Do Parenting Behaviors Predict Externalizing Behavior in Adolescence, or Is Attachment the Neglected 3rd Factor?

The aim of this study was to examine the role of attachment in the link between parenting behaviors (including positive parenting and negative control) and problem behaviors during adolescence. Using questionnaires, we examined 511 Flemish, Dutch-speaking adolescents ranging in age from 10 to 18 years. We distinguished 3 age groups (10–12, 13–15, and 16–18 years) and conducted mediation and moderator analyses, using multiple regression analyses. Results showed that attachment towards mother and father mediates between negative control and problem behavior in the 1st 2 age groups. The strength of the link between parenting and problem behavior was less strong in the older age groups, while the strength of the link between attachment and parenting was equally important across age groups. Only in the youngest age group, we found some evidence for a parenting by paternal attachment interaction. These findings suggest the need for tailoring existing preventive parent management trainings: more attention should be paid to improve the quality of parent–child interactions and the forthcoming attachment bonds.

About the Authors

Biography

About the Authors     

Don't Stand So Close to Me: Spatial Contagion Effects and Party Competition

In this article, we bring together elements from the literatures on economic voting and spatial voting to gain theoretical leverage on the combined role of clarity of responsibility, party policy positions, and economic performance in elections. Building on evidence of voter knowledge, we develop a theory of spatial contagion effects to explain how factors drawn from both of these literatures combine to shape changes in support for political parties. We test this theory with a spatial autoregressive model of party competition in 23 nations from 1951 to 2005. As expected, we find evidence of strong spatial contagion effects in elections with low clarity of responsibility.     

Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument for mental health needs of youths in residential welfare/justice institutions: identifying gender differences across countries and settings

This study examines the use of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Second Version (MAYSI-2) for mental health needs among 1643 youngsters in residential welfare/justice institutions in Europe and the USA, identifying gender differences across countries and settings. Overall, the MAYSI-2 appeared to be a reliable instrument among these youngsters, with only some scales falling (slightly) below the threshold of acceptable internal consistency. Girls (vs. boys) in Belgian/USA justice institutions and Swiss mixed welfare/justice institutions displayed higher scores for the angry–irritable, depressed–anxious, somatic complaints, suicide ideation scales. Also, detained girls from Belgium and Switzerland reported higher scores for traumatic experiences. No gender differences were revealed among adolescents in German welfare institutions. Our findings suggest that the MAYSI-2 may serve as a useful mental health screening instrument among youngsters in welfare/justice institutions and that girls in justice institutions and mixed welfare/justice institutions form a particularly vulnerable population with regard to mental health problems.     

Family and Peer Relationships in a Residential Youth Sample: Exploring Unique,Non-Linear,and Interactive Associations with Depressive Symptoms and Suicide Risk

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Close relationships are consequential for youth depressive symptoms and suicide risk, but nuanced research examining intersecting factors is needed to improve...     

The role of mobile computed tomography in mass fatality incidents

Mobile multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scanners are potentially available to temporary mortuaries and can be operational within 20 min of arrival. We describe, to our knowledge, the first use of mobile MDCT for a mass fatality incident. A mobile MDCT scanner attended the disaster mortuary after a five vehicle road traffic incident. Five out of six bodies were successfully imaged by MDCT in c. 15 min per body. Subsequent full radiological analysis took c. 1 h per case. The results were compared to the autopsy examinations. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of imaging with mobile MDCT in relation to mass fatality work, illustrating the body pathway process, and its role in the identification of the pathology, personal effects, and health and safety hazards. We propose that the adoption of a single modality of mobile MDCT could replace the current use of multiple radiological sources within a mass fatality mortuary.