Laura V Scaramella

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Journals/Publications

• Conger, K. J., Neppl, T. K., & Scaramella, L. V. (2021). Special Section on Personality Development: Testing Environmental and Genetic Associations Across Generations. Developmental Psychology, 57(2), 139-146. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0001049
• McGoron, L., Riley, M. R., & Scaramella, L. V. (2020). Cumulative socio-contextual risk and child abuse potential in parents of young children: Can social support buffer the impact?. Child & Family Social Work, 25(4), 865-874. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12771
• Barnett, M. A., & Scaramella, L. V. (2017). Supportive and intrusive parenting during early childhood: Relations with children's fear temperament and sex. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(Issue 5). doi:10.1037/fam0000304
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  The current study examined the extent to which child sex and fear reactivity were linked to mothers' observed use of supportive and intrusive parenting behaviors. Two dimensions of observed fear reactivity were considered: distress (i.e., fearfulness) and approach (i.e., fearlessness). The sample consisted of 160 predominantly African American, low-income families that included mothers, 1 sibling approximately 2 years old, and the closest age older sibling who was approximately 4 years old. Results from fixed-effects within-family models indicated that above and beyond the main effect of child engagement on observed parenting behaviors, child sex moderated associations between 2 dimensions of fear reactivity and mothers' observed parenting. Specifically, mothers were observed to be less supportive during interactions with girls rated as high on fear approach and more intrusive during interactions with girls rated as high on fear distress. These patterns suggest that during early childhood, girls' individual characteristics may be more closely linked to mothers' parenting quality than are boys' characteristics.
• Mammen, M. A., Moore, G. A., Scaramella, L. V., Reiss, D., Shaw, D. S., Leve, L. D., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2016). Infant patterns of reactivity to tactile stimulation during parent-child interaction. Infant Behavior and Development, 44(Issue). doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2016.06.004
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  Touch is the primary modality infants use to engage with the world; atypical responses to tactile stimuli may indicate risk for disordered outcomes. The current study examined infants' responses to tactile stimulation within parent-child interaction, adding to prior knowledge based on parent report. Nine-month-old infants (N = 497) were observed while parents painted and pressed infants' hands and feet to paper to make designs. Positive and negative affect and gazing away, exploring, and resistance behaviors were coded. Latent Class Analysis of observed behaviors yielded four tactile response patterns partially consistent with current nosology for sensory processing patterns: Low Reactive, Sensory Overreactive, Sensory Seeking, and Mixed Over/Underreactive. To evaluate whether patterns made valid distinctions among infants, latent classes were examined in relation to parent-reported temperament. Infants in the Mixed Over/Underreactive class were rated higher in distress to limitations and activity level than other infants. Sensory processing patterns observed in parent-child interaction are consistent with those identified by parent-report and may be used in future research to elucidate relations with temperament and typical and atypical development.
• Stover, C. S., Zhou, Y., Kiselica, A., Leve, L. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Shaw, D. S., Natsuaki, M. N., Scaramella, L. V., & Reiss, D. (2016). Marital Hostility, Hostile Parenting, and Child Aggression: Associations from Toddlerhood to School Age. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 55(Issue 3). doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2015.12.008
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  Objective The spillover hypothesis suggests that childhood aggression results from spillover of interparental conflict to poor parenting, which promotes aggressive child behavior. This study was designed to examine the spillover hypothesis in non-genetically related parent-child dyads from the toddler period through age 6 years. Method A sample of 361 sets of children, adoptive parents, and birth parents from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS) was assessed from child age 9 months to 6 years on measures of adoptive parent financial strain, antisocial traits, marital hostility, hostile parenting, and child aggression. Structural equation modeling was used to examine links from financial strain, parent antisocial traits, and marital hostility in infancy and toddlerhood to hostile parenting and child aggression at ages 4.5 and 6 years. Results Spillover of marital conflict from child age 18 to 27 months was associated with more parental hostility in mothers and fathers at 27 months. In turn, adoptive fathers' parental hostility, but not mothers', was associated with aggression in children at age 4.5 years. However, there was no significant spillover from hostile parenting at 4.5 years to child aggression at 6 years. Birth mother antisocial traits were unassociated with child aggression. Conclusion This study is the first to examine spillover of marital hostility to parenting to child aggression from toddlerhood through age 6 years in an adoption design, highlighting the impact of these environmental factors from the toddler to preschool period. The findings support the potential benefit of early identification of marital hostility.
• Barnett, M., & Scaramella, L. (2015). Child fear reactivity and sex as moderators of links between parenting and preschool behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 27(4). doi:10.1017/S0954579415000759
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  Reduced supportive parenting and elevated negative parenting behaviors increase risks for maladaptive social adjustment during early childhood (e.g., Campbell, Shaw, & Gilliom, 2000). However, the magnitude of these risks may vary according to children's individual characteristics, such as sex and temperament. The current study examines whether children's sex and fear reactivity moderate the associations between mothers' observed parenting and children's behavior problems 1 year later. The sample consists of 151 predominantly African American, low-income families with one sibling who is approximately 2 years old and the closest aged older sibling who is approximately 4 years old. Results from fixed-effects within-family models indicate that fear distress (i.e., fearfulness) moderated associations between mothers' observed negative parenting and children's increased behavior problems, such that only those children with mean or higher observed fear distress scores showed increased behavior problems when exposed to mother's negative parenting. Child sex moderated associations between fear approach reactivity (i.e., fearlessness) and mothers' observed supportive parenting. Specifically, low fear approach combined with supportive parenting was associated with fewer behavior problems for boys only. Implications of these findings for preventive intervention are discussed.
• Brooker, R. J., Neiderhiser, J. M., Leve, L. D., Shaw, D. S., Scaramella, L. V., & Reiss, D. (2015). Associations between infant negative affect and parent anxiety symptoms are bidirectional: Evidence from mothers and fathers. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(Issue). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01875
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  Little is known about child-based effects on parents' anxiety symptoms early in life despite the possibility that child characteristics may contribute to the quality of the early environment and children's own long-term risk for psychological disorder. We examined bidirectional effects between parent anxiety symptoms and infant negative affect using a prospective adoption design. Infant negative affect and adoptive parent anxiety symptoms were assessed at child ages 9, 18, and 27 months. Birth parent negative affect was assessed at child age 18 months. More anxiety symptoms in adoptive parents at child age 9 months predicted more negative affect in infants 9 months later. More infant negative affect at child age 9 months predicted more anxiety symptoms in adoptive parents 18 months later. Patterns of results did not differ for adoptive mothers and adoptive fathers. Birth parent negative affect was unrelated to infant or adoptive parent measures. Consistent with expectations, associations between infant negative affect and rearing parents' anxiety symptoms appear to be bidirectional. In addition to traditional parent-to-child effects, our results suggest that infants' characteristics may contribute to parent qualities that are known to impact childhood outcomes.
