Understanding the Interplay of Religion, Social Relationships, and Depressive Symptoms in Later Life: An Analysis of Dynamics in Individual and Dyadic Contexts.

This study examined how religious participation at the individual level and the dyadic religious similarity at the couple level influenced depressive symptoms via social relationships among older Korean couples aged 65 and above. The sample included 1,191 couples from the seventh assessment of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The findings indicated that older adults who participated in religious activities more frequently showed lower levels of depressive symptoms through increased social interactions and marital satisfaction.

Characterizing different patterns of digital competence and their associations with loneliness and social isolation among older adults: findings from South Korea.

Objectives: With the advent of worldwide internet networks in the digital age, digital competence can play an important role in decreasing loneliness and social isolation in older adults. This study characterized different patterns of digital competence among older adults and examined their associations with loneliness and social isolation.

Method: The sample included 315 older Korean adults ( = 68.

Role of Risk Taking and Inhibitory Control in Alcohol Use Among Maltreated Adolescents and Nonmaltreated Adolescents.

Exposure to childhood maltreatment is a significant risk factor for the development and persistence of problematic alcohol use. The present study examined the role of risk taking and inhibitory control, key cognitive processes believed to govern behavioral regulation, as mechanisms that underlie the association between childhood maltreatment and the early stages of alcohol use. A sample of 129 maltreated adolescents and 102 socioeconomic status-matched, nonmaltreated adolescents and their parents completed three annual assessments, including computer-administered tasks and adolescent- and parent-report questionnaires, across ages 12-13 through 14-15 years.

Distinct Profiles of Relationships With Mothers, Fathers, and Best Friends and Social-Behavioral Functioning in Early Adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Study.

Adolescents' dyadic relationships are likely influenced by the cultural context within which they exist. This study applied a person-oriented approach to examine how perceived support and negativity were manifested across youths' relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends, simultaneously, and how distinct relationship profiles were linked to adaptive and maladaptive functioning (aggression, anxious-withdrawal, prosociality) within and across cultures. Participants resided in metropolitan areas of South Korea, the United States, and Portugal (10-14 years; N = 1,233).

Long-term effects of father involvement in childhood on their son's physiological stress regulation system in adulthood.

Using a long-term prospective longitudinal study of U.S. men and their fathers, the present study examined the extent to which the quantity (i.

Behavioral and electrophysiological indices of inhibitory control in maltreated adolescents and nonmaltreated adolescents.

Early adverse experiences are believed to have a profound effect on inhibitory control and the underlying neural regions. In the current study, behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data were collected during a go/no-go task from adolescents who were involved with the child welfare system due to child maltreatment ( = 129) and low-income, nonmaltreated adolescents ( = 102). The nonmaltreated adolescents were more accurate than the maltreated adolescents on the go/no-go task, particularly on the no-go trials.

Supplementary grandchild care, social integration, and depressive symptoms: longitudinal findings from Korea.

Objectives: Despite growing concerns about the heavy reliance on supplementary grandchild care in Korea, understanding of its longitudinal effects on the grandparents' mental health has been limited. This study examined whether transition patterns of grandchild care among Korean grandparents were associated with changes in the grandparents' depressive symptoms, directly or indirectly, through changes in two domains of social integration (intergenerational contact and social activities) after controlling for socioeconomic characteristics and baseline levels of depressive symptoms and social integration.

Method: Using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging ( = 4,362), a nationally representative multiwave survey, we examined four possible statuses of grandchild care over a three-year period: started ( = 64), continuous ( = 73), and discontinued ( = 103) caregiving, and non-caregiving ( = 4,121).

General Cognitive Ability as an Early Indicator of Problem Behavior Among Toddlers in Foster Care.

Objective: Children who have experienced maltreatment and subsequent placement in foster care are at increased risk of problem behavior. Increased knowledge of the development of problem behavior in this population, particularly during toddlerhood, can greatly inform preventive intervention efforts. This study examined variability in problem behavior among toddlers entering new foster care placements and identified related child and parenting characteristics.

Intergenerational transmission of effortful control in families with school-age children in Korea.

This study examined the extent to which mothers' and fathers' effortful control influenced the development of their children's effortful control and subsequent academic adjustment directly and indirectly through parenting behaviors, using 2-wave panel data on 297 school-age children (159 girls, ages 10-11 at Time 1 [T1] and 12-13 years at Time 2 [T2]) and their parents in Korea. Mothers and fathers independently reported on their own effortful control and parenting behaviors at T1. Children's effortful control was assessed with both parents' reports and a behavioral task done by children at T1.

Children's biological responsivity to acute stress predicts concurrent cognitive performance.

Although prior research has characterized stress system reactivity (i.e. hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, HPAA; autonomic nervous system, ANS) in children, it has yet to examine the extent to which biological reactivity predicts concurrent goal-directed behavior.

Overwhelmed by Emotion: Pathways from Revictimization to Mothers' Negative Emotional Responsivity.

Maternal history of childhood abuse has consistently been linked to increased risk for poor emotional adjustment and parenting as an adult. The aim of this study was to examine a model that may explain the link between maternal history of childhood abuse and mothers' tendencies to respond negatively to their adolescent children's negative emotions. A community sample of 66 mothers with adolescent children participated.

Effects of a school readiness intervention on hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning and school adjustment for children in foster care.

