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A three-generational study of risk factors for childhood externalizing behavior among African Americans and Puerto
Judith S Brook1, Elizabeth Rubenstone, Chenshu Zhang
1Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. judith.brook@nyumc.org
Insights
Child externalizing behaviors are influenced by intergenerational factors. Early parent-child relationships and neighborhood conditions impact adult mental health, parenting, and child behavior, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Child externalizing behaviors can have long-term consequences.
- Understanding intergenerational transmission of behaviors is crucial for prevention.
- Previous research has not prospectively examined these pathways across multiple generations in diverse populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively examine precursors of child externalizing behavior across three generations.
- To investigate the role of early parent-child relationships, mental health, substance use, and neighborhood factors in the intergenerational transmission of externalizing behaviors.
- To identify targets for intervention and public policy.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study with 366 African American and Puerto Rican participants (mean age 29.4 years).
- Data collected across four waves from adolescence to adulthood via questionnaires and interviews.
- Structural equation modeling used to analyze relationships between parental factors, adult functioning, neighborhood context, and child externalizing behavior.
Main Results:
- Adolescent parent-child relationships predicted participants' depressive mood and drug use.
- Depressive mood, drug use, adult-child relationships, and neighborhood factors predicted child externalizing behavior.
- Direct pathways were found from adult depressive mood, adult-child relationship quality, and neighborhood crime to child externalizing behavior.
Conclusions:
- Intergenerational transmission of externalizing behavior is influenced by a complex interplay of factors.
- Interventions should address parental mental health, parenting skills, and neighborhood environment.
- Public policy can play a role in mitigating risk factors for externalizing behaviors.
Abstract:
This is the first prospective study to examine the precursors of child externalizing behavior across three generations of African Americans and Puerto Ricans. Participants comprised a community cohort of male and female African Americans and Puerto Ricans (N = 366, X⁻ age = 29.4 years), who are part of an ongoing study of drug use and problem behaviors, and who had a child. Data were collected at four time waves, spanning the participants' adolescence to adulthood. Questionnaires were initially self-administered in schools in East Harlem, NY, USA (time 1). Subsequently, structured interviews were conducted by trained interviewers (times 2 and 3), and self-administered via mail (time 4). The independent variables consisted of the participants' prospective reports of their (a) relationships with their parents during adolescence, (b) depressive mood and drug use (adolescence to adulthood), (c) relationship with their oldest child between the ages of 6-13, and (d) perceptions of neighborhood crime and deterioration (in adulthood). The dependent variable was externalizing behavior in the participant's oldest child (X⁻ age = 9.6 years; SD = 2.0). Structural equation modeling showed that the parent-child relationship during participants' adolescence was linked with the participants' depressive mood and drug use which, in turn, were associated with the participants' relationship with their own child, as well as with neighborhood crime and deterioration when participants were adults. The participants' depressive mood, and relationship with their own child, as well as neighborhood crime and deterioration, each had a direct pathway to externalizing behavior in the participant's child. Findings suggest that intervention programs and public policy should address parental attributes, neighborhood factors, and, especially, parenting skills, to reduce risk factors for the intergenerational transmission of externalizing behavior.
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