Links between socioeconomic position and cognitive and behavioral regulation in adolescence: The role of pubertal development.

Adolescent cognitive and behavioral regulation is influenced by multidimensional and multidirectional processes within and across biological and contextual systems that shift throughout development. Key among these influences are distal processes such as early life socioeconomic position (SEP), and proximal processes such as pubertal development, but questions remain concerning how links between SEP, pubertal development, and cognitive and behavioral regulation accumulate and unfold over adolescence. In the current study, and in line with Dr. John Schulenberg's foundational work, direct associations between SEP, puberty, and adolescent cognitive and behavioral regulation were examined; then pubertal timing and tempo were considered as moderators and mediators of links between SEP and adolescent cognitive and behavioral regulation. Data were drawn from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a longitudinal study of 970 youth (52% male; 80% White, 13% Black, and 7% another race/ethnicity). Cognitive and behavioral regulation was measured using direct assessments of working memory, planning, risky decision-making, and impulse control at age 15. SEP included maternal education and family income-to-needs and was averaged from birth to 54 months old; estimates of pubertal timing and tempo were derived using logistic growth curve models from age 9 to age 15. SEP was directly associated with cognitive and behavioral regulation. Pubertal development tended to moderate those links, but rarely mediated them. Specifically, socioeconomic disadvantage along with earlier timing or faster tempo tended to be associated with worse cognitive and behavioral regulation. Overall, findings suggest that pubertal timing and tempo may exacerbate existing environmental constraints.

Positioning adolescence in the developmental timeline.

Adolescence, the second decade of life, bridges childhood and adulthood, but also represents a host of unique experiences that impact health and well-being. Lifespan theories often emphasize the continuity of individual characteristics and their contexts from childhood to adolescence, underscoring the distal influence of childhood experiences. Yet, adolescence is marked by transitions that may provoke discontinuities, particularly within individuals, their contexts, and their interactions within those contexts. These discontinuities occur at varied times, orders, and intensities for individual youth, suggesting that adolescence may be a developmental turning point where earlier life experiences may be mediated, reversed, or transformed by proximal events. This perspective piece emphasizes the importance of considering transitions, discontinuities, and developmental turning points in adolescence as well as their potential to explain heterogeneity in adolescent and adult outcomes. We explore one biological and one contextual transition in adolescence and highlight innovative theories and methods for investigating continuity and discontinuity dynamics across development, which could lead to new insights related to the adolescent period and its importance in shaping future life trajectories.

The link between daily affective complexity and anxiety is altered by oral contraceptive use.

Affective complexity - the unique ways in which individuals' emotions covary and differentiate - is an important aspect of internalizing problems. For instance, daily affective complexity has been linked to anxiety increases in women and to decreases in men. The mechanisms underlying this gender difference have not been widely investigated, but a role for ovarian hormones is likely. Research on oral contraceptives (OCs) provides promising insights into such mechanisms, as OCs suppress endogenous ovarian hormone production and vary in exogenous hormone formulations. Thus, the goal of this study was to examine links between daily affective complexity and internalizing problems in OC users (n = 84), focusing on dimensionally-assessed anxiety, and to investigate whether the links varied by pill formulation. Affective complexity was operationalized as number of factors for each person, as estimated by p-technique (i.e., person-specific factor analysis) of 75-day intensive longitudinal data. There was not a relation between affective complexity and anxiety in OC users, and this did not depend on OC pill formulation (i.e., estrogenic, progestational, or androgenic activities). Thus, OC use may blunt the relation between affective complexity and anxiety, as OC users had a relation in between the established positive relation for naturally cycling women and the inverse for men (despite a similar range of factors). Findings are consistent with a growing literature showing that OC use modulates stress and anxiety-linked processes, and suggest that gendered mechanisms underlying the relation between affective complexity and anxiety may be suppressed along with ovarian hormones in OC users.

100 days of Adolescence: Elucidating Externalizing Behaviors Through the Daily Assessment of Inhibitory Control.

