Child Behaviour Problems Research Articles

How do behavior problems change over time in childhood? Evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study

The trajectories and predictors of childhood behavior problems remain unclear, this study aims to examine this research topic using nine waves of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. A total of 1,1779 and 1,1785 children (ages 5 to 13 years) and their parents and teachers were recruited to examine the development of internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. Results showed that internalizing problems had three developmental patterns, such as a low-increased pattern, a low-stable pattern, and a medium-decreased pattern, and externalizing problems had five developmental patterns, including a high-decreased pattern, a medium-decreased pattern, a low-high increased pattern, a low-increased pattern, and a low-stable pattern. The race, gender, family socioeconomic status, and self-control of the children predicted these trajectories. Findings suggest that changes in childhood behavior problems are heterogeneous and that individual differences should be considered when studying changes in behavior problems.

Finding the balance: The influence of movement behaviours on childhood behaviour problems

Background and aimsThe Canadian 24-h movement guidelines have led to an increased focus on movement behaviours (sleep, screen, sedentary, and physical activity) throughout the day. MethodsWe examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between 24-h movement behaviours and parent-reported levels of internalizing, externalizing, and total behaviour problems in a subset of the CHILD birth cohort study at ages 3 (N Age 3 = 541, 48.1% girls) through 5 (N Age 5 = 575, 49.6% girls). Physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep were measured using an accelerometer worn on the non-dominant wrist for seven days following a 24-h protocol. Screen time was measured via parent-report and date-matched to daily accelerometer recordings. Compositional isotemporal substitution models predicted change in behaviour problems with reallocating time between movement behaviours. ResultsCross-sectional analysis indicated that screen time relative to other movement behaviours was associated with greater externalizing behaviours at age 3 and greater internalizing and total problem behaviours at ages 3 and 5. This was supported in the longitudinal analysis, where increased screen time at 3 was associated with increased internalizing, externalizing, and total problem behaviours at 5. Cross-sectional reallocation from screen to non-screen sedentary time was associated with reductions in internalizing and total behaviour problems at 3 and 5 years and reductions in externalizing at 3. Contrary to previous findings, cross-sectional proportional increases in moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity were associated with increased externalizing and total problem behaviours at 5. ConclusionsClinicians should prioritize supporting families to find a balanced approach rather than promoting specific movement behaviours.

Maternal asthma symptoms during pregnancy on child behaviour and executive function: A Bayesian phenomics approach

ObjectiveMaternal history of inflammatory conditions has been linked to offspring developmental and behavioural outcomes. This phenomenon may be explained by the maternal immune activation (MIA) hypothesis, which posits that dysregulation of the gestational immune environment affects foetal neurodevelopment. The timing of inflammation is critical. We aimed to understand maternal asthma symptoms during pregnancy, in contrast with paternal asthma symptoms during the same period, on child behaviour problems and executive function in a population-based cohort. MethodsData were obtained from 844 families from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) birth cohort. Parent asthma symptoms during the prenatal period were reported. Asthma symptoms in children were reported longitudinally from two to five years old, while behavioural problems and executive functioning were obtained at seven years old. Parent and child measures were compared between mothers with and without prenatal asthma symptoms. Generalized linear and Bayesian phenomics models were used to determine the relation between parent or child asthma symptoms and child outcomes. ResultsChildren of mothers with prenatal asthma symptoms had greater behavioural and executive problems than controls (Cohen’s d: 0.43–0.75; all p < 0.05). This association remained after adjustments for emerging asthma symptoms during the preschool years and fathers’ asthma symptoms during the prenatal period. After adjusting for dependence between child outcomes, the Bayesian phenomics model showed that maternal prenatal asthma symptoms were associated with child internalising symptoms and higher-order executive function, while child asthma symptoms were associated with executive function skills. Paternal asthma symptoms during the prenatal period were not associated with child outcomes. ConclusionsAssociations between child outcomes and maternal but not paternal asthma symptoms during the prenatal period suggests a role for MIA. These findings need to be validated in larger samples, and further research may identify behavioural and cognitive profiles of children with exposure to MIA.

