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Scientific Publications


  • Concepts, Methods, and Theory in Prevention Science. [click here]

  • Developmental Epidemiological Papers from Two Generations of Preventive Trials in Baltimore. [click here]

  • Intervention Effects from Two Generations of Preventive Trials in Baltimore.
    [click here]

  • Developmental Epidemiological Papers from Early Woodlawn Studies. [click here]

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  spacer Concepts, Methods, and Theory in Prevention Science
   
  • Kellam SG, Langevin DJ: A framework for understanding "evidence" in prevention research and programs. Prev.Sci. 2003; 4:137-153.
  • spacerAbstract: This report provides a multidimensional framework for understanding the meaning of evidence in prevention science. Six themes comprise the framework, each with impact on the meaning of evidence. (1) There are rigorous prevention scientific strategies now in use; each has shared but also unique requirements for the meaning of evidence. Some are directed at individuals, others at small social contexts, others at larger societal structures. (2) The phases of prevention research have shared but also unique requirements for evidence. These include efficacy, effectiveness, sustainability, going-to-scale, and sustaining programs systemwide. (3) Prevention programs address different segments of the population defined by levels of risk: the total population; a smaller subpopulation at increased risk; or a still smaller subpopulation at very high risk. The levels influence the meaning of evidence. (4) Economic analysis and economic evidence must become a central part of prevention research. These are needed for appropriate policy decision making and for assessing long-term benefits. (5) Collaboration is required for rigor in prevention research: including researchers, but also policy makers, program advocates and leaders, and community and institutional leaders. Broad ownership is critical for implementing rigorous research and for sustaining program fidelity. (6) Acceptance of a multidimensional framework for understanding "evidence" is essential across those agencies and institutions that carry out and/or use prevention science. The more widely the vision of the prevention field is shared, and the more the various qualities and rules of evidence are accepted and implemented, the better the quality will be of prevention research and programs.

  • Greer-Chase, Marlene, Rhodes, Warren A., and Kellam, Sheppard G. Why the Prevention of Aggressive Disruptive Behaviors in Middle School Must Begin in Elementary School. Clearing House 75(5), 242. 2002. Heldref Publications.
  • spacerAbstract: Focuses on the prevention of aggressive disruptive behaviors of students in middle school. Discipline of students in public schools; Problems with the implementation of discipline in public schools; Emphasis on the interactive process in the life course and social field theory.

  • Muthèn B, Brown CH, Masyn K, Jo B, Khoo ST, Yang CC, Wang CP, Kellam SG, Carlin JB, Liao J: General growth mixture modeling for randomized preventive interventions. Biostatistics. 2002; 3:459-475.
  • spacerAbstract: This paper proposes growth mixture modeling to assess intervention effects in longitudinal randomized trials. Growth mixture modeling represents unobserved heterogeneity among the subjects using a finite-mixture random effects model. The methodology allows one to examine the impact of an intervention on subgroups characterized by different types of growth trajectories. Such modeling is informative when examining effects on populations that contain individuals who have normative growth as well as non-normative growth. The analysis identifies subgroup membership and allows theory-based modeling of intervention effects in the different subgroups. An example is presented concerning a randomized intervention in Baltimore public schools aimed at reducing aggressive classroom behavior, where only students who were initially more aggressive showed benefits from the intervention.

  • Ialongo NS, Kellam SG, Poduska J: A developmental epidemiological framework for clinical child and pediatric psychology research in Handbook of research in pediatric and clinical child psychology: Practical strategies and methods Edited by Drotar D. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
  • spacerAbstract: Describes the principles and theoretical perspectives of a comprehensive developmental epidemiological framework that has formed the foundation for the Johns Hopkins University Prevention Intervention Research Center's research programs concerning children's mental health. The authors describe the utility of a community epidemiology perspective in developing preventive interventions that address the impact of the ecology of the school classroom and the impact of neighborhood social ecology on children's mental health. The importance of a public health theoretical perspective in research is also illustrated in the development of collaborative preventive intervention trials. The utility of a developmental perspective is shown by tests of academic underachievement in children. The chapter concludes with recommendations for training psychologists in public health and epidemiological perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.) (from the book).

  • Kellam, S.G. (2000). Community and institutional partnerships for school violence prevention. Preventing School Violence: Plenary Papers of the 1999 Conference on Criminal Justice Research and evaluation-Enhancing Policy and Practice Through Research, Volume 2. NCJ 180972 (pp. 1-21). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.

  • Kellam SG, Koretz D, Moscicki EK: Core elements of developmental epidemiologically based prevention research. Am.J.Community Psychol. 1999; 27:463-482.
  • spacerAbstract: In the early 1990's, important progress was documented in prevention research on mental and behavioral disorders, with recommendations for a prevention research agenda. One of the earliest implementation efforts was the workshop, "A Scientific Structure for the Emerging Field of Prevention Research," sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and The Johns Hopkins University Prevention Research Center, and held in Baltimore, Maryland, in December of 1994. The purpose of the workshop was to merge three perspectives from the traditionally disparate areas of epidemiology, life course development, and intervention trials technology into an integrated, interdisciplinary effort that would define a scientific structure enabling rapid advancement in prevention science. As a consequence of that workshop, the papers were written that are contained in this and the next special issue on prevention of the American Journal of Community Psychology. This first paper is a description of the salient features of developmental epidemiologically-based prevention research. Beyond the above three perspectives, we discuss the role of developmental and intervention theories; measurement of implementation, mediators, and moderators, including multi-stage sampling and measurement; the central role of multilevel growth modeling; concepts of attributable risk and prevented fraction; proximal/distal modeling and effect sizes; and partnerships between researchers and communities.

  • Kellam SG, Van Horn YV: Life course development, community epidemiology, and preventive trials: a scientific structure for prevention research. Am.J.Community Psychol. 1997; 25:177-188.

  • Kellam SG: Testing theory through developmental epidemiologically based prevention research. NIDA Res.Monogr 1994; 139:37-57.

  • Parke RD, Kellam SG: Exploring family relationships with other social contexts Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, 1994.
  • spacerAbstract: Families do not operate independently from other social organizations and institutions. Instead, it is generally recognized that families are embedded in a complex set of relationships with other institutions and contexts outside the family. In spite of this recognition, a great deal remains to be discovered about the ways in which families are influenced by these outside agencies or how families, in turn, influence the functioning of children and adults in their extra-familial settings, such as school, work, daycare, or peer group contexts. Moreover, we know little about the nature of the processes that account for this mutual influence between families and other societal institutions and settings. The goal of this volume is to present examples from a series of ongoing research programs that are beginning to provide some tentative answers to these questions. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.) (from the introduction and overview).

  • Kellam SG, Rebok GW: Building developmental and etiological theory through epidemiologically based preventive intervention trials in Preventing antisocial behavior: Interventions from birth through adolescence. Edited by McCord J, Tremblay RE. Guilford Press, 1992.
  • spacerAbstract: Describe the role of developmental epidemiologically based preventive intervention trials in building and testing developmental and etiological theory in psychopathology / developmental epidemiology is the result of combining community epidemiology and life-course development / this integration of orientations and methods characterized... our current Baltimore prevention intervention research [in the Baltimore school system] / focus on the importance of theory building of mapping developmental paths from early child maladaptive behaviors to later psychopathology and of targeting antecedents along these paths for experimental interventions (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.) (from the chapter).

  • Kellam SG: Developmental epidemiological framework for family research on depression and aggression in Depression and aggression in family interaction Edited by Patterson GR. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, 1990.
  • spacerAbstract: examine epidemiology in this chapter from several perspectives: demographic, transitional, community, developmental, and lastly, experimental / we use data from epidemiological studies in Woodlawn, beginning in the 1960s and still continuing, to illustrate these perspectives, showing demographic aspects of this urban poor, Black, neighborhood, the mobility or transition of the families over the period of 1966 to 1976, antecedents along developmental paths to aggression and depression from 1st grade through midadolescence / examine epidemiologically within Woodlawn variations in school and classroom environments and in family structure at the time of 1st grade, as well as family evolution through the child rearing styleepidemiological examination of aggression and depression, these being special cases of the more general problem of measuring psychopathology (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.) (from the chapter).

