Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T14:47:35.230Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Psychopathology and social competence during the transition to adolescence: The role of family adversity and pubertal development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2010

Jelena Obradović*
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Alison Hipwell
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Jelena Obradović, School of Education, Stanford University, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA 94305-3096; E-mail: jelena.obradovic@stanford.edu.

Abstract

This study examined developmental processes linking competence and psychopathology in an urban sample of girls during their transition to adolescence. Longitudinal associations among indices of externalizing symptoms, social competence, and internalizing symptoms were also tested within contexts of family adversity and girls’ pubertal status. Child, parent, and teacher report were employed to assess core constructs across six annual assessment waves, starting at age 9. Results revealed the significant effect of prior levels of externalizing symptoms on changes in social competence and internalizing symptoms, as well as reciprocal relations between social competence and internalizing symptoms. In addition, girl's maladaptive functioning predicted increases in family adversity exposure over time. Last, more mature pubertal status in early assessment waves was linked to an increase in internalizing symptoms; however, this association was reversed by the last assessment, when most girls had reached advance stages of puberty. The timing of these effects reveals important targets for future interventions aimed at promoting the successful adaptation of girls in adolescence.

Type
Regular Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Angold, A., Costello, E. J., & Worthman, C. M. (1998). Puberty and depression: The roles of age, pubertal status and pubertal timing. Psychological Medicine, 28, 5161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arnett, J. J., & Tanner, J. L. (2006). Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Barnard, K. E. (1994). Difficult Life Circumstances Scale (DLC). Seattle, WA: NCAST Publications.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. (1996). Beck Depression Inventory II manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Benjet, C., & Hernández-Guzmán, L. (2002). A short-term longitudinal study of pubertal change, gender, and psychological well-being of Mexican early adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 429442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birmaher, B., Khetarpal, S., Brent, D., Cully, M., Balach, L., Kaufman, J., et al. (1997). The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Scale construction and psychometric characteristics. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 545553.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burt, K. B., Obradović, J., Long, J. D., & Masten, A. S. (2008). The interplay of social competence and psychopathology over 20 years: Testing transactional and cascade models. Child Development, 79, 359374.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Capaldi, D. M. (1992). Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: A 2-year follow-up at Grade 8. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 125144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Capaldi, D. M., & Stoolmiller, M. (1999). Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: III. Prediction to young-adult adjustment. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 5984.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caspi, A., Lynam, D., Moffitt, T., & Silva, P. (1993). Unraveling girls’ delinquency: Biological, dispositional and contextual contributions to adolescent misbehavior. Developmental Psychology, 29, 1930.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, X., Li, D., Li, Z., Li, B., & Liu, M. (2000). Sociable and prosocial dimension of social competence in Chinese children: Common and unique contributions to social, academic, and psychological adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 36, 302314.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (1990). Peer group behavior and social status. In Asher, S. & Coie, J. D. (Eds.), Peer rejection in childhood (pp. 1759). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Coie, J. D., Terry, R., Lenox, K., & Lochman, J. (1995). Childhood peer rejection and aggression as predictors of stable patterns of adolescent disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 697713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, D. A., Martin, J. M., & Powers, B. (1997). A competency-based model of child depression: A longitudinal study of peer, parent, teacher, and self-evaluations. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 505514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, D. A., Martin, J. M., Powers, B., & Truglio, R. (1996). Modeling causal relations between academic and social competence and depression: A multitrait-multimethod longitudinal study of children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 258270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, D. A., & Maxwell, S. E. (2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: Questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 558577.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conley, C. S., & Rudolph, K. D. (2009). The emerging sex difference in adolescent depression: Interacting contribution of puberty and peer stress. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 593620.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crick, N. R., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (2003). The development of psychopathology in females and males: Current progress and future challenges. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 719742.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crockett, L. (1988). Pubertal Development Scale: Pubertal categories. Unpublished manuscript, Pennsylvania State University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies.Google Scholar
