The current study examines the immediate and short-term impact of daily exposure to community violence on same-day and next-day levels of posttraumatic stress symptomatology and various affective states (i.e., dysphoria, hostility, and anxiety), in a sample of 268 African American adolescents living in urban, low-income, high-violence neighborhoods (Mage = 11.65; 59% female). In addition, the moderating role of affective state variability on this relationship was examined. This study utilized experience sampling method and a daily sampling approach, which contributes a more robust investigation of the short-term effects of violence exposure in youth. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that community violence exposure was positively associated with same-day and next-day symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Violence exposure also exhibited an immediate effect on dysphoria, anxiety, and hostility levels. Youth variability in dysphoria exacerbated the effect of violence exposure on concurrent or next-day posttraumatic stress, dysphoria, and hostility. Moreover, variability in anxiety and hostility exacerbated the experience of next-day hostility. The clinical implications relating to these findings, such as the importance of implementing screening for posttraumatic stress following exposure, the incorporation of preventative treatments among those at risk of exposure, and the targeting of emotion regulation in treatments with adolescents, are discussed.

Early adolescence is thought to represent a window of vulnerability when exposure to substances is particularly harmful, partly because the neurotoxic effects of adolescent substance use may derail self-regulation development. However, previous studies fail to account for externalizing symptoms, such as aggression and delinquency, that accompany adolescent substance use and may also derail the development of self-regulation. The current study aims to clarify whether the neurotoxic effects of adolescent substance use are associated with deficits in effortful control (EC) after accounting for externalizing symptoms and to examine reciprocal relationships between EC, externalizing symptoms, and substance use. A longitudinal sample of adolescents (N = 387) was used to estimate bifactor models of externalizing symptoms across five assessments (Mage = 11.6 to 19.9). The broad general externalizing factors were prospectively associated with declines in EC across adolescence and emerging adulthood. However, the narrow substance use specific factors were not prospectively associated with EC. Findings suggest that the broader externalizing context, but not the specific neurotoxic effects of substance use, may hamper self-regulation development. It is critical to account for the hierarchical structure of psychopathology, namely externalizing symptoms, when considering development of EC.

Edward Zigler's groundbreaking research on child development resulted in the historic Head Start program. It is useful to examine the theoretical implications of his work by applying a human development theoretical perspective. Phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST) is a strengths-based theoretical framework that engages the variability of resource access and coping strategies that promote positive identity development for diverse children. While skill acquisition is a key focus of human capital theory's engagement of early childhood needs, this article highlights the on-going status of human vulnerability that undergirds identity development over the life course. The authors note that “inequality presence denial” combines with high-risk contexts, framed by geography and psychohistoric moments (e.g., The Great Recession, COVID-19), to alter diverse children's developmental pathways. The acknowledgement of “morbid risk” motivates the urgency for research that builds upon Zigler's innovations and privileges human development imperatives. The case study explores these concepts by examining the challenges and assets available to mothers in a low-income community. The article's closing notes developments in the field of economics that ameliorate human capital theory's conceptual limitations, underscoring human development's theoretical strength in motivating research and policies that are maximally responsive to children's positive identity development.

The current study used daily assessments of sleep to examine stability and change in sleep chronotype in adolescents and their parents. The study assessed adolescent sleep chronotype according to age, gender, and parent chronotype, and evaluated its associations with emotional and behavioral problems in youth. Participants included of 417 Mexican American adolescents (Mage = 16.0 years, Range = 13.9–20.0) and 403 caregivers, who reported bed and wake times daily for 2 consecutive weeks at two time points spaced 1 year apart. In addition, adolescents completed established self-report questionnaires of emotional and behavioral problems. Chronotype was computed as the midsleep point from bed to wake time on free days, correcting for sleep debt accumulated across scheduled days. Multilevel modeling showed a curvilinear association between adolescent age and chronotype, with a peak eveningness observed between ages 16 to 17. Adolescent and parent chronotypes were contemporaneously correlated, but each was only moderately stable over the 1-year period. Later adolescent chronotype was contemporaneously associated with more substance use in all adolescents. Individual development and the family context shape sleep chronotype in adolescents and parents. Sleep chronotype is implicated in adolescent behavioral health.