  • Kellam SG, Anthony JC, Brown CH, Dolan L, Werthamer-Larsson L, Wilson R: Prevention research on early risk behaviors in cross-cultural studies in Needs and prospects of child and adolescent psychiatry. Edited by Schmidt MH, Remschmidt H. Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, 1989.
  • spacerAbstract: Discusses prevention research on behavioral responses in children which are strong predictors of the development of psychopathology in adults.current preventive trials / the design / multi-method and multi-stage periodic assessments / the developmental perspective / cross-cultural programs in the early assessment and prevention of alcohol, drugs, and mental disorders (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.) (from the chapter).

  • Kellam SG: Families and mental illness: current interpersonal and biological approaches (Part 1). Contributions by the Society for Life History Research on Psychopathology: epidemiology, life course development, and family research. Psychiatry 1987; 50:303-307.
  • spacerAbstract: Family research in mental health has until recently been largely confined within specific disciplines or fairly narrow perspectives, with little interdisciplinary integration. While sociologists, geneticists, psychologists, psychiatrists and scholars in related disciplines all have developed explanations regarding the familial origins or transmission of psychopathology and mental disorders, their work has largely remained isolated in the separate fields and is usually published in separate journals. We believe that the importance of Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes lies in its mission to promote the integration of such work, not only in regard to family research but in the broad arena of research in mental health and illness. The Society for Life History Research on Psychopathology has always been concerned with interdisciplinary longitudinal investigation. Its 1984 meeting focused upon new opportunities in methods and in theory building in family research. This set of five papers and the papers to be published in the next issue were first presented at that meeting, hosted in Baltimore by the Department of Mental Hygiene, The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. They reflect continuing evolution toward a multidisciplinary family research perspective.

  • Kellam SG: A developmental epidemiological perspective on social adaptation and cognitive function in Cognitive functioning and social structure over the life course Edited by Schooler C, Schaie KW. Ablex Publishing, 1987.
  • spacerAbstract: there are important cognitive functions in the performance of social tasksthe focus of this chapter is on those cognitive functions involved in responding to the specific tasks required of each individual in the main social fields of each stage of lifethe orientation for this discussion will be community epidemiological and life course development / consider social fields in the community in which individuals at each stage are confronted by social task demands and must make adaptive behavioral responses (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.) (from the chapter).

  • Kellam SG: Contributions by the Society for Life History Research on Psychopathology: Epidemiology, life course development, and family research. Psychiatry: Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes 1987; 50:303-307.
  • spacerAbstract: Describes the importance and function of demographic epidemiology in the field of mental hygiene and community psychiatry, which is to provide a picture of the health of society with particular regard to issues such as family and mental disorder. Developmental epidemiological perspective points to the importance of life stages as a major framework for understanding the paths leading to health or disorder. The author illustrates how the family can be assessed epidemiologically and developmentally from this perspective. Other social fields at subsequent stages of life can also be so described. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.).

  • Kellam SG, Werthamer-Larsson L: Developmental epidemiology: A basis for prevention in A decade of progress in primary prevention Edited by Kessler M, Goldston SE. University Press of New England, 1986.
  • spacerAbstract: present the methodology and findings of child psychiatric developmental epidemiology / focuses on four domains of antecedents of mental health problems: social field, social adaptation, psychological status and biological status / these domains provide a framework for a review of preventive interventions / following the review of the literature . . . [the authors] discuss core methodological issues in preventive research and then describe the work based on their epidemiological model being carried out at their Prevention Research Center (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.) (from the preface).

  • Kellam SG: Stressful life events and illness: A research area in need of conceptual development in Stressful life events: Their nature and effects Edited by Dohrenwend BS, Dohrenwend BP. John Wiley & Sons, 1974.
  • spacerAbstract: Discusses governmental and voluntary mechanisms for regulating the qualifications of health-service personnel. The current situation, problems and issues, and proposed improvement strategies are discussed for the following topics: accreditation of educational programs and institutions; licensure; regulation of work settings; registration and certification; and requirements of payment programs. (4 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.)

  • Kellam SG, Branch JD: An approach to community mental health: Analysis of basic problems. Seminars in Psychiatry 1971; Vol. 3:207-225.
  • spacerAbstract: Considers that any new community mental health service must encompass the concept of a circumscribed community, develop political sanctions, develop a community-wide information system, evolve intervention techniques, and redesign services. Some models for establishing a contract with the community are considered. The organization and programs of an urban mental health center in a black community is described to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of community boards of citizen organization leaders. Questions concerning the definition of mental health, measuring social adaptation in 1st graders, and evaluation of intervention techniques are considered. It is suggested that the community mental health program may be 1 expression of the need for comprehensive community human service systems. (29 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.)

  • Kellam SG, Schiff SK: Adaptation and mental illness in the first-grade classrooms of an urban community. Psychiatric Research Reports 1967; 21:79-91.
  • spacerAbstract: An outline is presented for 1 model of how a community mental health center can deal with the problems of (1) defining its community area, (2) relating itself to the political and social structure of the community, (3) establishing priorities with a community advisory board, (4) establishing criteria of assessing mental health needs among a specific target population, and (5) establishing a longitudinal measurement system of mental health need, which was used to provide periodic evaluation of the impact of an intervention program. (psycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.)

  • Kellam SG: On quantifying sensitivity. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 1967; 37:834-835.
  • spacerAbstract: Emphasizes the need to synthesize clinical therapeutic processes and research processes for the future of each profession. (psycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA. All rights reserved.)

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Back to Top spacer Developmental Epidemiological Papers from Two Generations of Preventive Trials in Baltimore
   
  • Petras, Hanno, Schaeffer, Cindy, Ialongo, Nicholas, Hubbard, Scott, Muthèn, Bengt, Lambert, Sharon, Poduska, Jeanne, Kellam Sheppard: When the course of aggressive behavior in childhood does not predict antisocial outcomes in adolescence and young adult: An examination of potential explanatory variables. Development and Psychopathology 2004; 16:919-941.
  • spacerAbstract: Theoretical models and empirical studies suggest that there are a number of distinct pathways of aggressive behavior development in childhood that place youth at risk for antisocial outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood. The prediction of later antisocial behavior based on these early pathways, although substantial, is not perfect. The goal of the present study was to identify factors that explain why some boys on a high-risk developmental trajectory in middle childhood do not experience an untoward outcome, and, conversely, why some boys progressing on a low-risk trajectory do become involved in later antisocial behavior. To that end, we explored a set of theoretically derived predictors measured at entrance to elementary and middle school and examined their utility in explaining discordant cases. First-grade reading achievement, race and poverty status proved to be significant early predictors of discordance, whereas the significant middle-school predictors were parent monitoring, deviant peer affiliation, and neighborhood level of deviant behavior.

  • Ialongo N, McCreary BK, Pearson JL, Koenig AL, Schmidt NB, Poduska J, Kellam SG: Major depressive disorder in a population of urban, African-American young adults: prevalence, correlates, comorbidity and unmet mental health service need. J.Affect.Disord. 2004; 79:127-136.
  • spacerAbstract: BACKGROUND: The U.S. Surgeon General recently highlighted the relative dearth of research on the mental health of minority populations in the U.S. The present report describes the prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) in an epidemiologically-defined population of 1197, predominately poor, African-American 19-22-year-olds, living in the greater Baltimore, MD metropolitan area. METHODS: The prevalence and correlates of MDD, its comorbidity with other mental and substance disorders, and unmet mental health service need were assessed via a structured clinical interview administered by lay interviewers. RESULTS: Using DSM-IV criteria, the overall prevalence of lifetime MDD for the study population was 9.4%, whereas the last year and last month prevalences were 6.2 and 2.7%, respectively. Females were approximately 1.6 times more likely to report a lifetime episode of MDD than males. MDD was highly comorbid with substance disorders. Just under 10% of those who had experienced an episode of MDD within the last year reported receiving mental health specialty services within the last year. LIMITATIONS: A major limitation was the reliance on a single interview conducted by a lay interviewer as opposed to a comprehensive psychiatric assessment carried out by a highly trained clinician, integrating information on symptoms and functioning from multiple sources. CONCLUSIONS: The lifetime prevalence of MDD found in the present study suggests that it is a significant mental health problem in the African-American young adults studied, particularly amongst women. Moreover, most episodes of MDD went untreated.

