Longitudinal data from European-American (EA) and Mexican-American (MA) families (n = 179 mothers, fathers, and youth; 41% MA) was used to test a bio-psycho-cultural model of the effect of non-responsive parenting on externalizing problems in young adult offspring through the effect on the stress response system. Parenting behavior (acceptance, rejection, harsh discipline) was assessed when children were in late childhood (12-13 years), cortisol samples were collected during late adolescence (18-19 years), and externalizing problems were measured in young adulthood (21-22 years). Latent profile analyses were used to examine patterns of parenting behavior in EA and MA families. A path analysis framework was used to examine how non-responsive parenting interacted with acceptance to predict adolescent stress response and subsequent externalizing problems in EA and MA young adults. Results showed different patterns of parenting behavior in EA versus MA families, with MA families demonstrating a profile of high acceptance and high non-responsiveness at higher rates than EA families. In MA families, youth adherence to the traditional cultural value of familismo related to more positive perceptions of parenting behavior. Across ethnic groups, parent rejection only predicted higher externalizing problems in young adults when acceptance was high. The effect of parent harsh discipline on offspring stress response differed by ethnicity. In MA families, harsh discipline predicted dysregulated stress response in youth when acceptance was low. In EA families, harsh discipline did not relate to youth stress response. Overall, results increase the understanding of normative and adaptive parenting behaviors in MA families. Findings inform the development of culturally-competent parenting-focused interventions that can better prevent dysregulated stress response and externalizing behavior problems in ethnically diverse youth.

Research suggests that early family relationships have critical influences on later physical and psychological health, but most studies have focused on the influence of mothers ignoring the unique impacts of fathers. One mechanism by which families may transmit risk is by repeated activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the short-term that leads to adult neurobiological dysregulaton, evident in hyper- or hypo-cortisol levels. Using 218 father-child dyads from the Parent and Youth Study (PAYS), the current study investigated whether father involvement in adolescence predicted youth cortisol AUCg and reactivity to a stress task in young adulthood, and whether this relation was mediated by youth perceptions of mattering to their fathers in adolescence. Results revealed that higher father-reported father involvement predicted lower cortisol AUCg in youth when mattering was included in the model, although father involvement was not a statistically significant predictor of AUCg or cortisol reactivity when mattering was not included. Additionally, children who reported higher father involvement also reported higher feelings of mattering, but this association was only statistically significant for girls and European American youth. Youth feelings of mattering did not predict their cortisol reactivity or AUCg in young adulthood. Results suggest that future research should include fathers when investigating the effects of family relationships on youth psychophysiological development.

Internalizing symptoms are prevalent among adolescents, especially among Latinos, and can have negative consequences on health and development. Understanding the risk and protective factors leading to internalizing difficulties among Latino youth is critical. The current study sought to assess the effects of family risk and peer social rejection in the seventh grade on internalizing symptoms in the tenth grade, and the potential buffering effects of social support from family and from friends, among a sample of 749 Mexican American youth. Structural equation modeling was used to examine pathways from seventh grade family risk and peer social rejection to internalizing symptoms in the tenth grade. Perceived social support from family and perceived social support from friends were tested as moderators of these relations. Gender differences in these pathways were also assessed. Results showed that family risk did not predict tenth grade internalizing symptoms, but that peer social rejection predicted increased internalizing symptoms for girls. Furthermore, buffering effects were not confirmed; rather social support from both friends and family had no effect on the relation between family risk and internalizing symptoms, and high levels of social support from both sources amplified the effect of peer social rejection on internalizing symptoms. Secondary analyses suggested that at low levels of social support from both sources, peer social rejection predicted decreased internalizing symptoms for males. Limitations and implications for prevention and future research are discussed.

