Parsing protection and risk for problem behavior versus pro-social behavior among US and Chinese adolescents

Identifying Protective Factors That Mitigate Relations Between Experiences with Violence and Gun Carriage for Black Young Adults Living in Economically Marginalized Urban Communities

Gun violence disproportionately impacts Black young adults living in economically marginalized urban communities and results in increased risk for injury and death. This study identifies protective factors across the ecological model for Black young adults experiencing peer-based physical and relational aggression and victimization that can mitigate the likelihood of gun carriage. The sample included 141 Black young adults living in economically marginalized communities who had experienced violence. Regression and moderation analyses indicated (1) peer-based physical and relational aggression and victimization negatively associated with gun carriage, and (2) personal assets, positive outlook, student status, and neighborhood attachment interacted with peer-based violent experiences and had protective associations with gun carriage. Findings from this study indicate a need for tailored prevention, policy efforts in order to support Black young adults and decrease gun carriage.

Factors influencing smart device addiction among preschool children: An extended protection-risk model perspective

Today, users of smart devices are from increasingly younger generations, and their use is very common among preschoolers. The problem of smart device addiction in preschool children has attracted widespread attention, due to which this study explores the influencing factors in children aged 2-5 years. Based on the protection-risk model, 236 Chinese parents were surveyed, and the data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings show that parental emotion regulation significantly and negatively influences children's depression and social withdrawal symptoms, whereas it has a significant and positive influence on parental self-control as well as outdoor intention. Also, children's depression and social withdrawal symptoms have a significant and positive influence on their smart device addiction, whereas parental self-control and outdoor intentions have no significant influence on it. Moreover, children's social withdrawal and depression have a mediating effect between parental emotion regulation and children's smart device addiction, but parental self-control and outdoor intention have no mediating effect between the two. This study identifies the factors influencing children's smart device addiction from a new perspective, providing theoretical support to address this problem of addiction.

The influence of students' sense of social connectedness on prosocial behavior in higher education institutions in Guangxi, China: A perspective of perceived teachers' character teaching behavior and social support

The objective of this study is to examine the sense of social connectedness (SSC) and prosocial behavior (PB) of students in Guangxi higher education institutions in China and to further understand the factors influencing PB of higher education students. In this study, a total of 1,007 students were sampled from 8 Guangxi higher vocational schools through purposive sampling using questionnaires, of which 676 (67.1%) were male students and 331 (32.9%) were female students. This study further enriches self-determination theory by exploring the effects of teachers' character teaching behaviors and social support on PB, using the SSC as an intrinsic motivation. In addition, the results of the study revealed that SSC, perceived teacher character teaching behaviors and perceived social support (PSS) were positively related to students' PB. SSC affects PB not only directly, but also indirectly through the mediating role of perceived teacher character teaching behavior and perceived teacher support. Teacher character teaching behaviors and PSS also play a chain mediating role in the relationship between SSC and PB. Finally, this study provides strategies to optimize school character management for higher education students in order to meet their basic psychological needs and thus promote the production of PB.

Linking Self-Control to Negative Risk-Taking Behavior among Chinese Late Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

Negative risk-taking behaviors refer to voluntary behaviors that lead to more harm than good. Low self-control is a crucial predictor of adolescents’ negative risk-taking behavior, but its internal mechanisms require further exploration. To reveal the working process underlying the association between self-control and adolescents’ negative risk-taking behaviors, we investigated the mediation of regulatory focus and the moderation of sense of power. A total of 2018 students (37.6% males) from two universities in Guangzhou, China, participated in a survey that investigated their self-control, negative risk-taking behavior, regulatory focus and sense of power. The results revealed that after controlling for the adolescents’ sex and their parents’ educational level, prevention focus partially mediated the association between self-control and negative risk-taking behavior. Moreover, sense of power moderated the association between self-control and prevention focus. Furthermore, the association between self-control and negative risk-taking behavior through prevention focus was stronger among adolescents with a high sense of power than among those with a low sense of power. Therefore, our findings suggest that regulatory focus and sense of power might be the mechanisms that explain how self-control is related to negative risk-taking behavior. These results thus provide a foundation for the prevention of and intervention in adolescents’ negative risk-taking behavior.

