This study explored the dynamics of motivational development across late elementary and early middle school. Using longitudinal data from a cross-section of fifth to seventh-grade students, analyses examined whether parents' and teachers' warm involvement shows unique and/or mediated effects on students' academic engagement and whether engagement…

During emerging adulthood, family relationships remain salient. This study examined, from a gender perspective, continuity/discontinuity and stability/instability in family relationships, in a two-time repeated-measures study with Spanish emerging adult college students. It also analyzed the implications of the quality of parent--child…

This study aimed to develop and evaluate a new parent-report measure to assess primary schoolchildren's academic behaviors in the home context. We developed the Academic Behavior Scale (ABS) and administered it to Chinese parents of primary schoolers along with other measures. Six hundred and forty-five parents and 170 primary schoolchildren in…

To provide a comprehensive view of the unique contexts shaping adolescent development in the U.S., we utilized latent class analysis (LCA) with indicators of risk and protection across multiple domains (family, peers, school, neighborhood) and examined how latent class membership predicted heavy episodic drinking, illicit substance use, and…

Cognitive flexibility is a sophisticated form of executive functions that predicts a range of adaptive outcomes; however, little is known about which caregiving behaviors predict the rapid improvements in children's cognitive flexibility during early childhood. This study examined whether ordinary variations in mothers' provision of emotional and…

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…

The deleterious effects of maternal depression on child emotional and behavioral development are well documented, yet many children exposed to maternal depression experience positive outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify psychosocial factors associated with the emotional-behavioral resilience of four-year-old children of first-time…

This 30-year longitudinal study examined pathways from problematic childhood behavior patterns to future disadvantaged conditions for family environment and child rearing in adulthood. Participants were mothers (n = 328) and fathers (n = 222) with lower income backgrounds participating in the ongoing Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. Structural…