The Network of Relationships Inventory: Behavioral Systems Version

Longitudinal Associations Between Support and Prosocial Behavior Across Adolescence: The Roles of Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, and Friends

Family members and friends can play an important role in adolescents' prosocial behavior. To better understand the relation between support and prosocial behavior in adolescence, it's important to conduct longitudinal studies that distinguish between within-dyad variance and between-dyad variance. The current study investigated longitudinal associations between adolescents' prosocial behavior, autonomy support, and emotional support from family and friends across adolescence. Across six annual years, 497 Dutch adolescents (284 boys; mean age T1 = 13.03 years, SDage = 0.46), fathers, mothers, siblings, and friends reported on their prosocial behavior. Adolescents also reported on perceived autonomy and emotional support. Between-dyads almost all associations of support and prosocial behavior of family members and friends with adolescents' prosocial behavior were significant, with higher levels of adolescents' prosocial behavior being associated with higher levels of prosocial behavior and support from fathers, mothers and friends. Within-dyads, several concurrent associations were significant, but within-dyads links between prosocial behavior and autonomy support are particularly driven by adolescent-mother or adolescent-sibling effects. This study highlights processes that occurred either at the between-dyad level or at the within-dyad level, but that varied per relationship type and that adolescents are the main catalysts in within-dyads changes in prosocial behavior and support. Preregistration: This study was preregistered on 20 January 2020 at https://osf.io/vxkm3/?view_only=dca87fd1585c444ba5cd5a00c22280ae .

A cognitive script perspective on how early caregiving experiences inform adolescent peer relationships and loneliness: A 14-year longitudinal study of Chinese families

Leveraging data from a longitudinal study of Chinese families (n = 364), this research aims to understand the role of secure base script knowledge as a cognitive mechanism by which early caregiving experiences inform adolescents' friendship quality and feelings of loneliness. Results showed that observed maternal sensitivity at 14 and 24 months old was negatively associated with adolescents' self-reported conflicts with close friends (β = -0.17, p = 0.044) at 15 years old, and this association was partially mediated by their secure base script knowledge assessed at 10 years old. Further, secure base script knowledge moderated the link between adolescents' friend conflict and feelings of loneliness (β = -0.15, p = 0.037). The results support a cognitive script perspective on the association between early caregiving experiences and later socio-emotional adjustment. Furthermore, this study adds to the developmental literature that has previously focused on more stringent and authoritarian aspects of parenting in Chinese families, thereby contributing to our understanding of how sensitive and supportive parenting practices contribute to socio-emotional development outside of Western contexts. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Maternal sensitivity during infancy and toddlerhood has a long-term association with adolescents' friendship quality and adolescents' secure base script partially explains the association. First evidence to demonstrate that the secure base script in attachment relationships mediates the association between early maternal caregiving and socio-emotional development in Chinese adolescents. Adolescents lacking secure base script knowledge are particularly vulnerable to feelings of loneliness when facing high levels of conflict in close friendships.

Cognitive and Relational Processes Associated to Mental Health in Italian High School Students during COVID-19 and Russian-Ukrainian War Outbreaks

The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health has been widely demonstrated; however, few studies have investigated the psychological processes involved in this impact, including core beliefs violation, meaning-making disruption, interpersonal support, or one's relational functioning. This study explored the mental health of 215 Italian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. By administering a set of questionnaires, several cognitive and emotional variables were investigated, including core belief violation, meaning attribution to the pandemic and war, attachment, and emotion regulation, social media addiction, and relationships with significant others and teachers. We conducted some descriptive, mean difference, correlational, and predictive analyses that revealed a significant association between core belief violation caused by war and pandemic, ability to integrate war and pandemic within personal meaning universe, the relational support received, and mental health. The relationship with teachers during these challenging periods improved significantly according to the respondents' opinion, becoming both more authoritative and empathic. This study offers insights into what cognitive and relational processes are useful to intervene on to reduce the distress of adolescents who are facing significant moments of crisis due to events that challenge their cognitive and emotional balance.

Uncovering associations between gender nonconformity, psychosocial factors, and mental health in adolescents: a birth cohort study

BACKGROUND

Little information is available on the association between gender nonconformity during adolescence and subsequent mental health. While the distress related to gender nonconformity may be socially produced rather than attributed to individual-level factors, further research is needed to better understand the role of psychosocial factors in this context.

METHOD

We analyzed data from the Tokyo Teen Cohort, obtained through random sampling of adolescents born between 2002 and 2004. We used inverse probability weighting to examine the association of gender nonconformity at ages 12 and 14 as a time-varying variable with subsequent mental health at age 16, while accounting for time-fixed and time-varying confounders. Furthermore, we used a weighting approach to investigate the mediating role of modifiable psychosocial factors in this association, addressing exposure-mediator and mediator-mediator interactions.

RESULTS

A total of 3171 participants were analyzed. Persistent gender nonconforming behavior at ages 12 and 14 was associated with subsequent depression (β = 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85 to 3.19) and psychotic experiences (β = 0.33, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.52) at age 16. The results remained robust in sensitivity analyses. Approximately 30% of the association between gender nonconformity and depression was consistently mediated by a set of psychosocial factors, namely loneliness, bullying victimization, and relationships with mother, father, and friends.

CONCLUSIONS

Persistent gender nonconformity during adolescence is associated with subsequent mental health. Psychosocial factors play a vital mediating role in this association, highlighting the essential need for social intervention and change to reduce stigmatization and ameliorate mental health challenges.

The influence of friendships on the mental health of maltreated youth: A pre-registered systematic review using a developmental psychopathology perspective

Friendships are a potential factor that influence maltreated children's risk for psychopathology. This systematic review examined (1) how friendships influence the association between child maltreatment and psychopathology and (2) developmental differences in how friendships influence this association. Four databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were primary study, quantitative, measures of maltreatment and friendship up to the age of 18 years, measures of psychopathology up to the age of 24 years, and a non-maltreated sample. Exclusion criteria were qualitative, reviews or meta-analyses, no distinction between maltreatment and other trauma, and no differentiation between friendships and other support. Risk of bias was assessed. Data were narratively synthesized. Two hundred thirty-five articles were retrieved for full review. Fourteen met inclusion criteria (N = 98,676 participants). Eleven of the fourteen studies found that some aspect of friendships influenced the association between maltreatment and psychopathology, with positive qualities generally decreasing risk and negative qualities increasing risk for psychopathology. However, peer support exacerbated maltreated children's risk for psychopathology in two studies. Only three studies assessed friendship prior to adolescence, which precluded conclusions regarding developmental differences. Future research should consider developmental differences and use findings and validated measures from the peer relations literature to better understand how friendships influence maltreated youth's vulnerability to psychopathology.

Long-term consequences of mothers' and fathers' wartime deployments: Protocol for a two-wave panel study

Multiple adjustment difficulties have been associated with children's exposure to recent parental wartime military deployments, but long-term consequences have not yet been systematically studied. This investigation will assess direct and indirect relationships between exposures to parental deployments early in life and later youth adjustment. Parents' psychological health and family processes will be examined as mediators, and parents' and children's vulnerability and support will be examined as moderators. Archival data will be combined with new data gathered from two children and up to two parents in families where children will be aged 11 to 16 at the first data collection and will have experienced at least one parental deployment, for at least one child prior to age 6. Data are being gathered via telephone interviews and web-based surveys conducted twice one year apart. Outcomes are indicators of children's social-emotional development, behavior, and academic performance. Notable features of this study include oversampling of female service members, inclusion of siblings, and inclusion of families of both veterans and currently serving members. This study has potentially important implications for schools, community organizations and health care providers serving current and future cohorts of military and veteran families.