  • Petras, Hanno, Chilcoat, Howard D., Leaf, Philip J., Ialongo, Nicholas S., and Kellam, Sheppard G. Utility of TOCA-R Scores During the Elementary School Years in Identifying Later Violence Among Adolescent Males. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 43(1), 88-96. 2004.
  • spacerAbstract: Objective: To evaluate the utility of a teacher-rating instrument (TOGA-A) of aggressive behavior during elementary school years in identifying boys at risk for later violence. Method: A community epidemiological sample of 415 public school boys was rated at six time points during elementary school regarding their level of aggressive/disruptive behavior. Violence was measured using juvenile police and court records. Results: The risk for later violence varied as a function of the boys' level of aggressive behavior. This relationship peaked in third grade, where more aggressive boys compared to less aggressive boys were twice as likely to commit later violent acts. In respect to identifying at-risk boys, three intervention scenarios were compared. When minimizing false positives, the optimal test was found in the fall of first grade, with 83% of the high-risk compared to 22% of the low-risk boys later having a violent arrest record. When minimizing false negatives, the optimal test was found in the spring of fourth grade (30% of the high-risk boys versus 0% of the low-risk boys). Focusing on both false positives and false negatives, the optimal test was found in the spring of third grade (52% of the high-risk boys versus 14% of the low-risk boys). Conclusions: Early levels of aggressive behavior are strong and robust predictors of later violence but are of limited utility in the early identification of boys at risk. Consequently, universal interventions followed by selected/indicated interventions based on a multistage assessment promise the highest utility in preventing youth violence. Future research is needed to identify other indicators that can strengthen the screening utility of aggressive behavior. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR.

  • Schaeffer CM, Petras H, Ialongo N, Poduska J, Kellam S: Modeling growth in boys' aggressive behavior across elementary school: links to later criminal involvement, conduct disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Dev.Psychol. 2003; 39:1020-1035.
  • spacerAbstract: The present study used general growth mixture modeling to identify pathways of antisocial behavior development within an epidemiological sample of urban, primarily African American boys. Teacher-rated aggression, measured longitudinally from 1st to 7th grade, was used to define growth trajectories. Three high-risk trajectories (chronic high, moderate, and increasing aggression) and one low-risk trajectory (stable low aggression) were found. Boys with chronic high and increasing trajectories were at increased risk for conduct disorder, juvenile and adult arrest, and antisocial personality disorder. Concentration problems were highest among boys with a chronic high trajectory and also differentiated boys with increasing aggression from boys with stable low aggression. Peer rejection was highest among boys with chronic high aggression. Interventions with boys with distinct patterns of aggression are discussed.

  • Ialongo N, McCreary BK, Pearson JL, Koenig AL, Wagner BM, Schmidt NB, Poduska J, Kellam SG: Suicidal behavior among urban, African American young adults. Suicide Life Threat.Behav. 2002; 32:256-271.
  • spacerAbstract: The objectives of the present study were four-fold. First, to determine the lifetime, last year, and 6-month prevalence and demographic correlates of suicidal behavior in a defined population of urban, African American young adults. Second, to determine the degree of mental health service utilization among attempters. Third, to study the comorbidity between mental disorders and suicidal behavior, along with the variation in the numbers and types of psychiatric disorders associated with attempts versus ideation only. Fourth, to examine gender differences in the psychiatric diagnoses associated with attempts and ideation. Data relevant to each of these objectives were gathered through structured interviews of 1,157 economically disadvantaged, African American young adults. Lifetime, last year, and 6-month prevalence rates for attempts were 5.3%, 1.2%, and 0.4%, respectively, whereas the lifetime and 6-month prevalence of ideation were 14% and 1.9%, respectively. Approximately two thirds of those who reported lifetime ideation, and a similar proportion of those who reported lifetime attempts, had a history of at least one lifetime psychiatric disorder. There were no gender differences in terms of the degree of risk for suicidal behavior (ideation or attempts) associated with any of the comorbid psychiatric diagnoses assessed. Despite the severity of most attempts, few attempters received mental health services in their lifetime or at the time of their most recent attempt.

  • Koenig, Amy L., Ialongo, Nicholas, Wagner, Barry M., Poduska, Jeanne, and Kellam, Sheppard. Negative caregiver strategies and psychopathology in urban, African-American young adults. Child Abuse & Neglect 26(12), 1211. 2002.
  • spacerAbstract: Objective: There were three aims: (1) assess the prevalence of reported exposure to negative caregiver strategies in a community-based African-American population, (2) examine the sources of variation in caregiver parenting strategies, including demographic variables and child characteristics, (3) investigate whether mental disorders in young adulthood may differ based on reported degree of exposure to negative strategies. Method: The participants were 1197 African-Americans involved in a 1999‘ìˆáˆ¥2001 young adult follow-up (age M=19.6, SD=.6) of an evaluation of school-based interventions in the Baltimore, MD metropolitan area. Measures included teacher-report of child aggression in first grade, parent-report of demographic variables in first and sixth grade, and young adult self-report of symptomatology, suicidal behaviors, and childhood caregiver discipline strategies. Results: Fifty-four percent of the sample reported some use of physical discipline by caregivers. Lower family income and younger caregiver age, as well as teacher reports of child aggression, were related to reports of caregiver high use of negative strategies. In addition, young adults who reported a high rate of negative caregiver strategies had a significantly increased risk for psychopathology and were over twice as likely to have experienced a history of suicidal ideation than those reporting low exposure. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the importance of examining variation in this population, with the poorest and the youngest using negative parenting strategies more frequently. In addition, the present study replicated previous findings of the link between negative caregiver discipline strategies and psychopathology. This association appears robust across diverse populations. The implications for preventive interventions are discussed. (English)Copyright 2002 Elsevier.

  • Owens PL, Hoagwood K, Horwitz SM, Leaf PJ, Poduska JM, Kellam SG, Ialongo NS: Barriers to children's mental health services. J.Am.Acad.Child Adolesc.Psychiatry 2002; 41:731-738.
  • spacerAbstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the characteristics associated with barriers to children's mental health services, focusing on the effect of children's psychosocial problems on parents. METHOD: Data come from a first-grade, prevention-intervention project conducted in Baltimore, Maryland. Analyses were restricted to 116 families who participated in seventh-grade interviews and indicated the index child needed services. The Services Assessment for Children and Adolescents was used to measure barriers to children's mental health services. RESULTS: More than 35% of parents reported a barrier to mental health services. Types of barriers included those related to structural constraints, perceptions of mental health, and perceptions of services (20.7%, 23.3%, and 25.9%, respectively). Although parenting difficulties were associated with all barriers (structural: OR = 10.63, 95% CI: 2.37, 47.64; mental health: OR = 8.31, 95% CI: 1.99, 34.79; services: OR = 5.22, 95% CI: 1.56, 17.51), additional responsibilities related to attendance at meetings was associated only with structural barriers (OR = 5.49, 95% CI: 1.22, 24.59). CONCLUSIONS: Researchers and policymakers interested in increasing children's access to mental health services should consider strategies to reduce barriers related to perceptions about mental health problems and services, in addition to structural barriers. Particular attention should be given to programs that focus on the needs of families who are most affected by their child's psychosocial problems.

