Search Results

Source: Developmental Psychology
Resulting in 26 citations.
1. Baydar, Nazli
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne
Effects of Maternal Employment and Child Care Arrangements in Infancy on Preschoolers' Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes
Developmental Psychology 27,6 (November 1991): 932-945.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/27/6/932/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Care; Child Development; Children, Academic Development; Children, Behavioral Development; General Assessment; Maternal Employment; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)

The intersection of maternal employment and child care in the first three years of life is considered with respect to its effects on cognitive and behavioral outcomes in preschool children from the Children of the NLSY. Three sets of questions are addressed relating to the effects of maternal employment in the first three years, the effects of continuity, intensity and timing of employment in the first year, and the effects of different types of child-care arrangements over and above the expected maternal employment effect. The PPVT-R and BPI scores of 572 white children who were three and four years old were examined. Employment effects on children were considered in the early years of life. For children of employed mothers, babysitter care, grandmother care, and mother care in the first year of life were associated with lower BPI scores than father care. The beneficial effects of babysitter or grandmother care were stronger for girls than for boys, and the effects of maternal care were found for boys but not for girls. Grandmother and mother care during the first year were associated with higher PPVT-R scores for children in poverty and for boys. Reasons for the greater sensitivity in boys and children in poverty to child care type are discussed and several methodological issues considered.
Bibliography Citation
Baydar, Nazli and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. "Effects of Maternal Employment and Child Care Arrangements in Infancy on Preschoolers' Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes." Developmental Psychology 27,6 (November 1991): 932-945.
2. Booker, Jordan A.
Ell, Mikayla A.
Intergenerational Transmission of Mastery Between Mothers and Older Offspring: Considering Direct, Moderated, and Mediated Effects
Developmental Psychology 58,3 (2022): 560-574.
Also: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2022-15784-001.pdf
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Children; Depression (see also CESD); Health, Mental/Psychological; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Mothers; Pearlin Mastery Scale; Self-Esteem

Mastery involves a sense of having control over one's surroundings and an ability to accomplish meaningful goals and determine important meaningful outcomes across situations. Mastery is a dynamic, learned resource that has implications for mental health. Although mastery is known to be influenced by exposure to family members (i.e., parental socialization, parenting styles; provided opportunities for autonomy and choice) there remain few long-term considerations of intergenerational transmission of mastery within families and the enduring implications for offspring's mental health and adjustment. Using a nationally representative sample from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the current study addresses the longitudinal effects of mothers' early sense of mastery on adolescent and adult offspring's mastery and well-being. In considering mothers' reports between 1987 and 1992 and offspring's ongoing reports between 1994 and 2012; this study addressed questions about direct, moderated, and mediated mother effects on longitudinal offspring outcomes. Mother mastery and mother self-esteem predicted offspring's respective reports, but only mother mastery predicted offspring depressive symptoms. Effects of mother mastery, but not mother self-esteem, were moderated by offspring age. Older offspring of high mastery mothers showed the largest benefits for reported mastery. Older offspring of low mastery mothers reported the greatest concerns with depressive symptoms. Last, effects of mother mastery on offspring depressive symptoms were mediated by offspring mastery and self-esteem. We discuss the fit of these findings with existing theories and empirical work on intergenerational transmission. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Bibliography Citation
Booker, Jordan A. and Mikayla A. Ell. "Intergenerational Transmission of Mastery Between Mothers and Older Offspring: Considering Direct, Moderated, and Mediated Effects." Developmental Psychology 58,3 (2022): 560-574.
3. Brandt, Naemi D.
Mike, Anissa
Jackson, Joshua J.
Do School-Related Experiences Impact Personality? Selection and Socialization Effects of Impulse Control
Developmental Psychology 55,12 (2019): 2561-2574.
Also: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2019-54509-001.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Children, School-Age; Personality/Big Five Factor Model or Traits; School Characteristics/Rating/Safety; Self-Control/Self-Regulation; Teachers/Faculty

Personality traits are well-known predictors of academic success across all levels of education. However, whether school provides an environment to cultivate and promote personality traits is largely unknown. Theories about personality development give reasons to assume that enduring experiences at school could lead to prolonged personality changes. We therefore studied the dynamic interplay of impulse control--an important predictor for educational and life outcomes--and perceptions of school-related experiences both in terms of selection and socialization effects. We used a large, representative, longitudinal dataset of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth following students from ages 10 to 21 across 6 assessment waves to examine mutual associations of impulse control and school-related experiences across middle and high school years. Sample sizes for the analyses ranged from 8,204 to 8,421 (51% male). Mutual associations between perceived school-related experiences and impulse control were analyzed using random intercept cross-lagged panel models. Results supported the appearance of selection and, to a lesser extent, socialization effects for impulse control and some school-related experiences. The results point to the importance of school-related experiences not limited to academic matters.
Bibliography Citation
Brandt, Naemi D., Anissa Mike and Joshua J. Jackson. "Do School-Related Experiences Impact Personality? Selection and Socialization Effects of Impulse Control." Developmental Psychology 55,12 (2019): 2561-2574.
4. Caughy, Margaret O'Brien
Health and Environmental Effects on the Academic Readiness of School-Age Children
Developmental Psychology 32,3 (May 1996): 515-522.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/32/3/515/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Birthweight; Child Health; Children, Academic Development; Children, Preschool; Children, School-Age; Family Income; Health Factors; Home Environment; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Morbidity; Mothers, Education; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); School Entry/Readiness; Socioeconomic Status (SES)

