Prenatally drug-exposed toddlers were compared to preterm toddlers of similar low socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and single-parent households on intellectual functioning, quality of play, and security of attachment to the primary caregiver. The drug-exposed toddlers had significantly lower developmental scores, less representational play, and the majority had insecure, disorganized, avoidant attachments. In all areas investigated, the prenatally drug-exposed toddlers showed more subtle behavioral deficits within each domain. Although developmental quotients were within the average range, they were significantly lower than the preterm comparison group and did not adequately represent the more evident deficits seen through play in an unstructured situation. Unstructured assessments that required the child's initiation, goal setting, and follow-through were more revealing of developmental disorganization within and among domains than were adult structured assessments such as developmental tests. While modest differences were seen in structured tasks, the marked differences between the drug-exposed and preterm groups were most evident in the unstructured tasks. The lack of coherence across developmental domains was illustrated by the large difference between developmental quotient scores and the poor performance in the cognitive representional competencies demonstrated in play. Insecurity and disorganization in attachment were found to compromise further the development of the drug-exposed toddlers.

Differences in moral reasoning concerning hypothetical versus real-life conflicts were examined with a sample of 44 youths (aged 15–18 years) who were classified as psychopathic, delinquent, or normal. All subjects were individually interviewed and assessed on (a) Hare's Psychopathy Checklist, (b) two of Kohlberg's hypothetical moral dilemmas, and (c) a subject-generated real-life moral dilemma. The results revealed that the normal youths attained a higher level of moral reasoning than either the delinquents or psychopaths. All groups scored lower on the real-life than the hypothetical dilemmas, indicating that hypothetical dilemmas may best elicit a person's level of moral reasoning competence, whereas real-life dilemmas may entail factors that lower the level of reasoning used in a situation of moral conflict. These two dilemma types also were found to elicit differing moral orientations. Finally, psychopaths were found to orient more to egoistic concerns than did delinquents when discussing real-life dilemmas.

In order to test the hypothesis that the relation between childrearing history and parental behavior varies as a function of marital quality, retrospectively reported childrearing histories obtained from 92 middle- and working-class mothers-to-be in the last trimester of pregnancy were used to predict maternal positive and negative affect when children were 3-years-old. As anticipated on the basis of findings from high-risk samples, the intergenerational transmission process appeared to vary as a function of marital quality, with problematic histories predicting negative maternal affect when marriages were less positive/more negative and supportive histories predicting positive maternal affect when marriages were more positive/less negative. Unanticipated results also revealed that reports of supportive and rejecting parenting in childhood were associated with low-negative maternal affect when marriages were of high quality. These findings were interpreted in terms of buffering and gatekeeping processes, whereby marital quality defines both conditions of continuity and discontinuity with respect to the intergenerational transmission of parenting. Follow-up analyses revealed that physical attractiveness might determine which women with more problematic childrearing histories end up in more positive/less negative marriages that function protectively with respect to the intergenerational transmission of parenting. These results are particularly relevant to the study of developmental psychopathology not only by revealing risk and protective factors, but also by showing that processes at work in high-risk samples also seem to function under lower risk conditions.

Deficits in gestural joint-attention behaviors are a prominent feature of young autistic children. Attempts to explain these deficits have called upon the metarepresentational deficit hypothesis (Baron-Cohen, 1988; Leslie & Frith, 1988). However, developmental research suggests that joint-attention skills emerge prior to the cognitive capacity for metarepresentation. Thus, the metarepresentational hypothesis does not appear to provide a parsimonious explanation of autistic joint-attention deficits. An alternative model is proposed that attempts to explain these deficits in terms of the combined negative impact of developmental disturbances in affective, as well as cognitive, processes.

