Difficulties in empathy are frequent among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and often considered a core feature of autism. Reduced empathy during the second year of life has been shown to predict subsequent ASD diagnosis. However, links between empathy in the first year and ASD have not yet been investigated. Moreover, prior work focused on empathy for others’ distress but not for others’ joy. To address these gaps, this prospective longitudinal study followed 60 infants (33% girls), 39 at high genetic risk of ASD (siblings of children with ASD) and a matching control group. Infants’ empathic responses to others’ distress and happiness were assessed at ages 6, 9, and 12 months, using simulations by the mother/experimenter and videos of crying and laughing infants. Diagnosis was determined between 18 and 36 months. Infants later diagnosed with ASD showed a reduced empathic response toward a person simulating distress, but not toward a video of a crying peer, and not in response to others’ joy (either in simulation or video). Overall, reduced empathic concern during the first year of life appears to be an early prodromal marker of subsequent ASD. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

The present study examined empathy deficits in toddlerhood (age 14 to 36 months) as predictors of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) symptoms and psychopathy measured by the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995) in adulthood (age 23 years) in 956 individuals from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study. Consistent with the hypothesis that antisocial behavior is associated with “active” rather than “passive” empathy deficits, early disregard for others, not lack of concern for others, predicted later ASPD symptoms. Early disregard for others was also significantly associated with factor 1 of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, which includes items assessing interpersonal and affective deficits, but not with factor 2, which includes items assessing impulsivity and poor behavioral control. The association between early disregard for others and psychopathy factor 2 was near zero after controlling for the shared variance between psychopathy factors 1 and 2. These results suggest that there is a propensity toward adulthood ASPD symptoms and psychopathy factor 1 that can be assessed early in development, which may help identify individuals most at risk for stable antisocial outcomes.

We observed gendered coping strategies and conflict resolution outcomes used by adolescents and parents during a conflict discussion task to evaluate associations with current and later adolescent psychopathology. We studied 137 middle- to upper-middle-class, predominantly Caucasian families of adolescents (aged 11–16 years, 65 males) who represented a range of psychological functioning, including normative, subclinical, and clinical levels of problems. Adolescent coping strategies played key roles both in the extent to which parent–adolescent dyads resolved conflict and in the trajectory of psychopathology symptom severity over a 2-year period. Gender-prototypic adaptive coping strategies were observed in parents but not youth, (i.e., more problem solving by fathers than mothers and more regulated emotion-focused coping by mothers than fathers). Youth–mother dyads more often achieved full resolution of conflict than youth–father dyads. There were generally not bidirectional effects among youth and parents’ coping across the discussion except boys’ initial use of angry/hostile coping predicted fathers’ angry/hostile coping. The child was more influential than the parent on conflict resolution. This extended to exacerbation/alleviation of psychopathology over 2 years: higher conflict resolution mediated the association of adolescents’ use of problem-focused coping with decreases in symptom severity over time. Lower conflict resolution mediated the association of adolescents’ use of angry/hostile emotion coping with increases in symptom severity over time. Implications of findings are considered within a broadened context of the nature of coping and conflict resolution in youth–parent interactions, as well as on how these processes impact youth well-being and dysfunction over time.

Multilevel models of developmental psychopathology implicate both characteristics of the individual and their rearing environment in the etiology of internalizing problems and disorders. Maladaptive regulation of fear and sadness, the core of anxiety and depression, arises from the conjoint influences of ineffective parasympathetic regulation of emotion and ineffective emotion socialization experiences. In 171 youths (84 female, M = 13.69 years, SD = 1.84), we measured changes of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in response to sadness- and fear-inducing film clips and maternal supportive and punitive responses to youths' internalizing emotions. Youths and mothers reported on youths' internalizing problems and anxiety and depression symptoms concurrently and 2 years later at Time 2. Maternal supportive emotion socialization predicted fewer, and punitive socialization predicted more, mother-reported internalizing problems at Time 2 only for youths who showed RSA suppression to fear-inducing films. More RSA suppression to sadness-inducing films predicted more youth-reported internalizing problems at Time 2 in girls only. In addition, less supportive emotion socialization predicted more youth-reported depression symptoms at Time 2 only for girls who showed more RSA suppression to sadness. RSA suppression to sadness versus fear might reflect different patterns of atypical parasympathetic regulation of emotional arousal, both of which increase the risk for internalizing difficulties in youths, and especially girls, who lack maternal support for regulating emotions.

