Jeffrey Liew

Introduction: Adolescent externalizing symptoms, including aggression, impulsivity, and rule‐breaking, are prevalent and often co‐occur. Etiologically, developmental scientists have utilized developmental models to explain the link between exposure to family violence and adolescent externalizing symptoms; however, few studies have tested the longitudinal underlying role of impulsivity on the association between exposure to family violence and adolescent antisocial behavior. Methods: Thus, this study synthesized three theoretical frameworks, including the developmental cascading framework , emotional insecurity model , and intergenerational transmission of violence , in estimating the predictive effects of exposure to family violence on aggression and rule‐breaking behavior, respectively, and the mediating role of impulsivity on the developmental link between exposure to family violence and aggression and rule‐breaking behavior, respectively, across four time points ( n = 1543). Results: Direct effects results indicated that exposure to family violence did not statistically predict the onset and growth rates of aggression; however, exposure to family violence positively predicted the onset of rule‐breaking behavior, but not the growth rate. Mediation results indicated that baseline impulsivity mediated the indirect effect of family violence on baseline aggression; however, the same mediation effect was not found for the growth rate of aggression. Importantly, family violence, mediated by the growth rate of impulsivity, had a negative indirect effect on the growth rate of aggression. Furthermore, family violence was linked to baseline rule‐breaking behavior through baseline impulsivity; however, baseline impulsivity did not significantly mediate the relationship between family violence and the growth rate of rule‐breaking. As with aggression, the growth rate of impulsivity mediated the association between family violence and the growth rate of rule‐breaking behavior, with a negative indirect effect, indicating that greater family violence exposure was associated with slower declines in impulsivity and, in turn, slower declines in rule‐breaking behavior. Conclusion: Overall, these results partially supported the developmental cascading and the intergenerational transmission of violence perspectives by highlighting the relative effects of exposure to family violence on baseline rule‐breaking and the longitudinal mediational effect of impulsivity on the relationship between adolescents' exposure to family violence and both aggression and rule‐breaking behavior over time.

Students’ math motivation can predict engagement, achievement, and career interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, it is not well understood how personality traits and math anxiety may be linked to different types or qualities of math motivation, particularly during high-stress times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we examined how fearful or avoidant temperaments contribute to math anxiety and math motivations for college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ninety-six undergraduate students from a large public university were assessed on temperamental fear, math anxiety, and math motivation in an online math course. Results showed that higher levels of temperamental fear are directly linked to higher levels of math anxiety. In addition, temperamental fear is indirectly linked to higher levels of autonomous motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation and identified regulation) and lower levels of controlled motivation (i.e., external regulation) through math anxiety. Results have implications for helping students at high risk for both high math anxiety and for low motivation to engage in math learning.