Deficits in “executive” neuropsychological functions have been proposed to underlie the development of antisocial behavior such as juvenile delinquency. Results of research into the executive functions of delinquents have been mixed, and studies have been hampered by reliance on small samples of adjudicated subjects and questionable validity of the tests administered. This research examined the performance of a large unselected birth cohort of adolescent boys and girls on five tests of executive function that have documented reliability and validity. It is the first such study to use self-reports of antisocial behavior. Executive deficits were shown only by a subgroup of delinquent subjects with childhood comorbidity of antisocial behavior and attention deficit disorder; that subgroup's behavior was also rated as more aggressive and impulsive than comparison groups'. Group differences on executive measures remained significant after the effects of overall IQ were statistically controlled. Also, delinquents who had been detected by police did not show poorer executive functions than subjects with equivalent self-reports of delinquent behavior who had evaded official detection, suggesting that executive deficits are related to the development of antisocial behavior itself, and not simply to risk of detection.

This study examined the stability of behavior problems in 44 low SES children ages 2–5 years using the preschool and standard versions of Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist. While scores for the present sample did not differ significantly from Achenbach's standardization sample at age 2, scores at ages 4 and 5 were somewhat elevated; this was true for the Total score, as well as for the two broad-band scores (Internalizing and Externalizing). At all ages, the Internalizing and Externalizing scores correlated highly with one another (r= .58 to .74). Stability coefficients across one to three year intervals revealed significant continuity for the Total and Externalizing scores (r= .42 to .73). Internalizing scores were stable only between ages 4 and 5 (r= .53). In addition, early Externalizing scores also predicted subsequent Internalizing scores, suggesting that early Externalizing symptomatology has diverse implications. Maternal depression and negative life events, assessed at ages 4 and 5, correlated strongly with child behavior scores at both these ages. However, neither factor accounted for the stability in childrens' symptomatology. Overall, the levels of stability found here were comparable to those reported for older children. The results are discussed in terms of developmental psychopathology, with particular attention to the finding that (a) developmentally maladaptive behavior can be identified at very young ages, even in 2-year-olds, and (b) that such behavior problems are far more persistent than hitherto believed. Such findings underscore the importance of early identification and intervention.

This study focuses on the importance of patterns of adjustment problems in early adolescence and convictions for alcohol abuse in the mid-teens for the development of alcohol abuse manifested in early adulthood. The study was performed on a large and representative cohort of Swedish males, prospectively followed from age 13 to age 25. A person approach was applied in which the individuals and individual patterns of adjustment problems were the objects of interest, not single variables per se. The results showed that patterns of multiple adjustment problems in early adolescence, as well as convictions for alcohol abuse in the mid-teens, significantly increased the risk for later alcohol abuse. Among multiproblem boys also convicted for alcohol abuse in their mid-teens, 72% were registered for alcohol abuse at ages 18–24. However, early single adjustment problems did not significantly increase the risk for later alcohol abuse. The importance of studying the background of alcohol abuse from a developmental and interactionistic perspective was emphasized.

This research examines the frequency and stability of internalizing symptoms in a sample of 325 5-year-olds. Parent and teacher ratings, teacher nominations, parent-child interaction, and child measures were obtained. Of the sample, 4% were nominated as depressed by teachers. With the use of cutoff scores on teacher ratings, an average of 17% of the children were rated as having moderate problems on the internalizing scale in November and April of kindergarten, and in February of first grade. Parent-teacher stability correlations ranged from .24 to .27, while teacher ratings from November and April correlated at .60. Instability in internalizing symptoms from kindergarten to first grade was related to a number of concurrent and previously assessed factors, most notably, attention problems, reliance on mother, and child intelligence. These factors combined to account for an additional 8% of the variance in first grade internalizing symptoms after controlling for internalizing symptoms in kindergarten.

Mundy and Sigman (1989) present a challenge to the metarepresentational theory of autism. Their argument holds if it is assumed that the capacity for metarepresentation only emerges at 12–24 months old in normal development, as manifested in pretend play. However, I present reasons for postulating that the capacity for metarepresentation may be present from as early as 7–9 months of age, manifested in joint-attention behaviors. If this account has any validity, then the metarepresentational theory of autism is unaffected by Mundy and Sigman's challenge. In addition, I highlight some problems in Mundy and Sigman's alternative model of autism. These criticisms aside, their article is without doubt important and opens up critical questions both for models of the origins of autism and of a theory of mind in normal development.

