Prosocial Performance Research Articles

Family and developmental correlates of adolescent involvement in decision making about screen use

ObjectiveAssess how child involvement in making rules about screen time relates to age, child prosocial functioning, and amount of screen use. MethodsNORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel was used to recruit a nationally representative sample of parents or guardians of school-aged children (age 5–17) in the United States (n = 2084). Parents completed survey that included measures of screen time, child involvement in rule making about screen use, family functioning, and dimensions of child psychosocial functioning. ResultsAcross all age categories, most families had some form of rules about the allowable amount of screen-based digital media for uses other than schoolwork: 86% of elementary school-aged children (ages 5 to 10), 81% of middle school-aged children (ages 11–13), and 61% of high school aged children (ages 14–17). Across all age groups, having rules was associated with fewer hours of screen time (elementary school: B = -1.31, 95% CI = -1.80 to −0.81, p < 0.001; middle school: B = -1.40, 95% CI = -2.20 to −0.59, p < 0.001; high school: B = -0.97, 95% CI = -1.68 to −0.27, p = 0.007). Child involvement in making rules was significantly greater for high school students as compared to elementary school students (ß=0.12, p < 0.001), and not associated with high school- or middle-school aged child screen time. Across all age groups, child involvement in making rules was associated with higher levels of prosocial functioning (elementary school: ß=0.07, p < 0.001; middle school: ß=0.19, p = 0.001; high school: ß=0.21, p < 0.001). ConclusionsChild involvement in making rules about screen use may be an opportunity to strengthen developmentally important competencies, as part of a broader autonomy-supportive approach to parenting.

Cross-informant agreement between caregivers and teachers for prosocial behavior across child welfare settings

Healthy social functioning has been a growing focus for understanding children’s positive development and well-being. Despite the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of behavior rating scales, there has been a rising issue of concern in both practice and research applications regarding rating scales and its low cross-informant agreement. The present study aimed to analyze the extent to which caregivers and teachers agree about children’s prosocial behaviors, identify whether there were differences in the degree of agreement across child welfare settings, and ultimately offer recommendations for assessing behavior for children involved with child welfare services. To do so, the reports of 1224 children, caregivers, and teachers from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) I who have been investigated by Child Protective Services (CPS) for abuse and/or neglect have been examined. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) of caregiver and teacher assessment of children’s prosocial functioning were calculated to understand the degree of agreement in their perceptions of children’s prosocial behaviors. ICC values presented show that agreement was low but significant across all samples and subscales (ICC range, 0.11–0.22). It is suggested that future researchers pursue examination of the underlying mechanisms or factors that contribute to informant discrepancies.

Prosocial attributes relate to lower recidivism in justice-involved youth: preliminary evidence using a novel measure of prosocial functioning

PurposeThough prosocial attributes are linked to positive outcomes among justice-involved adolescents and are a mainstay of numerous interventions, few measures have been specifically designed to evaluate prosocial functioning within this population. Although multiple instruments measuring aspects of prosocial behavior exist, these instruments were not designed to measure prosocial behaviors among youth in juvenile justice settings. This study aims to provide a preliminary validation of a new measure of prosocial attributes (the Prosocial Status Inventory – PSI), which was designed to comprehensively evaluate in greater depth the prosocial functioning of urban, justice-involved youth.Design/methodology/approachYouth (n = 51) were recruited as part of a larger study and were participants in a community-based mentoring program in a large, urban county in the Southern USA. Youth completed the PSI at baseline prior to their participation in the community-based mentoring program. The authors obtained follow-up data on recidivism from the county juvenile justice department.FindingsPSI scores were positively related to a lower rate of recidivism and a decrease in offending frequency over a 12-month follow-up period.Originality/valueThe current findings complement previous work, suggesting that prosocial attributes are measurable and related to important outcomes among justice-involved youth and support the utility of strengths-based treatment approaches. Moreover, it provides preliminary evidence of the utility of a new self-report measure to assess these traits within a juvenile justice population.

Digital use and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent well-being: Longitudinal evidence on socioemotional and educational outcomes.