Maltreated children in foster care are at high risk for dysregulated hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning and educational difficulties. The present study examined the effects of a short-term school readiness intervention on HPA axis functioning in response to the start of kindergarten, a critical transition marking entry to formal schooling, and whether altered HPA axis functioning influenced children's school adjustment. Compared to a foster care comparison group, children in the intervention group showed a steeper diurnal cortisol slope on the first day of school, a pattern previously observed among nonmaltreated children.

In the spirit of full disclosure: Maternal distress, emotion validation, and adolescent disclosure of distressing experiences.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the dynamic process of disclosure within the adolescent-mother relationship by examining how maternal personal distress and validation of adolescent negative affect would be related to adolescent disclosure of a distressing experience for the first time. A community sample of 66 mothers and their adolescent children (M = 14.31 years, 58% female) participated.

Improving kindergarten readiness in children with developmental disabilities: Changes in neural correlates of response monitoring.

Among children diagnosed with developmental delays, difficulties in self-regulation are prominent and have been linked to school readiness problems. The current study sought to examine the impact of the Kids in Transition to School (KITS) school readiness intervention program on self-regulation, with a specific focus on response monitoring skills, among children with developmental delays. Children (n = 20 in the KITS group and n = 21 in a services as usual group) were administered a flanker task during which event-related potential data were collected to examine group differences in response monitoring.

Children's Executive Function in a CPS-Involved Sample: Effects of Cumulative Adversity and Specific Types of Adversity.

Prior research has identified the presence of executive function (EF) deficits in child protective service (CPS) involved (versus non-involved) children but minimal work has examined predictors that might explain individual differences these CPS-involved children. Here, we sought to characterize EF in a large sample (N=694) of CPS-involved children and examine how specific adversities (physical abuse, neglect, caregiver domestic violence, and caregiver substance dependence) and cumulative adversity (at ages 0-3 and 3-6 years) predict EF (at approximately 5-6 years). It was expected that the sample would exhibit low EF overall based on previous research in maltreated children.

Pathways to Preventing Substance Use Among Youth in Foster Care.

Substance use problems are highly prevalent among youth in foster care. Such problems in adolescence have long-lasting implications for subsequent adjustment throughout adulthood and even across generations. Although several programs have demonstrated positive results in reducing substance use in at-risk youth, few studies have systemically examined how such programs work for foster youth and whether they are effective for both genders.

Increasing pre-kindergarten early literacy skills in children with developmental disabilities and delays.

Two hundred and nine children receiving early childhood special education services for developmental disabilities or delays who also had behavioral, social, or attentional difficulties were included in a study of an intervention to increase school readiness, including early literacy skills. Results showed that the intervention had a significant positive effect on children's literacy skills from baseline to the end of summer before the start of kindergarten (d=.14).

Decreasing Risk Factors for Later Alcohol Use and Antisocial Behaviors in Children in Foster Care by Increasing Early Promotive Factors.

Children in foster care are at high risk for poor psychosocial outcomes, including school failure, alcohol and other substance abuse, and criminal behaviors. Promoting healthy development by increasing broad-impact positive skills may help reduce some of the risk factors for longer-term negative outcomes. School readiness has been linked to a number of positive outcomes across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and may also boost intermediary positive skills such as self-competence.

Differential sensitization of parenting on early adolescent cortisol: Moderation by profiles of maternal stress.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a critical component of the body's stress-response neurobiological system, and its development and functioning are shaped by the social environment. Much of our understanding of the effects of the caregiving environment on the HPA axis is based on (a) parenting in young children and (b) individual maternal stressors, such as depression. Yet, less is known about how parenting behaviors and maternal stressors interact to influence child cortisol regulation, particularly in older children.

Mother-Youth Acculturation Gaps and Health-Risking/Emotional Problems among Latin-American Adolescents.

Second-generation Latin-American adolescents tend to show higher levels of various health-risking behaviors and emotional problems than first-generation Latin-American adolescents. This cross-sectional study of 40 mother-adolescent dyads examined the association of mother-youth acculturation gaps to youth adjustment problems. Intergenerational acculturation gaps were assessed as a bidimensional self-report component and a novel observational measurement component.

Risks, Outcomes, and Evidence-Based Interventions for Girls in the US Juvenile Justice System.

The proportion of the juvenile justice population that comprises females is increasing, yet few evidence-based models have been evaluated and implemented with girls in the juvenile justice system. Although much is known about the risk and protective factors for girls who participate in serious delinquency, significant gaps in the research base hamper the development and implementation of theoretically based intervention approaches. In this review, we first summarize the extant empirical work about the predictors and sequelae of juvenile justice involvement for girls.

Plasticity of risky decision making among maltreated adolescents: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial.

Childhood maltreatment has lasting negative effects throughout the life span. Early intervention research has demonstrated that these effects can be remediated through skill-based, family-centered interventions. However, less is known about plasticity during adolescence, and whether interventions are effective many years after children experience maltreatment.

Adverse Consequences of School Mobility for Children in Foster Care: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

Few prospective studies have examined school mobility in children in foster care. This study described the school moves of 86 such children and 55 community comparison children (primarily Caucasian), living in a medium-sized metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest who were approximately 3 to 6 years old at the study start. Additionally, the effects of moves from kindergarten through Grade 2 on academic and socioemotional competence in Grades 3 through 5 were examined.