The aim of this study is to examine the role of repeated exposure to rocket attacks in the links between personality vulnerability (dependency and self-criticism) and internalizing/externalizing psychopathology. A main-effect vulnerability model (personality leads to psychopathology) was compared with a main-effect scarring model (psychopathology leads to personality vulnerability). Also, a stress-diathesis pattern (personality vulnerability is activated under stress) was compared to a dual-vulnerability pattern (either personality vulnerability or stress, but not both, lead to psychopathology). Israeli adolescents (N = 362) repeatedly exposed to rocket attacks were assessed annually over 3 years. In 2008 and 2010, personality and psychopathology were assessed. Cumulative exposure was measured as the sums of exposure across the three assessment waves. Theoretical models were tested via Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Structural Equation Modeling analyses. Baseline dependency and self-criticism were associated with an increase in anxiety, whereas baseline depression was associated with an increase in dependency. Under low, not high, levels of rocket exposure, self-criticism and depression were longitudinally associated. Violence commission was associated with an increase in dependency under high, not low, cumulative exposure. Results are consistent with both scarring and vulnerability models, and with both stress-diathesis and dual-vulnerability patterns of adolescent risk and resilience.

Reduced supportive parenting and elevated negative parenting behaviors increase risks for maladaptive social adjustment during early childhood (e.g., Campbell, Shaw, & Gilliom, 2000). However, the magnitude of these risks may vary according to children's individual characteristics, such as sex and temperament. The current study examines whether children's sex and fear reactivity moderate the associations between mothers’ observed parenting and children's behavior problems 1 year later. The sample consists of 151 predominantly African American, low-income families with one sibling who is approximately 2 years old and the closest aged older sibling who is approximately 4 years old. Results from fixed-effects within-family models indicate that fear distress (i.e., fearfulness) moderated associations between mothers’ observed negative parenting and children's increased behavior problems, such that only those children with mean or higher observed fear distress scores showed increased behavior problems when exposed to mother's negative parenting. Child sex moderated associations between fear approach reactivity (i.e., fearlessness) and mothers’ observed supportive parenting. Specifically, low fear approach combined with supportive parenting was associated with fewer behavior problems for boys only. Implications of these findings for preventive intervention are discussed.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) may increase the risk of offspring depression in childhood. Low birth weight is also associated with increased risk of mental health problems, including depression. This study sought to investigate (a) whether there is an association between HDP and the risk of depression in childhood and (b) whether low birth weight mediates this association. The current study is based on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective, population-based study that has followed a cohort of offspring since their mothers were pregnant (n = 6,739). Depression at the age of 7 years was diagnosed using parent reports via the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA). Log-binomial regression and mediation analyses were used. Children exposed to HDP were 2.3 times more likely to have a depression diagnosis compared with nonexposed children, adjusted Risk Ratio [RR], 2.31; 95% CI, [1.20, 4.47]. Low birth weight was a weak mediator of this association. Results were adjusted for confounding variables including antenatal depression and anxiety during pregnancy.This study suggests that fetal exposure to maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy increased the risk of childhood depression. The study adds to the evidence suggesting that the uterine environment is a critical determinant of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric outcomes.

Data from the in-school sample of the PROSPER preventive intervention dissemination trial were used to investigate associations between alcohol dehydrogenase genes and alcohol use across adolescence, and whether substance misuse interventions in the 6th and 7th grades (targeting parenting, family functioning, social norms, youth decision making, and peer group affiliations) modified associations between these genes and adolescent use. Primary analyses were run on a sample of 1,885 individuals and included three steps. First, we estimated unconditional growth curve models with separate slopes for alcohol use from 6th to 9th grade and from 9th to 12th grade, as well as the intercept at Grade 9. Second, we used intervention condition and three alcohol dehydrogenase genes, 1B (ADH1B), 1C (ADH1C), and 4 (ADH4) to predict variance in slopes and intercept. Third, we examined whether genetic influences on model slopes and intercepts were moderated by intervention condition. The results indicated that the increase in alcohol use was greater in early adolescence than in middle adolescence; two of the genes, ADH1B and ADH1C, significantly predicted early adolescent slope and Grade 9 intercept, and associations between ADH1C and both early adolescent slope and intercept were significantly different across control and intervention conditions.