Despite a growing body of research on associations between adolescent digital use and well-being, few studies have investigated these associations a) longitudinally and b) across socioeconomic status. The present study uses high-quality longitudinal data to examine how digital engagement shapes socioemotional and educational outcomes from early to late adolescence across socioeconomic status (SES). Participants are 7685 individuals (49.0% female) from the 1998 birth cohort of the longitudinal Growing Up In Ireland (GUI) survey. The survey was administered to Irish parents and children between 2007 and 2016 (at ages 9, 13, and 17/18). Fixed-effects regression modeling was used to establish associations between digital engagement and socioemotional and educational outcomes. Further Fixed-Effects models were analyzed separately by SES, to assess how associations between digital use and adolescent outcomes differ by socioeconomic groups. Results show that digital screen time increases markedly from early to late adolescence, but to a higher extent among low-SES versus high-SES groups. Heavy levels of digital screen time (i.e., 3+ hours daily) are associated with declines in well-being, particularly for external and prosocial functioning, while engagement in learning-oriented digital activities and gaming is associated with better adolescent outcomes. Yet, low-SES adolescents are globally more harmed than high-SES adolescents by their digital engagement, and high-SES adolescents benefit more from moderate levels of digital use and from engaging in learning-oriented digital activities. This study suggests that digital engagement is associated with socioeconomic inequalities in adolescents' socioemotional well-being and, to a lesser extent, educational outcomes.

Open-hearted: Preferences for openness in the agreeableness domain.

Open objects encourage interactivity and closed objects discourage it. Repeated experiences with open and closed objects are thought to give rise to spatial concepts that can be used to represent a variety of entities such as societies, others, and the self. The present investigation pursues the idea that preferring that which is open to that which is closed is more compatible with an agreeable mode of interacting with others. Three studies (total N=901) asked participants whether they preferred "open" or "closed" as spatial concepts. Such preferences were linked to variations in agreeableness, peer perceptions, and daily measures of pro-social functioning. Open-preferring, relative to closed-preferring, individuals scored higher in agreeableness (Study 1) and were rated by peers as interpersonally warmer (Study 2). Open preferences varied within and across persons in a daily diary protocol and, in both cases, higher levels of open preference were linked to higher levels of pro-social feeling (Study 3). The findings point to a fundamental component of spatial orientation that plays a significant role in encouraging (open) or discouraging (closed) warm, interactive relations with others.

Experiencing sweet taste is associated with an increase in prosocial behavior

Taste may be the first sense that emerged in evolution. Taste is also a very important sense since it signals potential beneficial or dangerous effects of foods. Given this fundamental role of taste in our lives, it is not surprising that taste also affects our psychological perception and thinking. For example, previous research demonstrated remarkable psychological effects of sweet taste experiences, suggesting that sweetness may be a source domain for prosocial functioning. Recent research reports that briefly experiencing sweet taste made participants more helpful in their intentions and behavior. The current study aims to test this hypothesis and to examine the neural underpinnings of this effect by using an fMRI approach. Participants were asked to taste sweet, salty, and neutral taste while lying in the fMRI scanner. Subsequently their prosocial behavior was tested by playing the dictator game, a measure of prosocial behavior. Results showed that sweet taste was associated with an increase in prosocial behavior compared with previously experiencing salty taste but did not affect control stimuli ratings. FMRI results revealed a modulation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex associated with this sweetness effect. This brain area is known to play a central role for monitoring conflicts and decisions and has been directly linked to selfish and prosocial economic decisions. The results demonstrate that sweet taste has complex psychological effects including positive and socially desirable outcomes. We discuss the results with other studies on psychological sweetness effects and suggest possible implications of these findings.

The association between attachment style and social functioning in patients with non-affective psychotic disorders, unaffected siblings and healthy controls

ObjectiveIn patients with psychotic disorders, insecure attachment styles and impaired social functioning are highly prevalent. Our aim was to explore the multi-cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between attachment style and social functioning. MethodsThis study was performed in a subsample of 119 patients with non-affective psychotic disorders, 128 unaffected siblings and 66 healthy controls within the Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis (GROUP) Study. Attachment style (using the Psychosis Attachment Measure) and three social functioning domains, namely withdrawal, interpersonal behaviour and pro-social activities as measured with the Social Functioning Scale (SFS) were assessed on two moments in time. Generalized linear mixed models and linear regression models were used. Bonferroni correction for multiple testing was applied. ResultsIn the patient group, a significant negative association was found between avoidant attachment and pro-social functioning. In the sibling and control group, we found significant negative associations between avoidant attachment and the social functioning domains withdrawal and interpersonal behaviour. We also found a significant negative association between anxious attachment and the social functioning domain withdrawal in siblings. Higher levels of insecure anxious attachment at baseline predicted a reduction of the social functioning domain interpersonal behaviour in siblings over a period of three years on a trend level. ConclusionsFindings indicate that levels of insecure attachment are elevated in patients with psychotic disorders and have a negative association with social functioning in both patients, siblings and controls. These findings warrant specific attention for attachment style in the treatment of patients with psychotic disorders and individuals with an increased vulnerability for developing psychosis.

