The relation between social rejection and growth in antisocial behavior was investigated. In Study 1,259 boys and girls (34% African American) were followed from Grades 1 to 3 (ages 6-8 years) to Grades 5 to 7 (ages 10-12 years). Early peer rejection predicted growth in aggression. In Study 2,585 boys and girls (16% African American) were followed from kindergarten to Grade 3 (ages 5-8 years), and findings were replicated. Furthermore, early aggression moderated the effect of rejection, such that rejection exacerbated antisocial development only among children initially disposed toward aggression. In Study 3, social information-processing patterns measured in Study 1 were found to mediate partially the effect of early rejection on later aggression. In Study 4, processing patterns measured in Study 2 replicated the mediation effect. Findings are integrated into a recursive model of antisocial development.

Early physical maltreatment predicts adolescent psychological and behavioral problems, beyond the effects of other factors associated with maltreatment. Undetected early physical maltreatment in community populations represents a major problem worthy of prevention.

A longitudinal model of parent academic involvement, behavioral problems, achievement, and aspirations was examined for 463 adolescents, followed from 7th (approximately 12 years old) through 11th (approximately 16 years old) grades. Parent academic involvement in 7th grade was negatively related to 8th-grade behavioral problems and positively related to 11th-grade aspirations. There were variations across parental education levels and ethnicity: Among the higher parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to fewer behavioral problems, which were related to achievement and then aspirations. For the lower parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to aspirations but not to behavior or achievement. Parent academic involvement was positively related to achievement for African Americans but not for European Americans. Parent academic involvement may be interpreted differently and serve different purposes across sociodemographic backgrounds.Adolescence is a critical time for forming aspirations for the future, especially with regard to career aspirations (Schulenberg, Goldstein, & Vondracek, 1991;Vondracek & Lerner, 1982). School performance is a key mechanism through which adolescents learn about their talents, abilities, and competencies, which are an important part of developing career aspirations (Gottfredson, 1981;Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994. Parent academic involvement may ensure that adolescents obtain academic skills and knowledge that prepare them for considering higher level occupations (Young & Friesen, 1992). In fact, school performance and career Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nancy E. Hill, Department of Psychology, Duke University, Box 90085, Durham, NC 27708-0083. Electronic mail may be sent to nancy@duke.edu. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript aspirations in adolescence are often correlated (Abu-Hilal, 2000;Mao, 1995;Trusty, Robinson, Plata, & Ng, 2000), and supportive parents are associated with the development of career aspirations (Hill, Ramirez, & Dumka, 2003;McDonald & Jessell, 1992; McWhirter, Hacket, & Bandalos, 1998; Young & Freisen, 1990; Young, Freisen, & Borycki, 1994). Although research has consistently shown that parent academic involvement is associated with achievement and achievement is related to career and educational aspirations, little is known about whether parental involvement in schooling is ultimately related to adolescents' aspirations for adulthood and the mechanisms of influence, especially across the middle and high school years. Thus, the focus of this study was on the following questions: Is parent academic involvement associated with career and educational aspirations? If so, to what extent is this relation explained by relations to school behavior or academic achievement?Parent academic involvement is largely defined as parents' work with schools and with their children to benefit their children's educational outcomes and futur...

Interviews were conducted with 336 mother -child dyads (children's ages ranged from 6 to 17 years; mothers' ages ranged from 20 to 59 years) in China, India, Italy, Kenya, the Philippines, and Thailand to examine whether normativeness of physical discipline moderates the link between mothers' use of physical discipline and children's adjustment. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that physical discipline was less strongly associated with adverse child outcomes in conditions of greater perceived normativeness, but physical discipline was also associated with more adverse outcomes regardless of its perceived normativeness. Countries with the lowest use of physical discipline showed the strongest association between mothers' use and children's behavior problems, but in all countries higher use of physical discipline was associated with more aggression and anxiety.