Secondary analysis was used to examine how health and environmental risk affect mathematics and reading readiness in a sample of 867 5- and 6-year-old children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Measures of risk included low birth weight, length of hospitalization at birth, rehospitalization during the first year of life, family income, maternal education, and the quality of the home environment. Although academic readiness was largely explained by environmental risk, child morbidity had a significant independent impact on reading performance. Furthermore, interaction analyses indicated that child morbidity was predictive of poor mathematics performance only for children from impoverished homes. In contrast, results also indicated that low birth weight children may be less able to benefit from higher levels of maternal education in terms of reading performance. These findings are discussed in the context of developmental risk. (PsycINFO Data base Copyr ight 1996 American Psychological Assn, all rights reserved)
Bibliography Citation
Caughy, Margaret O'Brien. "Health and Environmental Effects on the Academic Readiness of School-Age Children." Developmental Psychology 32,3 (May 1996): 515-522.
5. Chase-Lansdale, P. Lindsay
Mott, Frank L.
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne
Phillips, Deborah A.
Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY): A Unique Research Opportunity
Developmental Psychology 27,6 (November 1991): 918-931.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/27/6/918/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLS General, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Child Care; Children; General Assessment; Household Composition; Life Course; Maternal Employment; Mothers; NLS Description; Overview, Child Assessment Data; Research Methodology

The data set known as Children of the NLSY offers unusual opportunities for research on questions not easily pursued by developmental psychologists. This article provides a history of children of the NLSY, describes the data set with special focus on the child outcome measures and a subset of maternal life history measures, highlights several of the research and policy relevant issues that may be addressed, and shows how the intersection of children's and mother's lives may be studied in less static, more life-course oriented ways. Exemplars are given in the topics of maternal employment and child care, adolescent pregnancy and child rearing, divorce, poverty, and multigenerational parenting. Implications of research using children of the NLSY for the field of developmental psychology and interdisciplinary collaboration are discussed. [PsycINFO]
Bibliography Citation
Chase-Lansdale, P. Lindsay, Frank L. Mott, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Deborah A. Phillips. "Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY): A Unique Research Opportunity." Developmental Psychology 27,6 (November 1991): 918-931.
6. Duncan, Greg J.
Dowsett, Chantelle J.
Claessens, Amy
Magnuson, Katherine A.
Huston, Aletha C.
Klebanov, Pamela Kato
Pagani, Linda S.
Feinstein, Leon
Engel, Mimi
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne
Sexton, Holly
Duckworth, Kathryn
Japel, Crista
School Readiness and Later Achievement
Developmental Psychology 43,6 (November 2007): 1428-1446.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/43/6/1428/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); British Cohort Study (BCS); Children, Academic Development; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); School Entry/Readiness

Using 6 longitudinal data sets, the authors estimate links between three key elements of school readiness—school-entry academic, attention, and socioemotional skills—and later school reading and math achievement. In an effort to isolate the effects of these school-entry skills, the authors ensured that most of their regression models control for cognitive, attention, and socioemotional skills measured prior to school entry, as well as a host of family background measures. Across all 6 studies, the strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. A meta-analysis of the results shows that early math skills have the greatest predictive power, followed by reading and then attention skills. By contrast, measures of socioemotional behaviors, including internalizing and externalizing problems and social skills, were generally insignificant predictors of later academic performance, even among children with relatively high levels of problem behavior. Patterns of association were similar for boys and girls and for children from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds. (Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association)
Bibliography Citation
Duncan, Greg J., Chantelle J. Dowsett, Amy Claessens, Katherine A. Magnuson, Aletha C. Huston, Pamela Kato Klebanov, Linda S. Pagani, Leon Feinstein, Mimi Engel, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Holly Sexton, Kathryn Duckworth and Crista Japel. "School Readiness and Later Achievement ." Developmental Psychology 43,6 (November 2007): 1428-1446.
7. Grissmer, David W.
Grimm, Kevin J.
Aiyer, Sophie M.
Murrah, William M.
Steele, Joel S.
Fine Motor Skills and Early Comprehension of the World: Two New School Readiness Indicators
Developmental Psychology 46,5 (September 2010): 1008-1017.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/46/5/1008/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); British Cohort Study (BCS); Cross-national Analysis; Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-B, ECLS-K); Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Methods/Methodology; Motor and Social Development (MSD); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); School Entry/Readiness; Temperament

