Predicting Interpersonal Competence and Self-Worth From Adolescent Relationships and Relationship Networks: Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Perspectives

The relationship between mobile phone dependence and academic burnout in Chinese college students: a moderated mediator model

Objective

The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between the level of mobile phone dependence among college students and their experience of academic burnout. Additionally, the study sought to explore the potential mediating effect of study engagement and the moderating role of love.

Methods

During October and December 2023, a cross-sectional study measuring mobile phone dependence, academic burnout, and study engagement among Chinese college students, using the UtrechtWork Engagement Scale-student (UWES-S), College Student Mobile Phone Dependence Questionnaire (CSMPDQ), and Academic Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ). To examine the hypothesis of mediating and moderating effect, SPSS PROCESS was utilized.

Results

The predictive effect of mobile phone dependence on academic burnout was significant (β = 0.410, t = 14.236, p < 0.001), and the predictive effect of mobile phone dependence on academic burnout remained significant when the mediating variable study engagement was introduced (β = 0.308, t = 10.288, p < 0.001), mobile phone dependence had a significant predictive effect on study engagement (β = -0.292, t = -11.639, p < 0.001), and study engagement had a significant positive predictive effect on academic burnout (β = -0.270, t = -9.028, p < 0.001). Love significantly negatively predicted study engagement (β = -0.564, t = -9.641, p < 0.001); and the interaction term for mobile phone dependence and love was significant (β = -0.211, t = -3.688, p < 0.001), indicating a significant moderating effect of love between mobile phone dependence and study engagement.

Conclusion

Mobile phones among college students has been found to have a direct correlation with academic burnout. It can also indirectly contribute to academic burnout by diminishing levels of academic engagement. This indirect relationship is further influenced by love. These findings can help researchers and educators better understand the underlying mechanisms between smartphone dependence and learning burnout in undergraduates.

How Social Support Affects Resilience in Disadvantaged Students: The Chain-Mediating Roles of School Belonging and Emotional Experience

This study aims to utilize data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2018, conducted in four provinces and cities in China, to investigate the impact of social support on the resilience of disadvantaged students. It specifically focuses on the chain-mediated effects of school belonging and emotional experiences. To achieve this, the study selected 2997 disadvantaged students as participants and employed path analysis to examine the mediating effects. The results indicate that teacher support, parental support, school belonging, and positive emotional experiences significantly positively influence the resilience of disadvantaged students, while fear of failure significantly negatively affects resilience. Additionally, teacher and parental support indirectly impact the resilience of disadvantaged students through the chain-mediated effects of school belonging and positive emotional experiences. Similarly, teacher and parental support also influence the resilience of disadvantaged students through the chain-mediated effects of school belonging and fear of failure. To enhance the resilience development of disadvantaged students, it is recommended that teachers and parents provide active attention and support to these students. Simultaneously, there should be increased focus on the psychological well-being of disadvantaged students by strengthening their mental health education.

Social Interaction Profiles Among Youth with Intellectual Disabilities: Associations with Indicators of Psychosocial Adjustment

This study investigates the nature of the social interaction profiles observed among youth with intellectual disabilities (ID), defined while considering their relationships with their parents, peers, and teachers, as well as the implication of these profiles for self-esteem, aggressive behaviors, and prosocial behaviors. A sample of 393 youth with mild (48.2%) to moderate (51.8%) levels of ID, aged between 11 and 22 (M = 15.70), was recruited in Canada (n = 141) and Australia (n = 253). Our results revealed four profiles, corresponding to Socially Isolated (23.24%), Socially Integrated (39.83%), Socially Rejected (28.37%) and Socially Connected (8.57%) youth with ID. The socially integrated and connected profiles both presented higher self-esteem, more prosocial behaviors, and less aggressive behaviors than the socially isolated and rejected profiles.

Patterns of Mother, Father, and Peer Attachment Quality as Moderators of Child Maltreatment Risk for Depression and PTSD Symptoms in Adolescent Females