Inhibitory control is a transdiagnostic risk factor for externalizing behaviors, particularly during adolescence. Despite advances in understanding links between inhibitory control and externalizing behaviors across youth on average, significant questions remain about how these links play out in the day-to-day lives of individual adolescents. The goals of the current study were to: (1) validate a novel 100-occasion measure of inhibitory control; (2) assess links between day-to-day fluctuations in inhibitory control and individual differences in externalizing behaviors; and (3) illustrate the potential of intensive longitudinal studies for person-specific analyses of adolescent externalizing behaviors. Participants were 106 youth (57.5% female, Mage = 13.34 years; SDage = 1.92) who completed a virtual baseline session followed by 100 daily surveys, including an adapted Stroop Color Word task designed to assess inhibitory control. Results suggested that the novel task was generally reliable and valid, and that inhibitory control fluctuated across days in ways that were meaningfully associated with individual differences in baseline impulsive behaviors. Results of illustrative personalized analyses suggested that inhibitory control had more influence in the daily networks of adolescents who used substances during the 100 days than in a matched set of adolescents who did not. This work marks a path forward in intensive longitudinal research by validating a novel inhibitory control measure, revealing that daily fluctuations in inhibitory control may be a unique construct broadly relevant to adolescent externalizing problems, and at the same time, highlighting that links between daily inhibitory control and impulsive behaviors are adolescent-specific.

Developmental cascades and educational attainment.

Developmental cascades describe how systems of development interact and influence one another to shape human development across the lifespan. Despite its popularity, developmental cascades are commonly used to understand the developmental course of psychopathology, typically in the context of risk and resilience. Whether this framework can be useful for studying children's educational outcomes remains underexplored. Therefore, in this chapter, we provide an overview of how developmental cascades can be used to study children's academic development, with a particular focus on the biological, cognitive, and contextual pathways to educational attainment. We also provide a summary of contemporary statistical methods and highlight existing data sets that can be used to test developmental cascade models of educational attainment from birth through adulthood. We conclude the chapter by discussing the challenges of this research and explore important future directions of using developmental cascades to understand educational attainment.

Civic engagement, discrimination, and sleep health among youth of color.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the moderating effect of discrimination experiences on the association between civic engagement and sleep in youth of color. Participants included 125 college students (Mage = 20.41, SD = 1.41, 22.6% cisgender male). Most of the sample (28%) identified as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin; 26% identified as multi-racial/ethnicity; 23% identified as Asian; 19% identified as Black or African American; and 4% identified as Middle Eastern or North African. Youth self-reported their civic engagement (civic activism and civic efficacy), discriminatory experiences, and sleep duration during the week of the 2016 United States presidential inauguration (T1) and again approximately 100 days later (T2). Civic efficacy was associated with longer sleep duration. In contexts of discrimination, however, more civic activism and efficacy was associated with less sleep duration. In contexts of low discrimination, more civic efficacy was associated with longer sleep duration. Thus, civic engagement within supportive contexts may contribute to positive sleep among youth of color. Working toward dismantling racist systems may be one way to combat the racial/ethnic sleep disparities that underlie long-term health inequalities.

Intrauterine Device Use: A New Frontier for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are the most-used reversible contraceptive method for women in the world, but little is known about their potential modulation of brain function, cognition, and behavior. This is disconcerting because research on other hormonal contraceptives, especially oral contraceptives (OCs), increasingly shows that exogenous sex hormones have behavioral neuroendocrine consequences, especially for gendered cognition, including spatial skills. Effects are small and nuanced, however, partially reflecting heterogeneity. The goal of this paper is to introduce IUD use as a new frontier for basic and applied research, and to offer key considerations for studying it, emphasizing the importance of multimodal investigations and person-specific analyses. The feasibility and utility of studying IUD users is illustrated by: scanning women who completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging mental rotations task; taking an individualized approach to mapping functional connectivity during the task using network analyses containing connections common across participants and unique to individual women, focusing on brain regions in putative mental rotations and default mode networks; and linking metrics of brain connectivity from the individualized networks to both mental rotations task performance and circulating hormone levels. IUD users provide a promising natural experiment for the interplay between exogenous and endogenous sex hormones, and they are likely qualitatively different from OC users with whom they are often grouped in hormonal contraceptive research. This paper underscores how future research on IUD users can advance basic neuroendocrinological knowledge and women's health.

Working memory development from early childhood to adolescence using two nationally representative samples.

We leveraged nationally representative data from the Panel study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement (N = 3,562) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal study (N = 18,174), to chart the development of working memory, indexed via verbal forward and backward digit span task performance, from 3 to 19 years of age. Results revealed nonlinear growth patterns for forward and backward digit span tasks, with the most rapid growth occurring during childhood followed by a brief accelerated period of growth during early adolescence. We also found similar developmental trajectories on digit span task performance for males and females across the U.S. population. Together, this study highlights the relative importance of the childhood period for working memory development and provides researchers with a reference against which to compare the developmental changes of working memory in individual studies. From a practical perspective, clinicians and educators can also use this information to understand important periods of working memory growth using national developmental trends. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

White adolescents' racial contexts: Associations with critical action.

