Gender Differences Among Adolescents in Family,and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction,Weight Loss,and Binge Eating Behaviors

The present study examined perceived family and peer influences on body dissatisfaction, weight loss, and binge eating behaviors in adolescents. Three hundred and six girls aged 11 to 17 years (M = 13.66, SD = 1.12) and 297 boys aged 11 to 18 years (M = 13.89, SD = 1.13) completed a questionnaire that examined the direct influence and quality of family and peer relationships on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Direct influences of family and peers, rather than the quality of these relationships, predicted body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in adolescent boys and girls. Interesting differences were found between girls and boys in the nature of the influences and in the way they were expressed. In particular, parental and peer discussion and encouragement of weight loss predicted disordered eating behaviors in girls, while maternal and peer encouragement predicted binge eating and weight loss behaviors in boys. Fathers played a salient role in the expression of more severe forms of eating problems, while siblings played a small yet significant role in cognitive restraint among girls. The findings highlight gender differences in the importance of significant others in the expression of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in adolescence.     

Time and academic achievement

In questionnaire and achievement-test data from 1584 seventh- and ninth-grade students, relationships between academic achievement and amounts of time devoted to various uses related to school, family, peers, and the mass media are examined, with relevant demographic factors controlled. Multiple regression analyses support hypotheses of (a) a negative relationship among ninth graders between achievement and time spent listening to radio and records, (c) an interaction between parental occupation and time spent watching television, with trends toward positive association between achievement and TV time when occupational status is low and negative association when it is high, and (d) a positive relationship between reading and overall achievement and time spent on leisure reading. Hypotheses of positive relationships between achievement and time spent on homework in this age range and mere time spent with the parent receive no support. The relationship between achievement and time spent on household chores is explored without a hypothesis, and the relationship is found to be negative. The findings are discussed in terms of the impact of the adolescent subculture and in terms of the family, school, peer group, and mass media as agencies of socialization relevant to academic achievement.Professor Smith has a Ph.D. in sociology and a history of research on parental influence and parent-adolescent relations. Currently, he is conducting research on the antecedents of academic achievement.     

Who Shapes Whom in the Family: Reciprocal Links Between Autonomy Support in the Family and Parents’ and Adolescents’ Coping Behaviors

Coping research has neglected the study of the reciprocal links between parents’ and adolescents’ coping behaviors and the potential influence of parental support for the development of adolescent autonomy. This study, therefore, analyzed the coping behaviors of fathers, mothers, and children (53% females) in 196 families who participated in a four-year longitudinal study that started when the child was an early adolescent. The results of cross-lagged panel design models examining direct links between parents’ and their children’s coping styles suggested that parents and children do not affect each others’ abilities to cope with family stress over time. However, indirect relationships between parents’ and children’s coping styles via autonomy support in the family were found. Both the parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of autonomy support in the family were important in shaping their respective coping styles. The child’s individual characteristics (e.g., gender and physical maturity) had a greater influence on the fine-tuning of mothers’ coping behaviors than on the fathers’. The findings underscore the significance of autonomy-enhancing parent–child interactions for the development of adolescent coping.     

工作时间质量对员工的影响 ：理论路径与实证检验

工作时间质量对于个人、企业和社会都具有重要意义。在明确了工作时间质量的3个评价维度(工作时长、工作时点和工作时间自主性)的基础上,本研究提出了"工作时间质量对员工影响的基础路径模型",揭示了工作时长、工作时点和工作时间自主性对员工产生影响时,三者的基础路径关系。该模型指出,工作时长、工作时点和工作时间自主性均能对员工个体层面的结果变量产生直接影响,同时,工作时间自主性能够显著调节工作时长、工作时点的影响程度。研究还利用"2018年中国工作环境研究"的数据,以"工作时间满意度"作为结果变量对理论模型进行实证检验,检验结果支持了理论模型的假设:(1)员工超时工作程度和工作时点非标准化程度越高,对工作时间感到满意的可能性越低;(2)工作时间自主性和工作时间满意度具有显著的正相关关系;(3)工作时间自主性负向调节超时工作和非标准化工作时点对员工工作时间满意度的影响。     

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.     

