Antecedents of adolescent initiation into stages of drug use: A developmental analysis

The social psychological antecedents of entry into three sequential stages of adolescent drug use, hard liquor, marihuana, and other illicit drugs, are examined in a cohort of high school students in which the population at risk for initiation into each stage could be clearly specified. The analyses are based on a two-wave panel sample of New York State public secondary students and subsamples of matched adolescent-parent and adolescent-best schoolfriend dyads. Each of four clusters of predictor variables, parental influences, peer influences, adolescent involvement in various behaviors, and adolescent beliefs and values, and single predictors within each cluster assume differential importance for each stage of drug behavior. Prior involvement in a variety of activities, such as minor delinquency and use of cigarettes, beer, and wine are most important for hard liquor use. Adolescents' beliefs and values favorable to the use of marihuana and association with marihuana-using peers are the strongest predictors of initiation into marihuana. Poor relations with parents, feelings of depression, and exposure to drug-using peers are most important for initiation into illicit drugs other than marihuana.This research is supported by Grant DA-00064 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and by the Center for Socio-Cultural Research on Drug Use of Columbia University.Revised version of a paper presented at the Conference on Strategies of Longitudinal Research on Drug Use, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 1976. Authors' names are listed alphabetically.Received Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University in 1960. Current research interests are adolescent socialization, longitudinal approaches to the study of human behavior and psychopathology, and processes of interpersonal influence.Received Ph.D. in sociology from New York University in 1975. Major interest is quantitative sociology.Received Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University in 1975. Current research interests include adolescent socialization and deviant behavior.     

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.     

Parent-adolescent congruence for adolescent substance use

Parental reports of adolescent substance use were compared to the adolescents' self-reports using identical scales. Congruence was defined as exact agreement on whether adolescents were current users, ex-users, or never-users. Both parents were found to be less accurate in predicting their adolescents' alcohol use compared to cigarette or marijuana use. Single mothers were significantly less likely to be congruent than were mothers from two-parent households. Mother and father congruence on all substances was unrelated to the adolescent's sex, race, or after school employment. For both parents, congruence for adolescent marijuana use was significantly related to the age and GPA of the adolescent. Congruence may also reflect important properties of family functioning, as significant relations were found between both adolescent and parent ratings of family cohesion and parent-adolescent congruence on perceptions of marijuana use.This research was supported by Grant DA03706 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (Hyman Hops, Principal Investigator).Jennifer Langhinrichsen is a doctoral candidate in psychology interested in adolescent and family interactions. The other authors are psychologists or data analysts working on family influences on substance use and mental health.     

Relationships among family characteristics and violent behavior by black and white male adolescents

Understanding why violence occurs disproportionately among black male adolescents has become a public health research priority due to recent increases in the rates of homicide and other violent crime in this population. This study examined independent, mediating, and moderating effects of family structure, attachment to parents, and family stress and conflict on self-reported fighting behavior. Subjects were black (n=163) and white (n=397) male 7th and 8th graders. Compared to white males, blacks were exposed to an excess of risk factors for violent behavior, including living in a single-parent household and higher levels of family stress and conflict. Although both groups reported similar levels of past-year fighting, black youth were more likely than whites to report attacking someone or being attacked by someone at school during the prior month. Controlling for age, area of residence, and other family characteristics, logistic regression analyses indicated that living in a nonintact family was a significant risk factor for violent behavior among black male youth, while attachment to parents was a significant protective factor for white males. Family stress and conflict was a risk factor for violent behavior cimmon to both groups of adolescents.This research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant No. R01 DA07037.Received Ph.D. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Health and Social Policy Research Division, P. O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2194. Research interests are in adolescent health promotion and disease/injury prevention. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Received Ph.D. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Research interests are in adolescent health promotion and disease/injury prevention.Received Ph.D. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Research interests are in adolescent health promotion and disease/injury prevention.     