This study examined the relationship among children's sociometric status, qualities of mother-child interaction, and children's adjustment in first grade. Eighty-one 6-year-old children and their mothers participated in laboratory play interactions the summer before the children entered first grade. The interactions were coded later for warmth and control on the part of both mother and child. During the fall, the first graders were given individual sociometric interviews, and children were classified as popular, average, neglected, and rejected. During the spring, teacher ratings of child behavior problems and child competence were collected. Results showed that although maternal warmth and children's sociometric status were unrelated, both were significantly related to behavior problems and competencies in school. Children who were rejected by their peers and whose interactions with their mothers were low in warmth were rated by teachers as having more behavior problems and as less competent in certain respects than other rejected children; the children characterized by peer rejection and low maternal warmth also gave self-reports of their own social acceptance and cognitive competence that were more discrepant from objective information than did other rejected children. These effects either did not occur or were less pronounced within the group of children who were not rejected by their peers. Results were thus consistent with the idea that high maternal warmth served as a protective factor against adjustment difficulties associated with peer rejection.

Disruptive boys in kindergarten, selected from teacher ratings in a large study, were each followed up for four successive years. There was considerable continuity of the boys' fighting, despite a declining prevalence in fighting over the years. High oppositional behavior in one year did not consistently predict fighting in the next year. A history of fighting was associated with being held back in grade. Boys were assigned to fighting evolution status on the basis of their fighting scores over the four years: stable high fighters, desisting high fighters, and variable/initiating high fighters. Stable high fighters, unlike desisting high fighters, scored high on nonaggressive antisocial acts at the end of the four years. For some boys, cessation of fighting was associated with later nonaggressive antisocial behavior. Fighting evolution status was examined further in relationship to anxiety, hyperactivity/inattentiveness, and prosocial behaviors. At age 9, stable high fighters, and to a lesser extent variable/initiating high fighters, were more likely to come from single parent families than desisting high fighters. The results are discussed in the context of the development of conduct problems in children.

The question of which informant on childhood behavior disorders is the most useful an'd valid for which disorders influences diagnostic accuracy and research findings. The present study focuses on 177 boys, most of whom had been referred to outpatient services because they were displaying disruptive behavior. The boys, their mothers, and their teachers responded to a psychiatric interview concerning the boys' behavior. Analyses of conditional agreements between informants show that children, as compared with mothers and teachers, were less adequate informants on their own hyperactivity and inattentiveness. The same applied to children's reports of their own oppositional behavior. In contrast, children's reports of their conduct problems tended to complement the reports by adults. Although informants agreed significantly on the presence of many disruptive child behaviors, there were several on which they did not agree, particularly in the realm of hyperactivity/inattentiveness. There were few age differences between older and younger boys in this sample of 7- to 12-year-olds. The implications of the findings for research and clinical practice are discussed.

I argue that Mundy and Sigman (1989) are right to question Leslie's (1987) explanation of the autistic syndrome, but that they do so for the wrong reasons. They assert that there is a lag between the emergence of joint-attention and pretence. However, evidence for the lag is equivocal because it depends on the behavioral criteria for each skill. Moreover, even if there were a lag, it could be argued that the relatively early appearance of joint-attention simply shows that a decoupling device is available before its recruitment for pretence. More problematic, with regard to Leslie's theory, is the finding that autistic children can engage in certain forms of pretence. This result suggests that autistic children suffer not from a general incapacity to conjure up imaginary entities or properties, but from a more specific impairment in the ability to imagine mental states that they are not currently experiencing.

This study examines the relations among style and development level of four interpersonal and intrapsychic processes: interpersonal thought, self-reported interpersonal action, mechanisms of defense, and object representation. Subjects were 25 girls and 25 boys from the eighth grade of an urban public school System. All four constructs were measured along developmental and stylistic dimensions. Both interpersonal thought and self-reported action processes were measured with the hypothetical and real-life interpersonal negotiation strategies interviews of Selman and colleagues. Defensive process was measured with a questionnaire revised to include Vaillant's developmental analysis of defense mechanisms as well as assessment of style of defense (internalizing vs. externalizing). Object representation style and level were measured with constructs and instruments of Blatt and colleagues. The results supported the main hypothesis: Levels of defense mechanisms and object representation independently predicted level of self-reported interpersonal action, even when controlling for level of interpersonal thought (which also predicted action). This suggests that if there are gaps between interpersonal thought and action levels, the relative level of maturity of psychodynamic processes helps explain action level. In contrast, there were few relationships among the stylistic components of the four constructs, although each style construct was related to its associated level construct. Contrary to hypotheses, no gender differences were found on any of the composited level or style variables. The study suggests operational links between structural-developmental and psychodynamic aspects of personality.

