Keith B. Burt

The Interplay of Social Competence and Psychopathology Over 20 Years: Testing Transactional and Cascade Models

Associations among internalizing, externalizing, and social competence were examined in a longitudinal cohort (N = 205) of 8- to 12-year-old children reassessed after 7, 10, and 20 years. Theoretically informed nested structural equation models tested interconnections among broad multi-informant constructs across four developmental periods. Follow-up analyses examined gender invariance, measurement and age effects, and putative common causes. Key model comparisons indicated robust negative paths from social competence to internalizing problems from childhood to adolescence and from emerging adulthood to young adulthood. Social competence and externalizing problems showed strong initial associations in childhood but no longitudinal cross-domain paths. Using a developmental psychopathology framework, results are discussed in relation to cascade and transactional effects and the interplay between competence and symptoms over time.

Testing a dual cascade model linking competence and symptoms over 20 years from childhood to adulthood

This study examined the unique longitudinal effects linking academic competence, social competence, and internalizing symptoms from childhood to adulthood. A multimethod and multi-informant approach was used to assess psychopathology and competence in 205 participants during four developmental periods. Social competence in childhood had a cascading effect on internalizing symptoms in adolescence, whereas social and academic competence in emerging adulthood had dual cascading effects on internalizing in young adulthood. Results suggested a developmental cascade beginning with externalizing symptoms in childhood, which contributed to lower academic achievement in adolescence, which in turn influenced social competence in emerging adulthood and internalizing symptoms in young adulthood.

Intergenerational Continuity in Parenting Quality: The Mediating Role of Social Competence

Prospective studies of intergenerational continuity in parenting quality remain scarce, with little attention given to the potential role of social competence as a mediator of continuity. This study examined social competence as a mediator in the pathway from 1st generation (G1) to 2nd generation (G2) parenting quality. A normative sample of children and their parents were assessed in childhood, and again 10 and 20 years later. Parenting quality of G1 parents was assessed at each time point with multiple informants, as was G2 social competence. G2 parenting was assessed at the 20-year follow-up for those who were parents. The mediational role of social competence in G1 to G2 parenting quality was tested via nested path analytic models, accounting for continuity and cross-domain relations. Social competence mediated the intergenerational relation of parenting quality; results were invariant across gender and ethnic minority status and were unchanged after controlling for age, IQ, socioeconomic status, rule-abiding conduct, and personality (i.e., constraint). The authors discuss results regarding developmental theories of close relationships and the potential for cascading benefits within and across generations from interventions to improve G1 parenting or G2 social competence.

Resilience in the transition to adulthood

The emerging adulthood years, commonly defined as the late teens and twenties, represent a period of significant variability and change for much of the population. Thus, it is important for the field to consider pathways of at-risk youth as they move through this key window of development. We review research on positive outcomes in the transition to adulthood following a history of experienced adversity, including both investigations focused on resilience in diverse specific populations as well as broader longitudinal studies. There is compelling evidence for major protective and promotive factors identified in younger age periods continuing to exert an influence at this stage of development, along with evidence for new factors unique to this developmental time and/or to specific populations. We conclude by noting recommendations for future work in this area, emphasizing Garmezys call for the testing of competing models.

Is parenting the mediator of change in behavioral parent training for externalizing problems of youth

Change in parenting behavior is theorized to be the mediator accounting for change in child and adolescent externalizing problems in behavioral parent training (BPT). The purpose of this review is to examine this assumption in BPT prevention and intervention programs. Eight intervention and 17 prevention studies were identified as meeting all criteria or all but one criterion for testing mediation. Parenting behaviors were classified as positive, negative, discipline, monitoring/supervision, or a composite measure. Forty-five percent of the tests performed across studies to test mediation supported parenting as a mediator. A composite measure of parenting and discipline received the most support, whereas monitoring/supervision was rarely examined. More support for the mediating role of parenting emerged for prevention than intervention studies and when meeting all criteria for testing mediation was not required. Although the findings do not call BPT into question as an efficacious treatment, they do suggest more attention should be focused on examining parenting as a putative mediator in BPT.

Molecular-genetic correlates of infant attachment: A cautionary tale

This paper advises caution in relation to the increasing interest in molecular-genetic association studies in developmental psychology based on a set of empirical examples from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) that highlight the fragility of effects reported in the literature on the molecular-genetic correlates of infant attachment. Specifically, this paper updates and provides three extensions to results reported in Luijk et al. (2011), which recently failed to replicate evidence from smaller-sample studies that a set of dopaminergic, serotonergic, and oxytonergic markers are significantly associated with infant attachment security or disorganization. First, we report here that the average effect of “usual suspect” polymorphisms on infant attachment security and disorganization in the SECCYD is approximately zero. Second, because Luijk et al. (2011) reported data based exclusively on the White infants in the SECCYD, this paper reveals that the average effect of polymorphisms featured in this literature is also of trivial magnitude in the non-White sub-sample (cf. Chen, Barth, Johnson, Gotlib, & Johnson, 2011). Third, this paper attempts, but fails, to replicate a recent finding by Raby et al. (2012) suggesting that, although molecular-genetic polymorphisms might not be implicated in security versus insecurity, the serotonin transporter gene contributes to variation in emotional distress during the Strange Situation Procedure. Implications for future research on the genetics of developmental phenotypes in general and attachment in particular are discussed, with a focus on statistical power and model-based theory testing.

