Patterns of Social-Emotional Needs and Trajectories of Aggression and Substance Use Among Middle
posted 25/11/2018
publication The Journal of Early Adolescence (2018). DOI: 10.1177/0272431618812740
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0272431618812740
Patterns of Social-Emotional Needs and Trajectories of Aggression and Substance Use Among Middle School Boys,
Abstract
Co-occurring social-emotional problems are associated with increased risk of aggression and substance use. However, few studies examine their configurational patterns. This study identifies patterns of co-occurring social skills, anxiety, learning, and conduct problems among 2,632 urban boys at entry into sixth grade, and their related aggression and substance use trajectories through eighth grade. Latent class analysis revealed four patterns at school entry: “low-all,” “poor social skills,” “positive social skills,” and “high all.” Findings point to important variation in risk. Problem behaviors increased the least through middle school for the “low-all” pattern. The “positive social skills” pattern had an average increase, while the “poor social skills” pattern had higher levels of problem behaviors in sixth and seventh grade. The “high all” showed the fastest increase in problem behaviors and the highest levels in eighth grade. Discussion focuses on implications for a multi-tiered school-based system of supports for behavioral risk management.
Keywords social competence, aggression, substance use/alcohol and drug use, middle school
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Author Biographies
Kevin Tan is an assistant professor at the School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. His research focuses on understanding patterns of youth risk and protective factors, developmental patterns of problem behaviors, and their social contextual influences.
Deborah Gorman-Smith is the interim dean and Emily Klein Gidwitz Professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on advancing knowledge about development, risk, and development of violence, with specific focus on minority youth living in poor urban settings.
Michael Schoeny is an associate professor at Rush University’s College of Nursing. His work focuses on violence prevention, aggression, and adolescent development. He has expertise in longitudinal quantitative analysis.
Yoonsun Choi is an associate professor at the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago. Her fields of special interest include minority youth development; effects of race, ethnicity, and culture in youth development; children of immigrants; Asian American youth; and prevention of youth problem behaviors.