Heart rate was recorded on 210MZ and 174DZ same sex twin pairs participating in the MacArthur Longitudinal Twin Study (MALTS) at age 14, 20, 24, 36 months and 7 years. Heart rate was monitored in the laboratory at all ages. At ages 14 to 36 months, heart rate was monitored prior to a set of cognitive tasks. At age 7 years heart rate was recorded during a mood-eliciting videotaped presentation. At this age only heart rate monitored during neutral portions of the presentation were used. Mean heart rate declines substantially across this age range, but is similar in boys and girls and for MZ and DZ twins at each age. Heart rate is moderately correlated across all time points suggesting that individual differences in heart rate are relatively stable over this age range. Multivariate genetic and environmental models were fitted to the raw data. In general, genetic factors contribute to the stability of individual differences over time. Shared and non-shared environment factors tended to be occasion specific, with non-shared environment contributing substantially to the individual variation at each age. Shared environment and non-shared environment also contributed a modicum to the stability across time. Thus, individual differences in resting heart rate is a relatively stable, heritable trait from infancy to early childhood. Twin Research (2000) 3, 259–265.

Allostasis, or the maintenance of stability through physiological change, refers to the process by which individuals adjust to the continually changing demands that are put upon somatic activity by salient events. Bauer and colleagues proposed that allostasis could be detected through patterns of the joint reactivity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis system under stressful conditions. We examined the associations between ANS and HPA reactivity and the development of externalizing and internalizing problems over 2 years in a sample of 215 adolescents. The interactions of ANS and HPA reactivity were contemporaneously associated with, and longitudinally predictive of, adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems. Adolescents with symmetrical high reactivity across systems had more internalizing and fewer externalizing problems initially. Over time, both symmetrical and asymmetrical reactivity predicted increasing internalizing problems in girls, depending on the measure of ANS activity that was examined, heart rate, or blood pressure reactivity. Implications for the understanding of allostasis and the dynamic nature of the relations between multiple physiological regulatory systems and adolescents' developing psychopathology are discussed.

This study focused on empathic and prosocial orientations in preschool children who vary in externalizing problems. Children were categorized as low, moderate, or high risk for developing disruptive behavior disorders, depending on severity of current behavior problems. Hypothetical and real encounters with others in distress were used to examine children's affect, behavior, autonomic activity, and social cognitions. When children witnessed someone in distress, empathic concern and prosocial behaviors were present at similar levels for all risk groups. However, moderate and high-risk children were less able than low-risk children to remain positively engaged with distress victims. Girls showed more prosocial behavior than boys, and boys showed more anger than girls. During sadness mood inductions to assess autonomic activity, risk groups did not differ on heart rate or vagal tone. Girls showed higher skin conductance than boys, with high-risk girls showing the highest levels. Higher heart rate (and heart rate deceleration) predicted empathic concern and prosocial behavior, whereas lower heart rate was associated with aggression and avoidance, irrespective of risk. Although biological correlates of emotions and behaviors that reflect caring versus indifference to others' distress are identified, they do not support an early direct link to externalizing psychopathologies.

Genetic influence on externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and attentional/activity problems in 5-year-olds was consistently identified across informants and assessment contexts. Effects of the shared environment were identified as well but with less consistency (i.e., only from parents, not teachers, and more from father than mother reports). Correlations between observed patterns of regulation at ages 3, 4, and 5 years and behavior problems at age 5 years were often significant, but low in magnitude and specific to teacher reports. Adaptive internalization of control at each age (e.g., frustration tolerance, capacity to attend and focus, good impulse control) predicted fewer externalizing problems. Internalization of standards, reflected in children's moral themes, understanding of reciprocity, and constructive social problem solving, also were sometimes associated with fewer problems. Significant correlations were low in magnitude and again specific to teacher reports. Externalizing problems were more prevalent for boys than girls, and regulation (i.e., internalization of control and standards) was more characteristic of girls than boys.

Research in developmental psychopathology is used to examine and propose questions, concepts, and methods in the investigation of child development in the contexts of dysfunctional and well families. The adequacy of the data base for investigating the course of development, representing the socialization process, and identifying individualities and universals in development is discussed. A number of research issues that have been studied primarily in developmental psychopathology are recommended as relevant to normal child development. Multidomain and multisource longitudinal data are proposed as the means for better delineating development and for testing alternative models of developmental processes. Examples of data and experience are drawn from longitudinal studies of affectively ill parents and their children. Differences in the perspectives and approaches of normal child development research and developmental child psychopathology are discussed. The usefulness of thinking of two disciplines, normal child development and child development psychopathology, is questioned.

