Poster #64 - Unpredictability in Children’s Environments and Middle Childhood Outcomes in a Low Income, Substance-Exposed Sample

• In Event: Poster Session 08

Abstract

Recent evidence from behavioral and neurobiological studies highlight the importance of environmental unpredictability (EU) as an aspect of childhood adversity that plays in important role in brain, behavioral, and social-emotional development (Davis et al., 2017; Spadoni et al., 2022). Other characteristics such as parental substance use and symptoms of psychopathology may precede EU in a cascading chain of risk. Recently, adult and adolescent versions of the Questionnaire for Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) were developed and validated (Glynn et al., 2018), allowing for measurement of unpredictable childhood environments. We examined the internal consistency and construct validity of a downward extension of the QUIC to 9-12 years of child age in addition to maternal reports of their child’s environment and examined a conceptual model testing hypothesized linkages from maternal childhood maltreatment to child behavior/sleep problems via chronicity of maternal substance use and anger/hostility from the prenatal period to middle childhood and maternal and child reports of EU (Figure 1).

The sample included (n = 127) families recruited prenatally, oversampled for prenatal substance exposure (tobacco and cannabis) with repeated postnatal assessments between birth and middle childhood (MC; Mchild age = 10.6 years, SD = .76, Range = 9.4 to 12.6 years). Maternal childhood maltreatment (CTQ; Bernstein et al., 1994), chronicity of maternal anger/hostility (BPAQ; Buss & Perry, 1992) and substance use (TLFB; Sobell & Sobell, 1992) were used in model testing. Child behavior problems (CBCL, maternal reports; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and child sleep problems (PDSS; child reports; Drake et al., 2003; lower score indicates higher sleep problems) in MC were outcome variables.

The QUIC was measured during MC and both child (α = .77) and maternal reports (α = .79) had adequate internal consistency, however the two reports were not significantly correlated, (r = .09, p = n.s.). Results from path analysis, controlling for maternal sociodemographic risk and child age, indicated that higher maternal childhood maltreatment was associated with heavier substance use and higher anger/hostility (Figure 2). Higher chronic anger/hostility and maternal substance use were associated with higher maternal report of EU. In addition, there was a direct path from maternal childhood maltreatment to maternal report of EU. As expected, maternal report of EU was associated with more child behavior problems and higher levels of child-reported EU were associated with more sleep problems.



These findings provide support for the QUIC as an indicator of EU and support for the downward extension to MC given adequate internal consistency and associations with child outcomes. Interestingly, there was no association between maternal and child reports of EU, and child-reported EU was not associated with the predictors in the model suggesting that maternal and child perceptions of their environments are different. Only maternal-reported EU was concurrently associated with maternal-reported child behavior problems. Similarly, only child-reported EU was concurrently associated with child-reported sleep problems suggesting that perceptions of EU may be unique and relate in different ways to child outcomes, though they may also reflect shared method variance. These measurement issues will be discussed in more detail.

Authors

• Madison Rachel Kelm, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Presenting Author

• Rina Das Eiden, The Pennsylvania State Univeristy

• Pamela Schuetze, State University of New York Buffalo State University

• Emily B Ansell