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

Out of sight out of mind: Psychological distance and opinion about the age of penal majority

The growth of urban violence in Brazil, as in other countries, has led citizens to demand more severe and punitive measures to solve the problem of juvenile crime. One motion submitted to the Brazilian parliament, for instance, proposes to reduce the age of penal majority (APM) from 18 to 16 years. Our hypothesis is that popular opinions about this proposal are largely constrained by construal levels and psychological distance. Accordingly, we expect that the knowledge and proximity to the circumstances associated with juvenile transgression will influence opinions about the proposal. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated how opinion against or for the proposal can be explained by psychological distance and moral development theory. We studied two samples, composed of people who do not have a deep experience with the subject (passersby in a public square (N = 77) and workers from a juvenile justice court (N = 157). After collecting socio-demographic information from the subjects and their answer to moral dilemmas, the data was subjected to a multivariate analysis by multimodal logistic regression for socio-demographic characteristics, Kohlberg moral stages, and opinion on the reduction of APM (agree, indifferent, and disagree) as dependent variables. Our findings suggest that 1) opinion about the APM depends on psychological distance and 2) socioeconomic variables may influence the average construal level of adolescent transgressors in the public’s perspective.

Learned Experience and Resource Dilution: Conceptualizing Sibling Influences on Parents' Feeding Practices

Studies from diverse cultures report mixed results in the relationship between birth order and risk for obesity. Explanations may thus lie in the postnatal period when growth is shaped by the family environment, including parental feeding practices, which may be affected by siblings. Consistent with a family systems perspective, we describe two processes that may explain birth order effects on parental feeding practices and child outcomes: learned experience and resource dilution. Parents learn from experience when earlier-born children influence their parents’ knowledge, expectations, and behavior toward later-born siblings through their behaviors and characteristics—which can have both positive and negative implications. Resource dilution is a process whereby the birth of each child limits the time, attention and other resources parents have to devote to any one of their children. The goal of this review is to provide a theoretical basis for examining potential sibling influences on parental responsive feeding toward developing recommendations for future research and practice aimed at preventing obesity throughout family systems.

Insights about Screen-Use Conflict from Discussions between Mothers and Pre-Adolescents: A Thematic Analysis

Digital screens have become an integral part of everyday life. In the wake of the digital swell, pre-adolescents and their parents are learning to navigate seemingly new terrain regarding digital media use. The present study aimed to investigate parent and pre-adolescent perceptions of screen use and the source of conflict surrounding digital media. We employed a qualitative thematic analysis of 200 parent and pre-adolescent dyads discussing screen use. Our analysis showed five overarching themes for screen use perceptions and conflict: screen time, effects of screen use, balance, rules, and reasons for screen use. In contrast to previous studies that mainly focused on parental perceptions, we were also able to shed light on pre-adolescent perceptions of screen use and the difference in opinions with their parents. Furthermore, we found that patterns of the source of screen use conflict were oftentimes rooted in the age-old developmental tug of war between autonomy-seeking pre-adolescents and authority-seeking parents. Though navigating autonomy-granting and seeking behavior is familiar to developmental scientists, negotiating these challenges in a new digital world is unfamiliar. Autonomy support, open dialogue, and playful interaction between parents and children are needed to understand and resolve conflict of digital media use in family contexts.

Maternal and Paternal Distress and Coping Over Time Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective

Examine differences in maternal and paternal coping and distress following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and orthopedic injuries (OI).

Method

Concurrent cohort/prospective design with five assessments between 1 and an average of 7 years after injury of children aged 3-6 years hospitalized for TBI ( n  = 87) or OI ( n  = 119). Mixed models analyses were used to examine hypotheses.

Results

Overall, fathers reported greater depression and general distress than mothers 18 months after injury, but not at long-term follow-up. Active and acceptance coping were unrelated to parental sex, injury factors, or time since injury. A group × rater × time interaction was noted for Denial coping. Following severe TBI, fathers reported greater denial at 18 months, whereas mothers reported greater denial at the long-term follow-up. Denial coping did not differ between mothers and fathers following OI and moderate TBI.

Conclusions

Parental response to early TBI is complex and may warrant clinical intervention even years after injury.

