Showing papers by "Jeanne Brooks-Gunn published in 2020"

Measuring the predictability of life outcomes with a scientific mass collaboration.

Abstract: How predictable are life trajectories? We investigated this question with a scientific mass collaboration using the common task method; 160 teams built predictive models for six life outcomes using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a high-quality birth cohort study. Despite using a rich dataset and applying machine-learning methods optimized for prediction, the best predictions were not very accurate and were only slightly better than those from a simple benchmark model. Within each outcome, prediction error was strongly associated with the family being predicted and weakly associated with the technique used to generate the prediction. Overall, these results suggest practical limits to the predictability of life outcomes in some settings and illustrate the value of mass collaborations in the social sciences.

Reciprocal Relations Between Maternal Depression and Child Behavior Problems in Families Served by Head Start.

Abstract: This study used longitudinal cross-lagged modeling to examine reciprocal relations between maternal depression and child behavior problems. Data were drawn from 3,119 children (40% Hispanic, 30% African American, 20% White, and 10% other) from the Family and Child Experiences Survey of 2009 (a nationally representative sample of children served by Head Start). Results documented reciprocal relations between maternal depression and child behavior problems across early childhood (i.e., child age 3-5). Furthermore, the effect of child behavior problems on maternal depression was moderated by child race/ethnicity during children's first year in Head Start, such that the negative effect of child behavior problems on African American mothers' depression was more pronounced compared to Hispanics and other racial/ethnic groups.

Childhood violence exposure and social deprivation are linked to adolescent threat and reward neural function.

Abstract: Background Childhood adversity is, unfortunately, highly prevalent and strongly associated with later psychopathology. Recent theories posit that two dimensions of early adversity, threat and deprivation, have distinct effects on brain development. The current study evaluated whether violence exposure (threat) and social deprivation (deprivation) were associated with adolescent amygdala and ventral striatum activation, respectively, in a prospective, well-sampled, longitudinal cohort using a pre-registered, open science approach. Methods One hundred and sixty-seven adolescents from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study completed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. Prospective longitudinal data from ages 3, 5 and 9 years were used to create indices of childhood violence exposure and social deprivation. We evaluated whether these dimensions were associated with adolescent brain function in response to threatening and rewarding faces. Results Childhood violence exposure was associated with decreased amygdala habituation (i.e. more sustained activation) and activation to angry faces in adolescence, whereas childhood social deprivation was associated with decreased ventral striatum activation to happy faces in adolescence. These associations held when adjusting for the other dimension of adversity (e.g., adjusting for social deprivation when examining associations with violence exposure), the interaction of the two dimensions of adversity, gender, internalizing psychopathology, and current life stress. Conclusions Consistent with recent theories, different forms of early adversity were associated with region-specific differences in brain activation.

Association of Childhood Violence Exposure With Adolescent Neural Network Density.

Abstract: Importance Adverse childhood experiences are a public health issue with negative sequelae that persist throughout life. Current theories suggest that adverse childhood experiences reflect underlying dimensions (eg, violence exposure and social deprivation) with distinct neural mechanisms; however, research findings have been inconsistent, likely owing to variability in how the environment interacts with the brain. Objective To examine whether dimensional exposure to childhood adversity is associated with person-specific patterns in adolescent resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC), defined as synchronized activity across brain regions when not engaged in a task. Design, Setting, and Participants A sparse network approach in a large sample with substantial representation of understudied, underserved African American youth was used to conduct an observational, population-based longitudinal cohort study. A total of 183 adolescents aged 15 to 17 years from Detroit, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois, who participated in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study were eligible for inclusion. Environmental data from birth to adolescence were collected via telephone and in-person interviews, and neuroimaging data collected at a university lab. The study was conducted from February 1, 1998, to April 26, 2017, and data analysis was performed from January 3, 2019, to May 22, 2020. Exposures Composite variables representing violence exposure and social deprivation created from primary caregiver reports on children at ages 3, 5, and 9 years. Main Outcomes and Measures Resting-state functional connectivity person-specific network metrics (data-driven subgroup membership, density, and node degree) focused on connectivity among a priori regions of interest in 2 resting-state networks (salience network and default mode) assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results Of the 183 eligible adolescents, 175 individuals (98 girls [56%]) were included in the analysis; mean (SD) age was 15.88 (0.53) years and 127 participants (73%) were African American. Adolescents with high violence exposure were 3.06 times more likely (95% CI, 1.17-8.92) to be in a subgroup characterized by high heterogeneity (few shared connections) and low network density (sparsity). Childhood violence exposure, but not social deprivation, was associated with reduced rsFC density (β = −0.25; 95% CI, −0.41 to −0.05;P = .005), with fewer salience network connections (β = −0.26; 95% CI, −0.43 to −0.08;P = .005) and salience network-default mode connections (β = −0.20; 95% CI, −0.38 to −0.03;P = .02). Violence exposure was associated with node degree of right anterior insula (β = −0.29; 95% CI, −0.47 to −0.12;P = .001) and left inferior parietal lobule (β = −0.26; 95% CI, −0.44 to −0.09;P = .003). Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this study suggest that childhood violence exposure is associated with adolescent neural network sparsity. A community-detection algorithm, blinded to child adversity, grouped youth exposed to heightened violence based only on patterns of rsFC. The findings may have implications for understanding how dimensions of adverse childhood experiences impact individualized neural development.