Child maltreatment (CM) is a robust risk factor for adolescent depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Quality attachment relationships have been posited as a protective factor but findings are equivocal and studies have not adequately considered the complex network of interpersonal relationships that adolescents rely on. The current study applied a person-centered approach to (a) identify subgroups of adolescent females characterized by distinct patterns of attachment quality with peers, fathers, and mothers and (b) determine if the effect of maltreatment on depressive and PTSD symptoms varied as a function of distinct patterns of attachment quality. Data came from a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of 464 racially diverse and adolescent females designed to examine the developmental sequelae of substantiated CM (260 maltreated and 204 demographically matched, nonmaltreated comparisons). Latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed four profiles of attachment characterized by: (a) above-average attachment quality across all three relationships (N = 207, 44.6%); (b) below-average quality with father and friends and above-average quality with mothers (N = 128, 27.6%); (c) below-average quality across all three relationships (N = 106, 22.9%); and (d) very low-(-1 SD) quality with mothers and above-average quality with fathers and friends (N = 23, 5.0%). Moderation models revealed that cumulative maltreatment exposure resulted in greater adolescent depressive symptoms only for those with a profile of attachment consisting of very low-quality maternal attachment and high-quality father and friend attachments. Profiles did not significantly moderate the effect of maltreatment on PTSD symptoms. Results identify subgroups of maltreatment survivors most vulnerable to the development of depression in adolescence. Such groups should be targets for the provision of finite clinical resources with clinical interventions that seek to promote healthy maternal attachment relationships to mitigate the impact of maltreatment on depression.

The Role of Neural Self-Referential Processes Underlying Self-Concept in Adolescent Depression: A Comprehensive Review and Proposed Neurobehavioral Model

There is growing knowledge about how self-concept develops in adolescence and contributes to the onset of depression, but researchers have only recently begun investigating the neural mechanisms that underlie self-referential cognition in adolescents with and without depression. This paper reviews task-related functional neuroimaging (fMRI) research on self-referential neural processing in both healthy and depressed adolescents (M_age range = 12-18 years), with a focus on elucidating brain activation that may subserve adolescent self-perception and related associations with depression. Drawing on conclusions from the affective neuroscience literature and developmental theory, we propose a neurobehavioral model and future research recommendations to address how social factors might shape self-referential neural processes and self-concept in ways that confer risk for depression. We review the operationalization of self-concept, developmental theory (i.e., symbolic interactionism) on self-concept development, and the role of self-concept in adolescent depression. We then review empirical studies assessing neural activation during healthy and depressed adolescents' processing of self-relevant information, and the limited studies assessing links between social factors and neural self-referential processing.

Distinct Profiles of Relationships With Mothers, Fathers, and Best Friends and Social-Behavioral Functioning in Early Adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Study

Adolescents’ dyadic relationships are likely influenced by the cultural context within which they exist. This study applied a person‐oriented approach to examine how perceived support and negativity were manifested across youths’ relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends, simultaneously, and how distinct relationship profiles were linked to adaptive and maladaptive functioning (aggression, anxious‐withdrawal, prosociality) within and across cultures. Participants resided in metropolitan areas of South Korea, the United States, and Portugal (10–14 years; N = 1,233). Latent profile analyses identified relationship profiles that were culturally common or specific. Additional findings highlighted commonality in the relations between a high‐quality relationship profile and adaptive functioning, as well as cultural specificity in the buffering and differential effects of distinct relationship profiles on social‐behavioral outcomes.

Self-Esteem Mediates Longitudinal Associations from Adolescent Perceptions of Parenting to Adjustment

The present study examines direct and indirect associations between perceptions of parenting and adolescent adjustment. We focus on self-esteem as an intervening variable. Participants included 446 girls and 471 boys ages 14 to 17 (M = 15.64) at the outset. A community sample of high school students was tracked for 3 consecutive years, completing annual surveys describing perceptions of parenting (i.e., psychological control and support), self-esteem, and adjustment (i.e., internalizing symptoms and externalizing symptoms). Longitudinal bidirectional associations emerged between adolescent perceptions of parenting (psychological control and support) and adolescent adjustment (externalizing and internalizing symptoms). Full longitudinal mediation analyses confirmed the hypothesized indirect links from perceived parenting to adolescent internalizing symptoms through adolescent self-esteem. High psychological control and low connectedness were associated with subsequent decreases in self-esteem, which, in turn, were associated with later increases in internalizing symptoms. Psychological control and connectedness also directly (but not indirectly) predicted changes in adolescent externalizing symptoms. Perceived psychological control and a lack of relatedness undercut self-confidence and undermine feelings of positive self-regard, which can eventually widen into more serious manifestations of psychological distress.