Children who are adopted from care are more likely to experience enduring emotional and behavioral problems across development; however, adoptees’ trajectories of mental health problems and factors that impact their trajectories are poorly understood. Therefore, we used multilevel growth analyses to chart adoptees’ internalizing and externalizing problems across childhood, and examined the associations between preadoptive risk and postadoptive protective factors on their trajectories. This was investigated in a prospective longitudinal study of case file records (N = 374) and questionnaire-based follow-ups (N = 96) at approximately 5, 21, and 36 months postadoptive placement. Preadoptive adversity (indexed by age at placement, days in care, and number of adverse childhood experiences) was associated with higher internalizing and externalizing scores; the decrease in internalizing scores over childhood was accelerated for those exposed to lower levels of preadoptive risk. Warm adoptive parenting was associated with a marked reduction in children's internalizing and externalizing problems over time. Although potentially limited by shared methods variance and lack of variability in parental warmth scores, these findings demonstrate the deleterious impact of preadoptive risk and the positive role of exceptionally warm adoptive parenting on children's trajectories of mental health problems and have relevance for prevention and intervention strategies.

Discrimination has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes, though it is unclear how early in life this association becomes apparent. Implicit emotion regulation, developing during childhood, is a foundational skill tied to a range of outcomes. Implicit emotion regulation has yet to be tested as an associated process for mental illness symptoms that can often emerge during this sensitive developmental period. Youth aged 9–11 were recruited for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Associations between psychotic-like experiences, depressive symptoms, and total discrimination (due to race, ethnicity, nationality, weight, or sexual minority status) were tested, as well as associations with implicit emotion regulation measures (emotional updating working memory and inhibitory control). Analyses examined whether associations with symptoms were mediated by implicit emotion regulation. Discrimination related to decreased implicit emotion regulation performance, and increased endorsement of depressive symptoms and psychotic-like experiences. Emotional updating working memory performance partially mediated the association between discrimination and psychotic-like experiences, while emotional inhibitory control did not. Discrimination and implicit emotion regulation could serve as putative transdiagnostic markers of vulnerability. Results support the utility of using multiple units of analysis to improve understanding of complex emerging neurocognitive functions and developmentally sensitive periods.

This paper, written in honor of Professor Ed Zigler, focuses on some of the themes in developmental disabilities research that were so central to his work. It has now been nearly 80 years since Leo Kanner first identified the prototypic form – early infantile autism – of what is now autism spectrum disorder. In this article we summarize the development of the concept and the important accumulation of knowledge over time that has now led us to the recognition of a broader autism phenotype just as, at the same time, the current official diagnostic system in the USA has narrowed the concept. We also address current controversies regarding autism as the diagnosis is impacted by age and developmental factors, gender, and cultural issues. In parallel to the work on intellectual deficiency and development pioneered by Zigler and his colleagues, we summarize some of the challenges for the years ahead.

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.

Children of mothers with serious mental health difficulties are at increased risk of developing mental health difficulties themselves in their own lifetime. Specialist interventions delivered in perinatal mental health services offer an opportunity to support the infant's development and long-term mental health. This review aimed to systematically evaluate the shared elements of successful perinatal mental health interventions that underpin improved outcomes for infants whose mothers experience perinatal mental health difficulties. Nine electronic databases were searched comprehensively for relevant controlled studies of perinatal mental health interventions, and a narrative synthesis undertaken to assess whether statistically significant benefits were noted. Sixteen studies, trialing 19 interventions, were analyzed using a narrative approach and grouped according to reported effectiveness. Eight interventions demonstrated significant improvements in infant outcomes and/or mother–infant relationship outcomes and were used to inform the analysis of the included interventions’ components. While the interventions identified were diverse, there were common components which potentially underpin successful interventions for infants whose mothers are experiencing mental health difficulties, including: facilitation of positive Mother×Infant interactions; helping mothers to understand their infant's perspective or inner world; and the use of video feedback.