Parental Expressed Emotion and Behavioural Outcomes in Autistic Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

Growing interest in the links between parent-child relationships and child behavioural presentations in families of autistic children has led to an increased use of the Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) measure of parental expressed emotion (EE) in autism research. This review focuses on studies exploring the relationships between parental EE and behavioural outcomes in autistic children. Electronic searches of six databases and grey literature wielded eight studies that met eligibility criteria. Study designs were a mixture of cross-sectional and longitudinal and quality of studies was variable. Parental criticism was largely positively related to, and showed some predictive value for, child behaviour problems. Warmth was mostly negatively related to, and showed some predictive value for, child behaviour problems. Preliminary evidence from one study showed paternal warmth to be significantly related to child behaviours, whilst child behaviours were also significantly related to paternal warmth, suggesting a bidirectional relationship. Analysis of additional EE components produced variable results, however parental stress and depressive symptoms were consistently related to child behaviour, and preliminary evidence suggests a possible role of maternal education level and family cohesion. Outcomes were variable across FMSS coding systems and greater consistency in their application is needed in future research. The current findings suggest that parental EE has an important relationship with child behaviour and future intervention efforts may benefit from aiming to reduced EE in order to improve child outcomes.

Gender Differences in Children's Conduct Problems: A Multigroup Analysis of Latent Profiles Based on Temperament and Psychopathic Traits.

Despite the high prevalence of conduct problems in children, and their social and health impact, little is known about gender differences in their characteristics, determinants and implications. This three-year longitudinal study explored the diversity of individual trait configurations in children with conduct problems, assessing whether 1) the same profiles can be identified in boys and girls and, 2) the predictors and outcomes of these profiles are invariant across genders. A multigroup analysis of latent profiles based on temperamental and psychopathic traits was performed on a sample of 401 young children (50.87% girls) with high scores in conduct problems. Both the number of profiles and the means and variances of compositional variables were similar across genders, but the distributions were different. Four profiles were identified, and girls belonged to the least problematic group more frequently. While the predictors were invariant across genders, outcomes were not. This study contributes to the literature on heterogeneity in conduct problems by identifying specific constellations of traits in both boys and girls and shows the importance of considering gender in understanding the progression of conduct problems.

Childhood Maltreatment and Behavior Problems: Exploring the Mediating Role of Parental Attachment

Background. Childhood maltreatment occurred to be the significant risk factor for development of number of adverse mental and many behavioural problems in adolescents. Seemingly, strong parental attachment provides a positive basis to overcome the harms of childhood maltreatment. The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of parental attachment between childhood maltreatment and behaviour problems. Method. The study utilized the correlational research design and the data was collected through purposive and convenient sampling from adolescents (N = 200) with the age range of 12-18 (M = 14.70, SD = 1.74) years. Results. Significant positive association between childhood maltreatment and behaviour problems was observed. Non-significant association was found between the two subscales of parental attachment with all variables of the study except for the negative association of goal corrected partnership with childhood maltreatment and behaviour problems. Goal corrected partnership further mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and behaviour problems. The present study yielded the significance of goal corrected partnership (indicating child empathy with parents) in avoiding the adverse childhood experiences. Conclusion. The findings of the present research could be beneficial both for theory building as well as for intervention-based programs. These findings could further be utilized to spread awareness among young adolescents to modify and minimize behaviour problems.