This study takes a person-centered approach to investigate White youths' racial contexts by utilizing a latent profile analysis among a sample of White adolescents (N = 323, ages 16-17; 52% female, 48% male; data collected 1996-1998). Racial contexts were composed of parent, peer, and school influences, which revealed three distinct profiles: a Race Conscious profile, a Race Silent profile, and a Low Race Engagement profile. These profiles predicted White adolescents' critical action during emerging adulthood, where adolescents in the Race Conscious profile were engaged in more critical action as compared to the other two profiles. These findings suggest that the racial contexts in which White adolescents develop have direct implications on their desire to work toward, and take action for, social change.

A practical guide for researchers and reviewers using the ABCD Study and other large longitudinal datasets.

As the largest longitudinal study of adolescent brain development and behavior to date, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study® has provided immense opportunities for researchers across disciplines since its first data release in 2018. The size and scope of the study also present a number of hurdles, which range from becoming familiar with the study design and data structure to employing rigorous and reproducible analyses. The current paper is intended as a guide for researchers and reviewers working with ABCD data, highlighting the features of the data (and the strengths and limitations therein) as well as relevant analytical and methodological considerations. Additionally, we explore justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts as they pertain to the ABCD Study and other large-scale datasets. In doing so, we hope to increase both accessibility of the ABCD Study and transparency within the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience.

Understanding patterns of heterogeneity in executive functioning during adolescence: Evidence from population-level data.

Executive functioning (EF) is fundamental to positive development. Yet, little is known about how to best characterize constellations of EF skills that may inform disparate associations between EF and behavior during adolescence. In the current study, cross-validated latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to derive profiles of EF based on measures of inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility using data from 11,672 youth (52.2% male, mean age = 9.91 years) in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study. Four meaningful EF profiles emerged from the data representing Average EF, High EF, Low Inhibitory Control, and Low EF. Boys, youth from low-income households, and early developing youth were more likely to be in profiles distinguished by lower EF. Profile membership also predicted differences in externalizing, internalizing, and other problem behaviors assessed one year later. Findings indicate that youth may have distinct constellations of EF skills, underscoring the need for person-centered approaches that focus on patterns of individual characteristics.

Using temporal network methods to reveal the idiographic nature of development.

Averages dominate developmental science: There are representative groups, mean trajectories, and generalizations to typical children. Nearly all parents and teachers, however, eagerly proclaim that few youth are average; each child, adolescent, and young adult is unique. Indeed, individual youth are the focus of many eminent developmental theories, yet there is a shocking paucity of developmental methods-including study designs and analysis techniques-that truly afford individual-level inferences. Thus, the goal of this chapter is to explicate the advantages of an idiographic approach to developmental science, that is, an approach that provides insight into individual youth, often by studying within-person variation in intensive longitudinal data, such as densely coded observations, repeated daily or momentary assessments, and functional neuroimages. In three domains across development, the chapter illustrates the benefits of an idiographic approach by comparing empirical conclusions offered by traditional mean-based analysis techniques versus techniques that leverage the temporal and individualized nature of intensive longitudinal data. The chapter then concentrates on group iterative multiple model estimation (GIMME), which is an analysis technique that uses intensive longitudinal data to create youth-specific temporal networks, detailing how brain regions or behaviors are directionally related across time. The promise of GIMME is exemplified by applications to three different domains across development. The chapter closes by encouraging future idiographic developmental science to consider how research questions, study designs, and data analyses can be formed, implemented, and conducted in ways that optimize inferences about individual-not average-youth.

Identifying diurnal cortisol profiles among young adults: Physiological signatures of mental health trajectories.

Previous research has used cortisol, the major hormonal byproduct of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis system, to explore how environmental stressors influence daily physiological functioning. Most of the research focused on diurnal cortisol has examined specific cortisol markers, with little consideration of how different components of the diurnal pattern may co-occur. Morning level, cortisol awakening response (CAR), bedtime level, as well as the diurnal slope and total cortisol exposure throughout the day (area under the curve; AUC), are five common parameters of diurnal HPA axis functioning that have been individually linked to physical and mental health outcomes, with mixed results. The current study introduces a novel approach to capture heterogeneity in HPA axis activity by using latent profile analysis to generate empirically-derived, theoretically supported diurnal cortisol profiles based on all five indicators. We analyzed salivary cortisol data from 278 young adults during a time of heightened sociopolitical stress - the 2016 U.S. presidential election - and examined whether profiles differentially predicted mental health trajectories across six months. Findings suggest that a specific combination of cortisol parameters (i.e., flat slope, high AUC, and high CAR) may predict worse mental health risk over time. Overall, this work suggests that diurnal cortisol profiles likely reflect distinct physiological underpinnings with unique health consequences that may not be observed by studying individual cortisol parameters.

