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.     

Seat belts and human rights: an appraisal

Mandatory seat belt legislation has been passed in 15 states. Accompanying this action has been a deluge of information concerning the lives saved and the injuries prevented by the wearing of seat belts by the front seat passengers in automobiles. This study presents data relating to the injuries and deaths attributable to their usage. There is virtually no major area of the adult body that has escaped such involvement. Mechanisms by which seat belt injury is effected are described in relation to the restraint systems currently available in the United States and abroad.     

A Comparison of Methods for Analyzing Criminological Panel Data

We demonstrate that fixed- and random-effects models for pooled cross-sectional and time series data, and latent growth curve models for panel data are special cases of a more general model. We compare the estimates obtained from each type of model for a data set consisting of homicide rates and a vector of explanatory variables for 400 US counties over a 15-year period. Most, but not all, estimates are similar in the two models. We identify circumstances under which one approach may be advantageous to the other.

We're Still Taking X‐Rays but the Patient is Dying: What Keeps us from Intervening More Quickly in Resist‐Refuse Cases?

Professionals frequently lament the fact that the dynamics of resist‐refuse cases are often entrenched before the family receives effective intervention. Dysfunctional behavior patterns can become entrenched, with severe impairment of children's ability to function. Assessment is a critical component in the process of assisting families, but can come to so dominate the process that the situation is unrecoverable once the assessment is completed and meaningful interventions begin. The authors will describe commonly encountered obstacles to early intervention in resist‐refuse cases, ranging from systemic stressors to the persistence of inaccurate beliefs and information and practices that undermine accountability. Practical strategies, including a broader conceptual model, integrating assessment into intervention, encouraging lawyers and courts to take earlier action, and suggestions for future professional development will be addressed.     

Youths’ Substance Use and Changes in Parental Knowledge-Related Behaviors During Middle School: A Person-Oriented Approach

Parental knowledge is a key protective factor for youths’ risky behavior. Little is known about how longitudinal combinations of knowledge-related behaviors are associated with youths’ substance use. This longitudinal study uses Latent Transition Analysis to identify latent patterns of parental knowledge-related behaviors occurring in mother-youth dyads during middle school and to investigate how changes in knowledge-related patterns are associated with youths’ substance use in Grade 6 and the initiation of substance use from Grade 6 to 8. Using a sample of 536 rural dyads (53 % female, 84 % White), we assessed mother and youths’ reports of parental knowledge, active parental monitoring efforts, youth disclosure, and parent-youth communication to identify six latent patterns of knowledge-related behaviors: High Monitors, Low Monitors, Communication-Focused, Supervision-Focused, Maternal Over-Estimators, and Youth Over-Estimators. Fifty percent or more of dyads in the High Monitors, Communication-Focused and Youth Over-Estimators were in the same status in both 6th and 8th grade: 98 % of Low Monitors in Grade 6 were also in this status in Grade 8. The initiation of alcohol, smoking, and marijuana was associated significantly with transitions between patterns of knowledge-related behaviors. The initiation of alcohol and smoking were associated with increased odds of transitions into the Low Monitors from the Communication-Focused, Supervision-Focused, and Maternal Over-Estimators. However, the initiation of substance use was associated with decreased odds of transitions from the High Monitors to the Low Monitors and with increased odds of transitions from High Monitors to Supervision-Focused. The discussion focuses on the value of using a person-oriented dyadic approach with multiple reporters to study changes in knowledge-related behaviors over the middle school period.