Adolescents' perceptions of the costs and benefits of engaging in health-compromising behaviors

The present investigation examined the costs and benefits that adolescents perceive for engaging or not engaging in two potentially health-compromising behaviors: underage alcohol use and nonmarital sexual intercourse. A number of hypotheses regarding gender, behavioral status, and grade differences were examined in a sample of over 2400 7th–12th graders. Our hypotheses were more clearly confirmed for perceived costs than for perceived benefits. For both sexual activity and alcohol use, there were strong differences in perceived costs between the two status groups, with nondrinkers and nonsexually active adolescents perceiving significantly more costs to these behaviors. Contrary to our hypotheses, perceived benefits did not discriminate between the two status groups. As was hypothesized, girls generally perceived more costs than did boys for engaging in sexual intercourse and using alcohol; students' perceptions of the costs of alcohol use decreased with increasing grade level. The grade trends concerning the other costs and benefits scales were all complicated by interactions with behavioral status. This study supports the idea that adolescents' perceptions of the costs and benefits of various health-compromising behaviors are related to gender, age, and the behaviors themselves. The findings further indicate that the costs adolescents perceive are more important than the perceived benefits for understanding why some adolescents engage in these behaviors and others do not.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Seattle, Washington, November 1990.Received Ph.D from Cornell University in developmental psychology. Research interests include adolescent risk taking and adolescent-parent relations.Received Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in child and family studies. Research interests include adolescent-parent relations and adolescent and adult development.Research interests include adolescent sexuality and interpersonal violence.     

Adolescents' perceptions of the nature of their communication with parents

This study examines the effects of the age and sex of adolescent and the sex of parent upon adolescents' perceptions of the nature of their communication with each parent. Two hundred and ninety-six adolescents aged 13–17 years completed a communication schedule, rating 14 content areas along six process dimensions: frequency of conversation, initiator, levels of recognition of adolescents' opinion, self-disclosure, domination, and levels of satisfaction. Multivariate analyses of variance were conducted separately for each process dimension. Frequency ratings revealed that adolescent females of all ages reported talking more often with mothers than did adolescent males. Adolescent males, however, believed they talked more often than did females with fathers about interests, sexual issues, and general problems. Mothers were seen to initiate more conversations than fathers on a wide range of topics. Mothers were also perceived as more likely to recognize and accept the adolescents' opinions. Adolescent females believed they disclosed more to mothers than fathers, but males believed they disclosed equally to both parents. Males disclosed more to fathers than did females about their sexual or other problems, while females disclosed more often overall to their mothers than did males. Adolescent males were equally satisfied with their discussions with both parents, but females were more satisfied about conversations with mothers rather than fathers. In sum, the results suggest that mothers' more frequent initiation of discussions with their younger adolescents and their greater recognition of their opinions lead to older adolescents interacting more with mothers than fathers.Ph.D. in Social Psychology, University of Queensland. Her current interests are in the areas of marital and family communication, adolescence, and personal relationships.Ph.D. in Social Psychology, Australian National University, with research interests in adolescence, marital communication, and childless couples.     

Adolescents' perceptions of their attachment relationships with their mothers,fathers, and friends

This study explored changes in New Zealand adolescents' perceptions of their attachment relationships with their mothers, fathers, and friends. The main findings revealed that from early to late adolescence: Males and females remained stable in their quality of affect toward their mothers. With increasing age, females utilized their mothers for support and proximity more, whereas males utilized their mothers for support and proximity less. With increasing age, males and females rated their quality of affect toward their fathers as lower and utilized their fathers for support and proximity less. Females had a higher quality of affect toward friends than males regardless of age, but both males and females increased their utilization of friends for support and proximity over age. Further analyses revealed that Pacific Island adolescents utilized their mothers less for support and proximity than European/Pakeha adolescents. Adolescents from one-parent families utilized their fathers less for support and proximity and had a lower quality of affect toward him than adolescents from two-parent families. These findings suggested that substantial changes take place in attachment relationships from early to late adolescence and highlighted the need for research to differentiate between the sex of adolescent and sex of parent dyads in order to examine adolescents' affective relationships effectively.This research is based on the first author's doctoral dissertation at the University of Auckland.Received Ph.D. from the University of Auckland. Research interests are in life span developmental psychology and in the parenting of children and adolescents.Received Ph.D. from the Australian National University. Research interests lie within life span developmental psychology and early cognitive development.Received Ph.D. from the University of Canterbury. Her main interests are in life span developmental psychology and the development of low birth weight babies.     

