Farrah Jacquez

The Development of Multiple Domains of Child and Adolescent Self‐Concept: A Cohort Sequential Longitudinal Design

The development of child and adolescent self-concept was examined as a function of the self-concept domain, social/developmental/educational transitions, and gender. In two overlapping age cohorts of public school students (Ns = 936 and 984), five dimensions of self-concept were evaluated every 6 months in a manner that spanned grades 3 through 11 (representing the elementary, middle, and high school years). Domains of self-concept included academic competence, physical appearance, behavioral conduct, social acceptance, and sports competence. Structural equation modeling addressed questions about the stability of individual differences over time. Multilevel modeling addressed questions about mean-level changes in self-concept over time. Significant effects emerged with regard to gender, age, dimension of self-concept, and educational transition.

Emergence of attributional style and its relation to depressive symptoms.

The development of depressive attributional style (AS) and its role as a cognitive diathesis for depression were examined in children and adolescents (Grades 2-9). In a 4-wave longitudinal study of 3 overlapping age cohorts, AS, negative life events, and depressive symptoms were evaluated every 12 months. Consistency of childrens attributions across situations was moderately high at all ages. The cross-sectional structure of AS changed with age, as stability became a more salient aspect of AS than internality and globality. The structure of AS also changed, becoming more traitlike as children grew older. In longitudinal analyses, evidence of a Cognitive Diathesis x Stress interaction did not emerge until Grades 8 and 9, suggesting that AS may not serve as a diathesis for depression at younger ages. Results suggest that attributional models of depression may require modification before they are applied across developmental levels.

Individual differences in the emergence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: A longitudinal investigation of parent and child reports.

The authors address questions about the rate that depressive symptoms emerge, developmental and gender differences in this rate, and differences between parent and child estimates of this rate. In a 12-wave, cohort-sequential, longitudinal design, 1,570 children (Grades 4-11) and parents completed reports about childrens depression. Cross-domain latent growth curve analysis revealed that (a) the rate of symptom growth varied with developmental level. (b) gender differences symptom growth preceded emergence of mean level gender differences, (c) the rate of symptom development varied with age, and (d) parent-child agreement about rate of symptom change was stronger than agreement about time-specific symptoms. The authors suggest that predictability of depressive symptoms varies with age and the dimension under investigation.

Relation of Positive and Negative Parenting to Children's Depressive Symptoms

This study examined the combined and cumulative effects of supportive-positive and harsh-negative parenting behaviors on childrens depressive symptoms. A diverse sample of 515 male and female elementary and middle school students (ages 7 to 11) and their parents provided reports of the childrens depressive symptoms. Parents provided self-reports of supportive-positive and harsh-negative parenting behaviors. Structural equation modeling indicated that supportive-positive and harsh-negative parenting behaviors were nearly orthogonal dimensions of parenting and both related to childrens depressive symptoms. Supportive-positive parenting behaviors did not moderate the relation between harsh-negative parenting behaviors and childrens depressive symptoms. Results have implications for family intervention and preventions strategies.

Parent Perspectives of Diabetes Management in Schools

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate parent reports of the diabetes care support their children receive in school, their concerns about diabetes management in school, and their knowledge of federal laws that protect children with diabetes. In addition, the study explores ethnic and socioeconomic status differences in diabetes management in school. Methods An ethnically heterogeneous sample of 309 parents of children with diabetes was recruited from a community-based and a university-based diabetes outpatient clinic. Parents completed a survey assessing supports their childs school provides for diabetes care, worries about diabetes care in school, and awareness of federal laws that pertain to children with diabetes. Results Many children did not have a written care plan or a nurse at school, but significantly more white children had these supports than Hispanic or black children. Most children were not allowed to check blood glucose levels or administer insulin in class. Most parents were worried about hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia in school, and most were not at all or only a little confident in the schools ability to care for diabetes. Most parents were not aware of federal laws, but high-income and white parents were more likely to be aware. Conclusions According to parents in the current study, children receive inadequate diabetes management support in schools. Minority children are less likely to receive supports than white children. Parents are worried about diabetes management in school, but most do not have the knowledge of federal laws necessary to protect their children.

