Biomedical subjects

Nathaniel R Riggs

Publications and source records attributed to Nathaniel R Riggs.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The mediational role of neurocognition in the behavioral outcomes of a social-emotional prevention program in elementary school students: effects of the PATHS Curriculum.

Neuropsychology is one field that holds promise in the construction of comprehensive, developmental models for the promotion of social competence and prevention of problem behavior. Neuropsychological models of behavior suggest that children's neurological functioning affects the regulation of strong emotions, as well as performance in social, cognitive, and behavioral spheres. The current study examines the underlying neurocognitive conceptual theory of action of one social-emotional development program. Hypothesized was that inhibitory control and verbal fluency would mediate the relationship between program condition and teacher-reported externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Participants were 318 regular education students enrolled in the second or third grade. A series of regression analyses provided empirical support for (a) the effectiveness of the PATHS Curriculum in promoting inhibitory control and verbal fluency and (b) a partial mediating role for inhibitory control in the relation between prevention condition and behavioral outcomes. Implications are that programs designed to promote social and emotional development should consider comprehensive models that attend to neurocognitive functioning and development. Lack of consideration of neurocognitive pathways to the promotion of social competence may ignore important mechanisms through which prevention affects youth outcomes. Furthermore, the findings suggest that developers of social-emotional preventions should design curricula to explicitly promote the developmental integration of executive functioning, verbal processing, and emotional awareness. Doing so may enhance prevention outcomes particularly if those preventions are implemented during a time of peak neurocognitive development.

Child↗

PubMed2006

Parent program component analysis in a drug abuse prevention trial.

PURPOSE: The current study estimates the effects of the parent program component of an evidence-based multi-component drug abuse prevention program for adolescents, Project STAR. METHODS: A total of 351 parents of middle school students, who had been assigned by school to a program or comparison condition (n = 8 schools), completed self-report surveys at baseline and two years later. Analyses estimated effects of the overall parent program as well as its three key constituent activities (parent-school committee participation, parent skills training, and parent-child homework activities) on perceptions of parental influence over their children's substance use. RESULTS: Results demonstrate that parents who participated in the overall parent program demonstrated greater perceptions of influence over their children's substance use at two-year follow-up. Furthermore, parents who participated in parent-school committees and homework sessions demonstrated greater perceptions of influence over their children's substance use than those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that parent interventions may increase self-efficacy in parent-child management and communication skills. Results may help inform the development of more cost-effective and immediate prevention strategies for parents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The "Generacion Diez" after-school program and Latino parent involvement with schools.

The current study examines associations between participation in after-school programs and change in Latino parent involvement with schools. Hierarchical linear regression analyses demonstrated that parents of children who had higher after-school program attendance rates were significantly more likely to report increases in the quality of relationships with their children's teachers, frequency of parent-teacher contact, and engagement with their children's schooling over a two-year period. However, greater home educator contacts were related to decreases in quality and quantity of parent-school involvement. A primary implication is that attendance in school-based after-school programs may draw parents into children's regular-day school context. Editors' Strategic Implications The authors illustrate the promising practice of using after-school programs to promote parent involvement and to help integrate the often disparate family and school contexts for Latino children.

Child↗

PubMed2005

Social networks and community prevention coalitions.

This study investigates the links between community readiness and the social networks among participants in Communities That Care (CTC), community-based prevention coalitions. The coalitions targeted adolescent behavior problems through community risk factor assessments, prioritization of risk factors, and selection/implementation of corresponding evidence-based family, school, and community programs. Key leaders (n = 219) in 23 new CTC sites completed questionnaires focusing on community readiness to implement CTC and the respondents' personal, work, and social organization links to other key leaders in the community. Outside technical assistants also completed ratings of each community's readiness and early CTC functioning. Measures of network cohesion/integration were positively associated with readiness, while centralization was negatively associated. These results suggest that non-centralized networks in which ties between members are close and direct may be an indicator of community readiness. In addition, we found different associations between readiness and different domains of social relations. EDITORS' STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS: The authors present the promising practice of using social network analysis to characterize the functioning of local prevention coalitions and their readiness to implement a community-based prevention initiative. Researchers and community planners will benefit from the lessons in this article, which capitalizes on a large sample and multiple informants. This work raises interesting questions about how to combine the promotion of coalition functioning while simultaneously encouraging diversity of coalition membership.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

After-school youth development programs: a developmental-ecological model of current research.

Although there has been a rapid increase in funding and attention to after-school programs, there is little understanding of how after-school programs impact children's developmental trajectories. The heterogeneity of American children makes it very unlikely that all children need after-school programming or that there is but one brand of after-school programming suitable for all youth. We discuss the numerous developmental and contextual factors that may influence which children benefit most from after-school programs as well as the nature of the after-school programs most beneficial to children's needs. The value of utilizing an ecological and developmental perspective to after-school program evaluation are presented, including the need for improved research designs and more detailed analyses of program type and services as well as a more complete determination of which children benefit the most from after-school participation.

Black or African American↗

PubMed2003

Concurrent and 2-year longitudinal relations between executive function and the behavior of 1st and 2nd grade children.

Abstract Concurrent and 2-year longitudinal relations were investigated between two indicators of children's ( n =60; mean age = years 11 months) executive function, inhibitory control and sequencing ability, and behavior problem symptomatology. Dependent measures were parent and teacher reported internalizing and externalizing behavior. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated few significant concurrent associations between either inhibitory control or sequencing ability, and behavior problem symptoms. In contrast, baseline inhibitory control predicted decreased teacher reported externalizing, and parent reported externalizing and internalizing behavior problems over a 2-year period. Baseline sequencing ability also predicted decreased teacher reported externalizing and parent reported internalizing behavior over this same time period. Results suggest that some aspects of executive function in early elementary grade-school children may be more strongly associated with change in behavior over time than concurrent behavior. Implications of these findings for the prevention of behavior problems are discussed.

Child↗