Introduction to the special section: studying intergenerational continuity and the transfer of risk.

This special section, "Longitudinal Studies of Intergenerational Continuity and the Transfer of Psychosocial Risk," examines the continuity of behavior across generations and the processes whereby parental characteristics, history, and experiences may place offspring at risk for various social, psychological, and health problems. The 8 prospective longitudinal studies in this section were initiated during the childhood of the parental generation and followed these individuals over time to the formation of new families. Topics include prediction of aggression, difficult temperament, social withdrawal, smoking, low academic achievement and high school dropout, adolescent parenthood, problematic fertility and birth circumstances, spousal violence, and problematic parenting practices. Predictors of successful adaptation to high-risk backgrounds and environments are examined, with an emphasis on protective factors and multiple determinants of outcomes.