Previous studies demonstrate that boys' monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genotype interacts with adverse rearing environments in early childhood, including punitive discipline, to predict later antisocial behavior. Yet the mechanisms by which MAOA and punitive parenting interact during childhood to amplify risk for antisocial behavior are not well understood. In the present study, hostile attributional bias and aggressive response generation during middle childhood, salient aspects of maladaptive social information processing, were tested as possible mediators of this relation in a sample of 187 low-income men followed prospectively from infancy into early adulthood. Given racial–ethnic variation in MAOA allele frequencies, analyses were conducted separately by race. In both African American and Caucasian men, those with the low-activity MAOA allele who experienced more punitive discipline at age 1.5 generated more aggressive responses to perceived threat at age 10 relative to men with the high-activity variant. In the African American subsample only, formal mediation analyses indicated a marginally significant indirect effect of maternal punitiveness on adult arrest records via aggressive response generation in middle childhood. The findings suggest that maladaptive social information processing may be an important mechanism underlying the association between MAOA × Parenting interactions and antisocial behavior in early adulthood. The present study extends previous work in the field by demonstrating that MAOA and harsh parenting assessed in early childhood interact to not only predict antisocial behavior in early adulthood, but also predict social information processing, a well-established social–cognitive correlate of antisocial behavior.

Recent models of psychopathology suggest the presence of a general factor capturing the shared variance among all symptoms along with specific psychopathology factors (e.g., internalizing and externalizing). However, few studies have examined predictors that may serve as transdiagnostic risk factors for general psychopathology from early development. In the current study we examine, for the first time, whether observed and parent-reported infant temperament dimensions prospectively predict general psychopathology as well as specific psychopathology dimensions (e.g., internalizing and externalizing) across childhood. In a longitudinal cohort (N = 291), temperament dimensions were assessed at 4 months of age. Psychopathology symptoms were assessed at 7, 9, and 12 years of age. A bifactor model was used to estimate general, internalizing, and externalizing psychopathology factors. Across behavioral observations and parent-reports, higher motor activity in infancy significantly predicted greater general psychopathology in mid to late childhood. Moreover, low positive affect was predictive of the internalizing-specific factor. Other temperament dimensions were not related with any of the psychopathology factors after accounting for the general psychopathology factor. The results of this study suggest that infant motor activity may act as an early indicator of transdiagnostic risk. Our findings inform the etiology of general psychopathology and have implications for the early identification for children at risk for psychopathology.

It is established that reading and reading-related processes are heritable; genes thus play an important role in the foundation of individual differences in reading. In this article, we focus on one facet of reading–comprehension. Comprehension is a higher order cognitive skill that requires many other cognitive processes for it to unfold completely and successfully. One such process is executive functioning, which has been associated with genetic variation in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene. Genotypes and haplotypes of four single nucleotide polymorphisms in COMT were investigated in 179 incarcerated adolescent delinquents. Four hierarchical logistic regression models predicting the presence/absence of comprehension difficulties were fitted to the data; genetic variation in COMT and the presence/absence of maternal rejection were investigated as main effects and as effects acting interactively. Three out of four interaction terms were found to be important predictors of individual differences in comprehension. These findings were supported by the results of the haplotype analyses, in which the four investigated polymorphisms were considered simultaneously.