Suicidal ideation in adolescence: Depression,substance use,and other risk factors

The interrelationships of depression and suicide with adolescent drug use, delinquency, eating disorders, and the risk factors for these different problems were investigated among 597 9th and 11th graders in an urban high school. There is a strong association of drug use with suicidal ideation among girls, and a stronger relationship with attempts among girls and boys. Suicidal youths are ill-adjusted and display a lack of attachment and commitment to family and school. Causal models indicate that poor interpersonal interactions with parents, absence of peer interactions, and life events lead to depression, which in turn leads to suicidal ideation. Depressive symptoms are the strongest predictors of suicidal ideation. Among females, depression predicts drug involvement, and in turn, drug use increases suicidal ideation. Drug use is only one class of problem behaviors that constitutes a risk factor for suicidal behavior in adolescence. Delinquency and eating disorders also have direct effects on suicidal ideation beyond those of depressive affect. As for drug involvement, these problem behaviors are more predictive of suicidal behavior among girls than boys. Similarity and specificity of the predictors for problem behaviors within and between the sexes are discussed. Although young women use drugs to handle feelings of depression, drug use appears ineffective in the long run in relieving these depressive feelings. Understanding the dynamics of suicidal ideation in adolescence has important public health implications, since ideation is a strong predictor of attempts, especially among females.Revised version of a presentation at the Workshop on Adolescent Depression, Princeton, NJ, June 3, 1987.Work on this research has been partially supported by Research Grants DA00064, DA01097, DA03196, and DA02867, and by Research Scientist Award DA00081 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse; and awards from the John D. and Catherine MacArthur Foundation and the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, New York State Psychiatric Institute. Partial support for computer costs was provided by Mental Health Clinical Research Center Grant MH30906-07 from NIMH to the New York State Psychiatric Institute.Received Ph.D. in Sociology from Columbia University. Research interests include adolescent psychosocial development, epidemiology and risk factors for drug use, and interpersonal networks.Work on this research was carried out while a Research Associate at the School of Public Health, Columbia University. Received Ph.D. in Sociology from Columbia University. Research interests include personal networks and social support systems in chronic illness, societal factors in mental health, psychosocial consequences of drug use and abuse, panel mortality, and survey methodology.Received M.P.H. from Columbia University. Research interests include reliability and child psychiatry.     

“Constructive” vs. “Destructive” deviance in adolescent health-related behaviors

Previous literature suggests that the adolescent at risk to engage in substance use and other negative health-related behaviors is deviant in a negative sense (i.e., rebellious, antisocial, and alienated from traditional institutions). However, some researchers have distinguished between two types of deviance-a true autonomy and independence that is more positive and constructive, and a reactant anticonformity that is more negative and destructive. The current study assessed the roles of both constructive and destructive deviance in adolescent cigarette smoking and positive health-related behaviors. Adolescents who were constructively deviant engaged in higher levels of health-protective behaviors. Moreover, constructive deviance was an independent predictor of both cigarette smoking and positive health behaviors over and above the effects of traditional negative deviance indicators. These data suggest that constructive deviance is not a competing model to more traditional notions, but that it is an additional possible pathway into adolescent positive and negative health behaviors.This research was supported by Grant No HD13449 from ther National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the three authors, and by Grant DA05227 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the first author.Received Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University Teachers College. Current research interests include adolescent substance use and health risk behaviors.Received Ph.D in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University Teachers College. Current research interests include spatial cognition and adolescent health behaviors.Received Ph.D. in Social Psychology from University of Michigan. Current interests include social cognition and adolescent health behaviors.     

The influence of paternal substance abuse and difficult temperament in fathers and sons on sons' disengagement from family to deviant peers

This study was undertaken to examine the relative contribution of paternal history of substance abuse and difficult temperament in fathers and sons on a panel of individual, family, and interpersonal risk factors shown to be associated with deviant peer affiliations among boys. Deviant peer affiliations among boys have been associated with development of a conduct disorder and early age substance use. In a sample of sons of substance abusing fathers (n =56) and normal fathers (n=94), a structural equation path analysis revealed that the conjoint influence of paternal history of substance abuse and difficult temperament in fathers and sons influenced family and interpersonal processes that, in turn, influenced the developmental trajectory of the child toward deviant peer affiliations. The full model (F=74.49, p<.001, Stability Index=0.70) explained 50% of the variance on sons' Peer Delinquency Scale scores. Implications for primary prevention are discussed.Supported by the Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), Pittsburgh, PA. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (No. DA 05605) and ROIs DA08540 and AA09985 to the first author. CEDAR is a consortium between St. Francis Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh.Received Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh. Research interests include temperament, parent-child relationships, peer affiliations, and drug and alcohol abuse.Received Ph.D. from University of Oklahoma. Research interests include etiology and vulnerability to substance abuse.Received Ph.D. from Queens University. Research interests include the etiology of conduct disorder.Received Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh. Research interests include social environment risk factors for substance abuse.Received Ph.D. from Penn State University. Research interests include temperament and substance abuse.     