This paper extends the work of Duncan et al. (2007) that utilized six longitudinal data sets to identify the kindergarten readiness factors best predicting longer term achievement. Their results identified kindergarten math and reading readiness and attention as the primary predictors, while finding no effects from social skills, internalizing, and externalizing behavior. We incorporate motor skill measures from three of the data sets and find that fine motor skills are an additional strong predictor of later achievement. Fine motor skills and attention have similar predictive strength for math, but attention has a somewhat greater effect for reading. Evidence suggests that skills linked to attention and fine motor skills may remain the strongest developmental skills predicting later achievement.
Bibliography Citation
Grissmer, David W., Kevin J. Grimm, Sophie M. Aiyer, William M. Murrah and Joel S. Steele. "Fine Motor Skills and Early Comprehension of the World: Two New School Readiness Indicators ." Developmental Psychology 46,5 (September 2010): 1008-1017.
8. Hadd, Alexandria
Rodgers, Joseph Lee
Intelligence, Income, and Education as Potential Influences on a Child's Home Environment: A (Maternal) Sibling-Comparison Design
Developmental Psychology 53,7 (July 2017): 1286-1299.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/53/7/1286.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Home Environment; Household Income; Intelligence; Kinship; Mothers; Parental Influences; Siblings

The quality of the home environment, as a predictor, is related to health, education, and emotion outcomes. However, factors influencing the quality of the home environment, as an outcome, have been understudied--particularly how children construct their own environments. Further, most previous research on family processes and outcomes has implemented between-family designs, which limit claims of causality. The present study uses kinship data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to construct a maternal sibling-comparison design to investigate how maternal and child traits predict the quality of home environment. Using a standard between-family analysis, we first replicate previous research showing a relationship between maternal intelligence and the quality of the home environment. Then, we reevaluate the link between maternal intelligence and the home environment using differences between maternal sisters on several characteristics to explain differences between home environments for their children. Following, we evaluate whether child intelligence differences are related to home environment differences in the presence of maternal characteristics. Results are compared with those from the between-family analysis. Past causal interpretations are challenged by our findings, and the role of child intelligence in the construction of the home environment emerges as a critical contributor that increases in importance with development.
Bibliography Citation
Hadd, Alexandria and Joseph Lee Rodgers. "Intelligence, Income, and Education as Potential Influences on a Child's Home Environment: A (Maternal) Sibling-Comparison Design." Developmental Psychology 53,7 (July 2017): 1286-1299.
9. Han, Wen-Jui
Miller, Daniel P.
Waldfogel, Jane
Parental Work Schedules and Adolescent Risky Behaviors
Developmental Psychology 46,5 (September 2010): 1245-1267.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/46/5/1245/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Sexual Activity; Alcohol Use; Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Delinquency/Gang Activity; Depression (see also CESD); Family Structure; Maternal Employment; Mothers, Education; Parent-Child Interaction; Risk-Taking; Sexual Activity; Shift Workers; Smoking (see Cigarette Use); Substance Use; Welfare; Work Hours/Schedule

Using a large contemporary data set (the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth–Child Supplement), the authors examined the effects of parental work schedules on adolescent risky behaviors at age 13 or 14 and the mechanisms that might explain them. Structural equation modeling suggests mothers who worked more often at night spent significantly less time with children and had lower quality home environments, and these mediators were significantly linked to adolescent risky behaviors. Similar effects were not found for evening work schedules, while other types of maternal and paternal nonstandard work schedules were linked to higher parental knowledge of children's whereabouts, which led to lower levels of adolescent risky behaviors. Subgroup analyses revealed that boys, those in families with low incomes, and those whose mothers never worked at professional jobs may particularly be affected by mothers working at nights, due to spending less time together, having a lower degree of maternal closeness, and experiencing lower quality home environments. In addition, the effects of maternal night shifts were particularly pronounced if children were in the preschool or middle-childhood years when their mothers worked those schedules. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.
Bibliography Citation
Han, Wen-Jui, Daniel P. Miller and Jane Waldfogel. "Parental Work Schedules and Adolescent Risky Behaviors." Developmental Psychology 46,5 (September 2010): 1245-1267.
10. Harden, K. Paige
Tucker-Drob, Elliot M.
Individual Differences in the Development of Sensation Seeking and Impulsivity during Adolescence: Further Evidence for a Dual Systems Model
Developmental Psychology 47,3 (May 2011): 739-746.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/47/3/739/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Delinquency/Gang Activity; Genetics; Modeling, Growth Curve/Latent Trajectory Analysis; Risk-Taking; Scale Construction; Siblings

