was hypothesized to predict emergent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology during childhood, as well as deficiencies in social competence.We also expected that child maltreatment experiences would predict early adolescent substance use problems, specifically CAD symptoms.During childhood, cross-lagged relations from the early- to later school-aged years were examined. As observed by Masten et al. (2005), we anticipated that early internalizing problems would inhibit subsequent increases in externalizing problems in late childhood and decrease social competence. Early externalizing problems also were expected to contribute to decrements in later childhood social competence.Consistent with prior research, we expected that late childhood externalizing problems and poor social competence would contribute to CAD symptoms in early adolescence. We also expected that late childhood difficulties in social competence would contribute to increases in externalizing and internalizing symptomatology during adolescence.Finally, we hypothesized that the extent to which early adolescents were immersed in problematic cannabis use would contribute to increases in internalizing and externalizing problems in late adolescence, in addition to the continuity of these problems over development.
