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A previously identified truncated form of the human Smad 6 gene containing a unique 12 amino acid motif at its N-terminus was studied. We have named this truncated form of the gene Smad 6s, for 'short-form', to distinguish it from the full-length form (Smad 6fl). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry revealed that Smad 6s has a unique pattern of expression in human coronary tissue and is upregulated in diseased heart tissue. We used the expression of human Smad 6s in Xenopus laevis as a model system to assess Smad 6s function. Injection of Smad 6fl RNA (4-cell embryos, 2 x ventral) produced tadpoles with partial secondary axes. In contrast, Smad 6s RNA injected in a similar manner produced tadpoles with a severe 'head-only' phenotype with no morphological appearance of a secondary axis. Mutant Smad 6s RNA lacking the unique 12 amino acids at the N-terminus of the Smad 6s isoform produced no embryonic phenotype, suggesting that this region is important in conferring biological activity. Ectodermal explant assays show that Smad 6s has activity consistent with being a BMP antagonist and can synergize with and enhance the activities of the activin and fibroblast growth factor pathways, all of which are novel findings in this study.

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Reviewed research studies in which laboratory and performance-based measures were used with success to identify problematic social interaction patterns and social skills deficits associated with poor peer relationships. However, the clinical utility of these measures remains an empirical question. In this article, social competence is conceptualized as an organizational construct, reflecting the child's capacity to integrate behavioral, cognitive, and affective skills to adapt flexibly to diverse social contexts and demands. Correspondingly, performance-based measures of social functioning that include complex social interaction stimuli and require integrative responses appear more likely to demonstrate social validity than measures focused on isolated behaviors or cognitions. Research studies are reviewed that involve observations of children in three types of analogue social situations: play groups, friendship pairs, and social-challenge situations. In addition, studies that have utilized performance-based measures to screen and evaluate children for social skills training programs are reviewed. We conclude that performance-based measures are unlikely to be useful in determining whether a child is experiencing social dysfunction but may enhance the clinical analysis of the nature of the child's social difficulties. We identify gaps in the current knowledge regarding the clinical utility of performance-based measures of social dysfunction, along with directions for future research.

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Examined the hypothesis that distinct parenting practices may be associated with type and profile of a child's disruptive behavior problems (e.g., oppositional, aggressive, hyperactive). Parents of 631 behaviorally disruptive children described the extent to which they experienced warm and involved interactions with their children and the extent to which their discipline strategies were inconsistent and punitive and involved spanking and physical aggression. As expected from a developmental perspective, parenting practices that included punitive interactions were associated with elevated rates of all child disruptive behavior problems. Low levels of warm involvement were particularly characteristic of parents of children who showed elevated levels of oppositional behaviors. Physically aggressive parenting was linked more specifically with child aggression. In general, parenting practices contributed more to the prediction of oppositional and aggressive behavior problems than to hyperactive behavior problems, and parenting influences were fairly consistent across ethnic groups and sex.

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Examined the shared and unique contributions of low cognitive ability and inattention to the development of social behavior problems and peer relationships of children at the time of school entry. Kindergarten and first-grade assessments of cognitive ability, inattention and prosocial and aggressive behavior were collected for a multisite, normative sample. Sociometric assessments of peer relationships were collected at the end of first grade. Cognitive ability and inattention both contributed to the prediction of social behavior and peer relationships. Low cognitive ability was particularly predictive of prosocial skill deficits, and social behavior mediated the relation between cognitive ability and social preference. Inattention predicted both prosocial skill deficits and elevated aggressive-disruptive behavior problems. Behavior problems partially mediated the relation between inattention and social preference. Identified subgroups of children with elevated levels of inattention or low cognitive ability showed different patterns of peer problems, with low acceptance characteristic of the low cognitive ability (only) group and high dislike ratings characteristic of the inattentive and inattentive/low-ability group. Implications are discussed for the design of early intervention and prevention programs.

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This study tested two alternative hypotheses regarding the relations between child behavior and peer preference. The first hypothesis is generated from the person-group similarity model, which predicts that the acceptability of social behaviors will vary as a function of peer group norms. The second hypothesis is generated by the social skill model, which predicts that behavioral skill deficiencies reduce and behavioral competencies enhance peer preference. A total of 2895 children in 134 regular first-grade classrooms participated in the study. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to compare four different behaviors as predictors of peer preference in the context of classrooms with varying levels of these behavior problems. The results of the study supported both predictive models, with the acceptability of aggression and withdrawal varying across classrooms (following a person-group similarity model) and the effects of inattentive/hyperactive behavior (in a negative direction) and prosocial behavior (in a positive direction) following a social skill model and remaining constant in their associations with peer preference across classrooms. Gender differences also emerged, with aggression following the person-group similarity model for boys more strongly than for girls. The effects of both child behaviors and the peer group context on peer preference and on the trajectory of social development are discussed.