• Hajal, N., Neiderhiser, J., Moore, G., Leve, L., Shaw, D., Harold, G., Scaramella, L., Ganiban, J., & Reiss, D. (2015). Angry Responses to Infant Challenges: Parent, Marital, and Child Genetic Factors Associated With Harsh Parenting. Child Development, 86(Issue 1). doi:10.1111/cdev.12345
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  This study examined genetic and environmental influences on harsh parenting of adopted 9-month-olds (N = 503), with an emphasis on positive child-, parent-, and family-level characteristics. Evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE) was examined by testing the effect of both positive and negative indices of birth parent temperament on adoptive parents' harsh parenting. Adoptive fathers' harsh parenting was inversely related to birth mother positive temperament, indicating evocative rGE, as well as to marital quality. Adoptive parents' negative temperamental characteristics were related to hostile parenting for both fathers and mothers. Findings support the importance of enhancing positive family characteristics in addition to mitigating negative characteristics, as well as engaging multiple levels of the family system to prevent harsh parenting.
• Mammen, M. A., Moore, G. A., Scaramella, L. V., Reiss, D., Ganiban, J. M., Shaw, D. S., Leve, L. D., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2015). Infant avoidance during a tactile task predicts autism spectrum behaviors in toddlerhood. Infant Mental Health Journal, 36(Issue 6). doi:10.1002/imhj.21539
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  The experience of touch is critical for early communication and social interaction; infants who show aversion to touch may be at risk for atypical development and behavior problems. The current study aimed to clarify predictive associations between infant responses to tactile stimuli and toddler autism spectrum, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors. This study measured 9-month-old infants' (N = 561; 58% male) avoidance and negative affect during a novel tactile task in which parents painted infants' hands and feet and pressed them to paper to make a picture. Parent reports on the Pervasive Developmental Problems (PDP), Internalizing, and Externalizing scales of the Child Behavior Checklist were used to measure toddler behaviors at 18 months. Infant observed avoidance and negative affect were significantly correlated; however, avoidance predicted subsequent PDP scores only, independent of negative affect, which did not predict any toddler behaviors. Findings suggest that incorporating measures of responses to touch in the study of early social interaction may provide an important and discriminating construct for identifying children at greater risk for social impairments related to autism spectrum behaviors.
• Fearon, R. M., Reiss, D., Leve, L. D., Shaw, D. S., Scaramella, L. V., Ganiban, J. M., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2014). Child-evoked maternal negativity from 9 to 27 months: Evidence of gene-environment correlation and its moderation by marital distress. Development and Psychopathology, 760(Issue). doi:10.1017/s0954579414000868
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  Past research has documented pervasive genetic influences on emotional and behavioral disturbance across the life span and on liability to adult psychiatric disorder. Increasingly, interest is turning to mechanisms of gene-environment interplay in attempting to understand the earliest manifestations of genetic risk. We report findings from a prospective adoption study, which aimed to test the role of evocative gene-environment correlation in early development. Included in the study were 561 infants adopted at birth and studied between 9 and 27 months, along with their adoptive parents and birth mothers. Birth mother psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms scales were used as indicators of genetic influence, and multiple self-report measures were used to index adoptive mother parental negativity. We hypothesized that birth mother psychopathology would be associated with greater adoptive parent negativity and that such evocative effects would be amplified under conditions of high adoptive family adversity. The findings suggested that genetic factors associated with birth mother externalizing psychopathology may evoke negative reactions in adoptive mothers in the first year of life, but only when the adoptive family environment is characterized by marital problems. Maternal negativity mediated the effects of genetic risk on child adjustment at 27 months. The results underscore the importance of genetically influenced evocative processes in early development.
• Masarik, A. S., Conger, R. D., Brent Donnellan, M., Stallings, M. C., Martin, M. J., Schofield, T. J., Neppl, T. K., Scaramella, L. V., Smolen, A., & Widaman, K. F. (2014). For better and for worse: Genes and parenting interact to predict future behavior in romantic relationships. Journal of Family Psychology, 28(Issue 3). doi:10.1037/a0036818
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  We tested the differential susceptibility hypothesis with respect to connections between interactions in the family of origin and subsequent behaviors with romantic partners. Focal or target participants (G2) in an ongoing longitudinal study (N = 352) were observed interacting with their parents (G1) during adolescence and again with their romantic partners in adulthood. Independent observers rated positive engagement and hostility by G1 and G2 during structured interaction tasks. We created an index for hypothesized genetic plasticity by summing G2's allelic variation for polymorphisms in 5 genes (serotonin transporter gene [linked polymorphism], 5-HTT; ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing 1 gene/dopamine receptor D2 gene, ANKK1/DRD2; dopamine receptor D4 gene, DRD4; dopamine active transporter gene, DAT; and catechol-O-methyltransferase gene, COMT). Consistent with the differential susceptibility hypothesis, G2s exposed to more hostile and positively engaged parenting behaviors during adolescence were more hostile or positively engaged toward a romantic partner if they had higher scores on the genetic plasticity index. In short, genetic factors moderated the connection between earlier experiences in the family of origin and future romantic relationship behaviors, for better and for worse. © 2014 American Psychological Association.
• Riley, M. R., Scaramella, L. V., & Mcgoron, L. (2014). Disentangling the associations between contextual stress, sensitive parenting, and children's social development. Family Relations, 63(Issue 2). doi:10.1111/fare.12063
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  The impact of an accumulation of sociocontextual stress on children's social skill development was examined among 167 predominantly African American mothers and their 2-year-old children. Two theoretical models were considered. First, based on Rutter's (1979) cumulative risk approach, an accumulation of stress was hypothesized to moderate the impact of sensitive parenting on change in social skills such that the protective effects of sensitive parenting declined when cumulative stress reached a critical threshold. Second, based on a family stress model approach, an accumulation of stress was expected to indirectly affect social skills by way of sensitive parenting; that is, sensitive parenting was expected to explain or mediate any direct links between cumulative stress and children's social skills. Results were only consistent with the moderational hypothesis. Contrary to expectations, sensitive parenting predicted increases in social skills from age 2 to 4 only under conditions of the highest cumulative stress. © 2014 by the National Council on Family Relations.