Dahl, R. E., & Spear, L. P. (Eds.). (2004). Adolescent brain development: Vulnerabilities and opportunities. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 1469CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deater-Deckard, K. (2001). Annotation: Recent research examining the role of peer relationships in the development of psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 565579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dodge, K. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2003). A biopsychosocial model of the development of chronic conduct problems in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 39, 349371.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dishion, T. J., French, D. C., & Patterson, G. R. (1995). The development and ecology of antisocial behavior. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology (Vol. 2, pp. 421471). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Patterson, G. R. (1984). Skill deficits and male adolescent delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12, 3754.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dishion, T. J., & Patterson, G. R. (2006). The development and ecology of antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology (Vol. 3, 2nd ed., pp. 503541). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Dorn, L. D., Susman, E. J., & Ponirakis, A. (2003). Pubertal timing and adolescent adjustment and behavior: Conclusions vary by rater. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32, 157167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisenberg, N., Sadovsky, A., Spinrad, T. L., Fabes, R. A., Losoya, S. H., Valiente, C., et al. (2005a). The relations of problem behavior status to children's negative emotionality, effortful control, and impulsivity: Concurrent relations and prediction of change. Developmental Psychology, 41, 193211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eisenberg, N., Zhou, Q., Spinrad, T. L., Valiente, C., Fabes, R. A., & Liew, J. (2005b). Relations among positive parenting, children's effortful control, and externalizing problems: A three-wave longitudinal study. Child Development, 76, 10551071.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gadow, K. D., & Sprafkin, J. (1994). Child Symptom Inventories manual. Stony Brook, NY: Checkmate Plus.Google Scholar
Gadow, K. D., & Sprafkin, J. (1999). Revised Norms and Scoring Guide Child Symptom Inventory (4th ed.). Stony Brook, NY: Checkmate Plus.Google Scholar
Ge, X., Brody, G. H., Conger, R. D., & Simons, R. L. (2006). Pubertal maturation and African American children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 531540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ge, X., Kim, I. J., Brody, G. H., Conger, R. D., Simons, R. L., Gibbons, F. X., et al. (2003). It's about timing and change: Pubertal transition effects on symptoms of major depression among African American youths. Developmental Psychology, 39, 430439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Graber, J. A., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Warren, M. P. (2006). Pubertal effects on adjustment in girls: Moving from demonstrating effects to identifying pathways. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 413423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanish, L. D., Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Spinrad, T. L., Ryan, P., & Schmidt, S. (2004). The expression and regulation of negative emotions: Risk factors for young children's peer victimization. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 334353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayward, C., Gotlib, I. J., Schraedley, P. K., & Litt, I. F. (1999). Ethnic differences in the association between pubertal status and symptoms of depression in adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 25, 143149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayward, C., Killen, J. D., Wilson, D. M., Hammer, L. D., Litt, I. F., Kraemer, H. C., et al. (1997). Psychiatric risk associated with early puberty in adolescent girls. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 255262.Google ScholarPubMed
Hinshaw, S. P., & Lee, S. (2003). Conduct and oppositional defiant disorders. In Barkley, R. A. & Mash, E. J. (Eds.), Child psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 144198). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hipwell, A. E., Keenan, K., Kasza, K., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Bean, T. (2008). Reciprocal influences between girls’ conduct problems and depression, and parental punishment and warmth: A six year prospective analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 663677.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hipwell, A., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Keenan, K., White, H. R., & Kroneman, L. (2002). Characteristics of girls with early onset disruptive and antisocial behaviour. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 12, 99118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hymel, S., Rubin, K. H., Rowden, L., & LeMare, L. (1990). Children's peer relationships: Longitudinal prediction of internalizing and externalizing problems from middle to late childhood. Child Development, 61, 20042021.Google Scholar
Kerr, M., Tremblay, R. E., Pagani, L., & Vitaro, F. (1997). Boys’ behavioral inhibition and the risk of later delinquency. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 809816.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kiesner, J. (2002). Depressive symptoms in early adolescence: Their relations with classroom problem behavior and peer status. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12, 463478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, J., & Cicchetti, D. (2004). A longitudinal study of child maltreatment, mother–child relationship quality and maladjustment: The role of self-esteem and social competence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32, 341354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, K. J., Conger, R. D., Elder, G. H., & Lorenz, F. O. (2003). Reciprocal influences between stressful life events and internalizing and externalizing problems. Child Development, 74, 127143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., Burke, J., Rathouz, P. J., & McBurnett, K. (2002). Waxing and waning in concert: Dynamic comorbidity of conduct disorder with other disruptive and emotional problems over 7 years among clinic-referred boys. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 256267.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Little, S. A., & Garber, J. (2004). Interpersonal and achievement orientations and specific stressors predict depressive and aggressive symptoms. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 6384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loeber, R., Farrington, D., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Van Kammen, W. (1998). Antisocial behavior and mental health problems: Explanatory factors in childhood and adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loeber, R., Green, S. M., Lahey, B. B., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1989). Optimal informants on childhood disruptive behaviors. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 317337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loeber, R., Pardini, D., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Hipwell, A., & Sembower, M. (2009). Are there stable factors in girls’ externalizing behaviors in middle childhood? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37, 777792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., Roisman, G. I., Long, J. D., Burt, K. B., Obradović, J., Riley, J. R., et al. (2005). Developmental cascades: Linking academic achievement and externalizing and internalizing symptoms over 20 years. Developmental Psychology, 41, 733746.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, R. P., & Ho, M.-H. R. (2002). Principles and practice in reporting structural equation analyses. Psychological Methods, 7, 6482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mesman, J., Bongers, I. L., & Koot, H. M. (2001). Preschool developmental pathways to preadolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 679689.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller-Johnson, S., Loeber, R., Hipwell, A. E. (2009). Peer deviance, parenting and disruptive behavior among young girls. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37, 139152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Harrington, H., & Milne, B. J. (2002). Males on the life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways: Follow-up at age 26 years. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 179207.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muthén, L., & Muthén, B. (2007). Mplus user's guide (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Author.Google Scholar
Nansel, T. R., Craig, W., Overpeck, M. D., Saluja, G., & Ruan, W. J. (2004). Cross-national consistency in the relationship between bullying behaviors and psychosocial adjustment. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 158, 730736.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neemann, J., Hubbard, J., & Masten, A. S. (1995). The changing importance of romantic relationship involvement to competence from late childhood to late adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 727750.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Obradović, J., Burt, K. B., & Masten, A. S. (2010). Testing a dual cascade model linking competence and symptoms over 20 years from childhood to adulthood. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39, 90102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Obradović, J., Shaffer, A. E., & Masten, A. S. (in press). Adversity and risk in developmental psychopathology: Progress and future directions. In Mayes, L. C. & Lewis, M. (Eds.), A Developmental Environment Measurement Handbook. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Obradović, J., van Dulmen, M., Yates, T., Carlson, E., & Egeland, B. (2006). Developmental assessment of competence from early childhood to middle adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 857889.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Obeidallah, D., Brennan, R., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Earls, F. (2004). Links between pubertal timing and neighborhood contexts: Implications for girls’ violent behavior. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 14601468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Panak, W. F., & Garber, J. (1992). Role of aggression, rejection, and attributions in the prediction of depression in children. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 145165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, G. R., & Capaldi, D. M. (1990). A comparison of models for boys’ depressed mood. In Rolf, J. E., Masten, A., Cicchetti, D., Neuchterlein, K., & Weintraub, S. (Eds.), Risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R., Reid, J. B., & Dishion, T. J. (1992). A social interactional approach: Vol. 4. Antisocial boys. Eugene, OR: Castaglia.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R., & Stoolmiller, M. (1991). Replication of dual failure model for boys’ depressed mood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 491498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petersen, A. C., Crockett, L., Richards, M., & Boxer, A. (1988). A self-report measure of pubertal status: Reliability, validity, and initial norms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 17, 117133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robertson, E., Skinner, M., Love, M., Elder, G., Conger, R., Dubas, J., et al. (1992). The Pubertal Development Scale: A rural and suburban comparison. Journal of Early Adolescence, 12, 174186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roisman, G. I., Masten, A. S., Coatsworth, J. D., & Tellegen, A. (2004). Salient and emerging developmental tasks in transition to adulthood. Child Development, 75, 123133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rudolph, K. D., Hammen, C., & Burge, K. (1995). Cognitive representations of self, family, and peers in school-age children: Links with social competence and sociometric status. Child Development, 66, 13851402.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Satorra, A. (2000). Scaled and adjusted restricted tests in multi-sample analysis of moment structures. In Heijmans, R. D. H., Pollock, D. S. G., & Satorra, A. (Eds.), Innovations in multivariate statistical analysis: A festschrift for Heinz Neudecker (pp. 233247). London: Kluwer Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, J. M., Yancey, A. K., Aneshensel, C. S., & Schuler, R. (1999). Body image, perceived pubertal timing, and adolescent mental health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 25, 155165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sontag, L. M., Graber, J. A., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Warren, M. P. (2008). Coping with social stress: Implications for psychopathology in young adolescent girls. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 11591174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sørlie, M., Amlund Hagen, K., & Ogden, T. (2008). Social competence and antisocial behavior: Continuity and distinctiveness across early adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 18, 121144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Straus, M., Hamby, S., Finkelhor, D., Moore, D., & Runyan, D. (1998). Identification of child maltreatment with the parent–child conflict tactics scales: Development and psychometric data for a national sample of American parents. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22, 249270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tanner, J. M. (1962). Growth at adolescence (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific.Google Scholar
Wiesner, M. (2003). A longitudinal latent variable analysis of reciprocal relations between depressive symptoms and delinquency during adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 633645.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Hunter, T. A., & Pronk, R. (2009). Depression as a longitudinal outcome and antecedent of preadolescents’ peer relationships and peer-relevant cognition. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 555577.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed