PREDICTING CHANGE IN CONDUCT PROBLEMS DURING MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE UTILITY OF RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS ASSESSED DURING MIDDLE SCHOOL
Open Access
Author:
Schofield, Hannah-Lise Tirado
Graduate Program:
Psychology
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
August 22, 2008
Committee Members:
Karen Linn Bierman, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Karen Linn Bierman, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Cynthia L Huang Pollock, Committee Member J Douglas Coatsworth, Committee Member Robert Nix, Committee Member
Keywords:
conduct problems risk and protective factors early adolescence
Abstract:
This study examined the utility of risk and protective factors in predicting change in conduct problem symptoms across the middle school years for at-risk youth participating in the Fast Track Project. Parent, teacher, and youth reports of risk and protective factors made significant contributions to the prediction of growth in conduct problem symptoms between 6th and 9th grade. In addition, structured ratings completed by clinical staff made similar contributions to the prediction of growth in conduct problem symptoms (and were superior to global clinical judgments made by the same staff). The results suggest that attention to risk and protective factors is important for predicting growth in conduct problems across the early adolescent years, and that clinical staff can provide valid assessments of these risk and protective factors using brief, structured rating forms.