Sleep in Mexican-American Adolescents: Social Ecological and Well-Being Correlates

A burgeoning body of research documents links between sleep and adjustment in adolescence, but little is known about the role of the social ecology in promoting healthful sleeping habits. This study was aimed at identifying the socio-cultural correlates of adolescents’ sleep, including average nighttime sleep duration, average daytime napping, and night-to-night variability in sleep duration and assessing the links between these dimensions of sleep and adjustment in Mexican-American youth. Participants were 469 Mexican-American adolescents (50.5% female) and their mothers and fathers. Data on family socio-cultural characteristics and youth adjustment were collected in home interviews with youth, mothers, and fathers, and, during 7 evening telephone interviews, adolescents reported on nighttime sleep and daytime napping for the prior 24-h period. Night-to night variability and napping were more strongly linked to youth depressive symptoms and risky behavior than was average nighttime sleep, whereas nighttime sleep predicted lower body mass index. Lower parental acculturation and fathers’ familism values predicted more healthful sleep, and higher levels of family income, parental education and neighborhood crime predicted less healthful sleep. In addition to illuminating the significance of socio-cultural influences on youths’ sleep, this study contributes to the literature by documenting the multidimensionality of sleep patterns and their links with adjustment in an understudied population.     

Functioning of Adolescents With Symptoms of Disturbed Sleep

The objective of the study was to examine the association between disturbed sleep and the functioning of adolescents, in particular cumulative effects on functioning across multiple life domains. Data from a large, school-based survey (n = 5,423) were used to examine the association between eight indicators of psychological, interpersonal, and somatic functioning and symptoms of insomnia and hypersomnia among adolescents. The strongest correlates of insomnia were disturbed mood (OR = 5.9), fatigue (OR = 7.4), and suicidal ideation (OR = 3.4). The same pattern held for hypersomnia, although the associations were not as strong for fatigue (OR = 6.8), mood disturbance (OR = 3.5), and suicide ideation (OR = 2.8). Youths who experienced both insomnia and hypersomnia had greater odds of psychological, interpersonal, and somatic dysfunction than youths who had experienced only one sleep disturbance. Cumulative effects of sleep problems were pronounced, with 27.6% of those with hypersomnia, 41.7% of those with insomnia, and 59.2% of those with both sleep problems reporting three or more types of dysfunction. The results suggest that adolescents experiencing disturbed sleep also experience a range of deficits in functioning. Further, youths with disturbed sleep are more likely to manifest multiple deficits in functioning. From the available evidence, however, it is not possible to specify what the causal pathways are. What are needed are cohort studies designed to examine the association of disturbed sleep and functional impairment among adolescents prospectively.     

Adolescent Sleep Barriers: Profiles within a Diverse Sample of Urban Youth

Most adolescents face numerous obstacles to good sleep, which may undermine healthy development. In this study, we used latent class analysis and identified four categories of sleep barriers in a diverse sample of 553 urban youth (57% female). The majority profile, School/Screens Barriers, reported the most homework and extracurricular barriers, along with high screen time. The Home/Screens Barriers class (i.e., high environmental noise, light, screen use) and the High/Social Barriers class (i.e., high barriers across domains, particularly social) reported the poorest sleep quality and highest depressive/anxiety symptoms. The Minimal Barriers class—predominately male, with low depressive/anxiety symptoms—reported more sleep per night. We discuss implications of our findings for targeting interventions to address poor adolescent sleep among specific clusters of students.     

Sleep Disturbance and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: The Role of Catastrophic Worry

Depression is a common and debilitating disorder in adolescence. Sleep disturbances and depression often co-occur with sleep disturbances frequently preceding depression. The current study investigated whether catastrophic worry, a potential cognitive vulnerability, mediates the relationship between adolescent sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms, as well as whether there are gender differences in this relationship. High school students, ages 16–18, n = 1,760, 49 % girls, completed annual health surveys including reports of sleep disturbance, catastrophic worry, and depressive symptoms. Sleep disturbances predicted depressive symptoms 1-year later. Catastrophic worry partially mediated the relationship. Girls reported more sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and catastrophic worry relative to boys. The results, however, were similar regardless of gender. Sleep disturbances and catastrophic worry may provide school nurses, psychologists, teachers, and parents with non-gender specific early indicators of risk for depression. Several potentially important practical implications, including suggestions for intervention and prevention programs, are highlighted.     

Parental Differential Treatment of Siblings and Adolescents’ Health-Related Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Personality

Youth who receive comparatively poorer parental treatment than a sibling are at risk for maladaptive behaviors in a variety of domains, but research has yet to examine links with adolescents’ health-related behaviors nor consider how those links may vary based on adolescents’ personality traits, namely conscientiousness and agreeableness. Two siblings (n?=?590 adolescents; 53% female; M_age?=?15.86, SD?=?1.73) from 295 families reported on their differential conflict and closeness with their fathers and mothers as well as on their personality, sleep habits, exercise habits, and general health habits. Multilevel modeling revealed that, generally, the less conscientious adolescents had better health habits when they had comparatively warmer relationships with their mothers. Less conscientiousness adolescents may be less distressed by inequality in the family, and thus may experience positive effects of relatively better treatment.

     

Sense of Community and Positive Adult Beliefs Toward Adolescents and Youth Policy in Urban Neighborhoods and Small Cities

Understanding adult beliefs about adolescents is an emerging issue for researchers and policy-makers. The purposes of this study were to describe adult beliefs regarding the motivation and ability of young people to contribute to their communities, and to test the hypothesis that adults with a strong sense of community would have more positive views of young people and youth policies. Two samples of adults—a race/ethnically diverse population from an urban northeast city (N = 321) and a more homogeneous population from smaller cities in a midwest state (N = 430)—were queried through telephone interviews. Parallel analyses were conducted to compare the pattern of results across the 2 distinct populations. In both samples, upwards to 60% of adults had moderate-to-strong appraisals of adolescents as community resources. Adults from the midwest, however, tended to have more favorable beliefs about adolescents. Adult beliefs about adolescents and youth policy were largely independent of sociodemographic background. In contrast, and as predicted, adult sense of community and safety accounted most significantly for individual variation in beliefs in both populations. The results indicate that society may be receptive to a new frame of reference about young people, and that local efforts to build a sense of community among adults may result in more positive beliefs about adolescents.     

The Development of Stereotypes About the Rich and Poor: Age,Race, and Family Income Differences in Beliefs

African American and European American 4th, 6th, and 8th graders rated the competence of rich and poor children in academics (i.e., math, science, reading, writing, school grades, smartness), sports, and music. In contrast to middle school students, 4th graders favored the rich in all 3 domains. Youth of both races reported that the rich were more competent in academics than the poor; these beliefs were especially pronounced among Black youth. White, older, and more affluent students favored the poor in sports, whereas their counterparts either favored the rich or were egalitarian. No interactions were found between grade and race or grade and family income. The implications of these beliefs for policy and identity development theory are discussed. Doctoral student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Research interests include the influence of race identity, race socialization, and stereotypes on the academic achievement of African American youth. Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Received Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Notre Dame. Her research specialty is the development of children's achievement-related beliefs. Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan. Received Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Research interests include predictors of academic self-views in children and adolescents.     

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.     

Sleep and Delinquency: Does the Amount of Sleep Matter?

Sleep, a key indicator of health, has been linked to a variety of indicators of well-being such that people who get an adequate amount generally experience greater well-being. Further, a lack of sleep has been linked to a wide range of negative developmental outcomes, yet sleep has been largely overlooked among researchers interested in adolescent delinquency. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between hours of sleep and delinquent behavior among adolescents by using data from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 14,382; 50.2% female, 63.5% white). A series of negative binomial regressions showed that youth who typically sleep seven or fewer hours per night reported significantly more property delinquency than youth who sleep the recommended 8–10 h. Further, youth who reported sleeping 5 or fewer hours per night reported significantly more violent delinquency than youth who reported sleeping the recommended number of hours per night. The findings suggest that sleep is an important, and overlooked, dimension of delinquent behavior and studies that focus on adolescent health should further investigate the effects of insufficient sleep. Finally, the authors recommend that sleep and other relevant health behaviors be considered in the context of more comprehensive approaches to delinquency prevention and intervention.     

Daily School Peer Victimization Experiences Among Mexican-American Adolescents: Associations with Psychosocial, Physical and School Adjustment

School bullying incidents, particularly experiences with victimization, are a significant social and health concern among adolescents. The current study extended past research by examining the daily peer victimization experiences of Mexican-American adolescents and examining how chronic (mean-level) and episodic (daily-level) victimization incidents at school are associated with psychosocial, physical and school adjustment. Across a two-week span, 428 ninth and tenth grade Mexican-American students (51 % female) completed brief checklists every night before going to bed. Hierarchical linear model analyses revealed that, at the individual level, Mexican-American adolescents’ who reported more chronic peer victimization incidents across the two-weeks also reported heightened distress and academic problems. After accounting for adolescent’s mean levels of peer victimization, daily victimization incidents were associated with more school adjustment problems (i.e., academic problems, perceived role fulfillment as a good student). Additionally, support was found for the mediation model in which distress accounts for the mean-level association between peer victimization and academic problems. The results from the current study revealed that everyday peer victimization experiences among Mexican-American high school students have negative implications for adolescents’ adjustment, across multiple domains.     

Normative Beliefs and Relational Aggression: An Investigation of the Cognitive Bases of Adolescent Aggressive Behavior

The relations between normative beliefs about different forms of aggression and corresponding aggressive behaviors were investigated in 2 studies of adolescents. In Study 1, we revised an instrument designed to assess normative beliefs about aggression to include beliefs about the acceptability of relational aggression, and we examined the psychometric properties of the instrument. In Studies 1 and 2, the unique associations of normative beliefs about relational and physical aggression with self-reported relational and physical aggression were examined. Findings across both studies revealed that beliefs-behavior associations were specific to aggression forms. In other words, beliefs about relational aggression were uniquely associated with engagement in relationally aggressive acts, whereas beliefs about physical aggression, but not relational aggression, contributed unique information about adolescents’ level of physical aggression. No gender effects were found. Results are discussed within a social-cognitive framework, and implications are explored for future prevention and intervention efforts to reduce aggressive behaviors.Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. Dr Werner received her PhD from the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Campus. Her research focuses on social-cognitive, peer, and family relationship correlates of relational and physical aggression.Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, Pennsylvania. Dr Nixon received her PhD at West Virginia University. Her primary research interests include prevention and intervention of relational aggression and program evaluation.     

Outcome of anorexia nervosa related to treatment utilizing an adolescent medicine approach

The scientific literature suggests that outcome for adolescents with eating disorders bears little relation to the type of treatment used. Practitioners of adolescent medicine care for adolescents with eating disorders and have reported outcome in three studies, to which a fourth is added in this paper. This new sample of 34 adolescents represents consecutive admissions to an inpatient adolescent medicine unit who were then followed as outpatients by the same interdisciplinary treatment team. An average of more than 5 years after hospitalization, the group had a mean weight of 97.9% of normal and 94% were menstruating (87.5% regularly). Depending on the outcome criteria used, between one-half and two-thirds of the subjects had an excellent to good outcome, with only about 10% of subjects symptomatic at follow-up. Comparing the most recent cohort of 34 adolescents (Group II) with the older cohort of 49 subjects (Group I) reveals a trend toward behaviors associated with bulimia more commonly on entering treatment. These encouraging results suggest that adolescent medicine may offer a complementary approach to traditional methods for adolescents with eating disorders.Received M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. Research interests are in bone mineral density in females with anorexia nervosa.Received M.D. from the University of Buffalo School of Medicine in Buffalo, NY. Research interests include examination of the relationship of violence and illicit substance use in adolescents and the relationship of physical abuse and bulimia nervosa.     

Increasing the Complexity of Young Adolescents’ Beliefs About Poverty and Inequality: Results of an 8th Grade Social Studies Curriculum Intervention

Poverty and economic hardship remain a reality for many of America's children. Although the causes of poverty are varied, Americans strongly endorse individual responsibility as a primary cause. Because beliefs about poverty originate in childhood and adolescence, intervention efforts targeting young people may be particularly effective in shifting attitudes about the poor and policies designed to help the disadvantaged. To test this proposition, the current study evaluated the efficacy of a 1-week 8th grade social studies curriculum focusing on poverty and inequality. Study participants were upper middle-class youth enrolled in multiple sections of a Social Studies course taught by a single teacher. Participants had little direct contact with marginalized groups such as poor and homeless individuals in their communities. Students (N=66) completed a survey assessing their attitudes and beliefs about poverty and poor people prior to, and 1 week and 6 months post-instruction. Results indicated that the curriculum was partially effective in increasing the complexity of students' beliefs about poverty. Students were more likely to emphasize fatalistic causes and less likely to list individualistic causes for poverty following instruction than before, but rarely emphasized structural causes for poverty and rated individual effort as the most influential factor in determining one's success. Implications of the study findings for curriculum efforts targeting young adolescents' reasoning about economic inequality and inequity and directions for future studies are discussed.     

Revisiting Parental Monitoring: Evidence that Parental Solicitation Can be Effective When Needed Most

Studies using valid measures of monitoring activities have not found the anticipated main effects linking greater monitoring activity with fewer behavioral problems. This study focused on two contexts in which monitoring activities may be particularly influential. Early adolescents (n = 218, M age = 11.5 years, 51% female, 49% European American, 47% African American) reported their unsupervised time, beliefs about the legitimacy of their parents’ authority, and their own involvement in antisocial behavior. Mothers and adolescents reported their perceptions of adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation and control. Adolescents’ perceptions of greater parental solicitation at age 11 were associated with less antisocial behavior at age 12 (when controlling for age 11 antisocial behavior) among adolescents reporting large amounts of unsupervised time and weak legitimacy beliefs. Perceived parental solicitation may be an effective deterrent of antisocial behavior when adolescents spend a lot of time unsupervised and for adolescents who are likely to challenge the legitimacy of their parents’ authority.     

Adolescents’ Response to Parental Efforts to Influence Eating Habits: When Parental Warmth Matters

Previous findings have shown both beneficial and adverse effects of parents’ attempts to influence adolescents’ eating habits. The current study examined the differential effect of parents’ persuasion (e.g., encouragement, giving information) and pressure tactics (e.g., guilt induction, ridicule) and the moderating influence of parental warmth on older adolescents’ emotional and behavioral responses. An ethnically diverse sample of 336 older adolescents (M age = 18.6; SD = 1.1; 58.0% female) were surveyed. Adolescents who reported higher levels of pressure tactics by parents reported more negative affect and behavioral resistance. Perceived parental warmth moderated the influence of persuasion tactics, but not pressure tactics. For adolescents with low parental warmth, high levels of persuasion were associated with more negative emotional and behavioral responses; persuasion had the opposite associations for adolescents with high parental warmth. These results suggest that parental warmth plays an important role in how older adolescents respond to parents’ persuasion tactics. However, when parents use more forceful pressure tactics to influence eating habits, adolescents react negatively regardless of the overall quality of the parent–adolescent relationship.     

Ethnic Awareness,Prejudice, and Civic Commitments in Four Ethnic Groups of American Adolescents

The role of prejudice and ethnic awareness in the civic commitments and beliefs about the American social contract of 1,096 (53% female) adolescents (11–18 year olds, Mean = 15) from African-, Arab-, Latino-, and European-American backgrounds were compared. Ethnic awareness was higher among minority youth and discrimination more often reported by African- and Arab-Americans. Parental admonitions against discrimination were heard by all but African Americans, Latinos and those who reported prejudice heard that it could pose a barrier. Adolescents’ beliefs that America is an equal opportunity society were negatively associated with experiences of discrimination and African-Americans were least likely to believe that the government was responsive to the average person. With respect to civic goals, all youth endorsed patriotism but ethnic minorities and ethnically aware youth were more committed to advocating for their ethnic group and European-Americans were less committed than were African Americans to improving race relations.

Gender Differences in Peer and Parental Influences: Body Image Disturbance,Self-Worth,and Psychological Functioning in Preadolescent Children

The connections between body image disturbance and psychological functioning have been well established in samples of older adolescent girls and young women. Little is known, however, about body image in younger children. In particular, little is known about possible gender differences in preadolescent children. The current study explored self-reported body image disturbance and psychological functioning in relation to peer and parental influences in 141 elementary school-aged girls and boys aged 8–11. Results suggest that girls are more concerned about dieting and are more preoccupied with their weight than are boys. Girls also reported a greater drive for thinness and a higher level of family history of eating concerns than did boys. Correlations suggested that girls' experiences of body image concerns (body dissatisfaction, bulimia, and drive for thinness) were related to a number of factors (such as family history of eating concerns, peer influences, teasing, depression, and global self-worth) whereas boys' experiences of body image concerns were related to fewer factors. On the basis of these findings, the assessment and treatment of body image concerns in preadolescent children (especially girls) are of great importance. Implications for intervention and prevention programs are discussed.     

Excuses,Excuses: Self-Handicapping in an Australian Adolescent Sample

The purpose of the present study was to examine gender differences in the self-handicapping tendencies of a sample of 337 Australian school attending adolescents, who were aged between 15 and 19 years. Self-handicapping, as measured by the shortened Self-Handicapping Scale, was examined in relation to self-esteem, performance attributions, coping strategies, and the potential behavioral self-handicaps of reduced study hours and inefficient study habits. Girls scored significantly higher on the Self-Handicapping Scale and endorsed using emotional and illness related excuses significantly more often than boys. High self-handicapping scores independently predicted lower study hours for boys, and were associated with less efficient study for girls. Coping and attributional predictors of self-handicapping were found to be rumination, luck attribution, and poor active coping strategies for boys, and ability attributions, behavioral disengagement, instrumental support, and poor active coping strategies for girls.     

Goal Setting and Self-Efficacy Among Delinquent, At-Risk and Not At-Risk Adolescents

Setting clear achievable goals that enhance self-efficacy and reputational status directs the energies of adolescents into socially conforming or non-conforming activities. This present study investigates the characteristics and relationships between goal setting and self-efficacy among a matched sample of 88 delinquent (18 % female), 97 at-risk (20 % female), and 95 not at-risk adolescents (20 % female). Four hypotheses related to this were tested. Findings revealed that delinquent adolescents reported fewest goals, set fewer challenging goals, had a lower commitment to their goals, and reported lower levels of academic and self-regulatory efficacy than those in the at-risk and not at-risk groups. Discriminant function analysis indicated that adolescents who reported high delinquency goals and low educational and interpersonal goals were likely to belong to the delinquent group, while adolescents who reported high educational and interpersonal goals and low delinquency goals were likely to belong to the not at-risk group. The at-risk and not at-risk groups could not be differentiated. A multinomial logistic regression also revealed that adolescents were more likely to belong to the delinquent group if they reported lower self-regulatory efficacy and lower goal commitment. These findings have important implications for the development of prevention and intervention programs, particularly for those on a trajectory to delinquency. Specifically, programs should focus on assisting adolescents to develop clear self-set achievable goals and support them through the process of attaining them, particularly if the trajectory towards delinquency is to be addressed.     

Who is Likely to Help and Hurt? Profiles of African American Adolescents with Prosocial and Aggressive Behavior

Prosocial behavior and aggression among children and adolescents are important indicators of social and interpersonal competence. The goal of this study was to investigate whether there are different prototypes among African American adolescents that can help explain prosocial and aggressive (relational and overt) behaviors. Also of interest was whether these profiles differed for boys and girls. The selection of independent variables (e.g., empathy, anger management, normative beliefs about aggression, and ethnic identity) was guided by an information processing model of aggression and prosocial behaviors. The sample consisted of 789 (57% female) African American adolescents between the ages of 11 and 14. Cluster analysis produced three profiles that were similar for boys and girls. These were labeled “well-adjusted,” “poorly adjusted,” and “low identity.” A fourth profile was labeled “low empathy” for girls and “poor anger management” for boys. These four clusters significantly differentiated who engaged in prosocial behavior and relational and overt aggression. Findings suggest that prevention programs may consider targeting well-adjusted youth to serve as peer modes. Additionally, programs that promote empathy, anger management, ethnic identity, and normative beliefs against aggression may be useful for reducing aggression and increasing prosocial behavior among poorly adjusted youth.