Rates and cooccurrence of internalizing and externalizing syndromes were examined in a sample of 1,520 low-income urban early adolescents. Results indicate higher rates of clinically elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms in this sample relative to normative data. In particular, both boys and girls were more likely to score in the clinical range on the broad-band internalizing and externalizing subscales of the Youth SelfReport and on the anxious-depressed, withdrawn, somatic, delinquency, and aggression narrow-band subscales. Girls reported higher rates of internalizing symptoms on the broad-band internalizing subscale and on narrow-band anxious-depressed, withdrawn, and somatic complaints subscales. Contrary to expected, boys did not report higher rates of externalizing symptoms on any of the externalizing subscales. Results of bidirectional comorbidity analyses indicate that cooccurrence of aggressive with somatic symptoms and cooccurrence of aggressive with delinquency symptoms were significantly more common in this sample than in normative samples.A central focus of research in developmental psychopathology is identification of sources of risk for psychological distress and disorder across the life span. A consistent finding emanating from this research is that specific 613

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a brief version of the Alcohol Expectancy QuestionnaireAdolescent (AEQ-A; Brown, Christiansen, & Goldman, 1987 Expectancies have been implicated in the initiation and maintenance of drinking (Goldman et al., 1991). In expectancy theory, thoughts affect behavior and consequences related to drug use; these thoughts or expectancies are learned (directly or indirectly through others), and are linked to memories; and as a result, expectancies can affect behavior voluntarily and involuntarily (Brown, 1993). One method clinicians may utilize to reduce drinking behavior is to alter alcohol effect expectancies.Numerous studies have found that the more expectancies endorsed by an individual, the greater the amount of reported alcohol use (Greenbaum, Brown, & Friedman, 1995). Alcohol expectancies appear to be linked to relapse after alcoholism treatment (Brown, 1985;Marlatt, 1978). The relationship of expectancies to drinking has been widely supported in a variety of adolescent samples (Smith et al., 1995;Christiansen, Goldman, & Inn, 1982;Christiansen & Goldman, 1983;Webb et al., 1993). Among youth with serious emotional disorders, adolescents with Conduct Disorder seem to have the highest risk for drinking (Boyle & Offord, 1991). The drinking behavior of these high-risk adolescents appears to be the same with regard to expectancies: The greater the expectancy, the greater the consumption of alcohol .There is an assortment of instruments that can be used to measure alcohol effect expectancies; however, none of them appear to increase prediction of drinking beyond results obtained by using the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire-Adolescent (AEQ-A; Greenbaum et al., 1995). The AEQ-A is 90 items long. A short form exists (AEQ-SF; Rather, 1990), which consists of the 17-item Subscale 2 (enhanced social facilitation) and the 10-item Subscale 3 (enhanced cognitive and motor skills). However, the AEQ-SF has the disadvantage of not tapping the additional five constructs of the AEQ-A (Global positive changes, sexual enhancement, cognitive and motor impairment, increased arousal, and relaxation and tension reduction), and it is still 27 items long. Clinicians working in fast-paced environments with few resources may be interested in a very brief but useful alcohol expectancy tool during short-term clinical interventions.The purpose of this study is to describe the psychometric characteristics of a brief version of the AEQ-A. Starting with the AEQ-A was ideal since this parent instrument has been shown to be valid for use with delinquent adolescents (Brown, Christiansen, & Goldman, 1987). Many adolescents in substance abuse treatment settings also exhibit antisocial behaviors (Grella et al., 2001). The literature indicates that expectancies are useful factors to target during treatment (Brown, 1993;Brown et al., 1998). The AEQ-AB is meant to be a brief measure used by clinicians to address and challenge adolescent alcohol effect expectancies during brief interventions. We will describe ...

The present study tested for mediators of the relation between neighborhood risk characteristics and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 1,120 low-income urban adolescents. Results indicate that a composite of census tract variables predicted both internalizing and externalizing symptoms in this sample. Stressful life events and exposure to violence mediated the relation between neighborhood risk and aggression, delinquency, and somatic symptoms. Gender and age were examined as moderators of these mediational pathways. Results of moderated mediation analyses revealed that both gender and age moderated the pathways between stressors and somatic complaints and between exposure to violence and somatic complaints. Implications for intervention and areas for future research are discussed.

The current study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to compare the fit of 2 factor structures for the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) in an urban community sample of low-income youth. Results suggest that the 6-factor model developed by Craighead and colleagues (1998) was a strong fit to the pattern of symptoms reported by low-income urban youth and was a superior fit with these data than the original 5-factor model of the CDI (Kovacs, 1992). Additionally, results indicated that all 6 factors from the Craighead model contributed to the measurement of depression, including School Problems and Externalizing Problems especially for older adolescents. This pattern of findings may reflect distinct contextual influences of urban poverty on the manifestation and measurement of depression in youth.

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