Although the association between maternal depression and adverse child outcomes is well established, the strength of the association, the breadth or specificity of the outcomes, and the role of moderators are not known. This information is essential to inform not only models of risk but also the design of preventive interventions by helping to identify subgroups at greater risk than others and to elucidate potential mechanisms as targets of interventions. A meta-analysis of 193 studies was conducted to examine the strength of the association between mothers' depression and children's behavioral problems or emotional functioning. Maternal depression was significantly related to higher levels of internalizing, externalizing, and general psychopathology and negative affect/behavior and to lower levels of positive affect/behavior, with all associations small in magnitude. These associations were significantly moderated by theoretically and methodologically relevant variables, with patterns of moderation found to vary somewhat with each child outcome. Results are interpreted in terms of implications for theoretical models that move beyond main effects models in order to more accurately identify which children of depressed mothers are more or less at risk for specific outcomes.

In light of the selective focus on maternal (vs. paternal) psychopathology as a risk factor for child development, this meta-analysis examines the relative strength of the association between psychopathology in mothers versus fathers and the presence of internalizing and externalizing disorders in children. Associations were stronger between maternal than paternal psychopathology and the presence of internalizing (but not externalizing) problems in children, with all average effect sizes being small in magnitude. Relations were moderated by variables that highlight theoretically relevant differences between psychopathology in mothers versus fathers (e.g., age of children studied, type of parental psychopathology) and by variables related to methodological differences across studies (e.g., method of assessing psychopathology in parents and children, type of sample recruited, familial composition).

Seven hundred thirty-one income-eligible families in 3 geographical regions who were enrolled in a national food supplement program were screened and randomized to a brief family intervention. At child ages 2 and 3, the intervention group caregivers were offered the Family Check-Up and linked parenting support services. Latent growth models on caregiver reports at child ages 2, 3, and 4 revealed decreased behavior problems when compared with the control group. Intervention effects occurred predominantly among families reporting high levels of problem behavior at child age 2. Families in the intervention condition improved on direct observation measures of caregivers' positive behavior support at child ages 2 and 3; improvements in positive behavior support mediated improvements in children's early problem behavior.Problem behavior in middle childhood and adolescence is a predictable outgrowth of problematic adjustment in early childhood (Brook, Whiteman, Cohen, & Tanaka, 1992;Brook, Whiteman, Gordon, & Cohen, 1986;Campbell, Shaw, & Gilliom, 2000;Caspi, Moffitt, Newman, & Silva, 1998;Hawkins, Lishner, Catalano, & Howard, 1986; Lyons-Ruth, Zeanah, & Benoit, 1996;Shaw, Gilliom, Ingoldsby, & Nagin, 2003;Vicary & Lerner, 1983). Longitudinal studies begun with children as young as age 3 years (e.g., Caspi et al., 1998) have revealed an association between early behavior problems and long-term profiles of risk, including substance dependence in young adulthood.Our study was motivated by three principles: (a) the prevention of problem behavior in children and adolescents must be family centered and ecologically focused; (b) for the most effective long-term impact on health, empirically supported family interventions must be brief and Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Thomas J. Dishion, Child and Family Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, 195 W. 12th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401. Electronic mail may be sent to E-mail: dishion@uoregon.edu.. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript therefore more cost effective and must be embedded in existing service systems (Hoagwood & Koretz, 1996); and (c) developmental transition points such as toddlerhood, school entry, and early adolescence offer unique opportunities for health promotion and risk reduction because child and family behaviors reorganize at these points (Dishion & Stormshak, 2007;Sameroff & Fiese, 1987).Intervening during the first of these transition points, when the child begins to walk and becomes physically autonomous (ages 1 − 2 years), is an important strategy for preventing adolescent problem behaviors such as delinquency and substance use. Parent -child interaction patterns during this transitional developmental period are challenged by normative increases in child mobility, language, independence, and physical aggression and noncompliance. Families' adaptation to this developmental transition forms the basis for subsequent developmental stages (Shaw, Bell, ...

Maternal depression has been consistently linked to the development of child problem behavior, particularly in early childhood, but few studies have examined whether reductions in maternal depression serve as a mediator in relation to changes associated with a family-based intervention. The current study addressed this issue with a sample of 731 families receiving services from a national food supplement and nutrition program. Families with toddlers between ages 2 and 3 were sereened and then randomized to a brief family intervention, the Family Check-Up, which included linked interventions that were tailored and adapted to the families needs. Follow-up intervention services were provided at age 3 and follow-up of child outcomes oecurred at ages 3 and 4. Latent growth models revealed intervention effects for early externalizing and internalizing problems from 2 to 4, and reductions in maternal depression from ages 2 to 3. In addition, reductions in maternal depression mediated improvements in both child externalizing and internalizing problem behavior after accounting for the potential mediating effects of improvements in positive parenting. The results are discussed with respect to targeting maternal depression in future intervention studies aimed at improving early child problem behavior.