Developmental pathway for first onset of depressive disorders in females: from adolescence to emerging adulthood

BACKGROUND

Although risk markers for depressive disorders (DD) are dynamic, especially during adolescence, few studies have examined how change in risk levels during adolescence predict DD onset during transition to adulthood. We compared two competing hypotheses of the dynamic effects of risk. The risk escalation hypothesis posits that worsening of risk predicts DD onset beyond risk level. The chronic risk hypothesis posits that persistently elevated risk level, rather than risk change, predicts DD onset.

METHODS

Our sample included 393 girls (baseline age 13.5-15.5 years) from the adolescent development of emotions and personality traits project. Participants underwent five diagnostic interviews and assessments of risk markers for DD at 9-month intervals and were re-interviewed at a 6-year follow-up. We focused on 17 well-established risk markers. For each risk marker, we examined the prospective effects of risk level and change on first DD onset at wave six, estimated by growth curve modeling using data from the first five waves.

RESULTS

For 13 of the 17 depression risk markers, elevated levels of risk during adolescence, but not change in risk, predicted first DD onset during transition to adulthood, supporting the chronic risk hypothesis. Minimal evidence was found for the risk escalation hypothesis.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants who had a first DD onset during transition to adulthood have exhibited elevated levels of risk throughout adolescence. Researchers and practitioners should administer multiple assessments and focus on persistently elevated levels of risk to identify individuals who are most likely to develop DD and to provide targeted DD prevention.

Family resilience during the COVID-19 onset: A daily-diary inquiry into parental employment status, parent-adolescent relationships, and well-being

COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to multi-systemic disruptions in family life. Using dyadic, daily-diary parent-adolescent data from a nationwide American sample (18,415 daily assessments; 29 days: 4/8/2020-4/21/2020 and 5/18/2020-6/1/2020; N = 635 parent-adolescent dyads), this intensive longitudinal study investigated how COVID-19-related job loss and working-from-home (WFH) arrangements influenced parents' and children's daily affect indirectly through family functioning (i.e., parent-adolescent conflict, inter-adult conflict, and parental warmth) and whether these links varied by family socioeconomic status (SES). Parental employment status was linked to these family relational dynamics, which were then connected to parents' and adolescents' daily affect. Although SES did not moderate these links, low-income families were more likely to experience job loss, parent-adolescent conflict, and inter-adult conflict and less likely to WFH than higher-income families. As inter-relations within the family are a malleable point for intervention, clinicians working with families recovering from the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to use approaches that strengthen family relationships, especially between adolescents and their parents. Unemployment subsidies are discussed as a means to support families struggling with job loss, and organizations are urged to consider the benefits of WFH on employee health and work-life balance.

Friendship changes differentially predict neural correlates of decision-making for friends across adolescence

Adolescents' peer world is highly dynamic with constant dissolution of old friendships and formation of new ones. Though many of adolescents' risky decisions involve their peers, little is known about how adolescents' ever-changing friendships shape their ability to make these peer-involving risky decisions, particularly adaptive ones, and whether this association shifts over time. In a 5-wave longitudinal fMRI study, 173 adolescents (at wave 1: Mage = 12.8, SDage = 0.52; range = 11.9-14.5) made risky choices to win money for their best friend. We assessed whether participants nominated the same or different best friend as their previous participation year (a total of 340 data points of friendship maintenance / change). In early adolescence, adolescents with the same best friend took more adaptive risks for that best friend than those with a different best friend. In late adolescence, however, adolescents with a different best friend took more adaptive risks for the new best friend than those with the same best friend. Further, the amygdala was differentially sensitive to friendship maintenance / change during these peer-involving adaptive risks across time. This study has implications for how stable and flexible peer landscapes differentially modulate social motivation and social decision-making over the course of adolescence.

Effectiveness of a blended school-based mindfulness program for the prevention of co-rumination and internalizing problems in Dutch secondary school girls: a cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

A growing body of literature indicates that adolescent girls who talk with close friends about interpersonal problems or worries in an excessive, speculative way, and with an intense focus on distress (i.e., co-rumination) are at heightened risk for developing internalizing symptoms and disorders as well as reduced friendship quality. However, to date, there are no prevention programs available that target high levels of co-rumination between adolescent girls. As such, we developed the blended school-based mindfulness prevention program Happy Friends, Positive Minds (HFPM) that targets co-rumination at the dyadic level, i.e., between two close female friends. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of HFPM to reduce co-rumination and internalizing problems and to enhance wellbeing and social-emotional behavior in Dutch adolescent girls.

METHODS

A cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (cRCT) will be conducted to evaluate HFPM effectiveness. We will recruit 160 female friendship dyads (n = 320 girls) aged 13 to 15 years who will be characterized by high levels of self-reported co-rumination. The cRCT has two arms: (1) an intervention condition in which 160 girls (80 friendship dyads) will receive the 14-week HFPM program in two consecutive cohorts (cohort 1 in academic year 2023/2024 and cohort 2 in academic year 2024/2025, and (2) a control condition in which 160 girls (80 dyads) will receive care-as-usual (CAU) in two consecutive cohorts (cohort 1 in academic year 2023/2024 and cohort 2 in academic year 2024/2025). Data will be collected at baseline (T0), during the program (T1;T2; T3), immediately after the program (T4), and at 1-year follow-up (T5). Participant-level self-reported risk for (early onset) depression and anxiety, self-reported and observed co-rumination, self- and friend-reported friendship quality, self-reported positive and negative affect, self-reported interpersonal responses to positive affect, and self-reported anhedonia symptoms will be the outcome variables.

DISCUSSION

This study will provide insights into the short-term and long-term effects of the HFPM program on girls' internalizing problems, wellbeing, and social-emotional behavior.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

International Standard Randomized Controlled Trials, identifier: ISRCTN54246670. Registered on 27 February 2023.

Body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem in elementary school-aged children: the role of media pressure and trust in parent-child relationships

Studies have indicated that the media plays a role in the development of body dissatisfaction in children. Nevertheless, there is limited understanding of the protective factors that may reduce this association, such as the parent-child relationship. Therefore, this study investigates children's body dissatisfaction and self-esteem and the role of media pressure and a trust in parent-child relationships herein. A sample of n = 246 participants (59.8% girls, aged 8-10) was recruited. Children completed self-report questionnaires that assessed body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, media pressure, and trust in parent-child relationships. Results revealed that higher scores on media pressure were linked to increased body dissatisfaction and decreased self-esteem. On the other hand, higher scores on trust in mother and father were associated with lower levels of body dissatisfaction and higher levels of self-esteem. However, the presence of trust in parent-child relationships did not attenuate the impact of media pressure on body dissatisfaction or self-esteem. Further investigation is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of how sociocultural and interpersonal factors interact and contribute to the development of body image problems. While current prevention and intervention programs predominantly focus on the individual, it may be beneficial to place greater emphasis on the family environment.