Aggression observed in 2-year-old children of well and depressed mothers was examined in relation to problem behaviors at ages 5–6. Both normative (e.g., object struggles, rough play) and maladaptive (e.g., dysregulated, out-of-control behavior) forms of toddler aggression were identified. Dysregulated aggression predicted (a) externalizing problems reported by mothers when children were 5 years old, and (b) children's reports of difficulties during a structured psychiatric interview at age 6. Problems were more frequent and continuity patterns more evident in children of depressed, than well, mothers. Early maladaptive aggression was a better predictor of later externalizing, than internalizing problems. Childrearing practices of mothers of toddlers also appeared to contribute to later outcomes: negative influences were evident but protective patterns were present as well. Depressed mothers who used proactive childrearing approaches (e.g., anticipating the child's point of view; exerting modulated, respectful control; providing structure and organization during play environment) had children who showed fewer externalizing problems 3 years later.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relations among maternal depression, security of attachment, and peer interactive behaviors in early childhood. Drawing from the literature, we posited that socially inhibited play behaviors in childhood would be associated with maternal depression as well as with an insecure mother-child attachment relationship. Forty-three 5-year-olds and their mothers participated in the study. There were 21 depressed and 22 affectively well mothers. Security of attachment was assessed via a variation of the Strange Situation procedure when the children were 2 years old. At 5 years of age the children were observed during free play with a familiar same-sex agemate. Results supported the hypotheses that social inhibition is associated with maternal depression and with an insecure mother-infant attachment relationship.

Antisocial behaviors in females may differ from more prototypically “male” patterns of aggression, violence, and criminality that dominate criteria for conduct problems in diagnostic systems. This raises questions of how to define and investigate conduct problems in females as well as how to identify differential childhood antecedents. A developmental psychopathology perspective is advanced as one useful approach to understanding adaptive and maladaptive social patterns in males and females that may lead to different developmental trajectories and influence the forms of psychopathology that develop. The utility of de-emphasizing serious physical aggression as one important criteria for conduct problems is questioned. Recommendations that particular forms of deviance in females be considered as markers of their antisocial patterns (e.g., somatic complaints, friendlessness, underachievement) are also called into question. Rather than adopt sex-specific criteria to assess conduct problems, it is necessary to expand and broaden the diagnostic categories to include serious externalizing problems regardless of whether they occur in males or females.

We investigated narratives, symbolic play, and emotions in children who varied in severity of disruptive behavior problems. Children's representations of hypothetical situations of conflict and distress were assessed at 4–5 and 7 years. Behavior problems also were assessed then and again at 9 years. Children's aggressive and caring themes differentiated nonproblem children, children whose problems remained or worsened with age, and those whose problems improved over time. Differences in boys and girls whose problems continued sometimes reflected exaggerations of prototypic gender differences seen across the groups. Boys with problems showed more hostile themes (physical aggression and anger), whereas girls with problems showed more caring (prosocial) themes relative to the other groups. Modulated (verbal) aggression, more common in girls than boys, showed developmentally appropriate increases with age. However, this was true only for children without problems and those whose problems improved. We consider how these findings contribute to an understanding the inner worlds of boys and girls who differ in their early developmental trajectories for behavior problems.

In recent years, the role of gender in the development of psychopathology has increasingly attracted the attention of researchers, theoreticians, and other professionals interested in the well-being of children and adolescents. This interest has taken diverse forms, ranging from the examination of sex differences in the prevalence of adjustment difficulties to the exploration of unique etiologies and trajectories in the development of psychopathology for boys versus girls. In this paper we (a) critically examine the current status of available theories, research, and methods related to the study of gender and psychopathology and provide recommendations for future work; (b) identify promising new trends that appear to have utility for enhancing our understanding of the role of gender in the development of adjustment difficulties; and (c) generate conclusions regarding gender and psychopathology by integrating information from past and present work with new ideas about fruitful directions for future inquiry.

Mutual regulation of anger plays a role in both healthy adjustment and mental health problems. This study of 85 preschooler boys and girls examined mother–preschooler anger regulation during a frustration in relation to the child's preschool and school age problem status. Less mutual positive emotion, more mutual anger, and more emotional mismatches than other dyads characterized dyads with a stable conduct problem child. Maternal emotion predicted school age conduct problems, particularly for boys. Maternal emotion also predicted stability versus improvement of symptoms. The emotional dynamics of mother–preschooler angry exchanges may redirect girls' conduct problems and may contribute to the stability of boys' conduct problems.

Individual differences in salivary testosterone were examined in 213 adolescents (106 boys, 107 girls; mean age = 13.66 years) in relation to externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. Self- and parent-report measures of behavior problems and psychiatric symptoms were obtained. Latent anxiety–depression, disruptive behavior, and attention problem constructs were developed using multitrait, multimethod procedures. Saliva samples were collected in the morning, midday, and late afternoon on multiple days and were later assayed for testosterone. Latent constructs were derived for testosterone level and diurnal variation across the six sampling occasions. Structural equations modeled relationships between problem behavior and intra- and interindividual differences in testosterone separately by gender. For boys, lower levels of testosterone and testosterone levels that decreased more slowly across the day were related to higher levels of anxiety–depression and attention problems. These associations were not moderated by pubertal development. For girls, steep declines in testosterone production across the day related to higher levels of disruptive behavior problems, but this association was only evident after including pubertal development as a moderator in the model. These findings raise novel questions regarding the nature and magnitude of links between testosterone and problem behavior in youth.