Background: Complications during pregnancy, postpartum and current maternal depression are risk factors that may affect child behavior in early and middle childhood. Objectives: This longitudinal study examined the associations between complications during pregnancy, postpartum and current depression, and child internalizing and externalizing…

The daily report card (DRC) is a commonly used behavioral intervention in which teachers rate child performance on target goals and parents provide home rewards based on the child's performance. The current study investigated associations between child externalizing problems, empathy, and specific components of the DRC: (1) types of DRC goals that…

This study sought to elucidate the contributions of inferior executive function and social competence to the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in primary school. Children (N = 1,115), on average 5.36 years old in first grade, were followed across primary school with measures of multi-method and multi-informant. Results of…

The important role of early self-regulation skills has been repeatedly demonstrated in research. However, there is a lack of studies that have simultaneously examined the influence of hot and cool self-regulation skills on school performance and behavior problems in a longitudinal design from preschool to elementary school and controlling…

Student engagement promotes school learning and adaptation and can be a protective factor for children who are vulnerable to school failure. A longitudinal mixed-methods study was conducted to identify individual, family and school predictors of children's school engagement as well as to explore the facilitators of and obstacles to student…

Along with increased attention to universal screening for identifying social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) concerns is the need to ensure the psychometric adequacy of tools available. Nearly all extant tests of universal SEB screening validity focus on traditional inferential forms with little to no study of the consequences of actions…

Background: Eating patterns such as breakfast consumption and fruit and vegetable intake have been associated with academic achievement and cognitive function. Method: The purpose of this study was to learn more about psychological (emotion-driven eating) and behavioral (over-eating) eating patterns and motives, and the roles of body image,…

Autistic students often experience peer relationship difficulties. As peer acceptance and rejection may be malleable over time, we examined predictors of change in peer acceptance and peer rejection among early elementary-age autistic students. We followed 166 autistic children (mean age: 6.1 years [range: 4-8], 82.5% boys, grades preK-2nd)…

Background: Bullying has a profound and enduring impact on academic achievement. However, there is a lack of clarity surrounding the specific mechanisms of this relationship. Aims: This study examined the link between bullying at age 9 and Numeracy/Literacy achievement at age 15 to determine if this relationship is partially or fully explained by…

Autistic students often experience peer relationship difficulties. As peer acceptance and rejection may be malleable over time, we examined predictors of change in peer acceptance and peer rejection among early elementary-age autistic students. We followed 166 autistic children (mean age: 6.1 years [range: 4-8], 82.5% boys, grades preK-2nd)…

Research has shown links between emotion regulation strategies and child mental health. However, it is not well known how the characteristics of children may moderate these links. The aim of this study was to explore whether environmental sensitivity--the ability to perceive and process information about the environment--moderates links between…

Background: Risk factors for poor school functioning rarely occur in isolation, but instead are likely to cluster together. As they accumulate, cumulative risk theory (CRT) predicts that the likelihood of negative outcomes increases, often disproportionately. Aims: We build upon and extend previous research by (i) examining two critical aspects of…

This study investigated the utility of including teacher-reported callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors in the assessment of disruptive behaviors in school-based research. Participants included 138 first- and second-grade children (68% male; 76% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; 61% Black, 9% Latinx, 23% White, and 7% multiracial) who…

Although out-of-school school suspensions have been correlated with negative school outcomes, they are still a common formal response given to students whose behavior is deemed problematic. Being suspended multiple times within an academic year results in students losing even more instructional time. In this study, we used longitudinal data for…

The rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) necessitates a greater understanding of the academic experience of diagnosed children. The present study investigates several predictors of teacher-reported academic competence among a sample of elementary school children. All children in the sample were referred for an ASD evaluation and…