Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K; N = 6,420; 67.9% White/non-Hispanic, 15% Hispanic, 13% Black/non-Hispanic, 2% Asian, 3% Native American/Alaska Native; 25% of parents' income <$25,000, 25% = $25,001 to $45,000, 29% = $45,001 to $75,000, 20% = $75,001 or greater) were used to test structural equation models in which…

Although the trait of Agreeableness is broadly considered a key facet of adjustment, mental health, and socioemotional competence, surprisingly little is known about its developmental origins. Laursen and Richmond (2014) proposed that children's early difficulty poses a challenge for their future social relationships, ultimately leading to low…

The Good Behavior Game (GBG, Barrish, Saunders, & Wolf, 1969) and the PATHS Curriculum (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies; Greenberg, Kusche, Cook, & Quamma, 1995) represent 2 universal, elementary school, preventive interventions which have been shown in large-scale, randomized controlled trials to have an immediate and beneficial…

Inconsistent parental discipline is a robust correlate of child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, but few studies have considered the role of inconsistent "positive" parenting on ADHD, as well as the effects of stress on negative and positive parental consistency. This study advanced a novel ecological momentary…

In the present investigation we focused on 2 broad sets of questions: Do parental overreactivity, laxness, and corporal punishment show evidence of normative change in early to middle childhood? Are persistently elevated child conduct problems (CPs) associated with deviations from normative changes in, as well as high initial levels of, discipline…

The present study examined the early parenting and temperament determinants of children's antisocial and positive behaviors in a low-income, diverse ethno-racial sample. Participants were from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, which included 960 European American (initial M age = 15.00 months; 51.2% female) and 880 African…

This study examined associations between perceived degree and style of parental prohibition and adolescents' internalization of and oppositional defiance against parental rules in the friendship and moral domain. Relations were investigated in 2 longitudinal adolescent samples (total N = 532). Results indicated that perceived style but not…

This longitudinal study examined the bidirectional associations between parents' sense of competence and children's externalizing problems, mediation of these associations by parenting behaviors, and differences between mothers and fathers concerning these associations. A sample of 551 families with children (49.9% girls; mean age = 7.83 years, SD…

Children who are physically disciplined are at elevated risk for externalizing problems. Conversely, maternal reasoning and reminding of rules, or inductive discipline, is associated with fewer child externalizing problems. Few studies have simultaneously examined bidirectional associations between these forms of discipline and child adjustment…

Using data from grandparents (G1), parents (G2), and children (G3), this study examined continuity in parental monitoring, harsh discipline, and child externalizing behavior across generations, and the contribution of parenting practices and parental drug use to intergenerational continuity in child externalizing behavior. Structural equation and…

In a randomized controlled trial we tested the role of genetic differences in explaining variability in intervention effects on child externalizing behavior. One hundred fifty-seven families with 1- to 3-year-old children screened for their relatively high levels of externalizing behavior participated in a study implementing Video-feedback…

Trajectories of children's externalizing behavior were examined using multilevel growth curve modeling of data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. According to ratings by both mothers and caregivers/teachers when children were 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 years old, externalizing behavior declined with age. However, mothers rated…

Investigates children's misbehaviors and parental discipline strategies in families with abusive and nonabusive parents. Twenty abusive families with children between 4 and 10 years old and a matched control group of 20 families participated. Behavior of abusive parents and their children was more aversive than that of the control families.…

Studied child temperament and parental control as interacting predictors of behavior outcomes in 7- to 10-year olds in two longitudinal samples, the Bloomington Longitudinal Study and the Child Development Project. Found that resistance to control was more strongly related to externalizing in low-parent restriction groups than in high-parent…

Examined interaction of preschoolers' manageability problems and maternal discipline for predicting 10-year-old boys' antisocial behavior. Found that maternal retrospective perceptions of unmanageability predicted observed maternal discipline practices. Level of temper tantrums interacted with maternal discipline in predicting change in teacher…