Adolescents' uses of media for self-socialization

The emphasis of this paper is on the role of media in the socialization of adolescents. First, a typology of adolescent media uses is presented, including entertainment, identity formation, high sensation, coping, and youth culture identification. Then, these five uses are discussed in relation to adolescent socialization. The central point of this discussion is that media differ from socializing agents such as family, school, community, and the legal system in that adolescents have greater control over their media choices than they do over their socialization from these other sources. The result is a substantial degree of self-socialization, in the sense that adolescents may choose from a diverse range of media materials the ones that best suit their individual preferences and personalities. Another result is that there is often a lack of integration in the socialization of adolescents, in the sense that they may receive different socialization messages from media (and peers) than they do from the adult socializes in their immediate environment.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the fifth biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, Califormia, February 10–13, 1994.Received Ph.D. from University of Virginia. Research interests include adolescent reckless behavior, adolescents' uses of media, and the transition to adulthood.     

Teen pregnancy in New Orleans: Factors that differentiate teens who deliver,abort, and successfully contracept

This study reports findings from interviews with three groups of black teenagers: child bearers (n=136), terminators (n=92), and contraceptors (never been pregnant,n=151). The focus of this research is to describe the differences between these three groups of teenagers in an attempt to identify factors that may best differentiate the groups. The findings suggest that, among the teens who became pregnant, motivation to use contraceptives may be the key factor. More than 86% of these teens knew about contraceptives at the time they became pregnant and nearly three-quarters knew where to obtain contraceptives. However, only 16% of teens who became pregnant reported to be using a contraceptive at the time they became pregnant. Education about the availability and mode of contraceptive use is essential.Funding was provided by the Research Council, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.Received her MPH from Tulane School of Public Health. Major interest is evaluation research of population programs.She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago. Her major interest is evaluation of family planning programs.Received her M.D. and MPH from Tulane University. Current research interests are nutritional status of adolescent mothers and their children; growth and development of children and sex education.Received her Ph.D. from Purdue University. Her research interests are categorical data analysis and research design.     

Factors related to cigarette smoking during adolescent pregnancy

Previous research suggests that maternal smoking during pregnancy remains prevalent, particularly among adolescents. However, little is known about the factors related to smoking during adolescent pregnancy. The goal of the present study is to identify intrapersonal, familial, and peer factors that are related to smoking during adolescent pregnancy, and to determine the relative degree to which they affect this behavior. Interviews were conducted with 241 unmarried pregnant adolescents who planned to carry their pregnancies to term. Consistent with previous studies, 27% of the respondents reported daily smoking during pregnancy, and whites reported higher rates of use than members of other racial groups. Smoking during adolescent pregnancy was related to intrapersonal, familial, and peer factors. The results of a regression analysis suggest that perceived parental disapproval of smoking during pregnancy, friends' cigarette use, and race play a particularly important role in this behavior. The implications of these findings for preventive programs are discussed.Research reported here and the preparation of this report were supported by Grant DA-05208 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.Received M.A. in sociology from the University of Washington. Research interests include health behaviors, and the relationship between social stratification and health.Received Ph.D. in social welfare from the University of Washington. Research interests are in adolescent development, gender issues in adolescent development, and health promotion and problem prevention with children and adolescents. Received Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington. Research interests are adolescent problem behaviors, and particularly adolescent sexual decision making.Received M.S. in educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. Research interests: adolescent substance use, pregnancy and parenthood, and peer relations.     

A survey of parent attitudes and practices regarding underage drinking

A random telephone survey of attitudes toward underage drinking was conducted in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The results revealed that alcohol use, especially alcohol-impaired driving, among youth were seen as serious problems by a majority (>80%) of the respondents. Strong support (>80%) was detected for imposing suffer penalties on bars and restaurants that sell alcohol to minors, older peers who purchase alcohol for minors, and driver's license restrictions for minors who possess and use alcohol. Over 50% favored stiffer penalties for parents who provide alcohol to minors. Respondents who were parents of teenage children were more likely to believe their teen's friends drink and drive (37%) than they were to believe their own teen drives drunk (10%). These parents were also unlikely to believe their teen had ever come home intoxicated (19%) despite the fact that almost 60% believed their teen has been to parties where there is drinking. These findings, and others from this survey, indicate that parents (especially whites) are unaware of the nature of teen drinking and are reluctant to accept the fact that their teens are involved with alcohol and high-risk alcohol-related behaviors. The implications of these findings for prevention programs are discussed.This investigation was supported by a research grant to the senior author from the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, and was conducted using the facilities of the Interdisciplinary Health Research Laboratory of the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Maryland at College Park. Computer time for the statistical analyses was supported in full by the Computer Science Center, University of Maryland.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from Syracuse University. Research interests: impaired driving, adolescent risk taking, substance abuse, and health threat perception.Received Ph.D. in health education from University of Maryland. Research interests: alcohol and drug issues among youth.Received M.Ed, in health education from University of Virginia. Research interests: substance abuse, impaired driving, and adolescent risk behavior.Received M.Ed, in counseling psychology from Temple University. Research Interests: health behavior, smoking cessation and relapse.     

