Lisa Serbin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Lisa Serbin

International Journal of Behavioral Development, 2001

Infants’ visual preferences for gender-stereotyped toys and their knowledge of stereotyped toys w... more Infants’ visual preferences for gender-stereotyped toys and their knowledge of stereotyped toys were examined in two experiments using an adaptation of the preferential looking paradigm. Girls and boys aged 12, 18, and 24 months were tested for their preference for photos of vehicles or dolls, and for whether they associated (“matched”) these two stereotyped sets of toys with the faces

Social Development, 2002

Toddlers'knowledge of the stereotyping of traditionally feminine and masculine household activiti... more Toddlers'knowledge of the stereotyping of traditionally feminine and masculine household activities was examined in two experiments. The experiments used a generalized imitation paradigm which required toddlers (total N = 63) to select a male or female doll to imitate nine masculine, feminine and neutral activities (e.g., shaving, vacuuming, sleeping). In the first experiment, 24-month-old girls, but not boys, demonstrated knowledge of both feminine and masculine activities. Results from study 2 indicated that boys possess some knowledge of these stereotyped activities by the age of 31 months. The results of the two experiments suggested that knowledge about the gender stereotyping of familiar activities can be demonstrated in children as young as 24 months.

Infant Behavior & Development, 2002

Infants’ knowledge of conventional and metaphorical gender stereotypes was examined using a “viol... more Infants’ knowledge of conventional and metaphorical gender stereotypes was examined using a “violation of expectancy” task. Eighteen- and twenty-four-month-old infants were shown identical pictures of masculine or feminine items (e.g., hammer, bear; dress, cat) on two computer screens, with an accompanying gender-neutral prompt saying, “This is the one I like. Can you look at me?” Immediately following the pictures, two

Sex Roles, 1990

Using a multi factorial model sex differences in academic performance were examined in a sample o... more Using a multi factorial model sex differences in academic performance were examined in a sample of 347 elementary school children. As expected, girls" academic performance averaged higher than boys'. Path analysis confirmed initial hypotheses that girls" advantage is partially due to their characteristic of greater responsiveness to social cues and compliance with adult direction. This advantage was partially offset in this model by boys'greater visual-spatial skill, which also was a predictor of academic success. Access to stereotypic masculine toys and activities at home was, for both sexes, a predictor of children's visual-spatial ability. As expected, socioeconomic variables, including mothers" occupation and fathers" level of education, also influenced the environmental social and cognitive factors predicting academic success. These results indicate that boys" and girls" differential development of specific cognitive and social skills may play an important role in establishing sex differences in academic performance.

Journal of Family Violence, 2008

Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behavior in both girls and boys are predict... more Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behavior in both girls and boys are predictive of later violent behavior, including violence that takes place within family contexts. Utilizing the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a study of individuals recruited as children in the 1970s from inner-city schools in Montreal, this study examined different pathways whereby aggressive behavioral styles in childhood may place individuals at risk for continuing patterns of violence towards children and spouses. Childhood aggression directly predicted self-reported violence towards spouse for both sexes, with indirect routes through lowered educational attainment and marital separation. Aggression in childhood was also found to predict parents' self-reports of using violence with their children. For mothers, educational attainment and current absence of the biological father from the child's home also played important roles in predicting violent behavior towards offspring. These findings provide evidence of both continuity of aggressive behavior and indirect risk paths to family violence, via lower educational attainment and parental absence. In both men and women, childhood aggression may be an identifiable precursor of family violence and child abuse.

Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

Background Previous research on psychiatric and health disparities according to level of cogniti... more Background Previous research on psychiatric and health disparities according to level of cognitive functioning has focused on adults within an American healthcare context. The current study compares children with and without cognitive and developmental delays in Quebec, Canada, using physician billing data from a longitudinal study of low-income, francophone families. Canada is an ideal context for studying medical billing data as its equal access healthcare system removes many socioeconomic biases.Methods A large sample (n = 1050) of children is used to describe psychiatric and health disparities, as well as differences in Ambulatory Care Sensitive (ACS) conditions and primary healthcare, between children with (n = 107) and without (n = 943) diagnoses in their billing history indicative of delays.Results The findings demonstrated a relatively high level of psychiatric diagnoses for children with delays. However, no difference was found between children with and without delays in...