Looking at the moral judgments of offenders through new lenses

PurposeStudies on the moral judgment of offenders conducted within a neo-Kolhbergian framework found that offenders exhibit more primitive thinking about moral issues compared to nonoffenders. The purpose of this study is to explore, within the mental model theory, the role of reasoning in moral judgments of offenders, considering both similarities and differences with nonoffenders.Design/methodology/approachA series of moral scenarios were randomly presented to both offenders and nonoffenders. Participants were asked to report their reactions for each scenario. Their reactions were coded and assessed.FindingsFindings show that moral judgments rely on the same reasoning processes in both offenders and nonoffenders: a moral scenario, in which propositions related to norms and values were manipulated, led to a scenario that generated a moral conflict (Study 1), but offenders had more intuitions about immoral scenarios than nonoffenders (Study 2). Moreover, the results partially confirm the prediction that offenders are more likely to deliberately reason about scenarios that described those crimes similar to the ones they committed (Study 3).Originality/valueThis study highlights the importance of understanding that moral judgments in both offenders and nonoffenders rely on the same reasoning processes, even though offenders tend to reason more on scenarios near to the crimes they committed. This has practical implications for interventions in so far as it could have an effect in how prosocial functioning could be promoted.

Extracurricular involvement in the school-age period and adolescent problem behavior among low-income youth.

The present study tested the protective role of youth's school-age extracurricular involvement and multiple informants' reports of adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of youth from low-income households. Participating youth (n = 635, 49% female, 49% White, 28% Black/African American, 14% biracial, 8% other race, 13% Hispanic/Latinx) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. At ages 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5, primary caregivers reported the number of extracurricular activities for which youth participated (Parent Aftercare Survey). At ages 14 and 16, measures of internalizing and externalizing problems were collected from primary and alternate caregivers (Child Behavior Checklist) and target youth (Child Depression Inventory-Short Form, Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, and Self-Report of Delinquency). At age 16, target youth also contributed measures of risky sexual behaviors and substance use (Youth Risk Behavior Survey). Teachers contributed measures of youth's internalizing and externalizing problems at age 14 (Teacher Report Form). After accounting for the effects of multiple sociodemographic factors, initial levels of child problem behavior, and intervention group status, structural equation models revealed that school-age extracurricular involvement was inversely associated with latent factors representing adolescent externalizing, but not internalizing, problems at ages 14 (β = -.13, p < .01) and 16 (β = -.12, p = .02). The present study suggests that low-income, school-age children's involvement in extracurricular activities serves a protective function in relation to adolescent externalizing problems. Future studies should assess underlying mechanisms and expand the scope of adolescent outcomes to include prosocial functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Prosocial Development in Refugee Children

Abstract Understanding how to best support resettled refugee children’s social adjustment is paramount, yet such research is scarce. In this study, we examined the prosocial functioning of refugee children who had recently resettled in Canada (N = 93; 5- to 12-year-olds; Mage = 8.16; 55% girls). Children described instances when they helped and received help from someone, and the motivations behind each helping behaviour. In narratives about providing help, children most frequently reported direct help. In narratives about receiving help, children most frequently described being taught something. Consistent with previous work with Western and non-refugee children, the children most frequently reported sympathy-based motives. However, they also frequently cited relationship-based motives—a finding which may be unique to refugee experiences (e.g. separation from family). We found developmental differences in the types of prosocial behaviours and motivations. Implications for future culturally sensitive assessments of refugee children’s positive social adjustment and mental health outcomes are discussed.

