Susan D. Calkins - US grants

Recent research in the area of social development has focused on the multiple factors that may he involved in the development of socially competent and incompetent behavior. A model of the development of these kinds of early social tendencies has been proposed (Calkins, 1994). This model hypothesizes that early social behavior may be a function of developing emotion regulation skills and strategies, which are, in turn a product of transactions among early behavioral tendencies and maternal caregiving practices. The present investigation will use this model to study the development of early aggressive, impulsive, and hyperactive tendencies that may lead to problematic behavior throughout childhood. A number of studies have attempted to identify the precipitating factors involved in the development of aggressive, impulsive, acting-out behavior problems in childhood. These studies indicate that the etiology of such problems is likely quite complex, and that the problems themselves develop very early in life. However, few studies have examined this development from infancy or considered the multiple behavioral, physiological, and environmental factors that may play a role in the development of these problems.These factors may interact in various ways to produce particular types of social behavior and behavior problems in early childhood. To investigate the relations between these precipitating factors and the development of externalizing behavior problems, a longitudinal study is proposed. The aim of the study will be to select a group of infants who display extreme anger and frustration at 6 months of age, and follow these infants until age 4. The infants will be observed in the laboratory at 6-, 12-, and 18- months-of-age in a series of procedures designed to elicit the child's tendency to display anger/frustration and their strategy for coping with this affect. Physiological reactivity and regulation will also be assessed using measures of heart rate variability (V). At 3O-months- of-age, the infants will be observed in tasks to elicit impulsivity, non-compliance and conflict initiation with peers. Finally, at 4 years of age, peer-directed aggression, social competence and conflict behavior will be observed. The study will examine the interrelations among temperamental, physiological, environmental and regulatory factors to identify pathways to externalizing behavior in preschool.

This proposal describes a large-scale, longitudinal follow-up of a sample of children selected at age two years whose behavior was characterized by parents as problematic (aggressive and destructive). These children were assessed in the laboratory and using parent questionnaires in order to characterize their emotional, social and family functioning. Important differences between problem children and control children emerged that suggest that, rather than being transient phenomena, early behavior problems might have important developmental implications. The proposed investigation will involve multiple assessments of these children and their families in multiple contexts at several important developmental periods from age four to age seven. In addition, a second cohort of two-year-olds will be added to the study. The assessments of both cohorts will focus on five specific and interrelated domains of functioning: child characteristics, parent functioning, family environment, school adjustment and peer relationships. The study will examine the transactional role of functioning in these domains in the multiple, longitudinal pathways that may be associated with early-onset behavior problems, as well as the factors that may be associated with resilience despite the risk associated with such early problems. The proposed project is both significant and timely because, despite the clear importance of early identification of children with acting-out, aggressive behavior problems, few longitudinal studies have been conducted with children younger than 3 or 4 years of age examining the early display of these types of behaviors, the multiple factors contributing to such behavior, and the complex pathways to later psychosocial functioning.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal, which is a competing continuation of MH 58144 "Developmental trajectories of early behavior problems," proposes a follow-up of young children during middle childhood to address specific gaps in current research. Specifically, the application is to follow 3 cohorts of high risk male and female toddlers (n = 425) who have been assessed in multiple contexts, using multiple measures, including biological and behavioral measures, across multiple levels of analysis from age 2 to age 5.5 or age 7. The focus of the study has been on the global construct of externalizing problems, defined as aggression, destructive behavior, inattention, hyperactivity, and defiance, and the different pathways associated with the display of this global set of problems in toddlerhood. In this follow-up, we will be examining the pathways of specific subtypes of behavior problems from ages 7 to 10. One focus of the proposed work concerns one specific mechanism (self-regulation) that affects the trajectories of early problems, as well as two specific moderators (parenting and peer relationships) that influence the likelihood that a child will remain on a stable or persistent negative pathway during middle childhood. A second focus of this work is on the more distal risk factors, including socioeconomic status, parent functioning, and neighborhood quality, that affect trajectories of problems behavior via their influence on the more proximal mechanisms. The proposed project is both significant and timely because, despite the clear importance of early identification of children with acting-out, aggressive behavior problems, few longitudinal studies have been conducted with both boys and girls younger than 3 or 4 years of age examining the early display of these types of behaviors, the multiple factors contributing to such behavior, the different types of problems that may emerge in early childhood, and the complex pathways to later psychosocial functioning.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Recent research in clinical and developmental psychology has focused on the processes that lead to childhood adjustment problems. This research demonstrates that many adjustment problems of childhood are characterized by failures of self-regulation. Difficulties in the regulation of arousal and behavior are related to specific disorders of childhood, including attention deficit disorder and conduct problems, and related problems in family relationships, social competence, and school performance. Recent work by the Principal Investigator demonstrates that the construct of self-regulation may be usefully studied using a multi-component approach that specifies discrete levels of self-regulation (physiological, attentional, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive). Longitudinal research that the Principal Investigator has been conducting over the last ten years, following several cohorts of infants and children, has utilized this multi-component approach. The K02 award period will be used to continue work on the role of self-regulatory process in early childhood behavior disorders and to expand the Principal Investigator 's expertise in 4 core areas that will contribute to the elaboration of this model of self-regulation and developmental psychopathology. The specific aims are to: (1) further examine sub-domains of self-regulation, with specific emphasis on the cognitive skills that are characteristic of infants and children; (2) understand the possible genetic and biological contributions to self-regulation and developmental psychopathology, particularly in the context of specific rearing environments; (3) examine environmental effects on trajectories of self-regulation, particularly family processes and marital functioning; and (4) acquire skills that would facilitate the longitudinal analyses of trajectories of self-regulation and behavior problems of childhood. The goal of this award will be to initiate work on a new longitudinal study of infant and child psychopathology. This study will focus on genetic, biological, and contextual risks that affect the development of core.regulatory processes in the context of family conflict and.violence.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This revised proposal describes a longitudinal study that addresses both basic and applied questions regarding early child development by examining basic emotion and cognitive processes. We propose to examine the trajectories of emotional and cognitive control and understanding at three time points across the preschool to kindergarten period and assess their relation to early social and academic functioning in kindergarten. The theoretical framework guiding this work hypothesizes that emotional control will affect the trajectories of cognitive development, but that both sets of processes will predict successful adjustment to kindergarten. This framework also specifies a moderating effect of parenting processes in differentially affecting these emotional and cognitive developments. Three hundred children will be assessed at ages 3.5, 4.5, and during the child's transition to kindergarten. At each age, a battery of emotion and cognition tasks will be administered and parent-child interaction will be observed. In addition, during the kindergarten assessment, measures of social and academic competence will be collected. The proposal is a significant and necessary first step toward (1) specifying the core emotion and cognition processes that are implicated in early social and academic success;(2) understanding the developmental trajectories of these processes and the connections between these process;and (3) identifying the parenting factors that affect these emotion and cognition trajectories.