When Do Adolescents Accept or Defy to Maternal Prohibitions? The Role of Social Domain and Communication Style

Drawing upon both Social-Cognitive Domain Theory and Self-Determination Theory, the goal of the present multi-informant study was to test whether the correlates of maternal prohibitions depend on what is prohibited (i.e., the content of the social domain involved), thereby contrasting moral with friendship prohibitions, as well on how the prohibition is communicated, thereby contrasting an autonomy-supportive with a controlling communication style. In a sample of adolescents (N = 196; mean age = 13.9 years; 63 % female) and their mothers (N = 185; mean age = 44 years), we first examined mean-level differences between the two domains in terms of mothers' degree and style of prohibition, as well as on a number of developmental outcomes (i.e., adolescents' legitimacy perceptions, internalization, and oppositional defiance). Both adolescents and mothers reported more maternal involvement in the moral domain (e.g., higher scores for degree of prohibition and controlling communication style). In addition, adolescents reported greater perceived legitimacy and less oppositional defiance in the moral domain (as compared to the friendships domain). Second, we tested whether associations between degree and style of prohibition and the developmental outcomes were moderated by social domain. Whereas associations between degree of prohibition and developmental outcomes either were non-significant or moderated by domain, the associations with communication style were more domain-invariant, with an autonomy-supportive style generally yielding an adaptive pattern of correlates and with a controlling style relating to maladaptive outcomes. The discussion focuses on similarities and differences in the characteristics and correlates of both types of prohibitions.

Middle-Grade Predictors of Students’ Motivation and Behavior in High School

This study investigated students’ school context, motivation, and behavior across the transition to high school. During the final marking period of 7th and 9th grades, students completed questionnaires assessing their academic self-concept and perceptions of the motivational context created by teachers, peers, and their economic opportunity structure. Achievement and discipline data were also collected at both time points. Ninth graders provided data on their motivation (effort and valuing of education) and future academic plans. Students reported more positive motivational contexts in 9th grade versus 7th grade, particularly with respect to teachers. Seventh-grade contextual variables were associated with 9th-grade motivation and adjustment. Discriminant function analyses found that 7th-grade variables discriminated between least adjusted and better adjusted high school students. Students’7th-grade discipline referrals, doubts about the economic value of education, and negative expectations of peers and teachers were the best discriminators between less and more adjusted 9th graders.

Primary and Secondary School Teachers' Perceptions and Actions Regarding Their Pupils' Emotional Lives

To investigate teachers' perceptions and actions regarding the psychological and counselling needs of their pupils, we collected data from 258 teachers in primary and secondary schools. The teachers' reports revealed significant differences between teachers in the two educational settings, in almost all the issues investigated. Secondary school pupils were described as more troubled by various issues and more in need of individual counselling in school than their primary school counterparts. Secondary school teachers are approached mainly with issues associated with school lives, whereas primary school pupils request more help on personal and family matters. Secondary school teachers report having less time, perceiving their involvement with their pupils' emotional life as less central to their task, and believing that their own attitudes and characteristics influence their relations with their pupils. Primary school teachers, presumably being part of a school organizational culture that legitimizes greater involvement with pupils, nurture their relationships with their pupils and make it easier for pupils to approach them, making greater use of classroom activities and specific methods intended for this purpose. While some of these findings could be explained in terms of the developmental differences between primary and secondary school pupils, it is suggested that the differential impact ofthe environment in the two types of schools affects teachers' roles and intentions in dealing with their pupils' emotional lives and needs.

The BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism Interacts with Maternal Parenting Influencing Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: Evidence of Differential Susceptibility Model

Although depressive symptoms are common during adolescence, little research has examined gene-environment interaction on youth depression. This study chose the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, tested the interaction between a functional polymorphism resulting amino acid substitution of valine (Val) to methionine (Met) in the proBDNF protein at codon 66 (Val66Met), and maternal parenting on youth depressive symptoms in a sample of 780 community adolescents of Chinese Han ethnicity (aged 11-17, M = 13.6, 51.3 % females). Participants reported their depressive symptoms and perceived maternal parenting. Results indicated the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism significantly moderated the influence of maternal warmth-reasoning, but not harshness-hostility, on youth depressive symptoms. Confirmatory model evaluation indicated that the interaction effect involving warmth-reasoning conformed to the differential-susceptibility rather than diathesis-stress model of person-X-environment interaction. Thus, Val carriers experienced less depressive symptoms than Met homozygotes when mothering was more positive but more symptoms when mothering was less positive. The findings provided evidence in support of the differential susceptibility hypothesis of youth depressive symptoms and shed light on the importance of examining the gene-environment interaction from a developmental perspective.

