This study used a school-based community sample (N=920) to examine trajectories of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and expressed anger in the critical years of emerging adulthood (ages 18-25). Using data from 5 waves, the authors discovered that multilevel models indicated that, on average, depressive symptoms and expressed anger declined, whereas self-esteem increased. Between-persons predictors of variability in trajectories included gender (gender gaps in depressive symptoms and self-esteem narrowed), parents' education, and conflict with parents (depressive symptoms and expressed anger improved fastest in participants with highly educated parents and in those with higher conflict). Across time, increases in social support and marriage were associated with increased psychological well-being, whereas longer periods of unemployment were connected with higher depression and lower self-esteem. Emerging adulthood is a time of improving psychological well-being, but individual trajectories depend on specific individual and family characteristics as well as role changes.

This study examined the relative influence of three parenting behaviors (support, behavioral control, and psychological control) and deviant peers on trajectories of externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence. A white, working-to-middle-class sample of adolescents and their mothers and fathers in twoearner families participated in a 3 1 2 -year longitudinal study (N=109 families). The study began when the adolescents were in sixth grade (M age=11.5 years). Analyses showed that parents' firm behavioral control seemed to halt the upward trajectory in externalizing problems among adolescents with deviant peers. Initial levels of internalizing problems were higher among adolescents with parents who reported lower levels of behavioral control and among adolescents with deviant peers. This study suggests that parenting exerts an important influence in adolescents' lives and may do so even in the face of potentially negative peer influence.

We compared the occurrence and timing of divorce in 391 parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a matched representative sample of parents of children without disabilities using a survival analysis. Parents of children with an ASD had a higher rate of divorce than the comparison group (23.5% vs. 13.8%). The rate of divorce remained high throughout the son/daughter's childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood for parents of children with an ASD, whereas it decreased following the son/daughter's childhood (after about age 8 years) in the comparison group. Younger maternal age when the son/daughter with ASD was born and having the son/daughter born later in the birth order were positively predictive of divorce for parents of children with an ASD. Findings have implications for interventions focused on ameliorating ongoing and long term marital strains for parents of children with an ASD. KeywordsAutism spectrum disorders; Divorce; Marital Relationship; and Parent Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/fam NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) are lifelong neurodevelopmental disorders involving a triad of impairments in communication, social reciprocity, and repetitive/restricted interests and behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Parenting a son or daughter with an ASD poses several unique challenges (e.g., Seltzer, Krauss, Orsmond, & Vestal, 2001), which may take a toll on marriages. The extent of this toll in terms of divorce has been the topic of wide speculation in the media, with divorce rates of 80% and higher mentioned (Doherty, 2008;Solomon & Thierry, 2006), but the issue has not yet been addressed by empirical research. In this study, we compare the occurrence and timing of divorce among parents with an adolescent or adult with an ASD to a closely matched sample of parents of adolescents and adults without a disability drawn from a nationally representative sample. Family characteristics predictive of divorce are also identified.Several studies have examined parental divorce in heterogeneous samples of children with a variety of disabilities or specific populations of children with disabilities other than ASD. Some of these studies indicate that parents of children with a disability have an increased risk of divorce as compared to parents of children without a disability (Breslau & Davis, 1986;Witt, Riley, & Coiro, 2003; Wymbs, Pelhma, Molina, Gnagy, Wilson, & Greenhou...

Results showed that although there was not a statistically significant increase in depressive symptoms in early adolescence, there was a robust gender difference in the levels of depressive symptoms and the prevalence of MDE, with girls more affected than boys. Over time, decreases in social support and increases in smoking were both linked to increases in depressive symptoms. Moreover, youth who smoked and who were free from major depression in 1994 were 1.4 times more likely to report a MDE in 1996 or 1998. To be effective, prevention and treatment programmes for depression may also need to address risks such as poor social support and smoking, as these risk factors may serve to maintain depressive symptoms over time.