Cognitive readiness to parent, stability and change in postpartum parenting stress and social-emotional problems in early childhood: A second order growth curve model

Parenting stress (PS) is prospectively associated with children’s lowered socio-emotional functioning; however, little is known about the antecedents and consequences of changes in postpartum parenting stress and its relationship to problematic behaviors in early childhood. This research examined the longitudinal relationships between multiple measures of cognitive readiness to parent, parenting stress (initial level and growth) and child social-emotional competence at age 3. It was hypothesized that lack of cognitive readiness to parent would predict initial level and growth in PS and that initial level and change in parenting stress would, in turn, would be related to poor social-emotional development. Cognitive readiness to parent was assessed at baseline shortly after childbirth; parenting stress, conceptualized as difficult child, parent-child dysfunction and parental distress, was assessed at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months postpartum (i.e. when children were 6 months, 1, 2 and 3 years of age) using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI-SF; Abidin, 1995); children’s socio-emotional functioning was assessed with behavioral rating scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II) (BSID-II; Bayley, 1993) which was administered by professionals at age 3. Using a second order growth curve, or curve-of-factors model, the study’s hypotheses were tested with data from the Predicting and Preventing Neglect in Teen Mothers Study (2001–2007), a longitudinal study of 682 first-time mothers. Results from the latent growth curve analyses demonstrated that parenting stress predicted child socio-emotional problems. Specifically, mothers who began parenthood with high stress levels had children with lower levels of pro-social functioning (i.e. more behavior problems). Two measures of cognitive readiness to parent were associated with lower levels of postpartum PS at baseline but social support moderated the relationship between readiness to parent and parenting stress. Implications for interventions aimed at identifying families with children at risk for emotional and developmental problems and/or new parents who demonstrate changes in parenting stress during the postpartum period are discussed in context.

A Systematic Review of Treatment Integrity Assessment from 2004 to 2014: Examining Behavioral Interventions for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Many students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) receive behavioral interventions to improve academic and prosocial functioning and remediate current skill deficits. Sufficient treatment integrity is necessary for these interventions to be successful. However, a literature review of studies that evaluated behavioral intervention for students with ASD from 1993 to 2003 found that only 18% of studies included an operational definition of the intervention and measured treatment integrity. The purpose of the present study was to update this review and incorporate recent advances in implementation science (e.g., dimensions, implementation support). Of the 130 studies reviewed, treatment integrity was assessed in 43% of studies. When treatment integrity data were included, it was most often adherence data that were assessed through observation or self-report. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Relational antecedents and social implications of the emotion of empathy: Evidence from three studies.

Despite emotion researchers' strong interest in empathy and its implications for prosocial functioning, surprisingly few studies have examined parent-child attachment as a context for early origins of empathy in young children. Consequently, empirical evidence on links among children's attachment, empathy, and prosociality is thin and inconsistent. We examined such links in 2 longitudinal studies of community families (Family Study, N = 101 mothers, fathers, and children, 14 to 80 months; Parent-Child Study, mothers and children, N = 108, 15 to 45 months) and a study of low-income, diverse mothers and toddlers (Play Study, N = 186, 30 months). Children's security was assessed in Strange Situation in infancy and rated by observers and mothers using Attachment Q-Set at toddler age. Children's empathy was observed in scripted probes that involved parental simulated distress. Children's prosociality was rated by parents (Family Study, Play Study). Security with mothers related to higher empathy. For mother- and father-child dyads, security moderated the path from empathy to prosociality. For insecure children, but not secure ones, variations in empathy related to prosociality. Insecure and unempathic children were particularly low in prosociality. (PsycINFO Database Record

17. Effects of Cariprazine on Negative Symptoms, Cognitive Impairment, and Prosocial Functioning in Patients With Predominant Negative Symptoms: Post Hoc Analysis of a Phase III, Placebo-, and Active-Controlled Study

