Family Factors in the Ego Development of Adolescent Girls

Thirty-nine adolescent girls, 16–19 years, were observed together with their 2 parents at a family discourse about moral and family issues on which they disagreed, to study interaction and conflict handling in families with daughters at different levels of ego development. Family interactions were coded by the Constraining and Enabling Coding System, ego development by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test and handling of internal conflict by Bond Defense Style Questionaire. Daughters' ego development was predicted by parental cognitive and affective enabling, but not by constraining communications. Fathers' cognitive and affective enabling transactions and mothers' affective enabling transactions contributed to the explained variance in the adolescents' ego development when daughters' age, parents' SES and ego development were controlled for in hierarchical regression analyses. Parents' ego levels were related to their enabling transactions, which also predicted daughters' ego levels, suggesting that especially enabling parenting behavior may play a mediating role. Mothers' challenging behavior toward daughters and parental autonomy from responding in kind to daughters' communications were also related to high ego levels in daughters.     

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.     

Middle and Late Adolescents' Conflict Resolution Skills with Siblings: Associations with Interparental and Parent–Adolescent Conflict Resolution

The present study examined whether conflict resolution skills utilized in the interparental and parent–adolescent relationships were related to adolescents' conflict resolution skills with siblings. The associations between interparental, parent–adolescent, and sibling conflict resolution skills were compared for middle and late adolescents. Middle adolescents (N = 89) and late adolescents (N = 90) reported their perceptions of attack and compromise conflict resolution styles for both family members within a dyadic relationship. Differences were found between middle and late adolescents regarding their perceptions of attack and compromise resolution styles utilized in family dyadic relationships. Path analysis results indicated that the influence of interparental conflict resolution on sibling conflict resolution was mediated by mom–adolescent and dad–adolescent resolution for both middle and late adolescents. Theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are discussed here.     

Adolescent pubertal status and affective family relationships: A multivariate assessment

This research attempted to more adequately dimensionalize the study of affective family relations during adolescent pubertal maturation by employing a multivariate approach. Fifty-one families responded to an assessment battery consisting of a series of questionnaires designed to measure affective relations between parents and their adolescent children. Families were classified into prepubertal, transpubertal, or postpubertal groups according to their modal response on pubertal status criteria. A stepwise discriminant analysis was performed to identify measures that maximize between groups differences. Based on this analysis, a correct classification rate of 70% was achieved for all families. The two significant discriminant functions that emerged indicate that differences in family relationships are due to the transformation of mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relations. The pattern of results replicate those of other researchers and provide elaborations concerning the affective nature of family relations during adolescence.Received his Ph.D. in Life-span Developmental Psychology from West Virginia University in 1984. Research interests in dialectical models of adolescent development.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in 1979. Research interests in decision-making in adolescence and adulthood.     

Ethnic Differences in Trajectories of Family Cohesion for Mexican American and Non-Hispanic White Adolescents

This study examined gender, family structure, SES and language usage as predictors of cultural orientation and family cohesion. Ethnic differences in trajectories of family cohesion were tested within a hierarchical linear modeling framework. The sample consisted of 4156 adolescent respondents, measured at three time points during three consecutive years. The three study groups consisted of Mexican Americans oriented to Mexican culture (N = 738), Mexican Americans oriented to majority American culture (N = 867), and Non-Hispanic Whites (N = 2551). Family cohesion was assessed using the cohesion subscale of the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale (FACES III). Analyses consisted of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) in which a linear trajectory of family cohesion for the three groups was computed followed by a test for the effects of ethnicity with the inclusion of control variables. Thus, ethnic differences in the trajectories of family cohesion over time were examined. Neither group of Mexican Americans was significantly different from Non-Hispanic Whites in initial status. However, Mexican Americans oriented to Mexican culture showed a significant increase in family cohesion at mid adolescence. Judith C. Baer is an Associate Professor at Rutgers University. She received her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Houston. Her major research interests include the study of adolescent development within the contexts of culture, and family, adolescent sexual risk taking, and the nosology of mental disorders. Mark F. Schmitz is Clinical Assistant Professor at Temple University. He received his Ph.D. in sociology at Iowa State University. His major research interest involves the use of several large epidemiologic datasets for an extensive examination of the empirical basis for the diagnostic criteria of various DSM-IV mental disorders. He also is involved in research on cultural issues in child development and family processes.     

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.     

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     

Substance abuse minimization: Conceptualizing prevention in adolescent and youth programs

This article provides an overview of the historical and theoretical work on adolescent substance abuse with implications for preventive interventions. The focus is on an illustration of the use of four basic prevention tools: education, competency promotion, community mobilization, and natural care giving.Research interests include mental health, family relations, adolescence, and primary prevention.Research interests include family and social relations, adolescent personality social development.     

Parents' and teachers' beliefs about adolescents: Effects of sex and experience

Three studies examine beliefs that parents and teachers have about adolescents. A distinction is made between category-based beliefs (concerning adolescents as a group) and target-based beliefs (concerning individual adoles cents). In Study 1, 90 late elementary and junior high school teachers indicated degree of agreement with a set of category-based statements about adolescents. Parents of early adolescents in Study 2 (N=1272) responded to category- and target-based statements. Study 3 compares the responses of teachers in Study 1 and parents in Study 2. Both teachers and parents endorsed beliefs that adolescence is difficult, and that adults can have an impact. Compared to fathers, mothers believed more in difficulty and in the negative effects of biological change on behavior. Parents of daughters believed adolescence is more difficult than parents of sons. Among teachers, amount of experience with adolescents was positively associated with the belief that adolescence is a difficult period of life. For parents, the effect of amount of experience was mixed. Experience had a greater impact on the category-based beliefs of teachers than parents. Possible influences on the origins and modification of beliefs are discussed.Received Ph.D. in psychology from The University of Michigan. Research interests: adolescent development, effects of pubertal development on social development, hormones and behavior in early adolescence, and family processesCurrently on leave from The University of Michigan. Received Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Los Angeles. Research interests: development of self-concept, subjective task value, interests, and activity preferences, especially during early and middle adolescence. Dr. Eccles is also investigating the impact of school and family experiences on these constructs.Received Ph.D. in psychology from The University of Michigan. Research interests: the impact 6f family stress on adolescent development and family decision-making practices.Received Ph.D. in educatiqn from The University of Michigan. Research interests: adolescent development, middle years education, teacher beliefs, and classroom processes.Received M. A. in education from the University of Michigan. Research interests: adolescent development, classroom environments, and supporting beginning teachers.Received Ph.D. in social work and psychology from The University of Michigan. Research interests: family processes and development.Portions of this paper were presented at the 1987 biennial meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development. This research was made possible by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH31724-04, -05) to Jacquelynne S. Eccles, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD17296-01, -02, -03,S1) to Jacquelynne S. Eccles.     

Correlates of Childhood vs. Adolescence Internalizing Symptomatology from Infancy to Young Adulthood

In light of its associations with child and adolescent health and well-being, there remains a need to better understand the etiological underpinnings and developmental course of internalizing symptomatology in children and adolescents. This study leveraged intensive longitudinal data (N?=?959; 49.6?% females) to test the hypothesis that internalizing symptoms in childhood may be driven more strongly by family experiences whereas internalizing symptoms in adolescence may derive more uniquely from familial loading for affective disorders (i.e., maternal depression). We evaluated the relative contributions of (a) family experiences (b) maternal depression, and (c) peer influences in testing this hypothesis. The results indicated that family predictors were more strongly correlated with childhood (relative to adolescent) internalizing symptoms. In contrast to previous findings, maternal depression also exhibited stronger associations with childhood internalizing symptoms. Although often overlooked in theories concerning potential differential origins of childhood vs. adolescent internalizing symptomatology, peer experiences explained unique variation in both childhood and adolescent internalizing problems.     

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.     