The relationship of observed maternal behavior to questionnaire measures of parenting knowledge,attitudes, and emotional state in adolescent mothers

Although relationships have been found between maternal psychological characteristics and cognitive and emotional outcomes in children, the behaviors which may mediate these relationships are seldom examined. This is especially true for adolescent mothers, whose children are thought to be at high risk for adverse outcomes. In this study, adolescent mothers in two special programs completed questionnaires measuring perception of the newborn (Neonatal Perception Inventory), knowledge of influences on child development (Infant Caregiving Inventory), and emotional state (General Health Questionnaire); they were also systematically observed while interacting with their infants in a naturalistic situation. Specific maternal behaviors were found to vary with the age of the mother and of the baby. Mothers with neutral or negative perceptions of their infants touched them less than did mothers with positive perceptions. Degree of emotional disturbance was inversely related to the amount of time that the mother looked at her infant while in physical contact.This research was supported in part by NIH Biomedical Research Support Grant No. BRS 507 RR 05445-19 to Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.Received her Sc.D. in mental hygiene (comparative behavior) from Johns Hopkins University. Main interests include relationships between observable behavior and reported psychological states, and behavioral and emotional disorders of children.Received her Ph.D. in population dynamics from Johns Hopkins University. Main interests are adolescent health and pregnancy and population changes influencing perinatal health.Received her Ph.D. in psychology from George Peabody College. Main interests include parenting of infants and children's rights.Received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Florida. Main interests include adolescent health and utilization of health services by children and adolescents.Received his Ph.D. in child psychology from the University of Iowa. Main interests are infant and child development, with focus on measurement of developmental status and its determinants.     

Parents’ Communication with Adolescents About Sexual Behavior: A Missed Opportunity for Prevention?

Parents may wait to talk to their teens about sexuality until they believe their child is in a romantic relationship. To examine this, telephone surveys were conducted with 1069 parents of adolescents. Measures assessed parents’ perception of teens’ romantic involvement and parent-child communication about several sexuality topics. Multivariable regression models determined the odds of talking about each topic among parents who reported their teen had been in a romantic relationship compared to those who did not. Most parents reported talking at least a moderate amount about some sex-related topic. Parents who believed their teen had been romantically involved were more likely to have discussed most of the topics examined here (ORs=1.64 – 2.56). For some topics, associations were more pronounced among parents of younger teens. Findings suggest that parents may miss important opportunities to influence behavior, and should initiate conversations about sexuality before they believe their child to be romantically involved.Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota. She received her Sc.D. in Social Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. Her major research interests are the social influences on high risk health behaviors among adolescents.Associate Professor with the School of Nursing and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. She received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on on family, peer, and individual-level influences on adolescents’ sexual behaviors and violence involvement. She is also Deputy Director of the Healthy Youth Development Prevention Research Center, which conducts research and disseminates actionable knowledge that promotes healthy youth development and reduces health disparities among young people.Professor and Director of the Center for Adolescent Nursing at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota. Her major research interests focus on understanding key risk and protective factors in adolescence, particularly among vulnerable populations of youth.President of Midwestern Professional Educational and Research Services, Inc., a DHHS funded non-profit agency serving as a Title X Regional Training Center. She received her Masters in Psychology from Miami University and worked for 12 years in flight psychophysiology before moving into public health. Her primary research interests center on identifying barriers that limit adolescent and low income population’s access to publicly funded reproductive health care services.Professor and Director of the Healthy Youth Development Prevention Research Center at the University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics. He received his Ph.D. in Health Services Research and Policy from the University of Minnesota. His major research interests are understanding risk and protective factors in the lives of young people, particularly around issues of reproductive health, pregnancy, and violence.     

