Hostname: page-component-669899f699-7tmb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-27T03:53:22.869Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Biological sensitivity to context moderates the effects of the early teacher–child relationship on the development of mental health by adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2011

Marilyn J. Essex ,
Jeffrey M. Armstrong ,
Linnea R. Burk ,
H. Hill Goldsmith  and
W. Thomas Boyce
Marilyn J. Essex*
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Jeffrey M. Armstrong
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Linnea R. Burk
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health University of Wisconsin–Madison
H. Hill Goldsmith
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin–Madison
W. Thomas Boyce
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Marilyn J. Essex, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 6001 Research Park Boulevard, Madison, WI 53719; E-mail: mjessex@wisc.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The moderating effects of biological sensitivity to context (physiological and behavioral stress reactivity) on the association between the early teacher–child relationship and the development of adolescent mental health problems were examined in a community sample of 96 children. Grade 1 measures of biological sensitivity to context included physiological (i.e., slope of mean arterial pressure across a 20- to 30-min stress protocol) and behavioral (i.e., temperamental inhibition/disinhibition) markers. Grade 1 measures of the teacher–child relationship included positive (i.e., closeness) and negative (i.e., conflict) qualities. Mental health symptoms were assessed at Grades 1 and 7. Results of a multiple regression analysis indicated substantial association of the teacher–child relationship with the development of adolescent mental health symptoms, especially for more reactive children. In addition to teacher–child relationship main effects, all four Reactivity × Teacher–Child Relationship interaction terms were statistically significant when controlling for Grade 1 symptom severity, suggesting that both physiological and behavioral reactivity moderate the association of both adverse and supportive aspects of the teacher–child relationship with Grade 7 symptom severity over and above Grade 1 severity. There were important differences, depending on which stress reactivity measure was considered. The importance of these findings for recent theoretical arguments regarding biological sensitivity to context and differential susceptibility is discussed.

Type
Special Section Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , February 2011 , pp. 149 - 161
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Ablow, J. C., Measelle, J. R., Kraemer, H. C., Harrington, R., Luby, J., Smider, N., et al. (1999). The MacArthur Three-City Outcome Study: Evaluating multi-informant measures of young children's symptomatology. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 1580–1590.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Alkon, A., Goldstein, L. H., Smider, N. A., Essex, M. J., Kupfer, D. J., & Boyce, W. T. (2003). Developmental and contextual influence on autonomic reactivity in young children. Developmental Psychobiology, 42, 64–78.Google Scholar
Arseneault, L., Kim-Cohen, J., Taylor, A., Caspi, A., & Moffit, T. E. (2005). Psychometric evaluation of 5 and 7-year-old children's self-reports of conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 537–550.Google Scholar
Baker, J. A. (2006). Contributions of teacher–child relationships to positive school adjustment during elementary school. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 211–229.Google Scholar
Baker, J. A., Grant, S., & Morlock, L. (2008). The teacher–student relationship as a developmental context for children with internalizing or externalizing behavior problems. School Psychology Quarterly, 23, 3–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belsky, J., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2007). For better and for worse: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 300–304.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., Jonassaint, C., Pluess, M., Stanton, M., Brummett, B., & Williams, R. (2009). Vulnerability genes or plasticity genes? Molecular Psychiatry, 14, 746–754.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2009). Beyond diathesis stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 885–908.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birch, S. H., & Ladd, G. W. (1997). The teacher–child relationship and children's early school adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 35, 61–79.Google Scholar
Birch, S. H., & Ladd, G. W. (1998). Children's interpersonal behaviors and the teacher–child relationship. Developmental Psychology, 34, 934–946.Google Scholar
Blair, C. (2002). Early intervention for low birth weight preterm infants: The role of negative emotionality in the specification of effects. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 311–332.Google Scholar
Boyce, W. T., Alkon, A., Tschann, J. M., Chesney, M. A., & Alpert, B. S. (1995). Dimensions of psychobiologic reactivity: Cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors in preschool children. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 17, 315–323.Google Scholar
Boyce, W. T., Chesney, M., Alkon, A., Tschann, J. M., Adams, S., Chesterman, B., et al. (1995). Psychobiologic reactivity to stress and childhood respiratory illnesses: Results of two prospective studies. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 411–422.Google Scholar
Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: I. An evolutionary–developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 271–301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyce, W. T., Essex, M. J., Alkon, A., Goldsmith, H. H., Kraemer, H. C., & Kupfer, D. J. (2006). Early father involvement moderates biobehavioral susceptibility to mental health problems in middle childhood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 1510–1520.Google Scholar
