A developmental approach to prevention research: configural antecedents of early parenthood.

A developmental framework emphasizing the combined impact of correlated constraints within and without the individual was applied to a prospective longitudinal study of early parenthood. The purpose was to use a person-approach to the analysis of longitudinal data to clarify risk for early parenthood and to generate hypotheses about potentially useful intervention strategies. Respondents were 475 youth who were assessed annually from seventh grade through the end of high school and, again, at ages 20 and 24. The risk patterns associated with parenthood were the same for both sexes. Individuals with a middle-school configuration of low socioeconomic status, high aggression, low academic skills, low popularity, and prior grade failure were most likely to become parents by early adulthood. Risk for early parenthood increased substantially for respondents who dropped out of school early, regardless of their initial risk status.

Competence in the context of adversity: pathways to resilience and maladaptation from childhood to late adolescence.

Competent outcomes in late adolescence were examined in relation to adversity over time, antecedent competence and psychosocial resources, in order to investigate the phenomenon of resilience. An urban community sample of 205 (114 females, 90 males; 27% minority) children were recruited in elementary school and followed over 10 years. Multiple methods and informants were utilized to assess three major domains of competence from childhood through adolescence (academic achievement, conduct, and peer social competence), multiple aspects of adversity, and major psychosocial resources. Both variable-centered and person-centered analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized significance of resources for resilience. Better intellectual functioning and parenting resources were associated with good outcomes across competence domains, even in the context of severe, chronic adversity. IQ and parenting appeared to have a specific protective role with respect to antisocial behavior. Resilient adolescents (high adversity, adequate competence across three domains) had much in common with their low-adversity competent peers, including average or better IQ, parenting, and psychological well-being. Resilient individuals differed markedly from their high adversity, maladaptive peers who had few resources and high negative emotionality. Results suggest that IQ and parenting scores are markers of fundamental adaptational systems that protect child development in the context of severe adversity.

Measuring developmental changes in exposure to adversity: a Life Chart and rating scale approach.

The reliability and validity of a comprehensive, integrative strategy for assessing adversity exposure in childhood and adolescence was examined in a community-based longitudinal study of 205 children. Extensive data from multiple measures completed by adolescents and their parents regarding chronic and acute life experiences were aggregated into a Life Chart record of lifetime adversity exposure. Severity of adversity in three nonoverlapping time spans was rated by trained judges with excellent interrater reliability. As hypothesized, Family adversity predominated over all other types of adversity in childhood, remained salient into midadolescence, and showed considerable stability over time. Adversity related to an individual's own behavior and psychological functioning rose to equal prominence by late adolescence. Adversity arising from physical ailments that were independent of the individual's psychological functioning declined over time, while adversity arising from the community rose; physical and community events were uncommon for most individuals but substantial for some. Results suggest that coherent developmental trends in adversity exposure may be identified effectively through judges' ratings of severity of adversity over multiple-year time spans.

Behavioral inhibition: stability and associations with adaptation from childhood to early adulthood.

The stability of individual differences in behavioral inhibition and their association with peer relations, emotional distress, and life-course timing were examined in a longitudinal study of 205 individuals from childhood (ages 8 to 12) to early adulthood (ages 17 to 24). Behavioral inhibition was conceptualized as stranger wariness and measured through ratings made by interviewers following individual interview or testing sessions. Individual differences in behavioral inhibition were consistent from childhood to early adulthood (r = .57). In early adulthood, higher behavioral inhibition was associated with a less positive, less active social life for both sexes and, for men, with greater emotional distress and negative emotionality. For both genders, participants who were inhibited as children were less likely to have moved away from their family of origin by the early adulthood assessment.

The structure and coherence of competence from childhood through adolescence.

The structure and coherence of competence from childhood (ages 8-12) to late adolescence (ages 17-23) was examined in a longitudinal study of 191 children. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test a conceptual model and alternative models. Results suggest that competence has at least 3 distinct dimensions in childhood and 5 in adolescence. These dimensions reflect developmental tasks related to academic achievement, social competence, and conduct important at both age levels in U.S. society, and the additional tasks of romantic and job competence in adolescence. As hypothesized, rule-breaking versus rule-abiding conduct showed strong continuity over time, while academic achievement and social competence showed moderate continuity. Results also were consistent with the hypothesis that antisocial behavior undermines academic attainment and job competence.

A brief method for assessing social development: structure, reliability, stability, and developmental validity of the Interpersonal Competence Scale.

The Interpersonal Competence Scale (ICS-T) is a set of brief rating scales for teachers and parents. It consists of 18 items that assess social and behavioural characteristics of children and youths. The ICS-T yields three primary factors: AGG (argues, trouble at school, fights), POP (popular with boys, popular with girls, lots of friends), and ACA (spelling, math). Subsidiary factors include AFF (smile, friendly), OLY (appearance, sports, wins), and INT (shyness, sad, worry). The psychometric properties of the scale (internal structure, reliability, long-term stability) are presented and evaluated over successive ages. The scale factors have been linked to contemporaneous observations of behavior and social network membership. Developmental validity of the ICS-T includes the significant prediction of later school dropout and teenage parenthood. The ICS-T scale is described, along with instructions for use and scoring.