We investigated longitudinal relations between internalizing, externalizing, and total behaviors that challenge in young children on the autism spectrum and mothers' parenting stress. Participants included 93 mothers of children on the autism spectrum aged 27.89-65.84 months, who completed questionnaires on maternal parenting stress, and…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the fastest growing group of neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood. Earlier detection means an increased need for early intervention and other educational services. This study examined what services a sample of young children with ASD received, what variables predicted service utilization, and how satisfied…

Leading research argues the distinct importance of earliest detection of childhood behavior problems and the value of discovering subsequent change patterns as children transition through the early education years. This study examined the relative contributions of earliest assessments of children's problem behaviors as compared to the changes in…

Early indicators of academic risk were used to predict the academic skills, socioemotional functioning, and receipt of special education services at age 10 among children from low-income families who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Pairwise comparison of academic skills and socioemotional functioning among…

We examined the degree to which child, family, and treatment variables predicted treatment outcomes for reading and math achievement and oppositional behavior in a sample of 135 young children (105 boys and 30 girls). All of the participants met "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision"…

Emotions and behaviors observed during challenging tasks are hypothesized to be valuable indicators of young children's motivation, the assessment of which may be particularly important for children at risk for school failure. The current study demonstrated reliability and concurrent validity of a new observational assessment of motivation in…

Background: Families of young children with disabilities are faced with ongoing challenges that impact various aspects of family life. Given the increasing emphasis on promoting positive outcomes in these families, the overall aim of the current study was to examine the contribution of child, family, and support characteristics to the quality of…

When predicting child developmental outcomes, reliance on children's scores on measures of developmental functioning alone might mask more subtle behavioral difficulties, especially in children with developmental risk factors. The current study examined predictors and stability of examiner behavior ratings and their association with concurrent and…

This study integrates and applies theoretical models linking parent cognitions to maternal engagement in a parenting program to prevent child aggression and conduct problems. African American and European American mothers of preschoolers (N = 347) reported on their child's behavior, family demographics, and parental cognitions (i.e., parenting…

Adopting an ecological framework, this study examines the role of community violence exposure, interpartner conflict, positive parenting, and informal social support in predicting the social skills and behavior problems of low-income African American preschoolers. Participants were 184 African American mothers and female caregivers of Head Start…

Several child conduct problem interventions have been classified as either efficacious or well established. Nevertheless, much remains to be learned about predictors of treatment response and mechanisms of behavioral change. In this study, the authors combine data from 6 randomized clinical trials and 514 children, ages 3.0-8.5 years, to evaluate…

Neonatal assessments should provide valid estimates of behavior and neurological status, reflect recovery from acute effects, predict subsequent outcome, and point to specific intervention strategies for any problems noted. The authors report relations among measures designed to evaluate early behavioral capabilities and dysfunctions in areas…

This study collected data on 112 disadvantaged preschoolers in central Indiana to determine predictors of preacademic competence at the end of the Head Start year. Parents were interviewed to assess home educational environment, parenting dimensions, and daily stress factors. Teacher ratings of children's behavior, social skills, and competence in…

This collection of essays, in honor of child psychiatry pioneers Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas, focuses on their idea that important life outcomes are the product of ongoing interactions between a child's behavioral style and the complimentarity or lack of fit of the parenting environment. Following an introduction, the remaining chapters are:…

This study examined receptive and expressive language as a precursor of maladaptive behavior in African-American, inner-city children. It compared the adaptive and maladaptive behavior scores of 202 children--most from single-parent and low-income families--from District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) at age 12 to their scores on similar…