• Barnett, M. A., & Scaramella, L. V. (2013). Mothers' parenting and child sex differences in behavior problems among african american preschoolers. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(Issue 5). doi:10.1037/a0033792
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  Sex differences in rates of behavior problems, including internalizing and externalizing problems, begin to emerge during early childhood. These sex differences may occur because mothers parent their sons and daughters differently, or because the impact of parenting on behavior problems is different for boys and girls. In this study, we examined whether associations between observations of mothers' positive and negative parenting and children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors vary as a function of child sex. The sample consisted of 137 African American low-income families with one sibling approximately 2 years old and the closest-aged older sibling who was approximately 4 years old. Results from fixed-effects within-family models indicate clear sex differences regardless of child age. Mothers were observed to use less positive parenting with sons than with daughters. Higher levels of observed negative parenting were linked to more externalizing behaviors for boys, whereas lower levels of positive parenting were linked to more externalizing behaviors for girls. No child sex differences emerged regarding associations between observed positive and negative parenting and internalizing behaviors. © 2013 American Psychological Association.
• Blozis, S. A., Ge, X., Xu, S., Natsuaki, M. N., Shaw, D. S., Neiderhiser, J. M., Scaramella, L. V., Leve, L. D., & Reiss, D. (2013). Sensitivity Analysis of Multiple Informant Models When Data Are Not Missing at Random. Structural Equation Modeling, 20(Issue 2). doi:10.1080/10705511.2013.769393
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  Missing data are common in studies that rely on multiple informant data to evaluate relationships among variables for distinguishable individuals clustered within groups. Estimation of structural equation models using raw data allows for incomplete data, and so all groups can be retained for analysis even if only 1 member of a group contributes data. Statistical inference is based on the assumption that data are missing completely at random or missing at random. Importantly, whether or not data are missing is assumed to be independent of the missing data. A saturated correlates model that incorporates correlates of the missingness or the missing data into an analysis and multiple imputation that might also use such correlates offer advantages over the standard implementation of SEM when data are not missing at random because these approaches could result in a data analysis problem for which the missingness is ignorable. This article considers these approaches in an analysis of family data to assess the sensitivity of parameter estimates and statistical inferences to assumptions about missing data, a strategy that could be easily implemented using SEM software. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
• Natsuaki, M. N., Leve, L. D., Harold, G. T., Neiderhiser, J. M., Shaw, D. S., Ganiban, J., Scaramella, L. V., & Reiss, D. (2013). Transactions between child social wariness and observed structured parenting: Evidence from a prospective adoption study. Child Development, 84(Issue 5). doi:10.1111/cdev.12070
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  This investigation examined the mutual influences between structured parenting and child social wariness during toddlerhood using a longitudinal adoption design. The sample consisted of 361 adoption-linked families, each including an adopted child, adoptive parents, and a birth mother. Heightened social wariness in children at age 18 months predicted reduced levels of observed structured parenting (i.e., less directive parenting with fewer commands and requests) in adoptive mothers at age 27 months. Adoptive fathers' lower structured parenting at age 18 months predicted subsequent elevation in child social wariness. Birth mothers' history of fear-related anxiety disorders was not associated with child social wariness. Findings highlight the role of dynamic family transactions in the development of social wariness during toddlerhood. © 2013 The Authors © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.
• Natsuaki, M. N., Leve, L. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Shaw, D. S., Scaramella, L. V., Ge, X., & Reiss, D. (2013). Intergenerational transmission of risk for social inhibition: The interplay between parental responsiveness and genetic influences. Development and Psychopathology, 25(Issue 1). doi:10.1017/s0954579412001010
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  To better understand mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety, we used a prospective adoption design to examine the roles of genetic influences (inferred from birth mothers' social phobia) and rearing environment (adoptive mothers' and fathers' responsiveness) on the development of socially inhibited, anxious behaviors in children between 18 and 27 months of age. The sample consisted of 275 adoption-linked families, each including an adopted child, adoptive parents, and a birth mother. Results indicated that children whose birth mothers met criteria for the diagnosis of social phobia showed elevated levels of observed behavioral inhibition in a social situation at 27 months of age if their adoptive mothers provided less emotionally and verbally responsive rearing environments at 18 months of age. Conversely, in the context of higher levels of maternal responsiveness, children of birth mothers with a history of social phobia did not show elevated levels of behavioral inhibition. These findings on maternal responsiveness were replicated in a model predicting parent reports of child social anxiety. The findings are discussed in terms of gene-environment interactions in the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety. © 2013 Cambridge University Press.
• Sohr-Preston, S. L., Scaramella, L. V., Martin, M. J., Neppl, T. K., Ontai, L., & Conger, R. (2013). Parental Socioeconomic Status, Communication, and Children's Vocabulary Development: A Third-Generation Test of the Family Investment Model. Child Development, 84(Issue 3). doi:10.1111/cdev.12023
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  This third-generation, longitudinal study evaluated a family investment perspective on family socioeconomic status (SES), parental investments in children, and child development. The theoretical framework was tested for first-generation parents (G1), their children (G2), and the children of the second generation (G3). G1 SES was expected to predict clear and responsive parental communication. Parental investments were expected to predict educational attainment and parenting for G2 and vocabulary development for G3. For the 139 families in the study, data were collected when G2 were adolescents and early adults and their oldest biological child (G3) was 3-4 years of age. The results demonstrate the importance of SES and parental investments for the development of children and adolescents across multiple generations. © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.