The objective of this study was to identify risk and resource factors related to body dissatisfaction for girls and boys in early adolescence. Participants were 91 girls and 79 boys in Grades 7 and 10 who were participants in the second wave of a 3-year longitudinal study of adolescents' psychosocial maturity. Separate hierarchical regressions were conducted for girls and boys. Three risk factors for girls' body dissatisfaction were identified: weight (higher body mass index), greater figure management, and being teased about appearance. For boys, being teased was the only significant risk factor. Perceived mother acceptance and father acceptance were the only significant resource factors for girls. No resource factors were significant for boys. Resource factors did not evidence protective effects (i.e., moderate effects of significant risks) against body dissatisfaction for girls or for boys. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research that has linked body dissatisfaction to disordered eating.

Raising an adolescent or adult child with a developmental disability confers exceptional caregiving challenges on parents. We examined trajectories of two indicators of emotional wellbeing (depressive symptoms and anxiety) in a sample of primarily Caucasian mothers (N = 379; M age = 51.22 years at Time 1) of adolescent and adult children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD; M age = 21.91 years at Time 1, 73.2% male). We also investigated within-person associations of child context time-varying covariates (autism symptoms, behavior problems, residential status) and maternal context time-varying covariates (social support network size and stressful family events) with the trajectories of emotional well-being. Data were collected on 5 occasions across a 10-year period. Average patterns of stable (depressive symptoms) and improved (anxiety) emotional well-being were evident and well-being trajectories were sensitive to fluctuations in both child and maternal context variables. On occasions when behavior problems were higher, depressive symptoms and anxiety were higher. On occasions after which the grown child moved out of the family home, anxiety was lower. Anxiety was higher on occasions when social support networks were smaller and when more stressful life events were experienced. These results have implications for midlife and aging families of children with an ASD and those who provide services to these families. Keywordsmaternal well-being; depressive symptoms; anxiety; autism spectrum disorders; longitudinal Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/DEV NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptRaising an adolescent or adult child with a developmental disability can be stressful and confers exceptional caregiving challenges on parents. Much research has focused on stress associated with having a young child with a developmental disability, but less research has focused on how adult children with developmental disabilities affect the well-being of parents in midlife and old age (Ryff, Singer, & Seltzer, 2002). What is known about the well-being of parents of adult children with developmental disabilities comes from a relatively small literature characterized by cross-sectional and short-term longitudinal studies. We expand the depth of this knowledge by examining how changes in the functioning of adolescent and adult children and changes in maternal context variables covary with trajectories of depressive symptoms and anxiety across a 10-year peri...

Objective The premutation of the FMR1 gene (defined as between 55 and 200 CGG repeats) is estimated to affect 1 in 149 females and 1 in 643 males, and some people who carry the FMR1 premutation display signs of impairment. Method This study focuses on 82 premutation carrier mothers (M age = 51.4 years; SD = 7.7) of adolescent and adult children with fragile X syndrome (FXS). A Gene × Environment interaction approach examined the ways in which the experience of negative life events interacts with genetic vulnerability to predict depressive symptoms, anxiety, and daily cortisol levels. Results The associations of life events with all 3 dependent measures were associated with CGG repeat length but in a curvilinear manner. Mothers with midsize CGG repeats who experienced above-average numbers of negative life events in the previous year had more depressive symptoms and anxiety and had a blunted cortisol awakening response, as compared with those with higher or lower repeat lengths. However, mothers with midsize CGG repeats who experienced below-average numbers of negative life events in the previous year had the lowest levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety, and they exhibited the typical cortisol response to awakening, meeting the criteria for differential susceptibility. Conclusions This research extends our understanding of the phenotypic effects of the expansion of the FMR1 gene, and it adds to the growing literature on the curvilinear relationship between CGG repeat length and mental and physical health.

The present study explored the behavioral profile of individuals with fragile X syndrome during adolescence and adulthood. Individuals with both fragile X syndrome and autism (n = 30) were compared with (a) individuals diagnosed with fragile X syndrome (but not autism; n = 106) and (b) individuals diagnosed with autism (but not fragile X syndrome; n = 135) on measures of autism symptoms, adaptive functioning, behavior problems, and psychological symptoms. Results indicated that individuals dually diagnosed with fragile X syndrome and autism displayed greater communication and social reciprocity impairments than individuals with fragile X syndrome only. Individuals in the dually diagnosed group also exhibited higher levels of repetitive and challenging behaviors than either comparison group, suggesting a unique profile of vulnerability for those diagnosed with both fragile X syndrome and autism.