Current models of pain coping typically focus on how pain contributes to poor physical and psychological functioning. Researchers have argued that this focus on the negative consequences is too narrow and does not account for times when individuals are able to maintain meaningful functioning despite their pain. Thus, the current study sought to investigate the day-to-day processes that both help and hinder recovery from pain and persistence towards daily goals. Specifically, the present study tested: a) a two-factor model of risk and resilience “factors” that capture key processes across affective, cognitive and social dimensions of functioning, and b) whether the relation between morning pain and end-of-day physical disability is mediated by increases in these afternoon risk and resilience factors. Within-day study measures were collected for 21 days via an automated phone system from 220 participants with Fibromyalgia. The results of multi-level confirmatory factor analysis indicated that, consistent with prediction, risk and resilience do constitute two factors. Findings from multilevel structural equation models also showed resilience factor mediated the link between late morning increases in pain and end-of-day disability, in line with hypotheses. Although the vulnerability factor as a whole did not mediate the within-day link between pain and disability, pain-catastrophizing individually did serve as a significant mediator of this relation. This study was the first to empirically test a within-day latent factor model of resilience and vulnerability and the first to capture the multidimensional nature of the pain experience by examining mechanisms across affective, cognitive and social domains of functioning. The findings of the current study suggest that in addition to studying the processes by which pain has a negative influence on the lives of pain sufferers, our understanding of the pain adaptation process can be further improved by concurrently examining mechanisms that motivate individuals to overcome the urge to avoid pain and to function meaningfully despite it.

How adolescents cope with stress impacts all aspects of their lives and is particularly important during the transition to college, a time were adolescents are at risk for negative physical and mental health outcomes. What has not yet been studied is how coping impacts the type of romantic relationship adolescents engage in. Data from a longitudinal study, which featured baseline measures as well as twice weekly diary assessments, was used to assess how coping style, commitment level, partner conflict, and sexual risk at baseline was associated with number of romantic partners and relationship duration over the transition to college. There was no significant association between coping and number of romantic partners or relationship duration. Increased partner conflict was associated with lower relationship duration, while higher levels of commitment were associated with higher relationship durations. Adolescents' sexual risk score was negatively correlated with number of romantic partners. Limitations as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Sleep is an extremely important component of living a healthy life than can impact development and behavior starting in childhood. We expanded on past research regarding this topic to determine the role of childhood sleep and the onset of problem behaviors (externalizing and internalizing behaviors) among a sample of school-aged children. We predicted that lower sleep duration, decreased sleep efficiency, and prolonged sleep latency along with negative sleep habits would be associated with problem behaviors. Our sample was made up of 381 school-aged children (M = 8.49 years old, 49.6% female, 56% Caucasian) who were recruited through the Arizona Twin Study when the children were 12 months old. Mixed-model regressions included sex, socioeconomic status, and zygosity as covariates. Correlations and mixed-model regressions showed a significant relationship between negative sleep habits and problem behaviors (both externalizing and internalizing). Our results revealed that those who experience higher amounts of parent-reported negative sleep habits also demonstrate externalizing behaviors (aggression) and internalizing behaviors (anxiety). The findings in the current study are consistent with past research on this topic and suggest that poor sleep impacts daytime functioning and behavior.

Research has shown that environmental stressors that occur during childhood and early adolescence are associated with multiple deficits in physiological and psychological functioning later in life. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been proposed as a potential biological mechanism through which these phenotypic alterations occur as studies have shown a link between early life adversity and altered diurnal cortisol patterns (Goldman-Mellor, Hamer, & Steptoe, 2012; Gunnar & Quevedo, 2008). Given research has shown that diurnal cortisol levels are influenced by genetic factors (Veen et al., 2011), but that a majority of differences across subjects can be attributed to the environment (Schreiber et al., 2006), phenotypic associations were explored between the quality of the home environment and children's diurnal cortisol patterns. The first aim of this study was to determine the level of genetic and environmental contributions to different parameters of diurnal cortisol rhythm. The second aim of this study was to examine whether the quality of the home environment, particularly indicators involving parenting and the physical environment, was associated with these same diurnal cortisol measures. A diverse sample of 320 twin children were assessed at 8 years using gold standard home environment interviews and a measure of diurnal cortisol rhythm across three days with three samples taken from each twin every day. Twin intraclass correlations indicated high levels of heritability for the morning to afternoon diurnal cortisol slope as well as the afternoon to evening slope, while measures of cortisol in the afternoon, evening, and across the day showed low levels of heritability, which suggested that differences in the environment were a more influential factor. Multilevel regression analyses showed that the overall quality of the home environment was found to be significantly negatively associated with cortisol levels at bedtime and negatively associated across the morning to afternoon slope at a trend level. The physical environment and emotional climate of the home were not significantly associated with any indicators of the diurnal cortisol pattern. A unique seasonality effect was noted as cortisol measurements taken from participants during the summer were significantly increased when compared to participants throughout the rest of the year. Overall, these findings showed a unique association between the quality of the home environment and diurnal cortisol levels at bedtime and perhaps the change in cortisol levels across the morning to afternoon, as well as a possible seasonal covariate which may affect diurnal cortisol measurements and one which often goes overlooked in cortisol research.

