Nicola A. Conners-Burrow

Social Outcomes Associated With Media Viewing Habits of Low-Income Preschool Children

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preschool childrens social outcomes in the classroom (including hyperactivity, aggression, and social skills) and their media viewing habits (including the amount of television they watch and whether they watch videos/movies that are rated as inappropriate for young children). The participants were 92 low-income pre-kindergarten-age children for whom we obtained parent reports of media viewing habits and teacher reports of classroom behavior. The results suggested that viewing of inappropriate content was associated with higher hyperactivity and aggression scores and a lower social skills rating, whereas the amount of viewing was not related to these classroom outcomes. Policy: There has been a great deal of focus on how both the amount and content of television viewed affects social development in middle and later childhood. These studies have helped influence the development of guidelines for parents of young children to limit media viewing. The findings from the present study suggest that school personnel and others should monitor the content of what preschoolers are watching and should educate parents about the potential impact of media viewing on childrens classroom behavior.

Growing Up in Violent Communities: Do Family Conflict and Gender Moderate Impacts on Adolescents' Psychosocial Development?

This study examined the moderating effects of family conflict and gender on the relationship between community violence and psychosocial development at age 18. The study sample consisted of 728 children and families who were part of the Infant Health and Development Program study of low-birth-weight, pre-term infants. In this sample, adolescent psychosocial outcomes were predicted by community violence differently for male and female children and based on their experiences of conflict at home. For male children, being in a high conflict family as a child exacerbated the negative effects of community violence such that internalizing problems (depression and anxiety) and risk-taking behaviors increased as community violence increased, while being in a low conflict family protected the child against the negative impacts of the community. For female adolescents, there were no moderating effects of family conflict on the relationship between community violence and externalizing problems. Moderating effects for internalizing problems demonstrated that being in low conflict families did not serve as protection against community violence for girls as was demonstrated for boys. These findings demonstrate the long-term effects of community violence on child development, highlighting the importance of gender and family context in the development of internalizing and externalizing problems.

Triple Risk: Do Difficult Temperament and Family Conflict Increase the Likelihood of Behavioral Maladjustment in Children Born Low Birth Weight and Preterm?

OBJECTIVE This study examined the impact of family conflict on internalizing and externalizing behavior at age 8 for children born low birth weight (LBW) and preterm (PT), with specific attention to the moderating role of early temperament. METHODS The sample included 728 families enrolled in the longitudinal study of the Infant Health and Development Program. The study relied on maternal reports of child temperament at age 1, family conflict at age 6(1/2) years and 8 years, and child behavior at age 8 years. RESULTS Children exposed to high levels of family conflict had more internalizing problems. Child temperament assessed in infancy moderated the impact of family conflict on externalizing but not internalizing problem behavior. DISCUSSION LBW/PT children with a difficult temperament are more at risk for poor developmental outcomes, such as externalizing behavior problems, when exposed to family conflict than children with a less difficult temperament.

The Relation of Harsh and Permissive Discipline with Child Disruptive Behaviors: Does Child Gender Make a Difference in an At-Risk Sample?

The role of parenting in child disruptive behaviors has received substantial support; however, the findings as to differential effects of specific parenting behaviors (e.g., discipline) on boys’ and girls’ disruptive behavior problems have not been consistent. The current study examined the individual, unique, and interactive relation of two types of ineffective discipline (i.e., harsh & permissive) with child disruptive behavior for at-risk boys and girls separately. Participants were 160 parents with 3- to 6-year-old at-risk children (47.5% girls). Findings revealed that higher levels of harsh discipline were related to more intense disruptive behavior of both boys and girls, whereas higher levels of permissive discipline were related to more intense disruptive behavior of only boys. Additionally, results indicated that harsh and permissive discipline did not interact to predict child disruptive behavior problems. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Assessing adverse experiences from infancy through early childhood in home visiting programs

The general aim of early intervention and home visiting programs is to support families to minimize Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). However, assessing childrens exposure to these risks is complicated because parents serve as the conduit for both measurement and intervention. The primary aims of the study were to develop an assessment of childrens exposure to ACEs and to examine concurrently measured parental child abuse and neglect potential and child social-emotional functioning. Home visiting programs in a southern state implemented the Family Map Inventories (FMI) as comprehensive family assessment and child screenings (N=1,282) within one month of enrollment. Children (M=33 months of age, SD=20) were exposed at rates of 27% to one, 18% to two, 11% to three, and 12% to four or more FMI-ACEs. FMI-ACEs were associated with increased parental beliefs and behaviors associated with child abuse and neglect. FMI-ACEs also significantly predicted the likelihood of the child having at-risk social-emotional development; children with 4 or more FMI-ACEs were over 6 times more likely than those with none to have at-risk scores. The findings add to our understanding of the negative impact of trauma on children and families. Assessing these risks as they occur in a family-friendly manner provides a platform for early intervention programs to work with families to increase family strengths and reduce the impacts of adverse experiences for their children.