A Review of Community-based Participatory Research in Child Health

Objective:To review published studies that use an authentic community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach in child health to highlight the benefits, barriers, and scope of this approach with pediatric populations. Method:Studies using CBPR in child health were identified using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science through MeSH heading and keyword searches. Keywords included “community-based participatory research” and “child,” “youth,” and “adolescent.” Literature reviews and community-placed articles were excluded. Results:A total of 34 CBPR studies focused on child health were identified and analyzed for this review. The most common child health issue in these studies was obesity/diabetes. Other child health topics included health needs assessments, reproductive health, female health, HIV treatment, physical activity, mental health, maternal/child health, substance abuse, asthma, and youth with disabilities/special healthcare needs. Implications/Conclusion:CBPR offers a unique approach for translating evidence-based models and research knowledge from child health into effective and sustainable interventions.

Gender differences in the longitudinal structure of cognitive diatheses for depression in children and adolescents.

In a school-based, four-wave, longitudinal study, children (grades 4-7) and young adolescents (grades 6-9) completed questionnaires measuring depressive symptoms and depressive cognitions, including positive and negative cognitions on the Cognitive Triad Inventory for Children (CTI-C; Kaslow, Stark, Printz, Livingston, & Tsai, 1992) and self-perceived competence on the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC; Harter, 1985). Application of the Trait-State-Occasion model (Cole, Martin, & Steiger, 2005) revealed the existence of a time-invariant trait factor and a set of time-varying occasion factors. Gender differences emerged, indicating that some cognitive diatheses were more trait-like for girls than for boys (i.e., positive and negative cognitions on the CTI-C; self-perceived physical appearance and global self-worth on the SPPC). Implications focus on the emergent gender difference in depression, the design of longitudinal studies, and clinical decisions about the implementation of prevention versus intervention programs.

Disentangling the prospective relations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms

In a four-wave, cohort-longitudinal design with a community sample of 515 children and adolescents (grades 2 through 9), this study examined the longitudinal structure of and prospective interrelations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms. Multigroup structural equation modeling generated four major findings. First, the longitudinal structures of maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms consist of a single time-invariant factor and a series of time-varying factors. Second, evidence supported a model in which depressive symptoms predicted negative cognitions but not the reverse. Third, the time-invariant components of cognition and depression were highly correlated. Fourth, the strength of the depression-to-cognition relation increased with age. Implications regarding the mechanisms underlying clinical interventions with depressed children are discussed.

The Use of Concept Mapping to Identify Community-Driven Intervention Strategies for Physical and Mental Health:

Research that partners with youth and community stakeholders increases contextual relevance and community buy-in and therefore maximizes the chance for intervention success. Concept mapping is a mixed-method participatory research process that accesses the input of the community in a collaborative manner. After a school-wide health needs assessment at a low-income, minority/immigrant K–8 school identified bullying and obesity as the most important health issues, concept mapping was used to identify and prioritize specific strategies to address these two areas. Stakeholders including 160 K–8 students, 33 college students working in the school, 35 parents, 20 academic partners, and 22 teachers/staff brainstormed strategies to reduce and prevent obesity and bullying. A smaller group of stakeholders worked individually to complete an unstructured sorting of these strategies into groups of similar ideas, once for obesity and again for bullying. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis was applied to the sorting data to produce a series of maps that illustrated the stakeholders’ conceptual thinking about obesity and bullying prevention strategies. The maps for both obesity and bullying organized specific strategies into themes that included education, parental role, teacher/school supervision, youth role, expert/professional role, and school structure/support.

Immigrants as Research Partners: A Review of Immigrants in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is uniquely suited to engage immigrants in all aspects of research, from research question development to data collection to interpretation and dissemination of results. An increasing number of research studies have utilized the methodology for exploring complex health issues for immigrants. In the current manuscript, we present a review of peer-reviewed articles in health-related research where CBPR was conducted in partnership with immigrants. We examined the role of immigrants in the CBPR process and how immigrant involvement improved/enhanced the research rigor. A total of 161 articles met the inclusion criteria. The results of this literature review enhance our understanding of how CBPR can be used in direct collaboration with immigrants and highlights the many potential benefits for both researchers and immigrant communities.