The current study examined effects of representations of relationships with parents on young adults’ representations of romantic relationships and self-esteem, with particular attention paid to the role of fathers, instability of representations, and bidirectional effects. Data were obtained from two waves (Waves 4 and 5) of a five-wave study. At wave 4, 287 young adults (mean age = 20) participated, and at Wave 5, 276 young adults (mean age = 22) participated. One-time interviews (Behavioral Systems Questionnaires; BSQ) were conducted to measure the level of representations of relationships with parents. Nightly diary checklists (7 nights at Wave 4, and 5 nights at Wave 5) were used to measure the level and instability of representations of romantic relationships (BSQ) and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale). Two styles of representations, including secure versus dismissing (e.g., relying on parents or romantic partners when distressed versus not relying on them) and preoccupied (e.g., worrying about rejection and excessive dependency) were measured for relationships with parents and romantic partners. The results showed evidence for unique roles of fathers, instability of representations, and bidirectional effects. Relationships with fathers affected young adults’ self-esteem. More nightly fluctuations in security with romantic partners predicted higher levels of security with romantic partners, but only in the context of more secure relationships. More nightly fluctuations in self-esteem predicted more dismissive representations of fathers. Bidirectional effects involved young adults’ representations of both romantic relationships and self-esteem, and their representations of relationships with parents. The relation between instability of representations of romantic relationships and later security in romantic relationships might represent learning about romantic relationships. The relation between instability of self-esteem and later dismissive styles with fathers (e.g., not relying on fathers when distressed) at this age might be an indication of learning to become autonomous from fathers. Finally, I also hypothesize that during emerging adulthood, fathers tend to encourage children to solve their stress or problems by themselves, while mothers tend to still provide help when children are distressed. These suggested hypotheses should be examined in future research.

Childhood obesity is associated with many well established health risks as well as high annual public health costs. Because of this, the childhood obesity literature has highlighted the need to detect at-risk groups in order to implement targeted preventions. Emotional eating has been identified as an unhealthy behavior and a risk factor for overweight status among children though very little is known about what predisposes children to emotionally eat. Stress has often been found to elicit emotional eating but most studies looking at this relationship have relied on self-reports in adult and clinical samples. Thus, the current study seeks to investigate the relationship between stress reactivity (measured using heart rate variability) and emotional eating in a sample of 247 children between the ages of 4-6. Furthermore, levels of control may moderate the relationship between stress reactivity (HRV) and emotional eating. Linear regression analysis was used to explore these relationships. It was expected that higher levels of reactivity to stress would predict an increased likelihood of emotional eating. This association was expected to be attenuated among children with higher levels of inhibitory control and attentional focusing as well as lower levels of impulsivity. However, the hypothesized findings were not supported by the data. Despite these null findings, and in light of several limitations, it is still hypothesized that emotional eating involves physiological and impulsivity/effortful control processes. Implications of future research are discussed.

Cognitive reappraisal, or redefining the meaning of a stressful circumstance, is useful in regulating emotional responses to acute stressors and may be mobilized to up- or down- regulate the stressors’ emotional salience. A conceptually-related but more targeted emotion regulation strategy to that offered by cognitive reappraisal, termed positive cognitive shift, was examined in the current study. Positive cognitive shift (“PCS”) is defined as a point of cognitive transformation during a chronic, stressful situation that alters the meaning and emotional salience of the situation for the individual. Key aspects of the PCS that differentiate it from the broader reappraisal construct are that it 1) is relevant to responses to chronic (versus acute) aversive events, 2) is deployed when there is a mismatch between coping and stressors, and 3) involves insight together with redefinition in meaning of the situation generating stress. The current study used qualitative and quantitative analyses to 1) examine whether PCS is an observable, reliable, and valid experience in response to a stressful event that occurred in the past year, and 2) test whether PCS moderates the relations between the number of past-year stressful life circumstances and subsequent emotional well-being and functional health. A community sample of 175 middle-aged individuals were interviewed regarded a past chronic stressor and completed questionnaires regarding number of past year stressors and health outcomes. Theory-based coding of interviews was conducted to derive reliable scores for PCS, and findings indicated that PCS was evident in 37.7 % of participant responses. Furthermore, PCS scores were related positively to openness, personal growth from one’s most difficult lifetime event, and affect intensity-calm, in line with predictions. Also in line with prediction, PCS moderated the relations between number of past-year life events and health outcomes, such that the deleterious relations between past year stressful events and cognitive functioning, wellbeing, positive affect, and negative affect were weaker among individuals higher versus lower in PCS. Of note, PCS moderation effects diminished as the number of stressful events increased.