Childhood conduct problems and parent–child talk during social and nonsocial play contexts: a naturalistic home-based experiment

Parent–child interactions are a critical pathway to emotion socialization, with disruption to these processes associated with risk for childhood behavior problems. Using computational linguistics methods, we tested whether (1) play context influenced parent–child socioemotional language, and (2) child conduct problems or callous-unemotional traits were associated with patterns of socioemotional or nonsocial language across contexts. Seventy-nine parent–child dyads (children, 5–6 years old) played a socioemotional skills (“social context”) or math (“nonsocial context”) game at home. We transcribed and analyzed game play, which had been audio recorded by participants. The social context elicited more socioemotional and cognitive words, while the nonsocial context elicited more mathematical words. The use of socioemotional language by parents and children was more strongly correlated in the social context, but context did not moderate the degree of correlation in cognitive or mathematical word use between parents and children. Children with more conduct problems used fewer socioemotional words in the social context, while children with higher callous-unemotional traits used fewer cognitive words in both contexts. We highlight the role of context in supporting socioemotionally rich parent–child language interactions and provide preliminary evidence for the existence of linguistic markers of child behavior problems. Our results also inform naturalistic assessments of parent–child interactions and home-based interventions for parents and children facing socioemotional or behavioral challenges.

How food insecurity affects children's behavior problems in early childhood: The nutrition and family stress pathways.

This study examines how household food insecurity shapes young children's behavior problems in Singapore. The analysis is based on two waves of data collected before and during COVID-19 from a nationally representative sample of 2,601 children in the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG-LEADS, Mage = 4.5 at wave 1, Mage = 6 at wave 2). Results based on propensity score matching, fixed effects analysis and lagged-variable models show a positive association between household food insecurity and children's behavior problems both concurrently and over a two-year period. Two mediating pathways of this association are identified-children's dietary intake and family stress. Children in food-insecure households tend to consume fewer vegetables and more sugar-sweetened beverages and carbohydrates, which is associated with elevated behavior problems. Parents in food-insecure households exhibit greater emotional distress, diminished parental warmth, and increased punitive parenting practices, also contributing to their children's behavior problems. The family stress pathway has a stronger explanatory power than the nutrition pathway on children's behavior problems. This study reveals that food insecurity is a risk factor for children's behavior problems in early childhood which can lead to later developmental vulnerabilities for children in financially deprived families.

Hubungan Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat (PHBS) dengan Status Gizi Balita di Desa Sidorejo Lendah Kulon Progo Yogyakarta

&#x0D; PHBS is one of the indirect factors on the nutritional status of toddlers. Health behavior problems in early childhood are related to personal hygiene and the environment. A preliminary study conducted on 10 respondents in Sidorejo Village showed that out of 10 indicators of PHBS, mothers who carried out 1-3 indicators had 1 toddler with poor nutritional status, mothers who carried out 4-5 indicators had 4 toddlers with malnutrition status, and mothers who do 8-10 indicators have five children with good nutritional status. This study aims to determine the relationship between clean and healthy living behavior and the nutritional status of toddlers in Sidorejo Lendah Kulon Progo Village, Yogyakarta. The research method uses cross-sectional analytic with the Cluster Random Sampling technique with a population of 456, a sample of 100 respondents and PHBS data collection in the form of a questionnaire. The results of this study are that there is a relationship between PHBS and the nutritional status of toddlers in Sidorejo Lendah Kulon Progo Village, Yogyakarta. In conclusion, there is a significant relationship (0.001) with a close relationship in the low category with a correlation value (0.295). The suggestions are expected to improve good PHBS, the better the implementation of PHBS for mothers, the smaller the risk of toddlers experiencing malnutrition status.

Ebeveyn-Çocuk Etkileşim Terapisi

Parent-child interaction therapy is a parent-mediated therapy approach that focuses on solving internalization-externalization problems observed in children aged 2-7. The approach based on parenting styles, attachment theory, behavioral theory, and social learning theories aims to teach play therapy skills to parents. In this direction, each stage was organized as teaching and coaching sessions in an approach that included two phases: a child-directed interaction phase and parent-directed interaction. The first stage, which is the child-directed stage, it is aimed to developing a sincere and warm relationship between the parent and the child by following the child's lead.. In the second phase, the parent-directed interaction phase, effective discipline methods are taught to parents and coached at the point of use, depending on the goal of increasing their child's adaptation skills. Therapy is not time-limited and is performance-oriented. In this study, the general characteristics of parent-child interaction therapy, its historical development, theoretical foundations, the structure of therapy sessions, the intervention process, and parent-child interaction therapy research are included. As a result of the review, depending on the international literature, can be said to be parent-child interaction therapy is an early-term, parent-oriented and evidence-based approach that is effective on early childhood compliance and behavior problems, including children with neurodevelopmental problems, parenting stress, parental efficacy perception, and family harmony.

