Peer Experiences in Short-Term Residential Treatment: Individual and Group-Moderated Prediction of Behavioral Responses to Peers and Adults.

This research examined the independent and interactional contributions of peer experiences and group aggression to youth behavioral adjustment in short-term residential treatment. Participants were 219 youth (M age = 12.70, SD = 2.

Peer-nominated deviant talk within residential treatment: individual and group influences on treatment response.

This research examined deviant talk during summer residential treatment using peer nominations and extensive field observations. Participants were 239 youth (M (age) = 12.62, SD = 2.

Probing the depths of informant discrepancies: contextual influences on divergence and convergence.

This study examined how a contextual approach to child assessment can clarify the meaning of informant discrepancies by focusing on children's social experiences and their if…then reactions to them. In a sample of 123 children (M(age) = 13.30) referred to a summer program for children with behavior problems, parent-teacher agreement for syndromal measures of aggression and withdrawal was modest.

Gender similarities and differences in children's social behavior: finding personality in contextualized patterns of adaptation.

This research examined how a contextualist approach to personality can reveal social interactional patterns that are obscured by gender comparisons of overall behavior rates. For some behaviors (verbal aggression), girls and boys differed both in their responses to social events and in how often they encountered them, yet they did not differ in overall behavior rates. For other behaviors (prosocial), gender differences in overall rates were observed, yet girls and boys differed more in their social environments than in their responses to events.

Justifiable Psychopharmacology or Overzealous Prescription? Examining Parental Reports of Lifetime Prescription Histories of Psychiatrically Hospitalised Children.

Background:   This research investigated parent reports of pre-admission psychotropic medication histories of psychiatrically hospitalised children in the United States. The emphasis was on identifying factors related to potentially overzealous medication use.

Method:   Diagnosis, insurance type, and demographics for 170 consecutive admissions were assessed via research case conference and chart review.

When syndromal similarity obscures functional dissimilarity: distinctive evoked environments of externalizing and mixed syndrome boys.

This research examined how syndromal approaches to assessment can obscure differences between children in the quality of their social interactions. Mixed boys (high for externalizing and internalizing problems) showed heterogeneity in the responses they evoked from others: For one subgroup, aggression and withdrawal evoked aversive responses from others, and even prosocial behavior evoked hostile peer responses; for the other, aggression and withdrawal evoked positive peer responses. Externalizing boys also showed heterogeneity in the patterning of their evoked responses.