Impulsivity, risk taking, and cortisol reactivity as a function of psychosocial stress and personality in adolescents

Although adolescence is characterized by hormonal changes and increased disinhibited behaviors, explanations for these developmental changes that include personality and environmental factors have not been fully elucidated. We examined the interactions between psychosocial stress and the traits of negative emotionality and constraint on impulsive and risk-taking behaviors as well as salivary cortisol reactivity in 88 adolescents. In terms of behavioral outcomes, analyses revealed that negative emotionality and constraint were protective of impulsivity and risk taking, respectively, for adolescents in the no-stress condition; personality did not relate to either behavior in the stress condition. Low-constraint adolescents in the stress condition engaged in less risk taking than low-constraint adolescents in the no-stress condition, whereas there was no effect of stress group for high-constraint adolescents. In terms of cortisol reactivity, analyses revealed that low-constraint adolescents in the stress condition exhibited greater cortisol reactivity compared to high-constraint adolescents, which suggests that low-constraint adolescents mobilize greater resources (e.g., increased cognitive control, heightened attention to threat) in stressful situations relative to nonstressful ones. These results demonstrate that two facets of disinhibition and cortisol reactivity are differentially affected by psychosocial stress and personality (and their interactions) in adolescents.

An Efficacy Trial: Positive Parenting Program for Parents of Teenagers

Studies on the efficacy of parent training programs have mostly been conducted with preadolescents, with only a few studies investigating family treatment models in adolescents. In this article, a study is described that evaluates Standard Teen Triple P (Positive Parenting Program), a behavioural family intervention for parents of 11- to 16-year-old teenagers. Participants were 46 families with a teenager who was experiencing detectable behavioural and emotional problems. Compared to parents in the waitlist control condition, parents participating in the intervention condition reported decreased levels of teen disruptive behaviours and parent adolescent conflict, as well as a reduction in the use of ineffective parenting strategies and conflict over child-rearing issues. These positive changes were maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Results suggest that Standard Teen Triple P is a promising parenting intervention for tackling adolescent externalising problems.

Self Views of African American Youth are Related to the Gender Stereotypes and Academic Attributions of Their Mothers

We examined relations among African American mothers' (N = 392) stereotypes about gender differences in mathematics, science, and reading performance, parents' attributions about their children's academic successes and failures, and their seventh and eighth grade children's academic self-views (domain-specific ability attributions and self-concept). Parents' stereotypes about gender differences in abilities were related to their ability attributions for their children's successes and failures within academic domains. Mothers' attributions, in turn, were related to children's attributions, particularly among girls. Mothers' attributions of their children's successes to domain-specific ability were related to the self-concepts of daughters, and failure attributions were related to domain-specific self-concepts of sons. The influences of parents' beliefs on young adolescents' identity beliefs are discussed.

What if you caught them using? Prospective teachers' beliefs about responding to student substance use

This survey research examined how prospective teachers' (N=384) beliefs about the nature of adolescence, their substance use, and their preparedness for dealing with substance use situations are linked to perceptions of how they would respond to students' possession or use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana at school. Results suggested that prospective teachers are not prepared for these situations. Feeling prepared, perceiving that few adolescents engage in problem behavior, and low personal substance use were associated with more responses to substance use situations. Women were more likely than men to think they would respond to adolescent substance use yet they felt less prepared. Males who used alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana recently were the least likely to perceive that they would respond to adolescents using substances at school.