Many studies demonstrate that marriage protects against risky alcohol use and moderates genetic influences on alcohol outcomes; however, previous work has not considered these effects from a developmental perspective or in high-risk individuals. These represent important gaps, as it cannot be assumed that marriage has uniform effects across development or in high-risk samples. We took a longitudinal developmental approach to examine whether marital status was associated with heavy episodic drinking (HED), and whether marital status moderated polygenic influences on HED. Our sample included 937 individuals (53.25% female) from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism who reported their HED and marital status biennially between the ages of 21 and 25. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were derived from a genome-wide association study of alcohol consumption. Marital status was not associated with HED; however, we observed pathogenic gene-by-environment effects that changed across young adulthood. Among those who married young (age 21), individuals with higher PRS reported more HED; however, these effects decayed over time. The same pattern was found in supplementary analyses using parental history of alcohol use disorder as the index of genetic liability. Our findings indicate that early marriage may exacerbate risk for those with higher polygenic load.

Although children with incarcerated parents exhibit more behavior problems, health concerns, and academic difficulties than their peers, few interventions or resources are available to support affected children. This randomized, controlled, multisite efficacy trial evaluated Sesame Street’s "Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration" initiative with children aged 3 to 8 years with a jailed father. Seventy-one diverse children and their caregivers were randomized to an educational outreach group (n = 32) or wait list control group (n = 39). Researchers observed children during jail visits and interviewed caregivers by phone 2 and 4 weeks later. The effects of the intervention on children’s behavior and emotions occurring during a jail visit depended on what children had been told about the father’s incarceration. Children who were told honest, developmentally appropriate explanations showed less negative affect at entry, an increase in negative affect when the intervention was administered, and a decrease in negative affect during the visit. Intervention group children who were told distortions, nothing, or explanations that were not developmentally appropriate showed more negative affect initially, and their negative affect remained relatively stable during their time in the jail. In addition, children who were told the simple, honest truth about the parent’s incarceration (a recommendation in the educational materials) exhibited more positive affect during the visit, with a medium effect size. Caregivers in the educational outreach group reported more positive change in how they talked to children about the incarceration over time compared to the control group.

The current study advances past research by studying the impact of juvenile justice decision making with a geographically and ethnically diverse sample (N = 1,216) of adolescent boys (ages 13–17 years) for the 5 years following their first arrest. Importantly, all youth in the study were arrested for an eligible offense of moderate severity (e.g., assault, theft) to evaluate whether the initial decision to formally (i.e., sentenced before a judge) or informally (i.e., diverted to community service) process the youth led to differences in outcomes. The current study also advanced past research by using a statistical approach that controlled for a host of potential preexisting vulnerabilities that could influence both the processing decision and the youth's outcomes. Our findings indicated that youth who were formally processed during adolescence were more likely to be re-arrested, more likely to be incarcerated, engaged in more violence, reported a greater affiliation with delinquent peers, reported lower school enrollment, were less likely to graduate high school within 5 years, reported less ability to suppress aggression, and had lower perceptions of opportunities than informally processed youth. Importantly, these findings were not moderated by the age of the youth at his first arrest or his race and ethnicity. These results have important implications for juvenile justice policy by indicating that formally processing youth not only is costly, but it can reduce public safety and reduce the adolescent's later potential contributions to society.

Maltreatment adversely impacts the development of children across a host of domains. One way in which maltreatment may exert its deleterious effects is by becoming embedded in the activity of neurophysiological systems that regulate metabolic function. This paper reviews the literature regarding the association between childhood maltreatment and the activity of three systems: the parasympathetic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. A particular emphasis is placed on the extent to which the literature supports a common account of activity across these systems under conditions of homeostasis and stress. The paper concludes with an outline of directions for future research and the implications of the literature for policy and practice.

An estimated 12 million girls aged 15–19 years, and 777,000 girls younger than 15 give birth globally each year. Contexts of war and displacement increase the likelihood of early marriage and childbearing. Given the developmentally sensitive periods of early childhood and adolescence, adolescent motherhood in conflict-affected contexts may put a family at risk intergenerationally. We propose that the specifics of normative neuroendocrine development during adolescence, including increased sensitivity to stress, pose additional risks to adolescent girls and their young children in the face of war and displacement, with potential lifelong consequences for health and development. This paper proposes a developmental, dual-generational framework for research and policies to better understand and address the needs of adolescent mothers and their small children. We draw from the literature on developmental stress physiology, adolescent parenthood in contexts of war and displacement internationally, and developmental cultural neurobiology. We also identify culturally meaningful sources of resilience and provide a review of the existing literature on interventions supporting adolescent mothers and their offspring. We aim to honor Edward Zigler's groundbreaking life and career by integrating basic developmental science with applied intervention and policy.

