Male and Female Pathways to Psychopathology: Findings from a Preventive Intervention Study

The objective of the present study was to extent the knowledge on the pathways to male and female psychopathology from childhood into early adolescence. In Chapter 1, the background of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) study was presented. The GBG study is a randomized controlled intervention study that started in 1998 when 666 children from 13 elementary schools in the metropolitan area of Rotterdam and Amsterdam were enrolled in the study at age 6. The GBG intervention is a universal classroom-based intervention aimed at the reduction of problem behavior and the promotion of prosocial behavior in elementary schoolchildren. In Chapter 1, we explained how the nesting of this randomized controlled preventive intervention allowed us to test the influence of hypothesized risk factors on the sexspecific pathways to externalizing and internalizing psychopathology spanning the period from middle childhood to early adolescence (from age 6 to 13 years). Using this method, we investigated: (1) the influence of prenatal exposure to maternal smoking on the pathway to Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity symptoms in middle and late childhood, (2) the role of middle childhood behavioral, emotional, and social problems in the development of relational aggression from late childhood to early adolescence, (3) the influence of physical and relational victimization experiences during middle childhood in the pathways to anxiety and depression in early adolescence, and in addition, we examined (4) typologies of parenting behaviors and their association with childhood psychopathology

Understanding mechanisms of change in the development of antisocial behavior: The impact of a universal intervention

The association between the development of antisocial behavior, affiliation with deviant friends, and peer rejection was tested with a preventive intervention; 664 boys and girls were randomly assigned to a universal classroom-based intervention targeting disruptive behavior or a control condition. Peer nominations of antisocial behavior, friends' antisocial behavior, and peer rejection were assessed annually for 4 years. A high, a moderate, and a stable low antisocial behavior trajectory were identified. Large reductions in antisocial behavior were found among intervention children who followed the high trajectory. These reductions coincided with affiliations with nondeviant peers and with decreases in peer rejection. The affiliation between deviant and nondeviant peers was initiated by nondeviant children. The results support a causal role of deviant friends and peer rejection in the development of antisocial behavior. The implications for our understanding of the mechanisms leading to reductions in antisocial behavior are discussed