Perceptions of adolescents among teachers and social workers in the context of training programs in Hong Kong

This article explores whether professionals working with young people hold a negative view on adolescents in Hong Kong. Data were collected from 1112 participants from 23 workshops in a 3-day training program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. In the workshop, there was a group activity inviting the participants to describe the characteristics of contemporary young people in Hong Kong. The findings showed that positive comments about adolescents were only half of the negative comments. The common themes that emerged from the negative comments included: "problematic self-conceptions", "do not have long-term life goals", "irresponsible", "materialistic", and "calculative". The common themes that emerged from the positive comments included: "good at learning new things", "energetic", and "creative". The themes apparently reflected sociocultural characteristics of the contemporary Hong Kong Society.

Parenting an Adolescent with Chronic Pain: Impact on Parents and Association with Adolescent Functioning

Chronic pain and associated disability is a serious problem for a significant number of adolescents.Individuals who parent an adolescent with chronic pain report high levels of impaired psychological and social functioning.Parents of adolescents with chronic pain face unique parenting challenges.Typically, treatment of adolescent chronic pain does not specifically focus on managing parental functioning and behaviour.The relationship between parental functioning/behaviour and adolescent outcomes is complex and not yet fully understood.

THE EFFECT OF AGE AND CULTURE ON THE CAUSES OF LONELINESS

This study examined the influence of age and cultural background on the causes of loneliness. A total of 194 Canadians and 209 participants from the Czech Republic formed the participant pool. Rather than comparing the two populations and disregarding within and between the age differences the cultural groups were divided into age subgroups. These were young adults (18–30 years old), adults (31–59), and seniors (60–89). Participants answered a 29-item yes/no questionnaire composed of 5 subscales, namely: Personal Inadequacies, Developmental Deficits, Unfulfilling Intimate Relationships, Relocation/Significant Separations, and Social Marginality. The age groups within and between cultures also differed significantly.

Adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts

In this chapter we review theoretical and empirical advances in research on adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts. First, we identify several trends in current research, including the current emphasis on ecological models and the focus on diversity in and relational models of adolescent development. Next, we discuss recent research on interpersonal relationships, with an eye toward identifying major research themes and findings. Research on adolescents' relationships with parents, siblings, other relatives, peers, and romantic partners, and adolescents' involvement in community and society is reviewed. Future directions in research on adolescent development are discussed.

Implementing Family-Centered Interventions Within the Public Middle School: Linking Service Delivery to Change in Student Problem Behavior

The Adolescent Transitions Program is a family-centered intervention strategy designed to reduce problem behavior and prevent drug use within a public school environment. A parent consultant within a Family Resource Center (FRC) provided universal, selected, and indicated interventions that enhanced and supported positive parenting practices known to serve as protective factors. Implementation of the 3-year FRC model involved 584 students and their families in 4 middle schools. Analyses focused on the dynamics and effects of parent consultant activities and services. Differences in school "adoption" of the FRC services were found to be a function of both passage of time and school environment. Despite significant variation in implementation across schools, FRC services significantly reduced the growth in problem behavior over the course of the middle-school years. The implications of these findings for dissemination of empirically supported, school-based, family-centered interventions are discussed.

AGE, CULTURE, AND THE ANTECEDENTS OF LONELINESS

Loneliness is a pervasive experience which everyone has experienced. It is a subjective experience, which is influenced by one's personality and situational variables. This study examined the influence of age and culture on the perceived causes of loneliness. One thousand, three hundred and forty-seven Canadian and Portuguese participants from all walks of life volunteered to answer an 82-item yes/no questionnaire reflecting on the causes of their loneliness. The questionnaire used in this study is composed of the factors that describe causes of loneliness: Personal inadequacies, Developmental deficits, Unfulfilling intimate relationships, Relocation/significant separations, and Social marginality. Gender differences between and within the groups were also examined. Four age groups were compared: youth (13–18 years old), young adults (19–30), adults (31–58) and the elderly (60 and older). Within and between culture and age comparisons were also done. Results indicated that the causes of loneliness are perceived differently depending on one's age and culture.

Perceived legitimacy of parental authority and tobacco and alcohol use during early adolescence

PURPOSE

To assess the likelihood that young adolescents perceive that parents have legitimate authority regarding cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption; to test whether perceived parental authority predicts adolescents' use of tobacco and alcohol, and to test the association between parenting style and the legitimacy of parental authority regarding tobacco and alcohol.