Psychosocial differences between occasional and regular adolescent users of Marijuana and Heroin

Data on marijuana and heroin use were obtained from 969 adolescents in Hong Kong, part of them being offenders. Very high drug use prevalence rates were found, which is due to the unique population studied. All but two of the heroin users were incarcerated youth. Drug use frequencies were highly associated with psychosocial variables such as sensation seeking, peer drug use, family drug use, susceptibility to peer pressure, perceived control to gain access to drugs, intention to try other substances, and perceived adverse consequences of drug use. Interactions were found indicating, for example, that regularly marijuana using girls and occasionally heroin using girls were characterized by higher levels of sensation seeking and susceptibility to peer pressure than their male counterparts. Polysubstance use was generally related to high levels of psychosocial vulnerability factors. The exclusive use of marijuana was associated with high susceptibility to peer pressure and with perceived control to gain access to drugs. The findings reflect a complex interplay of psychosocial variables with substance use in adolescents that, however, cannot be generalized beyond this particular sample in Hong Kong.Received Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Texas. Research interests include drug-taking behaviors, health psychology and women studies. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Received M. Phil in Clinical Psychology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Research interests include drug-taking behaviors and adolescent problems.Research interests include stress and anxiety.     

Family experiences as moderators of the relationship between eating symptoms and personality disturbance

A questionnaire study with 243 female undergraduates assessed whether late adolescent females' experiences of autonomy and perceptions of family conflict would moderate the relationship between eating symptoms and personality disturbances associated with severe eating disorders. Univariate correlations between eating symptoms, on the one hand, and perceived family conflict and reports of individuation and mutuality in the adolescent/parent relationship, on the other hand, were relatively weak and for the most part insignificant. However, these data supported a moderating hypothesis in that eating symptoms were more strongly related to interoceptive confusion and maturity fears among participants describing less individuated relationships with their parents and reporting unusually low levels of family conflict.Authors' names are in alphabetical order, indicating equal contribution to this article.Received Ph.D. from Yale University in 1977. Major interests are in young adult and adolescent development, and etiology and treatment of adolescent depression and other psychopathologies.Received her B.A. from Vassar College and M.A. from Michigan State University. Major interests are in adolescent/parent relationships, separation-individuation, and eating disorders.     

Using panel data to examine sex differences in causal relationships among adolescent alcohol use,norms, and peer alcohol use

This paper uses longitudinal data and multiple regression of follow-up data on baseline data to identify direction of causality among adolescent alcohol use, normative structure toward alcohol, and peer alcohol use. Baseline and follow-up data were collected on a random sample of 100 adolescents (54 males). Separate regressions were performed on male and female respondents. Among males, self-drinking and normative structure toward alcohol were found to have a reciprocal relationship over time. No significant relationship was found between self and peer alcohol use over time among males. Among females, close-friend alcohol use was found to be causally prior to self drinking and other-friend drinking level. Normative structure toward alcohol was found unrelated to other variables over time among females.This research has been partially supported by grant #H84 AA 04026 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Joan F. Roberton, principal investigator.He received his Ph. D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Social Work. Research interests include effects of peer and family on adolescent deviant behavior, and effects of labeling on referral of adolescents to social service agencies.     

Family Functioning and School Success in At-Risk, Inner-City Adolescents

The relation between family functioning and school success was examined in 211 at risk, African American, inner city adolescents attending middle school (grades 6–8). Interviews with adolescents and caregivers yielded data on family cohesion, parental monitoring, and school engagement; school records provided data on grade point average. Results showed that both family cohesion and parental monitoring predicted school engagement, but neither family characteristic predicted GPA. Important gender differences also emerged. For boys only, the relation between family cohesion and school engagement was stronger when parental monitoring was high. For girls only, the effects of cohesion and monitoring on school engagement were additive: girls with both high family cohesion and high parental monitoring were most likely to be engaged in school. These findings extend the research base on family protective factors for antisocial behavior in young adolescents. Implications for future examination of family process characteristics in high-risk adolescents are discussed. This work is based on the dissertation research of the first author submitted to the Department of Psychology at Fordham University. Research Associate, Hudson Valley Cerebral Palsy, Patterson, NY. Professional Training: PhD, Developmental Psychology, Fordham University. Major interests include etiology and treatment research on developmental disabilities and psychological health problems in children and adolescents. Senior Research Associate, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, New York, NY. Professional Training: PhD, Clinical Psychology, Temple University. Major interests include development of family-based interventions for adolescent drug use and delinquency, adherence and process research on family intervention models. Research Associate, National Clinical Assessment Authority, London, England. Professional Training: PhD, Developmental Psychology, Fordham University. Major interests include mental health services research and program evaluation. Professor and Director, Center for Treatment Research on Adolescent Drug Abuse, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL. Professional Training: EdD, Counseling Psychology and Family Therapy, Northern Illinois University. Major interests include developing, testing, and disseminating family-based treatment for adolescent substance abuse and related behvioral problems.     