Maternal substance abuse and children's exposure to violence.

This article focuses on exposure to violence and violence-related activities (i.e., crime and drug use) in 70 children whose mothers are addicted to alcohol or other drugs and explores maternal characteristics associated with violence exposure. Results suggest that exposure to violence is relatively common for these children, with many exposed to repeated violence in both the home and community. Findings also suggest higher levels of exposure to violence among children whose mothers reported fewer symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and held beliefs and attitudes about child rearing that have been associated with abusive and neglectful parenting. Levels of violence exposure were also higher when mothers reported more severe drug use in the recent past. These findings point to the need for assessment and treatment for children whose mothers abuse alcohol and other drugs.

Improved classroom quality and child behavior in an Arkansas early childhood mental health consultation pilot project

The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) on teacher-level and child-level outcomes in the context of a partnership between community mental health centers in three regions of Arkansas and publically funded early education programs (14 intervention sites and 4 comparison sites). From 2005 to 2008, 193 teachers participated in the study, along with 1,448 children. Data-collection activities included structured classroom observations, teacher ratings of childrens strengths and behavior, and teacher surveys to assess satisfaction with ECMHC services. Results suggest that teachers were highly satisfied with the consultation services and that teachers receiving the intervention had lower levels of permissiveness and detachment, with a trend toward higher levels of sensitivity in interactions with children in their classroom. In terms of child outcomes, we found that by the third year of the project, children at intervention sites were rated by their teachers as having fewer behavior problems and more protective factors.

Low-Level Depressive Symptoms Reduce Maternal Support for Child Cognitive Development

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between low-level depressive symptoms in mothers and their support for child cognitive development. METHODS Participants included 913 low-income mothers of preschool-age children who were screened for maternal depression and interviewed about support for learning in the childs home environment. RESULTS Of the 770 mothers in the analysis, 21.5% reported low-level depressive symptoms (below the cutoff on the screening tool indicating clinically elevated symptoms). Logistic regression analyses revealed that children of mothers with low-level depressive symptoms were significantly less likely to experience six of seven types of support for learning compared with children of mothers with no depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that children whose mothers experience even low-level depressive symptoms are less likely to receive important supports for cognitive development and school readiness, pointing to the need for screening and interventions to address maternal depression at all levels of severity.

Protecting Young Children: Identifying Family Substance Use and Risks in the Home.

This study examines the usefulness of a screening process implemented in the context of a Head Start home visit and compares families who screened positive for substance abuse with those who did not on an array of child and family indicators important for healthy child development. The sample included 1,105 low-income families with preschool-age children enrolled in Head Start programs. Families were interviewed using the Family Map, an interview tool used to screen on a wide range of areas important for healthy child development. Children identified as having a positive screen for family problems with alcohol and other drugs (9.1%) were more likely to be at risk on 10 of 11 additional areas assessed.

Promoting Adolescent Behavioral Adjustment in Violent Neighborhoods: Supportive Families Can Make a Difference!

This study examined the moderating effects of family cohesion on the relationship between community violence and child internalizing and externalizing problems at age 18. The study sample consisted of 728 children and families who were part of the Infant Health and Development Program, an intervention study for low-birthweight, preterm infants. Six of eight sites in the Infant Health and Development Program were in large metropolitan areas; two served rural and urban areas. About half of the sample was African American. Research teams collected data from caregivers multiple times in the first 3 years of the target childs life, and at 4, 5, 6½, 8, and 18 years. Caregivers reported on community violence, neighborhood problems with (a) drug users/sellers; (b) delinquent gangs; and (c) crime, assaults, and burglaries reports when children were 4, 5, and 8 years of age. Family cohesion was assessed twice, at ages 6½ and 8 years, using caregiver reports on the Family Environment Scale. Adolescent self-report of Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems at age 18 were assessed using the Behavior Problems Index. In this study, the association between adolescent psychosocial outcomes and community violence were moderated by family cohesion and gender such that being in a highly cohesive family as a child protected male children from the negative effects of community violence. Findings demonstrate the long-term protective effects of family cohesion on child behavioral development for male children but suggest a need to examine additional supports for females exposed to community violence during childhood.