There is considerable variability in the extent to which young people with developmental language disorder (DLD) experience mental health difficulties. What drives these individual differences remains unclear. In the current article, data from the Twin Early Development Study were used to investigate the genetic and environmental influences on…

Although the positive youth development (PYD) model initially assumed inverse links between indicators of PYD and of risk/problem behaviors, empirical work in adolescence has suggested that more complex associations exist between trajectories of the two domains of functioning. To clarify the PYD model, this study assessed intraindividual change in…

Integrative hierarchical models have sought to account for the extensive comorbidity between various internalizing disorders in terms of broad individual difference factors these disorders share. However, such models have been developed largely on the basis of self-report and diagnostic symptom data. Toward the goal of linking such models to…

Initiation of drug use and other risky behavior in preadolescence is associated with poor developmental outcomes. In this research, we examine models that ascribe the trajectory to (a) weak executive cognitive function (ECF), (b) early manifestation of externalizing problems, or (c) heightened levels of trait impulsivity. We test the explanatory…

Understanding factors associated with children's early behavioral difficulties is of vital importance to children's school success, and to the prevention of future behavior problems. Although biological factors can influence the expression of certain behaviors, the probability of children exhibiting classroom behavior problems is intensified when…

The study of phenotypic variability in social impairments and comorbid emotional disorders in autism is important because it provides information on phenotypic differences that currently complicate diagnosis, research, and treatment of this disorder. Currently, though, relatively little is known about the processes that contribute to individual…

In this article we describe the nature of attention deficit disorders (ADDs) within an individual differences model of abilities. In so doing, a model-based explanation for the sources of learning and performance difficulties among individuals identified with ADDs is provided. Earlier models of ADDs are discussed, and the proposed loci of ADDs…

Analyzed limitations of empirical research models in terms of ability to reflect an interactional perspective on suicidal behavior. A new research model was developed. Findings indicated such real-life behaviors cannot be understood by recourse to individual differences variables alone or environmental variables alone. (Author/BEF)

This essay asserts that clinical conceptualizations of emotion that stress its disruptive influences and functional models of emotion that emphasize its adaptive aspects can be integrated into a developmental psychopathology framework. Under certain conditions, emotion regulation may develop dysregulatory aspects that can become a characteristic…

This paper applies principles of situational leadership theory to the management of student behavior problems. First, it summarizes situational leadership, noting the theory's premise that leaders must consider two important factors to gain acceptance and compliance in managing people--the maturity level of the individuals and the nature of the…

This essay argues that the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system does not appear to be related to emotion regulation processes in children, although individual differences in emotion processes related to negative emotion temperaments appear to be associated with individual differences in HPA reactivity among normally…

Examined influences on children's behavior problems in households defined by marital status and sibling relatedness. Found that genetic influences accounted for 81 to 94 percent of mean-level difference in behavior problems between two-parent/full sibling, and the mother-only/half sibling groups. Shared environmental influences accounted for 67 to…

Major cultural differences impeded the smooth transfer of a 14 day management education program, which had been very successfully used in Western settings, to an Asian situation. Thirteen Chinese and two Caucasians, all of whom worked in Southeast Asia and had management degrees, attended the program to improve their skills in influencing those…