Comparison of categorical alcohol dependence versus a dimensional measure for predicting weekly alcohol use in heavy drinkers

BACKGROUND The DSM specifies categorical criteria for psychiatric disorders. In contrast, a dimensional approach considers variability in symptom severity and can significantly improve statistical power. The current study tested whether a categorical, DSM-defined diagnosis of Alcohol Dependence (AD) was a better fit than a dimensional dependence measure for predicting change in alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers following a brief alcohol intervention (BI). DSM-IV and DSM-5 alcohol use disorder (AUD) measures were also evaluated. METHODS Participants (N=246) underwent a diagnostic interview after receiving a BI, then reported daily alcohol consumption using an Interactive Voice Response system. Dimensional AD was calculated by summing the dependence criteria (mean=4.0; SD=1.8). The dimensional AUD measure was a summation of positive Alcohol Abuse plus AD criteria (mean=5.8; SD=2.5). A multi-model inference technique was used to determine whether the DSM-IV categorical diagnosis or dimensional approach would provide a more accurate prediction of first week consumption and change in weekly alcohol consumption following a BI. RESULTS The Akaike information criterion (AIC) for the dimensional AD model (AIC=7625.09) was 3.42 points lower than the categorical model (AIC=7628.51) and weight of evidence calculations indicated there was 85% likelihood that the dimensional model was the better approximating model. Dimensional AUD models fit similarly to the dimensional AD model. All AUD models significantly predicted change in alcohol consumption (ps=.05). CONCLUSION A dimensional AUD diagnosis was superior for detecting treatment effects that were not apparent with categorical and dimensional AD models.

A Test of the DSM-5 Severity Scale for Alcohol Use Disorder

BACKGROUND For the DSM-5-defined alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnosis, a tri-categorized scale that designates mild, moderate, and severe AUD was selected over a fully dimensional scale to represent AUD severity. The purpose of this study was to test whether the DSM-5-defined AUD severity measure was as proficient a predictor of alcohol use following a brief intervention, compared to a fully dimensional scale. METHODS Heavy drinking primary care patients (N=246) received a physician-delivered brief intervention (BI), and then reported daily alcohol consumption for six months using an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. The dimensional AUD measure we constructed was a summation of all AUD criteria met at baseline (mean=6.5; SD=2.5). A multi-model inference technique was used to determine whether the DSM-5 tri-categorized severity measure or a dimensional approach would provide a more precise prediction of change in weekly alcohol consumption following a BI. RESULTS The Akaike information criterion (AIC) for the dimensional AUD model (AIC=7623.88) was four points lower than the tri-categorized model (AIC=7627.88) and weight of evidence calculations indicated there was 88% likelihood the dimensional model was the better approximating model. The dimensional model significantly predicted change in alcohol consumption (p=.04) whereas the DSM-5 tri-categorized model did not. CONCLUSION A dimensional AUD measure was superior, detecting treatment effects that were not apparent with tri-categorized severity model as defined by the DSM-5. We recommend using a dimensional measure for determining AUD severity.

Moderating Effects of Coping on Associations between Autonomic Arousal and Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Few published studies have looked at the moderating role of coping styles on the association between stress reactivity and internalizing/externalizing problems despite theory suggesting that particular constellations of stress reactivity and coping may be uniquely problematic. The present study aimed to test the interactive effects of coping and psychophysiology on self- and parent-report broad-spectrum problems in a normative adolescent sample. Sixty-six late adolescents (ages 16–17; 60% female, 13% ethnic minority) completed questionnaires on coping, stressful life events, and behavioral/emotional problems, with parents also providing data on problems. In addition, skin conductance and heart rate data were obtained during a brief interview designed to elicit the feeling of reexperiencing a recent stressful experience. Path analytic results suggested evidence for several interaction effects between coping and skin conductance. Most commonly, the pattern of effects was consistent with a buffering effect for productive (or problem-focused) coping strategies against elevated internalizing and externalizing problems for individuals who demonstrated high physiological stress reactivity. Evidence for interaction effects related to respiratory sinus arrhythmia was less frequent and less consistent with a priori hypotheses. Although our cross-sectional results should be interpreted cautiously, the interactions reported here suggest that improving coping skills may be particularly beneficial for youth with high psychophysiological arousal.

Identity, Stress, and Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Undergraduates: Evidence for Interaction Effects

The present study examined sense of identity (assessed using the Identity subscale of the Psychosocial Maturity Inventory) as a moderator of associations between stressful life events, behavioral/emotional problems, and substance abuse in a sample of 187 college undergraduates (67% female). Correlations showed evidence for positive associations between life stress and behavioral and emotional problems, negative associations between identity and life stress/behavioral and emotional problems, and a positive association between identity and GPA. For three outcomes—anxious/depressed problems, thought problems, and aggressive behavior—identity moderated the association, such that individuals with a stronger sense of identity reported fewer problems even when experiencing high levels of life stress. Primary results remained significant when controlling for age, global self-worth, and broad personality variables, and did not differ by gender.