This study used Complier Average Causal Effect analysis (CACE; see G. Imbens & D. Rubin, 1997) to examine the impact of an adaptive approach to family intervention in the public schools on rates of substance use and antisocial behavior among students ages 11-17. Students were randomly assigned to a family-centered intervention (N = 998) in 6th grade and offered a multilevel intervention that included (a) a universal classroom-based intervention, (b) the Family Check-Up (selected; T. J. Dishion & K. Kavanagh, 2003), and (c) family management treatment (indicated). All services were voluntary, and approximately 25% of the families engaged in the selected and indicated levels. Participation in the Family Check-Up was predicted by 6th-grade teacher ratings of risk, youth reports of family conflict, and the absence of biological fathers from the youths' primary home. Relative to randomized matched controls, adolescents whose parents engaged in the Family Check-Up exhibited less growth in alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use and problem behavior during ages 11 through 17, along with decreased risk for substance use diagnoses and police records of arrests by age 18.

This study tests the hypothesis that self-regulation serves as a resiliency factor in buffering youth from negative influences of peer deviance in middle to late adolescence. The interactive effects between peer deviance and self-regulation were investigated on change in antisocial behavior from age 17 to 19 years in an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents. A multi-agent construct was created using adolescent, parent, and teacher reports of self-regulation and peer deviance. Results indicated that self-regulation shows convergent validity and covaries as expected with developmental patterns of adolescent antisocial behavior. Self-regulation moderated the association of peer deviance with later self-reported adolescent antisocial behavior after controlling for prior levels of antisocial behavior. The implications of these findings for models for the development of antisocial behaviors and for intervention science are discussed.

This study examined the impact of the Family Check-Up (FCU) and linked intervention services on reducing health-risk behaviors and promoting social adaptation among middle school youth. A total of 593 students and their families were randomly assigned to receive either the intervention or middle school services as usual. Forty-two percent of intervention families engaged in the service and received the FCU. Using complier average causal effect analyses, engagement in the intervention moderated intervention outcomes. Families who engaged in the intervention had youth who reported lower rates of antisocial behavior and substance use over time than did a matched control sample. Results extend previous research indicating that a family-centered approach to supporting youth in the public school setting reduced growth of antisocial behavior, alcohol use, tobacco use, and marijuana use throughout the middle school years.

The authors examined the longitudinal effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) on parents' positive behavior support and children's school readiness competencies in early childhood. It was hypothesized that the FCU would promote language skills and inhibitory control in children at risk for behavior problems as an indirect outcome associated with targeted improvements in parents' positive behavior support. High-risk families in the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program participated in a multisite preventive intervention study (N = 731) with 3 yearly assessments beginning at child age 2 years. Positive behavior support was measured using 4 indicators derived from at-home observations of parent-child interaction during semistructured tasks. Longitudinal structural equation models revealed that parents in families randomly assigned to the FCU showed improvements in positive behavior support from child age 2 to 3, which in turn promoted children's inhibitory control and language development from age 3 to 4, accounting for child gender, ethnicity, and parental education. Findings suggest that a brief, ecological preventive intervention supporting positive parenting practices can indirectly foster key facets of school readiness in children at risk. Keywords NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptFamily intervention programs for children at risk for early conduct problems are typically designed to decrease problematic parenting practices such as coercion (Dishion, Patterson, & Kavanagh, 1992;Martinez & Forgatch, 2001;Patterson, Reid, Jones, & Conger, 1975) and to increase positive parenting practices such as parental involvement (Forgatch & Toobert, 1979;Webster-Stratton & Taylor, 2001). This focus on parenting skills is thought to lay the groundwork not only for the reduction of children's conduct problems but also for the promotion of children's normative social, emotional, and cognitive competencies during a crucial developmental period (Hess & Holloway, 1984;Shaw, Bell, & Gilliom, 2000). Parental involvement and support, for example, have been linked to children's decreased conduct problems (Gardner, Sonuga-Barke, & Sayal, 1999;Gardner, Ward, Burton, & Wilson, 2003) and improved cognitive and academic achievement (Estrada, Arsenio, Hess, & Holloway, 1987;Supplee, Shaw, Hailstones, & Hartman, 2004). Correspondingly, parenting intervention programs that aim to improve these parenting practices have been shown to be effective for reducing children's behavior problems in early childhood (Barlow & Stewart-Brown, 2000;Brestan & Eyberg, 1998;Webster-Stratton & Taylor, 2001;Yoshikawa, 1995). However, we know less about how the promotion of positive parenting in early family intervention with children at risk for conduct problems influences children's normative competencies, such as school readiness (Brooks-Gunn & Markman, 2005).School readiness is a crucial concern for young children from high-risk families because difficulties with learning at the transition into formal scho...