Boyce, W. T., Essex, M. J., Goldstein, L. H., Armstrong, J. M., Kraemer, H. C., & Kupfer, D. J. (2002). The confluence of mental, physical, social, and academic difficulties in middle childhood. I: Exploring the “headwaters” of early life morbidities. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 580–587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyce, W. T., Quas, J., Alkon, A., Smider, N. A., Essex, M. J., Kupfer, D. J., et al. (2001). Autonomic reactivity and psychopathology in middle childhood. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 144–150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2008). Infant temperament, parenting, and externalizing behavior in first grade: A test of the differential susceptibility hypothesis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 124–131.Google Scholar
Brendgen, M., Wanner, B., & Vitaro, F. (2006). Verbal abuse by the teacher and child adjustment from kindergarten through grade 6. Pediatrics, 117, 1585–1598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burchinal, M. R., Peisner-Feinberg, E. S., Pianta, R., & Howes, C. (2002). Development of academic skills from preschool through second grade: Family and classroom predictors of developmental trajectories. Journal of School Psychology, 40, 415–436.Google Scholar
Buyse, E., Verschueren, K., Doumen, S., Van Damme, J., & Maes, F. (2008). Classroom problem behavior and teacher–child relationships in kindergarten: The moderating role of classroom climate. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 367–391.Google Scholar
Calkins, S. D., Blandon, A. Y., Williford, A. P., & Keane, S. P. (2007). Biological, behavioral, and relational levels of resilience in the context of risk for early childhood behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 675–700.Google Scholar
Carlson, R. D. (1985). Gesell School Readiness Test. In Keyser, D. & Sweetland, R. (Eds.), Test critiques. Kansas City, MO: Test Corporation of America.Google Scholar
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Colder, C. R., Lengua, L. J., Fite, P. J., Mott, J. A., & Bush, N. R. (2006). Temperament in context: Infant temperament moderates the relationship between perceived neighborhood quality and behavior problems. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 456–467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crawford, C. B., & Anderson, J. L. (1989). Sociobiology: An environmentalist discipline? American Psychologist, 44, 1449–1459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crockenberg, S. (1981). Infant irritability, mother responsiveness, and social support influences on the security of infant–mother attachment. Child Development, 52, 857–865.Google Scholar
Crockenberg, S., & Leerkes, E. (2005). Infant temperament moderates associations between childcare type and quantity and externalizing and internalizing behaviors at 2.5 years. Infant Behavior and Development, 28, 20–35.Google Scholar
Curby, T. W., Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., & Ponitz, C. C. (2009). Teacher–child interactions and children's achievement trajectories across kindergarten and first grade. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 912–925.Google Scholar
De Schipper, J. C., Tavecchio, L. W. C., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Van Zeijl, J. (2004). Goodness-of-fit in center day care: Relations of temperament, stability, and quality of care with the child's adjustment. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19, 257–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denham, S. A., Workman, E., Cole, P. M., Weissbrod, C., Kendziora, K. T., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (2000). Prediction of externalizing behavior problems from early to middle childhood: The role of parental socialization and emotional expression. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 23–45.Google Scholar
Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Bustamante, D., Mathy, R. M., Miller, P. A., & Lindholm, E. (1988). Differentiation of vicariously induced emotional reactions in children. Developmental Psychology, 24, 237–246.Google Scholar
Ellis, B. J., & Boyce, W. T. (2008). Biological sensitivity to context. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 183–187.Google Scholar
Ellis, B. J., Essex, M. J., & Boyce, W. T. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: II. Empirical explorations of an evolutionary–developmental theory. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 303–328.Google Scholar
Essex, M. J., Boyce, W. T., Goldstein, L. H., Armstrong, J. M., Kraemer, H. C., & Kupfer, D. J. (2002). The confluence of mental, physical, social, and academic difficulties in middle childhood: II. Developing the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 588–603.Google Scholar
Essex, M. J., Klein, M. H., Cho, E., & Kraemer, H. C. (2003). Exposure to maternal depression and marital conflict: Gender differences in children's later mental health symptoms. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 728–737.Google Scholar
Essex, M. J., Klein, M. H., Slattery, M. J., Goldsmith, H. H., & Kalin, N. H. (2010). Early risk factors and developmental pathways to chronic high inhibition and social anxiety disorder in adolescence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 40–46.Google Scholar
Essex, M. J., Kraemer, H. C., Armstrong, J. M., Boyce, W. T., Goldsmith, H. H., Klein, M. H., et al. (2006). Exploring risk factors for the emergence of children's mental health problems. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 1246–1256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, R., Greenbaum, C. W., & Yirmiya, N. (1999). Mother–infant affect synchronicity as an antecedent of the emergence of self-control. Developmental Psychology, 35, 223–231.Google Scholar
Gazelle, H. (2006). Class climate moderates peer relations and emotional adjustment in children with an early history of anxious solitude: A child × environment model. Developmental Psychology, 42, 1179–1192.Google Scholar