Diverse Experience of Immigrant Children: How Do Separation and Reunification Shape Their Development?.

Abstract: Although many immigrant children to the United States arrive with their parents, a notable proportion are first separated and later reunited with their parents. How do the experiences of separation and reunification shape the well-being of immigrant children? Data were from a national survey of legal adult immigrants and their families, the New Immigrant Survey from 2003 to 2004 (for academic achievement, age 6-12, N = 876; for psychosocial well-being, age 6-17, N = 1,084). Results indicated that immigrant children who were once separated from their parents exhibited poorer literacy and higher risk of emotional and behavioral problems than those who migrated with parents. A protracted period of separation and previous undocumented status of parents amplified the disadvantages experienced by these children.

Early Parenting and the Intergenerational Transmission of Self-Regulation and Behavior Problems in African American Head Start Families.

Abstract: The present investigation used a national sample of African American Head Start children (N = 640; Mage = 4.40) to determine whether conditions of socioeconomic disadvantage, particularly poverty, low parent education, and single parent homes were associated with children’s executive function (EF; attention and impulse control) and behavior problems (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) via the mediating effects of parent–child interactions. Path models with manifest and latent variables revealed that parent–child interactions (i.e., cognitive stimulation, control, and harsh discipline) mediated the association between socioeconomic disadvantage and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Furthermore, parent cognitive stimulation mediated the association between socioeconomic disadvantage and children’s EF skills. The overall pattern of results provides empirical support for the family stress model of development in which conditions of socioeconomic disadvantage exert a significant influence on parent–child interactions and in turn children’s emergent self-regulation and behavior problems.

Differential associations of parental harshness and parental disengagement with overall cortisol output at 15 years: Implications for adolescent mental health.

Abstract: Psychosocial stress in childhood and adolescence is linked to stress system dysregulation, although few studies have examined the relative impacts of parental harshness and parental disengagement. This study prospectively tested whether parental harshness and disengagement show differential associations with overall cortisol output in adolescence. Associations between overall cortisol output and adolescent mental health problems were tested concurrently. Adolescents from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) provided hair samples for cortisol assay at 15 years (N = 171). Caregivers reported on parental harshness and disengagement experiences at 1, 3, 5, 9, and 15 years, and adolescents reported at 15 years. Both parent and adolescent reported depressive and anxiety symptoms and antisocial behaviors at 15. Greater parental harshness from 1-15 years, and harshness reported at 15 years in particular, was associated with higher overall cortisol output at 15. Greater parental disengagement from 1-15 years, and disengagement at 1 year specifically, was associated with lower cortisol output. There were no significant associations between cortisol output and depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, or antisocial behaviors. These results suggest that the unique variances of parental harshness and disengagement may have opposing associations with cortisol output at 15 years, with unclear implications for adolescent mental health.

A Two-Generation Education Intervention and Children’s Attendance in Head Start

Abstract: Two-generation human capital programs seek to promote the education of parents and children simultaneously. This study examines relations between family participation in CareerAdvance, which recruits parents of Head Start children into a workforce training program, and children's Head Start attendance. The sample included 293 children (on average 4 years old) and their parents. After one semester, CareerAdvance children demonstrated higher rates of attendance and lower rates of absence and chronic absence (missing 10% or more of school days) than matched comparison children. These associations were similar across a range of high- and low-risk subgroups at baseline. These findings are discussed in terms of the implications of a family systems approach for improving children's Head Start attendance.

Family instability from Birth to Adolescence: Evidence from a Birth Cohort Study

Abstract: Family structure instability is associated with a host of negative outcomes for children, but there is limited knowledge of the prevalence of this instability in recent cohorts. Objectives/Methods: This research note draws on six waves of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to provide national estimates of children’s exposure to family structure instability (both moves in and out) for a cohort born in large US cities at the turn of the 21st century. Results: We find that by age 15, the average child in this cohort experienced about one and a half co-residential changes in family structure. The number of transitions differs by parents’ relationship status and mothers’ education at birth. Children born to married parents experienced the fewest transitions (0.89) while children born to single mothers experienced the greatest number of transitions (average of 3.00). Additionally, children whose mothers had completed college prior to the child’s birth experienced fewer transitions than children whose mothers had less education. Contribution: We extend existing literature by examining cumulative instability (and subgroup differences) through age 15, an important developmental period.