Gregory S. Pettit

Peer Rejection and Social Information-Processing Factors in the Development of Aggressive Behavior Problems in Children

The relation between social rejection and growth in antisocial behavior was investigated. In Study 1,259 boys and girls (34% African American) were followed from Grades 1 to 3 (ages 6-8 years) to Grades 5 to 7 (ages 10-12 years). Early peer rejection predicted growth in aggression. In Study 2,585 boys and girls (16% African American) were followed from kindergarten to Grade 3 (ages 5-8 years), and findings were replicated. Furthermore, early aggression moderated the effect of rejection, such that rejection exacerbated antisocial development only among children initially disposed toward aggression. In Study 3, social information-processing patterns measured in Study 1 were found to mediate partially the effect of early rejection on later aggression. In Study 4, processing patterns measured in Study 2 replicated the mediation effect. Findings are integrated into a recursive model of antisocial development.

Does father absence place daughters at special risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy

The impact of father absence on early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy was investigated in longitudinal studies in the United States (N = 242) and New Zealand (N = 520), in which community samples of girls were followed prospectively from early in life (5 years) to approximately age 18. Greater exposure to father absence was strongly associated with elevated risk for early sexual activity and adolescent pregnancy. This elevated risk was either not explained (in the US. study) or only partly explained (in the New Zealand study) by familial, ecological, and personal disadvantages associated with father absence. After controlling for covariates, there was stronger and more consistent evidence of effects of father absence on early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy than on other behavioral or mental health problems or academic achievement. Effects of father absence are discussed in terms of life-course adversity, evolutionary psychology, social learning, and behavior genetic models.

Parents' Monitoring‐Relevant Knowledge and Adolescents' Delinquent Behavior: Evidence of Correlated Developmental Changes and Reciprocal Influences

Links between parental knowledge and adolescent delinquent behavior were tested for correlated rates of developmental change and reciprocal associations. For 4 years beginning at age 14, adolescents (N = 396) reported on their delinquent behavior and on their parents knowledge of their whereabouts and activities. Parents completed measures of their adolescents delinquent behavior. Knowledge was negatively correlated with delinquent behaviors at baseline, and increases over time in knowledge were negatively correlated with increases in parent-reported delinquent behavior. Reciprocal associations indicate that low levels of parental knowledge predict increases in delinquent behavior and that high levels of delinquent behavior predict decreases in knowledge. Discussion considers both youth-driven and parent-driven processes that may account for the correlated developmental changes and reciprocal associations.

Neighborhood Structure, Parenting Processes, and the Development of Youths' Externalizing Behaviors: A Multilevel Analysis

Associations among neighborhood structure, parenting processes, and the development of externalizing behavior problems were investigated in a longitudinal sample of early adolescents (from age 11 to 13). Mothers reports of parental monitoring (at age 11), mothers and youths reports of the amount of youths unsupervised time (at age 11), and youths reports of positive parental involvement (at age 12) were used to predict initial levels (at age 11) and growth rates in youths externalizing behavior as reported by teachers. Census-based measures of neighborhood structural disadvantage, residential instability, and concentrated affluence were expected to moderate the effects of parenting processes (e.g., parental monitoring) on externalizing behavior. Hierarchical linear modeling results revealed that less parental monitoring was associated with more externalizing behavior problems at age 11, and more unsupervised time spent out in the community (vs. unsupervised time in any context) and less positive parental involvement were associated with increases in externalizing behavior across time. Furthermore, the decrease in externalizing levels associated with more parental monitoring was significantly more pronounced when youths lived in neighborhoods with more residential instability.

Friendship Quality, Peer Group Affiliation, and Peer Antisocial Behavior as Moderators of the Link Between Negative Parenting and Adolescent Externalizing Behavior.

Quality of peer relationships and perceived peer antisocial behavior were examined as moderators of the link between negative parenting and externalizing behavior problems in school from middle childhood to early adolescence. Data on negative parenting (i.e., unilateral parental decision making, low supervision and awareness, and harsh discipline) were collected from 362 parents in the summer preceding the adolescents entry into Grade 6. Adolescent reports of positive peer relationships and peer antisocial behavior were assessed in the winter of Grade 7. The outcome measure was teacher report of adolescent externalizing behavior in the spring of Grade 7, controlling for externalizing behavior in Grade 5. High levels of friendship quality and peer group affiliation attenuated the association between unilateral parental decision making and adolescent externalizing behavior in school; this was particularly true when adolescents associated with peers perceived to be low in antisocial behavior. In addition, having low-quality peer relationships and having peers perceived to be highly antisocial further amplified the association between unilateral parental decision making and adolescent externalizing behavior problems. Finally, high levels of friend and peer group antisocial behavior exacerbated the predictiveness of harsh discipline for adolescents externalizing behavior.

Developmental Trajectories and Antecedents of Distal Parental Supervision

Groups of adolescents were identified on the basis of developmental trajectories of their families rules and their parents knowledge of their activities. Characteristics of the adolescent, peer antisociality, and family context were tested as antecedents. In sum, 404 parent-adolescent dyads provided data for adolescents aged 10-16. Most adolescents were classified into groups characterized by low levels and reductions in family rules over time. However, low socioeconomic status and residence in unsafe neighborhoods increased membership in the group characterized by consistently high levels of family rules. Most adolescents were assigned membership in groups characterized by relatively stable moderate-to-high levels of parental knowledge of their activities. However, greater externalizing problems and peer antisociality, as well as residence in an unsafe neighborhood, increased membership in the group characterized by low and decreasing levels of knowledge. Results suggest that personal and contextual risk antecedes nonnormative decreases in parental knowledge, whereas contextual risk inhibits normative reductions in family rules.

The mother–child playgroup as socialisation context: a short‐term longitudinal study of mother–child–peer relationship dynamics

This study employed mother–child playgroups as a context for examining mothers’ supervision of child–peer interactions and children’s adaptation to a new peer‐group setting. Six playgroups, consisting of quartets of mothers and their 24‐ to 54‐month‐old children (n = 23), were observed in ten 90‐minute sessions. All mothers attended the first two days of playgroup; only two mothers were present on each of the remaining days, rotating supervision responsibilities. Ratings were made of mothers’ behaviour toward their own and others’ children and children’s behaviour toward the mothers and peers. Children were oriented mainly toward their own mothers on the first two days of playgroup, but became increasingly involved in cooperative and parallel play with peers over time. Children were more likely to be involved in peer‐oriented play when their own mothers were present, and children of mothers who were judged to be more skilful supervisors were less likely to engage in solitary play. These findings converge with other evidence in supporting the usefulness of playgroup experiences for scaffolding children’s early peer interactions and for facilitating children’s transition between home and more formal educational settings such as preschools and daycare.