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This study examined the relative roles of aggression and other dysregulated behaviors in the prediction of adolescent peer problems and antisocial behavior. The social adjustment of 145 boys studied first in Grades 3-6 was assessed again 4 years later in Grades 7-10. At each time, peer ratings of aggressive, hyperactive-disruptive, withdrawn, and irritable-inattentive behaviors were collected. Aggression and withdrawal showed stability and were linked to peer difficulties in elementary school and in adolescence, but these behaviors indicated significant risk for adolescent rejection, victimization, and antisocial activity primarily when accompanied by irritable-inattentive behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of the potential role that difficulties regulating negative affect may play in the genesis of the particular constellation of irritable-inattentive behaviors studied here and the developmental significance of aggressive or withdrawn problem profiles that are or are not accompanied by these behavioral indicators of dysregulation.

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Based upon developmental models of disruptive behavior problems, this study examined the hypothesis that the nature of a child's externalizing problems at home may be important in predicting the probability of and nature of school adjustment problems at school entry. Parent ratings were collected for a sample of 631 behaviorally disruptive children using the Child Behavior Checklist. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed differentiated ratings of oppositional, aggressive, and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors at home. Teacher and peer nominations assessed school adjustment at the end of first grade. As expected from a developmental perspective, aggressive behaviors indicated more severe dysfunction and were more likely to generalize to the school setting than were oppositional behaviors. Hyperactive/inattentive behaviors at home led to more classroom disruption than did aggressive or oppositional behaviors. Co-occurring patterns of oppositional/aggressive and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors were more common than were single-problem patterns, and were associated with broad dysfunction in the social and classroom contexts. The results were interpreted within a developmental framework, in which oppositional, aggressive, and hyperactive/inattentive behaviors may reflect distinct (as well as shared) developmental processes that have implications for the home-to-school generalization of behavior problems and subsequent school adjustment.

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Childhood conduct problems are predictive of a number of serious long-term difficulties (e.g., school failure, delinquent behavior, and mental health problems), making the design of effective prevention programs a priority. The Fast Track Program is a demonstration project currently underway in four demographically diverse areas of the United States, testing the feasibility and effectiveness of a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention program targeting children at risk for conduct disorders. This paper describes some lessons learned about the implementation of this program in a rural area. Although there are many areas of commonality in terms of program needs, program design, and implementation issues in rural and urban sites, rural areas differ from urban areas along the dimensions of geographical dispersion and regionalism, and community stability and insularity. Rural programs must cover a broad geographical area and must be sensitive to the multiple, small and regional communities that constitute their service area. Small schools, homogeneous populations, traditional values, limited recreational, educational and mental health services, and politically conservative climates are all more likely to emerge as characteristics of rural rather than urban sites (Sherman, 1992). These characteristics may both pose particular challenges to the implementation of prevention programs in rural areas, as well as offer particular benefits. Three aspects of program implementation are described in detail: (a) community entry and program initiation in rural areas, (b) the adaptation of program components and service delivery to meet the needs of rural families and schools, and (c) issues in administrative organization of a broadly dispersed tricounty rural prevention program.

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In recent years, social-skills training has become an increasingly common intervention. Recipients of skill training programs have included children of all ages as well as adults, yet relatively few systematic attempts have been made to incorporate developmental considerations into program design and evaluation. Developmental research indicates that significant normative changes take place during the preschool, grade school, and adolescent years in domains such as the complexity of children's social reasoning, the focus and duration of their peer interactions, the nature of peer-approved (and disapproved) behaviors, the organization of the peer group, and the extent and nature of peer influence. Although a full understanding of the impact that these developmental changes may have on the effectiveness of various social-skills interventions awaits future research, the potential implications are numerous. In this article, developmental changes in children's peer relationships are reviewed. The implications that these changes may have for the assessment of social skills, for the design of skill training programs, and for future research are discussed.

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95 boys at 3 developmental levels (ages 6-8, 8-10, 10-12) were selected on the basis of sociometric and aggression ratings to represent 4 groups: (1) aggressive and rejected, (2) aggressive (not rejected), (3) rejected (not aggressive), or (4) neither aggressive nor rejected. Behavioral observations, teacher ratings, peer ratings, and open-ended peer interviews were collected to characterize the behaviors of these boys in 3 social domains (conduct problems, sociability/withdrawal, and adaptability/responsivity to peer expectations). Distinct problem profiles emerged. Aggressive-rejected boys exhibited more diverse and severe conduct problems that did aggressive boys, along with greater deficiencies in the domain of adaptability. Nonaggressive rejected children were considered by teachers and peers to be shy and passive, deficient in prosocial behaviors, atypical, and socially insensitive. Grade-level decreases in physical aggression and increases in peer-reported atypical/insensitive behaviors corresponded to developmental differences in group characteristics.