Preliminary Investigation of the Influence of Treatment Regimen on Outcomes in Behavioral Parent Training

Caregiver engagement and implementation of behavioral strategies are essential to effective interventions targeting childhood behavior problems. The aim of this preliminary investigation was to better understand caregiver decision-making when selecting different treatment regimens in an open trial format. Treatment packages included: (1) an intensive treatment program (ITP), involving a compressed 20-hour intervention occurring 2 hours per day for 10 days; and (2) a standard dosage treatment as usual (TAU) behavioral treatment program, involving weekly 50-minute appointments. Sixty-seven families with a child between 4–11 years old (M age = 5.82) with clinically significant problem behaviors self-referred to a hospital-based outpatient behavior therapy program. Results suggest that while caregivers chose a standard treatment regimen at a ratio of 2:1, compressed treatment (ITP) was associated with increased caregiver engagement and more significant reductions in child target behavior using both direct and indirect measures. Findings provide preliminary support for the use of high dosage treatment regimens as a means of increasing caregiver engagement and in the reduction of problem behavior in young children.

Recurrent otitis media and behaviour problems in middle childhood: A longitudinal cohort study.

To investigate the long-term effects of early-life recurrent otitis media (OM) and subsequent behavioural problems in children at the age of 10 years. Data from the Raine Study, a longitudinal pregnancy cohort, were used to categorise children into those with three or more episodes of OM (rOM group) and those without a history of recurrent OM in the first 3 years of life (reference group). The parent report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to assess child behaviour at the age of 10 years. Parental questionnaires were used to report past and present diagnoses of various mental health and developmental conditions, including attention, anxiety, depression, learning, and speech-language problems. Multiple linear and logistic models were used to analyse the data and were adjusted for a fixed set of key confounding variables. The linear regression analysis revealed significant, independent associations between a history of recurrent OM and higher Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores, including total, internalising, externalising, emotional, attention/hyperactivity and peer problems subscales. Logistic regression analyses revealed an independent increased likelihood for children in the rOM group to have a diagnosis of attention, anxiety, learning and speech-language problems. Children at 10 years of age with an early history of recurrent OM are more likely to exhibit attentional and behavioural problems when compared to children without a history of recurrent OM. These findings highlight the association between early-life recurrent OM and later behavioural problems that may require professional allied health-care interventions.

Sex-specific associations of maternal and childhood urinary arsenic levels with emotional problems among 6-year-age children: Evidence from a longitudinal cohort study in China

BackgroundArsenic exposure has been linked to neurobehavior development disorders among children in cross-sectional studies, but there is little information on the effects of prenatal and childhood arsenic exposure on childhood behavior problem, especially emotional problems. ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between prenatal and childhood arsenic exposure and behavior problems among six-year-old children. Methods389 mother-child pairs from a longitudinal birth cohort were enrolled in the study. The concentrations of arsenic in maternal and 6-year-old children’s urine were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Neurobehavioral development in 6-year-old children was assessed by Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Generalized linear regression models were used to relate arsenic exposure to the score of different domains in CBCL. ResultsThe median concentrations of maternal and 6-year-old children’s urinary arsenic were 22.22 and 33.86 μg/L, respectively. After adjusting for potential covariates, natural logarithm transformed concurrent urinary arsenic levels were significantly associated with scores of anxious and depressed problems in 6-year-old girls (β = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.12–1.31, p = 0.018). Furthermore, in terms of the trajectory of arsenic exposure, compared with the “consistently low” group, the “low to high” group (β = 2.73, 95% CI: −3.99 to 9.45, p = 0.425) had a greater effect on total score of CBCL than “high to low” group (β = −0.93, 95% CI: −7.22 to 5.36, p = 0.771) in girls, although insignificant. ConclusionsOur results suggested that concurrent arsenic exposure might have an adverse effect of emotional status in girls. Further studies are needed to verify the findings and explore the mechanisms of the sex-specific association.