Early life adversity (ELA) has been linked with increased arousal responses to threat, including increased amygdala reactivity. Effects of ELA on brain function are well recognized, and emerging evidence suggests that caregivers may influence how environmental stressors impact children’s brain function. We investigated the hypothesis that positive interaction between mother and child can buffer against ELA effects on children’s neural responses to threat, and related symptoms. N = 53 mother–child pairs (children ages 8–14 years) were recruited from an urban population at high risk for violence exposure. Maternal caregiving was measured using the Parenting Questionnaire and in a cooperation challenge task. Children viewed fearful and neutral face stimuli during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Children who experienced greater violence at home showed amygdala sensitization, whereas children experiencing more school and community violence showed amygdala habituation. Sensitization was in turn linked with externalizing symptoms. However, maternal warmth was associated with a normalization of amygdala sensitization in children, and fewer externalizing behaviors prospectively up to 1 year later. Findings suggested that the effects of violence exposure on threat-related neural circuitry depend on trauma context (inside or outside the home) and that primary caregivers can increase resilience.

Childhood adversity (CA) increases the risk of subsequent mental health problems. Adolescent social support (from family and/or friends) reduces the risk of mental health problems after CA. However, the mechanisms of this effect remain unclear, and we speculate that they are manifested on neurodevelopmental levels. Therefore, we investigated whether family and/or friendship support at ages 14 and 17 function as intermediate variables for the relationship between CA before age 11 and affective or neural responses to social rejection feedback at age 18. We studied 55 adolescents with normative mental health at age 18 (26 with CA and therefore considered “resilient”), from a longitudinal cohort. Participants underwent a Social Feedback Task in the magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Social rejection feedback activated the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the left anterior insula. CA did not predict affective or neural responses to social rejection at age 18. Yet, CA predicted better friendships at age 14 and age 18, when adolescents with and without CA had comparable mood levels. Thus, adolescents with CA and normative mood levels have more adolescent friendship support and seem to have normal mood and neural responses to social rejection.

Early signs of anger and aggression can be identified in infancy. Our aim was to use person-centered methods to identify which infants were most at risk for clinically significant behavioral problems by age 3 and diagnoses of ODD/CD by 7 years, while considering the role of family risk factors and positive parenting. A representative British community sample of 304 infants was assessed by multiple informants at mean ages of 6, 21, and 36 months of age. Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) identified three ordered subgroups at each age, with one subgroup (18%) displaying high levels of physical force as well as anger. These angry aggressive infants were at elevated risk for behavioral problems in early childhood and diagnoses of conduct disorder (CD) and/or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) at 7 years of age. After other risk factors were taken into account, parents' beliefs in warm parenting and their observed positive affect while interacting with their infants were protective factors. These findings indicate the significance of very early manifestations of angry aggressiveness and have relevance for developmental theories of aggression and prevention strategies.

The purpose of this study was to advance the current understanding of the daily dynamics that are involved in raising a child with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Specifically, we examined the role of mindful parenting and of day-to-day variation in parents’ psychological needs and child behavior in explaining day-to-day variation in parents’ autonomy-supportive, psychologically controlling, and responsive parenting behavior. Parents (N = 58) of children with CP (Mage = 12.68 years) participated in a 7-day diary study. Multilevel analyses indicated that parents’ autonomy-supportive, psychologically controlling, and responsive behaviors fluctuate considerably between days. Further, daily fluctuations in both child behavior and parents’ own psychological needs were found to be associated with this daily variability in parenting. In addition, interindividual differences in mindful parenting were associated positively with parents’ responsiveness and negatively with psychologically controlling parenting across the week. These findings point towards the changeability of parenting behavior among parents of a child with CP and suggest that interventions targeting parenting behavior in the context of CP will be most effective when taking into account both the parents’ and the child's functioning.

Early life adversity (ELA) has been associated with inflammation and immunosenescence, as well as hyporeactivity of the HPA axis. Because the immune system and the HPA axis are tightly intertwined around the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), we examined peripheral GR functionality in the EpiPath cohort among participants who either had been exposed to ELA (separation from parents and/or institutionalization followed by adoption; n = 40) or had been reared by their biological parents (n = 72).

