The transition from childhood to adolescence presents elevated risks for the onset of psychopathology in youth. Given the multilayered nature of development, the present study leverages the longitudinal, population-based Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study to derive ecologically informed risk/resilience profiles based on multilevel influences (e.g., neighborhood and family socioeconomic resources, parenting, school characteristics) and their transition pathways and examine their associations with psychopathology. Latent profile analysis characterized risk/resilience profiles at each time point (i.e., baseline, Year-1, Year-2); latent transition analysis estimated the most likely transition pathway for each individual. Analysis of covariance was used to examine associations between profile membership at baseline (i.e., ages 9–11) and psychopathology, both concurrently and at Year-2 follow-up. Further, we examined the associations between profile transition pathways and Year-2 psychopathology. Four distinct profiles emerged across time – High-SES High-Protective, High-SES Low-Protective, Low-SES High-Family-Risk, and Low-SES High-Protective. Despite reasonably high stability, significant transition over time among profiles was detected. Profile membership at baseline significantly correlated with concurrent psychopathology and predicted psychopathology 2 years later. Additionally, profile transition pathways significantly predicted Year-2 psychopathology, exemplifying equifinality and multifinality. Characterizing and tracing shifts in ecologically informed risk/resilience influences, our findings have the potential to inform more precise intervention efforts in youth.

Research has shown experimentally that if children are taught to use language to create distance (socially, physically, and temporarily) when they revisit a potentially traumatic experience they reduce the intensity of their emotions. Building on this, this study was carried out to explore whether children with better spatial skills are better at such downregulation because of their very aptitude in understanding the concept of distance. Using data from a general-population birth cohort in the UK, the study examined the bidirectional association between emotional dysregulation and spatial ability among children aged 5 and 7 years. The findings reveal a significant reciprocal relationship even after adjusting for family, contextual, and individual confounders including verbal ability: spatial skills at age 5 years were inversely related to emotional dysregulation at age 7 years, and conversely, greater emotional dysregulation at age 5 years was associated with poorer spatial ability at age 7 years. The two paths were equally strong and there was no evidence of differences between them on the basis of sex. Our results suggest that enhancing spatial abilities could be a potential avenue for supporting emotion regulation in middle childhood.

The rates of anxiety and depression increase across adolescence, many experience recurrence after treatment, yet longitudinal studies examining promotive factors are scarce. We prospectively examined the role of the promotive factors structured style, personal and social competencies, family functioning, and social resources in homotypic and heterotypic continuity and discontinuity of anxiety and depression across three years in a clinical sample. Participants were adolescents with anxiety or depressive disorders aged 13–18 years at T1 (N = 717, 44% initial participation rate) and aged 16–21 years at T2 (N = 549, 80% follow-up participation rate). At T1, diagnoses were collected from medical records and participants responded to questionnaires. At T2, semi-structured diagnostic interviews were conducted. Higher levels of all promotive factors were associated with reduced probability of anxiety or depression three years later. The promotive factors were not associated with homotypic continuity of anxiety, whereas personal competence beliefs, social competence, and, less strongly, family functioning were associated with reduced homotypic continuity of depression and heterotypic continuity from depression to anxiety. Analyses with interaction terms did not indicate moderation by the promotive factors. Our findings suggest that bolstering promotive factors may be vital for increasing treatment success and preventing recurrence of anxiety and depression in the transition toward adulthood.