Locus of peer influence: Social crowd and best friend

This study examined the relative influence of the best friends and social crowds of older adolescents on cigarette smoking. The data were examined to determine if there were differences in influence as a function of sex, conformity, or the mutuality of the friendship. This study used a longitudinal design that enabled the separation of the effects of peer influence from those of selective association. The results showed that social crowds differed in mean level of cigarette smoking, with burnouts smoking the most and jock/preps smoking the least. The majority of best friendships were homogeneous for social crowd. Best friend influence predicted change in cigarette smoking over a one-year period, while social crowd influence appeared to be minimal. Conformity was positively related to susceptibility to peer influence, although mutuality of the friendship and sex of the subject were not.This research was supported by NIH grant HD18425 awarded to Kathryn Urberg.Obtained Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in the Department of Educational Psychology. A developmental psychologist, her major area of interest is adolescent social development.     

Sex differences within the family: Studies of adolescent and parent family interactions

Sex differences in verbal family interactions were investigated in a group of 79 adolescents and parents from normal and psychiatric settings. The analyses were designed to study these differences in both generations, parent and adolescent. Parent and adolescent interactions with one another were observed in a semistructured, revealed-differences family discussion. All of the individual speeches were then scored with our Constraining and Enabling Coding System (CECS). Initial predictions involved both adolescent and parent differences. These hypotheses were only partially confirmed. The strongest findings pertained to parent sex differences, as we found strikingly higher levels of cognitive enabling speeches expressed by fathers and significantly more speeches addressed to fathers. We discuss several alternative interpretations of these findings. Perspectives included in our considerations are direction of effect and influences of task/context upon the expression of family sex differences.This study was supported through a grant from the National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD Grant No. R01 HD18684-02) and a Research Scientist Development Award No. 5 K-02-MH-70178 (Dr. Hauser) from the NIMH.Received M.D. from Yale University and Ph.D. from Harvard University (psychology). Currently studying family contexts of adolescent development.Received B.A. from Michigan University. Currently graduate student in organizational behavior, Northwestern University. Current interests are women and work.Received his Ph.D. from Boston University. Research interests are in methodology and statistics.Henry A. Murray Research Center of Radcliffe College. Received Ed. D. from Harvard University (School of Education). Currently studying family coping processes in response to stressful events.Received Ph.D. from Ohio State University (psychology). Current interests in assessing ego development and family systems.Parent-Place, Judge Baker Guidance Center. Received Ph.D. from the University of Miami (clinical psychology). Research interests are in family studies and adolescent development.Received M.D. from the University of Chicago. Currently studying psychological consequences of diabetes mellitus.the Children's Unit of McLean Hospital. Received Diploma Psych. from Freie Universitat, Berlin (clinical psychology), and Ed.D. from Harvard University (School of Education). Currently studying relationships between psychopathology and development among adolescent psychiatric patients.     

Sex differences in the resolution of the identity crisis

Based on Erikson's view of the importance of inner space in feminine identity, researchers have added an interview on premarital sex to the standard ego identity interview on occupation, religion, and politics used for males. This study was designed to investigate the relative importance of premarital sexual ideology for males and females, as well as sex differences in identity status on occupation, religion, and politics. Marcia's semi-structured ego identity status interview was given to 70 male and 70 female college students, with premarital sex questions included for both sexes. Consistent with Erikson's theory, females were more likely than males to have experienced a sexual identity crisis, whereas males were very likely to be foreclosed in this area. Males as well as females were more likely to be committed about sex than about any other area. In all areas except sex, female identity followed basically the same pattern as male identity.Received her Ph.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo. Current research interests are ego identity and human sexuality.Received his Ph. D. from State University of New York at Albany. Current research interests are mental health evaluation and behavior therapy.     

The life space and socialization of the self: Sex differences in the young adolescent

In this conclusion we examine the implications of the special issue findings for the development of the self. We discuss how well the young adolescent experiences in schoolwork, maintenance, talk, and leisure provide bases for an evolving adjstment to the adult roles of work, love, and play. Gender differences clearly emerged in the experience of daily life; children entered adolescence with differences in how time is experienced already firmly established, and by midadolescence these differences were intensifying. Our data support the three heuristics of communion versus agency, gender intensification, and the public versus private dichotomy. Concern is raised as to the viability of traditional sex role socialization when adult roles may demand more egalitarian behavior.     