  • Ialongo NS, Edelsohn G, Kellam SG: A further look at the prognostic power of young children's reports of depressed mood and feelings. Child Dev. 2001; 72:736-747.
  • spacerAbstract: A primary objective of the present study was to determine the validity of first graders' self-reports of depressed mood and feelings. To that end, the prognostic power of first grade self-reports of depressed mood and feelings was examined with respect to later psychopathology and adaptive functioning in a population of urban school children (N = 946). First grade self-reports of depressed mood predicted later child academic functioning, the need for and use of mental health services, suicidal ideation, and a diagnosis of major depressive disorder by age 14. The prognostic power of these early self-reports suggests that children as young as 5 or 6 years of age are capable of providing valid reports of depressed mood and feelings.

  • Hunter, Andrea G., Pearson, Jane L., Ialongo, Nicholas S., and Kellam, Sheppard G. Parenting alone to multiple caregivers: Child care and parenting arrangements in black and white urban families[*]. Family Relations 47(4), 343. 1998. Blackwell Publishing Limited.
  • spacerAbstract: Examines domain-specific variations in child care and parenting arrangements in a community-defined sample of urban families. Range of parenting systems from parenting alone to multiple caregivers; Variations in residential status of additional caregivers; Effects of family type, income and child gender on the likelihood of caregivers sharing child care.

  • Ialongo NS, Vaden-Kiernan N, Kellam S: Early peer rejection and aggression: Longitudinal relations with adolescent behavior. Journal of Developmental & Physical Disabilities 1998; 10:199-213.
  • spacerAbstract: Examined the longitudinal relations between peer nominations for aggression and rejection in 1st grade, and aggressive behavior, psychological well-being, and academic achievement in 6th grade among 721 Ss. Results show that peer nominations of aggression were predictive of multiple indicators of aggressive behavior, particularly for boys. Early peer rejection also appeared to make a unique contribution to adolescent aggressive behavior and psychological well-being in the form of depressive symptoms. For girls, peer rejection also appeared to be linked to poorer academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Pascualvaca DM, Anthony BJ, Arnold LE, Rebok GW, Ahearn MB, Kellam SG, Mirsky AF: Attention performance in an epidemiological sample of urban children: The role of gender and verbal intelligence. Child Neuropsychology 1997; 3:13-27.
  • spacerAbstract: Administered a comprehensive attentional battery to an epidemiologically defined sample of 435 1st and 2nd-grade children (mean age 7.9 yrs) to assess the influence of gender and verbal intelligence on attention. The battery included 3 versions of the continuous performance test (CPT), 2 digit cancellation tasks, 3 subtests from the WISC-R, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Results indicated that both gender and intelligence had an impact on attentional performance. Girls performed better than boys; they made fewer errors on the CPT and obtained higher scores on the digit cancellation task and the Coding subtest of the WISC-R. Children with higher verbal intelligence also performed better on the attentional tests, but this advantage was not observed across measures or levels of performance. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Pearson JL, Hunter AG, Cook JM, Ialongo NS, Kellam SG: Grandmother involvement in child caregiving in an urban community. Gerontologist 1997; 37:650-657.
  • spacerAbstract: In a community-defined, epidemiologic sample in East Baltimore, we examined grandmothers' rates of co-residence and their involvement in four parenting activities. Co-residence rates exceeded the national average. Six types of family households with grandmothers were identified, and their frequency varied by race. Neither grandmother age nor employment was associated with grandmothers' parenting involvement, although family structure was. Grandmothers who were the sole parent (21%) or co-parent with a grandfather (6.5%) were most involved in child care and had the fewest number of helpers. Grandmothers living with single mothers (41%) were the next most involved, while grandmothers in mother/father households (9%) were least involved.

  • Rebok, George W., Smith, Corey B., Pascualvaca, Daisy M., Mirsky, Allan F., Anthony, Bruno J., and Kellam, Sheppard G. Developmental Changes in Attentional Performance in Urban Children from Eight to Thirteen Years. Child Neuropsychology 3(1), 28. 1997. Swets & Zeitlinger, BV.
  • spacerAbstract: Presents a study which assessed the developmental changes in specific aspects of attentional function into early adolescence. Analysis of performance on the attention measures within age level; Stability and changes in attentional performance over time; Comparisons of developmental trajectories.

  • Ialongo N, Edelsohn G, Werthamer-Larsson L, Crockett L, Kellam S: The course of aggression in first-grade children with and without comorbid anxious symptoms. J.Abnorm.Child Psychol. 1996; 24:445-456.
  • spacerAbstract: We studied the course of aggressive behavior in an epidemiologically defined sample of first graders with and without comorbid anxious symptoms. Our primary purpose in doing so was to understand whether the stability of aggression in young children was attenuated or strengthened in the presence of comorbid anxiety. Previous studies of older children and adolescents had produced equivocal findings in this regard. Data on anxious symptoms were obtained through an interview of the children, whereas aggressive behavior was assessed through the use of a teacher interview and peer nominations. Assessments were performed in the fall and spring of first grade. In contrast to children classified as aggressive alone in the fall of first grade, boys and girls classified as aggressive and anxious in the fall of first grade were significantly more likely to be classified as aggressive in the spring in terms of teacher ratings and/or peer nominations of aggression. Thus our findings suggest that the link between early and later aggression may be strengthened in the presence of comorbid anxious symptoms, rather than attenuated. Future studies are needed to identify the mechanisms by which the course of aggression is influenced by the presence of comorbid anxiety.

  • Ialongo N, Edelsohn G, Werthamer-Larsson L, Crockett L, Kellam S: Social and cognitive impairment in first-grade children with anxious and depressive symptoms. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology 1996; 25:15-24.
  • spacerAbstract: Examined the degree of social and cognitive impairment in a sample of 1,002 1st grade children (49% of Ss were boys) with anxious symptoms alone, depressive symptoms alone, or comorbid anxious and depressive symptoms. Data were gathered using measures of anxiety, depression, classroom behavior, social participation and likeability, and achievement. For boys, both anxious and depressive symptoms alone were associated with statistically significant impairment in multiple domains of social and cognitive functioning. In girls, little evidence of associated impairment was found for either anxious or depressive symptoms alone. For boys, depressive symptoms alone were associated marginally with impairment in a greater number of domains of adaptive functioning than were anxious symptoms alone. No such differences were found for girls. Finally, comorbid anxious and depressive symptoms were associated with greater social and cognitive impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Ialongo N, Edelsohn G, Werthamer-Larsson L, Crockett L, Kellam S: The significance of self-reported anxious symptoms in first grade children: prediction to anxious symptoms and adaptive functioning in fifth grade. J.Child Psychol.Psychiatry 1995; 36:427-437.
  • spacerAbstract: In an earlier study of an epidemiologically defined sample of first grade children, primarily between the ages of 5 and 6, self-reported anxious symptoms proved relatively stable and were significantly related to adaptive functioning. In the present study we follow that cohort of first graders longitudinally and assess the prognostic value of self-reports of anxious symptoms in first grade with respect to anxious symptoms and adaptive functioning in the late elementary school years or at about age 10. First grade anxious symptoms were found to have significant prognostic value in terms of levels of anxious symptoms and adaptive functioning in fifth grade.

  • Vaden-Kiernan N, Ialongo NS, Pearson J, Kellam S: Household family structure and children's aggressive behavior: a longitudinal study of urban elementary school children. J.Abnorm.Child Psychol. 1995; 23:553-568.
  • spacerAbstract: The relationship between contemporary household family structures at fourth-grade and sixth-grade parent- and teacher-rated aggression was examined in an epidemiologically defined population of urban school children. The relationship between family structure and aggression varied by child gender and by parent and teacher ratings in the home and school, respectively. After taking into account family income, urban area, and fourth-grade aggressive behavior, boys in both mother-father and mother-male partner families were significantly less likely than boys in mother-alone families to be rated as aggressive by teachers. No significant relations between family structure and teacher or parent-rated aggression were found for girls.