• Lipscomb, S. T., Leve, L. D., Shaw, D. S., Neiderhiser, J. M., Scaramella, L. V., Ge, X., Conger, R. D., Reid, J. B., & Reiss, D. (2012). Negative emotionality and externalizing problems in toddlerhood: Overreactive parenting as a moderator of genetic influences. Development and Psychopathology, 24(Issue 1). doi:10.1017/s0954579411000757
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  The current study examines the interplay between parental overreactivity and children's genetic backgrounds as inferred from birth parent characteristics on the development of negative emotionality during infancy, and in turn, to individual differences in externalizing problems in toddlerhood. The sample included 361 families linked through adoption (birth parents and adoptive families). Data were collected when the children were 9, 18, and 27 months old. Results indicated links between individual levels and changes in negative emotionality during infancy and toddlerhood to externalizing problems early in the third year of life. Findings also revealed an interaction between birth mother negative affect and adoptive mother overreactive parenting on children's negative emotionality. This Genotype × Environment interaction predicted externalizing problems indirectly through its association with negative emotionality and revealed stronger effects of genetic risk for children with less overreactive parenting from their mothers. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed. © Copyright Cambridge University Press 2012.
• Poulin, F., Nadeau, K., & Scaramella, L. V. (2012). The role of parents in young adolescents' competence with peers: An observational study of advice giving and intrusiveness. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 58(Issue 4). doi:10.1353/mpq.2012.0021
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  Young adolescents who encounter difficulties with peers can consult with their parents to help solve these problems. In this context, this study examines the contribution of adolescents' disclosure, parental advice giving, and parental intrusiveness into adolescents' social and behavioral adjustment. Young adolescents (N = 93; 49% girls; mean age = 12.9) and their parents took part in a problem-solving task in which adolescent disclosure, parental advice giving, and intrusiveness where observed. Several indicators of social and behavioral adjustment were measured concurrently and 1 year later by using adolescents' self-reports and teacher ratings. Results indicated that adolescent disclosure and advice giving were associated with adjustment, whereas intrusiveness was concurrently and longitudinally associated with maladjustment. © 2012 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, MI 48201. © 2012 by Wayne State University Press.
• Stover, C. S., Connell, C. M., Leve, L. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Shaw, D. S., Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R., & Reiss, D. (2012). Fathering and mothering in the family system: Linking marital hostility and aggression in adopted toddlers. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 53(Issue 4). doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02510.x
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  Background: Previous studies have linked marital conflict, parenting, and externalizing problems in early childhood. However, these studies have not examined whether genes account for these links nor have they examined whether contextual factors such as parental personality or financial distress might account for links between marital conflict and parenting. We used an adoption design to allow for a clear examination of environmental impact rather than shared genes of parents and children, and assessments of parental personality and financial strain to assess the effects of context on relationships between marriage and parenting of both mothers and fathers. Method: Participants were 308 adoption-linked families comprised of an adopted child, her/his biological mother (BM), adoptive mother (AM) and adoptive father (AF). BMs were assessed 3-6 and 18 months postpartum and adoptive families were assessed when the child was 18 and 27 months old. Structural equations models were used to examine associations between marital hostility, fathers' and mothers' parenting hostility, and child aggressive behavior at 27 months of age. In addition, the contribution of financial strain and adoptive parent personality traits was examined to determine the associations with the spillover of marital hostility to hostile parenting. Results: A hostile marital relationship was significantly associated with hostile parenting in fathers and mothers, which were associated with aggressive behavior in toddlers. Subjective financial strain was uniquely associated with marital hostility and child aggression. Antisocial personality traits were related to a more hostile/conflicted marital relationship and to hostile parenting. Conclusions: Results clarify mechanisms that may account for the success of early parent-child prevention programs that include a focus on parental economic strain and personality in addition to parent training. © 2011 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
• Barnett, M. A., Scaramella, L. V., McGoron, L., & Callahan, K. (2011). Coparenting cooperation and child adjustment in low-income mother-grandmother and mother-father families. Family Science, 2(Issue 3). doi:10.1080/19424620.2011.642479
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  Coparenting represents an important resource for mothers and children, particularly those confronting the multiple risks associated with economic disadvantage. The present study considers how coparenting cooperation in mother-grandmother and mother-father families relates to mothers' parenting and children's adjustment among a community sample of 117 urban, low-income, predominantly African American families with one preschool and one early school age child. Unique to the present study was almost equal representation of mother-grandmother and mother-father coparent families. We examined whether mother-reported coparenting cooperation was associated with mothers' harsh and positive parenting, and children's social competence and behavior problems.We also considered whether patterns linking coparenting cooperation to parenting and child development were consistent across coparenting configuration and child age. Results indicate positive influences of coparenting cooperation on mothers' positive parenting of older siblings, and on younger and older children's social competence. No differences between coparenting configurations emerged. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.
• Callahan, K. L., Scaramella, L. V., Laird, R. D., & Sohr-Preston, S. L. (2011). Neighborhood Disadvantage as a Moderator of the Association Between Harsh Parenting and Toddler-Aged Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(Issue 1). doi:10.1037/a0022448
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  Neighborhood dangerousness and belongingness were expected to moderate associations between harsh parenting and toddler-age children's problem behaviors. Fifty-five predominantly African American mothers participated with their 2-year old children. Neighborhood danger, neighborhood belongingness, and children's problem behaviors were measured with mothers' reports. Harsh parenting was measured with observer ratings. Analyses considered variance common to externalizing and internalizing problems, using a total problems score, and unique variance, by controlling for internalizing behavior when predicting externalizing behavior, and vice versa. Regarding the common variance, only the main effects of neighborhood danger and harsh parenting were significantly associated with total problem behavior. In contrast, after controlling for externalizing problems, the positive association between harsh parenting and unique variance in internalizing problems became stronger as neighborhood danger increased. No statistically significant associations emerged for the models predicting the unique variance in externalizing problems or models considering neighborhood belongingness. © 2011 American Psychological Association.
• Mannering, A. M., Harold, G. T., Leve, L. D., Shelton, K. H., Shaw, D. S., Conger, R. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Scaramella, L. V., & Reiss, D. (2011). Longitudinal associations between marital instability and child sleep problems across infancy and toddlerhood in adoptive families. Child Development, 82(Issue 4). doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01594.x
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  This study examined the longitudinal association between marital instability and child sleep problems at ages 9 and 18months in 357 families with a genetically unrelated infant adopted at birth. This design eliminates shared genes as an explanation for similarities between parent and child. Structural equation modeling indicated that T1 marital instability predicted T2 child sleep problems, but T1 child sleep problems did not predict T2 marital instability. This result was replicated when models were estimated separately for mothers and fathers. Thus, even after controlling for stability in sleep problems and marital instability and eliminating shared genetic influences on associations using a longitudinal adoption design, marital instability prospectively predicts early childhood sleep patterns. © 2011 The Authors. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.