Youth Perceived Social Support and Symptom Distress: A Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model

Although social support and mental health associations have been extensively investigated, their reciprocal relations in vulnerable youth remain understudied. This study investigated the relations between perceived social support and symptom distress over time whilst differentiating between support from caregivers and significant others. The sample included 257 youth (79% self-identified women, Mage = 19.2, SD = 2.5) who were receiving mental health treatment. Using a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model, results revealed no significant concurrent associations, between-person effects, or cross-lagged effects. The autoregressive effects suggested that perceived social support from caregivers was relatively stable over time, while symptom distress and support from a significant other were not. In all, this study challenged the validity of the social causation and social erosion models in the context of perceived social support and symptom distress among vulnerable youth, revealing an absence of significant reciprocal associations. The stable nature of perceived social support from caregivers compared to support from significant others was highlighted. The study design, hypotheses, and target analyses were preregistered under https://osf.io/f4qpg .

Adolescent psychological adjustment and social supports during pandemic-onset remote learning: A national multi-wave daily-diary study

In spring 2020, U.S. schools universally transitioned to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic's onset, thus creating a natural experiment for examining adolescents' risk and resilience during an ongoing school crisis response. This longitudinal study used a daily-diary approach to investigate the role of social support in the link between remote learning and psychological well-being across 64 days among a national sample of adolescents (n = 744; 42% Black, 36% White, 22% Other ethnicity/race; 41% boys; 72% eligible for free/reduced-priced lunch; Mage=14.60, SDage=1.71, age-range = 12-17 years). On days when youth attended remote learning, they reported lower daily positive affect, more daily stress, and higher parent social support. There were no significant differences in the effect of remote learning on affect or stress by race or economic status. On days when youth experienced more parent support, they reported lower daily stress and negative affect and higher daily positive affect. On days when youth experienced more peer support, they reported higher daily positive affect. Overall, the study highlights the impact of pandemic-onset remote learning on adolescents' psychological well-being and emphasizes the need for future research on school crisis contingency planning to address these challenges.

Disentangling the trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms and partnership problems in the transition to parenthood and their impact on child adjustment difficulties

Maternal perinatal depression (PND) and partnership problems have been identified to influence the development of later child adjustment difficulties. However, PND and partnership problems are closely linked which makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the exact transmission pathways. The aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent PND symptoms and partnership problems influence each other longitudinally and to examine the influence of their trajectories on child adjustment difficulties at the age of three. Analyses were based on publicly available data from the German family panel "pairfam". N = 354 mothers were surveyed on depressive symptoms and partnership problems annually from pregnancy (T0) until child age three (T4). Child adjustment difficulties were assessed at age three. Results of latent change score modeling showed that partnership problems predicted change in PND symptoms at T0 and T3 while PND symptoms did not predict change in partnership problems. Child adjustment difficulties at age three were predicted by PND symptoms, but not by partnership problems. Partnership problems predicted externalizing, but not internalizing symptoms. Results underline the effects of family factors for the development of child adjustment difficulties and emphasize the importance of early interventions from pregnancy onwards.

A smartphone-based intervention for young people who self-harm ('PRIMARY'): study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Self-harm in young people is a public health concern connected with severe mental health problems, such as personality pathology. Currently, there are no specific evidence-based interventions available for young people who self-harm. Therefore, we developed PRe-Intervention Monitoring of Affect and Relationships in Youth (PRIMARY), a smartphone-based intervention, co-designed by clinicians and young people with lived experience of mental ill-health. PRIMARY combines the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) with weekly report sessions. The study aims to examine the effectiveness of PRIMARY with regard to reducing self-harm, and improving emotion regulation and quality of relationships.

METHODS

This study is a multicenter, parallel groups, randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the PRIMARY intervention to a waiting list control group. PRIMARY comprises 28 consecutive days of questionnaires five times each day (i.e., ESM) and four weekly report sessions. Participants will comprise 180 young people referred for treatment to the participating Dutch mental healthcare institutions and (1) are aged 12 to 25 years, and (2) engaged in ≥ 1 act of self-harm in the past year. Participants are randomly allocated to a study group after screening in a 1:1 ratio by an independent researcher using computer-generated randomization sequences with stratified block randomization by age (12 to 15 years / 16 to 25 years). Staff will conduct assessments with all participants at baseline (Wave 1), after 28 days (Wave 2), and in a subsample after 10 weeks of subsequent specialized treatment (Wave 3). The primary outcomes are self-harm, emotion regulation, and quality of relationships. Secondary outcomes include patient and clinician satisfaction. Exploratory analyses of ESM data will examine the relationship between emotions, social relationships, and self-harm.

DISCUSSION

The results of this trial will clarify whether an innovative smartphone-based intervention is effective for reducing self harm and improving emotion regulation and the quality of social relationships. It has the potential to fill a treatment gap of interventions specifically targeting self-harm. If proven effective, it would provide an accessible, easy-to-implement, low-cost intervention for young people. Furthermore, the ESM-data will allow detailed analyses into the processes underlying self-harm, which will contribute to theoretical knowledge regarding the behavior.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN42088538 ( https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN42088538 ), retrospectively registered on the 26th of October 2022.

Do program practices matter for mentors?: How implementation of empirically supported program practices is associated with youth mentoring relationship quality

This study investigates how the implementation of program-level practices by formal youth mentoring programs is associated with the quality of youth mentoring relationships as contexts for youth development and also examines whether this connection is mediated by the mentor-staff working alliance. Using data from mentors (n = 542) participating in multiple programs (n = 55), multilevel path models examined hypothesized direct and mediated effects. Parallel analyses were conducted with assessments of program practices from staff (n = 219). Greater exposure to program practices was associated with higher ratings of mentoring relationship satisfaction, commitment, and security and lower mentor-youth relationship negativity. The mentor-staff working alliance either partially or fully mediated these associations. Staff-reported practices predicted mentoring relationship satisfaction and commitment without mediation by the working alliance. This study suggests program practices contribute to stronger youth mentoring relationships. The findings also highlight the mentor-staff working alliance in supporting the development of positive mentoring relationships.

Adolescent caregiving success as a predictor of social functioning from ages 13 to 33

Adolescent success providing satisfying support in response to a close friend's call in a caregiving task was examined as a potentially fundamental developmental competence likely to predict future social functioning, adult caregiving security, and physical health. Adolescents (86 males, 98 females; 58% White, 29% African American, 8% mixed race/ethnicity, 5% other) were followed from ages 13 to 33 (1998-2021) using multiple methods and reporters. Early caregiving success was found to predict greater self- and partner-reported caregiving security, lower negativity in adult relationships, and higher adult vagal tone. Results are interpreted as advancing our understanding beyond simply recognizing that adolescent friendships have long-term import, to now identifying specific capacities within friendships that are linked to longer-term outcomes.

Adolescent Psychosocial Adjustment during COVID-19: An Intensive Longitudinal Study

OBJECTIVE

COVID-19 has presented threats to adolescents' psychosocial well-being, especially for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This longitudinal study aimed to identify which social (i.e., family conflict, parental social support, peer social support), emotional (i.e., COVID-19 health-related stress), and physical (i.e., sleep quality, food security) factors influence adolescents' same- and next-day affect and misconduct and whether these factors functioned differently by adolescents' economic status.

METHOD

Daily-diary approaches were used to collect 12,033 assessments over 29 days from a nationwide sample of American adolescents (n =546; Mage = 15.0; 40% male; 43% Black, 37% White, 10% Latinx, 8% Asian American, and 3% Native American; 61% low-income) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

Peer support, parent support, and sleep quality operated as promotive factors, whereas parent-child conflict and COVID-19 health-related stress operated as risk factors. Although these links were consistent for adolescents irrespective of economic status, low-income adolescents experienced more conflict with parents, more COVID-19 health-related stress, less peer support, and lower sleep quality than higher-income adolescents. Food insecurity was connected to decreased same- and next-day negative affect for low-income adolescents only. Low-income adolescents also displayed greater negative affect in response to increased daily health-related stress relative to higher-income adolescents.

