Longitudinal Pathways from Cumulative Contextual Risk at Birth to School Functioning in Adolescence: Analysis of Mediation Effects and Gender Moderation.
Children and adolescents exposed to multiple contextual risks are more likely to have academic difficulties and externalizing behavior problems than those who experience fewer risks. This study used data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (a population-based study; N = 6961; 51 % female) to investigate (a) the impact of cumulative contextual risk at birth on adolescents' academic performance and misbehavior in school, (b) learning difficulties and/or externalizing behavior problems in childhood as intervening mechanisms in the association of cumulative contextual risk with functioning in adolescence, and (c) potential gender differences in the predictive associations of cumulative contextual risk at birth with functioning in childhood or adolescence. The results of the structural equation modeling analysis suggested that exposure to cumulative contextual risk at birth had negative associations with functioning 16 years later, and academic difficulties and externalizing behavior problems in childhood mediated some of the predictive relations. Gender, however, did not moderate any of the associations. Therefore, the findings of this study have implications for the prevention of learning and conduct problems in youth and future research on the impact of cumulative risk exposure.
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. sajanuary@sc.edu.
Stacy-Ann A
SA
January
Boys Town National Research Institute of Child and Family Studies, Boys Town, NE, USA.
W Alex
WA
Mason
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Jukka
J
Savolainen
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA.
Starr
S
Solomon
Boys Town National Research Institute of Child and Family Studies, Boys Town, NE, USA.
Mary B
MB
Chmelka
Center for Life Course Epidemiology and Systems Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Medical Research Center Oulu, Research Unit of Clinical Neurosciences, Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
Jouko
J
Miettunen
Department of Psychiatry, Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
Juha
J
Veijola
PEDEGO Research Center, Child Psychiatry, Medical Research Center, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
Irma
I
Moilanen
Center for Life Course Epidemiology and Systems Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Anja
A
Taanila
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.|Center for Life Course Epidemiology and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Unit of Primary Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
Marjo-Riitta
MR
Järvelin
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D041923:Adolescent Development; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
Adolescence; Cumulative contextual risk; Externalizing behavior problems; Learning difficulties
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