Objective: This study investigated the etiology of autistic-like traits in the general population and the etiological overlap between the three aspects of the triad of impairments (social impairments, communication impairments, restricted repetitive behaviors and interests) that together define autism spectrum disorders. Method: Parents of 3,400…

Early detection of developmental and behavioral/mental health problems is greatly facilitated when quality instruments are deployed. This article describes how to identify accurate measures and presents standards for screening tests. Included is a table delineating accurate tools for primary care: typically those relying on information from…

Schools are seeing an influx of disruptive behaviors related to an increase in emotional and behavioral issues. In the adolescent population, emotional and behavioral problems are manifested in a variety of forms and often result in some form of discipline within the school setting. Although discipline punishes the unwanted behavior, it does…

The types of non-maternal child care received by more than 1000 U.S. children were examined from birth to 54 months and related to family selection factors and to child outcomes. Individual children tended to experience a variety of different types of care and not to fit into clear patterns of either stable care types or progressive patterns of…

Objective: To estimate the genetic and environmental contributions to oppositional defiant behavior (ODB) from mother, father, and teacher report using the Conners Revised Short Forms in a large twin sample. Method: ODB data were collected from 1,595 mothers, 1,114 fathers, and 793 teachers of 7-year-old twin pairs from the Netherlands Twin…

Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations among marital conflict, parent-child relationship quality, and youth maladjustment were examined using data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Analyses were based on 551 married families with a child age 5 to 11 years at Wave 1. The concurrent association between marital conflict and…

To contribute to a knowledge base about the approach of families in Russia towards implementing physical punishment, a study was conducted with 100 parents in St Petersburg. A majority of the participants indicated that it was legitimate to use some measure of physical punishment. The use of an object as a measure was considered acceptable by…

This article discusses the non-academic, social-emotional factors that contribute to student academic achievement, including the cognitive-behavioral characteristics of underachieving students and those with learning disabilities; the "You Can Do It! Education" (YCDI) theory of achievement; derivative research on social-emotional capabilities,…

A mega-analytic study was designed to exploit the power of a large data set combining raw data from multiple studies (n=1870) to examine the effects of type of family violence, age, and gender on children's behavior problems assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Our findings confirmed that children who experienced multiple forms of…

This study investigates whether depressive tendencies or anger/hostility is associated with an increased propensity for a mother to target a particular child in the family as the "problem child." The 180 participants were drawn from a larger cohort of urban, low-income mothers and young children. Maternal data were gathered from measures of…

Although a number of reviews of gender differences in conduct problems and delinquency exist, this paper fills a gap in reviewing neighborhood influences on gender differences in conduct problems and delinquency. These influences are known to be important for boys in childhood and adolescence, but cannot be assumed to be influential in the same…

This article investigates the role of interpersonal relationships in shaping sex differences in the manifestation, etiology, and developmental course of conduct problems and their treatment needs. The review examines whether: (1) Girls' conduct problems are more likely than boys' to manifest as a function of disrupted relationships with caretakers…

Research has shown that self-evaluation can have positive effects on children's behavior and academic performance. Components of self-evaluation that have not been fully examined include the accuracy and sensitivity of students' ratings before and after training, as well as the effects of accuracy training on performance. Four students exhibiting…

This article offers an example of how teachers may successfully use a process for addressing problem behaviors in the classroom. The process includes (1) framing critical questions, (2) collecting relevant data, (3) taking well-researched actions, and (4) reflecting on the impact of these actions. Guided by these steps, the inappropriate comments…

The objective of the current study was to examine the relationships among neighborhood disadvantage, perceived neighborhood quality, family processes, and child internalizing problems within the framework of social disorganization theory. The sample consisted of 189 low-income, European American and Mexican American children and their mothers. The…