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Numerous studies have shown that childhood interventions can foster improved outcomes in adulthood. Less well understood is precisely how—that is, through which developmental pathways—these interventions work. This study assesses mechanisms by which the Fast Track project (n = 891), a randomized intervention in the early 1990s for high-risk children in four communities (Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; rural PA; and Seattle, WA), reduced delinquency, arrests, and general and mental health service utilization in adolescence through young adulthood (ages 12–20). A decomposition of treatment effects indicates that about a third of Fast Track's impact on later crime outcomes can be accounted for by improvements in social and self-regulation skills during childhood (ages 6–11), such as prosocial behavior, emotion regulation, and problem solving. These skills proved less valuable for the prevention of general and mental health problems.

The impact of the Fast Track intervention on externalizing disorders across childhood was examined. Eight hundred-ninety-one early-starting children (69% male; 51% African American) were randomly assigned by matched sets of schools to intervention or control conditions. The 10-year intervention addressed parent behavior-management, child social cognitive skills, reading, home visiting, mentoring, and classroom curricula. Outcomes included psychiatric diagnoses after grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 for conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and any externalizing disorder. Significant interaction effects between intervention and initial risk level indicated that intervention prevented the lifetime prevalence of all diagnoses, but only among those at highest initial risk, suggesting that targeted intervention can prevent externalizing disorders to promote the raising of healthy children.

This paper presents experimental tests of the Oregon delinquency model applied within a randomized design of an at-risk sample of single mothers and their elementary school-aged sons. In the theoretical model, ineffective parenting practices and deviant peer association serve as the primary mechanisms for growth in adolescent delinquent behavior and early arrests. Multiple-method assessments of 238 mothers and sons include delinquency as measured by teacher reports and official arrest records, parenting skills measured by observations of parent–child interactions, and deviant peer association as reported by focal boys. Analyses of the 9-year follow-up data indicate that the Oregon model of parent management training significantly reduced teacher-reported delinquency and police arrests for focal boys. As hypothesized, the experiments demonstrated that improving parenting practices and reducing contacts with deviant peers served as mediating mechanisms for reducing rates of adolescent delinquency. As predicted, there was also a significant delay in the timing of police arrests for youth in the experimental as compared to the control group.

Residential mobility is one documented stressor contributing to higher delinquency and worse educational outcomes. Sensitive period life course models suggest that certain developmental stages make individuals more susceptible to the effects of an exposure, like residential mobility, on outcomes. However, most prior research is observational, and has not examined heterogeneity across age or gender that may inform sensitive periods, even though it may have important implications for the etiology of adolescent development. Moreover, there are important translational implications for identifying the groups most vulnerable to residential mobility to inform how to buffer adverse effects of moving. In this study, low-income families were randomized to residential mobility out of public housing into lower poverty neighborhoods using a rental subsidy voucher (“experimental voucher condition”), and were compared to control families remaining in public housing. The sample was comprised of 2829 youth (51% female; 62% Non-Hispanic Black, 31% Hispanic, 7% other race). At baseline, youth ranged from 5 to 16 years old. This study hypothesized that random assignment to the housing voucher condition would generate harmful effects on delinquency and educational problems, compared to the control group, among boys who were older at baseline. The results confirmed this hypothesis: random assignment to the experimental voucher condition generating residential mobility caused higher delinquency among boys who were 13–16 years old at baseline, compared to same-age, in-place public housing controls. However, residential mobility did not affect delinquency among girls regardless of age, or among boys who were 5–12 years old at baseline. The pattern of results for educational problems was similar but weaker. Families with teenage boys are particularly vulnerable to residential transitions. Incorporating additional supports into housing programs may help low-income, urban families to successfully transition to lower poverty neighborhoods.

A randomized prevention design was used to investigate a moderation effect in the association between a polymorphism in the \"SCL6A4\"(\"5HTT\") gene at 5-HTTLPR and increases in youths' risk behavior initiation. Participation in the Strong African American Families (SAAF) program was hypothesized to attenuate the link between 5-HTTLPR status and risk behavior initiation. Youths (N = 641, M age = 11.2 years) were assigned randomly to a SAAF or control condition. Risk behavior initiation across 29 months was linked positively with the 5-HTTLPR genotype and negatively with SAAF participation. Control youths at genetic risk initiated risk behavior at twice the rate of SAAF youths at genetic risk and youths not at genetic risk in either condition.