• Barnett, M. A., Scaramella, L. V., Neppl, T. K., Ontai, L. L., & Conger, R. D. (2010). Grandmother involvement as a protective factor for early childhood social adjustment. Journal of Family Psychology, 24(Issue 5). doi:10.1037/a0020829
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  Despite high rates of grandmother involvement with young grandchildren, very little research has examined the associations between nonresidential grandmother involvement and grandchild social adjustment. The present study involved 127 families enrolled in the Family Transitions Project to consider the degree to which mother-reported maternal grandmother involvement buffered 3- and 4-year-old grandchildren from economic, parenting, and child temperamental risks for reduced social competence and elevated externalizing behaviors. Findings indicate that higher levels of mother-reported grandmother involvement reduced the negative association between observed grandchild negative emotional reactivity and social competence. Furthermore, higher levels of mother-reported grandmother involvement protected grandchildren from the positive association between observed mother harsh parenting and grandchild externalizing behaviors. These findings underscore the relevance of moving beyond the nuclear family to understand factors linked to social adjustment during early childhood. © 2010 American Psychological Association.
• Barnett, M. A., Scaramella, L. V., Neppl, T. K., Ontai, L., & Conger, R. D. (2010). Intergenerational relationship quality, gender, and grandparent involvement. Family Relations, 59(Issue 1). doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2009.00584.x
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  This prospective, intergenerational study (N = 181) considered how parent (G1, Generation 1) and child (G2, Generation 2) relationship quality during adolescence and adulthood is associated with G1's level of involvement with their 3- to 4-year-old grandchildren (G3, Generation 3). Path model analyses indicated different patterns of results for the involvement of grandmothers and grandfathers with the children of their G2 sons and daughters Current parent-reported G1-G2 relationship quality was positively associated with G2 report of G1 involvement with G3, especially for G2 daughters The relations among confounding variables, including geographic distance, socioeconomic status, and grandparent marital status and grandparent involvement with grandchildren, were considered. Results highlight the roles of intergenerational relationship quality and gender configuration of the G1-G2 dyad in shaping grandparent involvement with grandchildren.© 2010 by the National Council on Family Relations.
• Leve, L. D., Kerr, D. C., Shaw, D., Ge, X., Neiderhiser, J. M., Scaramella, L. V., Reid, J. B., Conger, R., & Reiss, D. (2010). Infant Pathways to Externalizing Behavior: Evidence of Genotype × Environment Interaction. Child Development, 81(Issue 1). doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01398.x
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  To further the understanding of the effects of early experiences, 9-month-old infants were observed during a frustration task. The analytical sample was composed of 348 linked triads of participants (adoptive parents, adopted child, and birth parent[s]) from a prospective adoption study. It was hypothesized that genetic risk for externalizing problems and affect dysregulation in the adoptive parents would independently and interactively predict a known precursor to externalizing problems: heightened infant attention to frustrating events. Results supported the moderation hypotheses involving adoptive mother affect dysregulation: Infants at genetic risk showed heightened attention to frustrating events only when the adoptive mother had higher levels of anxious and depressive symptoms. The Genotype × Environment interaction pattern held when substance use during pregnancy was considered. © 2010, Copyright the Author(s). Journal Compilation © 2010, Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.
• Natsuaki, M. N., Ge, X., Leve, L. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Shaw, D. S., Conger, R. D., Scaramella, L. V., Reid, J. B., & Reiss, D. (2010). Genetic Liability, Environment, and the Development of Fussiness in Toddlers: The Roles of Maternal Depression and Parental Responsiveness. Developmental Psychology, 46(Issue 5). doi:10.1037/a0019659
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  Using a longitudinal, prospective adoption design, the authors of this study examined the effects of the environment (adoptive parents' depressive symptoms and responsiveness) and genetic liability of maternal depression (inferred by birth mothers' major depressive disorder [MDD]) on the development of fussiness in adopted children between 9 and 18 months old. The sample included 281 families linked through adoption, with each family including 4 individuals (i.e., adopted child, birth mother, adoptive father and mother). Results showed that adoptive mothers' depressive symptoms when their child was 9 months old were positively associated with child fussiness at 18 months. A significant interaction between birth mothers' MDD and adoptive mothers' responsiveness indicated that children of birth mothers with MDD showed higher levels of fussiness at 18 months when adoptive mothers had been less responsive to the children at 9 months. However, in the context of high levels of adoptive mothers' responsiveness, children of birth mothers with MDD did not show elevated fussiness at 18 months. Findings are discussed in terms of gene-environment interactions in the intergenerational risk transmission of depression. © 2010 American Psychological Association.
• Neppl, T. K., Donnellan, M. B., Scaramella, L. V., Widaman, K. F., Spilman, S. K., Ontai, L. L., & Conger, R. D. (2010). Differential stability of temperament and personality from toddlerhood to middle childhood. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(Issue 3). doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2010.04.004
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  This prospective, longitudinal investigation examined differential consistency of three core dimensions of individuality from toddlerhood through middle childhood. Data came from 273 families who participated with their child at least once during three developmental periods: toddlerhood (2. years), early childhood (3-5. years), and middle childhood (6-10. years). Both mothers and fathers reported on attributes of their child using subscales from the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire, the Child Behavior Questionnaire, and the Iowa Personality Questionnaire. Reports were used as indicators of the latent " Big Three" dimensions of positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and constraint at each of the three developmental periods. Results pointed to consistency in these broad dimensions of temperament and personality from toddlerhood to middle childhood. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
• Trentacosta, C. J., Neppl, T. K., Donnellan, M. B., Scaramella, L. V., Shaw, D. S., & Conger, R. D. (2010). Adolescent Personality as a Prospective Predictor of Parenting: An Interactionist Perspective. Journal of Family Psychology, 24(Issue 6). doi:10.1037/a0021732
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  This study examined personality during adolescence as a predictor of later parenting of toddler-aged offspring. On the basis of empirical research on the timing of parenthood and the interactionist model (Conger & Donnellan, 2007), we examined age at parenthood and family socioeconomic status (SES) as mediators of the relation between personality and parenting. Participants were 228 emerging adults from an ongoing longitudinal study of the transition to adulthood. Later entry into parenthood and higher SES accounted for the association between personality characteristics and lower levels of harsh parenting and higher levels of positive parenting. Consistent with the interactionist model, both personality characteristics and SES-linked variables were related to interpersonal processes in families. The findings suggest that promoting adaptive personality traits during childhood and adolescence may help delay early entry into parenthood, promote higher SES, and, indirectly, foster more positive parenting of young children. © 2010 American Psychological Association.