CONCLUSION

These results highlight the role of proximal processes in shaping adolescent adjustment and delineate key factors influencing youth psychosocial well-being in the context of COVID-19. By understanding adolescents' responses to stressors at the onset of the pandemic, practitioners and healthcare providers can make evidence-based decisions regarding clinical treatment and intervention planning for youth most at risk for developmental maladjustment.

The Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA): How does emotion regulation vary according to context?

Recent models of emotion regulation (ER) highlight the need to construct tools that assess ER in different contexts. This paper describes the development and validation of the Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA). This questionnaire assesses ER strategies and abilities in three situations that elicit specific emotions (i.e. sadness, fear and anger). Data were collected from a sample of 840 adolescents who completed the CERSA (M age  = 14.75; SD age  = 1.61) and another of 314 adolescents who completed the CERSA, the CERQ and the SLWS (M age  = 13.63; SD age  = 0.85). Results confirmed the expected structure in all situations as well as construct and external validity. Furthermore, correlations between latent factors and gender differences in ER strategies and abilities were often situation dependant. Mean levels of ER strategies and abilities varied according to the situation. These results provide empirical support for ER flexibility and polyregulation in adolescence.

The friendships of children and youth with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience substantial difficulty maintaining meaningful friendships, which has implications for social functioning and mental health. No systematic review has investigated their friendship difficulties.

OBJECTIVES

To systematically review and methodologically appraise the quality of existing studies reporting on friendships of children with ADHD. To compare their friendships to typically-developing children, and examine associations between friendship and children's social-emotional wellbeing and mental health.

METHOD

Six databases were searched. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the QualSyst appraisal tool and the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies. Aspects of friendships measured were charted, along with comparisons between children with ADHD and typically-developing children and the associations between friendships and social-emotional wellbeing and mental health.

RESULTS

Twenty-three cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal follow-up study were included. Studies included 1509 participants with ADHD, with 1197 typically-developing participants used as a companion in 19 of the 24 studies. Friendship quantity was the most investigated aspect of friendship. Children and youth with ADHD had significantly fewer friends, lower quality friendships and poorer friendship interactions. There were mixed findings from studies investigating the role or impact of friendship on social-emotional wellbeing and mental health. Twenty-two had strong methodological quality.

CONCLUSION

Limited longitudinal studies, small sample sizes and variability in measurement restrict the interpretations of friendship over time and the causal impact of friendship on social and emotional outcomes. Further research should investigate the role and impact of friendships on the social-emotional wellbeing of children and youth with ADHD.

Quality of Social Relationships with Parents and Peers in Adolescents Born Extremely Preterm

OBJECTIVE

Adolescents born extremely preterm (EPT, gestational age [GA] <28 weeks) are at higher risk for problems in peer socialization than those born full-term (FT, GA >36 weeks). This study was designed to examine the possibility that adolescents born EPT may also have difficulty in transitioning from parents to peers for socialization, a process referred to as "social reorienting." A secondary aim was to investigate associations of social reorienting with other neurodevelopmental characteristics.

METHODS

The Network of Relationships Inventory, Relationship Quality Version was administered to 24 adolescents (ages 11-16 years) born EPT and 29 born FT to obtain self-ratings of closeness and discord with parents and peers. Measures of other neurodevelopmental characteristics included tests of cognitive and social skills, adolescent self-ratings of adjustment and victimization, and parent ratings of youth behavior and adaptive skills. Mixed model analyses controlling for sex, socioeconomic status, and race were conducted to examine group differences in measures of relationship quality and their associations with other neurodevelopmental characteristics.

RESULTS

The EPT group had higher ratings of closeness with parents than the FT group. For adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, those born EPT had lower closeness with peers. Higher closeness with parents was associated with lower test scores. Lower closeness and more discord with peers were associated with more behavior problems.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that adolescents born EPT have difficulties in social reorientation toward peers and identify factors related to these difficulties. Results imply a need for interventions to improve peer socialization in youth born EPT.

Perceived Support from Best Friends and Depressive Symptoms During Adolescence: Disentangling Personal from Dyadic Level Effects

Support from best friends is an important interpersonal factor in adolescent depression development but is often studied from an individual perspective in which dyadic effects are overlooked. This study aims to a) test whether differences in support vary at the individual level and are related to individual differences in the development of depressive symptoms, whether these differences vary at the dyadic level and are related to dyadic depression symptom development, or both, b) explore whether these associations are moderated by initial levels of depressive symptoms on the individual and/or dyadic level. Data from 452 adolescents (Mage = 13.03), nested in 226 same-gender friendship dyads (60.6% boy-dyads) who participated in the RADAR-Y project were included. Best friends self-reported annually (2006-2008; 3 waves) on their own depressive symptoms and perceived support from their friend. Multilevel models showed no direct association between support and depression development on the individual or dyadic level. However, the initial level of dyads' depressive symptoms moderated the association between dyadic support and dyads' subsequent depression symptom development. When dyads experienced relatively more initial depressive symptoms, higher levels of dyadic support were associated with relative increasing dyadic depressive symptoms. When dyads experienced relatively few initial depressive symptoms, higher levels of dyadic support were associated with relative decreasing dyadic depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that support from best friends can either protect against or exacerbate the development of depressive symptoms for friends, depending on the initial level of depressive symptoms of the dyad.

Dynamic risk for first onset of depressive disorders in adolescence: does change matter?

BACKGROUND

Risk factors for depressive disorders (DD) change substantially over time, but the prognostic value of these changes remains unclear. Two basic types of dynamic effects are possible. The 'Risk Escalation hypothesis' posits that worsening of risk levels predicts DD onset above average level of risk factors. Alternatively, the 'Chronic Risk hypothesis' posits that the average level rather than change predicts first-onset DD.

METHODS

We utilized data from the ADEPT project, a cohort of 496 girls (baseline age 13.5-15.5 years) from the community followed for 3 years. Participants underwent five waves of assessments for risk factors and diagnostic interviews for DD. For illustration purposes, we selected 16 well-established dynamic risk factors for adolescent depression, such as depressive and anxiety symptoms, personality traits, clinical traits, and social risk factors. We conducted Cox regression analyses with time-varying covariates to predict first DD onset.

RESULTS

Consistently elevated risk factors (i.e. the mean of multiple waves), but not recent escalation, predicted first-onset DD, consistent with the Chronic Risk hypothesis. This hypothesis was supported across all 16 risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Across a range of risk factors, girls who had first-onset DD generally did not experience a sharp increase in risk level shortly before the onset of disorder; rather, for years before onset, they exhibited elevated levels of risk. Our findings suggest that chronicity of risk should be a particular focus in screening high-risk populations to prevent the onset of DDs. In particular, regular monitoring of risk factors in school settings is highly informative.

Personalized Depression Prevention Reduces Dependent Stressors Among Adolescents: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE

Depression and stressors both increase during adolescence. The stress generation model posits that depression symptoms and associated impairment contribute to the generation of dependent stressors. Adolescent depression prevention programs have been shown to reduce the risk of depression. Recently, risk-informed personalization approaches have been adopted to enhance the efficacy of depression prevention, and preliminary evidence supports the beneficial effects of personalized prevention on depression symptoms. Given the close association between depression and stress, we examined the hypothesis that personalized depression prevention programs would reduce adolescents' experience of dependent stressors (interpersonal and non-interpersonal) over longitudinal follow-up.

