation 3). Participants were an ethnic minority, inner-city sample of first through fourth grade children (N = 88, 51% male) and their primary caregivers. I used data collected at the baseline and 1-year follow-up assessments of the Child Health and Behavior Study, a longitudinal survey of families residing in North Philadelphia. Findings provided support for Explanation 2 and Explanation 3 in the development of co-occurring ODD+GAD symptoms and support for Explanation 3 in the development of co-occurring ODD+SAD symptoms. This study contributes to the extant literature by providing the first empirical examination of these multiple explanations in an ethnic minority, inner city sample of children. / Psychology

Adolescent delinquency represents a significant threat to the health and future of developing persons. Due to the important implications of adolescent problem behaviors, it is essential that we understand the complex mechanisms in the life and mind of a developing person that may lead to these behavior problems in adolescence. I proposed that early family instability, including residential moves and changes in household composition, would be a primary predictor of adolescent problem behaviors, including risk-taking and externalizing behaviors. This relation was predicted to be mediated by future orientation. When young children are faced with uncertainty, they may develop a shorter-term view of their own life. Therefore, family instability is predicted to influence the developing orientation to the future, which is predicted to be related to problem behaviors in adolescence. Deviant peer association and family routine were predicted to be moderators in the model. The results reveal a significant association between early family instability and adolescent externalizing behavior. This association is significant while controlling for later family instability and other demographic variables, such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and child IQ. This indicates that early family instability is directly related to adolescent behavior beyond the effects of continuing instability and other individual factors. Additionally, the level of future orientation was associated with adolescent risk-taking behavior for boys but not for girls. This indicates that for boys, lack of thoughts about one's future is predictive of risky behaviors in adolescence. Early family instability was not significantly related to future orientation, precluding future orientation as a mediator in the relation between early family instability and later problem behaviors. Family routine and peer deviance were not found to be significant moderators in this study. The results of this study indicate the important role family instability plays in adolescent behavior problems. These results demonstrate that experiences in the first five years of a child's life have potentially long-term effects on the individual. Additionally, future orientation appears to be a significant predictor of adolescent risk-taking behavior for boys. As risk-taking behavior may be detrimental to the individual's life and future, it is important to understand factors that predict risk taking. Future studies should examine the development of future orientation and its role in adolescent adjustment. / Psychology

A sizeable proportion of adults suffer from an anxiety disorder and many of those adults are parents. Parental anxiety, as well as dysfunctional family environment, contributes to both internalizing and externalizing problems in children. Specifically, family control, conflict, and cohesion have been shown to predict child internalizing and externalizing symptoms to varying degrees. However, few studies have examined the association between all three components in the same study: parental psychopathology, family environment, and child outcomes. The current study tested the relationships among these variables in a sample of 189 children (66% male, 93% Caucasian, mean age = 10.34 years). Family conflict predicted child externalizing symptoms for both mothers and fathers, and mediated the relationship between maternal anxiety and child externalizing symptoms. Family cohesion predicted child externalizing problems based on maternal report and mediated the relationship between maternal anxiety and child externalizing symptoms. Furthermore, family cohesion moderated the relationship between maternal anxiety and child internalizing symptoms. These findings provide preliminary support for the role of the family environment in the relationship between parental anxiety and child psychopathology, and these environmental variables may be important targets of intervention in families with elevated parental anxiety. / Master of Science