  • Ialongo N, Edelsohn G, Werthamer-Larsson L, Crockett L, Kellam S: The significance of self-reported anxious symptoms in first-grade children. J.Abnorm.Child Psychol. 1994; 22:441-455.
  • spacerAbstract: It is generally believed that prior to the middle to late elementary school years children's reports of anxious symptoms represent nothing more than transient developmental phenomena. In light of the limited empirical study of this issue and its import to the allocation of mental health resources, the present study seeks to provide empirical evidence of the significance of anxious symptoms in children younger than 7. Specifically, utilizing an epidemiologically defined population of 1197 first-grade children, followed longitudinally from the fall to spring of first grade, we examine the stability, prevalence and caseness of children's self-reports of anxious symptoms. Self-reported anxious symptoms proved relatively stable over 4-month test-retest interval. In addition, they appeared to have a significant impact on academic functioning in terms of reading achievement. These findings on stability, caseness, and prevalence suggest children's self-reported anxious symptoms in the early elementary school years may have clinical significance. However, further study is necessary before firm conclusions can be drawn.

  • Kellam SG: The social adaptation of children in classrooms: A measure of family childrearing effectiveness in Exploring family relationships with other social contexts Edited by Parke RD, Kellam SG. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, 1994.
  • spacerAbstract: [examines] the themes of how families, school, and peer contexts interact in determining how well [elementary school children adapt] to the social and intellectual demands of classroom life / using a developmental epidemiological strategy, . . . illustrates the value of this approach for locating the sample under study in its community context / data from large projects . . . illuminate the importance of recognizing the variation in structural composition of families within the same community and how this variation can be helpful in understanding later adaptation in extra-familial settings / provides a rich portrait of the classroom as a social field and argues for the value of a close examination of teacher- and peer-based processes as modifiers and consequences of family-based childrearing practices / the interplay among peer, teacher, and family process is illustrated by the use of the differential impact of intervention programs on children from different families and classrooms. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2003 APA, all rights reserved) (from the introduction)

  • Pearson JL, Ialongo NS, Hunter AG, Kellam SG: Family structure and aggressive behavior in a population of urban elementary school children. J.Am.Acad.Child Adolesc.Psychiatry 1994; 33:540-548.
  • spacerAbstract: OBJECTIVE: This report examined associations between family structure and 393 fourth-grade children's aggressive behavior. METHOD: In an epidemiologically defined urban community population, both teacher and parent ratings of child aggressive behavior were examined among family structures that reflected current demographics. Relative risks for teacher- and parent-rated child aggressive behavior in mother-alone households were compared with those in the next most prevalent family structures (mother-father, mother-grandmother, and mother-male partner families). RESULTS: With all income groups combined, teachers rated boys and girls in mother-alone families as more aggressive relative to mother-father families. Among low-income families, the protective effects for mother-father families were not apparent, and mother-male partner families were associated with an increased risk for teacher-rated aggression for boys. CONCLUSION: Absence of and type of second adult present, child gender, home and school context, and income were important factors that moderated the associations between family structure and child aggressive behavior in this urban setting.

  • Edelsohn G, Ialongo N, Werthamer-Larsson L, Crockett L, Kellam S: Self-reported depressive symptoms in first-grade children: developmentally transient phenomena? J.Am.Acad.Child Adolesc.Psychiatry 1992; 31:282-290.
  • spacerAbstract: The question of whether self-reported depressive symptoms in young children represent more than transient developmental phenomena was examined in an epidemiologically defined sample of 1,313 first graders. Children's reports of depressive symptoms were relatively stable over a 4-month interval. The level of stability was particularly impressive for children initially in the highest quartile of depression, of all whom remained in the highest quartile at retest, 4 months later. In addition, depressive symptoms were significantly related to the negotiation of a number of salient developmental tasks at entrance to first grade, including academic achievement, peer relations, and attention/concentration in the classroom. Moreover, the relationships between depressive symptoms and the various indices of social and academic functioning remained stable over the 4-month test-retest interval.

  • Kellam SG, Werthamer-Larsson L, Dolan LJ, Brown CH, Mayer LS, Rebok GW, Anthony JC, Laudolff J, Edelsohn G: Developmental epidemiologically based preventive trials: baseline modeling of early target behaviors and depressive symptoms. Am.J.Community Psychol. 1991; 19:563-584.
  • spacerAbstract: Describes a conceptual framework for identifying and targeting developmental antecedents in early childhood that have been shown in previous work to predict delinquency and violent behavior, heavy drug use, depression, and other psychiatric symptoms and possibly disorders in late adolescence and into adulthood. Criteria are described that guided choices of targets for two epidemiologically based, randomized preventive trials carried out in 19 elementary schools in the eastern half of Baltimore, involving more than 2,400 first-grade children over the course of first and second grades. Baseline models derived from the first of two cohorts show the evolving patterns of concurrence among the target antecedents. The central role of concentration problems emerged. From Fall to Spring in first grade, concentration problems led to shy and aggressive behavior and poor achievement in both genders and to depressive symptoms among girls. There was evidence for reciprocal relationships in girls. For example, depressive symptoms led to poor achievement in both girls and boys, whereas poor achievement led to depressive symptoms in girls but not boys, at least over the first-grade year. These results provide important epidemiological data relevant to the developmental paths leading to the problem outcomes and suggest preventive trials.

  • Mirsky AF, Anthony BJ, Duncan CC, Ahearn MB, Kellam SG: Analysis of the elements of attention: a neuropsychological approach. Neuropsychol.Rev. 1991; 2:109-145.
  • spacerAbstract: A model for conceptualizing the components or elements of attention is presented. The model substitutes for the diffuse and global concept of "attention" a group of four processes and links them to a putative system of cerebral structures. Data in support of the model are presented; they are derived from neuropsychological test scores obtained from two samples, the first consisting of 203 adult neuropsychiatric patients and normal control subjects, and the second, an epidemiologically-based sample of 435 elementary school children. Principal components analyses of test scores from these two populations yielded similar results: a set of independent elements of attention that are assayed by different tests. This work presents a heuristic for clinical research in which the measurement of attention is essential.

  • Werthamer-Larsson L, Kellam S, Wheeler L: Effect of first-grade classroom environment on shy behavior, aggressive behavior, and concentration problems. Am.J.Community Psychol. 1991; 19:585-602.
  • spacerAbstract: Investigates the effect of the first-grade classroom environment on the shy behavior, aggressive behavior, and concentration problems of 609 children in 19 East Baltimore public schools. First-grade classroom environment was assessed in terms of dominant pattern of classroom achievement and behavior. Structured teacher ratings assessed child shy behavior, aggressive behavior, and concentration problems at the end of first grade. Children in low-achieving classroom environments had significantly higher teacher ratings of shy behavior and aggressive behavior than children in mixed-achieving or high-achieving environments, even after controlling for potentially confounding child characteristics and classroom behavior environment effects. Analyses controlling for child characteristics and classroom achievement environment effects indicated that children in poor-behaving classroom environments also had significantly higher teacher ratings of shy behavior than children who were not in poor-behaving environments. Subgroup analyses indicated that repeaters in mixed-achieving environments had significantly higher levels of shy behavior compared with nonrepeaters, and repeaters in poor-behaving environments had significantly higher levels of aggressive behavior compared with nonrepeaters. Implications for prevention research are discussed.

  • Kellam S, Ialongo N, Brown H, Laudolff J, Mirsky A, Anthony B, Ahearn M, Anthony J, Edelsohn G, Dolan L: Attention problems in first grade and shy and aggressive behaviors as antecedents to later heavy or inhibited substance use. NIDA Res.Monogr 1989; 95:368-369.