METHOD

The present study included 204 adolescents (56% girls, 29% racial minority) who were randomized to receive either a cognitive-behavioral or an interpersonal prevention program. Youth were categorized as high or low on cognitive and interpersonal risk using a previously established risk classification system. Half of the adolescents received a prevention program that matched their risk profile (e.g., high cognitive risk randomized to cognitive-behavioral prevention); half received a mismatched program (e.g., high interpersonal risk randomized to cognitive-behavioral prevention). Exposure to dependent and independent stressors was assessed repeatedly over an 18-month follow-up period.

RESULTS

Matched adolescents reported fewer dependent stressors during the post-intervention follow-up period (d = .46, p = .002) and from baseline through 18-months post-intervention (d = .35, p = .02) compared to mismatched youth. As expected, there were no differences between matched and mismatched youth on the experience of independent stressors.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings further highlight the potential of personalized approaches to depression prevention and demonstrate benefits that go beyond depression symptom reduction.

Suicidality Prevalence in a Pediatric Psychiatric Clinic: Relation to Social and Environmental Risk Factors

Suicidality is a growing public health problem in children and adolescents. The aim of this retrospective data analysis study was to estimate the prevalence of suicidality in pediatric patients admitted to an academic Pediatric Psychiatric Clinic (PPC) and to analyze social and environmental risk factors associated with suicide. Suicidal ideation was assessed by the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview. Using established psychometric scales, social and stressful events were analyzed. During the four-year study, 249 episodes of care were experienced by 152 individuals (mean age 15.2 ± 2 years, girls/boys 107/45). Twenty-eight patients (11.2%) were admitted from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the Department of Pediatrics, 162 (65.1%) from the Pediatric Emergency Department, and 59 (23.7%) from other Hospitals (p = 0.003). A significant longitudinal increase in admissions to PPC, with increasing trends of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicidality, was recorded. Suicidal behavior, bullying, internet addiction, friends quarreling, and family problems were risk factors for suicide attempts and suicidality. Our results have implications for prevention programs, highlighting an increasing need for care for suicide attempts and suicidal ideation, related to specific stressful events and contextual socio-environmental status.

Striking the Balance: The Relative Benefits of Goal- and Youth-Focused Approaches to Youth Mentoring Relationships

Targeted, goal-focused approaches to mentoring can improve behavioral and mental health outcomes than more recreational, non-specific approaches. However, a focus on goals needs to be balanced with openness to including mentees' preferences. This study builds on prior work by exploring the benefits of goal- and youth-focused approaches to mentoring relationships from the youth mentee's perspective, including their associations with relationship measures (closeness and tension) and mental health outcomes (i.e., conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and depressive symptoms). This study was a secondary analysis of data from 2165 youth participating in thirty nationally representative mentoring programs in the United States. On average, youth were 12.3-years-old (SD = 1.43, range = 9-16) and the majority were female (55%); 36.7% were Black/African American, 22.4% were White, and 23.5% were Latino/Hispanic. Path analyses revealed 1) youth- and goal-focused approaches were positively associated with closeness, 2) youth-focused approaches were negatively associated with tension, 3) goal-focused approaches were positively associated with tension. At follow-up, a stronger mentoring relationship (less tension and greater closeness) was related to positive youth outcomes. As the field of mentoring corrects for an overemphasis on intuitive approaches and moves towards more targeted directions, it should resist veering too far from what sets the field apart from skills-training models: the role of a caring relationship.

GSA Advocacy Predicts Reduced Depression Disparities Between LGBQ+ and Heterosexual Youth in Schools

OBJECTIVE

Depression disparities between heterosexual youth and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other non-heterosexual (LGBQ+) youth are robust and linked to discrimination in schools. Advocacy by school-based Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) to raise awareness of LGBQ+ issues and to counteract discrimination may reduce these disparities within schools, yet has not been investigated schoolwide. We considered whether GSA advocacy over the school year moderated sexual orientation differences in depressive symptoms at the school year's end for students in the general school population (i.e., students who were not members of the GSA).

METHOD

Participants were 1,362 students (Mage = 15.68; 89% heterosexual; 52.6% female; 72.2% White) in 23 Massachusetts secondary schools with GSAs. Participants reported depressive symptoms at the beginning and end of the school year. Separately, GSA members and advisors reported their GSA's advocacy activities during the school year and other GSA characteristics.

RESULTS

LGBQ+ youth reported higher depressive symptoms than heterosexual youth at the school year's beginning. However, after adjusting for initial depressive symptoms and multiple covariates, sexual orientation was a weaker predictor of depressive symptoms at the school year's end for youth in schools whose GSAs engaged in more advocacy. Depression disparities were significant in schools whose GSAs reported lower advocacy, but were statistically non-significant in schools whose GSAs reported higher advocacy.

CONCLUSION

Advocacy could be a means by which GSAs achieve school-wide impacts, benefiting LGBQ+ youth who are not GSA members. GSAs may therefore be a key resource for addressing the mental health needs of LGBQ+ youth.

The interactive effects of family violence and peer support on adolescent depressive symptoms: The mediating role of cognitive vulnerabilities

BACKGROUND

Family violence as an inducing factor of depressive symptoms has been confirmed in previous studies. However, the mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood, particularly in Chinese adolescents. Guided by the social-ecological diathesis-stress model, this three-wave longitudinal study aimed to examine the effects of an individual's cognitive vulnerabilities (rejection-sensitivity anxiety and negative cognitive error) and positive societal contexts (peer support) on the link between family violence and depressive symptoms in Chinese society.

METHODS

A total of 859 Chinese adolescents (44.35 % female; M_age = 12.73, SD = 0.43 at baseline) completed self-reporting surveys that assessed variables associated with study and peer-nominated peer support.

RESULTS

The results showed that family violence increased the incidence of depressive symptoms in adolescents after two years, resulting in rejection-sensitivity anxiety and negative cognitive error. Surprisingly, higher self-reported peer support, although not peer-nominated support, exacerbated rather than mitigated this indirect effect, supporting the reverse stress-buffering model and extending the healthy context paradox.

LIMITATIONS

Most of the measures were based on participants' self-reports.

CONCLUSIONS

These results emphasize the importance of individual cognition and societal contexts in adolescents with traumatic experiences and provide empirical evidence for the intervention and clinical treatment of depressive symptoms.

Estranged and Unhappy? Examining the Dynamics of Personal and Relationship Well-Being Surrounding Infidelity

Although relationship theories often describe infidelity as a damaging event in a couple's life, it remains unclear whether relationship problems actually follow infidelity, precede it, or both. The analyses of dyadic panel data of adults in Germany including about 1,000 infidelity events showed that infidelity was preceded (but not followed) by a gradual decrease in relationship functioning in perpetrators and victims. There was little evidence of rebound effects in the aftermath of infidelity, with the exception of unfaithful women and individuals with lower initial relationship commitment who returned to the pre-event level of well-being or even exceeded it, providing support to the expectancy violation theory (vs. the investment model of infidelity). By showing that well-being starts to decline before infidelity happens, this study provides a differentiated view on the temporal dynamics of infidelity and well-being and contributes to the literature on romantic relationship dynamics and major life events.