Individualized learning potential in stressful times: How to leverage intensive longitudinal data to inform online learning.

Societal events - such as natural disasters, political shifts, or economic downturns - are time-varying and impact the learning potential of students in unique ways. These impacts are likely accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which precipitated an abrupt and wholesale transition to online education. Unfortunately, the individual-level consequences of these events are difficult to determine because the extant literature focuses on single-occasion surveys that produce only group-level inferences. To better understand individual-level variability in stress and learning, intensive longitudinal data can be leveraged. The goal of this paper is to illustrate this by discussing three different techniques for the analysis of intensive longitudinal data: (1) regression analyses; (2) multilevel models; and (3) person-specific network models, (e.g., group iterative multiple model estimation; GIMME). For each technique, a brief background in the context of education research is provided, an illustrative analysis is presented using data from college students who completed a 75-day intensive longitudinal study of cognition, somatic symptoms, anxiety, and intellectual interests during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election - a period of heightened sociopolitical stress - and strengths and limitations are considered. The paper ends with recommendations for future research, especially for intensive longitudinal studies of online education during COVID-19.

Timing of puberty in boys and girls: Implications for population health.

Puberty is marked by substantial increases and emerging sex differences in psychological disorders and risky behaviors. However, few studies have examined these effects beyond adolescence, and the previous literature has been dominated by samples of White girls. The current study examines the broadest known set of health sequelae related to traditional pubertal markers and peer-relative pubertal timing in a representative sample of 14,545 U.S. youth from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Maturational timing was assessed by age at menarche for girls and physical development for boys (e.g., facial hair, voice change), and then categorized as early (1 SD below mean), on-time, or late (1 SD above mean) within-sex. Early and late peer-relative timing was assessed by a self-report of looking "much older" or "much younger" than one's peers. We examined psychological (depressive symptoms, antisocial behavior), behavioral (number of sex partners, drug use, physical activity, screen time, sleep hours), and physical health (self-reported health, BMI) outcomes during adolescence and young adulthood in a series of sex-stratified regression analyses using survey weights and a comprehensive set of sociodemographic covariates. Results indicated that, overall, earlier pubertal timing (i.e., maturational timing and peer-relative timing) put both girls and boys at risk during adolescence, while later timing was protective. However, longitudinal models revealed mixed results. For instance, early maturational timing was associated with higher young adult BMI (girls: ß = 0.139, p < .01; boys: ß = 0.107, p < .01), but later timing for boys was associated with both risky (e.g., more screen time; ß = 0.125, p < .05) and health promoting (e.g., more sleep; ß = .296, p < .01) behaviors. Analysis of this holistic set of outcomes with sex differences in mind allows for more careful evidence-based recommendations for adolescent health promotion.

Developmental Trajectories of Executive Functioning and Puberty in Boys and Girls.

There are substantial changes in executive functioning during adolescence that may correspond with the onset and progression of puberty. The current study examines associations between pubertal development (timing and tempo) and changes in specific executive functioning skills (i.e., attention and self-control) across the transition from childhood to adolescence (ages 9.5-15.5) using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (1099 youth; 52% female, 81% White, 83% above the poverty line). The findings indicated that early maturation was associated with faster increases in attention skills over adolescence for both boys and girls. Further, early maturation predicted worse self-control among girls but not boys. This study provides new insights on executive functioning during the transition to adolescence-a period of both vulnerability and opportunity.

Young adults' psychological and physiological reactions to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Elections present unique opportunities to study how sociopolitical events influence individual processes. The current study examined 286 young adults' mood and diurnal cortisol responses to the 2016 U.S. presidential election in real-time: two days before the election, election night, and two days after the election of Donald Trump, with the goal of understanding whether (and the extent to which) the election influenced young adults' affective and biological states. Utilizing piecewise trajectory analyses, we observed high, and increasing, negative affect leading up to the election across all participants. Young adults who had negative perceptions of Trump's ability to fulfill the role of president and/or were part of a non-dominant social group (i.e., women, ethnic/racial minority young adults) reported increased signs of stress before the election and on election night. After the election, we observed a general "recovery" in self-reported mood; however, diurnal cortisol indicators suggested that there was an increase in biological stress among some groups. Overall, findings underscore the role of macro-level factors in individuals' health and well-being via more proximal attitudes and physiological functioning.