This study investigated the relationship between mathematics difficulties and psychopathology in a large community sample (N = 881) of youth (8-18 years of age) in the United States. The primary aims of the study were to (a) test the associations between mathematics difficulties and specific components of internalizing, externalizing, attention,…

This study aimed to examine the mental health and social-emotional skills of individuals with mathematics difficulties (MD), reading difficulties (RD), and comorbid difficulties (MDRD) in China. Students with MD (n = 35), RD (n = 27), MDRD (n = 43), and typically-developing peers (TD, n = 167) completed the Children's Depression Inventory, the…

Objective: To identify subgroups of urban youth based on their self- and teacher-reported mental health symptoms, and to explore characteristics of these subgroups. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 426 eighth-grade students (M[subscript age] = 13.22 years; 70.1% Black/ African American; 58.7% female) across 20 Baltimore City public schools were…

Adolescent stressors coupled with environmental demands, such as pressures to achieve, might lead to negative outcomes for some students. Students who worry about their ability to meet high standards might be more at risk of internalizing problems. The current study investigated the relations among perfectionism, social support, and internalizing…

The present study investigates how coordination between stress responsivity of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) moderates the prospective effects of marital conflict on internalizing and externalizing symptoms across adolescence. Although an important avenue for psychophysiological research concerns how…

Using data from 223 Latino adolescents residing in poor, urban neighborhoods, we investigate whether spirituality, religious importance at home, and religious involvement moderate the relation between community violence exposure and psychological well-being. Results showed significant interaction effects between community violence exposure and…

The deleterious effects of marital conflict on youth outcomes are well-documented in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. To date, longitudinal studies have focused on repeated measures of youths' outcomes and the temporal dynamics of marital conflict have largely been ignored. Marital conflict changes over time as contextual and…

Although the assertion that marital hostility relates to higher levels of youth adjustment difficulties has been well established, few studies have examined cooperative marital conflict in relation to youth behavior problems. This study examined the main and moderating effects of cooperative marital conflict on youth behavior problems in a sample…

The aims of the present study were to (a) examine the factor structure of the "Self-Report Coping Scale" in a sample of Chinese early adolescents and (b) explore associations between coping and socioemotional functioning in this sample. Participants were N = 569 elementary school students (307 boys) in Grades 4 to 6. Participants…

This study used a genetically controlled design to examine the direction and the magnitude of effects in the over-time associations between perceived relationship quality with mothers and adolescent maladjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms and delinquency). A total of 163 monozygotic (MZ) twins pairs (85 female pairs, 78 male pairs) completed…

Homelessness affects a large and increasing number of families in the United States, and exposure to violence and other potentially traumatic events is common among homeless families. It is important to understand more about this population and, more specifically, about the relationship between youth mental health and caregiver mental health and…

The current study provides the first replication trial of Bounce Back, a school-based intervention for elementary students exposed to trauma, in a different school district and geographical area. Participants in this study were 52 1st through 4th graders (M[subscript age] = 7.76 years; 65% male) who were predominately Latino (82%). Schools were…

To determine whether children and adolescents (7-17 years old) who had experienced physical, sexual, or both types of abuse reflected distinct profiles of personal resiliency, we administered the "Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents" (RSCA) to 250 youth. We performed cluster analyses with T scores for the RSCA Self-Mastery,…

Students become increasingly disconnected from their schools across the middle school years, but little is known about the factors contributing to changes in school connectedness. This study examined the time-invariant and time-varying roles of depressive symptoms and externalizing problems in trajectories of student-perceived school connectedness…

This study examined illicit substance use among 1,004 adolescents, ages 11-21, involved with the Child Welfare System (CWS) and followed from 1999 to 2007. By the time they reached transition age, more than 60% of the sample had used an illicit substance in their lifetime. Predictors of regular use during adolescence were having a prior CWS…