Abstract Background: Negative symptoms and cognitive deficits are core symptoms of schizophrenia that have proven to be difficult to treat and are associated with poor social/vocational functioning. Cariprazine (CAR), a D3/D2 receptor partial agonist, is approved in the United States for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. This post hoc analysis of a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled CAR study in adults with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia evaluated the effects of CAR on positive, negative, cognitive, and prosocial functioning domains in a subset of patients with predominant negative symptoms (PNS). Methods: Randomized patients received 6 weeks of double-blind treatment with CAR 3 mg/d, CAR 6 mg/d, aripiprazole 10 mg/d (ARI), or placebo (PBO). For post hoc analyses, patients with PNS were identified using baseline Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale factor scores (PANSS-FS) for positive symptoms (score ≤19; mild to moderate), negative symptoms (score ≥24; moderate to severe), and cognitive impairment (score ≥27; severe). Efficacy parameters included change from baseline to Week 6 in PANSS total score and PANSS-FS for negative, cognitive, and prosocial domains. Results: In all, 131 of 604 randomized patients met criteria for PNS (placebo = 35; CAR 3 mg/d = 27; CAR 6 mg/d = 34; ARI = 35). For CAR 6 mg/d, least squares mean differences (LSMDs) of change from baseline to Week 6 versus placebo were statistically significant on the PANSS total score (-13.9, P = .0132), and negative (-3.3, P = .0112), cognitive (-1.6, P = .0092), and prosocial (-2.9, P = .0035) factor scores. For CAR 3 mg/d, LSMDs versus placebo at Week 6 were statistically significant on the PANSS total score (-14.0; P = .0156), and cognitive (-1.5, P = .0164) and prosocial (-2.5, P = .0187) factor scores. For the negative symptoms factor score, numerical improvement was seen for CAR 3 mg/d over placebo, but the LSMD was not statistically significant at Week 6 (-2.6, P = .0515). In contrast, LSMDs for aripiprazole versus placebo were not statistically significant on PANSS total score (-9.6, P = .0800), negative (-0.6, P = .6449), cognitive (-0.6, P = .3108), or prosocial factor scores (-1.1, P = .2482). In addition, on PANSS-FS for negative symptoms, the LSMD between CAR 6 mg/d and ARI met statistical significance (-2.8, P = .0315). Conclusion: Cariprazine significantly improved overall schizophrenia symptoms, as well as negative, cognitive, and prosocial function versus placebo, in a subset of patients with PNS. These results suggest that cariprazine may be an effective treatment option for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia and its associated domains. Limitations of this analysis include the short duration (6 weeks) for evaluation of negative symptom improvement and the potential that improvements in at least some of the negative symptoms may have been secondary to improvements in positive symptoms.

Maternal mental health, child care quality, and children's behavior

Moderating effects of non-parental preschool child care quality on the impact of maternal mental health risks on children's behavioral and mental health outcomes were examined. The paper presents data both on the concurrent buffering effects on children at the age of 4 ½ while they are in child care as well as on the longitudinal effects on the children two years later in the first grade. Study participants included 294 mothers, fathers, their children, their children's non-parental caregivers in preschool child care programs and their children's first grade teachers from the Wisconsin Study of Families and Work. Using regression models to examine moderation, we found that in low quality child care, children exposed to elevated maternal depressive symptoms and anger showed more behavioral problems and worse prosocial functioning. In contrast, children in high quality child care did not present higher symptoms in relation to elevated mother mental health risks. Significant moderating effects were found in both concurrent and longitudinal analyses. Results point to potential buffering effects of high quality care for children faced with adverse family factors.

Core Features of Personality Disorder: Differentiating General Personality Dysfunctioning from Personality Traits

The distinction between general personality dysfunctioning (GPD) and specific personality traits (SPT) is an important focus of attention in the proposed revisions of the DSM-5. The present study explores the distinction between GPD and SPT using the self-report questionnaires General Assessment of Personality Disorder (GAPD) and Severity Indices for Personality Problems (SIPP-118) to measure GPD, and the NEO-PI-R to measure SPT. The sample consisted of 424 psychiatric patients. Using principal component analysis, GPD and SPT appeared to be clearly distinct components of personality. Our GPD model consisted of three factors, i.e., Self-identity dysfunctioning, Relational dysfunctioning, and Prosocial functioning. This model remained by and large intact when combined with SFT factors. Our findings support the distinction between personality traits and personality dysfunction laid down in the recent proposal by the Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group of the DSM-5 Task Force.

A method of assessing the resilience of whole communities of children: An example from rural Australia.

BackgroundChildren living in socioeconomic disadvantage are at risk of poor mental health outcomes. In order to focus and evaluate population health programs to facilitate children’s resilience, it is important to accurately assess baseline levels of functioning. With this end in mind, the aim of this study was to test the utility of 1) a voluntary random sampling method and 2) quantitative measures of adaptation (with national normative data) for assessing the resilience of children in an identified community.MethodThis cross-sectional study utilized a sample of participants (N = 309), including parents (n = 169), teachers (n = 20) and children (n = 170; age range = 5-16 years), recruited from the schools in Tenterfield; a socioeconomically disadvantaged community in New South Wales, Australia. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; including parent, teacher and youth versions) was used to measure psychological well-being and pro-social functioning, and NAPLAN results (individual children’s and whole school’s performance in literacy and numeracy) were used to measure level of academic achievement.ResultsThe community’s disadvantage was evident in the whole school NAPLAN performance but not in the sample’s NAPLAN or SDQ results. The teacher SDQ ratings appeared to be more reliable than parent’s ratings. The voluntary random sampling method (requiring parental consent) led to sampling bias.ConclusionsThe key indicators of resilience - psychological well-being, pro-social functioning and academic achievement – can be measured in whole communities using the teacher version of the SDQ and whole school results on a national test of literacy and numeracy (e.g., Australia’s NAPLAN). A voluntary random sample (dependent upon parental consent) appears to have limited value due to the likelihood of sampling bias.

Honing in on the Social Phenotype in Williams Syndrome Using Multiple Measures and Multiple Raters

The behavioral phenotype of Williams syndrome (WS) is characterized by difficulties with establishment and maintenance of friendships despite high levels of interest in social interaction. Here, parents and teachers rated 84 children with WS ages 4-16 years using two commonly-used measures assessing aspects of social functioning: the Social Skills Rating System and the Social Responsiveness Scale. Mean prosocial functioning fell in the low average to average range, whereas social reciprocity was perceived to be an area of significant difficulty for many children. Concordance between parent and teacher ratings was high. Patterns of social functioning are discussed. Findings highlight the importance of parsing the construct of social skills to gain a nuanced understanding of the social phenotype in WS.

Tasks and skills in youth with problem behaviour. Development of a questionnaire

Although in treating adolescents with problem behaviour emphasis is placed on teaching skills of immediate relevance to everyday prosocial functioning, instruments for assessing these skills have been lacking. This article describes the development and preliminary validation of an instrument that enables group care workers to assess skilful behaviour in adolescents in residential treatment facilities: the Adolescents' Tasks and Skills Questionnaire (TASQ). TASQ was constructed using data on 567 adolescents in Dutch residential treatment facilities. TASQ's 29 scales provide insight into specific skills and comprise six wide-ranging competency dimensions. Internal consistency is satisfactory and the preliminary validation study yielded promising results.

College Students' Views On Pregnancy Intention And Contraceptive Responsibility

Parenting stress (PS) is prospectively associated with children’s lowered socio-emotional functioning; however, little is known about the antecedents and consequences of changes in postpartum parenting stress and its relationship to problematic behaviors in early childhood. This research examined the longitudinal relationships between multiple measures of cognitive readiness to parent, parenting stress (initial level and growth) and child social-emotional competence at age 3. It was hypothesized that lack of cognitive readiness to parent would predict initial level and growth in PS and that initial level and change in parenting stress would, in turn, would be related to poor social-emotional development. Cognitive readiness to parent was assessed at baseline shortly after childbirth; parenting stress, conceptualized as difficult child, parent-child dysfunction and parental distress, was assessed at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months postpartum (i.e. when children were 6 months, 1, 2 and 3 years of age) using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI-SF; Abidin, 1995); children’s socio-emotional functioning was assessed with behavioral rating scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II) (BSID-II; Bayley, 1993) which was administered by professionals at age 3. Using a second order growth curve, or curve-of-factors model, the study’s hypotheses were tested with data from the Predicting and Preventing Neglect in Teen Mothers Study (2001–2007), a longitudinal study of 682 first-time mothers. Results from the latent growth curve analyses demonstrated that parenting stress predicted child socio-emotional problems. Specifically, mothers who began parenthood with high stress levels had children with lower levels of pro-social functioning (i.e. more behavior problems). Two measures of cognitive readiness to parent were associated with lower levels of postpartum PS at baseline but social support moderated the relationship between readiness to parent and parenting stress. Implications for interventions aimed at identifying families with children at risk for emotional and developmental problems and/or new parents who demonstrate changes in parenting stress during the postpartum period are discussed in context.