Separation-Individuation and Psychological Adjustment in Late Adolescence

This study examined associations between several late adolescent separation-individuation issues (as assessed with the Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence, SITA) and psychological adjustment (as assessed with the basic scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, MMPI and MMPI-2). Participants were 428 undergraduate college students (265 completed the MMPI and 163 completed the MMPI-2). For each SITA scale, participants were classified as high scorers or low scorers if they scored in the upper or lower thirds of the scale distributions, respectively. Findings revealed both quantitative and qualitative differences across the separation-individuation dimensions with respect to associations with the MMPI/MMPI-2. Overall, the separation anxiety, engulfment anxiety, and dependency denial scales were more highly associated with maladjustment than were the other SITA scales. The adjustment outcomes of various approaches to managing closeness and distance in interpersonal relationships during late adolescence are discussed.     

Cognitive development,egocentrism, self-esteem,and adolescent contraceptive knowledge,attitudes, and behavior

The relationship of cognitive development, egocentrism, and self-esteem to adolescent contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, and behavior was investigated in 300 high school and college students (101 males and 199 females) 14-19 years old. There was general support for the study's hypothesis that students with higher levels of cognitive development and self-esteem and lower egocentrism would be more knowledgeable about contraception, be more likely to use birth control, and have more positive attitudes about contraception. Cognitive development was positively associated with all of the knowledge variables and with self-reported condom use. Self-esteem was linked to two of the four knowledge variables, self-reported condom use, and positive attitudes toward contraception. There was an inverse relationship between egocentrism and contraceptive use, but, contrary to expectations, a positive association between egocentrism and knowledge of contraceptive effectiveness. Gender-specific analyses revealed that male students had significantly higher scores than females on the cognitive development and self-esteem measures, while female students scored higher on items measuring knowledge of contraceptive methods and attitudes toward their use. The association of cognitive development with knowledge variables suggests that the ability of adolescents to retain information is related to their capacity to reason and generate alternatives. Overall, these findings suggest a need for attention to the goodness of fit between sex education curricula and the level of cognitive development of the intended audience.     

Storm and stress beliefs about adolescence: Prevalence,self-reported antecedents,and effects of an undergraduate course

The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence and self-reported developmental antecedents of beliefs in storm and stress notions about adolescence, and to investigate the effects on such beliefs of an undergraduate course on adolescent development. Subjects were 192 college students who were enrolled in a course entitled Psychology of Adolescence at a large urban university. The questionnaire, which was administered at the beginning and end of the course, contained a storm and stress scale, items tapping the nature of parent-adolescent arguments, Dusek and Flaherty's (1981) Self-Concept Scale, and several demographic questions. Results suggested that beliefs in storm and stress notions are quite prevalent, arguments between parents and adolescents are believed to occur quite frequently, and females endorse storm and stress beliefs more readily than do males. Moreover, subjects tended to endorse storm and stress notions more readily if they viewed themselves as being less adjusted during their own adolescence and if they reported more adjustment instability. After a course on adolescent development, the tendency to report that the typical adolescent experiences storm and stress decreased, and this decrease was more pronounced for those receiving higher grades in the course.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the First Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Madison, Wisconsin, March, 1986.Received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Interests are family relations during adolescence, pediatric psychology, child clinical psychology, and statistical applications in psychology.Received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Harvard University. Interests are the social psychology of adolescence and psychosocial adaptation to biological change.     

Self-Esteem Enhancing Reasons for Having Sex and The Sexual Behaviors of African American Adolescents

A sample of 146 African American adolescents living in impoverished neighborhoods with high HIV rates participated in the Chicago HIV Prevention and Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP), a longitudinal study of adolescent HIV risk exposure. The current study examined self-reported reasons why African American adolescents may participate in risky sexual behavior. Adolescents completed a questionnaire regarding their sexual behaviors and reasons for having sex at Wave 3 of data collection. Findings from the study revealed that females used condoms less consistently while males had more sexual partners and sexually debuted earlier. Regression analyses also indicated that males were more likely to endorse self-esteem enhancing reasons for having sex and those who did also reported a higher number of sexual partners. Males were more likely to endorse power-related reasons for having sex and those who did tended to sexually debut earlier. Across both genders, results suggested that those adolescents who endorsed more self-esteem enhancing reasons for having sex were less likely to use condoms consistently. Implications for prevention programs and future research are discussed. Doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology Program at Loyola University Chicago. She received her Master of Arts from Loyola University Chicago in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests are in HIV/AIDS prevention in African American communities, particularly amongst adolescent girls. Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of Clinical Training at Loyola University. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. His interests lie in family relations during early and late adolescence, developmental psychopathology, the interface between developmental psychology and clinical child psychology, pediatric psychology (e.g., adolescents with physical disabilities), statistical applications in psychology, and research design. Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her Ph.D. in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis Her research interests lie in normative developmental processes during the transition to adolescence.     

Menarcheal status and parent-child relations in families of seventh-grade girls

The associations between menarcheal status and several child-rearing and outcome variables were examined for mother-daughter and father-daughter dyads. All variables were assessed with questionnaires as an extension of earlier observational studies. Analyses were conducted via multiple regression analyses wherein menarcheal status was treated as a continuous variable and was entered into the regression equation as a set of power polynomial terms. The results indicated that most of the significant relations occurred for the mother-daughter dyad, and most of these relations were curvilinear. When menarche occurs at or around the modal time, changes in parent-child relations may be best thought of as temporary perturbations, but when menarche occurs early the effects may persist.The research reported here was funded by Father Flanagan's Boys Home, Inc., and by a grant to the senior author from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Family Relations in Early Adolescence.Received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Harvard University.Received his M.S. from Virginia Commonwealth University.Received her M.S. in counseling psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University.Received his M.S. from the University of Nebraska.She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Cornell University.     

Measuring Beliefs About Adolescent Personality and Behavior

A measure that assesses individuals' expectations and stereotypes concerning adolescents was developed. Initially, 123 adult respondents answered open-ended questions about the personality and behavior of typical and observed adolescents. Based on their responses, a close-ended scale was developed where respondents rate the degree to which 65 traits and behaviors are characteristic of typical adolescents. Refinement and testing of this scale was done with a sample of 361 college students and 112 parents of young adolescents; the final number of items after such refinement was 44. The subscales demonstrated adequate internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and construct validity. The multifaceted nature of the measure and absence of stereotypical language, along with its flexibility for obtaining comparable information on other age groups provide advantages over the small number of previously used measures.     

Longitudinal Association Between Parenting Practices and Early Sexual Risk Behaviors among Urban African American Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Gender

A sample of 274 African American families, living in impoverished neighborhoods with high HIV rates, participated in a longitudinal study of adolescent sexual development when children were in the 4th or 5th grade. Self-report and observational measures of parental warmth and parental behavioral control were collected from adolescents and parents at Time 1, and youth reported if they had initiated intercourse at Times 1 and 2. Regression analyses suggested that gender moderated associations between parental behavioral control and engagement in adolescent sexual behaviors. More generally, findings suggested that boys reared in low control/high warmth (i.e., permissive) homes and girls reared in high control/low warmth (i.e., authoritarian) homes were particularly at risk for early sexual behaviors. Clinical implications and directions for the future research are discussed.Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology at Loyola University Chicago. Received her B.S. in Psychology and African & African American Studies from Duke University and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. Her major research interests include the role of family and mental health factors in HIV risk exposure among urban African American adolescents.Professor, Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago. Received his Ph.D. in 1987 from Virginia Commonwealth University. His major research interests are family relations during adolescence, physical disabilities, pediatric psychology, developmental psychopathology, and statistical applications in psychologyAssociate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois, Chicago. Received her PhD in Child Psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota in 1987. Her current research interests include developmental transitions during adolescence, as well as from pre-school to middle childhood, among typically developing children as well as children with special needs     

Disagreements about rules in families with seventh-grade girls and boys

Parental reports of disagreements and serious disagreements about rules were examined in 200 families with seventh-grade boys and girls. No gender differences were found: Mothers did not report more disagreements than fathers; no more disagreements were reported for girls than boys. Disagreements about personal habits and family obligations were more common than disagreements about peer relations. Disagreements and serious disagreements, in general, were significantly correlated (positively) with parental reports of child oppositionalism and (negatively) with parents' satisfaction with parenting the target child, although some dyadic differences were found. Children's reports of parental acceptance were negatively correlated with disagreements only for the father-daughter dyad. Support was found for some of Baumrind's ([1968] Authoritarian vs. Authoritative Control,Adolescence 3: 255–272) notions regarding relations between rule frequency, child participation in rule making, and disagreements about rules, especially for the father-daughter dyad.The research reported here was funded in part by Father Flanagan's Boys Home, Inc., and by a grant to the senior author from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Family Relations in Early Adolescence.Received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Harvard University. Interests are the social psychology of adolescence and psychosocial adaptation to biological change.Received his Master of Science from Virginia Commonwealth University. Interests are family relations during adolescence, sex roles and their development, pediatric psychology, and statistical applications in psychology.