Poster #128 - Perceptions of Unpredictability and Links to Behavioral Functioning in Maltreated Youth

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Moral Development

Integrative Statement

Children thrive in stable and nurturing environments (Adam, 2004; Coe, Davies, & Sturge‐Apple, 2017; Craigie, Brooks-Gunn, & Waldfogel, 2012). Some children, however, grow up in environments characterized by extreme conflict, instability, and uncertainty. These environments, particularly in early childhood, exert a profound impact on subsequent development, often leading to impulsive and opportunistic behaviors, including risk-taking, delinquency, and aggression (e.g., Simpson et al., 2012). While the links between early experiences of unpredictability and such behaviors have been well-established, far less is known about the developmental processes linking the two.

The present study sought to explore one such process, namely children’s actual perceptions of the unpredictability of their world and future (i.e., an unpredictability schema), by testing whether children’s perceptions predict increases in both risky behaviors, such as aggression and conduct problems (e.g. cheating, stealing), but also possibly decreases in prosocial tendencies (e.g., sharing, helping). We first focused on youth who have likely experienced a high degree of uncertainty and instability, and who tend toward high levels of problematic and risky behaviors: children removed from home due to substantiated child abuse and neglect. We specifically administered a battery of questions to maltreated youth (n = 73), ages 12-17 (M = 14.49) about the predictability and controllability of their lives (e.g., the Future Outlook Inventory), and their tendencies toward aggression, conduct problems, and prosocial behavior (e.g., Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). We then compared their responses to a demographically matched sample of comparison youth (n = 54; Mean age = 14.36).

As might be expected, significant differences between maltreated and comparison youth emerged on the standardized measure of youth’s perceptions of unpredictability, with maltreated youth (M = -0.003, SD = 0.59) endorsing greater beliefs in the unpredictability of their lives and future than comparison youth (M = -0.21, SD = 0.54), p = .05 (note, higher scores are reflective of a greater unpredictability schema). Differences in behavioral tendencies also emerged, with maltreated youth reporting higher levels of aggression and conduct problems than comparison youth, ps < .01, but comparable tendencies toward prosocial behavior, p > .05. Regarding the relations between these perceptions and behaviors, for both maltreated and comparison youth, perceptions of unpredictability predicted behavioral functioning: Greater perceived unpredictability was associated with increased aggression, B = 0.29, t (122) = 3.45, p = .001, overall model, F (4, 118) = 5.87, p < .001, R2 = .41, and decreased prosociality, B = -0.28, t (124) = -3.32, p = .001, R2 = .40, overall model, F (4, 120) = 5.54, p < .001 (age, gender, and ethnicity covaried).

Together, these findings provide new insight into maltreated children’s perceptions about their lives and how these perceptions may contribute to increased risk for aggressive behavior and lower prosocial tendencies. Further analyses will test predictors of these beliefs, particularly within the maltreated sample (e.g., placement instability, maltreatment type). Findings have implications for the development of new interventions aimed at reducing risky and antisocial tendencies in maltreated children.

Authors

• Kelli Dickerson, University of California, Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Jodi Quas, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author