Heterogeneity and individual differences in the developmental course of social withdrawal were examined longitudinally in a community sample (N=392). General Growth Mixture Modeling (GGMM) was used to identify distinct pathways of social withdrawal, differentiate valid subgroup trajectories, and examine factors that predicted change in trajectories within subgroups. Assessments of individual (social withdrawal), interactive (prosocial behavior), relationship (friendship involvement, stability and quality, best friend's withdrawal and exclusion/ victimization) and group-(exclusion/victimization) level characteristics were used to define growth trajectories from the final year of elementary school, across the transition to middle school, and then to the final year of middle school (fifth-to-eighth grades). Three distinct trajectory classes were identified: low stable, increasing, and decreasing. Peer exclusion, prosocial behavior, and mutual friendship involvement differentiated class membership. Friendlessness, friendship instability, and exclusion were significant predictors of social withdrawal for the increasing class, whereas lower levels of peer exclusion predicted a decrease in social withdrawal for the decreasing class. KeywordsSocial withdrawal; Developmental trajectories; Friendship; Exclusion The study of developmental psychopathology has characterized maladjustment as comprising two broad forms of difficulties-undercontrol (e.g., aggression) and overcontrol

Background Both postpartum depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been identified as unique risk factors for poor maternal psychopathology. Little is known, however, regarding the longitudinal processes of co-occurring depression and PTSD among mothers with childhood adversity. The present study addressed this research gap by examining co-occurring postpartum depression and PTSD trajectories among mothers with childhood trauma history. Methods 177 mothers with childhood trauma history reported depression and PTSD symptoms at 4, 6, 12, 15 and 18 months postpartum, as well as individual (shame, posttraumatic cognitions, dissociation) and contextual (social support, childhood and postpartum trauma experiences) factors. Results Growth mixture modeling (GMM) identified three comorbid change patterns: The Resilient group (64%) showed the lowest levels of depression and PTSD that remained stable over time; the Vulnerable group (23%) displayed moderately high levels of comorbid depression and PTSD; and the Chronic High-Risk group (14%) showed the highest level of comorbid depression and PTSD. Further, a path model revealed that postpartum dissociation, negative posttraumatic cognitions, shame, as well as social support, and childhood and postpartum trauma experiences differentiated membership in the Chronic High-Risk and Vulnerable. Finally, we found that children of mothers in the Vulnerable group were reported as having more externalizing and total problem behaviors. Limitations Generalizability is limited given sample of mothers with childhood trauma history and demographic risk. Conclusions The results highlight the strong comorbidity of postpartum depression and PTSD among mothers with childhood trauma history, and also emphasize its aversive impact on the offspring.

We evaluated links between peer-group functioning and indicators of attachment security in relation to both mother and father in middle childhood, among 73 10-year-olds (37 girls). Children's perceptions of security with both parents, coping styles with mother, and self-worth were assessed. Classmates, teachers, and mothers evaluated the participants' peer-related behavioral characteristics. Children's perceptions of security to both parents were related to others' appraisals of their social competence; perceptions of security to father were related to lower aggression. We did not find child gender effects, but children had higher security scores in relation to mother than to father. Self-worth perceptions mediated the relation between attachment and social competence.

Patterns of marital change after the birth of a second child were explored in a sample of 229 married couples, starting in pregnancy, and at 1, 4, 8 and 12 months postpartum. Five trajectory patterns that reflected sudden, persistent decline (i.e., crisis), sudden, short-term decline (i.e., adjustment and adaptation), sudden, short-term gain (i.e., honeymoon effect), linear change, and no change were examined with dyadic, longitudinal data for husbands and wives. Six distinct latent classes emerged using growth mixture modeling: (a) wife decreasing positivity-husband honeymoon (44%), (b) wife increasing conflict-husband adjustment and adaptation (34.5%), (c) wife honeymoon-discrepant spouse positivity (7.4%), (d) wife adjustment and adaptation (6.9%), (e) couple honeymoon with discrepant positivity and negativity (5.2%) and (f) husband adjustment and adaptation (1.7%). Classes were distinguished by individual vulnerabilities (i.e., depression, personality), stresses associated with the transition (i.e., unplanned pregnancy), and adaptive processes (i.e., marital communication, social support). Marital communication, parental depression, and social support emerged as important targets for intervention that can assist parents planning to have additional children.

To compare developmental outcomes of late preterm infants (34-36 weeks' gestation) with infants born at early term (37-38 weeks' gestation) and term (39-41 weeks' gestation), from infancy through kindergarten. METHODS:Sample included 1000 late preterm, 1800 early term, and 3200 term infants ascertained from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. Direct assessments of development were performed at 9 and 24 months by using the Bayley Short FormResearch Edition T-scores and at preschool and kindergarten using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort reading and mathematics θ scores. Maternal and infant characteristics were obtained from birth certificate data and parent questionnaires. After controlling for covariates, we compared mean developmental outcomes between late preterm and full-term groups in serial cross-sectional analyses at each timepoint using multilinear regression, with pairwise comparisons testing for group differences by gestational age categories. RESULTS:With covariates controlled at all timepoints, at 9 months late preterm infants demonstrated less optimal developmental outcomes (T = 47.31) compared with infants born early term (T = 49.12) and term (T = 50.09) (P < .0001). This association was not seen at 24 months, (P = .66) but reemerged at preschool. Late preterm infants demonstrated less optimal scores in preschool reading (P = .0006), preschool mathematics (P = .0014), and kindergarten reading (P = .0007) compared with infants born at term gestation. CONCLUSIONS:Although late preterm infants demonstrate comparable developmental outcomes to full-term infants (early term and full-term gestation) at 24 months, they demonstrate less optimal reading outcomes at preschool and kindergarten timepoints. Ongoing developmental surveillance for late preterm infants is warranted into preschool and kindergarten.