Dynamic associations among socioeconomic status (SES), parenting investments, and conscientiousness across time and generations.

Building on recommendations from several of the articles in the special section on conscientiousness in the June 2014 issue of , the present study tested predictions from the interactionist model (IM) of socioeconomic influences on individual development. In an approach consistent with the idea of cumulative advantage, the model proposed that adolescent and child conscientiousness would be fostered by higher family socioeconomic status (SES) and the parenting and material investments that SES promotes. The IM also predicted a transactional process in which adolescent conscientiousness would promote future socioeconomic success which, in turn, would foster greater adult conscientiousness.

Imputation of behavioral candidate gene repeat variants in 486,551 publicly-available UK Biobank individuals.

Some of the most widely studied variants in psychiatric genetics include variable number tandem repeat variants (VNTRs) in SLC6A3, DRD4, SLC6A4, and MAOA. While initial findings suggested large effects, their importance with respect to psychiatric phenotypes is the subject of much debate with broadly conflicting results. Despite broad interest, these loci remain absent from the largest available samples, such as the UK Biobank, limiting researchers' ability to test these contentious hypotheses rigorously in large samples.

Family stress processes and drug and alcohol use by Mexican American adolescents.

The present study examines the influence of economic and family stress processes on change in drug and alcohol use in a cohort of 478 Mexican American youth (50.8% female) followed longitudinally beginning in Grade 5 when the youth averaged 10.4 years of age.

Prospective Relationships Between Ethnic Discrimination and Substance Use by Mexican-American Adolescents.

Guided by the integrative model (García Coll et al., 1996), this study examines prospective associations between perceived ethnic discrimination by peers, parental support, and substance use from 7th to 11th grades (M  = 12.3-16.

Do Hostile School Environments Promote Social Deviance by Shaping Neural Responses to Social Exclusion?

The present study examined adolescents' neural responses to social exclusion as a mediator of past exposure to a hostile school environment (HSE) and later social deviance, and whether family connectedness buffered these associations. Participants (166 Mexican-origin adolescents, 54.4% female) reported on their HSE exposure and family connectedness across Grades 9-11.

Income change alters default mode network connectivity for adolescents in poverty.

Experiencing poverty during childhood and adolescence may affect brain function. However, income is dynamic, and studies have not addressed whether income change relates to brain function. In the present study, we investigated whether intrinsic functional connectivity of default mode network (DMN) regions was influenced by mean family income and family income change.

Ethnic pride, self-esteem, and school belonging: A reciprocal analysis over time.

School belonging (i.e., social connectedness to school) has positive implications for academic achievement and well-being.

Adolescent Externalizing Problems: Contributions of Community Crime Exposure and Neural Function During Emotion Introspection in Mexican-Origin Youth.

Models of the etiology of adolescent antisocial behavior suggest that externalizing problems may reflect a susceptibility to crime exposure and a diminished capacity for emotion introspection. In this study, adolescents of Mexican origin completed a neuroimaging task that involved rating their subjective feelings of sadness in response to emotional facial expressions or a nonemotional aspect of each face. At lower levels of neural activity during sadness introspection in posterior cingulate and left temporoparietal junction, and in left amygdala, brain regions involved in mentalizing and emotion, respectively, a stronger positive association between community crime exposure and externalizing problems was found.

Stress and child development: a review of the Family Stress Model.

In the present report, we provide an illustrative review of the Family Stress Model (FSM) framework [1] to understand how family stress influences children across development in physical, social-emotional, and cognitive domains. We note that the FSM as a theory has evolved through inspection of: (a) new explanatory pathways (mediators); (b) factors that moderate FSM pathways; and (c) joint tests of competing models. Also important, most researchers cited in this review used longitudinal designs to test the proposed causal ordering of FSM pathways, which replicated among a diverse set of families varied in structure, ethnic background, and geographic location.

Hippocampal volume as an amplifier of the effect of social context on adolescent depression.

Recent models have focused on how brain-based individual differences in social sensitivity shape affective development in adolescence, when rates of depression escalate. Given the importance of the hippocampus in binding contextual and affective elements of experience, as well as its putative role in depression, we examined hippocampal volume as a moderator of the effects of social context on depressive symptoms in a sample of 209 Mexican-origin adolescents. Adolescents with larger versus smaller hippocampal volumes showed heightened sensitivity in their depressive symptoms to a protective factor inside the home (sense of family connectedness) and a risk factor outside of it (community crime exposure).

Mother-Adolescent Proficiency in a Common Language Facilitates Socialization Among Mexican-Origin Families.

The primary goal of this study was to test how mother and adolescent proficiency in a common language moderates the link from parenting to adolescent development. A sample of Mexican-origin fifth-grade adolescents (N = 674, 50% female) was measured longitudinally on self-control and aggression. Mothers were rated on observed positive discipline, warmth, and harsh discipline.

Developmental Outcomes of School Attachment Among Students of Mexican Origin.

We used a longitudinal community study of 674 grade school children (Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8; 337 males, 337 females) of Mexican origin to examine outcomes of school attachment. Attachment to school is important in this population given the high level of school dropout rates of Mexican-origin students. Results indicated that, on average, school attachment from fifth to sixth grade remains stable, but declines from sixth to eighth grade.

Promoting Strengths and Resilience in Single-Mother Families.

Mothering can be particularly demanding for single women who are more vulnerable to a variety of risks ranging from economic hardship to poor psychological functioning. These risks place their children at higher risk of experiencing maladjustment. Examining factors that contribute to the well-being of single mothers and, in turn, their parenting may be one of the most effective ways of contributing to children's adjustment.

Disrupting intergenerational continuity in harsh parenting: Self-control and a supportive partner.