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2009

This prospective, intergenerational study investigated the influences of maternal histories of ch... more This prospective, intergenerational study investigated the influences of maternal histories of childhood aggression and social withdrawal on maternal request strategies and child compliance and noncompliance. Seventy-four women from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, who were rated during childhood using peer nomination measures of aggression and social withdrawal, played with their 2-6 year-old children in three naturalistic conditions. Videotaped interactions were coded for mothers' requests and children's compliance/ noncompliance. The results revealed that mothers who were socially withdrawn during childhood were more likely to employ intrusive requests (i.e., physical interventions, repetitions, and requests without opportunity to comply), which subsequently predicted children's noncompliant behaviour. In addition, mothers who were aggressive during childhood were more likely to repeat their requests, which also predicted children's noncompliance. Furthermore, the findings replicated previous research indicating that children demonstrate more sophisticated forms of noncompliance with age. Taken together, results from this study elucidate the trajectories of childhood aggression and social withdrawal, and provide evidence for possible pathways by which problematic behaviour is transferred from mother to child in vulnerable populations. This research has implications for the design of preventative interventions for at-risk families.

International Journal of Behavioral Development, 2004

... Correspondence should be addressed to Christina Saltaris, Depart-ment of Psychology and Cente... more ... Correspondence should be addressed to Christina Saltaris, Depart-ment of Psychology and Center for ... resources and the stimulation and support in the home (eg, Gottfried, 1984). The limitedsize of the sample available for these intergenerational analyses imposed restrictions ...

International Journal of Behavioral Development, 1998

International Journal of Behavioral Development Cooperman and Sandra Ikeda Douglas A. Granger, Li... more International Journal of Behavioral Development Cooperman and Sandra Ikeda Douglas A. Granger, Lisa A. Serbin, Alex Schwartzman, Pascale Lehoux, Jessica Project Family Environment: Results from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Children&#x27;s Salivary Cortisol, ...

Infant and Child Development, 2007

ABSTRACT The present study examined potential intergenerational links that may contribute to atyp... more ABSTRACT The present study examined potential intergenerational links that may contribute to atypical patterns of diurnal cortisol secretion in early childhood. Salivary cortisol samples were collected across 1 waking day in 36 pre-school children whose mothers are participants in an ongoing longitudinal project. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) identified statistically significant predictors of individual differences in daily cortisol trajectories. Children displayed relatively low post-awakening values and flatter cortisol trajectories across the day as a function of unsupportive maternal behaviour, second-hand smoke and maternal histories of social withdrawal in childhood. These results suggest that individual differences in young children's pattern of diurnal cortisol are associated with a variety of current and historical maternal characteristics and behaviours. The identification of intergenerational predictors of children's diurnal neuroendocrine functioning may provide new insights into the transfer of health and developmental risk from parent to child. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hormones and Behavior, 2011

Research examining cortisol dysregulation is seemingly contradictory with studies showing that bo... more Research examining cortisol dysregulation is seemingly contradictory with studies showing that both internalizing and externalizing behaviors are related to high and low cortisol. One extant theory to explain divergent findings in the stress literature is that both hypo-and hyper-arousal of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may be present depending on time since onset of the stressor. This theory may extend to the onset of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Data from 96 youth participating in a longitudinal project were used to examine this possibility. Composite measures of internalizing and externalizing behaviors at both childhood and early adolescence were formed using mother and teacher reports. Multiple salivary cortisol samples were also collected over two consecutive days during early adolescence. Problematic behaviors were associated with cortisol and the direction of the association was dependent on amount of time passed since onset of the behaviors. When examined concurrently in adolescence, youth with more internalizing behaviors had higher morning cortisol; however, when examined longitudinally, youth with more internalizing behaviors in childhood had lower morning cortisol levels as adolescents. Youth with more externalizing behaviors in childhood had flattened diurnal cortisol rhythms as adolescents, and this finding persisted when examined in adolescence. Cortisol dysregulation was greatest in children with the most severe behavior problems. Findings support the theoretical model of blunting of the HPA axis over time. While the HPA axis may show hyperarousal when youth first display behaviors, long-term exposure may lead to a hypo-arousal of the HPA axis which culminates in a dysregulated diurnal rhythm.

Developmental Psychology, 1998

Intergenerational transfer of risk between mothers and children, based on mothers' childh... more Intergenerational transfer of risk between mothers and children, based on mothers' childhood aggression and social withdrawal, was examined in an inner-city sample. Each of the 3 studies reported involved a subset of the 909 female participants in the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, initiated when the participants were of school age. Using medical records, Study 1 (n = 853) focused on prediction of teen motherhood, delivery complications during childbirth, multiparity, and close spacing of births. Study 2 (n = 428) examined pathways to school dropout and teen parenthood. Study 3 (n = 89) involved prediction of observed parent and child behavior from mothers' childhood characteristics. Mothers' childhood aggression was consistently predictive of negative outcomes in each area of intergenerational risk, especially when combined with social withdrawal and low levels of academic achievement. Education was protective: Mothers' years of schooling predicted positive outcomes.

