Developmental Psychology

Hegarty, Peter

doi: 10.1037/a0016163pmid: 19586166

In this commentary, the author reviews methodological and conceptual shortcomings of recent articles by K. D. Drummond, S. J. Bradley, M. Peterson-Badali, and K. J. Zucker (2008) as well as G. Rieger, J. A. W. Linsenmeier, L. Gygax, and J. M. Bailey (2008), which sought to predict adult sexual identity from childhood gender identity. The author argues that such research needs to incorporate a greater awareness of how stigmatization affects identity processes. Multidimensional models of gender identity that describe variation in children’s responses to pressure to conform to gender norms are particularly useful in this regard (S. K. Egan & D. G. Perry, 2001). Experiments on the interpretation of developmental data are reviewed to evidence how cultural assumptions about sexuality can impact theories of sexual identity development in unintended ways. The author concludes that understanding the development of children presumed most likely to grow up with sexual minority identities requires a consideration of the cultural contexts in which identities develop and in which psychologists theorize.

Rieger, Gerulf; Linsenmeier, Joan A. W.; Bailey, J. Michael

doi: 10.1037/a0016252pmid: 19586167

In this issue, P. Hegarty comments on an article by G. Rieger, J. A. W. Linsenmeier, L. Gygax, and J. M. Bailey (2008) that compared videos of homosexual and heterosexual people from childhood and adulthood. The current authors claim it is reasonable to treat masculinity–femininity as a bipolar scale and present justification for the approach used in the earlier study. Measures used by Rieger et al. (2008) yielded large differences between homosexual and heterosexual participants, and these differences are likely to be more meaningful than the low and nonsignificant within-group correlations on which Hegarty chose to focus. The authors address his suggestion that they are working within a paradigm detrimental to the well-being of homosexual and gender-nonconforming individuals and suggest that greater openness to research such as theirs could have beneficial consequences.

Zucker, Kenneth J.; Drummond, Kelley D.; Bradley, Susan J.; Peterson-Badali, Michele

doi: 10.1037/a0016125pmid: 19586168

P. Hegarty (2009) offered several critiques of the articles by G. Rieger, J. A. W. Linsenmeier, L. Gygax, and J. M. Bailey (2008) and K. D. Drummond, S. J. Bradley, M. Peterson-Badali, and K. J. Zucker (2008) that were published in a Developmental Psychology special section entitled “Sexual Orientation Across the Lifespan,” guest-edited by C. J. Patterson and R. C. Savin-Williams (2008): (a) reliance on a “disease paradigm” (i.e., the use of “medicalizing” language) of lesbian–gay–bisexual–transgender issues at the expense of a “stigma paradigm,” (b) endorsement of a developmental linkage between childhood sex-typed behavior and later gender identity–sexual orientation, and (c) various sociophilosophical and applied matters pertaining to the diagnosis of gender identity disorder in children. In this reply, we address these 3 criticisms and argue that an interdisciplinary approach, informed by multiple paradigms, will most certainly facilitate, not impede, the discovery of answers to many questions about psychosexual development for which data are currently lacking.

Lorber, Michael F.; Egeland, Byron

doi: 10.1037/a0015675pmid: 19586169

Developmental models and previous findings suggest that early parenting is more strongly associated with externalizing problems in early childhood than it is in adolescence. In this article, the authors address whether the association of poor-quality infancy parenting and externalizing problems “rebounds” in adulthood. Poor-quality infancy parenting was associated with externalizing problems at kindergarten and first grade (mother report) as well as at 23 and 26 years (self report). Infancy parenting was not significantly associated with either mothers’ or youths’ reports of externalizing problems at 16 years. These findings are consistent with the notion that poor-quality infancy parenting is a risk factor for externalizing problems in developmental periods for which externalizing behavior is most deviant.

Lange-Küttner, C.

doi: 10.1037/a0016133pmid: 19586170

The current study analyzed figure size modification in different types of spatial context (C. Lange-Küttner, 1997, 2004) for sequence and practice effects. Children of 7, 9, and 11 years of age, as well as 17-year-olds, drew figures in a series of ready-made spatial axes systems, which (a) logically increased in dimensional complexity as in child development, (b) were randomized in sequence, or (c) were absent, as a control condition for figure size reduction through practice. Already 7-year-olds could subtly adapt figure size in the logical sequence, but the amount of size reduction stayed within the same size range as in the other two conditions. Only at 9 years of age did children show sensitivity to spatial constraints, with smaller figures in both the logical and random sequence than in the control condition. At 11 years of age, the spatial scale of figure size was maximized, particularly so in children who could change perspective and construct a bird’s-eye view, whereas this effect was attenuated in the 17-year-olds. Implications of the results for domain-specific conceptual development are discussed.

Denissen, Jaap J. A.; van Aken, Marcel A. G.; Dubas, Judith S.

doi: 10.1037/a0016230pmid: 19586171

According to J. Belsky’s (1984) process model of parenting, both adolescents’ and parents’ personality should exert a significant impact on the quality of their mutual relationship. Using multi-informant, symmetric data on the Big Five personality traits and the relationship quality of mothers, fathers, and two adolescent children, the current study set out to test this prediction. Adolescents’ agreeableness and parents’ extraversion emerged as predictors of relationship warmth, whereas parents’ openness emerged as a predictor of low restrictive control. In addition, some gender-specific effects emerged. Overall, parents’ and adolescents’ traits equally predicted the amount of relationship warmth, whereas adolescents’ unique personality more strongly predicted the amount of restrictive control. The predictive power of adolescents’ personality increased with age. Personality characteristics that affected relationship quality were partly shared between parents and their adolescent children. Findings support Belsky’s (1984) notion that both parents’ and children’s personality predict the quality of their mutual relationship, though the relative predictive power of children and parents depends on the type of outcome variable and the age of the children.