Harsh, abusive, and rejecting behavior by parents toward their children is associated with increased risk for many developmental problems for youth. Children raised by harsh parents are also more likely to treat their own children harshly. The present study addresses conditions that would break this intergenerational cycle of harsh parenting.

Risk and Protective Factors for Early Substance Use Initiation: A Longitudinal Study of Mexican-Origin Youth.

Substance use initiation in adolescence is a critical issue, given its association with substance dependency and associated problems in adulthood. However, due to the dearth of fine-grained, longitudinal studies, the factors associated with early initiation are poorly understood, especially in minority youth. The present study examined substance use initiation in a sample of Mexican-origin youth (=674) assessed annually from age 10 to 16.

Cultural Orientation Trajectories and Substance Use: Findings From a Longitudinal Study of Mexican-Origin Youth.

Cultural adaptation may influence Latino youth substance use (SU) development, yet few longitudinal studies have examined cultural change over time and adolescent SU outcomes. Using longitudinal data collected annually across ages 10-16 from 674 Mexican-origin youth (50% female), the authors characterized cultural adaptation patterns for language use (English and Spanish use), values (American values and familism values), and identity (ethnic pride), and examined whether these cultural adaptation patterns were associated with differential SU risk. Youth with increasing bilingualism and high/stable family values had lower SU risk compared to youth who primarily spoke English and endorsed decreasing family values, respectively.

School Belonging, Generational Status, and Socioeconomic Effects on Mexican-Origin Children's Later Academic Competence and Expectations.

This study examined factors that relate to academic competence and expectations from elementary to middle school for 674 fifth grade students (50% boys; = 10.86 years) of Mexican origin. Models predicting academic competence and expectations were estimated using a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework, with longitudinal data from fifth to eighth grades.

Harsh parenting, physical health, and the protective role of positive parent-adolescent relationships.

Rationale: Harsh, abusive and rejecting behavior by parents toward their adolescents is associated with increased risk of many developmental problems for youth.

Objective: In the present study we address behaviors of co-parents that might help disrupt the hypothesized health risk of harsh parenting.

Method: Data come from a community study of 451 early adolescents followed into adulthood.

Longitudinal Dynamics of Substance Use and Psychiatric Symptoms in Count Data with Zero Inflation.

We examine the dynamics of substance use and psychiatric symptoms from childhood to adolescence using a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin families (N = 674). We present a longitudinal model capturing the trajectories of substance use and psychiatric symptoms (depression, conduct disorder), as well as the interrelations between these trajectories over time. Such a model is an extension of latent change score models designed to account for the occurrence of psychiatric symptoms while also accommodating a large amount of zeros for nonoccurrence and characterizing the changes over time in the count data.

Couple Resilience to Economic Pressure Over Time and Across Generations.

Research suggests that economic stress disrupts perceived romantic relationship quality; yet less is known regarding the direct influence of economic stress on negative behavioral exchanges between partners over time. Another intriguing question concerns the degree to which effective problem-solving might protect against this hypothesized association. To address these issues, the authors studied two generations of couples who were assessed approximately 13 years apart (Generation 1: N = 367, Generation 2: N = 311).

Reciprocal relations between internalizing symptoms and frequency of alcohol use: Findings from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth.

Aims: Alcohol consumption and internalizing symptoms, which often co-occur, pose considerable risk to the developing adolescent and have lasting public health consequences. Previous research has documented concurrent associations between alcohol use and symptoms of anxiety and depression, but the dearth of longitudinal research, particularly for ethnic minority youth, raises questions about the replicability and causal direction of these effects. The goal of the present research was to clarify these issues, and investigate whether different facets of anxiety and depression are uniquely associated with alcohol use in adolescence.

Unsupervised self-care predicts conduct problems: The moderating roles of hostile aggression and gender.

Despite widespread speculation about the detrimental effect of unsupervised self-care on adolescent outcomes, little is known about which children are particularly prone to problem behaviors when left at home without adult supervision. The present research used data from a longitudinal study of 674 Mexican-origin children residing in the United States to examine the prospective effect of unsupervised self-care on conduct problems, and the moderating roles of hostile aggression and gender. Results showed that unsupervised self-care was related to increases over time in conduct problems such as lying, stealing, and bullying.

Parenting Practices and Perceived Social Support: Longitudinal Relations with the Social Competence of Mexican-origin Children.

Social bonds and supportive relationships are widely recognized as being indispensable to healthy psychological functioning and well-being. Social support is a psychological resource that is expected to also contribute positively to parenting practices. The present study longitudinally examined the relations between mothers' ( = 674) and fathers' ( = 430) perceived social support and parenting behaviors, and their relations with children's social competence during early adolescence in Mexican-origin single and two-parent families.

Early adolescent substance use in Mexican origin families: Peer selection, peer influence, and parental monitoring.

Background: Because adolescents vary in their susceptibility to peer influence, the current study addresses potential reciprocal effects between associating with deviant peers and use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD), as well as the potential buffering role of parental monitoring on these reciprocal effects.

Method: 674 children of Mexican origin reported at fifth and seventh grade (10.4 years old at fifth grade) on the degree to which they associated with deviant peers, intended to use alcohol, tobacco or other drugs (ATOD) in the future, and had used controlled substances during the past year.

Life events, genetic susceptibility, and smoking among adolescents.

Although stressful life events during adolescence are associated with the adoption of unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, both social circumstances and physical traits can moderate the relationship. This study builds on the stress paradigm and gene-environment approach to social behavior by examining how a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR moderates the effect of life events on adolescent smoking. Tests of interaction hypotheses use data from the Family Transitions Project, a longitudinal study of 7th graders followed for 5years.