Testing the Nurturing Environments Framework on Youth Violence across Ethnically and Geographically Diverse Urban and Rural Samples of Adolescents

Although research advocates for comprehensive cross sector youth violence prevention efforts, mobilizing across sectors to translate scientific recommendations into practice has proven challenging. A unifying framework may provide a foundational step towards building a shared understanding of the risk and protective factors that impact youth violence. We conducted two empirical tests of the nurturing environment framework on youth violence across ethnic and geographically diverse rural and urban adolescent samples. Results show that overall the characteristics of nurturing environments are associated with lower levels of aggression and violence. In addition, minimizing exposure to socially toxic conditions had the strongest associations with lower aggression and violence. Findings were supported across both samples, suggesting that this framework may apply in urban and rural, economically disadvantaged contexts.

Forest Manners Exchange: Forest as a Place to Remedy Risky Behaviour of Adolescents: Mixed Methods Approach

This paper evaluates the impact of the forest environment on aggressive manifestations in adolescents. A remedial educative programme was performed with 68 teenagers from institutions with substitute social care with diagnoses F 30.0 (affective disorders) and F 91.0 (family-related behavioural disorders), aged 12–16 years. Adolescents observed patterns of prosocial behaviour in forest animals (wolves, wild boars, deer, bees, ants, squirrels and birds), based on the fact that processes and interactions in nature are analogous to proceedings and bonds in human society. The methodology is based on qualitative and quantitative research. Projective tests (Rorschach Test, Hand Test, Thematic Apperception Test) were used as a diagnostic tool for aggressive manifestations before and after forest therapies based on Shinrin-yoku, wilderness therapy, observational learning and forest pedagogy. Probands underwent 16 therapies lasting for two hours each. The experimental intervention has a statistically significant effect on the decreased final values relating to psychopathology, irritability, restlessness, emotional instability, egocentrism, relativity, and negativism. Forest animals demonstrated to these adolescents ways of communication, cooperation, adaptability, and care for others, i.e., characteristics without which no community can work.

Creative Adaptability: Conceptual Framework, Measurement, and Outcomes in Times of Crisis

This article presents the framework and explores the measurement, correlates, and outcomes of creative adaptability (CA), proposed here as the cognitive–behavioral-emotional ability to respond creatively and adaptively to stressful situations. Data collection was in April 2020, during the peak of the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in Israel. In Study 1, a sample of 310 adults completed the newly developed CA scale, as well as spontaneity, openness to experience, creative self-efficacy, and well-being measurements. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses corroborated the 9-item CA scale’s theorized underlying construct. The scale’s validity and reliability were also supported. Exploratory analyses suggested that the association between CA and well-being was mediated by creative self-efficacy and that CA may buffer the impact of individuals’ concern about Coronavirus on their well-being. In Study 2, short-term longitudinal data based on a sample of 71 students suggested that CA may predict lower psychological stress over time. Support for the CA scale’s internal consistency reliability was obtained and its test–retest reliability was established. Overall, the results shed light on this new construct as a potential protective factor. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

Factors in Assessing Recidivism Risk in Young Offenders

The research aims to identify if the accumulation of protective and/or risk factors might predict the risk of recidivism in juvenile delinquents and determine the relative weight of both types of factors in the predictions themselves. The risk of criminal recidivism was assessed with the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth—SAVRY—instrument based on a sample of 192 Adolescents in Conflict with the Law—ACLs—held in juvenile detention centers in the Valencian Community (Spain). The results show that protective variables have greater relative consistency than risk variables when assessing recidivism risk in ACLs. The paper’s findings enable advances in the identification of antisocial behavior patterns using positive variables, and this in turn involves modifying any intervention proposals made by professionals of juvenile justice because psycho-socio-educational processes can now be dealt with on the basis of the ACLs’ potentialities (protective factors) rather than their deficiencies (risk factors) alone.

Positive influence of peers' interpersonal character on children's interpersonal character: The moderating role of children's and peers' social status

INTRODUCTION

Peers are an important source of influence on children's social development. This study investigated the positive association between peers' and children's interpersonal character (i.e., humanity and justice) and the moderating role of children's and peers' social status including wealth (family SES), power (class leadership), and prestige (social preference and social visibility).

METHODS

The participants were 1555 fourth-to ninth-graders (M_age = 12.76; 46.9% boys) and their reciprocal playmates in China. Questionnaires and peer nomination methods were used to measure interpersonal character and social status. Children's reciprocal playmates were used as the source of peer influence.

RESULTS

The playmates' humanity and justice were positively associated with the children's humanity and justice regardless of the child's grade, gender, or sibling status. Children's level of social visibility moderated the associations between the playmates' and the children's humanity and justice, with children of low social visibility being more strongly influenced by their playmates. The moderating role of playmates' social status was displayed in two modes and appeared in the secondary school and singleton samples. First, playmates with a higher social preference were more closely related to secondary school children's justice; second, playmates with lower social visibility were more closely related to secondary school children's and singletons' justice.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings confirm the positive relationships between peers' and children's interpersonal character and reveal an important moderating role of prestige status, especially social visibility, among the relationships. This study extends the research on positive peer influence and contributes to knowledge of peer influence mechanisms.