Predictors of Asian American Adolescents’ Suicide Attempts: A Latent Class Regression Analysis

Although suicide-related outcomes among Asian American adolescents are a serious public health problem in the United States, research in this area has been relatively sparse. To address this gap in the empirical literature, this study examined subgroups of Asian American adolescents for whom family, school, and peer relationships exerted differential effects on suicide attempts. Data were drawn from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health dataset and included responses from a national sample of 959 Asian American adolescents (48.0% girls; average age at Wave 2 = 16.43). A latent class regression was used to assess the optimal number of latent classes (i.e., subgroups of participants) that explained the associations between family, school, and peer relationships and subsequent suicide attempts. Three latent classes were identified. Most participants belonged to a latent class in which family, school, and peer relationships were protective factors. However, stronger school relationships and peer relationships were found to be risk factors in two other latent classes. The three latent classes also differed significantly in terms of suicide attempts, gender, and acculturation. The practical implications of this study, particularly for educators and mental health professionals, are discussed.     

Peer Attachment: A Meta-analytic Review of Gender and Age Differences and Associations with Parent Attachment

In adolescence, peers represent key actors within individual social network. Given the relevance of peer connections and the growing literature examining them, the purpose of this article was to review, through a meta-analytic approach, studies on adolescent and youth peer relationships within the theoretical framework of attachment. First, we synthesized results of 44 studies focused on relationships between parent and peer attachment. Second, we summarized findings of 54 studies reporting gender differences on peer attachment. Third, we computed an overall effect for age differences on peer attachment documented in 19 studies. Main findings highlighted that parent attachment is moderately correlated to peer attachment; that females were significantly more attached to their peers than males; and that the correlation between age and peer attachment was not significant. This set of findings was confirmed examining both overall peer attachment as well as specific dimensions of attachment, such as trust and communication. Furthermore, since a significant heterogeneity was found across studies, we tested the effects of various categorical (i.e., year and language of publication, country, attachment measure) and continuous (i.e., mean age and percentage of females of the sample, number of items of the peer attachment scale) moderators related to characteristics of the study samples and designs. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed. A focus on cultural dimensions and on peer attachment processes would be worthwhile to address relevant research questions: How do peer relationships progressively become mature attachment relationships? How is this process shaped for individuals with different parent attachment histories?     

The Impact of Migration upon Family Life and Gender Relations: the case of South Asian seafarers,c.1900–50

The article discusses the familial relationships of South Asian seafarers (commonly known as Lascars) in both South Asia and Britain. It explores how the family was both involved in and affected by their migration. The impact of lengthy absences caused by long voyages and migration to Britain upon families in the sending countries is considered. In particular, the impact upon intra-family dynamics and gender relations is investigated. The article also explores the role of the family in the migration and questions whether this disrupted family life. Finally, South Asian seafarers' marital relationships and family lives in Britain are reconsidered. The article demonstrates the shortcomings of viewing these relationships from a functionalist perspective alone.     

The workplace as a context for the socialization of youth

A number of respected social critics, including the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC), have recommended the earlier integration of adolescents into the workplace. The PSAC Panel on Youth (1973) claims that work settings provide opportunities for developing and exercising personal responsibility, taking responsibility for the welfare of others, and establishing more extensive instrumental and social relations with nonfamilial adults. This study of naturally occurring employment among high school students examines these claims about the nature of the workplace. Drawing on interview, questionnaire, and observational data, we argue that the PSAC's expectations are somewhat optimistic. With respect to personal responsibility taking, although many adolescent workers have opportunities for self-management and report performing assigned tasks dependably, very few report going beyond the call of duty. With respect to social responsibility, workers experience only modest levels of task interdependence and centrality to a team effort; yet substantial numbers of adolescent workers feel that their work serves a socially useful purpose. Finally, with respect to intergenerational contact, the workplace fails to induce meaningful interaction with adults. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that if the workplace is to become a truly vital context for adolescent socialization, it needs to be designed more deliberately with such aims in mind.This study is part of a large-scale investigation of the cost and benefits of working to adolescent development. The research program is supported by the National Institute of Education and the Spencer Foundation; dissemination of policy-oriented papers is supported by the Ford Foundation. The authors, who are Co-Principal Investigators of the research program, share equal responsibility for this report.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Harvard University. Main research interests are adolescence and social institutions, life-span development, and social policy.Received Ph.D. in human development and family studies from Cornell University. Main research interests are adolescent development, life-span development, and social policy.     