Psychiatric Morbidity Differences in Male and Female Adolescent Inpatients With Alcohol Use Disorders

Objective: To examine gender differences in demography, cooccurrence of Diagnostic Statistical Manual (third edition, revised; DSM-III-R) axis I disorders and axis II personality disorders, and self-reported psychological distress in adolescent psychiatric inpatients with alcohol use disorders. Method: A consecutive series of 61 adolescent inpatients (36 boys and 25 girls) with either alcohol abuse or dependence were reliably assessed with structured diagnostic interviews for DSM-III-R Axis I and Axis II personality disorders. Results: Boys and girls did not differ in age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, global functioning, age at first psychiatric contact, or number of hospitalizations. Girls were more likely to meet criteria for oppositional defiant disorder, eating disorders, and additional drug use disorders. Girls were also more likely than boys to meet criteria for at least one personality disorder and borderline personality Contrary to gender patterns in the general population, the proportion of girls and boys with affective disorders and conduct disorders did not differ significantly. Conclusions: Relatively few gender differences were found in adolescent inpatient alcohol abusers even where they would be expected, based on non substance-abuse general population gender patterns. When observed, gender differences were in the direction of greater psychiatric disturbance among girls. Some of the gender patterns observed among alcohol abusing adolescents are at odds with gender differences observed in non substance-abuse samples.     

Temporal Influences of Family Structure and Family Risk Factors on Drug Use Initiation in a Multiethnic Sample of Adolescent Boys

This study examines the effects of family structure and family environments on the initiation of illicit drug use among a sample of U.S.- and foreign-born Hispanic/Latino, African American, and White non-Hispanic adolescent boys (N = 3413). Bivariate and multivariate analyses with longitudinal data, three years, were used to assess transitional/temporal influences of family variables on the initiation of illicit drug use. Findings revealed large differences in family structure among the three race/ethnic groups. African American adolescents report the lowest incidence of illicit drug use initiation, and the weakest effects of family structure and environment on substance use. Cumulative effects of family risk factors were strongly associated with increased probabilities of illicit drug use initiation, but there were temporal as well as race/ethnic variations on these effects. Deteriorating changes in family environments were stronger predictors of the initiation of drug use among Hispanic immigrants than nonimmigrants, and family socioeconomic status was a predictor for immigrant Hispanics only. The relationship between family structure and drug use initiation varied in the context of temporal indicators of family environments, and the accumulation of family risk factors was a stronger predictor of illicit drug initiation than family structure.     

Protective Families in High- and Low-risk Environments: Implications for Adolescent Substance Use

This study used data from a sample of 6th to 12th grade students (N = 48,641, 51% female), nested in 192 schools, to determine if the influence of family-based protective factors varied across different school contexts. Hierarchical logistic regression models were used to examine the effects of individual-level family protective factors, relative to school-level aggregates of the same factors, on recent (past 30 days) use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Cross-level interactions indicated that the effect of the student’s level of family protection, relative to other students in their school, differed depending on the aggregated school level of family protection. The results suggested that the benefit of belonging to a well-functioning family was more influential for students attending schools characterized by higher-than-average aggregated levels of protection compared to students attending schools of lower-than-average protection. Thus, family-level factors offered less protection for students in relatively high-risk school contexts. These results were consistent with a protective–reactive interaction and suggest that a thorough understanding of adolescent substance use must consider the complex interplay among adolescents, their families, and their social environments.     

Conflict Resolution Styles in Family Subsystems and Adolescent Romantic Relationships

The purpose of the present study is to examine how conflict resolution styles between one family dyad is related to other family dyads and how conflict resolution styles within these family dyads are related to conflict resolution styles in one relationship outside the family—adolescents' romantic relationships. Late adolescents (n = 217) were asked to report their perceptions of three resolution styles used in interparent, mother–adolescent, father–adolescent, sibling, and romantic couple conflicts. Based on the cases with complete data (n = 163), path analyses indicated that both direct and indirect relationships exist between these dyadic relationships: (1) Resolution styles utilized in the interparent subsystem were found to have a direct relationship with mother–adolescent and father–adolescent resolution and an indirect relationship with sibling and romantic couple resolution. (2) Mother–adolescent and father–adolescent resolution were found to have a direct relationship with sibling and romantic couple resolution. (3) Sibling resolution was found to have a direct relationship with romantic couple resolution for negative resolution styles, but not for the positive resolution style of compromise.     

From family to peer: A review of transitions of influence among drug-using youth

The research concerning relative and independent influences of family and peers upon adolescent drug use is reviewed. Although conflict between family and adolescents is one of the oldest, most predictable, and—in Western society—probably least avoidable of developmental conflicts, the sharp focus upon this conflict in the context of adolescent drug use is a more recent development. As interest and concern regarding adolescent drug use has grown, so has the research seeking to explain this behavior. Much of this research has focused upon the role of family and peer influence. After a brief review of the theories which support either the greater impact of family or peer influence on adolescent behavior, a more specific review of the literature concerning the role of these influences on adolescent drug use is presented. The outline of this presentation is derived from Kandel's theory of stages of drug use. Finally, a summary of research findings and specific suggestions for future research are made.Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Analysis and Utilization Review, Drug Abuse and the American Adolescent, September 1980, Rockville, Md.; and at the 88th Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, September 1980, Montreal. Conclusions drawn are not necessarily those of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.Received an M.S. degree in communication research from the Boston University School of Public Communication, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in social and community psychology from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Major current interests are the role of the family in the drug use of one or more of its members, drug abuse policy research, and social ecological research approaches to the study of drug use.     

Continuity of difficult temperament in adolescence: Relations with depression,life events,family support,and substance use across a one-year period

This longitudinal study examined the continuity of temperamental difficulty among a school-based sample of middle adolescents (n=975) over a one-year period. Of the participants, 25% were classified as difficult at one or both measurement occasions and over 40% were classified as temperamentally discontinuous. Repeated measures multivariate analyses of covariance analyses identified mean differences in psychosocial functioning by temperamental continuity groups and by gender. Temperamental difficulty was associated with higher levels of depression, stressful life events, use of some substances, and lower levels of perceived family support. Gender differences were indicated for family support, depression, life events, and alcohol use.This research was supported in part by NIAAA Grant No. AA07861 awarded to Michael Windle.Received Ph.D. in human development and family studies from the Pennsylvania State University. Major research interests involve individual and family contextual influences on the etiology and development of internalizing and externalizing behaviors in childhood and adolescence.Received Ph.D. in human development and family studies from the Pennsylvania State University. Major research interests involve the identification of high-risk factors for adolescent substance use and other problem behaviors.     

Positive Daily Family Interactions Eliminate Gender Differences in Internalizing Symptoms Among Adolescents

By the age of 18, girls are more than twice as likely as boys to experience internalizing symptoms. Focusing upon the family, a significant factor for adolescent mental health, we examined how positive and negative daily family interactions relate to gender differences in internalizing symptoms. 681 12th grade students (54 % female) completed diary checklists each night for 2 weeks in which they indicated whether they got along with their family (positive family interactions) and argued with their family (negative family interactions). Results indicate that negative daily family interactions explain, in part, why females experience heightened internalizing symptoms. Yet, even in the face of negative family interactions, positive daily family interactions have salutatory effects, reducing females’ emotional distress and eliminating gender differences in internalizing symptoms at high levels of positive interactions. These findings underscore the importance of positive family interactions for adolescent girls’ mental health.     

The self-concept of homeless adolescents

Thirty adolescents who had lived away from home for at least six months were compared on self-concept with 120 adolescents living at home. The latter group was divided into equal numbers of adolescents who were employed, unemployed, school students, and college students. The Offer Self-image Questionnaire for Adolescents was used to measure self-concept. Other measures used were the Beck Depression Inventory, the Hopelessness Scale of Beck et al.,and the Rotter Internal External Locus of Control Scale. These were used to examine the relationship between deficits in self-concept and psychopathology. Environmental factors such as family relationships, employment, school achievement, and friendships were also examined. It was found that homeless adolescents demonstrated significant deficits in five areas of self-concept and a specific pattern of deficits was related to hopelessness. Results were discussed with reference to the theory that acting-out behavior mitigates the impact of affective disturbance on self concept.Received her master's of clinical psychology from Macquarie University, Australia. Major interest is adolescent psychopathology and clinical work with homeless adolescents.