Sibling interactions are natural contexts for learning about the appropriate expression of emotions. The emotionally charged nature of sibling interactions creates a convenient context to explore emotional reactivity and regulation. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among parent-reported sibling relationship quality, observed sibling prosocial and antisocial behaviors displayed when playing a competitive marble game, and children's emotions coded from videotape. The sample consisted of 58 twin children who are currently participating in the longitudinal Arizona Twin Project. Parents completed the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire online at 5 and 8 years. Additionally, a competitive marble game interaction between the siblings took place in the home at 8 years and was videotaped for objective coding of prosocial, antisocial, and control behavior. Facial expressions were also coded from videotape using Emotient FACET software across the marble game interaction. Three mean composites of emotion were created, including positive and negative emotional facial expressions. Results showed that parent reported warmth did not predict the occurrence of positive emotions during the sibling interaction. However, siblings with high conflict showed less fear during the interaction. Parent reports of warmth predicted the extent to which siblings differed on emotion expression, however conflict did not. Parent ratings of conflict and warmth did not predict the extent to which the sibling dyad was emotionally intense. Findings regarding genetic and environmental effects were in line with previous reports of genetic influence on prosocial behavior and negative emotion, and expressions of joy being influenced by the environment. This study investigated noteworthy aspects of the sibling relationship that appear to promote children's adaptive development.

Academic success in childhood is crucial for later academic, occupational, and life success (Heckman, 2006; Kuncel, Hezlett, & Ones, 2004; Spengler, Brunner, Damian, Lüdtke, Martin, & Roberts, 2015). Recent research suggests sleep is important for academic success but lacks objective measures of sleep (Buckhalt, El-Sheikh, Keller, & Kelly, 2009; Curcio, Ferrara, & De Gennaro, 2006; Dewald, Meijer, Oort, Kerkhof, & Bögels, 2010; Philbrook, Hinnant, Elmore-Staton, Buckhalt, & El-Sheikh, 2017). The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between sleep and academic success among children through objective measures of sleep in order to expand on the literature. Our sample consisted of 381 twins (50.4% male; 56% Caucasian; 36.5% same sex dizygotic) participating in an 8-year assessment from a longitudinal twin study. Actigraphy was used to assess sleep while various measures were used to assess academic success. A series of mixed model regressions were used to test the main predictions, with family entered as a random effect. Sex, age, Hispanic, SES, and zygosity were controlled for. Significant negative relations were revealed between sleep latency and reading and sleep latency and school liking. Additionally, SES was the most consistent significant positive predictor of our measures of academic success. These results suggest sleep and effects of SES should be considered when developing ways to help children’s school performance.

The objective of the current study was to examine sleep and academic functioning during middle childhood. More specifically, the twin design was used to determine the heritability of academic competence and sleep. Phenotypic analyses using multi-level mixed model regressions were performed to predict academic functioning from sleep. Lastly, socioeconomic status was tested as a moderator in the associations between sleep and academic functioning. Participants included twins (N = 191 families; Mage = 8.47 years) recruited from Arizona birth records at 12 months of age. Sleep duration, latency, onset, efficiency, variability, and sleep problems were assessed using actigraph watches and the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Academic functioning was assessed using subtests of the Woodcock Johnson Cognitive Test of Achievement-IV (picture vocabulary, passage comprehension, and applied problems) and the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire. As determined by twin intraclass correlations, the heritability of academic competence ranged from 51-76%. Sleep heritability ranged from 14-80%. In addition, phenotypic analyses only showed a significant association between sleep latency and WJ picture vocabulary scores. More specifically, sleep latency was negatively associated with the picture vocabulary subtest. Additional models were run to examine if any interactive effects were present between early SES and the various sleep parameters. Several significant associations were observed with applied problems scores and parent-reported academic competence. Specifically, for children of low SES, a significant positive association was observed for sleep duration and WJ applied problems scores, as well as for sleep efficiency and WJ applied problems scores. No significant associations were observed for sleep efficiency and HBQ scores with children of any SES. Also, no significant relationships were observed with children of high SES for any of the academic measures.