The theory of biological sensitivity to context (BSC; Boyce & Ellis, 2005) posits that specific biological characteristics, such as vagal tone, may confer risk for physical and mental health outcomes for some children but promote health for others. High levels of resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of vagal tone, may confer susceptibility to the effects of the caregiving environment on child development. Consistent with BSC, I expected that, relative to infants with lower RSA, infants with higher RSA would demonstrate fewer behavior problems if their mothers reported fewer postpartum depressive symptoms, but more behavior problems if their mothers reported more postpartum depressive symptoms. I also evaluated whether observed child social engagement with their mothers mediated children's biological sensitivity to the effects of postpartum depressive symptoms on behavior problems in early childhood. I evaluated a mediated moderation model among a sample of 322 low-income Mexican American mother-infant dyads. As expected, the RSA x maternal depressive symptoms interaction, controlling for covariates, was a significant predictor of internalizing, externalizing and total behavior problems, and high vagal tone conferred susceptibility for externalizing behavior problems. Contrary to my hypothesis, children with low RSA may be more susceptible to the effects of maternal postpartum depressive symptoms on children's internalizing and total behavior problems, and child social engagement did not account for these effects. Among infants in economically disadvantaged families, lower RSA and fewer maternal depressive symptoms may promote resilience, and more research is needed to understand behavioral mediators of biological sensitivity.

The main objective of this study was to use a genetically-informative design to examine the putative influences of maternal perceived prenatal stress, obstetrical complications, and gestational age on infant dysregulation, competence, and developmental maturity. Specifically, whether or not prenatal and obstetrical environmental conditions modified the heritability of infant outcomes was examined. A total of 291 mothers were interviewed when their twin infants were 12 months of age. Pregnancy and twin birth medical records were obtained to code obstetrical data. Utilizing behavioral genetic models, results indicated maternal perceived prenatal stress moderated genetic and environmental influences on developmental maturity whereas obstetrical complications moderated shared environmental influences on infant competence and nonshared environmental influences on developmental maturity. Gestational age moderated the heritability and nonshared environment of infant dysregulation, shared and nonshared environmental influences on competence, and nonshared environmental influences on developmental maturity. Taken together, prenatal and obstetric conditions were important nonlinear influences on infant outcomes. An evolutionary perspective may provide a framework for these findings, such that the prenatal environment programs the fetus to be adaptive to current environmental contexts. Specifically, prenatal stress governs gene expression through epigenetic processes. Findings highlight the utility of a genetically informative design for elucidating the role of prenatal and obstetric conditions in the etiology of infant developmental outcomes.

The transition from high school to college is associated with considerable life strain for adolescents, including higher reported levels of daily stress and negative affect (NA), and alterations in stress physiology have been linked to poor health. The purpose of this thesis was to use an ecological momentary assessment design to study associations between momentary experiences of negative affect and cortisol levels in a sample of adolescents transitioning to college. I also examined the potential moderating effects of two potential vulnerability or protective factors, alone status and perceived social support from friends. Adolescents provided salivary samples and completed paper-and-pencil diary reports of socioemotional experiences and alone status five times per day for three consecutive weekdays, as well as completed self-report questionnaires on perceived social support from friends. Within-person increases in momentary negative affect were associated with momentary cortisol reactivity. Alone status significantly moderated this association such that the association between momentary negative affect and momentary cortisol levels was only significant when individuals were with others and not when they were alone. Perceived social support from friends did not significantly moderate the within-person associations between negative affect and momentary cortisol levels. The findings add to our understanding of physiological correlates of socioemotional experiences, as well as contexts in which these associations may be exaggerated or attenuated. The findings inform our understanding of potential pathways by which physiological reactivity to socioemotional experiences may affect the health of adolescents as well as how prevention efforts could reduce potential poor health outcomes associated with heightened stress reactivity.

The ability to regulate emotions, attention, and behavior develops early in life and impacts future academic success, social competency, behavioral problems, and psychopathology. An impairment in regulation is known as dysregulation. Past research shows that children of mothers with postpartum depression are more likely to show impairment in regulatory abilities. There is an established link in the literature between family support and maternal depression, which in turn can impact child behavior. However, further research is needed to explore the impact of family support on early childhood dysregulation in the context of maternal depression. Using a sample of 322 Mexican-American, mother-child dyads, two models were examined. Model one hypothesized family support would buffer the effects of maternal depression on child dysregulation at 24 months. Model 2 hypothesized that family support is related to child dysregulation through its effect on maternal depression. Results showed that increased family support was related to more child dysregulation when there were high levels of maternal depression. There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that maternal depression mediated the relationship between family support and child dysregulation.