Twenty-six percent of children experience a traumatic event by the age of 4. Negative events during childhood have deleterious correlates later in life, including antisocial behavior. However, the mechanisms that play into this relation are unclear. We explored deficits in neurocognitive functioning, specifically problems in passive avoidance, a construct with elements of inhibitory control and learning as a potential acquired mediator for the pathway between cumulative early childhood adversity from birth to age 7 and later antisocial behavior through age 18, using prospective longitudinal data from 585 participants. Path analyses showed that cumulative early childhood adversity predicted impaired passive avoidance during adolescence and increased antisocial behavior during late adolescence. Furthermore, poor neurocognition, namely, passive avoidance, predicted later antisocial behavior and significantly mediated the relation between cumulative early childhood adversity and later antisocial behavior. This research has implications for understanding the development of later antisocial behavior and points to a potential target for neurocognitive intervention within the pathway from cumulative early childhood adversity to later antisocial behavior.

This study used a person-centered approach to identify subgroups of adolescents who are at risk for depression and suicidal ideation. Latent class analysis was first applied to 1,290 adolescents from a Canadian cohort study in order to identify latent vulnerability subtypes based on 18 psychosocial vulnerability factors. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to study the associations between class membership and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation 2 years later. The moderating role of sex in the associations between latent classes and depressive symptoms was explored. Five latent classes were identified: Low Vulnerability (42%), Substance Use Only (13%), Moderate Vulnerability (28%), Conduct Problems (8%) and High Vulnerability (9%). Compared with the Low Vulnerability class, the probabilities of presenting depressive symptoms were higher for the Substance Use Only class, OR = 1.93, 95% CI [1.21, 3.06], the Moderate Vulnerability class, OR = 2.96, 95% CI [2.09, 4.20], the Conduct Problems class, OR = 3.03, 95% CI [1.84, 4.98], and the High Vulnerability class, OR = 5.4, 95% CI [3.42, 8.53]. Furthermore, interaction effects with sex were identified in relation to depressive symptoms only. The probability of presenting suicidal ideation was higher only for the High Vulnerability class, OR = 4.51, 95% CI [2.41, 8.43]. This study highlights the importance of a person-centered perspective that considers both vulnerability subtypes and sex because these associations are complex rather than linear or additive.

The work of Ed Zigler spans decades of research all singularly dedicated to using science to improve the lives of children facing different challenges. The focus of this article is on one of Zigler's numerous lines of work: advocating for the practice of mental age (MA) matching in empirical research, wherein groups of individuals are matched on the basis of developmental level, rather than chronological age. While MA matching practices represented a paradigm shift that provided the seeds from which the developmental approach to developmental disability sprouted, it is not without its own limits. Here, we examine and test the underlying assumption of linearity inherent in MA matching using three commonly used IQ measures. Results provide practical constraints of using MA matching, a solution which we hope refines future clinical and empirical practices, furthering Zigler's legacy of continued commitment to compassionate, meaningful, and rigorous science in the service of children.

Supportive forensic interviews conducted in accordance with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Revised Protocol (RP) help many alleged victims describe abusive experiences. When children remain reluctant to make allegations, the RP guides interviewers to (a) focus on rapport building and nonsuggestive support in a first interview, and (b) plan a second interview to allow continued rapport building before exploring for possible abuse. We explored the dynamics of such two-session RP interviews. Of 204 children who remained reluctant in an initial interview, we focused on 104 who made allegations when re-interviewed a few days later. A structural equation model revealed that interviewer support during the first session predicted children's cooperation during the rapport-building phase of the second session, which, in turn, predicted more spontaneous allegations, which were associated with the interviewers’ enhanced use of open-ended questions. Together, these factors mediated the effects of support on children's free recall of forensically important information. This highlighted the importance of emphasizing rapport with reluctant children, confirming that some children may need more time to build rapport even with supportive interviewers.