Consistency of adolescents' self-report of sexual behavior in a longitudinal study

This study examines three issues relevant to adolescent self-reported sexual behavior: the extent to which adolescents rescind reports of sexual intercourse, changes in reporting of lifetime sexual intercourse, and changes in reported age at first sexual intercourse. Data come from a three-year longitudinal study of health-compromising behaviors among a cohort a 758 rural adolescents. Students completed a self-administered questionnaire on health behaviors annually in eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. Findings show that 88.8% of students in eighth grade and 94.3% in ninth grade who reported having had sexual intercourse gave the same answer in a subsequent year. Approximately 15% of students reported fewer numbers of lifetime sexual intercourse experiences in tenth grade than they did in ninth grade. Age at first sexual intercourse was reported inconsistently by 67% of the students. Inconsistency rates differed by racial-gender groups, question sensitivity, and prior sexual experience.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include adolescent health and early adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include personality, stress, and coping.Received Ph.D. from University of Chicago. Research interests include adolescent delinquency and substance use.Received Dr. P.H. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include rural adolescents and international health issues.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include adolescent sexuality and contraceptive decision making.     

Perceived attachments to parents and peers and psychological well-being in adolescence

This paper reports the findings from a study of 935 adolescents' perceived attachments to their parents and peers, and their psychological health and well-being. Perceived attachment to parents did not significantly differ between males and females. However, females scored significantly higher than males on a measure of attachment to peers. Also, relative to males, they had higher anxiety and depression scores, suggesting poorer psychological well-being. Overall, a lower perceived attachment to parents was significantly associated with lower scores on the measures of well-being. Adolescents who perceived high attachments to both their parents and peers had the highest scores on a measure of self-perceived strengths. In this study, adolescents' perceived attachment to peers did not appear to compensate for a low attachment to parents in regard to their mental ill-health. These findings suggest that high perceived attachment to parents may be a critical variable associated with psychological well-being in adolescence.Received M.Sc. in psychology from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Research interests include adolescent menial health.Received Ph.D. in psychology from the University of New South Wales, Australia. Research interests include issues in behavioral medicine.Received Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Newcastle, Australia. Research interests include child health and development, and adolescent smoking behavior.     

Drug culture expertise and substance use

This study concerns the relationship between knowledge of drug culture and substance use. Results from a sample of 2,635 middle and high school students indicate that (1) knowledge of drug culture is positively correlated with substance use; (2) drug knowledge is more reliable and coherent in older youth; (3) drug knowledge is unrelated to other kinds of knowledge acquired in school; (4) youth exposed to peers' substance use in school have more drug knowledge; and (5) the earlier young people begin using drugs and alcohol, the more they know about the drug culture. Results suggest that knowledge of the drug culture may be an unobtrusive indicator of substance use problems.This project was made possible by a grant from the Tulsa Psychiatric Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma.Received Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley in personality psychology. Research interests include school dropouts, substance use, delinquency, identity, narcissism, and health. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Received Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley in personality psychology. Research interests include school dropouts, substance use, delinquency, personal commitments, identity, narcissism, and health.Received Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley in personality psychology. Research interests include moral development and personality.     

Gender differences associated with young people's emotional reactions to sexual intercourse

The differences between male and female adolescents' emotional reactions to their most recent occasion of sexual intercourse were examined. The sample included 932 sexually active Australian secondary school students who completed a self-report questionnaire concerning their sexual behavior. The majority of young people reported that they felt happy or good following their most recent occasion of sex. Females were more likely than males to report negative emotions such as feeling bad and used, but there was no difference between the percentage of males and the percentage of females who reported feeling guilty. Girls were more likely to feel bad, used, or guilty last time if they were drunk/high or had sex with someone who was not a steady partner. Boys who had sex with someone other than a steady partner last time were more likely to feel guilty. Peer and parental influences were also associated with feelings of guilt. Girls who were more confident that they could talk to one of their parents/guardians about sex, and boys who believed that most of their peers were sexually active, were less likely to have felt guilty.Received B.A. (Hons) from University of Queensland. Research interests include adolescents mental and sexual health.Received B.A.(Hons) from University of Queensland. Interested in the areas of sex roles and sexual behavior among adolescents.Received Ph.D. from Murdoch University. Research interests include population studies of sexual behavior and mental health.Received M.B.B.S., M.D. from University of Sydney. Research interests include adolescent health, psychological response in disasters, coping with grief and loss and living with HIV/AIDS.     