Developmental Psychology, 1994

The aim of this study was to seek evidence of intermodal knowledge about gender in young infants ... more The aim of this study was to seek evidence of intermodal knowledge about gender in young infants that would provide direct evidence of the existence of gender categories during the 1st year. In Ex-periment 1, 9-and 12-month-olds were presented with pairs of male and female ...

Developmental Psychobiology, 2011

Previous research has provided inconsistent evidence for the relations between young children's h... more Previous research has provided inconsistent evidence for the relations between young children's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) functioning and their temperament, parenting, and adjustment. Building biopsychosocial models of adjustment, we examined how temperamental inhibition and maternal punishment contributed to preschoolers' adrenocortical activity while interacting with adult strangers. We also examined whether HPA functioning moderated relations between dispositional and familial factors and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. A total of 402 preschool-aged children from three independent samples with parallel and overlapping measures were studied. Salivary cortisol levels were measured twice while interacting with adult strangers during testing protocols. Mothers reported on temperamental inhibition, maternal punishment and children's problems. Maternal punishment predicted higher cortisol levels 20 and 65 min after meeting adult strangers. Prolonged cortisol elevation was associated with having fewer externalizing problems. Boys who experienced more maternal punishment and had higher cortisol 20 min after meeting strangers manifested more externalizing problems. Girls who were more inhibited and had prolonged cortisol elevations had more internalizing problems. In accord with biopsychosocial models of psychopathology, HPA functioning in preschoolers was sensitive to variations in socialization experiences, and moderated children's risk for emotional and behavioral problems. ß 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 53: 694-710, 2011.

Canadian Medical Association Journal

Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behaviour in both girls and boys are predic... more Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behaviour in both girls and boys are predictive of a variety of health risks in adulthood. However, longitudinal examination of the predictive links between childhood aggression, negative physical health outcomes in adulthood and overall use of health care has not been done. We looked at use of health care and a variety of physical health outcomes in adulthood to extend the current body of knowledge regarding the long-term negative sequelae of childhood aggression. Participants of the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project were eligible for the current study if they had received medical care in the province of Quebec between 1992 and 2006, and if we were able to retrieve their medical and education records. Our primary outcome was use of the health care system, as determined using records from the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec and the Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux. Our controlled variables were socioecon...

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1982

... USA A. SERBIN, CAROL SPRAFKIN, MERYL ELMAN AND ANNA-BETH DOYLE Centre de Recherche en Develop... more ... USA A. SERBIN, CAROL SPRAFKIN, MERYL ELMAN AND ANNA-BETH DOYLE Centre de Recherche en Developpement Humaine and Department of Psychology ... with status and authority, in that they were more likely to be directed to persons of lower rank than the speaker. ...

Biological Psychology, 2011

Synchronization of behavior, emotions and autonomic physiology in mother-child dyads is related t... more Synchronization of behavior, emotions and autonomic physiology in mother-child dyads is related to adaptive functioning in children. It is important to explore the possibility of "attunement", or systematic synchronization, of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis because it is sensitive to social information processing at an unconscious level. Due to limited research in humans, the present study aimed to demonstrate mother-child cortisol attunement in a human population, and examine how behavioral sensitivity may moderate this association.

Social Development, 2012

This study evaluated a comprehensive model of factors associated with internalizing problems (IP)... more This study evaluated a comprehensive model of factors associated with internalizing problems (IP) in early childhood, hypothesizing direct, mediated, and moderated pathways linking child temperamental inhibition, maternal overcontrol and rejection, and contextual stressors to IP. In a novel approach, three samples were integrated to form a large sample (N = 500) of Canadian children (2-6 years; M = 3.95 years; SD = .80). Items tapping into the same constructs across samples were used to create parallel measures of inhibited temperament, maternal positive, critical, and punitive parenting, maternal negative emotionality, family socioeconomic and structural stressors, and child's IP. Multiple-groups structural equation modeling indicated that associations were invariant across samples and did not differ for boys and girls. Child inhibition, less positive and more critical parenting, maternal negative emotionality, and family socioeconomic disadvantage were found to have direct associations with IP. In addition, maternal negative emotionality was associated with IP through more critical parenting, and both maternal negative emotionality and socioeconomic stress were associated with IP through less positive parenting. Results highlight the multiple independent and cumulative risk factors for early IP and demonstrate the power of integrating data across developmental studies.