The development of research expertise is a complex process that begins with formal education and continues throughout one's career with self-study, workshops and other professional development activities. For experienced scholars, the Core will provide the opportunity to mentor, strengthen responsible conduct of research skills, and develop research methods and knowledge to address social determinants of health through translatable and transferable research. Further, the proposed Research Training Core will facilitate the professional development of Junior Faculty, predoctoral, masters and undergraduate trainees by providing the fundamental research training required to develop health disparities researchers; assist in the translation of research knowledge into the development and implementation of effective interventions for communities with health disparities; and enhance the development of studies, methods, measures, and systems addressing social determinants of health and health disparities. The impact of a mentoring relationship on successful attainment of career goals has received increasing recognition in recent years. Mentorship offers tangible benefits, such as expert individualized critique of work, and less tangible benefits, such as endorsed opportunities to network with senior people in the field. The mentoring relationship offers benefits to both mentor and mentee, including inspiration and fresh ideas, personal fulfillment, opportunities for collaboration, transdisciplinary strategies, and developing skills for team work. It is well documented that racial and ethnic minorities with a health disparities background are underrepresented as research scientists. Therefore, it is imperative that we train minority scholars in the area of health disparities research, for several reasons: (1) racial and ethnic minority health care professionals are significantly more likely than their white peers to serve minority and medically underserved communities, thereby helping to improve problems of limited minority access to care (HP2020; Institute of Medicine, 2004; US DHHS, 2008); (2) diversity in health professional training settings assists in efforts to improve the crosscultural training and cultural competencies of all trainees; (3) interaction among students from diverse backgrounds in training settings helps students to challenge assumptions and broaden perspectives regarding racial, ethnic and cultural differences ; (4) minority scientist and researchers bring a wide range of cultural perspectives and experiences to research teams, which increases the likelihood that social determinants and cultural issues influencing health outcomes will be addressed in the research design and study questions (lOM, WHO); and (5) minority investigators have proven valuable in increasing the number of minorities recruited to participate in research. Thus, developing a program that recruits and prepares minorities in research is imperative in narrowing the health disparities gaps. The proposed program will foster the lifelong learning of experienced scholars and the development of junior faculty members, pre-doctoral candidates, and masters and undergraduate students to conduct health disparities research by mentorship and tailored educational and practical experiences. Level-appropriate capacity-building training courses and workshops will be held. By doing so, this program will facilitate the development of health disparity researchers, per the RFA priority, the legislation authorizing the Centers of Excellence, recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Medicine, Pew Commission on Health Professions, Sullivan Report, Health Resources and Services Administration, and NIH. The Research Training Core consists of several activities: Junior Faculty Trainee, Predoctoral Trainee, Masters Trainee, Undergraduate Trainee, Visiting Lecturers/Experts, and Responsible Conduct of Research, Social Determinants of Health and Special Trainings. Descriptions of research training component are below;