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Parent, teacher, and peer ratings were collected for 75 grade school boys to test the hypothesis that certain family interaction patterns would be associated with poor peer relations. Path analyses provided support for a mediational model, in which punitive and ineffective discipline was related to child conduct problems in home and school settings which, in turn, predicted poor peer relations. Further analyses suggested that distinct subgroups of boys could be identified who exhibited conduct problems at home only, at school only, in both settings, or in neither setting. Boys who exhibited cross-situational conduct problems were more likely to experience multiple concurrent problems (e.g., in both home and school settings) and were more likely than any other group to experience poor peer relations. However, only about one-third of the boys with poor peer relations in this sample exhibited problem profiles consistent with the proposed model (e.g., experienced high rates of punitive/ineffective home discipline and exhibited conduct problems in home and school settings), suggesting that the proposed model reflects one common (but not exclusive) pathway to poor peer relations.

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Sociometrics and teacher ratings of hyperactivity and aggression were obtained on 390 boys in grades 1-6 to explore the relative contributions of hyperactivity and aggression to children's social adjustment. Both hyperactivity and aggression were correlated with negative sociometric nominations at all grade levels; however, only hyperactivity showed consistent inverse correlations with positive sociometric nominations. In multiple regression analyses, hyperactivity contributed incremental variance to the prediction of problematic sociometric status at all grade levels, while aggression did so only at grades 3-4. An examination of the core symptoms of hyperactivity revealed that motor hyperactivity, in the absence of impulsivity and inattention, did not predict negative sociometric status at any grade level. Subgroups of boys categorized as hyperactive only, aggressive only, hyperactive/aggressive, and nonhyperactive/nonaggressive controls were compared on teacher ratings and sociometrics. Hyperactive/aggressive boys had higher hyperactivity and aggression ratings than boys in either of the single-problem groups; all three behavior problem groups had more negative social status than controls. Developmental changes in children's normative expectations for social behavior were discussed as possible mechanisms mediating the age-related differences in relations among aggression, hyperactivity, and peer relations.

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72 fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-grade boys and girls were interviewed to investigate developmental changes in perceptions of peer groups and group influence. Results indicated that preadolescents defined groups on the basis of common activities and social behavior and considered group influence to be greatest in these domains. Older adolescents were more likely to describe peer-group influence as global and far reaching, affecting one's appearance, illicit acts, attitudes, and values. Corresponding to increases in peer-group conceptions emphasizing group attitudes/norms and global influence were increases in the extent to which subjects felt that peer-group acceptance or rejection influenced self-evaluation. Developmental changes in the apparent reference-group functions of peer groups for adolescent identity formation are discussed.

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Positive peer relations play a fundamental role in fostering adaptive social-emotional development, and children who experience peer difficulties are at increased risk for poor social development and later maladjustment. Rejected children who are actively disliked by peers are particularly likely to show cross-situational conduct problems and to experience continued rejection over time. Neglected children, who have few friends but are not actively disliked, often evidence social withdrawal; the clinical and predictive significance of their peer problem is yet to be determined empirically. The advantages of including cross-situational ratings of children's behavioral problems along with ratings of their peer relations for clinical assessments are discussed. Specific assessment strategies are presented.

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Videotaped excerpts of treatment sessions from a recent intervention study were examined to explore the changes occurring during social skills training and their relation to treatment outcome. 27 unpopular preadolescents who showed few conversational skills during pretreatment observations engaged in cooperative activities with 2 socially accepted classmates for 10 half-hour sessions. Half of these triads received coaching in conversational skills, while the others received nonspecific adult support during these activities. The quality of social interactions among triad members was evaluated during the sixth and tenth sessions. Children who received social skills training displayed more conversational skills and received more positive peer support during treatment than children who did not receive coaching. Coached children increased skill performance over time while noncoached children did not change. Furthermore, both conversational skills displayed and positive peer responses received during treatment sessions were positively related to treatment outcome.

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This study examined the effects of social skills training and peer involvement on the peer acceptance of disliked preadolescents. 56 fifth- and sixth-grade children were identified as unaccepted by their peers and deficient in conversational skills. These children were then randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: (1) conversational skills training (individual coaching), (2) peer involvement under superordinate goals (group experience), (3) conversational skills training combined with peer involvement (group experience with coaching), and (4) a no-treatment control. Differential treatment effects were observed at both a posttreatment and follow-up assessment. As predicted, conversational skills training promoted skill acquisition and increased skillful social interaction. Peer involvement increased peer acceptance and children's self-perceptions of their social efficacy. The results were interpreted in terms of a developmentally based multidimensional model of social competence.

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