This study examined whether adolescent students' externalizing behavior and prosocial behavior affects their academic achievement (i.e., school grades and standardized test scores) in two major academic domains (i.e., mathematics and German) over and above well-established determinants of school achievement (i.e., prior achievement, intelligence,…

Despite the high prevalence of and documented impairment associated with pediatric anxiety disorders, less than half of youth access mental health services. This study examined (a) the utilization of eight school services and supports (e.g., seen a school counselor for a mental health reason, placement in a special class for a behavior or…

Few longitudinal studies examine how "changes" in parent-child relationships are associated with changes in youth internalizing problems. In this longitudinal study, we investigated how developmental trends (linear change) and year-to-year lability (within-person fluctuations) in parental warmth and hostility across Grades 6 to 8 predict…

The present study examined, within a longitudinal family-informed design and across middle childhood, the predictive associations between preference for solitude and social wariness, two forms of social withdrawal, and peer difficulties. Specifically, preference for solitude, rather than social wariness, was expected to predict peer victimization…

Task persistence is related to attentional regulation and is needed for the successful transition to school. Understanding preschoolers' task persistence with caregivers could better inform the development and prevention of attention problems across this transition. Preschoolers' real-time task persistence profiles during problem-solving tasks…

Despite the high prevalence of and documented impairment associated with pediatric anxiety disorders, less than half of youth access mental health services. This study examined: (1) the utilization of eight school services and supports (e.g., seen a school counselor for a mental health reason, placement in a special class for a behavior or…

The Dual Failure Model suggests that peer victimization (social failure) and academic difficulties (academic failure) mediate the association between externalizing and later internalizing problems. The present study sought to better understand why children with externalizing problems develop later internalizing problems by testing the Dual Failure…

This study examined two competing hypotheses regarding the moderators of the association between relational aggression and peer status in early adolescence. The "mitigation relational aggression" hypothesis examined whether positive social behaviors reduced the negative effects of relational aggression, thus amplifying the association…

Internationally, girls outperform boys in overall school performance. The gender gap is particularly large among those in at-risk groups, such as children from families at economic disadvantage. This study modeled the academic trajectories of a low-income sample of boys and girls from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project across the full course…

Concerns regarding the social-behavioral maladjustment of U.S. youth have spurred efforts among educators and policymakers to identify and remedy educational contexts that exacerbate children's anxiety, depression, aggression, and misconduct. However, investigations of the influence of collective classroom student characteristics on individuals'…

The goal of this study was to test a mediation model in which social skills mediate the relationship between participation in organized activities and conduct problems among elementary school children. Two moderators of these associations were also examined, namely, gender and reception of special education services. A total of 563 children (45%…

This research examined whether following social and physical aggression trajectories across Grades 3-12 predicted psychological maladjustment. Teachers rated participants' (n = 287, 138 boys) aggressive behavior at the end of each school year. Following the 12th grade, psychosocial outcomes were measured: rule-breaking behaviors, internalizing…

Research suggests that the relation between student-teacher conflict and children's externalizing behavior might be reciprocal, and possibly also between student-teacher conflict and children's social skills. Because children with externalizing behavior also tend to display low levels of social skills, we do not know if one or both of these…

The impact of a school-based violence prevention program, Second Step, on peer victimization and aggression, and emotion regulation was evaluated among 457 sixth graders. A cluster-randomized trial was conducted with classrooms randomly assigned to intervention (n = 14) or control (n = 14) conditions. A repeated measures analysis of covariance on…

Background: Recurrent respiratory infections (RRI) are among most common diseases in school-aged children. Little is known about possible associations between RRI and children psychological well-being. Aim: To study possible associations between RRI in junior school pupils and their emotional/behavioural characteristics. Methods: The RRI group…