Adolescent and young adult alcohol use is a major public health concern given that it is the most widely used substance by teenagers. This is particularly concerning given the important biological and environmental changes that occur during this developmental period. Therefore, it is not surprising that alcohol use in adolescence is associated with a variety of negative outcomes including alcohol-related consequences, poor academic performance, aggression, and difficulty transitioning to adulthood. Because of this, it is imperative to better understand alcohol use during this time. While there are numerous measures that aim to capture adolescent alcohol use, there is not currently a measure that gathers comprehensive information on alcohol use across adolescence and into early adulthood. Therefore, we developed the Comprehensive Adolescent Drinking History Form (CADHF). The CADHF gathers detailed drinking information for each year since the onset of first regular use, including quantity and frequency of both regular use and periods of heaviest drinking. Additionally, the CADHF collects information on the participants' aggregate drinking experiences between their age of onset and age of first regular use. Using a sample of young adults who completed an alcohol challenge study, we sought to examine (1) whether route of administration of the measure impacts results, (2) which CADHF are most useful, and (3) whether the CADHF shows concurrent, convergent, and incremental validity. Results showed that, the CADHF can be administered online or over the phone and all eight indices provide valuable information depending on the research question. Additionally, strong significant correlations between the CADHF with the Timeline Follow Back (TLFB) and the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ) suggest convergent and concurrent validity. Finally, the CADHF predicted concurrent and future alcohol-related problems over and above the gold standards of alcohol consumption measures; age of onset, age of first intoxication, and the TLFB. This is the first study to retrospectively assess participant's comprehensive alcohol consumption and fills a major gap in the literature. The CADHF has the potential to inform the timing of prevention and intervention efforts and provides unique information from the current gold standards of alcohol consumption measures.

Cultural beliefs and behaviors can serve as both risk and protective processes for Latino adolescents, with some recent empirical work suggesting the important protective role of bicultural values (e.g., endorsing high levels of both mainstream culture and culture of origin). We expanded on past research to explore whether bicultural values were associated with internalizing (depressive, anxiety, stress) symptoms and externalizing (alcohol use) symptoms among a sample of Latino adolescents preparing to begin college. We hypothesized biculturalism to protect against all negative outcomes. Our sample consisted of 209 college-bound Latino adolescents (65% female; 85.1% Mexican descent; 10.6% 1st generation, 62% 2nd generation) who were enrolled in university for the coming fall. All multivariate models included sex, ethnicity, parent education, and immigrant generation status as covariates. Correlations and multivariate analyses revealed that higher bicultural values were associated with lower depressive symptoms, lower anxiety symptoms, lower stress, and greater alcohol use. Gender was shown to moderate the relationship between biculturalism and alcohol use. Overall, findings suggested that greater bicultural values were associated with lower endorsement of internalizing symptoms for all participants, but higher endorsement of alcohol use over the last year for the highly bicultural females. Biculturalism may be particularly protective for Latino adolescents who are preparing to attend college given the need for them to transition into an environment with high acculturative demands. However, our results also highlight that these bicultural females may be at greater risk for alcohol use and related problems.

Individuals with strong broad social motives (BSM) place high personal value on social activities and are at increased risk for heavy drinking. Those with strong BSM who also perceive that college students are heavy drinkers (high descriptive norms) might be particularly susceptible to increases in alcohol use during the transition to college, and may be likely to drink for social facilitation (social drinking motives). To test these hypotheses, we examined a mediated moderation model testing interactive effects of BSM and descriptive norms (perceptions of drinking in college) on drinking behavior, mediated by social drinking motives. Data were from 426 incoming college students and analyses were based on a subsample of 218 who reported drinking behavior at either time point. Results indicated that BSM interacted with descriptive norms to predict increases in social drinking motives from high school to college and social drinking motives in turn predicted increases in alcohol use. Probing this interaction revealed that those with high BSM and high descriptive norms experienced greater increases in social drinking motives than those with low descriptive norms. Tests of moderated indirect effects indicated that effects of BSM on drinking behavior through social drinking motives were also stronger among those with high descriptive norms. These results identify a particularly high risk group for changes in alcohol use during an important developmental period. This may have important implications for prevention and intervention methods which can attenuate college alcohol use by targeting individuals with strong BSM who perceive heavy drinking among college peers.