Building Schools' Readiness to Implement a Comprehensive Approach to School Safety

Research consistently finds that a comprehensive approach to school safety, which integrates the best scientific evidence and solid implementation strategies, offers the greatest potential for preventing youth violence and promoting mental and behavioral health. However, schools and communities encounter enormous challenges in articulating, synthesizing, and implementing all the complex aspects of a comprehensive approach to school safety. This paper aims to bridge the gap between scientific evidence and the application of that evidence in schools and communities by defining the key components of a comprehensive approach to school safety and describing how schools can assess their readiness to implement a comprehensive approach. We use readiness and implementation data from the Safe Communities Safe Schools project to illustrate these challenges and solutions. Our findings suggest that (1) readiness assessment can be combined with feasibility meetings to inform school selection for implementation of a comprehensive approach to school safety and (2) intentionally addressing readiness barriers as part of a comprehensive approach may lead to improvements in readiness (motivation and capacity) to effectively implement a comprehensive approach to school safety.

A Cross-National Comparison of the Development of Adolescent Problem Behavior: a 1-Year Longitudinal Study in India, the Netherlands, the USA, and Australia

The world youth population is the largest ever and the levels of problem behavior will influence future global health. Recognition of these issues raises questions as to whether adolescent development knowledge can be internationally applied. To date, most research examining adolescent problem behavior has been completed in the United States (USA) and there has been neglected analysis of health inequalities. The aim of the present study was to compare the structure and predictors of problem behavior in representative samples from the USA, Australia, India, and the Netherlands. Two timepoints of longitudinal data were analyzed from the International Youth Development Study that originally recruited state-representative student cohorts in 2002 in Washington State, USA (analytic sample N = 1942) and Victoria, Australia (N = 1957). Similar aged samples were recruited in Mumbai, India, in 2010 (N = 3.923) and the Netherlands in 2008 (N = 682). Surveys were matched and follow-up occurred over 1-year (average baseline ages 12 to 13). CFA identified a latent problem behavior construct comprised of substance use and antisocial behavior indicators. There were cross-national differences in the indicators for this construct. Factor loadings and items were similar between Australia and the USA; however, different items loaded on the construct for the Indian and Netherlands sample. SEM identified that problem behavior at time 2 was predicted by time 1 behavior, with cross-national differences evident. Low parent education was predictive in the USA and India. The number of risk factors present was predictive of problem behavior in all four nations. The findings suggest that evaluated preventative strategies to reduce adolescent problem behavior may have international applications. The analysis of cross-nationally matched longitudinal data appears feasible for identifying prevalence and predictor differences that may signify policy and cultural contexts, to be considered in adapting prevention programs.

Applying the Problem Behavior Theory to Adolescent Drug Use Among a Cross-Sectional Sample of Boys Participating in a Community-Based Youth Organization

BACKGROUND

Drug use remains an important public health concern in the United States, and understanding drug use among young adolescents is vital towards improving the health of the population.

OBJECTIVE

This study applied the Problem Behavior Theory (PBT) to lifetime drug use among a cross-sectional sample of Boy Scouts (N = 770). The PBT provides a conceptual framework for identifying risk and protective factors for adolescent problem behaviors, including drug use.

METHODS

Scouts reported their drug use and socio-demographics, and were assessed on several risk and protective factors. For analyses, sociodemographic and risk and protective factors were selected according to the framework provided by PBT, and use of each drug was regressed logistically on these selected factors. Final logistic models were assessed for goodness of fit and discriminatory power.

RESULTS

The PBT demonstrated discriminatory power for all drugs (Tjur's R² values ≥.29), but fell sharply for illicit drug use (Tjur's R² =.20). There were no consistent correlates of drug use. Conclusions/Importance: The PBT had less explanatory power for illicit drug use compared to tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, which suggests different risk and protective factors were associated with illicit drug use.

Reflections on Six Decades of Research on Adolescent Behavior and Development

These reflections, spanning six decades of involvement with developmental behavioral science, report on several salutary trends that have shaped that field of social inquiry, e.g., its increasingly trans-disciplinary character. They also take note of some of its enduring limitations, e.g., its failure to engage with theory. In addition, the reflections confront some current issues, such as the widespread stereotyping of adolescents as risk takers, and the growing recourse to reductionist explanation. On balance, however, developmental behavioral science can be seen in retrospect as having evolved in a decidedly positive direction. Clearly, it has yielded a firmer grasp on adolescent behavior and development.