Consistent with social neuroscience perspectives on adolescent development, previous cross-sectional research has found diverging mean age-related trends for sensation seeking and impulsivity during adolescence. The present study uses longitudinal data on 7,640 youth from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth Children and Young Adults, a nationally representative sample assessed biennially from 1994 to 2006. Latent growth curve models were used to investigate mean age-related changes in self-reports of impulsivity and sensation seeking from ages 12 to 24 years, as well individual differences in these changes. Three novel findings are reported. First, impulsivity and sensation seeking showed diverging patterns of longitudinal change at the population level. Second, there was substantial person-to-person variation in the magnitudes of developmental change in both impulsivity and sensation seeking, with some teenagers showing rapid changes as they matured and others maintaining relatively constant levels with age. Finally, the correlation between age-related changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking was modest and not significant. Together, these results constitute the first support for the dual systems model of adolescent development to derive from longitudinal behavioral data. © 2011 APA, all rights reserved.
Bibliography Citation
Harden, K. Paige and Elliot M. Tucker-Drob. "Individual Differences in the Development of Sensation Seeking and Impulsivity during Adolescence: Further Evidence for a Dual Systems Model." Developmental Psychology 47,3 (May 2011): 739-746.
11. Harvey, Elizabeth
Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Early Parental Employment on Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Developmental Psychology 35,2 (March 1999): 445-459.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/35/2/445/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Children, Academic Development; Children, Behavioral Development; Cognitive Development; Family Income; Maternal Employment; Parental Influences; Parents, Single; Self-Esteem

This study examined the effects of early parental employment on children in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Minimal effects on children's later functioning were found. Early maternal employment status and the timing and continuity of early maternal employment were not consistently related to children's development. Working more hours was associated with slightly lower cognitive development through age 9 and slightly lower academic achievement scores before age 7 but had no significant relation to children's behavior problems, compliance, or self-esteem. Early parental employment appeared to be somewhat more beneficial for single mothers and lower income families. There was some support for the hypothesis that early parental employment positively affects children's development by increasing family income. Copyright 1999 the American Psychological Association.
Bibliography Citation
Harvey, Elizabeth. "Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Early Parental Employment on Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth." Developmental Psychology 35,2 (March 1999): 445-459.
12. Hendrick, C. Emily
Maslowsky, Julie
Teen Mothers' Educational Attainment and Their Children's Risk for Teenage Childbearing
Developmental Psychology 55,6 (June 2019): 1259-1273.
Also: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2019-10559-001.html
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Childbearing, Adolescent; Educational Attainment; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Modeling, Structural Equation; Mothers, Adolescent; Teenagers

The children of teen mothers are at elevated risk for becoming teen parents themselves. The current study aimed to identify how levels of mothers' education were associated with risk of teenage childbearing for children of teen versus nonteen mothers. Through structural equation modeling, we tested whether children's environmental and personal characteristics in adolescence and subsequent sexual risk behaviors mediated the relationship between their mothers' educational attainment and their risk for teenage childbearing. With multiple-group models, we assessed whether the associations of maternal educational attainment with children's outcomes were similar for the children of teen and nonteen mothers. The sample (N = 1,817) contained linked data from female National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 (NLSY79) participants and their first-born child (son or daughter) from the NLSY79 Children and Young Adults. The mediating pathways linking higher levels of maternal education to lower risk for teenage childbearing, and magnitudes of the associations, were mostly similar for children of teen and nonteen mothers. However, nonteen mothers experienced greater associations of their high school diploma attainment (vs. no degree) with some of their children's outcomes. Also, the association of earning a high school diploma (vs. a GED) with household incomes was greater for nonteen mothers; there was no significant difference between degree types for teen mothers. Findings provide support for teen mother secondary school support programming, but point to a need for further research regarding the long-term behavioral and social outcomes associated with the high school equivalency certificate for teen mothers and their children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
Bibliography Citation
Hendrick, C. Emily and Julie Maslowsky. "Teen Mothers' Educational Attainment and Their Children's Risk for Teenage Childbearing." Developmental Psychology 55,6 (June 2019): 1259-1273.
13. Hill, Jennifer L.
Waldfogel, Jane
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne
Han, Wen-Jui
Maternal Employment and Child Development: A Fresh Look Using Newer Methods
Developmental Psychology 41,6 (November 2005), 833-850.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/41/6/833/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Maternal Employment; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Propensity Scores

The employment rate for mothers with young children has increased dramatically over the past 25 years. Estimating the effects of maternal employment on children's development is challenged by selection bias and the missing data endemic to most policy research. To address these issues, this study uses propensity score matching and multiple imputation. The authors compare outcomes across 4 maternal employment patterns: no work in first 3 years postbirth, work only after 1st year, part-time work in 1st year, and full-time work in 1st year. Our results demonstrate small but significant negative effects of maternal employment on children's cognitive outcomes for full-time employment in the 1st year postbirth as compared with employment postponed until after the 1st year. Multiple imputation yields noticeably different estimates as compared with a complete case approach for many measures. Differences between results from propensity score approaches and regression modeling are often minimal.

