Relationship Between Childhood Peer Rejection and Aggression and Adolescent Delinquency Severity and Type Among African American Youth

This prospective, longitudinal study examined peer rejection and aggression in childhood as predictors of the severity and type of delinquency during adolescence. Sociometric surveys were completed at third grade for a predominantly low-socioeconomic status, urban sample of African American boys and girls, and youth reports of delinquency were gathered at Grades 6, 8, and 10. Patterns of association between childhood peer rejection and aggression and delinquency severity varied by gender. For boys, the additive effect of childhood peer rejection and aggression was a strong predictor of more serious delinquency, whereas for girls only aggression predicted more serious delinquency. For boys, the combination of peer rejection and aggression was associated with felony assaults, and aggression was associated with a wide diversity of offenses during adolescence, whereas for girls only peer rejection predicted involvement in minor assault. Results are discussed in terms of the early starter pathway of antisocial behavior as it relates to peer rejection and aggression for boys, differing predictive patterns for girls, and implications for intervention with children with emotional and behavioral disorders.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Overt and relational aggression and victimization: Multiple perspectives within the school setting

The current study involved a comprehensive comparative examination of overt and relational aggression and victimization across multiple perspectives in the school setting (peers, teachers, observers in the lunchroom, self-report). Patterns of results involving sociometic status, ethnicity and gender were explored among 4th graders, with particular emphasis on girls. Controversial and rejected children were perceived as higher on both forms of aggression than other status groups, but only rejected children were reported as victims. Both European American and African American girls showed a greater tendency toward relational aggression and victimization than overt aggression or victimization. Results indicated negative outcomes associated with both relational and overt victimization and especially overt aggression for the target girl sample. Poorer adjustment and a socially unskillful behavioral profile were found to be associated with these three behaviors. However, relational aggression did not evidence a similar negative relation to adjustment nor was it related to many of the behaviors examined in the current study. Implications of these results are discussed

Fast Track Randomized Controlled Trial to Prevent Externalizing Psychiatric Disorders: Findings From Grades 3 to 9

This study tests the efficacy of the Fast Track Program in preventing antisocial behavior and psychiatric disorders among groups varying in initial risk

Service Use Patterns for Adolescents with ADHD and Comorbid Conduct Disorder

Service use patterns and costs of youth diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid conduct disorder (CD) were assessed across adolescence (ages 12 through 17). Featured service sectors include mental health, school services, and the juvenile justice system. Data are provided by three cohorts from the Fast Track evaluation and are based on parent report. Diagnostic groups are identified through a structured assessment. Results show that public costs for youth with ADHD exceed $40,000 per child on average over a 6-year period, more than doubling service expenditures for a non-ADHD group. Public costs for children with comorbid ADHD and CD double the costs of those with ADHD alone. Varying patterns by service sector, diagnosis, and across time indicate different needs for youth with different conditions and at different ages and can provide important information for prevention and treatment researchers

Decoupling the Relation Between Risk Factors for Conduct Problems and the Receipt of Intervention Services: Participation Across Multiple Components of a Prevention Program

This study examined whether the link between risk factors for conduct problems and low rates of participation in mental health treatment could be decoupled through the provision of integrated prevention services in multiple easily-accessible contexts. It included 445 families of first-grade children (55% minority), living in four diverse communities, and selected for early signs of conduct problems. Results indicated that, under the right circumstances, these children and families could be enticed to participate at high rates in school-based services, therapeutic groups, and home visits. Because different sets of risk factors were related to different profiles of participation across the components of the prevention program, findings highlight the need to offer services in multiple contexts to reach all children and families who might benefit from them

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Peer Clique Participation and Social Status in Preadolescence

A method is described to identify peer cliques based on a consensus of group members; it provides quantitative measures of preadolescents’ involvement in cliques and their association with peers who often get in trouble. Of primary interest was the relation between peer rejection and participation in peer cliques. Characteristics of peer cliques were assessed for 824 fourth-grade youth as a function of their sociometric status, gender, and aggressiveness. Rejected youth were less central members of their group than were average-status peers; however, aggressive preadolescents were no less centrally involved than their nonaggressive peers. Rejected preadolescents also belonged to smaller cliques and to cliques comprised of other low-status peers. Aggression was the primary factor associated with being a central member of deviant peer cliques

Effectiveness of early screening for externalizing problems: issues of screening accuracy and utility

Accurate, early screening is a prerequisite for indicated interventions intended to prevent development of externalizing disorders and delinquent behaviors. Using the Fast Track longitudinal sample of 396 children drawn from high-risk environments, the authors varied assumptions about base rates and examined effects of multiple-time-point and multiple-rater screening procedures. The authors also considered the practical import of various levels of screening accuracy in terms of true and false positive rates and their potential costs and benefits. Additional research is needed to determine true costs and benefits of early screening. However, the results indicate that 1st grade single- and multiple-rater screening models effectively predicted externalizing behavior and delinquent outcomes in 4th and 5th grades and that early screening is justified