Do You See What I See? Longitudinal Associations Between Mothers' and Adolescents' Perceptions of Their Relationship and Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms

This 6-year community study examined how discrepancies in mothers' and adolescents' perceptions of their relationship were longitudinally associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms, and vice versa. 497 adolescents (57% boys, M_{age T1} = 13.03, SD_age = 0.46) and their mothers reported in 6 annual waves on conflict and warmth in the mother-adolescent relationship and adolescents reported on their depressive and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) symptoms. Latent Congruence Models suggested that both adolescent depressive and GAD symptoms significantly predicted higher levels of conflict as well as stronger discrepancies in perceptions of conflict 1-year later. In turn, higher levels of conflict significantly predicted both adolescent depressive and GAD symptoms 1-year later. For warmth, lower levels significantly predicted adolescent depressive symptoms 1-year later. Concluding, these findings suggest (1) more systematic evidence for longitudinal associations between conflict than warmth in the mother-adolescent relationship and adolescent internalizing symptoms; (2) support for a transactional model, including support for both interpersonal scar or symptom-driven effects (concerning both levels of and mother-adolescent discrepancies in conflict) and interpersonal risk or relationship-driven effects (concerning levels of both conflict and warmth); (3) longitudinal effects from adolescent internalizing symptoms to mother-adolescent discrepancies, but not vice versa; and (4) strong consistency in patterns of findings across both adolescent depressive and GAD symptoms, with few differential longitudinal associations with aspects of mother-adolescent relationship quality. Thereby, this study provides a more nuanced understanding of the direction of effects between adolescent internalizing symptoms and both levels of and discrepancies in mothers' and adolescents' perceptions of their relationship.

Exogenous testosterone administration is associated with differential neural response to unfamiliar peer's and own caregiver's voice in transgender adolescents

Changes in gonadal hormones during puberty are thought to potentiate adolescents' social re-orientation away from caregivers and towards peers. This study investigated the effect of testosterone on neural processing of emotional (vocal) stimuli by unfamiliar peers vs. parents, in transgender boys receiving exogenous testosterone as a gender-affirming hormone (GAH+) or not (GAH-). During fMRI, youth heard angry and happy vocal expressions spoken by their caregiver and an unfamiliar teenager. Youth also self-reported on closeness with friends and parents. Whole-brain analyses (controlling for age) revealed that GAH+ youth showed blunted neural response to caregivers' angry voices-and heightened response to unfamiliar teenage angry voices-in the anterior cingulate cortex. This pattern was reversed in GAH- youth, who also showed greater response to happy unfamiliar teenager vs. happy caregiver voices in this region. Blunted ACC response to angry caregiver voices-a pattern characteristic of GAH+ youth-was associated with greater relative closeness with friends over parents, which could index more "advanced" social re-orientation. Consistent with models of adolescent neurodevelopment, increases in testosterone during adolescence may shift the valuation of caregiver vs. peer emotional cues in a brain region associated with processing affective information.

Association between friendship quality and subjective wellbeing among adolescents: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Social integration with friends has an important role in shaping adolescents' behavior and determining their wellbeing. Friendship features such as companionship, trust, closeness, intimacy, and conflicts all form the concept of friendship quality. The quality of friendships can either enhance or impede mental development during adolescence. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to understand the association between friendship quality and adolescents' mental wellbeing.

METHODS

In November 2020 and later in August 2022, the search for evidence was conducted on five databases (Medline, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus, and PsycINFO). Only peer-reviewed quantitative studies published from January 2000 to August 2022 that investigated friendship quality as their exposure variable in relation to six constructs of subjective wellbeing (mood, loneliness, life satisfaction, happiness, self-esteem, and subjective wellbeing) were included. After screening for eligibility, two reviewers independently extracted the data based on population characteristics, study design, exposure and outcome variables, outcome measures used, and results. Risk of bias assessment was performed utilizing the NIH Quality Assessment Tool. Narrative evidence synthesis was performed based on the constructs of subjective wellbeing.

RESULTS

Forty-three articles out of 21,585 records were included in the review. The relationship between friendship quality and depression has been investigated extensively in the literature and negative (beneficial) associations were found in eighteen studies out of twenty-three. Poor peer relationship was associated with loneliness in nine studies out of ten. All seven studies on life satisfaction and quality of peer connection found a positive association. In five studies, better peer relationship was found to be associated with happiness. A positive association between friendship quality and self-esteem was observed in five out of six applicable studies. Friendship quality was found to be positively associated with subjective well-being in all of five included studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Although majority of the included studies were cross-sectional in nature, this review demonstrates the paramount value of promoting healthy friendship to adolescents' subjective wellbeing constructs. Interventions that aim to promote subjective wellbeing among adolescents should consider the development and maintenance of healthy friendships.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42020219312.

Children's and Adolescents' Happiness and Family Functioning: A Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND

the present research represents the first systematic review of the literature on the relation between happiness (i.e., subjective well-being, life satisfaction, positive affect) and family functioning in families with children aged 6-18 years.

METHOD

relevant articles were systematically searched in three scientific databases (i.e., PsycInfo, Pubmed, and Web of Science) in June 2022. The databases were searched for original articles published after 1968 with the keywords "happiness" and "family functioning."

RESULTS

of the 2683 records recovered, 124 original articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. The articles were divided according to four emergent themes: (1) family dimensions and happiness; (2) global family functioning (i.e., family functioning, and family relationships), environmental variables, and happiness; (3) parental differences; (4) longitudinal studies.

CONCLUSIONS

the results of the review provide evidence for a positive relation between happiness and family functioning, across different cultures and age groups: Family dimensions (e.g., cohesion, communication) were found to strongly predict children's and adolescents' happiness. Future studies should investigate the differences between fathers and mothers using multi-informant and mixed methods procedures and a longitudinal research approach. The implications of the findings for children's positive development are discussed.

Using a Socio-Ecological Framework to Understand Romantic Relationship Satisfaction Among Emerging Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The formation and maintenance of satisfying romantic relationships, a developmental milestone for many emerging adults, has been challenged by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the impact of COVID-19 stress on relationship satisfaction has not been explored within the context of individual and relationship factors. Guided by a socio-ecological framework, this study used a longitudinal design to investigate the impact of individual-level (i.e., growth beliefs, destiny beliefs), couple-level (i.e., daily criticism), and societal-level (i.e., COVID-19 stress) factors on relationship satisfaction during Fall 2021. We also explored the moderating effects of destiny beliefs and growth beliefs. Results revealed relationship satisfaction was negatively associated with daily criticism, but not directly associated with destiny beliefs, growth beliefs, or COVID-19 stress. However, growth beliefs buffered against the negative impact of criticism on relationship satisfaction. These findings are consistent with the notion that growth beliefs may play a protective role in relationship processes.

Structural and Functional Brain Alterations in Populations with Familial Risk for Depression: A Narrative Review

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this activity, practitioners will be better able to:• Discuss the association between brain alterations and vulnerability or resilience to MDD in people with familial risk• Define how structural and functional brain alterations associated with vulnerability or resilience could lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of MDD.

AIM

Familial history is associated with an increased risk for major depressive disorder (MDD). Despite the increased risk, some members of the familial high-risk population remain healthy, that is, resilient. Defining the structural and functional brain alterations associated with vulnerability or resilience could lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of MDD. This study aimed to review the current literature and discuss the association between brain alterations and vulnerability or resilience to MDD in people with familial risk.

METHODS

A literature search on MRI studies investigating structural and functional alterations in populations at familial risk for MDD was performed using the PubMed and SCOPUS databases. The search was conducted through June 13, 2022.