Intimacy development in middle adolescence: Its relationship to gender and family cohesion and adaptability

The relationships of family cohesion and adaptability to adolescent intimacy development were explored by administering the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales survey and the Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation — Behavioral Version survey to 207 middle adolescents (70 males and 137 females) from a small midwestern high school. The adolescents' perceptions of family adaptability correlated with the amount of responsibility the teens expressed in their relationships, while cohesion correlated with companionship and affection in their relationships; however, females' scores were related to cohesion, while males' scores were related to satisfaction with cohesion in their families. The study suggests that family cohesion and adaptability differentially influence intimacy development based on the adolescent's gender.Received Ph.D. in marital and family therapy from Purdue University. Research interests include family influences on adolescent development and family issues related to incarceration.Received Ed.D. in human development from Boston University. Research interests include major life transitions (e.g., adolescence, middle adulthood).     

Patterns of family interaction and adolescent sex role concepts

This study examined the relationship between patterns of family interaction and adolescent development of sex role concepts. Sixty-six families of high school seniors completed a measure of daily family activities and a Plan Something Together Task, used to measure individuation in family communication. Adolescents' responses on the sex roles section of the Ego Identity Interview were coded to reflect Block's theory of the stages of development of sex role concepts. Results indicated gender differences in the development of sex role concepts as related to distinctive patterns of family communication and daily activity with the adolescents' mothers and fathers.This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD-29819 and HD-17983), the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, and the University Research Institute and Institute of Human Development and Family Studies of the University of Texas at Austin.Received degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Research interests in adolescent development, adolescent mental health, and adolescents in high-risk families. To whom reprint requests should be addressed at School of Social Work, Annex C, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-0124.Received degree from the University of Minnesota. Research interests are in adolescent development within the context of the family and adoptive family relationships.Received degree from the University of Minnesota. Research interests are in the role of ethnicity in adolescent identity development and family relationships.     

Studying Adolescent Male Sexuality: Where Are We?

This article critically reviews the literature about adolescent males’ sexuality in order to describe the state of the science and to identify promising concepts and research designs that have the potential to guide the next generation of research. A critique was conducted on 94 peer-reviewed studies of sexual behaviors that included a sample of adolescent males; 11 scholarly texts and 2 dissertations. Most studies lacked a theoretical foundation and had cross-sectional designs. For those studies with a theoretical base, 3 perspectives were most often used to guide research: cognitive, biological, or social-environmental. Studies frequently relied on older adolescents or young adult males to report behaviors during early adolescence. Male-only samples were infrequent. Findings include (a) the measurement of sexual activity is frequently limited to coitus and does not explore other forms of “sex”; (b) cognitive factors have been limited to knowledge, attitudes, and intent; (c) little is known about younger males based on their own self-reports; (d) little is known about the normative sexuality development of gay adolescent males; and (e) longitudinal studies did not take into account the complexities of biological, social, and emotional development in interaction with other influences. Research on adolescent sexuality generally is about sexual activity, with little research that includes cognitive competency or young males’ sense of self as a sexual being. The purpose of the paper is to critically review the literature about male sexuality in order to describe the state of the science as well as to identify potential directions to guide the next generation of adolescent male sexual being research.Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at Oakland University. Received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Michigan, with a specialization in Health Promotion and Risk Reduction. Research interests include adolescent health behaviors, male sexuality, and fostering youth through community-based, asset-building interventions.Associate Professor and Director for Undergraduate & Non Traditional Programs in the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan. Inducted as a Fellow in the Academy of American Nurses. Received a PhD in Nursing from New York University. Research interests include female adolescent health and health-compromising behaviors, specifically the influence of contextual environments on adolescents’ participation in health promoting or health-compromising behaviors.Professor Emeritus in the School of Nursing and Center for Nursing Research at the University of Michigan. Received a PhD in Public Health from the University of Michigan. Research interests include women’s and men’s contraceptive use behaviors, development of nursing in China, and health policy.     

Impact of higher alcohol prices on alcohol-related attitudes and perceptions of suburban,middle-class youth

This study investigated the potential effects of alcohol price increases on alcohol-related attitudes and perceptions of youth. Data were collected through a survey of high school students conducted after the federal excise taxes on alcohol beverages were increased in January 1991. Survey data lend support to previous research showing that higher alcohol prices contribute to lower alcohol consumption by youth, as well as to a decrease in related problems such as driving while intoxicated. Survey data also suggest that a price of around $7.50 for a six-pack of beer or a four-pack of wine coolers would discourage purchases by youth. Further studies are called for to substantiate and to expand on these findings with more diverse adolescent populations.Received M.P.H. in health education from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Research interests are alcohol-impaired driving, alcohol taxation, and other alcohol policy issues. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from Syracuse University. Research interests are impaired driving, adolescent risk taking, substance abuse, and health threat perception.Received M.S. in counseling from Bowie State University. Research interests are alcohol and drug abuse prevention, history of alcohol and drug abuse, and alcohol-impaired driving.The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the organizations with which they are affiliated. Computer time for this research was supported through funds from the Computer Science Center at the University of Maryland at College Park.     

Approach and avoidant coping: Implications for adolescent mental health

We conducted a short-term longitudinal study examining the structure of coping behavior and the relationship between coping style and depression during adolescence. The sample consisted of 603 adolescents in Grades 6–11 who were surveyed in the fall of 1989 and again in the fall of 1990. A two-dimensional model of coping was found using confirmatory factor analysis with the factors being approach and avoidant coping. Four cross-sectional and seven longitudinal coping groups were formed to explore group differences in depression. Approach copers reported the fewest symptoms of depression, while avoidant copers reported the most. Subjects who changed over time from approach to avoidant coping evidenced a significant increase in depressive symptoms, whereas subjects who switched from avoidant to approach coping displayed a significant decrease in depression over a one-year period. These findings imply that adolescents who are able to elicit social support, engage in problem solving, and cognitively restructure events within a positive light are more likely to successfully negotiate the challenges of adolescence.This research was supported by a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation (8912789), Anne C. Petersen, Principal Investigator. The writing of this article was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health Research Training Grant 5 T32MH18387-06 in Child Mental Health/Primary Prevention.Received Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include adolescent mental health and community research.Received his Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include adolescent mental health and research methodology.Received degree from the University of Chicago. Research interests are in biopsychosocial development in adolescence, with a focus on sex differences in mental health.     

Body image ideals of low-income African American mothers and their preadolescent daughters

Given the high incidence of obesity and obesity-related health problems among low-income African American women, it is both timely and significant to study factors that contribute to obesity in this population. The perception of current body size (body image) and desired body size (body image ideal) has been associated with the development of anorexia and bulimia in white adolescent girls. Body images and ideals may also be related to the development of obesity among African Americans adolescent girls. This study examined the body images and ideals of 27 low-income African American mothers and their 29 preadolescent daughters. Results suggest that there is a relationship between mothers' perceptions of their daughters bodies and their daughters' body images. Preadolescent, low-income, African American girls have normal weight ideals rather than the ultrathin ideals typically found among white girls. Normal weight girls have ideals that are heavier than their body images. This population may be less motivated than those with thinner ideals to engage in behaviors that would prevent the development of obesity during adolescence. Health promotion programs for this population should acknowledge cultural body weight standards.This study was funded by the American Heart Association of Metropolitan Chicago.Received B.A from the University of Pennsylvania. Research interests include cross-cultural studies of body image, eating disorders, health risk perceptions, and health promotion programs.Received Ph.D. from in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University. Research interests include obesity prevention, binge eating, and cultural differences in eating behavior.     

Adolescent depression: Why more girls?

Although there has been evidence for some time of a sex difference in depression, relatively little research has examined the developmental process by which women come to be at greater risk than men for depression. In this paper, the developmental pattern of depressed affect is examined over early and middle adolescence, with a special focus on the patterns of boys as compared to girls. In addition, a developmental model for mental health in adolescence is tested for its power in explaining the emergence of gender differences in depression. Longitudinal data on 335 adolescents randomly selected from two school districts were used to test the hypotheses. Results revealed that girls are at risk for developing depressed affect by 12th grade because they experienced more challenges in early adolescence than did boys. The sex difference in depressed affect at 12th grade disappears once early adolescent challenges are considered.This research was supported in part by grants MH30252/38142 to A. Petersen. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of study participants and staff. Portions of this material were presented in a symposium at the 1988 meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, and one at the 1989 meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development.Received Ph.D. from University of Chicago in 1973. Research interest in biopsychosocial development in adolescence, with a focus on sex differences in mental health.Research interests include adolescent mental health, and parent and peer relationships.Received Ph.D. in psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include development of affective and conduct disorders, especially sex differences in these problems.     

Parenting factors,social skills,and value commitments as precursors to school failure,involvement with deviant peers,and delinquent behavior

Elements of social control theory were combined with social learning theory to construct a model of delinquency which specifies the manner in which parenting factors, social skills, value commitments, and problems in school contribute to association with deviant peers and involvement in delinquent behavior. The model was tested using a sample of 61 families, each of which included a seventh grader. Questionnaire responses and coded videotaped family interaction were employed as measures of study constructs. The results largely supported the proposed model.This work was supported by Research Grants DA 05347 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, MH 43270 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and MCJ 190572 from the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health, Department of Health and Human Services.Received Ph.D. in sociology from Florida State University. Research interests: etiology of adolescent depression, substance abuse, and delinquency; identification of factors that influence parenting practices; causes and consequences of adolescent and adult homelessness.Received Ph.D. in sociology from Washington State University. Research interests: impact of family and peers upon adolescent value socialization, self-esteem, and perceptions of self-efficacy; street culture among adolescent runaways and adult homeless.Received Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington. Research interests: impacft of economic stress upon family dynamics, and relationship between parenting practices and adolescent developmental outcomes.Doctoral candidate in sociology at Iowa State University. Research interests: economic hardship and marital interaction, and determinants and consequences of variation in sibling interaction.     

Parental contexts of adolescent self-esteem: A developmental perspective

Relationships between parental behaviors and adolescent self-esteem were analyzed in a group of 95 early adolescents from multiple settings. The study was designed to investigate hypotheses regarding associations between observed parental interactions (e.g., accepting and devaluing) and adolescent self-esteem. Parents' verbal interactions with their adolescents were assessed through application of the constraining and enabling coding system to transcribed family discussions, generated through a revealed differences procedure. Adolescent self-esteem was measured with the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. Parent interaction-self-esteem associations were examined in the pooled sample, as well as in specific sub-groups based on gender, health, and ego development (measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test). Boys had more numerous associations between their self-esteem and parental interactions than girls, and psychiatrically ill boys had particularly high associations. Parental interactions were found to be most strongly related to adolescent self-esteem for adolescents at the lowest levels of ego development. Our findings are consistent with the view that increasing individuation in self-esteem regulation occurs during adolescent development, such that adolescents at higher levels of ego development evaluate themselves more independently of parental feedback than do their less mature peers.This study was supported through a Research Training Grant No. MH16259 (Dr. Isberg) from the NIMH, a grant from the National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD Grant No. 5 R01 HD18684-02), and a Research Scientis Development Award No. 5 K-02-MH-70178 (Dr. Hauser) from the NIMH.Received M.D. from Harvard University. Currently studying adolescent development and working with the school consultation program of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.Received M.D. from Yale University and Ph.D. from Harvard University (Psychology). Currently studying family contexts of adolescent development.Received M.D. from The University of Chicago. Currently studying psychological consequences of diabetes mellitus.Received Ed. D. from Harvard University (School of Education). Currently studying family coping processes in response to stressful events.Received Dipl. Psych. from Freie Universitat, Berlin (Clinical Psychology). Currently studying relationships between psychopathology and development among adolescent psychiatric patients.Received Ph.D. from Ohio State University (Psychology). Current interests in assessing ego development and family systems.Received Ph.D. from the University of Miami (Clinical Psychology). Research interests in family studies and adolescent development.     

Psychiatrists' concept of adolescent self-image

The objectives of the study were as follows: (1) to determine the accuracy of psychiatrists' concepts of the self-image of healthy and disturbed adolescents, and (2) to examine the effects of psychiatrists' gender, experience, and specialization on the accuracy of these concepts. Toward this end, eighty-four psychiatrists completed a modified Offer Self-image Questionnaire as they believed a mentally healthy 15-year-old of their gender would respond. These responses were compared to those of 140 nonpatient 15-year-olds. Sixty-one psychiatrists completed the questionnaire as they believed a disturbed 15-year-old of their gender would respond. These responses were compared to the responses of 70 psychiatric inpatient 15-year-olds of the same diagnosis. The results were that psychiatrists had a more accurate concept of normal adolescents' self-image than was found in 1981. However, their view of the self-image of disturbed adolescents was more psychopathological than the disturbed adolescents viewed themselves. Psychiatrists' gender, number of years postresidency, and type of training had no effect on the accuracy of the psychiatrists' concepts. The results demonstrate that while psychiatrists work with disturbed adolescents, they have a more accurate perception of the self-image of normal adolescents. This can effect the diagnosis and treatment of adolescent patients.Presented on May 24, 1994, at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Received M.D. from Rush Medical College. Research interest is in adolescent psychology.Received M.D. from University of Chicago. Research interests are in adolescent development psychology and psychopathology.Received Ph.D. from University of Chicago. Research interests are in psychotherapy research and adolescent psychology.Received Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University. Research interests are in adolescence and child development.