Social camouflaging (SC) is a set of behaviors used by autistic people to assimilate with their social environment. Using SC behaviours may put autistic people at risk for poor mental health outcomes. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, the goal of this systematic review was to investigate the development of SC and inform theory in this area by outlining the predictors, phenotype, and consequences of SC. This review fills a gap in existing literature by integrating quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including all gender identities/age groups of autistic individuals, incorporating a large scope of associated factors with SC, and expanding on theory/implications. Papers were sourced using Medline, PsycInfo, and ERIC. Results indicate that self-protection and desire for social connection motivate SC. Camouflaging behaviors include compensation, masking, and assimilation. Female individuals were found to be more likely to SC. Additionally, this review yielded novel insights including contextual factors of SC, interpersonal relational and identity-related consequences of SC, and possible bidirectional associations between SC and mental health, cognition, and age of diagnosis. Autistic youth and adults have similar SC motivations, outward expression of SC behavior, and experience similar consequences post-camouflaging. Further empirical exploration is needed to investigate the directionality between predictors and consequences of SC, and possible mitigating factors such as social stigma and gender identity.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and subclinical symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattentiveness coincide with an increased risk of peer victimization. What remains unclear are the developmental dynamics of these associations. In a sample drawn from two Norwegian birth cohorts (n = 872; 49.94 % girls), assessed biennially from age 6 to age 14, reciprocal relations between ADHD symptoms and victimization were examined while controlling for symptoms of anxiety and depression. ADHD symptoms were assessed through clinical interviews with parents, whereas victimization was reported by teachers using questionnaires. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling revealed a consistent reciprocal within-person effect of increased ADHD symptoms on victimization, and vice versa. Analyses of subdimensions of ADHD projected a consistent cross-lagged bidirectional relationship between victimization and inattentiveness symptoms only, whereas no such reciprocity was found for hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms. Results did not differ by gender. Findings suggest that the social context may constitute a vulnerability factor in the etiology of the inattentive subtype of ADHD, and at the same time, that inattentiveness symptoms pose a risk for becoming victimized.

Using data from a 15-year longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of a parenting-focused preventive intervention for divorced families (N = 240) with children aged 9–12, the current study examined alternative cascading pathways through which the intervention led to improvements in offspring’s perceived health problems, BMI, and cigarette smoking in emerging adulthood. It was hypothesized that the program would lead to improvements in these health-related outcomes during emerging adulthood through progressive associations between program-induced changes in parenting and offspring outcomes, including mental health problems, substance use, and competencies. Intervention-induced improvements in positive parenting at posttest led to improvements in mental health problems in late childhood/early adolescence, which led to lower levels of mental health and substance use problems as well as higher levels of competencies in adolescence, which led to improvements in the health-related outcomes. Academic performance predicted all three health-related outcomes and other aspects of adolescent functioning showed different relations across outcomes. Results highlight the potential for intervention effects of preventive parenting interventions in childhood to cascade over time to affect health-related outcomes in emerging adulthood.

Alexithymia (difficulties identifying and describing feelings) predicts increased risks for psychopathology, especially during the transition from childhood to adolescence. However, little is known of the early contributors to alexithymia. The language hypothesis of alexithymia suggests that language deficits play a primary role in predisposing language-impaired groups to developing alexithymia; yet longitudinal data tracking prospective relationship between language function and alexithymia are scarce. Leveraging data from the Surrey Communication and Language in Education cohort (N = 229, mean age at time point 1 = 5.32 years, SD = 0.29, 51.1% female), we investigated the prospective link between childhood language development and alexithymic traits in adolescence. Results indicated that boys with low language function at ages 4–5 years, and those who later met the diagnostic criteria for language disorders at ages 5–6 years, reported elevated alexithymic traits when they reached adolescence. Parent-reported child syntax abilities at ages 5–6 years revealed a dimensional relationship with alexithymic traits, and this was consistent with behavioral assessments on related structural language abilities. Empirically derived language groups and latent language trajectories did not predict alexithymic traits in adolescence. While findings support the language hypothesis of alexithymia, greater specificity of the alexithymia construct in developmental populations is needed to guide clinical interventions.

Dante Cicchetti’s earliest work, his studies of social-emotional development in infants and children with Down syndrome, set the stage for the emergence of the larger field of developmental psychopathology. By applying basic developmental principles, methodologies, and questions to the study of persons with Down syndrome, Dante took on the challenge of searching for patterns in atypical development. In doing so, he extended traditional developmental theory and introduced a more “liberal” approach that both continues to guide developmentally based research with persons with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs), including Down syndrome. We highlight five themes from Dante’s work: (1) appreciating the importance of developmental level; (2) prioritizing the organization of development; (3) examining whether developmental factors work similarly in those with known genetic conditions; (4) rethinking narratives about ways of being; and (5) examining the influence of multiple levels of the environment on the individual’s functioning. We highlight ways that these essential lessons anticipated present-day research with persons with a variety of NDCs, including Down syndrome, other genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability, and autism. We conclude with visions to the future for research with these populations as well as for the field of developmental psychopathology more generally.