Expression of the strict GR target genes FKBP5 and GILZ as well as total and 1F and 1H GR transcripts were similar between groups. Furthermore, there were no differences in GR sensitivity, examined by the effects of dexamethasone on IL6 production in LPS-stimulated whole blood. Although we did not find differences in methylation at the GR 1F exon or promoter region, we identified a region of the GR 1H promoter (CpG 1-9) that showed lower methylation levels in ELA.

Our results suggest that peripheral GR signaling was unperturbed in our cohort and the observed immune phenotype does not appear to be secondary to an altered GR response to the perturbed HPA axis and glucocorticoid (GC) profile, although we are limited in our measures of GR activity and time points.

Resilience is a dynamic process depicted by better than expected levels of functioning in response to significant adversity. This can be assessed statistically, by taking the residuals from a model of psychological functioning regressed onto negative life events. We report the first study to investigate multiple cognitive factors in relation to this depiction of resilient functioning. Life events, internalizing symptoms, and a range of cognitive risk and protective factors were assessed in a large sample of adolescents (N = 504) across three waves spaced 12–18 months apart. Adolescents who displayed fewer symptoms than expected, relative to negative life events, were considered more resilient. Adolescents who displayed more symptoms than expected, relative to negative life events, were considered less resilient. All cognitive factors were associated with resilient functioning to differing degrees. These included memory bias, interpretation bias, worry, rumination, self-esteem, and self-reported trait resilience. Regression models showed that memory bias was a key factor explaining unique variance in prospective resilient functioning. In a subsequent cross-lagged panel model, memory bias and resilient functioning were reinforcing mechanisms across time points, supporting cognitive models of emotional resilience. This study adds to the literature, by highlighting key cognitive mechanisms as potential intervention targets

While phenotypically indistinguishable with respect to callousness, individuals with primary and secondary callous–unemotional (CU) traits may show different developmental outcomes. This research predominantly comprised cross-sectional studies of male participants with a focus on maladaptive correlates. Thus, the present study examined whether youth with primary and secondary CU traits identified in Grade 7 reported distinct maladaptive outcomes (internalizing, externalizing, and substance use problems; criminal offenses; and sexual and partner experiences) and adaptive outcomes (health and wellbeing, education, and employment) in adulthood at age 25. We also examined sex differences. Participants included the high-risk control and normative samples from the Fast Track project (N = 754, male = 58%, Black = 46%). Youth with secondary CU traits reported higher levels of adult internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, a greater number of sexual partners and risky sexual behavior, and a greater number of violent offenses, compared with individuals with primary CU traits and those with low CU and anxiety symptoms. Conversely, youth with primary CU traits and low symptoms had higher wellbeing and happiness scores than those with secondary CU traits. Finally, there was differentiation on outcomes between female primary and secondary CU variants and male primary and secondary CU variants.

Tom Dishion, a pioneer in prevention science, was one of the first to recognize the importance of adapting interventions to the needs of individual families. Building towards this goal, we suggest that prevention trials be used to assess baseline target moderated mediation (BTMM), where preventive intervention effects are mediated through change in specific targets, and the resulting effect varies across baseline levels of the target. Four forms of BTMM found in recent trials are discussed including compensatory, rich-get-richer, crossover, and differential iatrogenic effects. A strategy for evaluating meaningful preventive effects is presented based on preventive thresholds for diagnostic conditions, midpoint targets and proximal risk or protective mechanisms. Methods are described for using the results from BTMM analyses of these thresholds to estimate indices of intervention risk reduction or increase as they vary over baseline target levels, and potential cut points are presented for identifying subgroups that would benefit from program adaptation because of weak or potentially iatrogenic program effects. Simulated data are used to illustrate curves for the four forms of BTMM effects and how implications for adaptation change when untreated control group outcomes also vary over baseline target levels.