Gilissen, R., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, H. W., & van der Veer, R. (2008). Parent–child relationship, temperament, and physiological reactions to fear-inducing film clips: Further evidence for differential susceptibility. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 99, 182–195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldsmith, H. H., & Campos, J. J. (1990). The structure of temperamental fear and pleasures in infants: A psychometric perspective. Child Development, 61, 1944–1964.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, H. H., Lemery, K. S., & Essex, M. J. (1998). Manual for the Home-Based Temperament Assessment Battery for Children. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, Center for Affective Science.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, H. H., Reilly, J., Lemery, K. S., Longley, S., & Prescott, A. (1993). Preliminary manual for the Preschool Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Version 1.0). Unpublished manuscript, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Department of Psychology.Google Scholar
Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2001). Early teacher–child relationships and the trajectory of children's school outcomes through eighth grade. Child Development, 72, 625–638.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2005). Can instructional and emotional support in the first-grade classroom make a difference for children at risk of school failure? Child Development, 76, 949–967.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henricsson, L., & Rydell, A.-M. (2004). Elementary school children with behavior problems: Teacher–child relations and self-perception. A prospective study. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 50, 111–138.Google Scholar
Howes, C. (2000). Social–emotional classroom climate in child care, child–teacher relationships and children's second grade peer relations. Social Development, 9, 191–204.Google Scholar
Hughes, J. N., Cavell, T. A., & Jackson, T. (1999). Influence of the teacher–student relationship on childhood conduct problems: A prospective study. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28, 173–184.Google Scholar
Hyde, J. S., Klein, M. H., Essex, M. J., & Clark, R. (1995). Maternity leave and women's mental health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 257–285.Google Scholar
Kaufman, A. S., & Kaufman, N. L. (1983). K-ABC interpretive manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Keogh, B. K. (1986). Temperament and schooling: Meaning of “goodness of fit”? New Directions for Child Development, 31, 89–108.Google Scholar
Kirschbaum, C., Pirke, K. M., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1993). The “Trier Social Stress Test”: A tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology, 28, 76–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klein Velderman, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Juffer, F., & van IJzendoorn, H. W. (2006). Effects of attachment-based interventions on maternal sensitivity and infant attachment: Differential susceptibility of highly reactive infants. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 266–274.Google Scholar
Kochanska, G., Aksan, N., & Joy, M. E. (2007). Children's fearfulness as a moderator of parenting in early socialization: Two longitudinal studies. Developmental Psychology, 43, 222–237.Google Scholar
Kraemer, H. C., & Blasey, C. M. (2004). Centring in regression analyses: A strategy to prevent errors in statistical inference. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13, 141–151.Google Scholar
Kraemer, H. C., Measelle, J. R., Ablow, J. C., Essex, M. J., Boyce, W. T., & Kupfer, D. J. (2003). A new approach to integrating data from multiple informants in psychiatric assessment and research: Mixing and matching contexts and perspectives. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1566–1577.Google Scholar
Ladd, G. W., Birch, S. H., & Buhs, E. S. (1999). Children's social and scholastic lives in kindergarten: Related spheres of influence? Child Development, 70, 1376–1400.Google Scholar
Ladd, G. W., & Burgess, K. B. (2001). Do relational risks and protective factors moderate the linkages between childhood aggression and early psychological and school adjustment? Child Development, 72, 1579–1601.Google Scholar
Lemery-Chalfant, K. S., Schreiber, J. E., Schmidt, N. L., Van Hulle, C. A., Essex, M. J., & Goldsmith, H. H. (2007). Assessing internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems in young children: Validation of the MacArthur HBQ. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 1315–1323.Google Scholar
Lengua, L. J. (2008). Anxiousness, frustration, and effortful control as moderators of the relation between parenting and adjustment in middle-childhood. Social Development, 17, 554–577.Google Scholar
Lengua, L. J., Bush, N. R., Long, A. C., Kovacs, E. A., & Trancik, A. M. (2008). Effortful control as a moderator of the relation between contextual risk factors and growth in adjustment problems. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 509–528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lengua, L. J., Wolchik, S., Sandler, I., & West, S. G. (2000). The additive and interactive effects of parenting and temperament in predicting adjustment problems of children of divorce. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 232–244.Google Scholar
Leve, L. D., Kim, H. K., & Pears, K. C. (2005). Childhood temperament and family environment as predictors of internalizing and externalizing trajectories from ages 5 to 17. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 505–520.Google Scholar
Lilienfeld, S. O. (2003). Comorbidity between and within childhood externalizing and internalizing disorders: Reflections and directions. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 285–291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luby, J. L., Heffelfinger, A., Measelle, J. R., Ablow, J. C., Essex, M. J., Dierker, L., et al. (2002). Differential performance of the MacArthur HBQ and DISC-IV in identifying DSM-IV internalizing psychopathology in young children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 458–466.Google Scholar