• Leve, L. D., Harold, G. T., Ge, X., Neiderhiser, J. M., Shaw, D., Scaramella, L. V., & Reiss, D. (2009). Structured Parenting of Toddlers at High Versus Low Genetic Risk: Two Pathways to Child Problems. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(Issue 11). doi:10.1097/chi.0b013e3181b8bfc0
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  Objective: Little is known about how parenting might offset genetic risk to prevent the onset of child problems during toddlerhood. We used a prospective adoption design to separate genetic and environmental influences and test whether associations between structured parenting and toddler behavior problems were conditioned by genetic risk for psychopathology. Method: The sample included 290 linked sets of adoptive families and birth mothers and 95 linked birth fathers. Genetic risk was assessed via birth mother and birth father psychopathology (anxiety, depression, antisociality, and drug use). Structured parenting was assessed via microsocial coding of adoptive mothers' behavior during a cleanup task. Toddler behavior problems were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist. Results: Controlling for tempera mental risk at 9 months, there was an interaction between birth mother psychopathology and adoptive mothers' par enting on toddler behavior problems at 18 months. The interaction indicated two pathways to child problems: structured parenting was beneficial for toddlers at high genetic risk but was related to behavior problems for toddlers at low genetic risk. This crossover interaction pattern was replicated with birth father psychopathology as the index of genetic risk. Conclusions: The effects of structured parenting on toddler behavior problems varied as a function of genetic risk. Children at genetic risk might benefit from parenting interventions during toddlerhood that enhance structured par enting. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2009;48(11):1102-1109. © 2009 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
• Mirabile, S. P., Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., & Robison, S. D. (2009). Mothers' socialization of emotion regulation: The moderating role of children's negative emotional reactivity. Child and Youth Care Forum, 38(Issue 1). doi:10.1007/s10566-008-9063-5
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  During the toddler period, children begin to shift from being primarily dependent on parents to regulate their emotions to managing their emotions independently. The present study considers how children's propensity towards negative emotional arousal interacts with mothers' efforts to socialize emotion regulation. Fifty-five low income mothers and their 2-year-old children completed observational assessments measuring mothers' socialization of emotion regulation, children's reactivity propensity, and children's emotion regulation. Children's propensity towards negative reactivity significantly interacted with mothers' use of physical soothing. That is, mothers with less reactive children who used more soothing had children who were more likely to use interactive, distraction-based regulatory behaviors during a frustration situation. Theoretical and child care implications of the finding are discussed. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
• Neppl, T. K., Conger, R. D., Scaramella, L. V., & Ontai, L. L. (2009). Intergenerational Continuity in Parenting Behavior: Mediating Pathways and Child Effects. Developmental Psychology, 45(Issue 5). doi:10.1037/a0014850
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  This prospective, longitudinal investigation examined mechanisms proposed to explain continuities in parenting behavior across 2 generations (G1, G2). Data came from 187 G2 adults, their mothers (G1), and their children (G3). Prospective information regarding G2 was collected both during adolescence and early adulthood. G1 data were collected during G2's adolescence, and G3 data were generated during the preschool years. Assessments included both observational and self-report measures. The results indicated a direct relationship between G1 and G2 harsh parenting, and between G1 and G2 positive parenting. As predicted, specific mediators accounted for intergenerational continuity in particular types of parenting behavior. G2 externalizing behavior mediated the relationship between G1 and G2 harsh parenting, whereas G2 academic attainment mediated the relationship between G1 and G2 positive parenting. In addition, the hypothesized mediating pathways remained statistically significant after taking into account possible G2 effects on G1 parenting and G3 effects on G2 parenting. © 2009 American Psychological Association.
• Ge, X., Natsuaki, M. N., Martin, D. M., Leve, L. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Shaw, D. S., Villareal, G., Scaramella, L., Reid, J. B., & Reiss, D. (2008). Bridging the Divide: Openness in Adoption and Postadoption Psychosocial Adjustment Among Birth and Adoptive Parents. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(Issue 4). doi:10.1037/a0012817
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  Using 323 matched parties of birth mothers and adoptive parents, this study examined the association between the degree of adoption openness (e.g., contact and knowledge between parties) and birth and adoptive parents' postadoption adjustment shortly after the adoption placement (6 to 9 months). Data from birth fathers (N = 112), an understudied sample, were also explored. Openness was assessed by multiple informants. Results indicated that openness was significantly related to satisfaction with adoption process among adoptive parents and birth mothers. Increased openness was positively associated with birth mothers' postplacement adjustment, as indexed by birth mothers' self-reports and the interviewers' impression of birth mothers' adjustment. Birth fathers' report of openness was associated with their greater satisfaction with the adoption process and better postadoption adjustment. © 2008 American Psychological Association.
• Scaramella, L. V., Neppl, T. K., Ontai, L. L., & Conger, R. D. (2008). Consequences of Socioeconomic Disadvantage Across Three Generations: Parenting Behavior and Child Externalizing Problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(Issue 5). doi:10.1037/a0013190
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  This study considers the intergenerational consequences of experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage within the family of origin. Specifically, the influence of socioeconomic disadvantage experienced during adolescence on the timing of parenthood and the association between early parenthood and risk for harsh parenting and emerging child problem behavior was evaluated. Participants included 154 3-generation families, followed prospectively over a 12-year period. Results indicated that exposure to poverty during adolescence, not parents' (first generation, or G1) education, predicted an earlier age of parenthood in G2. Younger G2 parents were observed to be harsher during interactions with their own 2-year-old child (G3), and harsh parenting predicted increases in G3 children's externalizing problems from age 2 to age 3. Finally, G3 children's externalizing behavior measured at age 3 predicted increases in harsh parenting from ages 3 to 4, suggesting that G3 children's behavior may exacerbate the longitudinal effects of socioeconomic disadvantage. © 2008 American Psychological Association.
• Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Callahan, K. L., & Mirabile, S. P. (2008). A test of the family stress model on toddler-aged children's adjustment among Hurricane Katrina impacted and nonimpacted low-income families. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37(Issue 3). doi:10.1080/15374410802148202
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  Hurricane Katrina dramatically altered the level of social and environmental stressors for the residents of the New Orleans area. The Family Stress Model describes a process whereby felt financial strain undermines parents' mental health, the quality of family relationships, and child adjustment. Our study considered the extent to which the Family Stress Model explained toddler-aged adjustment among Hurricane Katrina affected and nonaffected families. Two groups of very low-income mothers and their 2-year-old children participated (pre-Katrina, n = 55; post-Katrina, n = 47). Consistent with the Family Stress Model, financial strain and neighborhood violence were associated with higher levels of mothers' depressed mood; depressed mood was linked to less parenting efficacy. Poor parenting efficacy was associated to more child internalizing and externalizing problems.
• Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Mirabile, S. P., Robison, S. D., & Callahan, K. L. (2008). Parenting and children's distress reactivity during toddlerhood: An examination of direction of effects. Social Development, 17(Issue 3). doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00439.x
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  During early childhood, harsh and emotionally negative parent-child exchanges are expected to increase children's risk for developing later conduct problems. The present study examined longitudinal associations between the quality of parenting responses and children's distress reactivity during children's second year of life. Forty-seven mother-child dyads completed observational assessments of children's distress reactivity and mothers' harsh and supportive parenting when children were 12 and 24 months of age. Results indicated that mothers' contingent harsh parenting responses to children's non-compliance when children were 12 months of age predicted increases in children's observed distress from 12 to 24 months, but children's level of distress at 12 months did not predict change in harsh parenting responses over the same time period. In contrast, supportive parenting contingent responses did not predict declines in children's distress reactivity, although children's distress reactivity predicted declines in mothers' supportive parenting responses from 12 to 24 months. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of the quality of parent-child interactions as a point of entry onto developmental pathways of risk. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2008.
• Leve, L. D., Neiderhiser, J. M., Ge, X., Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., Reid, J. B., Shaw, D. S., & Reiss, D. (2007). The early growth and development study: A prospective adoption design. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 10(Issue 1). doi:10.1375/twin.10.1.84
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  The Early Growth and Development Study is a prospective adoption study of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children (N = 359 triads) that was initiated in 2003. The primary study aims are to examine how family processes mediate or moderate the expression of genetic influences in order to aid in the identification of specific family processes that could serve as malleable targets for intervention. Participants in the study are recruited through adoption agencies located throughout the United States, following the birth of a child. Assessments occur at 6-month intervals until the child reaches 3 years of age. Data collection includes the following primary constructs: infant and toddler temperament, social behavior, and health; birth and adoptive parent personality characteristics, psychopathology, competence, stress, and substance use; adoptive parenting and marital relations; and prenatal exposure to drugs and maternal stress. Preliminary analyses suggest the representativeness of the sample and minimal confounding effects of current trends in adoption practices, including openness and selective placement. Future plans are described.
• Sohr-Preston, S. L., & Scaramella, L. V. (2006). Implications of timing of maternal depressive symptoms for early cognitive and language development. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 9(Issue 1). doi:10.1007/s10567-006-0004-2
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  Statistically, women, particularly pregnant women and new mothers, are at heightened risk for depression. The present review describes the current state of the research linking maternal depressed mood and children's cognitive and language development. Exposure to maternal depressive symptoms, whether during the prenatal period, postpartum period, or chronically, has been found to increase children's risk for later cognitive and language difficulties. The present review considers both the timing of maternal depression and the chronicity of mothers' depression on children's risk for cognitive and language delays. Infancy is frequently identified as a sensitive period in which environmental stimulation has the potential to substantially influence children's cognitive and language development. However, children's exposure to chronic maternal depression seems to be associated with more problematic outcomes for children, perhaps because depression interferes with mothers' ability to respond sensitively and consistently over time. Consistent with this expectation, interventions targeting parenting practices of depressed mothers have been found to increase children's cognitive competence during early childhood. The current review provides a synthesis of the current state of the field regarding the association between maternal depression and children's cognitive and language development during early childhood. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
• Hollenstein, T., Leve, L. D., Scaramella, L. V., Milfort, R., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2004). Openness in Adoption, Knowledge of Birthparent Information, and Adoptive Family Adjustment. Adoption Quarterly, 7(Issue 1). doi:10.1300/j145v07n01_04
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  Ninety families with a non-relative, adopted infant were assessed shortly after placement (Time 1) and approximately 18 months later (Time 2). The results indicated that over two thirds of the adoptive parents did not desire to change the level of openness in their adoption at Time 2, and the desire to change the level of openness was unrelated to the current level of openness. Parents who wished to change the level of openness were more likely to report a lack of marital happiness, depression, difficulty in raising the child, and a desire for more information about the birthfather. Adoptive parents reported that the information they had about the birthparents positively influenced their perceptions of the birthparents. Implications for practitioners are discussed. © 2003 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
• Conger, R. D., Neppl, T., Kim, K. J., & Scaramella, L. (2003). Angry and aggressive behavior across three generations: A prospective, longitudinal study of parents and children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31(Issue 2). doi:10.1023/a:1022570107457
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  This investigation examined intergenerational continuities in both angry, aggressive parenting and also the angry, aggressive behavior of children and adolescents. Data from 75 G2 youth (26 men, 49 women, M = 22-years old), their mothers (G1), and their G3 children (47 boys, 28 girls, M = 2.4-years old) were included in the analyses. The prospective, longitudinal design of the study, which included observational and multiinformant measures, overcame many of the methodological limitations found in much of the earlier research on intergenerational transmission. The results demonstrated a direct connection between observed G1 aggressive parenting and observed G2 aggressive parenting from 5 to 7 years later. G2 aggressive behavior as an adolescent and G3 aggressive behavior as a child were related to parenting behavior but not directly to one another. The results were consistent with a social leaming perspective on intergenerational continuities in angry and aggressive behaviors.
