Suniya S. Luthar

This study explores longitudinally a four-factor structure of pathological personality trait dimensions (PPTDs) to examine both its structural stability and intra-individual changes among PPTDs over time. Personality Disorder (PD) scales of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III were administered to 361 low-income women with various psychiatric conditions (drug dependence, depression), who were followed in a two-wave study over 5-years. Cross-sectional and longitudinal factor analyses outlined a robust factorial structure of PPTDs, extrinsically invariant over time, representing Negative Emotionality, Introversion, Antagonism and Impulsivity. Despite moderate rank-order stability in the PPTDs, results also indicated substantial intra-individual variability in the degree and direction of change, consistent with trajectories of change in participants’ clinical diagnoses. Results are discussed in light of current debates on the structure and dynamic of pathological personality.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effectiveness of the Relational Psychotherapy Mothers' Group (RPMG), a supportive parenting group intervention for substance abusing women. Sixty mothers receiving RPMG were compared to 67 women receiving recovery training (RT); both treatments supplemented treatment in the methadone clinics. At the end of the 6-month treatment period, RPMG mothers showed marginally significant improvement on child maltreatment (self-reported) and cocaine abuse based on urinalyses when compared with RT mothers; notably, children of RPMG mothers reported significantly greater improvement in emotional adjustment and depression than children of RT mothers. At 6 months follow-up, however, treatment gains were no longer apparent. Overall, the findings suggest that whereas supportive parenting interventions for substance abusing women do have some preventive potential, abrupt cessation of the therapeutic program could have deleterious consequences. Preparation of the manuscript was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (RO1-DA10726, RO1-DA11498, R01-DA14385, and K23DA14606), the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.

In this study of 360 low-income mother–child dyads, our primary goal was to disentangle risks linked with commonly co-occurring maternal diagnoses: substance abuse and affective/anxiety disorders. Variable- and person-based analyses suggest that, at least through children's early adolescence, maternal drug use is no more inimical for them than is maternal depression. A second goal was to illuminate vulnerability and protective processes linked with mothers' everyday functioning, and results showed that negative parenting behaviors were linked with multiple adverse child outcomes. Conversely, the other parenting dimensions showed more domain specificity; parenting stress was linked with children's lifetime diagnoses, and limit setting and closeness with children's externalizing problems and everyday competence, respectively. Results are discussed in terms of implications for resilience theory, interventions, and social policy. Preparation of this manuscript was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (RO1-DA10726, RO1-DA11498, and R01-DA14385).

It has been suggested that over-scheduling of upper-class youth might underlie the high distress and substance use documented among them. This assumption was tested by considering suburban 8th graders' involvement in different activities along with their perceptions of parental attitudes toward achievement. Results indicated negligible evidence for deleterious effects of high extracurricular involvement per se. Far more strongly implicated was perceived parent criticism for both girls and boys as well as the absence of after-school supervision. Low parent expectations connoted significant vulnerability especially for boys. The findings indicate that at least among early adolescents, converging scientific and media reports may have scapegoated extracurricular involvements, to some degree, as an index of ubiquitous achievement pressures in affluent communities.

This study was focused on contextual variations in the parenting dimensions salient for preadolescent adjustment. The sample consisted of 614 sixth graders from two communities, one low and the other high income. Parenting dimensions included those known to be significant in each socioeconomic context: isolation from parents (emotional and physical), and parents' emphasis on achievements (overall expectations and emphasis on integrity over success). Adjustment outcomes included subjective well-being as well as school competence. Contradicting stereotypes, results showed that on average, very affluent children can perceive their parents as emotionally and physically unavailable to the same degree that youth in serious poverty do. The ramifications for adjustment also seem to be largely similar: Closeness to parents was beneficial for all, just as criticism was deleterious. Even after considering the quality of parent–child relationships, parents' physical absence (e.g., at dinner) connoted vulnerability for distress and for poor school performance in both groups. The connotations of a few parenting dimensions varied by context and gender; these variations are discussed as are overall implications for future research and practice. Preparation of the manuscript was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (RO1-DA10726, RO1-DA11498, R01-DA14385), the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.

The central question addressed in this study was whether upper class, suburban teenagers can engage in various problem behaviors and still maintain adequate academic grades, because of environmental safety nets, unlike their low-income, inner-city counterparts. Three problem behavior dimensions were assessed among tenth graders, that is, substance use, delinquency, and low school engagement. Academic achievement was assessed in terms of grades across four major subjects. Variable-based analyses indicated unique links with grades for self-reported delinquency and school disengagement in high- and low-income samples, but for substance use only among the former. Person-based analyses showed that in both schools, grades were clearly compromised among youth with disturbances in all three problem domains. In addition, in the suburban school only, grades were low in the cluster characterized chiefly by high substance use. Results are discussed in terms of stereotypes regarding risks (or lack thereof) stemming from families' socioeconomic status; implications for theory and interventions are also considered. Preparation of this manuscript was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (RO1-DA10726, RO1-DA11498, R01-DA14385), the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.

Children of affluence are generally presumed to be at low risk. However, recent studies have suggested problems in several domains—notably, substance use, anxiety, and depression—and 2 sets of potential causes: pressures to achieve and isolation from parents. Recognizing the limited awareness of these issues, the objectives in this paper are to collate evidence on the nature of problems among the wealthy and their likely causes. The first half of the paper is focused on disturbances among affluent children and the second half is focused on characteristics of their families and neighborhoods. Widespread negative sentiments toward the rich are then discussed, and the paper concludes with suggestions for future work with families at the upper end of the socioeconomic spectrum.

The purpose of this study was to build on preliminary findings of unusually high internalizing symptoms and substance use among suburban high school students. The sample consisted of 302 sixth– and seventh–grade students in an affluent, suburban community. Findings corroborated expectations regarding several domains of vulnerability, showing (1) high rates of clinically significant depressive symptoms among older girls, (2) significant links between various internalizing symptoms and substance use among both boys and girls, and (3) peers’ approval of substance use among older boys. In exploring potential causes of distress in this suburban sample, associations were found for achievement pressures (particularly excessive perfectionistic strivings), and isolation from parents (particularly low perceived closeness to mothers). Findings of this study are discussed in terms of widespread stereotypes about affluent families, as well as implications for future research and preventive interventions for a subgroup of youth typically viewed as being at “low risk.”

This paper presents a critical appraisal of resilience, a construct connoting the maintenance of positive adaptation by individuals despite experiences of significant adversity. As empirical research on resilience has burgeoned in recent years, criticisms have been levied at work in this area. These critiques have generally focused on ambiguities in definitions and central terminology; heterogeneity in risks experienced and competence achieved by individuals viewed as resilient; instability of the phenomenon of resilience; and concerns regarding the usefulness of resilience as a theoretical construct. We address each identified criticism in turn, proposing solutions for those we view as legitimate and clarifying misunderstandings surrounding those we believe to be less valid. We conclude that work on resilience possesses substantial potential for augmenting the understanding of processes affecting at-risk individuals. Realization of the potential embodied by this construct, however, will remain constrained without continued scientific attention to some of the serious conceptual and methodological pitfalls that have been noted by skeptics and proponents alike.