Social support as a mediator between problem behaviour and gambling: a cross-sectional study among 14-16-year-old Finnish adolescents

BACKGROUND

During the adolescent period, risk-taking behaviour increases. These behaviours can compromise the successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine social support as a mediator of the relation between problem behaviour and gambling frequency among Finnish adolescents.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the national School Health Promotion Study (SHPS) from the years 2010 and 2011 (N=102 545). Adolescents were classified in the most homogeneous groups based on their problem behaviour via latent class analysis.

RESULTS

Path analysis indicated that social support was negatively associated with problem behaviour, and problem behaviour and social support were negatively related (except for social support from friends among boys) to gambling. Social support from parents and school mediated, albeit weakly, the relations between problem behaviour and gambling among girls and boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Problem behaviour may affect gambling through social support from school and parents. Thus prevention and intervention strategies should focus on strengthening adolescents' social support. In addition, because of the clustering of different problem behaviours instead of concentrating on a single form of problem behaviour multiple-behaviour interventions may have a much greater impact on public health.

The role of social support in the association between gambling, poor health and health risk-taking

AIMS

Studies have shown that gambling is associated with poor health and health risk-taking behaviour. However, little is known about those factors that can influence the association between gambling, health risk-taking and health. Using a population-based School Health Promotion Study of eighth- and ninth-grade Finnish boys and girls (N = 62,956), we investigated the relationships between gambling frequency, health risk-taking and poor health as well as whether social support from parents, friends and school staff could mediate these associations.

METHODS

Path analysis was used to discover direct and indirect effects of health, health risk-taking and gambling.

RESULTS

Social support from parents and school staff decreased gambling among boys and girls, whereas among boys support from friends increased gambling. However, the role of social support as a mediator was very weak. Overall poor health and health risk-taking were associated with increased gambling. CONCLUSIONS GAMBLING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE BECAUSE IT CLUSTERS WITH OTHER UNHEALTHY BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS INTERVENTIONS CONCERNING ADOLESCENT GAMBLING SHOULD ALSO TAKE OTHER SIMULTANEOUS RISK-TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION ALSO SOCIAL SUPPORT FROM PARENTS AND SCHOOL SHOULD BE NOTED WHEN TRYING TO DECREASE ADOLESCENTS' GAMBLING.

Longitudinal Effects of a Second-Order Multi-Problem Factor of Sexual Risk, Marijuana Use, and Delinquency on Future Arrest Among Truant Youths

Based on problem-behavior theory (Jessor & Jessor, 1977), a second-order problem behavior model of delinquency, marijuana use, and risky sexual behavior over five waves was estimated among truant adolescents. The study also investigated the influence of the problem factor on future arrest charges and the effect of socio-demographics on problem behavior and future crime. Results confirm the existence of a second-order latent factor of problem behaviors. Problem behaviors predicted more future arrest charges. Age was related to problem behaviors and future arrest charges, and family income was related to problem behavior. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Modeling problem behaviors in a nationally representative sample of adolescents

Research on multiple problem behaviors has focused on the concept of Problem Behavior Syndrome (PBS). Problem Behavior Theory (PBT) is a complex and comprehensive social-psychological framework designed to explain the development of a range of problem behaviors. This study examines the structure of PBS and the applicability of PBT in adolescents. Participants were 6062 adolescents; aged 12-19 (51.3% female) who took part in the My World Survey-Second Level (MWS-SL). Regarding PBS, Confirmatory Factor Analysis established that problem behaviors, such as alcohol and drug use loaded significantly onto a single, latent construct for males and females. Using Structural Equation Modeling, the PBT framework was found to be a good fit for males and females. Socio-demographic, perceived environment system and personality accounted for over 40% of the variance in problem behaviors for males and females. Our findings have important implications for understanding how differences in engaging in problem behaviors vary by gender.