[Editor's Summary]
This study uses data from the NLSY longitudinal study to compare outcomes across four different patterns of maternal employment: no work for three years after a child's birth, work after one year post-birth, part time work in the child's first year, and full time work in the child's first year. Findings indicate small but significant negative effects of full time maternal employment during a child's first year in comparison with the postponement of employment for one year post-birth. The authors also discuss the problem of selection bias and missing data in estimating the effects of maternal employment.

Bibliography Citation
Hill, Jennifer L., Jane Waldfogel, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Wen-Jui Han. "Maternal Employment and Child Development: A Fresh Look Using Newer Methods." Developmental Psychology 41,6 (November 2005), 833-850.
14. Jackson, Kristina M.
Schulenberg, John E.
Alcohol Use During the Transition From Middle School to High School: National Panel Data on Prevalence and Moderators
Developmental Psychology 49,11 (November 2013): 2147-2158.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/49/11/2147.html
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Alcohol Use; Gender Differences; High School; Parent Supervision/Monitoring; Racial Differences

The movement from middle school to high school is a normative transition that is typically associated with increased stress and opportunity in social and academic domains. Theoretically, this transition may reflect a turning point in terms of initiating or sharply increasing heavy alcohol use, a notion that has received little attention in the empirical literature. The present study draws on a nationally representative data set, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), to examine the impact of the high-school transition on increases in alcohol use. The multiwave multicohort design of NLSY97 permits explicit coding of the high-school transition for 3,360 adolescents (48% female; 54% non-Black/non-Hispanic). Using latent transition analysis, we examined transitions among nondrinking, light drinking, and heavy drinking classes to characterize initiation of use and progression to heavier drinking. Non-Black/non-Hispanic youth and those higher on delinquent behaviors were more likely to be involved in alcohol prior to the transition and more likely to rapidly escalate their use with the transition. Although no sex differences were observed prior to the high-school transition, girls were more likely to transition from nondrinking to light drinking, whereas boys were more likely to transition to heavy drinking. High monitoring was associated with greater progression from light drinking in middle school to heavy drinking in high school; low and moderate parental monitoring were associated with initiation of heavy drinking across the transition. The high-school transition is a time of increased risk for many young people, and greater attention to this important school transition as a time to intervene is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
Bibliography Citation
Jackson, Kristina M. and John E. Schulenberg. "Alcohol Use During the Transition From Middle School to High School: National Panel Data on Prevalence and Moderators." Developmental Psychology 49,11 (November 2013): 2147-2158.
15. Johnston, Carol A.
Cavanagh, Shannon
Crosnoe, Robert
Family Structure Patterns from Childhood through Adolescence and the Timing of Cohabitation among Diverse Groups of Young Adult Women and Men
Developmental Psychology 56,1 (2020): 165-179.
Also: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2019-64496-001.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Family Structure; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration; Modeling, Latent Class Analysis/Latent Transition Analysis; Stepfamilies; Transition, Adulthood

Family structure changes experienced by children are likely to shape their transitions into young adulthood, including the formation of their own romantic relationships. This study examined links between children's family structure trajectories from childhood through adolescence and their timing of entry into cohabitation as young adults, a transition with implications for future relationship instability through adulthood. Repeated measures latent class analysis identified configurations of family structures and family structure changes from birth through age 15 among 10,706 young people in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Children and Young Adults. A Cox proportional hazard model then used the resulting classes to predict timing into cohabitation over the period from age 15 to age 38. Both timing of family structure transitions and the type of transitions (e.g., early transitioning into a stepfamily home) were associated with earlier entry into cohabitation. Notably, links between family structure trajectories and the timing of cohabitation differed by gender and race/ethnicity (Latinx, African American, White), such as a faster entry into cohabitation by women who experienced early entry into stepfamily structures. Regardless of gender, Latinx and White young adults were faster to enter into cohabitation if they lived in a stepfamily structure during early childhood.
Bibliography Citation
Johnston, Carol A., Shannon Cavanagh and Robert Crosnoe. "Family Structure Patterns from Childhood through Adolescence and the Timing of Cohabitation among Diverse Groups of Young Adult Women and Men." Developmental Psychology 56,1 (2020): 165-179.
16. Lanza, Stephanie T.
Collins, Linda M.
A New SAS Procedure for Latent Transition Analysis: Transitions in Dating and Sexual Risk Behavior
Developmental Psychology 44,2 (March 2008): 446-456.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/44/2/446/
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Sexual Activity; Alcohol Use; Dating; Modeling, Growth Curve/Latent Trajectory Analysis