Mundy and Sigman (1989) note that a problem arises in reconciling the existence of joint-attention deficits in autism with Leslie's (1987) theory that autistic children lack an innate, late-appearing metarepresentational capacity. Such a theory fails to encompass earlier rooted and perhaps more basic manifestations of autistic children's impairments in interpersonal coordination and intersubjective communication. The account provided by Mundy and Sigman, while promising, fails to address a critical question: How is it that autistic children have limited understanding that other people are subjects of experience with whom things can be shared? 1 suggest that an answer emerges only when we pay due regard to the nature of normal and autistic interpersonal relations. Here the authors' cognitive-behavioral analysis of affective exchanges between people leaves out the heart (and much of the mind) of the matter.

Previous research has suggested that language-impaired (LI) children have a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, and conversely, that children being treated for psychiatric disorders have a high incidence of language impairment. To investigate the relationship between developmental language and psychiatric disorders further, the behavioral and emotional status of a large, well-defined group of preschool-age LI and matched control children were evaluated using the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Based on parent report, data were analyzed for broad- as well as narrow-band syndromes. For the broad-band syndromes, results demonstrated significant between-group differences for boys, but not girls. However, for the narrow-band syndromes, unexpectedly few significant between-group differences were found for boys or girls. Only the Immaturity scale for boys and Social Withdrawal scale for girls proved significantly different between groups. Inspection of the items that comprised these two scales revealed a high prevalence of items which relate to attention, perception, and motor functions. As previous research with LI children has demonstrated that highly significant perceptual/motor disorders characterize this population, additional analyses were performed to determine the extent to which attention, perception, and motor items on the CBCL contributed to the significant group differences found. When items classified as assessing attention, perception, or motor functioning were excluded, few significant between-group differences remained. Subsequent analyses demonstrated a high correlation between the CBCL items classified as assessing attention, perception, or motor functions and the performance of LI and normal children on a battery of non-verbal attention, perception, and motor tasks. These results suggest that psychiatric disorders previously identified in LI children may be related primarily to specific neurodevelopmental delay in perceptual/motor functioning.

In this study, 82 sex offenders incarcerated at the Massachusetts Treatment Center were administered a brief structured clinical interview focusing on caregiver and institutional history up to age 18. Interview data were examined along with archival information coded from the clinical files. Four factors were derived from principal components analysis and were entered into a series of multiple regression analyses. There were two noteworthy results. First, sexual and nonsexual aggression in adulthood each were related to distinct aspects of developmental history. Whereas caregiver inconstancy and sexual deviation in the family wére related to the severity of sexual aggression, childhood and juvenile institutional history and physical abuse and neglect were associated with severity of nonsexual aggression. Second, contrary to previous studies of other criminal populations, the severity of aggression rather than frequency of crimes was predicted by developmental history. The results of the study suggest that childhood experiences with and disruption of caregiver relationships may be important to understanding sexual aggression in adulthood.

This review of family, twin, and adoption studies on offender behaviors points to the importance of a genetic predisposition as a partial explanation for criminality in some populations. Twin and adoption studies show that criminality increases with the presence of criminality in biological relatives; the environmental effects of having a criminal adoptive parent also increase the risk of adoptee criminality. Delinquency is described developmentally as a fairly typical phase for many adolescents. Because of the high base rate for delinquency, any genetic predisposition for offense behaviors may be difficult to uncover in adolescence. Three groups are differentiated that may aid in this detection: continuous antisocials are delinquents who continue to be criminal as adults; transitory delinquents are delinquents but not criminals; and late bloomers are criminals but not delinquents.