Sex differences in the causes of adolescent suicide ideation

A model that incorporates both socioenvironmental and psychological factors was developed in an attempt to explain adolescent suicide ideation. A sample of 407 high school students was used to test the model. Most of the previous research on the causes of adolescent suicidal behavior has not used multivariate data analysis techniques and has failed to explore sex differences. Results of the present study suggest that these are important omissions. Although significant at the zero-order level, factors such as self-esteem and interpersonal problems at school were not related to suicide ideation when the effects of the other explanatory variables were controlled. The incidence of suicide ideation was higher for females. Emotional problems and involvement in delinquent behavior were important predictors of ideation for females, while employment problems were the most potent predictor for males.Received his Ph.D. from Florida State University. Current interest is the etiology of various forms of deviant behavior, especially among adolescents.Therapist, Story County Center for Personal Development. Received her M.A. in clinical sociology from Iowa State University.     

Exploration and commitment: Sex differences and methodological problems in the use of identity status categories

The identity crisis of adolescence can be thought of as involving two processes: an exploration among alternatives and a making of commitments. Ninety-nine Danish youth were assessed for degrees of exploration and of commitment in four areas: occupation, values, politics, and sex roles. Sex differences were investigated. Contrary to Erikson's theory, sexual ideology did not appear more central to women's identity formation. For both sexes, the struggle with sex roles and the search for values were the most powerful predictors of ten dependent personality variables. The study demonstrated the importance of exploration and commitment as variables in identity process in another culture, and suggested that a direct scaling of these variables is superior to the use of Marcia's category system.This report is based on data collected in a study funded by the Humanistic Research Council of Denmark. The first analysis of data was reported in their publication in 1974. Copies of the initial report and reprints of this article can be obtained from the author.Teaches master's candidates in counseling and has a small private practice. Received his Ph.D. in psychology and pastoral counseling from Boston University. Main interest is adolescent identity.     

Sex differences in the Beck Depression inventory scores of adolescents

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the potential differences between male and female adolescents in their performance on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as a function of demographic variables and variables related to their living conditions. Three hundred and twelve adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 completed the BDI and a questionnaire dealing with the variables mentioned above. All adolescents were from the Western Quebec area and were registered at De l'Ile High School (Hull) or at L'Erablière High School (Gatineau). Differences in the BDI scores were observed between female and male adolescents, with females scoring significantly higher than males. However, none of the variables included in the questionnaire had a differential effect on the BDI scores of either male or female adolescents. The results are discussed in light of their relationship with some adjustment factors in adolescence.This is a modified version of a poster paper presented at the 15th annual meeting of the European Association for Behaviour Therapy, Munich, August 1985. Participation at this conference was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (461-85-0373) to the first author. The authors wish to thank Madeleine Fortin and Lyne Prud'homme for their assistance, as well as Gilles Boudrias and Lionel Fournier for their cooperation.Received his Ph.D. from University of Ottawa. Major research interest is depression in adolescents.Research interest is behavior in adolescents.     

Sex differences in patterns of self-disclosure among adolescents: A developmental perspective

The purpose of this study is to explore relationships among sex, target, and aspects of adolescent self-disclosure. An adaptation of the Journal and Lasakow (1958) Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (SDQ) was administered to 97 secondary school volunteers with same-sex friend and opposite-sex friend as specified targets. SDQ scores were obtained for a stratified random sample of 30 Ss matched with volunteers for school, grade, age, and sex. Results indicated no sex differences in total disclosure; Ss disclosed differentially to same-sex and opposite-sex friend. Female same-sex disclosure was greater than male same-sex disclosure. A high disclosure cluster for females was Tastes and Interests and Personality; for males it was Tastes and Interests, Work (Studies), and Attitudes and Opinions. These findings reflect patterns for volunteers and nonvolunteers, suggesting that volunteering was not a factor in obtained outcomes. Sex differences in aspects of disclosure are discussed in terms of sex-role variations in establishment of ego identity.The larger study from which the data under discussion were drawn is entitled Cognitive Self-Modeling, Conventional Group Counselling and Change in Interpersonal Communication Skills. Two co-investigators were involved in the study—J. G. Schachter and W. E. Reitz. In addition, research assistance was provided throughout the study by K. H. Hough. A detailed summary of all demographic data is available upon request from the author.(King's College is affiliated with the University of Western Ontario.) Received Ph.D. from The Institute for Child Study, University of Maryland. Main interests are child development and counseling.     

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.     