Mindful parenting and child behaviour problems: A chain mediating role of parental and child communicating performance.

This study investigates the impact of mindful parenting on child behaviour problems and examines the chain mediating role of parental and child communicating performance in this relationship. A 10-month follow-up survey was conducted, utilizing the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P), the Parent-Child Communication Inventory, and the abbreviated version of the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). At baseline (T1), higher levels of mindful parenting in parents were significantly and positively associated with both T1 parental communicating performance and child communicating performance. After 10 months, all three variables showed significant negative associations with child behaviour problems. T1 parental communication performance positively correlated with T1 child communication performance. After controlling for T1 child behaviour problems, children's gender and age, and parents' gender, the indirect association between T1 parents' levels of mindful parenting and T2 child behaviour problems was significant, mediated by T1 parental communicating performance and T1 child communicating performance. Mindful parenting enhances parental communication behaviour, leading to improved child communication behaviour and reduced child behaviour problems.

1.19 The Prognostic Usefulness of Multiple Specifiers for Subtyping Conduct Problems in Early Childhood

1.19 The Prognostic Usefulness of Multiple Specifiers for Subtyping Conduct Problems in Early Childhood

Digital Technology, Gaming, and Social Media: Understanding Addiction and Behaviour Problems in Children and Teenagers

The widespread availability and use of digital technology, gaming, and social media have raised concerns about their potential to foster addiction and behavior problems in children and teenagers. This white paper explores the addictive nature of digital technology, gaming, and social media and their impact on the behavior and well-being of young individuals. It also provides insights into strategies for recognizing, managing, and preventing addiction and behavior problems in this demographic.

Measurement bias in caregiver-report of early childhood behavior problems across demographic factors in an ECHO-wide diverse sample.

Research and clinical practice rely heavily on caregiver-report measures, such as the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 (CBCL/1.5-5), to gather information about early childhood behavior problems and to screen for child psychopathology. While studies have shown that demographic variables influence caregiver ratings of behavior problems, the extent to which the CBCL/1.5-5 functions equivalently at the item level across diverse samples is unknown. Item-level data of CBCL/1.5-5 from a large sample of young children (N=9087) were drawn from 26 cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program. Factor analyses and the alignment method were applied to examine measurement invariance (MI) and differential item functioning (DIF) across child (age, sex, bilingual status, and neurodevelopmental disorders), and caregiver (sex, education level, household income level, depression, and language version administered) characteristics. Child race was examined in sensitivity analyses. Items with the most impactful DIF across child and caregiver groupings were identified for Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems. The robust item sets, excluding the high DIF items, showed good reliability and high correlation with the original Internalizing and Total Problems scales, with lower reliability for Externalizing. Language version of CBCL administration, education level and sex of the caregiver respondent showed the most significant impact on MI, followed by child age. Sensitivity analyses revealed that child race has a unique impact on DIF over and above socioeconomic status. The CBCL/1.5-5, a caregiver-report measure of early childhood behavior problems, showed bias across demographic groups. Robust item sets with less DIF can measure Internalizing and Total Problems equally as well as the full item sets, with slightly lower reliability for Externalizing, and can be crosswalked to the metric of the full item set, enabling calculation of normed T scores based on more robust item sets.

Sustained improvements by behavioural parent training for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Ameta-analytic review of longer-term child and parental outcomes.