The science of developmental psychopathology has made outstanding progress over the past 40 years in understanding adaptive and maladaptive developmental processes across the life span. Yet most of this work has been researcher driven with little involvement of community partners in the research process, limiting the potential public health significance of our work. To continue to advance the field we must move beyond the physical and conceptual walls of our research laboratories and into the real world. In this article, we define and describe the importance of community-engaged research, and present our overarching principles for engaging the community including practicing respect, shared power and decision-making, prioritizing the needs of the community, and engaging in consistent and transparent communication. We present several associated recommendations for best practice and highlight examples from our own research that is grounded in a developmental psychopathology perspective to illustrate these practices. Recommendations for the future of the discipline of development and psychopathology, with emphasis on training and continuing education, are described.

Research points to the substantial impact of parents' exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on parents and their children. However, most studies have been conducted in North America, and research on ACEs effects on observed parenting or on intergenerational transmission of ACE effects is limited. We therefore studied families from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds in Israel and examined whether mothers’ ACEs hampered maternal sensitivity and the quality of the home environment and whether mothers’ psychological distress mediated these links. We also explored whether mothers’ ACEs predicted children’s behavior problems indirectly through maternal psychological distress and whether maternal sensitivity and the home environment attenuated this mediating path. Participants were 232 mothers (Mchild age = 18.40 months, SD = 1.76; 63.36% non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish, 17.24% ultra-Orthodox Jewish, 19.40% Arab Muslim). Results showed mothers’ ACEs were directly associated with decreased maternal sensitivity. Mothers’ ACEs were indirectly associated with more behavior problems in children through mothers’ higher psychological distress, and maternal sensitivity moderated this indirect link; it was significant only for mothers who showed lower sensitivity. Findings emphasize the significant role ACEs play in early mother-child relationships. The importance of including ACE assessment in research and practice with families of infants and toddlers is discussed.

In this essay, I will briefly sample different instances of the utilization of the concept of resilience, attempting to complement a comprehensive representation of the field in the special issue of Development and Psychopathology inspired by the 42nd Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology, hosted by the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota and held in October of 2022. Having established the general context of the field, I will zoom in on some of its features, which I consider “low-hanging fruit” and which can be harvested in a systematic way to advance the study of resilience in the context of the future of developmental psychopathology.

Rising rates of suicide fatality, attempts, and ideations among adolescents aged 10–19 over the past two decades represent a national public health priority. Theories that seek to understand suicidal ideation overwhelmingly focus on the transition from ideation to attempt and on a sole cognition: active suicidal ideation – the serious consideration of killing one’s self, with less attention to non-suicidal cognitions that emerge during adolescence that may have implications for suicidal behavior. A large body of research exists that characterizes adolescence not only as a period of heightened onset and prevalence of active suicidal ideation and the desire to no longer be alive (i.e., passive suicidal ideation), but also for non-suicidal cognitions about life and death. Our review synthesizes extant literature in the content, timing and mental imagery of thoughts adolescents have about their (1) life; and (2) mortality that may co-occur with active and passive suicidal ideation that have received limited attention in adolescent suicidology. Our “cognition-to-action framework for adolescent suicide prevention” builds on existing ideation-to-action theories to identify life and non-suicidal mortality cognitions during adolescence that represent potential leverage points for the prevention of attempted suicide and premature death during this period and across the life span.

Psychopathology is intergenerationally transmitted through both genetic and environmental mechanisms via heterotypic (cross-domain), homotypic (domain-specific), and general (e.g., “p-factor”) pathways. The current study leveraged an adopted-at-birth design, the Early Growth and Development Study (57% male; 55.6% White, 19.3% Multiracial, 13% Black/African American, 10.9% Hispanic/Latine) to explore the relative influence of these pathways via associations between adoptive caregiver psychopathology (indexing potential environmental transmission) and birth parent psychopathology (indexing genetic transmission) with adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. We included composite measures of adoptive and birth parent internalizing, externalizing, and substance use domains, and a general “p-factor.” Age 11 adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptom scores were the average of adoptive parent reports on the Child Behavior Checklist (n = 407). Examining domains independently without addressing comorbidity can lead to incorrect interpretations of transmission mode. Therefore, we also examined symptom severity (like the “p-factor”) and an orthogonal symptom directionality score to more cleanly disentangle transmission modes. The pattern of correlations was consistent with mostly general transmission in families with youth showing comorbid internalizing and externalizing symptoms, rather than homotypic transmission. Findings more strongly supported potential environmental or evocative mechanisms of intergenerational transmission than genetic transmission mechanisms (though see limitations). Parent-specific effects are discussed.

Children’s externalizing behaviors are associated with impairments across the lifespan. Developmental psychopathology theories propose transactional (bidirectional) associations between child externalizing behaviors and parenting during childhood and adolescence. Yet, these foundational relations in early childhood are not well-studied. Utilizing a large, mixed-sex sample, we examined the reciprocal nature of parenting and child externalizing behaviors across early childhood using robust repeated-measures models. Repeated measures data were drawn from a socioeconomically diverse, longitudinal pregnancy cohort of 1287 (64% Black, 31% White) mother-child dyads at four time points (ages one to six). Three variables were included in cross-lagged panel models: observed parenting quality, child externalizing symptoms, and a maternal risk composite. In covariate-adjusted models, higher parenting quality at Wave 1 predicted lower child externalizing symptoms at Wave 2. Higher externalizing symptoms at Wave 1 and Wave 2 predicted lower parenting quality at Wave 2 and Wave 3, respectively. Maternal risk and parenting quality were not significantly associated. Findings showed both parent-driven and child-driven effects across early childhood that did not vary by child sex. The transactional nature of the parent-child relationship begins in infancy, underscoring the importance of early screening and provision of supports for families to minimize and prevent the development of serious psychopathology.

Previous studies show that maternal mind-mindedness positively impacts children’s social development. In the current studies, we examine the relation between mind-mindedness during parent–child interaction, oxytocin (OT), and postnatal depression in a sample of mothers (N = 62, ages 23–44) and their infant (ages 3–9 months). In Study 1, infant salivary OT was positively correlated with mothers’ appropriate mind-related comments, and negatively correlated (at trend level) with maternal depression scores. Mothers experiencing symptoms of depression used fewer appropriate mind-related comments than controls. Study 2 was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, experimental study, in which the same women who participated in Study 1 were administered nasal OT. This did not significantly influence levels of mind-mindedness. Study 2 warrants a larger trial to investigate the effect of OT on mind-mindedness further. Study 1 is the first to demonstrate an association between maternal mind-mindedness and variation in children’s OT levels. Since both OT and mind-mindedness have been repeatedly implicated in processes of maternal–infant attachment, this association highlights the centrality of mothers’ caregiving representations in facilitating the parent–child relationship and children’s early development.

The growing base of research on parenting stress and its relation to child behavior problems has largely paralleled the emergence of developmental psychopathology as a field of inquiry. Specifically, the focus on mechanism rather than main effects has begun to elevate explanatory models in the connection between parenting stress and a variety of adverse child and parent conditions. Still, work on parenting stress is limited by conceptual confusion, the absence of attention to developmental differentiation, a focus on child-specific rather than system influences. Recent research on these parenting stress issues is briefly reviewed, highlighting studies that have illustrated developmental psychopathology perspectives. A conceptual model is offered to illustrate the complex recursive nature of connections between parenting stress, parenting behavior, parent well-being, and children’s adjustment, and I make a case for the adoption of a more systemic perspective to influence the next generation of developmental psychopathology research on parenting stress.

