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The long-term effectiveness of the Family Check-Up on school-age conduct problems: Moderation by neighborhood deprivation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2015

Daniel S. Shaw*
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Stephanie L. Sitnick
Affiliation:
Caldwell College
Lauretta M. Brennan
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Daniel E. Choe
Affiliation:
University of California at Davis
Thomas J. Dishion
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Melvin N. Wilson
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Frances Gardner
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Daniel S. Shaw, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 210 South Bouquet Street, 4101 Sennott Square, Pittsburgh PA 15260-0001; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract

Several studies suggest that neighborhood deprivation is a unique risk factor in child and adolescent development of problem behavior. We sought to examine whether previously established intervention effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) on child conduct problems at age 7.5 would persist through age 9.5, and whether neighborhood deprivation would moderate these effects. In addition, we examined whether improvements in parent–child interaction during early childhood associated with the FCU would be related to later reductions in child aggression among families living in the highest risk neighborhoods. Using a multisite cohort of at-risk children identified on the basis of family, child, and socioeconomic risk and randomly assigned to the FCU, intervention effects were found to be moderated by neighborhood deprivation, such that they were only directly present for those living at moderate versus extreme levels of neighborhood deprivation. In addition, improvements in child aggression were evident for children living in extreme neighborhood deprivation when parents improved the quality of their parent–child interaction during the toddler period (i.e., moderated mediation). Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the possibilities and possible limitations in prevention of early problem behavior for those children living in extreme and moderate levels of poverty.

Type
Regular Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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