RESULTS

We reviewed and summarized the data of 72 articles (25 structural MRI, 35 functional MRI, 10 resting-state fMRI, one structural/functional MRI combined, and one structural/functional/resting-state fMRI combined). These findings suggested that resilience in high-risk individuals is related to the amygdala structure, frontal lobe activity, and functional connectivity between the amygdala and multiple frontal regions.

CONCLUSION

Resilient and vulnerable individuals exhibit structural and functional differences in multiple frontal and limbic regions. However, further systematic longitudinal research incorporating environmental factors is required to validate the current findings.

Preventing Revictimization Through a Web-Based Intervention for Primary Caregivers of Youth in Care (EMPOWERYOU): Protocol for a Randomized Factorial Trial

Background

Children in foster care are at a higher risk for relationship problems than their counterparts raised by their biological family because of higher exposure to or prevalence of neglect or maltreatment early in life. Consequently, these children may also show more challenging behavior in their foster families, which in turn increases the parental stress experience of foster caregivers. Furthermore, the children may engage in a vicious cycle of risky relationship behaviors and expectations that put them at a greater risk for revictimization.

Objective

To support foster caregivers in reducing the risk for revictimization, several intervention modules delivered via the internet were developed using a consumer-based approach (phase 1 of the multiphase optimization strategy). This project (phase 2 of the multiphase optimization strategy) aimed to develop a sustainable intervention by selecting promising intervention components based on their contribution to the outcome.

Methods

In a 24 factorial trial, a total of 317 foster caregivers with children aged 8 to 13 years are randomly assigned to 1 of 16 conditions. The primary outcome is the rate of revictimization from baseline to 3 months after intervention. Secondary outcomes include risk-taking and functional behaviors in relationships. All caregivers will receive access to all the intervention components after the follow-up assessment. The participants assigned to the condition with all component levels on are expected to show the best improvement in the primary and secondary outcomes.

Results

Recruitment and data collection for the factorial trial started in March 2022 and is ongoing. As of October 2022, we recruited 181 families. Although it is difficult to predict the exact study timeline owing to COVID-19 pandemic–related delays, results are expected in February 2024.

Conclusions

There is a need for easily accessible information related to raising children in foster care who have experienced early life adversities to interrupt the cycle of violence and enhance the developmental pathway of health and emotional stability. It might be useful, in addition to generally useful parenting information (eg, parental self-care or emotion regulation management), to specifically focus on the needs of these caregivers (eg, how to support the child to reduce dysfunctional relationship behaviors that may have developed because of early adverse experiences).

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05235659; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05235659

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/38183

Adolescent Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Pre-Pandemic Risk Factors

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global mental health crisis that disproportionately impacts adolescents. Loneliness is a particularly salient pandemic psychosocial outcome to understand; however, research to date on this outcome is sparse and largely cross-sectional. In response, we examined pre-pandemic risk factors for pandemic loneliness. Further, we examined how risk may differ based on key demographics, and whether mediation or moderation models best explained potential disparities in experiencing loneliness. Self-reported, pre-pandemic mental health, trauma exposure, and family conflict survey data were collected at Wave 1 in a diverse sample of 369 adolescents (54.5% female, 45.5% male; 30.1% White; 30.9% Black; 18.4% Hispanic; M_age = 15.04; SD _age  = 1.10). Subsequently, self-reported experiences of loneliness during the pandemic were collected 6 months (April-June 2020) and 12 months (October-December 2020) later. Using a regression-based framework (i.e., PROCESS), we tested (a) which pre-pandemic risks uniquely predicted prospective loneliness and (b) whether loneliness risk was elevated for certain identities (i.e., mediation models) or whether certain identities were more sensitive to specific risks (i.e., moderation models). Overall, pre-pandemic depressive and aggression symptoms predicted early pandemic loneliness (6-month follow-up), whereas anxiety symptoms specifically predicted mid-pandemic loneliness (12-month follow-up). Environmental stressors were moderated by gender, such that females with pre-pandemic trauma exposure were more likely to report pandemic loneliness. Further, pre-pandemic internalizing distress for girls and externalizing symptoms for boys, reflected gender-specific pathways for loneliness. Implications for mental health prevention in the wake of national disasters are discussed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12187-022-09984-8.

Examination of risk exposure models during COVID-19 in relation to youth life satisfaction and internalizing symptoms

This study examined mediation of a negative COVID-impact on the relationship between risk exposure, and life satisfaction and internalizing symptoms in youth (aged 9–18). Four operationalizations of risk exposure were applied; an Additive versus a Cumulative Risk Model (ARM and CRM), risk clusters and the most salient risk factors. Results showed that a stronger negative COVID-impact is related to lower life satisfaction, more internalizing symptoms and higher additive and cumulative risk. ARM and CRM’s effect on lower life satisfaction is mediated through negative COVID-impact, though not for internalizing symptoms. Clusters of risk factors and risk factors within clusters significantly related to a stronger negative COVID-impact are the clusters ‘Individual factors’ (low self-control), ‘Parenting’ (negative mother–child interaction and low parental responsiveness), ‘Maternal mental health’ and ‘Demographic factors’ (low SES and high paternal education). From all significant risk factors, low self-control, low parental responsiveness, negative mother–child interaction and low SES were most salient.

Understanding personality pathology in a clinical sample of youth: study protocol for the longitudinal research project 'APOLO'

INTRODUCTION

We propose that a dimensional, multilayered perspective is well suited to study maladaptive personality development in youth. Such a perspective can help understand pathways to personality pathology and contribute to its early detection. The research project 'APOLO' (a Dutch language acronym for Adolescents and their Personality Development: a Longitudinal Study) is designed based on McAdams' integrative three-layered model of personality development and assesses the interaction between dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, the narrative identity and functioning.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

APOLO is a longitudinal research project that takes place in two outpatient mental healthcare centres. Participants are youth between 12 years and 23 years and their parents. Data collection is set up to build a data set for scientific research, as well as to use the data for diagnostic assessment and systematic treatment evaluation of individual patients. Measurements are conducted half-yearly for a period of 3 years and consist of self-report and informant-report questionnaires and a semistructured interview. The included constructs fit the dimensional model of personality development: maladaptive personality traits (dispositional traits), social relations, stressful life events (characteristic adaptations), a turning point (narrative identity) and functioning (eg, achievement of youth specific milestones). Primary research questions will be analysed using structural equation modelling.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The results will contribute to our understanding of (the development of) personality pathology as a complex phenomenon in which both structural personality characteristics as well as unique individual adaptations and experiences play a role. Furthermore, results will give directions for early detection and timely interventions. This study has been approved by the ethical review committee of the Utrecht University Faculty for Social and Behavioural Sciences (FETC17-092). Data distribution will be anonymous and results will be disseminated via communication canals appropriate for diverse audiences. This includes both clinical and scientific conferences, papers published in national and international peer-reviewed journals and (social) media platforms.

Predictors of children's emotion regulation outcomes during COVID-19: Role of conflict within the family

Objective

This work aimed to analyze the role of family conflict on children's emotion regulation and stress outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic brought novel stress to families. The stress experienced could impact family relationships-specifically, perceptions of closeness and patterns of conflict. Positive family environment and high-quality family relationships are associated with adaptive coping and lower levels of stress among children.

Method

Data were collected online from 110 participants at baseline and again 30 days later. Associations between parent-child relationship, sibling relationships, and child stress and emotion regulation outcomes 30 days later were tested through multiple stepwise regression.

Results

Both significant regression models suggest that parent-child conflict is the strongest predictor of child stress and negativity over the 30-day assessment period. Sibling conflict predicted child stress but not negativity.

