The present study will examine the effects of protective factors in the family environment that are related to the prevention of risk factors associated with early substance use. Preschool family factors have been found to act as buffers or to exaggerate risk factors that lead to children's social and academic problems, both of which have been shown to be precursors of early substance use. Specifically, the quality of maternal problem-solving instruction in parent-child interactions has been identified as a correlate of both current and future academic and social success for children. For children at increased risk for poor outcomes because of socioeconomic deprivation, the acquisition of social and cognitive problem-solving skills may play a critical role in navigating the challenges of both academic and social adjustment to school as well as protect against pathways leading to early substance use. Therefore, parents who provide instruction in key problem solving skills may place their children in a strong position to succeed compared to their peers. The proposed study utilizes an existing database of 120 boys (90% retention rate) selected on the basis of sociodemographic, family, and child risk and followed from age two to six to examine the effects of maternal problem-solving instruction in relation to children's development of social and academic competence in early schooling. The current proposal will extend the existing project by investigating a specific component of parenting, problem-solving instruction, and its direct impact on academic and social outcomes, its role in buffering a child's risk factors on their school-related adjustment outcomes, and investigating how the benefits of problem-solving instruction may either be lessened or enhanced under different levels of child or maternal risk factors. In addition to extending the aims of the parent grant, the study aims to advance our understanding of the effects of maternal problem instruction on later child outcomes, which has predominantly been conducted on lower- risk populations. Observational techniques will be used to code the quality of maternal problem-solving instruction in already completed assessments that occurred when children were ages 2, 3, and 4. In addition, both mother and teacher reports and school records will be used to evaluate the child's academic and social adjustment in the early school years.
| Supplee, Lauren H; Skuban, Emily Moye; Shaw, Daniel S et al. (2009) Emotion regulation strategies and later externalizing behavior among European American and African American children. Dev Psychopathol 21:393-415 |