Investigating the age effects of family structure on adolescent Marijuana use

This study examines differences among older and younger adolescents in the influence of family structure, family relations, and peer relations on marijuana use. Data from a longitudinal sample of adolescents from the United States were stratified by age and used to assess these potential differences. Precise measures of family structure were constructed to account for the various manifestations of family forms. Multivariate analyses indicate that a recent divorce attenuates attachment among younger adolescents and leads to less family involvement among older adolescents. Moreover, older adolescents from stepparent families are less attached to their families. Changes in these family relationship variables influence associations with drug using peers, but these processes differ for the two age groups. Finally, less family involvement and greater drug using peer associations lead to greater marijuana use among younger adolescents, while only peer associations directly affect use among older adolescents.This research was partially funded by a Faculty Research Grant provided by the University of North Carolina—Charlotte. The data used in this paper were made available by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. The data for the National Youth Survey, 1976 to 1978 (Waves 1–3), were originally collected by Delbert Elliott and colleagues at the Institute of Behavioral Science. Neither the collectors of the original data nor the consortium bear any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here.Received Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Albany. Current research interests include adolescent drug use, social-psychological determinants of violence, and behavioral aspects of HIV transmission.     

On the measurement of friend behavior in research on friend influence and selection: Findings from longitudinal studies of adolescent smoking and drinking

The principles that behavior is strongly influenced by the behavior of friends, and that people select each other to be friends on the basis of common characteristics, are based in large part on the many studies of adolescents that found the behavior of friends to be similar. In most of these studies, subjects were asked to describe, the behavior of their friends, and this information was then related to subjects' reports of their own behavior. The research on adolescent smoking and drinking described in this paper departs from that tradition by including friend reports of friend behavior so that results based on the different sources for measuring friend behavior can be compared. Subject report of friend behavior is a stronger correlate, of adolescent behavior than friend report of friend behavior, but the two sources for measuring friend behavior produce the same correlations with subject behavior when using longitudinal designs and controlling for prior subject behavior. The findings are discussed in the context of theoretical and methodological considerations of peer influence and selection.This research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA04099) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA02480) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Received his Ph.D. from Florida State University. His research interests include adolescent health and evaluation research.Received her M.A. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research interests include methodology and analyses in behavioral sciences and applied social and developmental psychology.     

A Developmental Perspective on Reentry: Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Family Conflict and Peer Delinquency during Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Despite the uniqueness of an incarceration experience for adolescents, there remains a shortage of research on adolescents and emerging adults who have been recently released from detention centers and are returning home during the transitional time period of “reentry”. Drawing from the developmental literature, the current study uses a diverse (54% Black, 20% White, 26% Other Race) longitudinal survey of 337 male adolescents living in the United States to examine the interrelationships among crime, substance use, family conflict, and peer delinquency. A series of cross-lagged dynamic panel data models using four waves of data demonstrate that while family conflict and peer delinquency relate to increased offending and substance use, conflict in the family is a major driving force behind both future family conflict and peer delinquency. Overall, findings suggest that family conflict is an overlooked, but absolutely critical, factor in explaining deviance and deviant peer associations alike for adolescents and emerging adults who have been recently incarcerated and released.     

An 18-Year Model of Family and Peer Effects on Adolescent Drug Use and Delinquency

The interrelationship of family and peer experiences in predicting adolescent problem behaviors was examined in an 18-year longitudinal sample of adolescents (N = 198) from conventional and nonconventional families. Positive associations among early childhood predictors and adolescent problem behaviors were consistent with problem behavior theory. The most powerful predictors of teen drug use and delinquent behaviors were similar behaviors by peers. Peer behaviors, however, were in turn predicted by earlier family-related variables and the quality of peer relationships in childhood. This study provides supporting evidence that strong peer effects in adolescence reflect even earlier processes in childhood and highlight the importance of linkages from early childhood experiences in family and peer contexts to the development of problem behaviors in adolescence. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.     

Procedural Justice in Family Conflict Resolution and Deviant Peer Group Involvement Among Adolescents: The Mediating Influence of Peer Conflict

The involvement of adolescents with deviant peer groups is one of the strongest proximal correlates to juvenile delinquency and stems from a variety of causes. Past research has linked ineffective parenting with peer variables, including deviant peer group involvement and peer conflict during adolescence. In this study, adolescents’ appraisals of procedural justice within the family (adolescents’ appraisals of how fairly they are treated by parents in the process of resolving family conflict) were examined as one aspect of effective parenting that may relate to deviant peer group involvement in early adolescence. Data from 1660 middle school students (ages 11–14, mean = 12.6) indicated that higher appraisals by adolescents of procedural justice during family conflict resolution were related to lower levels of both peer conflict and deviant peer group involvement. A structural model was tested in which the relationship between adolescents’ appraisals of procedural justice in the family and deviant peer group involvement was partially mediated by measures of peer conflict. This model was found to have adequate fit to the data, indicating that part of the relationship between procedural justice appraisals and deviant peer group involvement can be explained by levels of peer conflict. Implications of these findings are discussed.

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.     

A Growth Curve Analysis of the Joint Influences of Parenting Affect,Child Characteristics and Deviant Peers on Adolescent Illicit Drug Use

This study purports that parental rejection and warmth are critical to the development of adolescent drug use, and investigates a model that also considers children's vulnerability and deviant peer affiliations. It tests mediation through the proximal risk factor of deviant peers. Poisson growth curve modeling was used to examine participants from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY; N=2194) over 4 waves. Results indicated that parental rejection was positively related to drug use, whereas parental warmth was negatively related to it. Both effects were significant when child ADHD symptoms were taken into account. Parental rejection and warmth had differential effects over time. Deviant peer affiliations were positively associated with drug use, did not have a differential influence over time, and did not mediate the other effects. There was significant between-individual (level 2) variability in drug use. Results are discussed in light of adolescent perceptions of parent-child relationships. Research Interests: social and emotional development; family processes; adolescent problem behaviours; main area of work is about understanding risk and protective factors in typical and atypical adolescent development Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1V6, Canada Research Interests: social and emotional development; family interaction; child psychopathology; main area of work is about understanding emotion processes in children and in family life that help us to understand psychopathology in childrenDepartment of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1V6, Canada     

Psychosocial Factors Contributing to Adolescent Suicidal Ideation

This study aimed to investigate the family, school, peer and psychological factors that contribute to adolescent suicidal ideation. The participants were 1,358 (680 boys and 678 girls) Hong Kong Chinese adolescents who were divided into younger (12.3 years, n=694) and older (15.4 years, n=664) age groups. By using structural equation modeling, the results showed that family cohesion and sense of school belonging were the core predictors of self-esteem and depression, and that depression was a strong mediator of suicidal ideation. In the prediction of suicidal ideation, peer support was significant among girls and younger adolescents only, whereas peer conflict was significant among older adolescents only. Family conflict, teacher support and academic pressure did not show any significant contribution in the prediction. The implications for future research and positive youth development programs are discussed. Rachel C. F. Sun (BSocSc, PhD) is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Social Work, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also the Project Administrator of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes), which is an indigenous and large−scaled positive youth development programme in Hong Kong Chinese cultural context. She received her Bachelor Degree in Social Sciences, with Psychology Major, at the University of Hong Kong. She also received her PhD at the Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong in 2005. Her PhD research, which titled “Developing and evaluating a model of suicidal ideation for Hong Kong Chinese adolescents” aimed to develop a model that delineated the simultaneous relationship of family, school, peers, self-esteem and depression to adolescent suicidal ideation, and to explore the support mechanisms of the family, school and peers for maintaining adolescent psychological health. Her research interests comprise adolescent psychological health, positive youth development and school guidance. Eadaoin K. P. Hui is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests encompass student guidance and counseling and personal-social education.     

Adolescent interpersonal and familial precursors of positive mental health at midlife

Associations between adolescent relationships with peers, adults in the larger community, and parents and successful adult mental health were explored as part of a longitudinal study. Measures included two Q-sort ratings: the adolescent interpersonal Q-sort at age 13 and the Psychological Health Index (PH) at age 50. Nine content clusters were formed from adolescent Q-sort items, and correlations computed between scores on these clusters and PH. In addition, one of the clusters was examined for possible curvilinear relationships. Three clusters related significantly to later mental health: harmonious peer relations, positive relationships with adults outside of the family, and reasonable parental control. Significant curvilinear relation-ships were obtained for a fourth cluster describing adolescents who valued intimate friendship.This research was conducted with assistance from a grant provided by the National Institutes of Mental Health. Award No. 1 F32 MH 0953-01.