Conclusion

Family conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic influenced children's emotion regulation outcomes as seen through significant associations between child-parent conflict, sibling conflict, perceived child stress, and children's negativity.

Implications

Family scientists and practitioners should consider interventions that help parents teach their children how to cope with their own stresses and emotions after conflict.

The Roles of Social Media Use and Friendship Quality in Adolescents' Internalizing Problems and Well-being

Adolescents spend increasing amounts of time using social media, but whether social media use has a beneficial or harmful role in internalizing problems and well-being during adolescence remains under debate. The present study explored associations of social media use and friendship quality with adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being both concurrently and longitudinally, including the exploration of interactive effects between social media use and friendship quality and the examination of gender differences. Online questionnaire data collected in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019 from 1,298 Dutch adolescents aged 11-17 years (mean age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, 53.2% girls) were used. Path analyses showed that, cross-sectionally, girls (not boys) who used social media more frequently had more internalizing problems and lower well-being. Boys and girls with higher-quality friendships reported fewer concurrent internalizing problems and higher concurrent and longitudinal well-being; the association with internalizing problems was significantly stronger for girls as for boys. We found no significant interaction between social media use and friendship quality. Thus, the present study indicates that social media use and friendship quality have unique roles in adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being. Furthermore, the findings support the importance of gender-specific approaches to decrease adolescents' internalizing problems and enhance their well-being.

Relationship Factors Associated With Early Adolescent Dating Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among Latinx Youth in an Agricultural Community

Latinx early adolescents within the United States are particularly vulnerable to dating violence; yet, little research has examined early dating experiences and violence outside large urban settings. Latinxs, in particular, may experience a unique window of opportunity for dating violence (DV) prevention during early adolescence, based on their trends in risk behavior over the adolescent period. This study extends the current research on dating violence by examining a highly understudied population, Latinx early adolescent girls and boys residing in an agricultural community, by assessing victimization and perpetration, and examining interpersonal-level factors as potential risk and protective factors for violence. Using data from a prospective cohort study of Latinx adolescents with relationship experience (past six months) (N = 296; girls: n = 147; boys: n = 149; mean age: 13.8), we assessed the association between dating relationship characteristics and dating violence victimization and perpetration using modified-Poisson regression models with robust standard errors stratified by gender. In multivariable analyses, we found that girls with gang-affiliated partners, partner-related withdrawal from friends, and girls who had used drugs or alcohol with a partner experienced greater risk for dating violence. Additionally, holding beliefs supportive of female sexual naivete and engaging in and communicating about sexual activity were associated with victimization among girls. No significant associations were found among boys. Findings affirm the need for multilevel DV prevention programming that starts in middle school and addresses social isolation, gang exposure, and traditional Latinx gender-norm beliefs regarding marianismo. These findings underscore the imperative to coordinate dating and gang violence prevention efforts by addressing common co-occurring interpersonal and environmental risk factors, including social isolation and culturally-specific traditional beliefs. Such factors could also assist providers, families, and peers in early identification of Latinx early adolescents at risk for DV, especially in rural contexts where resources are often limited.

Peer Microaggressions and Social Skills among School-Age Children of Sexual Minority Parents through Assisted Reproduction: Moderation via the Child-Teacher Relationship

The impact of peer microaggressions and the child-teacher relationship on the social skills of children with sexual minority parents has received little attention. The current study used a mixed-method, multi-informant, two-wave longitudinal design to address this research gap. Thirty-seven children of lesbian mothers through donor insemination and 33 children of gay fathers though surrogacy (wave 1: Mage = 8.3 years, SD = 1.6; 51.4% female; wave 2: Mage = 9.9 years, SD = 1.7), all school-aged and residing in Italy, participated together with their 140 parents and 55 teachers. Approximately two-thirds of the children reported at least one peer microaggression and, on average, microaggressions were of a low intensity. Child-teacher relationships were of high quality (i.e., characterized by high safe haven-seeking and secure base use, and low conflict). Both parents and teachers reported high levels of child social skills. However, more intense W1 microaggressions predicted lower W2 social skills among children reporting a lower W1 child-teacher relationship quality, and greater W2 social skills among those reporting a higher W1 child-teacher relationship quality. These results support the child-teacher relationship as a potentially secure context in which children can "mentalize" negative experiences such as microaggressions and improve their social skills. In this vein, considering microaggression, attachment, and developmental intergroup theories, teachers must attune to the school experiences of children with sexual minority parents and cultivate caring classroom environments that are sensitive to family diversity.

Associations Among Maternal Positivity, Negativity and Child Attachment in the Netherlands, Poland, and Turkey

This study addresses how maternal positivity and negativity toward a child in three countries, separately and in combination are related to attachment in middle childhood. We first developed an ecologically valid emic measure of the Maternal Positivity-Negativity Scale through an interview-based study (90 mothers) and then tested our hypotheses in a separate study. The child's attachment security (where the child uses the mother as a safe haven and secure base) and insecurity (attachment anxiety and avoidance) were assessed using standard measures. Equal numbers of mothers and their children between 8 and 12 years of age from Poland, Turkey, and the Netherlands participated in the main study (756 dyads). Results revealed that: (1) maternal positivity was more strongly associated, than maternal negativity, with child security; (2) maternal negativity was more strongly associated, than maternal positivity, with child anxiety, and its relation was stronger when maternal positivity was low; (3) maternal negativity was more strongly associated with child anxiety than with child avoidance; (4) the maternal positivity-over-negativity prevalence index was related to child attachment security and insecurity; (5) relations between maternal positivity and child attachment were moderated by culture. Results are discussed considering attachment in middle childhood and culture-related perspectives.

Neuroticism and satisfaction in romantic relationships: A systematic investigation of intra- and interpersonal processes with a longitudinal approach

Relationship satisfaction—the degree to which a close relationship is perceived as rewarding and satisfying by both partners—is reliably predicted by both partners’ neuroticism, but the psychological mechanisms underlying this effect are not sufficiently well understood. By analyzing several cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes simultaneously, the current longitudinal study looked at how both partners’ neuroticism affects their respective (and mutual) relationship satisfaction both on an intra- and on an interpersonal level. Dyadic data from 2090 heterosexual couples from the “Pairfam” study were analyzed with Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Models (APIMeM). Results support the assumption that neuroticism reliably predicts cognitive, emotional, and behavioral variables, which, in turn, predict both partners’ relationship satisfaction. Importantly, cognitive processes play a particularly important role both on an interpersonal as well as on an intrapersonal level. These findings help to shed light on the maladaptive cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes underlying the effect of neuroticism on relationship satisfaction.

'You are Okay': Effects of a support and educational program for children with mild intellectual disability and their parents with mental health concerns

BACKGROUND

Children with mild intellectual disabilities and emotional and behavioural problems whose parents have mental health concerns are at an increased risk of developing problems themselves. This study analysed the effectiveness of the 'You are Okay'-program aimed to support these children and parents and to reduce the risk of problem development in children.

METHOD

A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the experimental group ('care as usual' and 'You are Okay') with the control group ('care as usual') on the main outcome of emotional and behavioural problems and proposed intermediate outcomes.

RESULTS

Children in the experimental group reported a significant medium to large decrease in emotional and behavioural problems compared to the control group. The effects on the intermediate outcomes were non-significant.

CONCLUSIONS

This specific study population comprising a vulnerable group of children seems to benefit from this specially adapted 'You are Okay'-program. More research is necessary to draw further conclusions.