Biomedical subjects

B D Cairns

Publications and source records attributed to B D Cairns.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Paths across generations: academic competence and aggressive behaviors in young mothers and their children.

This research compared the social and cognitive development of young mothers when they were children with the social and cognitive development of their offspring. Intergenerational development was investigated over a 17-year period for 57 women who had been studied longitudinally from childhood to adulthood and who became young mothers (R. B. Cairns & B. D. Cairns, 1994). The children of these women, in turn, were followed prospectively from 1 to 2 years old through the early school years. The academic competence of mothers when they were children was significantly linked to the academic competence of their children at school age. In contrast, the across-generation correlations between measures of aggressive behavior of the mothers when they were children and measures of aggressive behavior of their children in early school grades were modest and unreliable. Certain within-generation continuities were observed in both cognitive and aggressive development.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

A brief method for assessing social development: structure, reliability, stability, and developmental validity of the Interpersonal Competence Scale.

The Interpersonal Competence Scale (ICS-T) is a set of brief rating scales for teachers and parents. It consists of 18 items that assess social and behavioural characteristics of children and youths. The ICS-T yields three primary factors: AGG (argues, trouble at school, fights), POP (popular with boys, popular with girls, lots of friends), and ACA (spelling, math). Subsidiary factors include AFF (smile, friendly), OLY (appearance, sports, wins), and INT (shyness, sad, worry). The psychometric properties of the scale (internal structure, reliability, long-term stability) are presented and evaluated over successive ages. The scale factors have been linked to contemporaneous observations of behavior and social network membership. Developmental validity of the ICS-T includes the significant prediction of later school dropout and teenage parenthood. The ICS-T scale is described, along with instructions for use and scoring.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

A longitudinal study of the role of sociodemographic factors and childhood aggression on adolescent injury and "close calls".

PURPOSE: This study examined the: (1) relationships among gender, race, and socioeconomic status and the incidence of adolescent injury and "close calls" (near accidents); (2) ability of childhood aggression to predict injury and "close calls" during adolescence; and (3) characteristics of injury and "close-call" events, including contributing mechanisms and risk-taking behaviors. METHODS: Subjects were a subsample (N = 271) of the Carolina Longitudinal Study who reported an injury (48%) or "close-call" (52%) during a 9th, 10th, or 11th grade interview (mean age 16.3 years); 52% were female and 23% African American. They were recruited beginning at grade 4 and grade 7 and were interviewed annually. RESULTS: More males than females reported an injury (chi 2 = 4.97, p < .05); motor vehicles and sports were major contributors. Caucasian females reported more injuries (chi 2 = 3.90, p < .05) and "close calls" (X2 = 4.13, p < .05) than African American females. More males than females reported risk-taking behaviors associated with injuries (chi 2 = 4.35, p < .05) and "close calls" (X2 = 4.29, p < .05), especially Caucasians. Logistic regression demonstrated that childhood aggression was a robust predictor of adolescent injury and "close calls." CONCLUSIONS: Reports of "close calls" by a majority of the sample suggest that mortality and morbidity statistics in this age group may underestimate the vulnerability of youth to serious injury. These results further add risk for physical injury in adolescence to the sequalae of childhood aggression. These findings suggest the need for the incorporation of injury prevention into school curriculum and activities of all children, but especially for children assessed as aggressive.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1995

Friendships and social networks in childhood and adolescence: fluidity, reliability, and interrelations.

Social networks and friendships were tracked over a 3-week period for 132 students enrolled in fourth- and seventh-grade classrooms. Individual interviews were employed to collect data on friendships. Social group membership was determined by the composite social-cognitive map (SCM) procedure and by self-reports. Considerable overlap was found among the methods for establishing relational patterns (i.e., friendships, self-reported groups, composite social-cognitive maps). When loose criteria for stability were employed, high stability was found in friendships (p = .56-.75) and social group membership (p = .90) over a 3-week period. But when stringent criteria were employed, only modest social relationship stability was observed in both methods, suggesting that there is much greater fluidity in peer bonds than has been generally recognized. The relationship between friendship and social network measures, the distinctive information yielded by social networks, and gender and age differences in group structure, fluidity, and friendships are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Early school dropout: configurations and determinants.

This longitudinal study examined behavioral, cognitive, and demographic factors associated with early school dropout. Follow-up assessments were completed on a sample of girls (n = 248) and boys (n = 227) who had first been seen when they were in the seventh grade. School status was determined for all living subjects; 99% of them were interviewed individually in the fifth annual test wave. Overall, 14% of the group had dropped out of school prior to completing grade 11. The clusters of males and females most vulnerable to early school dropout were characterized in grade 7 by high levels of aggressiveness and low levels of academic performance (82% early dropout in males; 47% early dropout in females). In seventh grade, subjects who subsequently dropped out tended to affiliate with persons who were also at risk for dropout. Socioeconomic status, race, and early parenthood were also associated with school dropout. The primary outcomes were supported by convergent variable-oriented and person-oriented analyses. Some developmental dynamics of the phenomena are discussed.

Achievement↗