This study examined parenting variables as protective factors to reduce the influence of school and peer risk factors on adolescents' aggression. Five waves of data spanning 3 years were collected from 5,581 students at 37 schools who began the 6th grade in 2001 or 2002. Class-level and perceived school norms supporting aggression, delinquent peer associations, parental support for fighting and support for nonviolence, and parental involvement were each associated with physical aggression across all waves. Each parenting variable moderated 1 or more risk factors, with the magnitude of many effects varying by gender and decreasing over time. Implications for the role parents may play in reducing the impact of school and peer risk factors for aggression are discussed.

This study examined contextual factors (caregiver depression, family resources, ethnicity, and initial levels of youth problem behavior) related to the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up (FCU) and evaluated family processes as a mediator of FCU intervention response and adolescent antisocial behavior. We followed a sample of 180 ethnically diverse youths of families who engaged in the FCU intervention. Family data were collected as part of the FCU assessment, and youth data were collected over 4 years, from sixth through ninth grade. Findings indicated that caregiver depression and minority status predicted greater caregiver motivation to change. In turn, caregiver motivation was the only direct predictor of FCU intervention response during a 1-year period. Growth in family conflict from sixth through eighth grade mediated the link between FCU response and ninth-grade antisocial behavior. This study explicitly tested core aspects of the FCU intervention model and demonstrated that caregiver motivation is a central factor that underlies family response to the FCU. The study also provided support for continued examination of family process mechanisms that account for enduring effects of the FCU and other family-centered interventions.

Detained adolescents exhibit high rates of behavioral health needs, yet few receive treatment during detention or community re-entry. Once adolescents are released into the community, caregivers must mobilize significant resources and overcome barriers to facilitate their treatment engagement. Parenting stress is often heightened during this forced separation and the re-entry transition. Parenting stress is associated with greater perceived barriers to treatment and, for adolescents who begin treatment, less therapeutic change and premature treatment dropout. Interventions designed to support caregivers of detained adolescents in managing their stress while navigating the juvenile legal system are urgently needed, and mobile health (mHealth) interventions offer promising, scalable approaches. RAISE (Reducing pArentIng StrEss) is a web-based application co-designed with caregivers of detained adolescents to reduce caregiver stress and promote postrelease adolescent behavioral health services use. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of RAISE in reducing caregiver stress and promoting adolescent behavioral health services use following release from detention. A randomized controlled trial with 60 caregivers of detained adolescents (ages 12-17 years) across the United States will be conducted. Caregivers will be recruited through passive and active techniques and randomized to receive RAISE (intervention) or an informational brochure (comparison). Self-assessment questionnaires will be completed at baseline and 3- and 6-month follow-up timepoints. The fully automated RAISE intervention includes an 8-week stress reduction intervention, self-monitoring and affirmational SMS text messaging, and resources related to navigating the juvenile legal system. Assessments include empirically validated measures of parenting stress, mindful parenting, parenting self-efficacy, adolescent services use, motivation for youth treatment, caregiver behavioral health, sociodemographics, and RAISE usability (intervention only). Caregivers will also participate in a semistructured qualitative exit interview at the 3-month (postintervention) timepoint. Descriptive statistics will examine recruitment, randomization, assessment, retention, and application usability. Independent samples t tests and chi-square analyses will determine whether randomization was successful based on multiple background variables; group differences will be accounted for in outcome analyses. Regression analyses will be used for outcome analyses, with an intent-to-treat design; analyses will include intervention group as a predictor and control for the baseline level of the outcome, application usage, and demographic characteristics. Potential moderators and mediators of intervention effects will be explored. We propose the enrollment of 60 caregivers by April 2025, final data collection by September 2025, and submission of main findings for publication in December 2025. This study will provide empirical evidence regarding the impact of an mHealth stress reduction intervention co-designed with caregivers of detained adolescents. Findings will be informative for legal systems regarding how best to support caregivers of detained adolescents and the impact of reducing caregiver stress on adolescents' linkage to behavioral health services following their release into the community. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05032742; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05032742. DERR1-10.2196/67511.