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Back to Top spacer Intervention Effects from Two Generations of Preventive Trials in Baltimore
   
  • Furr-Holden, C. Debra, Ialongo, Nicholas S., Anthony, James C., Petras, Hanno, and Kellam, Sheppard G. Developmentally inspired drug prevention: middle school outcomes in a school-based randomized prevention trial. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 73(2), 149. 2004.
  • spacerAbstract: Prior investigations have linked behavioral competencies in primary school to a reduced risk of later drug involvement. In this randomized prevention trial, we sought to quantify the potential early impact of two developmentally inspired universal preventive interventions on the risk of early-onset alcohol, inhalant, tobacco, and illegal drug use through early adolescence. Participants were recruited as they entered first grade within nine schools of an urban public school system. Approximately, 80% of the sample was followed from first to eighth grades. Two theory-based preventive interventions, (1) a family school partnership (FSP) intervention and (2) a classroom-centered (CC) intervention, were developed to improve early risk behaviors in primary school. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) multivariate response profile regressions were used to estimate the relative profiles of drug involvement for intervention youths versus controls, i.e. youth in the standard educational setting. Relative to control youths, intervention youths were less likely to use tobacco, with modestly stronger evidence of protection associated with the CC intervention (RR=0.5; P=0.008) as compared to protection associated with the FSP intervention (RR=0.6; P=0.042). Intervention status was not associated with risk of starting alcohol, inhalants, or marijuana use, but assignment to the CC intervention was associated with reduced risk of starting to use other illegal drugs by early adolescence, i.e. heroin, crack, and cocaine powder (RR=0.32, P=0.042). This study adds new evidence on intervention-associated reduced risk of starting illegal drug use. In the context of gateway models, the null evidence on marijuana is intriguing and merits attention in future investigations. Copyright 2004 Elsevier.

  • Storr CL, Ialongo NS, Kellam SG, Anthony JC: A randomized controlled trial of two primary school intervention strategies to prevent early onset tobacco smoking. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2002; 66:51-60.
  • spacerAbstract: In this article, we examine the impact of two universal, grade 1 preventive interventions on the onset of tobacco smoking as assessed in early adolescence. The classroom-centered (CC) intervention was designed to reduce the risk for tobacco smoking by enhancing teachers' behavior management skills in first grade and, thereby, reducing child attention problems and aggressive and shy behavior-known risk behaviors for later substance use. The family-school partnership (FSP) intervention targeted these early risk behaviors via improvements in parent-teacher communication and parents' child behavior management strategies. A cohort of 678 urban, predominately African-American, public school students were randomly assigned to one of three Grade 1 classrooms at entrance to primary school (age 6). One classroom featured the CC intervention, a second the FSP intervention, and the third served as a control classroom. Six years later, 81% of the students completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews. Relative to controls, a modest attenuation in the risk of smoking initiation was found for students who had been assigned to either the CC or FSP intervention classrooms (26% versus 33%) (adjusted relative risk for CC/control contrast=0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.34-0.96; adjusted relative risk for FSP/control contrast=0.69, 95% CI, 0.50-0.97). Results lend support to targeting the early antecedent risk behaviors for tobacco smoking.

  • Ialongo, Nick, Poduska, Jeanne, Werthamer, Lisa, and Kellam, Sheppard. The Distal Impact of Two First-Grade Preventive Interventions on Conduct Problems and Disorder in Early Adolescence. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders 9(3), 146. 2001. PRO-ED.
  • spacerAbstract: Examines the impact of two universal, first-grade preventive interventions on the prevalence of conduct problems and disorder and mental health service need and use in early adolescence. Classroom-centered and family-school partnership intervention programs; Enhancement of teachers' behavior management; Improvement of parent-teacher communication and parents' child behavior management strategies.ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR In this article, we examine the impact of two universal, first-grade preventive interventions on the prevalence of conduct problems and disorder and mental health service need and use in early adolescence. The classroom-centered (CC) intervention was designed to reduce the risk for later conduct problems and disorder by enhancing teachers' behavior management in first grade, whereas the Family-School Partnership (FSP) intervention targeted improvement in parent-teacher communication and parents' child behavior management strategies. At Grade 6, or age 12, CC and FSP intervention children received significantly lower ratings from their teachers for conduct problems than control children. CC and FSP children were also significantly less likely than control children to meet diagnostic criteria for Conduct Disorder and to have been suspended from school in the last year. In addition, the CC intervention was associated with significantly lower rates of child mental health service need and utilization. Overall, the CC intervention appeared to be the more effective of the two in reducing the prevalence of conduct problems and disorder at age 12 and in reducing mental health service need and utilization. Nevertheless, future studies may show that the combination of CC and FSP interventions produces additive or even synergistic effects. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR.

  • Ialongo NS, Werthamer L, Kellam SG, Brown CH, Wang S, Lin Y: Proximal impact of two first-grade preventive interventions on the early risk behaviors for later substance abuse, depression, and antisocial behavior. Am.J.Community Psychol. 1999; 27:599-641.
  • spacerAbstract: We assessed the immediate effects of two universal, first-grade preventive interventions on the proximal targets of poor achievement, concentration problems, aggression, and shy behaviors, known early risk behaviors for later substance use/abuse, affective disorder, and conduct disorder. The classroom-centered (CC) intervention was designed to reduce these early risk behaviors by enhancing teachers' behavior management and instructional skills, whereas the family-school partnership (FSP) intervention was aimed at improving parent-teacher communication and parental teaching and child behavior management strategies. Over the course of first and second grades, the CC intervention yielded the greatest degree of impact on its proximal targets, whereas the FSP's impact was somewhat less. The effects were influenced by gender and by preintervention levels of risk. Analyses of implementation measures demonstrated that greater fidelity to the intervention protocols was associated with greater impact on behavior ratings and on achievement scores, thus providing some evidence of specificity in the effect of the interventions.

  • Crijnen, Alfons A. M., Feehan, Michael, and Kellam, Sheppard G. The course and malleability of reading achievement in elementary school: The application of growth curve modeling in the evaluation of a mastery learning intervention. Learning & Individual Differences 10(2), 137. 1998. Elsevier Science Publishing Company, Inc.
  • spacerAbstract: Applies growth curve modeling in the evaluation of a mastery learning (ML) intervention using reading achievement data for elementary school students in Baltimore, Maryland. Participants; Intervention; General modeling of reading achievement; Short-term impact of ML intervention; Long-term impact of ML intervention.

  • Kellam SG, Anthony JC: Targeting early antecedents to prevent tobacco smoking: findings from an epidemiologically based randomized field trial. Am.J.Public Health 1998; 88:1490-1495.
  • spacerAbstract: OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether interventions aimed at aggressive/disruptive classroom behavior and poor academic achievement would reduce the incidence of initiation of smoking. METHODS: An epidemiologically based, universal randomized preventive trial involved 2311 children in 2 classroom-based preventive interventions or controls. Each intervention was directed at 1 of the aforementioned 2 antecedents over first and second grades in 19 urban schools. RESULTS: Smoking initiation was reduced in both cohorts for boys assigned to the behavioral intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Targeting early risk antecedents such as aggressive behavior appears to be an important smoking prevention strategy.

  • Kellam SG, Ling X, Merisca R, Brown CH, Ialongo N: The effect of the level of aggression in the first grade classroom on the course and malleability of aggressive behavior into middle school. Dev.Psychopathol. 1998; 10:165-185.
  • spacerAbstract: This paper is on the influences of the classroom context on the course and malleability of aggressive behavior from entrance into first grade through the transition into middle school. Nineteen public elementary schools participated in developmental epidemiologically based preventive trials in first and second grades, one of which was directed at reducing aggressive, disruptive behavior. At the start of first grade, schools and teachers were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Children within each school were assigned sequentially to classrooms from alphabetized lists, followed by checking to insure balanced assignment based on kindergarten behavior. Despite these procedures, by the end of first quarter, classrooms within schools differed markedly in levels of aggressive behavior. Children were followed through sixth grade, where their aggressive behavior was rated by middle school teachers. Strong interactive effects were found on the risk of being highly aggressive in middle school between the level of aggressive behavior in the first grade classrooms and each boy's own level of aggressive, disruptive behavior in first grade. The more aggressive first grade boys who were in higher aggressive first grade classrooms were at markedly increased risk, compared both to the median first grade boys, and compared to aggressive males in lower aggressive first grade classrooms. Boys were already behaving more aggressively than girls in first grade; and no similar classroom aggression effect was found among girls, although girls' own aggressive behavior did place them at increased risk. The preventive intervention effect, already reported elsewhere to reduce aggressive behavior among the more aggressive males, appeared to do so by reducing high levels of classroom aggression. First grade males' own poverty level was associated with higher risk of being more aggressive, disruptive in first grade, and thereby increased their vulnerability to classroom level of aggression. Both boys and girls in schools in poor communities were at increased risk of being highly aggressive in middle school regardless of their levels of aggressive behavior in first grade. These results are discussed in terms of life course/social field theory as applied to the role of contextual influences on the development and etiology of severe aggressive behavior.

  • Kellam SG, Mayer LS, Rebok GW, Hawkins WE: Effects of improving achievement on aggressive behavior and of improving aggressive behavior on achievement through two preventive interventions: An investigation of causal paths in Adversity, stress, and psychopathology Edited by Dohrenwend BP. Oxford University Press, 1998.
  • spacerAbstract: Early learning problems and aggressive behavior have problematic consequences extending far into the life course, and they have been found to be correlated early in children's schooling. However, the processes underlying the negative correlation between poor achievement and early aggressive behavior are not clear. In this chapter, we report the results of experimentally testing whether improving one maladaptive response to classroom task demands produces change in the other in an effort to determine whether there is a functional and possibly etiological direction underlying their negative correlation. The two preventive interventions were carried out in 19 elementary schools in eastern Baltimore. The first intervention, Mastery Learning (ML), was directed at improving reading achievement. The second intervention, the Good Behavior Game (GBG), was directed at reducing aggressive behavior.The results presented in this chapter regarding crossover effects add improving reading as a key element to be further explored in preventing not only the consequences of poor achievement, such as depressive symptoms and possibly disorder, but also in reducing aggressive behavior and its consequences of delinquency, drug abuse, and school dropout. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved) (from the chapter)

  • Rebok GW, Hawkins WE, Krener P, Mayer LS, Kellam SG: Effect of concentration problems on the malleability of children's aggressive and shy behaviors. J.Am.Acad.Child Adolesc.Psychiatry 1996; 35:193-203.
  • spacerAbstract: OBJECTIVE: Previous research has demonstrated the central role of early childhood concentration problems in the development of aggression and other maladaptive behaviors. The present study investigated the moderating effect of concentration problems on the impact of a classroom-based preventive intervention directed at aggressive and shy behaviors in an epidemiologically defined sample of 1,084 urban first-grade children. METHOD: Concentration problems, aggressive behavior, and shy behavior were assessed by a structured teacher interview (the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised) in the fall and spring of first grade. RESULTS: Children with high ratings on concentration problems in the fall had higher levels of teacher-rated aggressive and shy behavior in the spring than did children without such problems. The intervention reduced aggressive and shy behavior in children regardless of fall concentration level. Boys, but not girls, in the intervention condition with high concentration problems had higher levels of spring aggression than those without such problems, but they also showed the greatest reductions in aggressive behavior from fall to spring. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that aggressive behavior is malleable in children with concentration problems, provide further evidence on the etiological significance of concentration problems for the development of maladaptive behavior, and highlight the importance of directly targeting concentration problems to maximize preventive intervention impact.

  • Kellam SG, Rebok GW, Ialongo N, Mayer LS: The course and malleability of aggressive behavior from early first grade into middle school: results of a developmental epidemiologically-based preventive trial. J.Child Psychol.Psychiatry 1994; 35:259-281.
  • spacerAbstract: The course and malleability of aggressive behavior from beginning elementary school through transition into middle school was investigated. In a developmental epidemiologically defined population of 1000 urban first graders, a two year classroom-based randomized preventive trial was aimed at reducing aggressive behavior, an antecedent of delinquency, violent behavior, and heavy drug use in adolescence and adulthood. Earlier we reported impact in first grade on teacher and peer ratings and on classroom observations. We report here on the course and on sixth grade teacher ratings of aggressive behavior. Improvement was observable during transition times, in first grade and in middle school, among the males in the preventive intervention who were more aggressive in first grade.

  • Kellam SG, Rebok GW, Mayer LS, Ialongo N: Depressive symptoms over first grade and their response to a developmental epidemiologically based preventive trial aimed at improving achievement. Development & Psychopathology 1994; 6:463-481.
  • spacerAbstract: Examined the relationship between gains in reading comprehension and depressive symptoms (DSs) in 575 Ss assessed during the Fall and Spring of 1st grade. Ss received (1) the Mastery Learning (ML) curriculum for improving reading achievement (RAC), (2) a classroom behavior management strategy for reducing aggressive behavior, or (3) no intervention activities. Assessments included the California Achievement Test: Reading--Forms E and F and the Children's Depression Inventory. In the Fall, Ss reported high levels of DSs, with a linear relationship between DSs and RAC scores. Among girls with RAC gains at or above the national average, stability of DSs was reduced. ML increased the number of such girls but had no additional effect. The improved RAC scores of boys in ML classrooms was linked to reduced stability of DSs and decreased DSs among those who had been more depressed in the Fall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Dolan LJ, Kellam SG, Brown CH, Werthamer-Larsson L: The short-term impact of two classroom-based preventive interventions on aggressive and shy behaviors and poor achievement. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 1993; 14:317-345.
  • spacerAbstract: Examined short-term impact and specificity of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) and the Mastery Learning (ML) interventions on 864 1st graders. The GBG is aimed at reducing shy and aggressive behavior (AGB) by promoting and rewarding good classroom behavior. ML was designed to improve poor reading achievement, which has been shown to be an antecedent for later depressive symptoms. Both interventions had a significant impact only on its own proximal targets. The GBG was found to be an effective intervention for reducing AGB among 1st graders, and ML was found to be an effective intervention for improving reading achievement among 1st graders. In addition to main effects, the GBG had a greater impact in reducing AGB among the more aggressive Ss. The impact of ML differed by gender, with female high achievers benefiting more from the intervention than female low achievers, and male low achievers benefiting more than male high achievers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Kellam SG, Anthony JC, Brown CH, Dolan L, Werthamer-Larsson L, Wilson R: Prevention research on early risk behaviors in cross-cultural studies in Needs and prospects of child and adolescent psychiatry Edited by Schmidt MH, Remschmidt H. Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, 1989.
  • spacerAbstract: Discusses prevention research on behavioral responses in children which are strong predictors of the development of psychopathology in adults.current preventive trials / the design / multi-method and multi-stage periodic assessments / the developmental perspective / cross-cultural programs in the early assessment and prevention of alcohol, drugs, and mental disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved) (from the chapter)

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Back to Top spacer Developmental Epidemiological Papers from Early Woodlawn Studies
   
  • Pearson JL, Hunter AG, Ensminger ME, Kellam SG: Black grandmothers in multigenerational households: diversity in family structure and parenting involvement in the Woodlawn community. Child Dev. 1990; 61:434-442.
  • spacerAbstract: We report here the frequency of black grandmothers' coresidence in households with first-grade children, their patterns of involvement in parenting, and the degree to which family structure and employment affected the grandmothers' parenting involvement in a 1966/1967 community-defined population. Coresidence between grandmothers and their target first-grade grandchildren was found in 10% of the households. The 130 grandmothers' parenting involvement was substantial, second only to mother involvement, and was characterized by 2 parenting activity patterns: control and punishment, and support and punishment. The degree of grandmothers' parenting involvement differed by family structure, with grandmothers in mother-absent homes most likely to be involved. Grandmothers' employment did not moderate their engagement in parenting behaviors. These findings are consistent with previous reports of significant parenting involvement by black extended family members.

  • Ensminger ME, Brown CH, Kellam SG: Social control as an explanation of sex differences in substance use among adolescents. NIDA Res.Monogr 1984; 49:296-304.