Cannabis and Psychosis: a Critical Overview of the Relationship

Interest in the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis has increased dramatically in recent years, in part because of concerns related to the growing availability of cannabis and potential risks to health and human functioning. There now exists a plethora of scientific articles addressing this issue, but few provide a clear verdict about the causal nature of the cannabis-psychosis association. Here, we review recent research reports on cannabis and psychosis, giving particular attention to how each report provides evidence relating to two hypotheses: (1) cannabis as a contributing cause and (2) shared vulnerability. Two primary kinds of data are brought to bear on this issue: studies done with schizophrenic patients and studies of first-episode psychosis. Evidence reviewed here suggests that cannabis does not in itself cause a psychosis disorder. Rather, the evidence leads us to conclude that both early use and heavy use of cannabis are more likely in individuals with a vulnerability to psychosis. The role of early and heavy cannabis use as a prodromal sign merits further examination, along with a variety of other problem behaviors (e.g., early or heavy use of cigarettes or alcohol and poor school performance). Future research studies that focus exclusively on the cannabis-psychosis association will therefore be of little value in our quest to better understand psychosis and how and why it occurs.

What Predicts Adolescent Delinquent Behavior in Hong Kong? A Longitudinal Study of Personal and Family Factors

Using four waves of data from Secondary 1 to Secondary 4 (N = 3328 students at Wave 1), this study examined the development of delinquent behavior and its relationships with economic disadvantage, family non-intactness, family quality of life (i.e., family functioning) and personal well-being (i.e., positive youth development) among Hong Kong adolescents. Individual growth curve models revealed that delinquent behavior increased during this period, and adolescents living in non-intact families (vs. intact families) reported higher initial levels of delinquent behavior while those living in poor families (vs. non-poor families) showed a greater increase in delinquent behavior. In addition, with the demographic factors controlled, the initial levels of family quality of life and personal well-being were negatively associated with the initial level of delinquent behavior, but positively associated with the growth rate of delinquent behavior. Regression analyses showed that family quality of life and personal well-being were related to the overall delinquent behavior concurrently at Wave 4. However, Wave 1 family quality of life and personal well-being did not predict Wave 4 delinquent behavior with the initial level of delinquent behavior controlled. Lastly, we discussed the role of economic disadvantage and family non-intactness as risk factors and family functioning and positive youth development as protective well-being factors in the development of adolescent well-being indexed by delinquent behavior.

Social Determinants and Health Behaviors: Conceptual Frames and Empirical Advances

Health behaviors shape health and well-being in individuals and populations. Drawing on recent research, we review applications of the widely applied "social determinants" approach to health behaviors. This approach shifts the lens from individual attribution and responsibility to societal organization and the myriad institutions, structures, inequalities, and ideologies undergirding health behaviors. Recent scholarship integrates a social determinants perspective with biosocial approaches to health behavior dynamics. Empirical advances model feedback among social, psychological and biological factors. Health behaviors are increasingly recognized as multidimensional and embedded in health lifestyles, varying over the life course and across place and reflecting dialectic between structure and agency that necessitates situating individuals in context. Advances in measuring and modeling health behaviors promise to enhance representations of this complexity.

Resilience Theory and its Implications for Chinese Adolescents

Over the past 20 years, resilience theory has attracted great attention from both researchers and mental health practitioners. Resilience is defined as a process of overcoming the negative effects of risk exposure, coping successfully with traumatic experiences, or avoiding the negative trajectories associated with risks. Three basic models of resilience have been proposed to account for the mechanism whereby promotive factors operate to alter the trajectory from risk exposure to negative consequences: compensatory model, protective model, and inoculation model. Assets and resources are two types of promotive factors found to be effective in decreasing internalizing and externalizing problems. Considering the protective or compensatory role of assets and resources in helping youth be resilient against negative effects of adversity, resilience could be applied to Chinese migrant and left-behind children who are at risk for internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing problems (e.g., delinquent behaviors, cigarette and alcohol use). Additionally, psychological suzhi-based interventions, a mental health construct for individuals that focuses on a strengths-based approach, can be integrated with resilience-based approach to develop more balanced programs for positive youth development.

High self-control protects the link between social support and positivity ratio for Israeli students exposed to contextual risk

This study examined how Israeli students, despite exposure to contextual risk factors, may experience a high ratio of self-reported positive to negative emotions (i.e., positivity ratio). Self-control skills and perceived social support were tested as protective factors, where each was posited to moderate the relation between risk status and positivity ratio. The participants were 460 Israeli students (51% girls) in grades 8-10. Contrary to expectations, students attending a school with high contextual risks did not differ from students attending a school with low contextual risks in their scores on self-control skills, perceived social support, or positivity ratio. However, an exploratory follow-up moderation analysis revealed a significant three-way interaction, indicating that while low self-control skills eliminate the link between social support and positivity ratio for students attending the school defined as at-risk, high self-control protects this link. These results suggest that neither contextual risk in itself nor initial differences in self-control or social support account for differences in students' positivity ratio. Rather, it is the way these factors interact with each other that matters. Study limitations and implications are discussed.