• Stewart, E. A., Simons, R. L., Conger, R. D., & Scaramella, L. V. (2002). Beyond the interactional relationship between delinquency and parenting practices: The contribution of legal sanctions. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 39(Issue 1). doi:10.1177/002242780203900102
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  In this article, the authors move beyond an interactional perspective on the relationship between delinquency and parenting by examining the mediating effects of legal sanctions. Structural equation modeling was employed to test hypothesized relationships. Three waves of data from a sample of 407 Midwestern adolescents and their parents were used. The findings indicated that legal sanctions completely mediated the influence of delinquent behavior on parenting and partially mediated the influence of parenting on delinquency. The findings suggest that official labeling helps account for both continuity in antisocial activities and disruptions in parenting practices.
• Leve, L. D., Scaramella, L. V., & Fagot, B. I. (2001). Infant temperament, pleasure in parenting, and marital happiness in adoptive families. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22(Issue 5). doi:10.1002/imhj.1017
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  Temperamental characteristics have been related to later externalizing and internalizing behavioral outcomes. To assess the relationship between temperament and the early family environment, we measured infant temperament, pleasure in parenting, and marital happiness via parent report in 99 families with a nonrelative adoptive infant. Perceptions of child temperament were assessed using two subscales of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ; Rothbart, 1981). Mothers and fathers who rated their adoptive child as showing more Distress to Limitations (on the IBQ) reported less pleasure in routine parenting activities; this effect was mediated by marital happiness for fathers. Mothers reported less pleasure in parenting with infants perceived to be more temperamentally fearful (on the IBQ). The bidirectional relationship between temperamental characteristics and pleasure in parenting is discussed.
• Scaramella, L., & Keyes, A. (2001). The social contextual approach and rural adolescent substance use: Implications for prevention in rural settings. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 4(3). doi:10.1023/A:1017599031343
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  Adolescents in rural areas use substances at rates comparable to urban adolescents; understanding causes of rural adolescent substance use is critical if prevention efforts are to succeed. The present review has three primary goals: (1) to define rural, (2) to evaluate the empirical evidence regarding correlates and causes of rural adolescent substance use from a social contextual framework (L. V. Scaramella, R. D. Conger, R. Spoth, & R. L. Simons, in press), and (3) to discuss the malleability of theoretically based risk or protective factors in rural settings. The review concludes with a discussion of the difficulties and challenges of implementing prevention programs in rural areas.
• Rueter, M. A., Scaramella, L., Wallace, L. E., & Conger, R. D. (1999). First onset of depressive or anxiety disorders predicted by the longitudinal course of internalizing symptoms and parent-adolescent disagreements. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56(Issue 8). doi:10.1001/archpsyc.56.8.726
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  Background: Growing evidence indicates that anxiety and depressive disorder onset may involve a prodromal buildup of symptoms. Also, stressful life events may precipitate gradual symptom increase, leading to the development of full-blown disorders. This study used prospective longitudinal data to examine the theory that, over time, stressful events, such as parent- adolescent disagreements, influence the longitudinal course of adolescents' internalizing symptoms, which in turn predict first onset of a depressive or anxiety disorder. Methods= A community sample of 303 families with an adolescent aged 12 or 13 years in year 1 provided repeated measures of parent-adolescent disagreements and adolescents' internalizing symptoms over 3 and 4 years, respectively. At age 19 or 20 years, the adolescents were assessed for anxiety and depressive disorders using structured interviews based on DSM-III-R criteria. The hypothesized associations were estimated using latent growth curve modeling procedures. Results: Year 1 parent- adolescent disagreements predicted year 1 adolescents' internalizing symptoms, and changes in disagreements from year 1 to year 3 predicted changes in internalizing symptoms from year 1 to year 4. Both the year 1 level and changes in symptoms predicted internalizing disorder onset in years 4 through 7, and both the year 1 level and changes in disagreements indirectly predicted disorder onset. Conclusions: Among adolescents, persistent or escalating stressful events, such as disagreements with parents, indirectly increase the risk for internalizing disorder onset through their direct association with high or increasing symptom levels. Chronically high or increasing symptom levels directly increase risk for internalizing disorder.
• Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., & Simons, R. L. (1999). Parental protective influences and gender-specific increases in adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 9(Issue 2). doi:10.1207/s15327795jra0902_1
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  This investigation examined gender differences in growth rates of externalizing and internalizing problems over a 5-year period, from early to late adolescence. It also examined the role of parental warmth, low hostility, and child management practices in inhibiting the growth trajectories of these developmental problems. Specifically, parenting was hypothesized to exhibit either a compensatory or buffering effect on age-related increases in adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Data were collected annually from 319 mothers, fathers, and their adolescent children (168 girls, 151 boys). The results demonstrated significant gender differences in growth trajectories of externalizing and internalizing problems. Both the compensatory and buffering hypotheses were supported with regard to externalizing problems. A compensatory effect of parenting practices on levels of internalizing problems also was demonstrated. Copyright © 1999, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., Simons, R. L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1998). Predicting risk for pregnancy by late adolescence: a social contextual perspective.. Developmental psychology, 34(Issue 6). doi:10.1037/0012-1649.34.6.1233
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  To evaluate a model of social contextual influences on risk for adolescent pregnancy, 368 target adolescents (52% female, 48% male) and their mothers, fathers, and closest age siblings were assessed 6 times over a 7-year period beginning when the target adolescents were in 7th grade. Two pathways were found to increase risk for involvement in a pregnancy by late adolescence. Middle adolescent risk-taking behavior mediated the influence of early adolescent parental warmth-involvement and deviant-peer affiliations on involvement in a pregnancy by 12th grade. Also, early adolescent academic competence mediated the relationship between parental warmth-involvement and involvement in a pregnancy by 12th grade. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
• Conger, K. J., Conger, R. D., & Scaramella, L. V. (1997). Parents, siblings, psychological control, and adolescent adjustment. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12(Issue 1). doi:10.1177/0743554897121007
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  The relations between parents' and siblings' psychological control and adolescent adjustment (i.e., self-esteem and problems of internalization and externalization) were assessed over a 3 year period for 388 adolescents (7th graders at Year 1). Correlational and regression analyses were used to assess the contemporaneous and lagged associations between these variables. Patterns of association between psychological control and adolescent adjustment were consistent across family members. Results indicated that psychological control both by parents and by siblings contributes to increases in adolescents'adjustment problems and to diminished self-confidence. Relations to previous research on parents' behavior and adolescent adjustment, as well as implications for future research, are discussed.