  • Kellam SG, Brown CH, Fleming JP: Relationship of first-grade social adaptation to teenage drinking, drug-use, and smoking. Digest of Alcoholism Theory & Application 1983; 2:20-24.
  • spacerAbstract: Studied the social adaptational status and psychological well-being of 939 1st graders, using structured clinical observation, the Mother Symptom Inventory, and the Teacher's Observation of Classroom Adaptation, which measured 3 maladaptive patterns of response: shyness, aggressiveness, and learning problems involving achievement, maturation, or concentration. Ss were followed for 10 yrs, from 1st grade to the age of 16 or 17, and then administered a questionnaire on drug use, alcohol use, and smoking. Results indicate that learning problems in the 1st grade did not predict teenage drug use. Teacher ratings of aggressiveness in 1st graders correlated with drug use by boys 10 yrs later. A higher percentage of aggressive boys reported heavy use of beer and wine and marihuana than did nonaggressive boys. Marihuana and cigarette use by male teenagers were inversely related to ratings of shyness in the 1st grade. Only 5% of the boys who had been shy 1st graders reported regular cigarette use, and 10% used marihuana regularly, compared with 30.4% use of cigarettes and 35.6% use of marihuana by boys rated as not shy as 1st graders. First-grade ratings of shyness and aggressiveness were not related to later drug use among female teenagers. First-grade ratings of psychiatric symptoms were unrelated to use of drugs by the males 10 yrs later, but they did predict teenage cigarette use among the females. Findings are discussed in terms of their possible use in development of effective drug prevention programs. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Kellam SG, Stevenson DL, Rubin BR: How specific are the early predictors of teenage drug use? NIDA Res.Monogr 1983; 43:329-334.

  • Ensminger ME, Brown CH, Kellam SG: Sex differences in antecedents of substance use among adolescents. Journal of Social Issues 1982; 38:25-42
  • spacerAbstract: Examined sex differences in marihuana, alcohol, and cigarette use among 705 1st graders of Woodlawn (a poor Black Chicago neighborhood) who were assessed in 1st grade in 1966-1967 (e.g., Teacher's Observation of Classroom Adaptation), and reassessed 10 yrs later. Teenage males reported more use of marihuana and alcohol than females, but males and females reported similar use of cigarettes. These sex differences were examined from 2 theoretical perspectives: social adaptation and social bonds. The former refers to the success or failure of an individual in meeting the social task demands in a specific social field at a specific stage of life. The latter is concerned with the attachment or commitment of an individual to social institutions such as family, school, and peers. Since important sex differences were found in the antecedent, concurrent, and mediating variables relating to adolescent substance use, it is concluded that further study of substance use should focus on male and female differences and that at least some of the origins of substance use differ for males and females. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Kellam SG, Brown CH, Fleming JP: Developmental epidemiological studies of substance use in Woodlawn: implications for prevention research strategy. NIDA Res.Monogr 1982; 41:21-33.

  • Kellam SG, Brown CH, Fleming JP: Social adaptation to first grade and teenage drug, alcohol and cigarette use. J.Sch Health 1982; 52:301-306.

  • Fleming JP, Kellam SG, Brown CH: Early predictors of age at first use of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 1982; 9:285-303.
  • spacerAbstract: Investigated the relationships between various measures of social adaptation to the 1st-grade classroom and the age at which alcohol, cigarettes, and marihuana were first used by teenagers who began elementary school in a poor Black urban community in Chicago. Prospective longitudinal community epidemiological data were collected periodically in 1st and 3rd grades from consecutive total cohorts of children in the 1960's. The 1966-1967 population (N = 705) was followed-up at age 16 or 17. Findings indicate that (1) males tended to use all substances at an earlier age than females, (2) Ss who performed better on 1st-grade IQ and readiness tests (Kuhlmann-Anderson Test and the Metropolitan Readiness Test) tended to initiate substance use at an earlier age, (3) only females who were rated by their 1st-grade teachers as shy or having learning problems tended to initiate use at a later age. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved).

  • Kellam SG, Brown CH, Fleming JP: Developmental epidemiological studies of substance use in Woodlawn: implications for prevention research strategy. NIDA Res.Monogr 1982; 41:21-33.

  • Kellam SG, Brown CH, Fleming JP: Social adaptation to first grade and teenage drug, alcohol and cigarette use. J.Sch Health 1982; 52:301-306.

  • Kellam, Sheppard G., Adams, Rebecca G., Brown, C. Hendricks, and Ensminger, Margaret E. The Long-term Evolution of the Family Structure of Teenage and Older Mothers. Journal of Marriage & the Family 44(3), 539. 1982. Blackwell Publishing Limited.
  • spacerAbstract: Discusses a study which examined the long-term evolution of the family structure of teenage and older mothers in Woodlawn community, Chicago, Illinois. Information on the study population; Results of the study; Discussion on teenage motherhood and social isolation; Conclusion

  • Brown H, Adams RG, Kellam SG: A longitudinal study of teenage motherhood and symptoms of distress: The Woodlawn Community Epidemiological Project. Research in Community & Mental Health 1981; 2:183-213.
  • spacerAbstract: Examined data from 939 of the original 1,242 mothers (from Woodlawn, an impoverished neighborhood in Chicago) interviewed when their children were in the lst grade (Time 1) and again when their children were in the 12th grade (Time 2). Mothers were asked to rate their feelings of sadness and tension at both time periods to examine the psychological consequences of teenage motherhood. Results show that teenage mothers (less than 19 yrs old at the birth of their 1st child) were at higher risk of distress at Time 1 than nonteenage mothers and that by Time 2, the prevalence of distressed feelings had decreased somewhat for all age groups. The risk of frequent feelings of distress did not subside with additional children who were born after the mother's teenage years. Implications for treatment and intervention programs are discussed. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Kellam SG, Branch JD, Brown CH, Russell G: Why teenagers come for treatment. A ten-year prospective epidemiological study in Woodlawn. J.Am.Acad.Child Psychiatry 1981; 20:477-495.

  • Kellam SG, Ensminger ME, Simon MB: Mental health in first grade and teenage drug, alcohol, and cigarette use. Drug Alcohol Depend. 1980; 5:273-304.

  • Agrawal KC, Kellam SG, Klein ZE, Turner J: The Woodlawn mental health studies: tracking children and families for long-term follow-up. Am.J.Public Health 1978; 68:139-142.
  • spacerAbstract: Elementary school children in a large public urban school system (Chicago) can be tracked into adolescence, together with their families, by using student numbers established by the Chicago Public Schools. This paper reports on the linkage between a psychiatric follow-up study and the data bank of the Chicago Public Schools. The authors were able to find information about the location and grade placement of 87% of an urban ghetto neighborhood's first grade children after a seven to ten-year lapse in contact. The children about whom information was found did not differ from those missing in the early measures of their school achievement and psychological wellbeing. However, first grade measures of school success of failure did relate to grade placement of children ten years later, as did first grade ratings of bizarreness.

  • Kellam SG, Ensminger ME, Turner RJ: Family structure and the mental health of children. Concurrent and longitudinal community-wide studies. Arch.Gen.Psychiatry 1977; 34:1012-1022.
  • spacerAbstract: This study provides a map of variations of families and some of the core relationships between types of family and the mental health of children. Family types in a poor, black urban community were defined in terms of the adults present at home. The resulting taxonomy is based on two populations: half of the community's 1964 first-grade children and families and the entire 1966 first-grade children and families. Eighty-six family types were found, falling into ten major classes. Family type was found to be strongly related over time to the child's social adaptational status (SAS) and his or her psychological well-being. The results suggest that (1) mother alone families entail the highest risk in terms of social maladaptation and psychological well-being of the child; (2) the presence of certain second adults has important ameliorative functions--mother/grandmother families being nearly as effective as mother/father families, with mother/stepfather families similar to mother alone in regard to risk; and (3) the absence of the father was less important than the aloneness of the mother in relation to risk.

  • Kellam SG: Mental health and going to school the Woodlawn program of assessment, early intervention, and evaluation Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1975.

  • Kellam SG, Schiff SK: Adaptation and mental illness in the first-grade classrooms of an urban community. Psychiatr.Res.Rep.Am.Psychiatr.Assoc. 1967; 21:79-91.

  • Schiff SK, Kellam SG: A community-wide mental health program of prevention and early treatment in first grade. Psychiatr.Res.Rep.Am.Psychiatr.Assoc. 1967; 21:92-102.

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