Dale M. Stack

Disentangling psychobiological mechanisms underlying internalizing and externalizing behaviors in youth: longitudinal and concurrent associations with cortisol.

Research examining cortisol dysregulation is seemingly contradictory with studies showing that both internalizing and externalizing behaviors are related to high and low cortisol. One extant theory to explain divergent findings in the stress literature is that both hypo- and hyper-arousal of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may be present depending on time since onset of the stressor. This theory may extend to the onset of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Data from 96 youth participating in a longitudinal project were used to examine this possibility. Composite measures of internalizing and externalizing behaviors at both childhood and early adolescence were formed using mother and teacher reports. Multiple salivary cortisol samples were also collected over two consecutive days during early adolescence. Problematic behaviors were associated with cortisol and the direction of the association was dependent on amount of time passed since onset of the behaviors. When examined concurrently in adolescence, youth with more internalizing behaviors had higher morning cortisol; however, when examined longitudinally, youth with more internalizing behaviors in childhood had lower morning cortisol levels as adolescents. Youth with more externalizing behaviors in childhood had flattened diurnal cortisol rhythms as adolescents, and this finding persisted when examined in adolescence. Cortisol dysregulation was greatest in children with the most severe behavior problems. Findings support the theoretical model of blunting of the HPA axis over time. While the HPA axis may show hyper-arousal when youth first display behaviors, long-term exposure may lead to a hypo-arousal of the HPA axis which culminates in a dysregulated diurnal rhythm.

Parental Effects on Children's Emotional Development over Time and across Generations.

Principal tasks of the early childhood years, including attaining self-efficacy, self-control, social integration, and preparedness for education, require the development of adaptive and competent emotional development. Results from longitudinal and intergenerational studies examining the effect of parenting behaviors on childrens emotional outcomes provide support for the importance of parenting style as a mechanism in the development of competent or problematic emotional functioning over time and across generations. Despite the critical role of emotional competence on lifelong development, little longitudinal research has assessed its effect on childrens cognitive, social, behavioral, and academic competence over time, or how parenting affects the emotional functioning and later developmental outcomes in subsequent generations. The objectives of the present article were to (1) summarize and integrate longitudinal and intergenerational research on the emotional development of at-risk and typically developing children; (2) evaluate research examining the role that parenting behaviors play in the development of childrens emotional competence; (3) highlight cross-sectional research investigating parental influences on the emotional development of children with disabilities; and (4) describe how adaptive and maladaptive emotional development affect the overall functioning of children with and without developmental disabilities. The importance of studying emotional development is underscored, as well as implications for social, educational, and health policy.

The quality of the mother-child relationship in high-risk dyads: Application of the Emotional Availability Scales in an intergenerational, longitudinal study

The present research examined how family psychosocial risk may be associated with emotional availability (EA) across age and time in two longitudinal, intergenerational studies with high-risk, disadvantaged mother-child dyads. Study 1 examined dyads during preschool and middle childhood. Study 2 examined a different sample of dyads, tested intensively at five time points (6, 12, and 18 months; preschool; and school age). Across studies, maternal childhood histories of aggression and social withdrawal predicted negative EA (higher levels of maternal hostility) during mother-child interactions at preschool age. In Study 1, mothers with higher levels of social withdrawal during childhood had preschoolers who were less appropriately responsive to and involving of their mothers during interactions. In Study 2, higher levels of observed appropriate maternal structuring predicted child responsiveness while observed maternal sensitivity (and structuring) predicted observed child involvement. More maternal social support and better home environment combined with lower stress predicted better mother-child relationship quality. Findings contribute to the burgeoning literature on EA by focusing on a high-risk community sample across time and generations. Results are interpreted in light of the developmental psychopathology framework, and have implications for a broader understanding of how EA is related to parental history and personal characteristics, as well as ongoing family and environmental context.

Continuity and Pathways from Aggression in Childhood to Family Violence in Adulthood: A 30-year Longitudinal Study

Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behavior in both girls and boys are predictive of later violent behavior, including violence that takes place within family contexts. Utilizing the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a study of individuals recruited as children in the 1970s from inner-city schools in Montreal, this study examined different pathways whereby aggressive behavioral styles in childhood may place individuals at risk for continuing patterns of violence towards children and spouses. Childhood aggression directly predicted self-reported violence towards spouse for both sexes, with indirect routes through lowered educational attainment and marital separation. Aggression in childhood was also found to predict parents’ self-reports of using violence with their children. For mothers, educational attainment and current absence of the biological father from the child’s home also played important roles in predicting violent behavior towards offspring. These findings provide evidence of both continuity of aggressive behavior and indirect risk paths to family violence, via lower educational attainment and parental absence. In both men and women, childhood aggression may be an identifiable precursor of family violence and child abuse.

Functions of maternal touch and infants' affect during face-to-face interactions: new directions for the still-face.

The functions of maternal touch were investigated during a still-face (SF) procedure between 40 mothers and their 5(1/2)-month-old infants. Mothers used more nurturing touch when their infants exhibited distress during the SF period. In addition, the quality of maternal regulatory behavior provided in the interval between the SF and Reunion Normal period was found to influence the amount of maternal nurturing touch in the Reunion Normal period.