Odgers, Candice L.; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Tach, Laura M.; Sampson, Robert J.; Taylor, Alan; Matthews, Charlotte L.; Caspi, Avshalom

doi: 10.1037/a0016162pmid: 19586172

This article reports on the influence of neighborhood-level deprivation and collective efficacy on children’s antisocial behavior between the ages of 5 and 10 years. Latent growth curve modeling was applied to characterize the developmental course of antisocial behavior among children in the E-Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, an epidemiological cohort of 2,232 children. Children in deprived versus affluent neighborhoods had higher levels of antisocial behavior at school entry (24.1 vs. 20.5, p < .001) and a slower rate of decline from involvement in antisocial behavior between the ages of 5 and 10 (−0.54 vs. −0.78, p < .01). Neighborhood collective efficacy was negatively associated with levels of antisocial behavior at school entry (r = −.10, p < .01) but only in deprived neighborhoods; this relationship held after controlling for neighborhood problems and family-level factors. Collective efficacy did not predict the rate of change in antisocial behavior between the ages of 5 and 10. Findings suggest that neighborhood collective efficacy may have a protective effect on children living in deprived contexts.

Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E.; Curby, Tim W.; Grimm, Kevin J.; Nathanson, Lori; Brock, Laura L.

doi: 10.1037/a0015861pmid: 19586173

In this study, the authors examined the extent to which children’s self-regulation upon kindergarten entrance and classroom quality in kindergarten contributed to children’s adaptive classroom behavior. Children’s self-regulation was assessed using a direct assessment upon entrance into kindergarten. Classroom quality was measured on the basis of multiple classroom observations during the kindergarten year. Children’s adaptive classroom behavior in kindergarten was assessed through teacher report and classroom observations: Teachers rated children’s cognitive and behavioral self-control and work habits during the spring of the kindergarten year; observers rated children’s engagement and measured off-task behavior at 2-month intervals from November to May. Hierarchical linear models revealed that children’s self-regulation upon school entry in a direct assessment related to teachers’ report of behavioral self-control, cognitive self-control, and work habits in the spring of the kindergarten year. Classroom quality, particularly teachers’ effective classroom management, was linked to children’s greater behavioral and cognitive self-control, children’s higher behavioral engagement, and less time spent off-task in the classroom. Classroom quality did not moderate the relation between children’s self-regulation upon school entry and children’s adaptive classroom behaviors in kindergarten. The discussion considers the implications of classroom management for supporting children’s early development of behavioral skills that are important in school settings.

Johnson, Wendy; McGue, Matt; Iacono, William G.

doi: 10.1037/a0016225pmid: 19586174

Antisocial behavior increases in adolescence, particularly among those who perform poorly in school. As adolescents move into adulthood, both educational attainment and the extent to which antisocial behavior continues have implications for adolescents’ abilities to take on constructive social roles. The authors used a population-representative longitudinal twin study to explore how links among genetic and environmental influences at ages 17 and 24 may be implicated in the developmental processes involved. At age 17, expression of both genetic and nonshared environmental vulnerabilities unique to antisocial behavior was greater among those with low GPA than among those with higher GPA. This suggested that maintenance of high GPA buffered the impact of both genetic and environmental influences encouraging antisocial behavior. When GPA was high, both genetic and environmental influences involved in both traits encouraged good school performance and restrained antisocial behavior. At age 24, however, correlated family environmental influences drove the association between educational attainment and antisocial behavior. Antisocial characteristics involving school performance and educational attainment that transcend generations may slot individuals into social categories that restrict opportunities and reinforce antisocial characteristics.

Eisenberg, Nancy; Valiente, Carlos; Spinrad, Tracy L.; Cumberland, Amanda; Liew, Jeffrey; Reiser, Mark; Zhou, Qing; Losoya, Sandra H.

doi: 10.1037/a0016213pmid: 19586175

The purpose of the study was to examine the relations of effortful control (EC), impulsivity, and negative emotionality to at least borderline clinical levels of symptoms and change in maladjustment over four years. Children’s (N = 214; 77% European American; M age = 73 months) externalizing and internalizing symptoms were rated by parents and teachers at 3 times, 2 years apart (T1, T2, and T3) and were related to children’s adult-rated EC, impulsivity, and emotion. In addition, the authors found patterns of change in maladjustment were related to these variables at T3 while controlling for the T1 predictor. Externalizing problems (pure or co-occurring with internalizing problems) were associated with low EC, high impulsivity, and negative emotionality, especially anger, and patterns of change also related to these variables. Internalizing problems were associated with low impulsivity and sadness and somewhat with high anger. Low attentional EC was related to internalizing problems only in regard to change in maladjustment. Change in impulsivity was associated with change in internalizing primarily when controlling for change in externalizing problems.