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Family Intervention Effects on Co-occurring Early Childhood Behavioral and Emotional Problems: A Latent Transition Analysis Approach

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Abstract

This study used latent transition analysis (LTA) to examine changes in early emotional and behavioral problems in children age 2 to 4 years resulting from participation in a family-centered intervention. A sample of 731 economically disadvantaged families was recruited from among participants in a national food supplement and nutrition program. Families with toddlers between age 2 and 3 were randomized either to the Family Check-Up (FCU) or to a nonintervention control group. The FCU’s linked interventions were tailored to each family’s needs. Assessments occurred at age 2, 3, and 4. The FCU followed age 2 and age 3 assessments. Latent class analyses were conducted on mother reports of behavior and emotional problems from age 2 to 4 to study transitions among the following four groups: (a) externalizing only, (b) internalizing only, (c) comorbid internalizing and externalizing, and (d) normative. LTA results revealed that participation in the FCU increased the likelihood of transitioning from either the comorbid or the internalizing class into the normative class by age 4. These results suggest family interventions in early childhood can potentially disrupt the early emergence of both emotional and behavioral problems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Arin Connell

  2. Child and Family Center, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

    Bernadette Marie Bullock & Thomas J. Dishion

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Daniel Shaw

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Melvin Wilson

  5. Department of Social Policy and Social Work, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    Frances Gardner

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  1. Arin Connell
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  2. Bernadette Marie Bullock
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Correspondence to Arin Connell.

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Connell, A., Bullock, B.M., Dishion, T.J. et al. Family Intervention Effects on Co-occurring Early Childhood Behavioral and Emotional Problems: A Latent Transition Analysis Approach. J Abnorm Child Psychol 36, 1211–1225 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9244-6

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