From risky behavior to health risk: continuity across two generations.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of childhood aggression and social withdrawal on adolescent health risk behaviors and adult health outcomes, and to examine the transfer of health risk to preschool offspring. This was a prospective, longitudinal, and intergenerational study of 114 mothers from disadvantaged neighborhoods, who were identified in childhood as being highly aggressive and/or withdrawn or with low scores on these 2 behavioral risk dimensions, and their preschool offspring aged 1 to 6 years old. The health histories of mothers (adolescent health risk behavior, health during pregnancy, current symptoms) and target children were taken during structured interviews conducted at home. Regression analyses tested the relationship between maternal childhood risk status and subsequent health outcomes, and these were followed by structural equation modeling of a proposed intergenerational pathway. Maternal childhood aggression predicted current health risk behaviors (e.g., daily cigarette smoking), whereas maternal childhood social withdrawal was not associated with maternal health risk at the time of testing. Mothers who had high scores on both aggression and withdrawal were more likely to engage in adolescent health risk behavior, which was directly related to health problems in preschoolers (even after controlling for covariates, such as neonatal health status and sex). In summary, there are distinct health trajectories for women who are highly aggressive and socially withdrawn in childhood, with implications for womens long-term health. Specifically, aggression in girls is likely to lead to health risk behaviors that may also place the next generation at risk for pediatric illness. Results are interpreted in terms of the health-hostility link, best known in adult men and intergenerational models.

Nurturing cognitive competence in preschoolers: A longitudinal study of intergenerational continuity and risk

The current investigation was designed to examine the provision of cognitive stimulation to preschool-aged children from high-risk families. Participants were drawn from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a prospective, longitudinal investigation of individuals recruited in 1976–77 from lower SES neighbourhoods who were rated by childhood peers on standardised scales of aggression and social withdrawal. Based on a subsample of women followed from childhood to motherhood (N = 51), we found that childhood behaviour patterns, particularly a history of aggression, negatively predicted cognitive stimulation to preschool-aged offspring, in the context of(1) scaffolding during a structured teaching task, and (2) the quality of the home environment provided for children. In the second part of the study, concurrent analyses focusing on children’s cognitive competence (N = 80) revealed that parental stimulation predicts the intellectual functioning of preschool-aged offspring within a community-based, high-risk sample. Taken together, the current findings provide evidence for the existence of a pathway of intergenerational transfer of risk operating through cognitive stimulation.

Predicting family poverty and other disadvantaged conditions for child rearing from childhood aggression and social withdrawal: A 30-year longitudinal study

This 30-year longitudinal study examined pathways from problematic childhood behavior patterns to future disadvantaged conditions for family environment and child rearing in adulthood. Participants were mothers (n = 328) and fathers (n = 222) with lower income backgrounds participating in the ongoing Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine pathways from childhood aggression and social withdrawal to future high school drop-out, early parenthood, parental absence, and family poverty after the participants became parents. Childhood aggression directly predicted early parenthood and parental absence in both mothers’ and fathers’ models, and high school drop-out for the fathers (for the mothers, this path was indirect via achievement in primary school). Childhood aggression predicted family poverty indirectly, with some gender differences in significant pathways.

Predicting Adult Physical Health Outcomes from Childhood Aggression, Social Withdrawal and Likeability: A 30-Year Prospective, Longitudinal Study

BackgroundLiterature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behavior in both girls and boys are predictive of a variety of health risks in adulthood. However, longitudinal examination of predictive links between childhood aggression and negative adult physical health outcomes and overall medical service usage has not been done.PurposeThe purpose of the present investigation is to extend the current body of knowledge regarding the long-term negative physical health sequelae of aggression observed in childhood, by examining direct and indirect paths (through educational attainment) from childhood aggression and other behavioral characteristics to poor physical health in middle adulthood.MethodThis study was carried out within the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a study of over 4,000 individuals recruited as children in the 1970s from inner-city schools in Montreal.ResultsChildhood aggression was found to directly and positively predict medical service usage, as well as medical visits due to lifestyle-related illnesses and injuries, with indirect paths through educational attainment also present.ConclusionThe findings from this study suggest that childhood aggression may be an identifiable precursor of poor health and increased service usage in adulthood and are relevant to preventative intervention.

The impact of children's internalizing and externalizing problems on parenting: Transactional processes and reciprocal change over time.

Most theoretical models of developmental psychopathology involve a transactional, bidirectional relation between parenting and childrens behavior problems. The present study utilized a cross-lagged panel, multiple interval design to model change in bidirectional relations between child and parent behavior across successive developmental periods. Two major categories of child behavior problems, internalizing and externalizing, and two aspects of parenting, positive (use of support and structure) and harsh discipline (use of physical punishment), were modeled across three time points spaced 3 years apart. Two successive developmental intervals, from approximately age 7.5 to 10.5 and from 10.5 to 13.5, were included. Mother-child dyads (N = 138; 65 boys) from a lower income longitudinal sample of families participated, with standardized measures of mothers rating their own parenting behavior and teachers reporting on childs behavior. Results revealed different types of reciprocal relations between specific aspects of child and parent behavior, with internalizing problems predicting an increase in positive parenting over time, which subsequently led to a reduction in internalizing problems across the successive 3-year interval. In contrast, externalizing predicted reduced levels of positive parenting in a reciprocal sequence that extended across two successive intervals and predicted increased levels of externalizing over time. Implications for prevention and early intervention are discussed.