ERIC Number: EJ1475459
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jul
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: EISSN-1467-8624
Available Date: 2025-06-03
Childhood Environmental Unpredictability and Adolescent Mental Health and Behavioral Problems
Kalsea J. Koss1; Sydney Kronaizl1; Rachel Brown1; Jeanne Brooks-Gunn2
Child Development, v96 n4 p1424-1442 2025
Childhood adversity takes a toll on lifelong health. However, investigations of unpredictability as a form of adversity are lacking. Environmental unpredictability across multiple developmental periods and ecological levels was examined using a multiethnic, longitudinal birth cohort (1998-2000) oversampled for unmarried parents. Data were from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4898 youth at birth; 52% male; 48% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% White) to examine unpredictability at ages 1, 3, 5, and 9 with later adolescent outcomes. An unpredictability index was associated with age 15 outcomes (N = 3595) including depressive symptoms ([beta] = 0.11), anxiety symptoms ([beta] = 0.08), delinquency ([beta] = 0.13), impulsivity ([beta] = 0.09), heavier weight categories ([beta] = 0.09), and internalizing ([beta] = 0.14), externalizing ([beta] = 0.23), and attention problems ([beta] = 0.16). Findings support unpredictability as a unique form of adversity.
Descriptors: Trauma, Well Being, Children, Adolescents, Mental Health, Depression (Psychology), Anxiety, Delinquency, Conceptual Tempo, Body Weight, Behavior Problems, Attention Deficit Disorders, Correlation, Prediction
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01HD036916; R01HD039135; R01HD040421
Author Affiliations: 1Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA; 2Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA