Social Support and Low-Income,Urban Mothers: Longitudinal Associations with Adolescent Delinquency

The current study examined the role of engaged parenting in explaining longitudinal associations between maternal perceptions of social network support and whether youth engage in delinquent behaviors during the transition into adolescence. The sample included 432 low-income, African American and Latino youth (49% female) and their mothers participating in “Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study”. Results from longitudinal SEM analyses demonstrated that social network support was associated positively with mothers’ engaged parenting as youth transitioned into early adolescence. Engaged parenting, which functioned as a mediating variable, was associated with less youth delinquency during transitions into middle adolescence. Taken together, social network supports appeared to facilitate mothers’ abilities to remain engaged with their children and to deter youth from becoming involved in delinquent behaviors.     

Longitudinal Associations between Parental Support and Parental Knowledge on Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Adolescents

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - When testing longitudinal effects of parenting practices on adolescent adjustment, an integrated consideration of externalizing and internalizing behaviors is a...     

Bidirectional Associations Between Sibling Relationships and Parental Support During Adolescence

Sibling relationships and parental support are important for adolescents’ development and well-being, yet both are likely to change during adolescence. Since adolescents participate in both the sibling relationship and the parent–child relationship, we can expect sibling relationships and parental support to be associated with each other. Theoretically, it can be expected that there is either a spillover from one relationship to another (congruence hypothesis) or that one relationship can compensate for the other (compensation hypothesis). However, research examining these associations in adolescence is limited. The present study longitudinally investigated the bidirectional associations between sibling relationships and parental support during adolescence. For five consecutive years, data were collected using self-reports of 428 families, consisting of a father, a mother, and two adolescent siblings. The mean ages of the first-born (52.8% males) and second-born (47.7% males) were 15 and 13 years at T1, respectively. For the second-born siblings, prospective associations were found between sibling relationships and adolescent-reported parental support in early adolescence, with no differences between same-sex and mixed-sex dyads. These associations were not found for first-born siblings or for parents’ reports of support. The findings suggest a spillover from the sibling relationship to adolescent-reported parental support only in early adolescence. Findings and implications are discussed in terms of the congruence/spillover and the compensation hypothesis.     

Longitudinal Associations Between Sibling Relational Aggression and Adolescent Adjustment

Sibling relational aggression is an important but understudied dimension of sibling relationships that has potential implications for adolescents’ adjustment. This study examined the longitudinal associations between being the target of sibling relational aggression and adolescent adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms, risky behavior, self-worth, and romantic competence) among younger and older siblings over a three-year period in adolescence. The moderating roles of birth order, sibling gender, and sibling dyad gender constellation also were tested. Participants were 196 European American adolescent (firstborn-secondborn) sibling pairs who were 16.47 years (SD?=?0.80) and 13.88 years (SD?=?1.15) of age, respectively, at the onset of this study. Data were collected separately from each sibling during home interviews. Multilevel models revealed that being the target of sibling relational aggression was associated with all four adjustment outcomes at the between-person level, and with risky behavior and romantic competence at the within-person level. However, some of these effects were moderated by sibling dyad characteristics. Although often overlooked in the literature on adolescence, sibling relationship dynamics play a key role in youth development and adjustment.     

An Investigation of Short-Term Longitudinal Associations Between Social Anxiety and Victimization and Perpetration of Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying

Previous research has suggested that social anxiety is associated with victimization and perpetration of (cyber)bullying. The direction and causality of this relationship has not yet been empirically supported for both traditional and cyberbullying involvement. This study examined short-term longitudinal associations between feelings of social anxiety and involvement in traditional bullying and cyberbullying among 2128 adolescents aged 10–17 (56.6 % girls). A cross-lagged panel analysis provided evidence for the contribution of social anxiety to later victimization of bullying, both on- and off-line. The possibility of a reciprocal relationship was also examined, although it was not supported. Furthermore, longitudinal bidirectional relationships between social anxiety and the perpetration of bullying were investigated. Only one significant longitudinal association was found: the perpetration of traditional bullying predicted subsequent higher levels of social anxiety. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Perceived Parental Monitoring,Adolescent Disclosure,and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Examination

Parental monitoring has long been stressed as an important parenting practice in reducing adolescents’ susceptibility to depressive symptoms. Reviews have revealed, however, that measures of monitoring have been confounded with parental knowledge, and that the role of adolescent disclosure has been neglected. In the present study, adolescents (N = 2,941; 51.3% female) were surveyed each year from grades 9–12. To disentangle parenting factors, bidirectional associations among parental knowledge, adolescent disclosure, and parental monitoring (i.e., solicitation and control) were examined. Higher parental knowledge was associated with lower adolescent depressive symptoms over time. Adolescent disclosure and parental control also predicted lower adolescent depressive symptoms indirectly through knowledge. Conversely, higher adolescent depressive symptoms predicted lower parental knowledge, adolescent disclosure, and parental solicitation over time, highlighting the bidirectional nature of associations among parenting factors and adolescent depressive symptoms. Importantly, these effects were invariant across gender and grade, suggesting that interventions can be broadly based.     

The Tangled Web: Delinquency, Deception, and Parental Attachment

Delinquent youth display weaker attachment to their parents than do other youth, but the reasons for this remain unclear. One explanation is that delinquent youth poison their relations with parents by lying to them about their friends, behavior, whereabouts, and more. Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health reveals that lying to parents is an exceptionally strong and robust correlate of delinquent behavior, and is associated with a variety of surreptitious behaviors – late bedtimes, hanging with friends, concealing whereabouts. Lying to parents appears to have a progressively negative impact on the parent-child bond, meaning that the well-established attachment/delinquency association is not solely a parent effect. Youth who lie to their parents do not appear to do so blithely, however. Compared to other youth, they hold themselves in lower regard and are more often depressed. Although parents are often angered by and distrustful of deceitful children, their children's fabrications may say less about their regard for their parents than about the strength of other loyalties.

Course,Co-Occurrence,and Longitudinal Associations of Emotional Disturbance and Delinquency from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: A Six-Year Three-Wave Study

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Three questions were examined in this study: (a) What is the course of emotional disturbance and delinquency during adolescence and young adulthood? (b) To what...     

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Peer Violence and Popularity and Delinquency in Adolescent Boys: Examining Effects by Family Functioning

Mapping the relationship of peer influences and parental/family characteristics on delinquency can help expand the understanding of findings that show an interdependence between peer and family predictors. This study explored the longitudinal relationship between two characteristics of peer relationships (violence and perceived popularity) with subsequent individual delinquency and the moderating role of family characteristics (cohesion and parental monitoring) using data from the Chicago Youth Development Study. Participants were 364 inner-city residing adolescent boys (54 % African American; 40 % Hispanic). After controlling for the effects of age and ethnicity, peer violence is positively related to boys’ delinquency. The effect of popularity depends on parental monitoring, such that the relationship between popularity and delinquency is positive when parental monitoring is low, but there is no relationship when parental monitoring is high. Furthermore, parental monitoring contributes to the relationship between peer violence and delinquency such that there is a stronger relationship when parental monitoring is low. Additionally, there is a stronger relationship between peer violence and delinquency for boys from high cohesive families. Findings point to the value of attention to multiple aspects of peer and family relationships in explaining and intervening in the risk for delinquency. Furthermore, findings indicate the importance of family-focused interventions in preventing delinquency.     

Parental Inconsistency Versus Parental Authoritarianism: Associations with Symptoms of Psychological Disorders

While in western countries, such as the US and Europe, authoritarian parenting is associated with negative psycho-social outcomes. Studies have indicated that this is not the case in collective/authoritarian cultures. It has been hypothesized that inconsistency in parenting style and culture contributes to these negative outcomes. In this study a scale of authoritarian parenting and parental inconsistency has been developed. This scale and other scales of authoritarian parenting, adolescent-family connectedness, and psychological disorders were administered to 72 female and 106 male 11th grade Arab students. The results show that, while no measures of authoritarian parenting were associated with psychological disorders, all the measures of parental inconsistency were so associated. The results give empirical support to theories that indicate that parental inconsistency is an important factor in psychopathology. More research that is focused on inconsistency is needed across different psychological symptoms and across cultures. Marwan Dwairy, D.Sc., is associated professor of psychology in Emek Yezreel college and Oranim college. He is a licensed expert and supervisor in three areas: educational, medical, and developmental psychology. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in psychology from Haifa University, and his D.Sc. from the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion in 1991. http://Web:www.marwandwairy.com.     

Self-Esteem and Delinquency Revisited (Again): A Test of Kaplan's Self-Derogation Theory of Delinquency Using Latent Growth Curve Modeling

Investigations of Kaplan's self-derogation theory of delinquency are numerous, but results have been mixed. Progress in this domain of research may be hampered by the use of statistical methods that do not optimally test hypotheses derived from the theory. In this study, the relationship between self-esteem and delinquency is examined using latent growth curve modeling (LGM). Analyses of panel data from the Youth In Transition study supported Kaplan's theory by showing that delinquency was positively associated with growth in self-esteem among adolescent boys who initially reported having low self-regard. It was also found that self-esteem had a moderate, but significant, negative relationship with subsequent delinquency, net of prior delinquent behavior. It is concluded that future investigations of the relationship between self-esteem and delinquency would benefit from the use of LGM.     

The Role of Peer Contacts in the Relationship Between Parental Knowledge and Adolescents' Externalizing Behaviors: A Latent Growth Curve Modeling Approach

The purpose of the present study was to examine the direct and indirect effects (through peer contacts) of parental knowledge on adolescents’ delinquent and aggressive problem behavior, using latent growth curve modeling. A sample of 457 13- to 14-year old adolescents at first measurement wave (M=13.27; SD=0.45 years) filled out questionnaires about their parents, peers, and problem behavior three times with 1-year intervals in between. Regarding initial levels of behavior, both direct and indirect effects of parental knowledge were found on aggressive as well as on delinquent behavior. When the rate of change in behaviors was considered, only direct effects were found for both types of problem behavior, whereas indirect effects were absent. Gender differences were also found, with stronger effects of parenting on both aggressive and delinquent problem behavior for boys and stronger effects of peer contacts on aggressive behavior for girls. The present study shows that different behaviors of the externalizing spectrum have different trajectories and diverse relations with parenting and should not be treated as identical.

Longitudinal Links Between Identity Consolidation and Psychosocial Problems in Adolescence: Using Bi-Factor Latent Change and Cross-Lagged Effect Models

Most previous identity research has focused on relationships between identity synthesis, confusion, and psychosocial problems. However, these studies did not take into account Erikson’s notion of identity consolidation, that is, the dynamic interplay between identity synthesis and confusion. This study aimed to examine longitudinal relationships and the directionality of the effects between identity consolidation and psychosocial problems during adolescence, using two waves of longitudinal data from 793 Japanese adolescents (49.7% girls; ages 13–14 and 16–17 at Time 1). A bi-factor latent change model revealed that levels and changes in identity consolidation were negatively associated with levels and changes in psychosocial problems. Furthermore, a bi-factor cross-lagged effects model provided evidence that identity consolidation negatively predicted psychosocial problems, and vice versa. Our study facilitates a better understanding of the importance of identity consolidation in the relations between identity components and psychosocial problems.     

Assessing Covariates of Adolescent Delinquency Trajectories: A Latent Growth Mixture Modeling Approach

Using data from a community sample of 1218 boys and girls (mean age at the first wave was 15.5 years), this longitudinal study examined several covariates—adjustment problems, poor academic achievement, negative life events, and unsupportive family environments—of distinctive trajectories of juvenile delinquency. Latent growth mixture modeling analysis revealed 6 trajectory groups: rare offenders, moderate late peakers, high late peakers, decreasers, moderate-level chronics, and high-level chronics. Several factors discriminated between more normative groups and high-level chronic offenders, including poor academic achievement, unsupportive family environments, life events, and substance use, whereas almost no differences were found between groups with more serious offending trajectories. Overall, there was more specificity in correlates of distinctive offending trajectories than expected by general theories of crime (e.g., Gottfredson, M. R., and Hirschi, T., 1990, A General Theory of Crime. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA).     

A Longitudinal Investigation of Associations Between Boys’ Pubertal Timing and Adult Behavioral Health and Well-Being

To extend research linking pubertal timing and adolescent health outcomes, this study examines boys’ pubertal timing and subsequent interpersonal success and health behaviors in mid adulthood. Past research has shown that boys’ pubertal timing is associated with both positive and negative developmental outcomes in the short term, and so it is unclear how pubertal timing is consequential for adjustment across the long term. Data from 460 boys from the Terman Life-Cycle Study were examined over a 39-year period to relate age of pubertal onset to later marital success, career success, and adult health behaviors. Boys who reached puberty earlier than their peers achieved greater success in their careers and experienced more satisfaction in their marriages. Early-developing boys were not found to be more likely than their peers to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol as adults. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of pubertal timing for life-span development.Keiko Taga is a doctoral student at the Department of Psychology at University of California, Riverside. Her major research interests are social and psychological predictors of health and longevityCharlotte Markey is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Riverside in 2002. Her research focuses on social and personality influences on healthHoward S. Friedman is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, where he directs a large project on health and longevity across the life-span. He has authored or edited ten books, with a focus on health psychology, personality, and nonverbal charisma     

Bidirectional Associations Between Valued Activities and Adolescent Positive Adjustment in a Longitudinal Study: Positive Mood as a Mediator

Although activity involvement has been linked to positive youth development, the value that adolescents place on these activities (i.e., how much they enjoy the activities, find them important, and spend time on them) has received less attention. The purpose of the present study was to examine the bidirectional longitudinal association between engagement in valued activities and adolescent positive adjustment (optimism, purpose in life, and self-esteem), as well as investigate a possible underlying mechanism for this link. High school students (N = 2,270, 48.7 % female) from Ontario, Canada completed questionnaires annually in grades 10, 11, and 12. Auto-regressive cross-lagged path analyses were conducted over time, controlling for gender, parental education, and academic grades. Greater engagement in valued activities predicted higher optimism, purpose, and self-esteem over time. Importantly, the results did not support an alternate hypothesis of selection effects, in that adolescents who were better adjusted were not more likely than their peers to engage in valued activities over time. We also found that the longitudinal associations between valued activities and positive adjustment may be due partly to an underlying effect of increased positive mood. Thus, engagement in valued activities appears to be important for adolescent positive adjustment, and may help to foster thriving. Communities, educators, and parents should actively support and encourage adolescents to develop valued activities, and seek to ensure that there are ample opportunities and resources available for them to do so.     

Other-Sex Friendships as a Mediator Between Parental Monitoring and Substance Use in Girls and Boys

Previous research examining relationships between parental monitoring, friendship networks, and substance use did not take into account the gender of both the adolescent and the friends. The goal of this study was to test a mediation model in which having other-sex friends during mid-adolescence mediates the relationships between parental monitoring in early adolescence and substance use during late adolescence. We hypothesized that mediation would be observed for girls but not for boys. A sample of 333 adolescents (60?% girls) was surveyed yearly from ages 12 to 19. The findings provided support for an indirect relationship (mediation via other-sex friendships) between early adolescent parental monitoring and late adolescent alcohol use among girls only. That is, for girls, higher levels of parental monitoring lead to fewer other-sex friendships, which then lead to lower levels of subsequent alcohol use. For drug use, the findings provided support for a direct relationship between early adolescent parental monitoring and late adolescent drug use for both boys and girls. Thus, parents seem to have a protective effect on their daughters’ later use of alcohol by limiting inclusion of male friends in their networks.     

Longitudinal Discrepancy in Adolescent Aggressive Behavior Problems: Differences by Reporter and Contextual Factors

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Little is known about the developmental course of informant discrepancies in adolescent aggressive behavior problems, though whether aggression increases or...     

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.