IMPULSIVITY TRAITS AND THE LONGITUDINAL PREDICTION OF ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS DURING THE TRANSITION FROM ELEMENTARY TO MIDDLE SCHOOL

The aim of this study was to test for prospective relationships between personality factors measured in elementary school and drinking, smoking, and binge eating during the first year of middle school. Data were collected among adolescents drawn from 23 elementary schools and 15 middles schools in central Kentucky. In a two-wave study, 1,906 children completed questionnaire measures in the spring of 5th grade and the spring of 6th grade. After controlling for sex, pubertal status, and prior engagement in addictive behaviors, it was found that urgency at wave 1 predicted drinking, smoking, and binge eating at wave 2, and low conscientiousness at wave 1 predicted drinking and smoking at wave 2. Risky behaviors during the first year of middle school predict subsequent life problems and subsequent diagnosable addictive disorders. The finding that those behaviors can be predicted by personality factors measured in elementary school indicates the value, for risk researchers and prevention specialists, of focusing efforts on children prior to the onset of adolescence

INTERNALIZING AND EXTERNALIZING DYSFUNCTION: AN INTEGRATIVE MODEL OF ADOLESCENT DRINKING

Separate externalizing and internalizing pathways to problem drinking have been described. However, internalizing and externalizing are substantially correlated, thus, there is good reason to believe that these two forms of dysfunction behaviors do not operate independently. We tested an integrative developmental model of transactions among internalizing symptomatology, externalizing personality, and psychosocial learning in the prediction of both drinking problems and future internalizing symptoms. To do so, we studied a large sample (n = 1910, 49.9% female) of children over a critical developmental period, from the spring of 5th (last year elementary school) grade through the spring of 9th grade (first year of high school). Using a battery of self-report questionnaires, we assessed demographics, pubertal status, negative urgency, depressive symptoms, positive drinking expectancies, and drinking behavior. Specifically, the present study tested whether internalizing symptomatology (depressive symptoms) in elementary school predicts a classic externalizing pathway ( to problem drinking in middle school, and whether problem drinking in middle school predicts increased depressive symptomatology in highschool. Structural equation modeling yielded significant findings for hypothesized direct and indirect pathways, with overall good model fit (CFI = .94; SRMR = .05; RMSEA = .05, 90% CI .04-.05): elementary school depressive symptomatology predicted middle school drinking problems (mediated by negative urgency and psychosocial learning) and middle school drinking problems predicted increased risk for depressive symptoms in high school, pointing to a reciprocal relationship between internalizing and externalizing dysfunction. The present study incorporated internalizing symptomatology into a traditional externalizing model of drinking risk, and demonstrated a reciprocal relationship between internalizing and externalizing dysfunction during adolescence. These findings are particularly noteworthy when considered in a developmental framework. The present study highlights the need to integrate both internalizing and externalizing forms of dysfunction into models of substance use risk

A Parent-Led Intervention to Promote Recovery Following Pediatric Injury: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Injury is one of the most prevalent potentially emotionally traumatic events that children experience and can lead to persistent impaired physical and emotional health. There is a need for interventions that promote full physical and emotional recovery and that can be easily accessed by all injured children. Based on research evidence regarding post-injury recovery, we created the Cellie Coping Kit for Children with Injury intervention to target key mechanisms of action and refined the intervention based on feedback from children, families, and experts in the field. The Cellie Coping Kit intervention is parent-guided and includes a toy (for engagement), coping cards for children, and a book for parents with evidence-based strategies to promote injury recovery. This pilot research trial aims to provide an initial evaluation of the impact of the Cellie Coping Kit for Children with Injury on proximal targets (coping, appraisals) and later child health outcomes (physical recovery, emotional health, health-related quality of life). Method / Design: Eighty children (aged 8–12 years) and their parents will complete a baseline assessment (T1) and then will be randomly assigned to an immediate intervention group or waitlist group. The Cellie Coping Kit for Injury Intervention will be introduced to the immediate intervention group after the T1 assessment and to the waitlist group following the T3 assessment. Follow-up assessments of physical and emotional health will be completed at 6 weeks (T2), 12 weeks (T3), and 18 weeks (T4). Discussion: This will be one of the first randomized controlled trials to examine an intervention tool intended to promote full recovery after pediatric injury and be primarily implemented by children and parents. Results will provide data on the feasibility of the implementation of the Cellie Coping Intervention for Injury as well as estimations of efficacy. Potential strengths and limitations of this design are discussed. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03153696. Registered on 15 May 2017

A parent-led intervention to promote recovery following pediatric injury: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Injury is one of the most prevalent potentially emotionally traumatic events that children experience and can lead to persistent impaired physical and emotional health. There is a need for interventions that promote full physical and emotional recovery and that can be easily accessed by all injured children. Based on research evidence regarding post-injury recovery, we created the Cellie Coping Kit for Children with Injury intervention to target key mechanisms of action and refined the intervention based on feedback from children, families, and experts in the field. The Cellie Coping Kit intervention is parent-guided and includes a toy (for engagement), coping cards for children, and a book for parents with evidence-based strategies to promote injury recovery. This pilot research trial aims to provide an initial evaluation of the impact of the Cellie Coping Kit for Children with Injury on proximal targets (coping, appraisals) and later child health outcomes (physical recovery, emotional health, health-related quality of life). Method / Design Eighty children (aged 8–12 years) and their parents will complete a baseline assessment (T1) and then will be randomly assigned to an immediate intervention group or waitlist group. The Cellie Coping Kit for Injury Intervention will be introduced to the immediate intervention group after the T1 assessment and to the waitlist group following the T3 assessment. Follow-up assessments of physical and emotional health will be completed at 6 weeks (T2), 12 weeks (T3), and 18 weeks (T4). Discussion This will be one of the first randomized controlled trials to examine an intervention tool intended to promote full recovery after pediatric injury and be primarily implemented by children and parents. Results will provide data on the feasibility of the implementation of the Cellie Coping Intervention for Injury as well as estimations of efficacy. Potential strengths and limitations of this design are discussed. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03153696. Registered on 15 May 2017