The set of statistical methods available to developmentalists is continually being expanded, allowing for questions about change over time to be addressed in new, informative ways. Indeed, new developments in methods to model change over time create the possibility for new research questions to be posed. Latent transition analysis, a longitudinal extension of latent class analysis, is a method that can be used to model development in discrete latent variables, for example, stage processes, over two or more times. The current article illustrates this approach using a new SAS procedure, PROC LTA, to model change over time in adolescent and young adult dating and sexual risk behavior. Gender differences are examined, and substance use behaviors are included as predictors of initial status in dating and sexual risk behavior and transitions over time.
Bibliography Citation
Lanza, Stephanie T. and Linda M. Collins. "A New SAS Procedure for Latent Transition Analysis: Transitions in Dating and Sexual Risk Behavior ." Developmental Psychology 44,2 (March 2008): 446-456.
17. Magnuson, Katherine A.
Maternal Education and Children's Academic Achievement During Middle Childhood
Developmental Psychology 43,6 (November 2007): 1497-1512.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/43/6/1497/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Academic Development; Educational Attainment; Family Environment; Home Environment; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Mothers, Education; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Tests and Testing

Despite much evidence that links mothers' educational attainment to children's academic outcomes, studies have not established whether increases in mothers' education will improve their children's academic achievement. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on children between the ages of 6 and 12, this study examined whether increases in mothers' educational attainment are associated with changes in children's academic achievement and the quality of their home environments. Results suggest that children of young mothers with low levels of education perform better on tests of academic skills and have higher quality home environments when their mothers complete additional schooling, whereas increased maternal education does not predict improvements in the achievement or home environments of children with older and more highly educated mothers. The estimated effects of additional maternal schooling for children of these younger mothers appear to be more pronounced for children's reading than math skills. ((c) 2007 APA.)
Bibliography Citation
Magnuson, Katherine A. "Maternal Education and Children's Academic Achievement During Middle Childhood." Developmental Psychology 43,6 (November 2007): 1497-1512.
18. Raffaelli, Marcela
Crockett, Lisa J.
Sexual Risk Taking in Adolescence: The Role of Self-Regulation and Attraction to Risk
Developmental Psychology 39,6 (November 2003): 1036-1046.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/39/6/1036/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Parental Influences; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; Risk-Taking; Self-Regulation/Self-Control; Sexual Activity; Sexual Behavior

Precursors of adolescent sexual risk taking were examined in a multiethnic sample consisting of 443 children (51% girls) of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth participants. Respondents were 12-13 years old in 1994 and 16-17 in 1998. Controlling for demographic and contextual factors, self-regulation--but not risk proneness--was significantly (modestly) associated with overall sexual risk taking 4 years later. Analyses of individual sexual behaviors indicated that self-regulation may affect choices made after becoming sexually active (e.g., number of partners) rather than the initiation of sexual activity. Measures of parent and peer influence had independent effects on sexual risk taking but did not moderate the effects of self-regulation and risk proneness. Findings add to the growing literature on implications of self-regulation for individual development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Raffaelli, Marcela and Lisa J. Crockett. "Sexual Risk Taking in Adolescence: The Role of Self-Regulation and Attraction to Risk." Developmental Psychology 39,6 (November 2003): 1036-1046.
19. Richardson, George B.
Bates, Daniel
Ross, Amy
Liu, Hexuan
Boutwell, Brian B.
Is Reproductive Development Adaptively Calibrated to Early Experience? Evidence From a National Sample of Females
Developmental Psychology 60,2 (February 2024).
Also: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001681
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Family Characteristics; Family Environment; Health Outcomes; Life History Theory; Menarche/First Menstruation; Menarche/Menstruation/Period, Early; Menstruation/Menses/Period; Reproductive Events; Siblings; Women; Womens Health

Many developmental theories have not been sufficiently evaluated using designs that control for unobserved familial confounds. Our long-term goal is to determine the causal structure underlying associations between early environmental conditions and later psychosocial and health outcomes. Our overall objective in this study was to further evaluate predictions derived from applications of life history theory to female reproductive development, key among them that reproductive milestones translate early environmental risk into fertility, health, and behavioral outcomes. To this end, we used female data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and structural equation modeling to conduct increasingly severe tests, beginning with covariate control and then progressing to sibling control and behavioral genetic designs. After adjusting for confounds varying between sets of siblings, we did not find evidence that age at menarche reflected components of early environment or that any focal outcomes reflected early fragmented family structure (birth to age nine). Although we detected no links between measured environment and individual differences in age at sexual debut, we did find that it reflected both shared and nonshared influences in our behavior genetic models. Interestingly, delayed sexual debut (into young adulthood) reflected identification of parents as the greatest influences and forecasted an array of fertility-related outcomes. Taken together, these findings challenge theories suggesting menarche timing is adaptively calibrated to early environment. They also highlight the need for more research using sibling control and related designs to examine the roles of environments in development.
Bibliography Citation
Richardson, George B., Daniel Bates, Amy Ross, Hexuan Liu and Brian B. Boutwell. "Is Reproductive Development Adaptively Calibrated to Early Experience? Evidence From a National Sample of Females." Developmental Psychology 60,2 (February 2024).
20. Rodgers, Joseph Lee
Rowe, David C.
Buster, Maury Allen
Social Contagion, Adolescent Sexual Behavior, and Pregnancy: A Nonlinear Dynamic EMOSA Model
Developmental Psychology 34,5 (September 1998): 1096-1113.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/34/5/1096/
Cohort(s): NLS General
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Alcohol Use; Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Delinquency/Gang Activity; Fertility; Modeling; Pregnancy, Adolescent; Sexual Behavior

Nonlinear dynamic modeling has useful developmental applications. The authors introduce this class of models and contrast them with traditional linear models. Epidemic models of the onset of social activities (EMOSA models) are a special case, motivated by J. L. Rodgers and D. C. Rowe's (1993) social contagion theory, which predict the spread of adolescent behaviors like smoking, drinking, delinquency, and sexuality. In this article, a biological outcome, pregnancy, is added to an earlier EMOSA sexuality model. Parameters quantify likelihood of pregnancy for girls of different sexuality statuses. Five different sexuality/pregnancy models compete to explain variance in national prevalence curves. One finding was that, in the context of the authors' simplified model, adolescent girls have an approximately constant probability of pregnancy across age and time since virginity. Copyright: 1995 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
Bibliography Citation
Rodgers, Joseph Lee, David C. Rowe and Maury Allen Buster. "Social Contagion, Adolescent Sexual Behavior, and Pregnancy: A Nonlinear Dynamic EMOSA Model." Developmental Psychology 34,5 (September 1998): 1096-1113.
21. Rodgers, Joseph Lee
Rowe, David C.
Li, Chengchang
Beyond Nature Versus Nurture: DF Analysis of Nonshared Influences on Problem Behaviors
Developmental Psychology 30,3 (May 1994):374-384.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/30/3/374/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Childbearing; Height, Height-Weight Ratios; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); I.Q.; Kinship; Siblings

DeFries and Fulker (1985) proposed a regression modeling approach -- since named DF Analysis -- that separates heredity and common environmental influences using scores from kinship pairs. A number of adaptations have been developed and used in empirical research that demonstrate the breadth of application of DF Analysis. We begin by reviewing past work and the several DF Analysis extensions that have been suggested. Following, we describe a new extension of DF Analysis in which measured indicators of the nonshared environment are added to the model. These indicators represent specific sources of environmental influence that cause related children to be different from one another. We present two empirical studies using over 7000 5-11 year-old children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Within the NLSY we identify twin, full-sibling, half-sibling, and cousin pairs. The first study is a validity analysis of kinship height and weight data. The second study demonstrates the nonshared environmental extension through an analysis of problem behavior scores. Specific nonshared environmental influences that are investigated are spanking by the mother, reading by the mother, and quality of the home environment.
Bibliography Citation
Rodgers, Joseph Lee, David C. Rowe and Chengchang Li. "Beyond Nature Versus Nurture: DF Analysis of Nonshared Influences on Problem Behaviors." Developmental Psychology 30,3 (May 1994):374-384.
22. Ryan, Rebecca M.
Nonresident Fatherhood and Adolescent Sexual Behavior: A Comparison of Siblings Approach
Developmental Psychology 51,2 (2015): 211-223.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/51/2/211.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Age at Menarche/First Menstruation; Attitudes; Fatherhood; Fathers, Absence; Gender Differences; Genetics; Modeling, Multilevel; Sexual Behavior; Siblings

Although voluminous research has linked nonresident fatherhood to riskier sexual behavior in adolescence, including earlier sexual debut, neither the causality of that link nor the mechanism accounting for it has been well-established. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979--the Young Adult Survey (CNLSY-YA), the present study addresses both questions by comparing the sexual development of siblings discordant for age at father departure from the home and examining results across behavioral (age at first intercourse), biological (pubertal timing), and cognitive (attitudes about childbearing and marriage) sexual outcomes (N=5,542). Findings indicate that nonresident fatherhood, beginning either at birth or during middle childhood, leads to an earlier sexual debut for girls, but not for boys, an effect likely explained by weak parental monitoring rather than an accelerated reproductive strategy.
Bibliography Citation
Ryan, Rebecca M. "Nonresident Fatherhood and Adolescent Sexual Behavior: A Comparison of Siblings Approach." Developmental Psychology 51,2 (2015): 211-223.
23. Ryan, Rebecca M.
Claessens, Amy
Associations Between Family Structure Changes and Children's Behavior Problems: The Moderating Effects of Timing and Marital Birth
Developmental Psychology 49,7 (July 2013): 1219-1231.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2012-20863-001/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Divorce; Family Structure; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Marital Dissolution; Parental Influences; Parental Marital Status; Parents, Single

The present study explores the implications of family instability for child development by investigating the conditions under which family structure changes matter most to child well-being. Using data from the Maternal and Child Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 3,492), it estimates how changes in family structure during four different developmental periods relate to concurrent and subsequent changes in children’s behavioral trajectories. We estimate associations separately for children born to married and unwed parents, or “fragile families”, to determine if family instability has different effects on children across policy-relevant family types. Results indicate that changes in family structure during the first three years influence children’s behavioral development more consistently than later changes, changes into a single-parent family have different implications than changes into a blended family, and changes in family structure matter more for children born to married parents than children in fragile families.
Bibliography Citation
Ryan, Rebecca M. and Amy Claessens. "Associations Between Family Structure Changes and Children's Behavior Problems: The Moderating Effects of Timing and Marital Birth." Developmental Psychology 49,7 (July 2013): 1219-1231.
24. van den Oord, Edwin J. C. G.
Rowe, David C.
Continuity and Change in Children's Social Maladjustment: A Developmental Behavior Genetic Study
Developmental Psychology 33,2 (March 1997): 319-332.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/33/2/319/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Behavioral Problems; Children, Adjustment Problems; Children, Behavioral Development; Genetics; Modeling; Siblings

Two developmental models were used to study genetic and environmental mechanisms underlying continuity and change in children's maladjustment. The transmission model assumed that successive levels of functioning were causally linked and that earlier experiences or prior genetic influences affected later maladjustment. The liability model related continuity in problem behavior to stable underlying environmental or genetic factors. The analyses pertained on average to 436 pairs of full siblings, 119 pairs of half siblings and 122 pairs of cousins for whom maternal ratings of problem behaviors were available at ages 4-6, 6-8, and 8-10. Nonshared environmental influences appeared to be most important for changes in children's problem behaviors and did not have significant effects on age-to-age continuity. To represent the genetic and shared environmental mechanisms underlying stability in problem behavior, liability models without time specific effects were preferred.
Bibliography Citation
van den Oord, Edwin J. C. G. and David C. Rowe. "Continuity and Change in Children's Social Maladjustment: A Developmental Behavior Genetic Study." Developmental Psychology 33,2 (March 1997): 319-332.
25. Vandell, Deborah Lowe
Ramanan, Janaki
Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: Choices in After-School Care and Child Development
Developmental Psychology 27,4 (July 1991): 637-643.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/27/4/637/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Behavioral Differences; Child Care; Child Development; Children, Behavioral Development; Family Income; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Income; Memory for Digit Span (WISC) - also see Digit Span; Parents, Single; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Poverty; Self-Esteem; Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC); Well-Being

The after school care (latchkey, mother, other adults) of 390 third, fourth, and fifth graders who were part of the Children of the NLSY was examined. Within this socially disadvantaged sample, mother-care after school was associated with lower family incomes, more poverty, and less emotional support of the school-aged child. In other areas (child sex, age, race, family marital status, mother age, and cognitive stimulation), families did not differ in their selection of after school care. This study also examined whether there were differences in child functioning associated with type of after school care, after controlling for family income and emotional support. Generally, latchkey children performed as well on a battery of social and cognitive assessments as children who were in other-adult care after school. In only one area was a subsample of latchkey children at risk. Latchkey children whose families were living in poverty were reported to have more antisocial behaviors. Children who returned home to single mothers showed more pervasive problems. In contrast to latchkey and other-adult care, this subsample of mother-care children had lower PPVT scores and higher rating for behavior problems.
Bibliography Citation
Vandell, Deborah Lowe and Janaki Ramanan. "Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: Choices in After-School Care and Child Development." Developmental Psychology 27,4 (July 1991): 637-643.
26. Votruba-Drzal, Elizabeth
Economic Disparities in Middle Childhood Development: Does Income Matter?
Developmental Psychology 42,6 (November 2006): 1154-1167.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/42/6/1154/
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Behavioral Problems; Child Development; Family Income; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading)

A large literature has documented the influence of family economic resources on child development, yet income's effects in middle childhood have been understudied. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 3,551), the author examined the influence of family income in early and middle childhood on academic skills and behavior problems during middle childhood. Early childhood income had enduring effects on children's behavior problems and academic skills in middle childhood. Middle childhood income did not influence academic skills but did affect the development of behavior problems during middle childhood. Children from low-income households were particularly sensitive to the effects of family income. The quality of home environment during early and middle childhood explained a portion of the effects of income on academic skills and behavior problems.
Bibliography Citation
Votruba-Drzal, Elizabeth. "Economic Disparities in Middle Childhood Development: Does Income Matter?" Developmental Psychology 42,6 (November 2006): 1154-1167.