The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence

The results of two studies are reported. Study I involved the development of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), a self-report instrument for use with adolescents. Subject were 179 college students aged 16–20 years. Item content of the instrument was suggested by attachment theory's formulations concerning the nature of feelings toward attachment figures. In Study II, the convergent validity of the IPPA was examined. Also, a hierarchial regression model was employed to investigate the association between quality of attachment and self-esteem, life-satisfaction, and affective status. Respondents were 86 adolescents from the Study I sample. As hypothesized, perceived quality of both parent and peer attachments was significantly related to psychological well-being. Results of the development of a theoretically focused, exploratory classification scheme indicated that adolescents classified as highly securely attached reported greater satisfaction with themselves, a higher likelihood of seeking social support, and less symptomatic response to stressful life events.She received her Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Washington. Her research interests include the study of attachment, stress and coping styles in adolescence.He received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. His research interests include attachment relationships across the life span and their influence on personality, and the development of deaf children.     

Sex differences in the identity formation of college students from divorced families

This study was desgined to examine gender differences in identity formation in late adolescents from divorced mother-custody families. Fifty-seven female and thirty-nine male college students ranging in age from 17 to 25 years completed the Child's Report of Parental Behavior [E. S. Schaeffer (1965) Children's Reports of Parental Behavior: An Inventory, Child Development, Vol. 36, pp. 412–482] and were interviewed using the J. E. Marcia [(1966) Development and Validation of Ego Identity Status, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 3, pp. 551–558] semistructured Identity Status Interview. While no differences between males and females were found in ratings of overall identity status, significantly more females were in the achieved category within the domains of occupation and attitudes toward premarital sex. Also, males perceived their mothers as significantly more accepting and less controlling than did females. The absence of the father and the altered role of the mother appear to have a differential impact on males and females who have grown up in mother-custody families. Implications of these and other findings are discussed.Received Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College Columbia University. Research interests include adolescent identity formation, the intersection and integration of personal and career counseling, and career development.     

Sex differences in sex-role conceptions and family orientation of high school students

Studies of college freshmen find that men are more sexist in their attitudes than women. Does this hold also for high school students? This paper reports the relationship of (1) sex-role attitudes to selected school and family characteristics and (2) attitudes toward family life to sex-role conceptions for women and men. The study is based on 529 students in grades 9 to 12 attending four high schools. The findings show that males are more sexist than females and Blacks more so than Whites. Women who are bright, from upper class backgrounds, and whose mothers work are more equalitarian in sex-role conceptions. For men, family background is unimportant, but attending an elite public school seems to foster equalitarian sex-role conceptions. Men's sex-role attitudes are harder to explain than women's, and, unlike women, their role attitudes have little connection to their family orientation.     

Secrets in the bedroom: Adolescents' private use of media

This essay discusses the functions of solitary media use within the ongoing daily emotional lives of adolescents. I review evidence suggesting that adolescents find in solitary TV watching and especially music listening, the opportunity, first, to cultivate a newly discovered private self: teens use media to explore numerous possible selves including those that are desired and feared. Second, I propose that solitary media experiences provide adolescents an important context for dealing with stress and negative emotion. Popular music listening allows adolescents to internalize strong emotional images around which a temporary sense of self can cohere.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the fifth biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, California, February 10–13, 1994. Much of the research upon which this paper is based was funded by NIMH grant No. 1 R01 MH38324 awarded to Reed Larson and Maryse Richards.Received his Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago. Research focuses on the temporal and emotional organization of daily life, especially in adolescence and within adolescents' families.     

Adolescents' response to nuclear threat: Before and after the chernobyl accident

This study investigated adolescent responses to nuclear threat during intervals preceding and following the Chernobyl disaster. The Nuclear Threat Index was administered to 96 Israeli subjects two months prior to and two months following the disaster. In addition, they were tested with Rotter's Locus of Control Scale. The data results indicate that on the whole there were differences in scores between the two administrations, especially with respect to self-reported activity (behavioral subscales). Adolescents reported significantly more past nuclear-related activity before the accident as well as fewer anticipated activities after the accident. Adjusted for the preaccident score differences data reveal that after the accident younger adolescents reported less pessimism and more previous activity than the older adolescents. In addition, males reported more nuclear-related activity than females; younger males reported more past activity and less pessimism than older males; external males reported more activity than internal males. Discussion focuses on possible explanations for the results, on limitations of the investigation, and on implications for further research.Received Ph.D. in school counseling from Tel Aviv University. Research interests: evaluation of primary prevention programs, crisis intervention in mass disasters, and death studies.Received D.Sc. from the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) Department of Management Science. Research interests: Statistics.Received M.A. in Education from University of Haifa, School guidance and counseling, Haifa, Israel.