工作场所的民主何以可能:委内瑞拉实验的意义

工作场所民主是权利平等的内在要求,是政治权利平等向经济领域的延伸,而且有利于改进企业内部的关系,在社会主义国家,它是工人阶级政治地位的体现.要实现工作场所民主,需要克服政治权利如何能够延伸到工作场所等一系列障碍,但这些障碍并非无法克服的.工作场所民主能否实现,关键在国家政权的态度,而国家政权的态度往往取决于国家工人运动与政治民主的发展程度,同时,工人阶级的阶级意识与集体意识的发展状况也会对工作场所民主的实现产生重要影响.     

The nature and importance of attachment relationships to parents and peers during adolescence

The nature and quality of adolescents' attachments to peers and parents were assessed with the newly developed Inventory of Adolescent Attachments. The relative influence on measures of self-esteem and life satisfaction of relations with peers and with parents was then investigated in a hierarchical regression model. The sample consisted of 213 adolescents ranging from 12 to 19 years of age. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) The quality of perceived attachments both to parents and peers would be related to well-being, and (2) the quality of parental relationships would be a more powerful predictor of well-being than would the quality of peer relationships. Confirming the study's hypotheses, the perceived quality of the adolescents' relationships to both peers and parents, their frequency of utilization of peers, and their degree of negative life change were significantly related to both measures of well-being. The quality of attachment to parents was significantly more powerful than that to peers in predicting well-being. In addition, quality of attachment to parents showed a moderating effect under conditions of high life stress on the measures of self-esteem. The study suggests that it is useful to consider the quality of attachments to significant others as an important variable throughout the life span.     

Family Transitions and Later Delinquency and Drug Use

Changes in the family structure can be very disruptive to adolescents who live in those families. This article examines the impact of the number of family transitions on delinquent and drug-using behavior. Specifically, the effect of family transitions is hypothesized to be mediated by problems within the family, school, and peer settings. A sample of 646 boys (73%) and girls (27%) taken from a longitudinal panel study of high-risk adolescents are used to examine these hypotheses. For girls, little support is found for the direct or the indirect effect of family transitions on delinquent behavior or drug use. For boys, however, both forms of problem behavior are influenced by family transitions directly and indirectly through changes in, and problems with, peer associations. The findings suggest that during times of family turmoil, the friendship network of adolescent male children is also disrupted, leading to an increase in associations with delinquent others and, in turn, an increase in problematic behaviors.

Peer Victimization,Social Support,and Psychosocial Adjustment of Sexual Minority Adolescents

The present study examined the link between sexual orientation and adjustment in a community sample of 97 sexual minority (gay male, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning) high school students, taking into account their experiences of peer victimization and social support within peer and family contexts. Adolescents were identified in a large-scale survey study conducted at 5 high schools. They were matched to a comparison sample of their heterosexual peers. Sexual minority adolescents reported more externalizing behaviors and depression symptoms than heterosexual youth. Compared to their heterosexual peers, sexual minority youth reported more sexual harassment, more bullying, less closeness with their mothers, and less companionship with their best friends. There were no significant differences between gay male, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning adolescents. Overall, both victimization and social support mediated the link between sexual orientation and psychosocial symptoms. Among sexual minority youth, the link between social support and externalizing was mediated by experiences of peer victimization. These findings highlight the contextual risk and protective factors associated with non-heterosexual sexual orientation in accounting for the emotional and behavioral problems in this population. Ms. Williams completed her M.A. in Clinical-Developmental Psychology at York University in Toronto, Ontario. She is currently working on her Ph.D. Her research interests include adolescent sexual orientation, adolescent romantic relationships, and dating violence. Dr. Connolly is a Professor of Psychology at York University. She received her Ph.D. from Concordia University and is a Registered Psychologist in the Province of Ontario. Her current research examines adolescent romantic relationships and the peer context. Dr. Pepler is a Professor of Psychology at York University and Psychologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo and is a Registered Psychologist in the Province of Ontario. Her current research examines aggression and victimization among adolescents with a concern to the processes related to these problems over the lifespan. Dr. Craig is a Professor of Psychology at Queen's University. She received her Ph.D. from York University and is a Registered Psychologist in the Province of Ontario. Her current research examines bullying, victimization, aggression, juvenile delinquency, peer relations, and the development of intervention programs.     

Unique and Interactive Effects of Empathy,Family, and School Factors on Early Adolescents’ Aggression

Although research indicates that empathy inhibits youth aggression, little is known about the prospective associations between different components of empathy and aggression, as well as whether family and school factors moderate the aforementioned associations in early adolescents. Based on prior research, the current study examined whether empathic concern and perspective taking would contribute to subsequent overt and relational aggression over a 1-year period in middle school. Guided by the social development model, we also examined if positive family relations and school connectedness would differentially moderate the associations between both components of empathy and aggression. Participants were 481 10- to 14-year old students (54 % female; 78 % European American) who completed the first wave of a survey in 6th and 7th grades. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that only for girls did lower levels of empathic concern, not perspective taking, contribute to increases in subsequent overt, not relational, aggression. Although neither positive family relations nor school connectedness played protective roles for girls, results indicated that boys’ reports of positive family relations buffered the negative impact of low empathic concern on both forms of aggression 1 year later. Over and above the two components of empathy, school connectedness also contributed to a decline in boys’ subsequent overt aggression. Recommendations are made to foster family and school relationships among boys, as well as to more heavily consider the role of emotion processes in the study and prevention of early adolescents’ aggression.     

The Differential Relations of Parent and Peer Attachment to Adolescent Adjustment

Whether or not close emotional relationships with parents and peers serve similar functions for adolescent adjustment is an issue of increasing interest. The present study was designed to examine the relations between parent and peer attachment and adolescent adjustment. Eighty-nine adolescents (M age = 16.1 years, SD = 1.8 years) completed self-report measures of parent and peer attachment, sympathy, academic efficacy, aggression, anxiety, and depression. Adolescents were divided into four groups on the basis of their parent and peer attachment scores: those high on both, those low on both, those high on peer but low on parent attachment, and those high on parent but low on peer attachment. Discriminant function analyses revealed that the groups differed only along one dimension, suggesting that parent and peer attachment served similar functions in terms of the adjustment indices measured. Adolescents high on both peer and parent attachment were the best adjusted (i.e., least aggressive and depressed, most sympathetic) and those low on both were the least well adjusted. Furthermore, those high on peer but low on parent attachment were better adjusted than those high on parent but low on peer attachment, suggesting that peer attachment may be relatively more influential on adolescent adjustment than parent attachment.     

Families with Daughters,Families with Sons: Different Challenges for Family Relationships and Marital Satisfaction?

In a longitudinal study, the links between family relations and marital relations were examined in families with early adolescent children. Over the course of 4 years, 128 mother–father–adolescent triads were investigated annually. They completed questionnaires assessing family climate and marital relationships. Longitudinal analyses revealed that the initially large discrepancies between adolescents' and their parents' perceptions of family cohesion, support, and expressiveness decreased significantly over time. As adolescents approached late adolescence, however, the family members' perceptions of a lowered family closeness increasingly converged. Families with sons experienced stronger emotional distancing than families with daughters. However, the emphasis on adolescent independence was highly similar in families with daughters and sons, as was the extent to which rules and organization determined family life. Mothers and fathers did not depict their marital relationships as particularly critical during their children's early adolescent years. Moreover, in families with daughters, husbands and wives did not experience more marital conflict than in families with sons. The consistent associations revealed between marital communication, family closeness, and the opportunity for personal growth within the family suggest a bilateral focus for the study of parent–adolescent relationships.     

Pregnancy dismissals and theWebb litigation

Conclusion It is generally accepted that women have the right to participate in the workplace, although only if replicating the traditional male mode of working. To this extent, the right to formal equality with men is generally agreed to be a legitimate goal for legislation. However, where the limitations of such assimilation to a male norm come into sharp focus, as they do in the context of pregnancy, the restrictions placed on improving the position of women are evident. The courts seek to accept the arguments of employers that some limitation on the rights of women to participate fully in the workplace is necessary, with the unarticulated assumption that pregnancy constitutes a real difference between the sexes, incompatible with their notion of (formal) equality. Thus, it is argued, that the advances so far gained in the relation to pregnancy dismissals do not represent a cultural shift in attitudes towards accommodating pregnant women and women with children into the workplace. They have been adopted only reluctantly by the UK courts and legislature, with limitations still being placed on their effect particularly in respect of dismissals on account of pregnancy-related illness. The rights of women not to be discriminated against solely on the basis of their biological ability to give birth must continue to be advocated and given attention; complacency will likely see those rights progressively restricted.     

Parental Management of Peer Relationships and Early Adolescents’ Social Skills

Despite a growing body of research on parental management of peer relationships, little is known about the relationship between parental management of peers and early adolescents’ social skills or the precursors to parental management of peer relationships. The goals of this short-term longitudinal investigation were to examine the relationship between parental management of peers (consulting and guiding), conflict about peers, and adolescents’ social skills (cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control) and to examine potential precursors (goals of improving peer relationships and beliefs about authority over peer relationships) to parental management of peer relationships. A predominantly White sample (71%) of 75 seventh-graders (57% female) and their primary caregivers participated in the 9-month investigation. Caregivers completed questionnaires regarding goals of improving their adolescents’ peer relationships, beliefs about parental authority over peer relationships, parental management of peers, and adolescents’ social skills. Adolescents completed questionnaires regarding their social skills. Path analyses suggest that a greater number of caregivers’ goals of improving peer relationships and higher beliefs about parental authority over peers were related to higher levels of consulting, guiding, and conflict about peers. Higher levels of conflict about peers in conjunction with higher levels of consulting were related to lower levels of assertion and responsibility in peer relationships over time. When parents reported having a greater number of goals of improving peer relationships, adolescents reported higher levels of cooperation, assertion, empathy, and self control over time. Findings suggest that caregivers’ goals and beliefs are important in predicting parental management of peer relationships and adolescents’ social skills over time, and that conflict about peers undermines caregivers’ efforts to be positively involved in adolescents’ peer relationships.     

Close relationships in adolescence: The case of the kibbutz

In this article, studies on close relationships among kibbutz adolescents are reviewed. The case of the kibbutz is examined in terms of the balance between relationship with parents and relationship with peers in the kibbutz as compared to the city and moshav, as well as within the kibbutz between communal vs. familial sleeping arrangements. The reviewed studies address three issues: Intimacy with a best friend; self-disclosure and emotional expression toward peers, parents, and figures outside the family; and peer group relations. Studies on intimacy in young adults, married adults, and parent-daughter relationships are considered as pointing to the possible consequences of the patterns observed during adolescence. Differences in intimacy and emotional expression among adolescents in the different settings are interpreted in terms of the effects of structural variables (sleeping arrangement, degree of contact with parents and peers) being a marker for greater peer involvement. It is argued that adolescents are likely to maintain their more inhibited pattern of expression of intimacy into adulthood when they stay in the same setting. Change in the level of expressed intimacy is likely to occur in adulthood, with change of setting. Based on cross-sectional studies, it is speculated that it is possible to close developmental gaps in intimacy at a later stage, thus supporting a situational-based pattern of intimacy and closeness.Received Ph.D. from Cornell University. Research interests include friendship, cross cultural studies, and attachment.Received Ph.D. from York University, Toronto, Canada. Current research interests are in relatedness and loneliness and in psychotherapy research.