We examined the associations between risk factors and externalizing problems in a) bivariate models that did not include other control variables and in b) multivariate models that controlled for other variables to identify the independent effects of the risk factors. There were three different patterns of associations and non-associations of the risk factors with the intercepts and slopes of externalizing problems in the bivariate models and multivariate models. Of the 66 variables, eight were not associated with the intercepts or slopes of externalizing problems in the bivariate or multivariate models: other ethnicity, parental involvement in earlier or later adolescence, parental monitoring in later adolescence, divorce in adulthood, and unadaptable temperament, medical complications, and teenage pregnancy in early childhood. These risk factors have been found to be related to externalizing problems in some prior studies. We did not observe an association, however, and we are not sure if these risk factors have had consistent associations with externalizing problems in all prior studies. Nevertheless, differences in findings may owe to methodological differences when examining growth curves from ages 5 to 27.