Measelle, J. R., Ablow, J. C., Cowan, P. A., & Cowan, C. P. (1998). Assessing young children's views of their academic, social, and emotional lives: An evaluation of the self-perception scales of the Berkeley Puppet Interview. Child Development, 69, 1556–1576.Google Scholar
Meehan, B. T., Hughes, J. N., & Cavell, T. A. (2003). Teacher–student relationships as compensatory resources for aggressive children. Child Development, 74, 1145–1157.Google Scholar
Mesman, J., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Juffer, F., Koot, H. M., & Alink, L. (2009). Predicting growth curves of early childhood externalizing problems: Differential susceptibility of children with difficult temperament. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37, 625–636.Google Scholar
Miech, R., Essex, M. J., & Goldsmith, H. H. (2001). Socioeconomic status and the adjustment to school: The role of self-regulation during early childhood. Sociology of Education, 74, 102–120.Google Scholar
Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Sessa, F. M., Avenevoli, S., & Essex, M. J. (2002). Temperamental vulnerability and negative parenting as interacting predictors of child adjustment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 461–471.Google Scholar
Myers, S. S., & Pianta, R. C. (2008). Developmental commentary: Individual and contextual influences on student–teacher relationships and children's early problem behaviors. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37, 600–608.Google Scholar
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2004). Social functioning in first grade: Associations with earlier home and child care predictors and with current classroom experiences. Child Development, 74, 1639–1662.Google Scholar
Obradovic, J., Bush, N. R., Stamperdahl, J., Adler, N. E., & Boyce, W. T. (2010). Biological sensitivity to context: The interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socio-emotional behavior and school readiness. Child Development, 81, 270–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, M., & Menard, S. (1987). Accuracy of blood pressure measurement by the Dinamap monitor in infants and children. Pediatrics, 79, 907–914.Google Scholar
Pauli-Pott, U., Mertesacker, B., & Beckmann, D. (2004). Predicting the development of infant emotionality from maternal characteristics. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 19–42.Google Scholar
Pfeifer, M., Goldsmith, H. H., Davidson, R. J., & Rickman, M. (2002). Continuity and change in inhibited and uninhibited children. Child Development, 73, 1474–1485.Google Scholar
Pianta, R. C. (1996). Manual and scoring guide for the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia.Google Scholar
Pianta, R. C., Steinberg, M. S., & Rollins, K. B. (1995). The first two years of school: Teacher–child relationships and deflections in children's classroom adjustment. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 295–312.Google Scholar
Pianta, R. C., & Stuhlman, M. W. (2004). Teacher–child relationships and children's success in the first years of school. School Psychology Review, 33, 444–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2009). Differential susceptibility to rearing experience: The case of childcare. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 396–404.Google Scholar
Rheingold, H. L., & Eckerman, C. O. (1973). Fear of the stranger: A critical examination. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 8, 185–222.Google Scholar
Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Lucas, C., & NIMH DISC Editorial Board. (1998). Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Version IV. New York: Columbia University, Division of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Silver, R. B., Measelle, J. R., Armstrong, J. M., & Essex, M. J. (2005). Trajectories of classroom externalizing behavior: Contributions of child characteristics, family characteristics, and the teacher–child relationship during the school transition. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 39–60.Google Scholar
Silver, R. B., Measelle, J. R., Armstrong, J. M., & Essex, M. J. (in press). The impact of parents, child care providers, teachers, and peers on early externalizing trajectories. Journal of School Psychology.Google Scholar
Stright, A. D., Gallagher, K. C., & Kelley, K. (2008). Infant temperament moderates relations between maternal parenting in early childhood and children's adjustment in first grade. Child Development, 79, 186–200.Google Scholar
Suomi, S. J. (1997). Early determinants of behaviour: Evidence from primate studies. British Medical Bulletin, 53, 170–184.Google Scholar
Van Zeijl, J., Mesman, J., Stolk, M., Alink, L., van IJzendoorn, H. W., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., et al. (2007). Differential susceptibility to discipline: The moderating effect of child temperament on the association between maternal discipline and early childhood externalizing problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 626–636.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Velderman, M. K., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Juffer, F., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2006). Effects of attachment-based interventions on maternal sensitivity and infant attachment: Differential susceptibility of highly reactive infants. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 266–274.Google Scholar
Volling, B. L., & Feagans, L. V. (1995). Infant day care and children's social competence. Infant Behavior and Development, 18, 177–188.Google Scholar
Zahn-Waxler, C., Shirtcliff, E. A., & Marceau, K. (2008). Disorders of childhood and adolescence: Gender and psychopathology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4, 275–303.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed