Children’s peer victimization trajectories and their longitudinal associations with externalizing and internalizing problems were investigated from Grades 2 to 5. Secondary data analysis was performed with the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K-2011; n = 13,860, Mage = 8.1 years old in the spring of Grade 2; 51.1% male, 46.7% White, 13.2% African-American, 25.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, and 6.1% other or biracial). Children who experienced high and persistent levels of peer victimization (high-chronic victims) exhibited co-occurring externalizing and internalizing problems. Moreover, among high-chronic victims, boys had a more pronounced increase in their externalizing trajectories, and girls had greater increases in their social anxiety trajectories. In contrast, those with decreasing peer victimization across time exhibited signs of recovery, particularly with respect to their social anxiety. These findings elucidated how chronic, increasing, and decreasing victims exhibited distinct patterns in the co-occurring development of their externalizing and internalizing problems, and how findings varied depending on the form of problem behavior and by child sex.

This work proposes a conceptual model of psychological adjustment of native and immigrant adolescents who live in Spain. Psychological adjustment was expected to mediate between perceived family support and adolescents’ school adjustment and problem behaviors. Spanish adolescents (n = 156) and immigrant adolescents (n = 137) filled out a self-report questionnaire regarding their perceived family support, psychological adjustment (i.e., self-esteem and life satisfaction), school adjustment, and problem behaviors. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to examine the relational patterns among these variables. The specific model –with psychological adjustment mediating between family support and school adjustment (z = 2.70, β = .21, p = .007 for Spanish adolescents, and z = 2.42, β = .16, p = .015 for immigrant adolescents), and school adjustment mediating between psychological adjustment and problem behaviors (z = –2.51, β = –.14, p = .012 for Spanish adolescents, and z = –2.01, β = –.11, p = .044 for immigrant adolescents) was confirmed for both samples. An implication of this study is the relevance of adolescents’ family support to their well-being, and the mediating role of psychological adjustment between family support and school adjustment.

Background: This study was carried out to determine why women caring for men report more burden than other caregivers, and to further examine the role of care-recipient problem behaviors as determinants of burden.

Method: A sample of 557 primary caregivers of community-dwelling individuals referred to a memory clinic was used. All care-recipients had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (NINCDS-ADRDA). Data on care-recipient function, caregiver attributes, external supports and caregiver burden were obtained on the first visit. Hierarchical regression models were used to determine the contribution of gender, after controlling for care-recipient status, caregiver attributes, and external supports.

Results: This model explained 46% of the variability in caregiver “role burden”, with care-recipient problem behaviors and dependence in instrumental activities of daily living. The caregiver/care-recipient gender interaction explained an additional 4% of the variance (p=0.001); women caring for men scored 5.61 higher on the burden scale than other caregivers. Specific problem behaviors (e.g., anger) were more problematic for women caregivers than men.

Conclusion: These results indicate that the experience of men and women caregivers may be different despite seemingly identical circumstances, and highlight the need for interventions geared to the specific needs of women caregivers.