This study aimed to delineate profiles of self-regulation among sexually abused children and their association with behavior problems using a person-centered approach. A sample of 223 children aged six to 12, their parents, and teachers were recruited in specialized intervention centers. Latent profile analysis revealed four profiles: (1) Dysregulated, (2) Inhibited, (3) Flexibly Regulated, and (4) Parent Perceived Self-Regulation. Children from the Flexibly Regulated profile showed relatively low behavior problems, and those from the Dysregulated profile were characterized by high behavior problems. Children from the Parent Perceived Self-Regulation profile showed overall good adaptation, although teachers reported higher behavior problems than parents. Children from the Inhibited profile, characterized by the highest level of inhibition but low parent-rated emotion regulation competencies and executive functions, showed the highest level of internalizing behavior problems, indicating that high inhibition does not necessarily translate to better adaptation. Results also show a moderation effect of sex. Being assigned to the Inhibited profile was associated with decreased externalizing behaviors in boys and increased internalizing behaviors in girls. This study underscores the complexity of self-regulation in sexually abused children and supports the need to adopt a multi-method and multi-informant approach when assessing these children.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented youth and families with a broad spectrum of unique stressors. Given that adolescents are at increased risk for mental health and emotional difficulties, it is critical to explore family processes that confer resilience for youth in the face of stress. The current study investigated caregiver emotion regulation (ER) as a familial factor contributing to youth ER and risk for psychopathology following stressful life events. In a longitudinal sample of 224 youth (Mage = 12.65 years) and their caregivers, we examined whether caregiver and youth engagement in ER strategies early in the pandemic mediated the associations of pandemic-related stress with youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms six months later. Leveraging serial mediation analysis, we demonstrated that caregiver and youth rumination, but not expressive suppression or cognitive reappraisal, mediated the prospective associations of pandemic-related stress with youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Greater exposure to pandemic-related stressors was associated with greater caregiver rumination, which, in turn, related to greater rumination in youth, and higher levels of youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms thereafter. Family interventions that target caregiver ER, specifically rumination, may buffer against the consequences of stress on youth engagement in maladaptive ER strategies and risk for psychopathology.

Dante Cicchetti propelled forward the field of developmental psychopathology by advancing this framework and championing new methods, including emphasizing the central role that multilevel analysis holds for explicating pathways of risk and resilience. His work continues to change the face of existing science. It has also paved the way for the formation of new projects, like the Research Domain Criteria initiative. This paper uses our laboratory’s work on multilevel approaches to studying adolescent depression, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors to shine a spotlight on Dr Cicchetti’s contributions. In addition, we review recent developments, ongoing challenges, and promising future directions within developmental psychopathology as we endeavor to carry on the tradition of growth in the field.

Associations between adversity and youth psychopathology likely vary based on the types and timing of experiences. Major theories suggest that the impact of childhood adversity may either be cumulative in type (the more types of adversity, the worse outcomes) or in timing (the longer exposure, the worse outcomes) or, alternatively, specific concerning the type (e.g., parenting, home, neighborhood) or the timing of adversity (e.g., specific developmental periods). In a longitudinal sample from the Future of Families and Wellbeing Study (N = 4,210), we evaluated these competing hypotheses using a data-driven structured life-course modeling approach using risk factors examined at child age 1 (infancy), 3 (toddlerhood), 5 (early childhood), and 9 (middle childhood). Results showed that exposures to more types of adversity for longer durations (i.e., cumulative in both type and timing) best predicted youth psychopathology. Adversities that occurred at age 9 were better predictors of youth psychopathology as compared to those experienced earlier, except for neglect, which was predictive of internalizing symptoms when experienced at age 3. Throughout childhood (across ages 1–9), aside from the accumulation of all adversities, parental stress and low collective efficacy were the strongest predictors of internalizing symptoms, whereas psychological aggression was predictive of externalizing symptoms.