Behavioural parent training is an evidence-based intervention for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but little is known about the extent to which initial benefits are maintained. This meta-analytic review investigated longer-term (i.e., more than 2months post-intervention) child and parental outcomes of behavioural parent training for children with ADHD. We searched for randomized controlled trials and examined ADHD symptoms, behavioural problems, positive parenting, negative parenting, parenting sense of competence, parent-child relationship quality, and parental mental health as outcomes. We included 27 studies (31 interventions; 217 effect sizes), used multilevel random-effects meta-analyses for between- and within-group comparisons (pre-intervention to follow-up and post-intervention to follow-up), and explored twelve predictors of change. Between pre-intervention and follow-up (M=5.3months), we found significant small-to-moderate between-group effects of the intervention on ADHD symptoms, behavioural problems, positive parenting, parenting sense of competence and parent-child relationship quality. Within-group findings show sustained improvements in the intervention conditions for all outcome domains. There were few significant changes from post-intervention to follow-up. Additionally, the large majority of the individual effect sizes indicated sustained outcomes from post-intervention to follow-up. There were seven significant predictors of change in child outcomes, including stronger reductions in ADHD symptoms of girls and behaviour problems of younger children. In contrast with some meta-analyses on short-term effects, we found no differences between masked and unmasked outcomes on ADHD symptoms at follow-up. We conclude that behavioural parent training has longer-term benefits for children's ADHD symptoms and behavioural problems, and for positive parenting behaviours, parenting sense of competence and quality of the parent-child relationship.

I Know What to Do; I Can Do It; It Will Work: The Brief Parental Self Efficacy Scale (BPSES) for Parenting Interventions.

Parental self-efficacy predicts outcomes for parenting interventions for child behaviour problems, but there is a need for a brief measure that can be repeated over treatment and applies to a wide age range. The present study describes the development of such a measure, the Brief Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (BPSES). The psychometrics of the BPSES is presented across a wide age range from preschool to late adolescent in a sample comprised of four different intervention contexts. Evidence for structural validity, internal consistency, content validity, configural measurement invariance (equivalent factor structure) and test-retest reliability is presented alongside convergent validity against measures of parental self-efficacy, child behaviour problems, as well as self-report and observed parenting styles. Finally, lower levels of BPSES at baseline predicted increased disengagement from an intensive, individualised family therapy intervention for antisocial youth, while higher baseline levels predicted increased response to a group parenting programme for primary school aged children. The BPSES shows promise as a measure that can be used across a wide age-range, for a variety of parenting interventions for disruptive behaviour problems and which is sufficiently brief to be used as a routine outcome measurement during treatment.

Dimensions of Warm Parenting Attributions Differentiate Conduct Problem Subtypes in Young Children

Understanding the developmental psychopathology of child conduct problems (CP) has been advanced by differentiating subtypes based on levels of internalizing problems (INT) and/or callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., low empathy/guilt, poor motivation, shallow/deficient affect). The current study sought to elucidate prior inconsistencies in the role of warm/positive and harsh/negative parenting subcomponents in CP by differentiating subtypes on the basis of INT and CU traits. Parents of 135 young children (M age = 4.21 years, SD = 1.29) referred to specialty clinics for the treatment of CP completed pre-treatment measures of parenting and rated their child’s levels of CP, INT, and CU traits. Results of planned comparisons revealed that mothers of children classified as secondary CU variants (high CU/ high INT) reported fewer overall warm attributions toward their child, compared with CP-only (low CU) children. They also reported a more negative dyadic relationship characterized by feelings of anger/hostility, active avoidance and/or a desire to do harm to their child relative to primary CU variants (high CU/ low INT). Mothers of primary CU variants attributed fewer good and altruistic intentions towards others in their child, relative to CP-only children. Subtypes were undifferentiated on observed positive and negative parenting behaviors, indicative of a disconnect between parenting behaviors and cognitions for mothers of children high on CU traits. Findings are discussed in relation to their theoretical and practice implications, and in guiding future research.