Both parasympathetic nervous system regulation and receipt of social support from close relationships contribute to prosocial development, although few studies have examined their combined influences in adolescence and particularly within racially and ethnically minoritized populations. In this longitudinal study of 229 U.S. Mexican-origin…

Early life stress, daily life experiences, and the stress responsive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have each been examined as predictors of the development of psychopathology. Rarely have researchers attempted to understand the covariation or interaction among these stress domains using a longitudinal design in the prediction of…

Family is an important context for the development of adaptive child coping. Further, both family and child coping can promote positive mental health. This study examines whether family coping predicts child coping over 1 year among Mexican-origin immigrant families. Participants included 104 families with a child aged 6-10 years (M[subscript age]…

The aim of this study was to examine trajectories of pathological video game symptoms over a 6-year period from adolescence to emerging adulthood. We also examined a number of predictors and outcomes for different trajectories. Participants included 385 adolescents (M age = 15.01 at the initial time point) who completed multiple questionnaires…

Previous research has established that family ethnic socialization messages promote ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development, yet it is unknown whether these effects remain constant throughout adolescence. The current study examined the time-varying effects of family ethnic socialization on ERI exploration and resolution among Latino adolescents…

Family processes and parenting practices help explain developmental differences between children in low- versus higher-income households. There are, however, few studies addressing the question of: what are the key family processes and parenting practices for promoting low-income children's growth? We address this question in the present study,…

Using data from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin girls (ages 11-17 at Time 1), we examined sociocultural (i.e., family structure, nativity, and acculturation), interpersonal (i.e., supportive parenting and conflict), and developmental (i.e., menarche timing and autonomy expectations) predictors of sexual initiation. Using Cox proportional…

Concern about kindergarten retention is on the rise within the current climate of high-stakes testing and escalating kindergarten expectations. Kindergarten retention has been linked in previous research to various risk factors such as poverty, low maternal education, single parent status, minority status, English language learner (ELL) status,…

The authors propose that peer relationships should be included in a life history perspective on adolescent problem behavior. Longitudinal analyses were used to examine deviant peer clustering as the mediating link between attenuated family ties, peer marginalization, and social disadvantage in early adolescence and sexual promiscuity in middle…

Theories on empathy development have stressed the role of socialization in general and the role of parental support in particular. This 3-wave longitudinal study of middle adolescents (N = 678) aimed to contribute to the extant research on the socialization of empathy (a) by examining the relative contribution of perceived maternal and paternal…

Examined ability of individuals biologically predisposed to poor spatial skills to capitalize on opportunities to develop these skills. Found that for girls with brothers, those from all right-handed families had lower mental-rotation scores than did others. Among children participating in mental-rotation-type activities with their brothers,…

Assessed the role of attention processes as mediators between family environment and school readiness, analyzing data from 1,002 children and their families participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Found that sustained attention partially accounted for the link between family environment and achievement and language outcomes.…

Examined the relations between family characteristics, childhood temperament, and convictions for violent and nonviolent offenses at age 18. Found that family factors were associated with both violent and nonviolent offenses, whereas childhood temperament was associated primarily with convictions for violent offenses. Results suggest potentially…

Examined the impact of 2 environmental factors--social class and family risk levels--and 2 biological factors--intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and medical risk--on the cognitive and motor development of 175 preterm infants. Family risk, early medical risk, and the interaction of family risk and IVH were found to be significant predictors of…

Contrasted characteristics of antisocial adolescents who desist from crime in adulthood with characteristics of those who became adult criminals. Proposed that psychophysiological differences between the two groups could reveal procedures to protect vulnerable individuals against crime. Findings suggest that better conditioning and enhanced…