METHODS

Survey data were obtained in 1997 from 1220 sixth and eighth grade adolescents enrolled in a central North Carolina school district. The sample comprised 72.3% of 1687 eligible students and 92.3% of 1321 students with parental consent; 83.8% of the sample was European-American and 16.2% African-American. Students completed self-report questionnaires administered in classrooms. Logistic regression models were used to test the study hypotheses.

RESULTS

Adolescents were significantly more likely to legitimize parental authority regarding tobacco and alcohol than parental authority regarding conventional or contemporary issues. Failure to legitimize parental authority was associated with significantly greater odds of current smoking (OR = 4.06; p <.000) or drinking (OR = 3.81; p <.000) among all respondents, and significantly greater odds of intending to smoke (OR = 3.38; p <.000) or drink (OR = 3.38; p <.000) among abstinent respondents. Adolescents' perceptions of parental authority regarding tobacco and alcohol varied significantly by parenting style.

CONCLUSIONS

The results discredit the myth that adolescents uniformly disregard parental values and rules regarding tobacco and alcohol. The results also showed that general parenting style covaried strongly with adolescents' perceptions of parental authority regarding substance use. Additional research is warranted to test for causal relations between general parenting style, adolescents' perceptions of parental authority regarding substance use, and adolescents' risk of substance use.

Mothers' and children's expectations for adolescence: the impact of perceptions of an older sibling's experience

The present study examined the role of perceived experience with an older child in mothers' expectations for subsequent children's adolescence as well as the impact of perceived experience with an older sibling on young adolescent children's expectations for their own adolescence. Participants were 305 sixth- and seventh-grade adolescents and 287 of their mothers. Participants were interviewed via telephone. For both mothers and children, the quality of experience with an older child/sibling was a better predictor of target-based expectations for the young adolescent than was the simple presence or absence of an older sibling. In some cases the link between quality of experience with an earlier born adolescent and mothers' expectations for the target child's adolescence was modified by the target child's temperament. In general, the results support a modeling hypothesis.

Loneliness and the life cycle

Loneliness is a prevailing experience which every person has experienced. This subjective experience is influenced by one's personality and situational variables. In the present study, the influence of age and sex on the experience of loneliness were examined. 711 participants volunteered to answer an 82-item yes/no questionnaire on their loneliness experience and its meaning. Four age groups were compared: 106 youths (13-18 years old), 255 young adults (19-30 years old), 314 adults (31-58 years old), and 36 seniors (60-80 years old). Within and between sex comparisons indicated that loneliness is indeed affected by one's age and sex.

Significant individuals in adolescence: adolescent and adult perspectives

This study examines the ways in which 360 Israeli adolescents, and 395 midlife adults looking retrospectively perceive significant individuals from their adolescence. Following the methodology developed by Hendry et al. (Journal of Adolescence 1992, 15, 255-270), participants were asked to chose the most significant family and non-family individuals in their adolescent lives, and to indicate which of a number of characteristics applied or did not apply to their chosen significant persons. Our results indicate that most of the adults and the adolescents chose a parent as the most significant relative in their adolescence and that females in both samples chose their mothers more than did males. Compared with adolescents, adults attributed, retrospectively, more negative characteristics to their parents (e.g. as being mollycoddlers and rejectors). Adults were more likely to mention their teachers as significant non-family individuals in their lives and to characterize them in terms of their future impact as teachers and role models. Adolescents referred more positively to their parents, they also chose more friends of the same or opposite sex as significant others, and characterized them in terms of present-oriented features as being supporters and challengers.

Changes in parents' work status and adolescents' adjustment at school

The effects of change in parental work status on early adolescents' school adjustment before and after the transition to junior high school were examined in a 2-year longitudinal study. Data were gathered from 883 adolescents, their mothers, and teachers. Based on patterns of change or stability in parental work status during the 2 years of the study, 4 groups were compared: deprived, declining, recovery, and stable families. With parents' education controlled, teachers said that adolescents in deprived and declining families were less competent than their peers in stable or recovery families. In addition, adolescents whose parents experienced a decline in work status were the most disruptive in junior high school. While most students had difficulty adjusting to junior high school, the transition was particularly difficult for those students whose parents were simultaneously dealing with changes in work status.