Adolescent girls' physiological reactivity to real-world peer feedback: A pilot study to validate a Peer Expressed Emotion task

Peer feedback becomes highly salient during adolescence, especially for girls. The way in which adolescents react to social feedback is associated with psychosocial adjustment and mental health. Consequently, researchers are increasingly interested in understanding the physiological and neural underpinnings of adolescent response to feedback by simulating the experience of rejection and acceptance using computer-based paradigms. However, these paradigms typically use nonfamiliar peers and the facade of internet chatrooms or games to present artificial peer feedback. The current study piloted the use of a novel and potentially more ecologically valid peer expressed emotion paradigm in which participants listen to prerecorded clips of ostensible personalized feedback made by their close friend. Physiological data measuring autonomic nervous system response were collected as an index of emotional reactivity/arousal and cognitive-affective processing. Results show promising preliminary evidence validating the task for future use. Participants (N = 18 girls, aged 11-17 years) reported feeling more positive following praise, relative to critical and neutral feedback, and reported feeling more upset following criticism, relative to praise and neutral feedback. Girls exhibited greater pupillary dilation, skin conductance levels (N = 17), and/or heart rate (N = 17) while listening to affectively charged, peer feedback compared with neutral yet personally relevant statements. Girls also exhibited variable physiological response when listening to praising versus critical feedback. Findings from this pilot study validate the use of this novel Peer Expressed Emotion task for the investigation of adolescents' emotional and physiological reactivity in response to real-world peer evaluation. However, it is important to recognize that this study provides only preliminary findings and that future research is needed to replicate the results in larger samples.

A Meta-Analysis of Friendship Qualities and Romantic Relationship Outcomes in Adolescence

Romantic relationships are one of the most significant interpersonal ties in adolescence, thus understanding factors that may contribute to their formation and quality are important. The current meta-analysis focuses on links between friendship quality and romantic relationship outcomes for adolescents up to 18 years. In a series of meta-analyses (k = 28 studies, N's = 946-4,040), friendship qualities were not related to romantic involvement. However, we did find robust evidence of continuity between friendship qualities and romantic relationship qualities. Additionally, adolescents experienced more negative quality in their romantic relationships than in their friendships. These findings suggest that friendships have implications for adolescents' romantic relationships, although more research is needed on specific quality associations, and the mediators of these relations.

Perceived Relationship Development in Anxious and Non-Anxious Adolescents: a Person-Centered Five-Wave Longitudinal Study

Developmental changes in adolescents' relationships with parents and friends intertwine, but individual differences in these relationships are likely to emerge as not all adolescents develop similarly. Generalized anxiety symptoms may underlie these individual differences, as these symptoms have frequently been associated with interpersonal difficulties. This study examines relationship quality development with parents and friends in adolescents with low and high levels of generalized anxiety symptoms. A latent transition analysis was performed in a two-cohort five-wave study design covering ages 12 to 16 (n = 923, 50.8% males) and 16 to 20 (n = 390, 43.4% males). About one-third of adolescents with high levels of generalized anxiety symptoms perceived a turbulent relationship with both their parents and best friends, whereas only one-tenth of those with low levels of generalized anxiety symptoms did. Low levels as opposed to high levels of generalized anxiety symptoms predicted a twice as high likelihood to perceive harmonious relationships with both their parents and best friends. Nevertheless, adolescents with low and high levels of generalized anxiety symptoms exhibited similar trends in relationship development. Overall, our findings indicate that generalized anxiety symptoms are not deterministic markers for relationship difficulties as there were plenty of adolescents with high levels of generalized anxiety symptoms that experienced no relationship difficulties across adolescence.

Lack of correspondence between the reactive proactive questionnaire and the impulsive premeditated aggression scale among forensic psychiatric outpatients

The most studied bimodal classifications of aggressive behavior are the impulsive/premeditated distinction measured with the Impulsive Premeditated Aggression Scale and the reactive/proactive distinction measured with the Reactive Proactive Questionnaire. The terms of these classifications are often used interchangeably, assuming that reactive aggression is equivalent to impulsive aggression and that proactive aggressive behavior is the same as premeditated aggression. The correspondence or discrepancy between both aggression classifications/questionnaires, however, is understudied. Therefore, the current study investigated the correspondence between the RPQ and IPAS in a sample of 161 forensic psychiatric outpatients (FPOs) with severe aggressive behavior. Correlation analysis revealed a limited correspondence between the RPQ and IPAS. Cluster analyses derived three clusters from the RPQ as well as the IPAS: these clusters did not match in 60.3% of the cases. Furthermore, the notion that the RPQ measures trait aggression whereas the IPAS assesses state aggression could not be verified. The present study indicates that aggression subtypes as measured by use of the RPQ and IPAS correspond only partially and should not be used interchangeably. Furthermore, it was suggested that RPQ focuses more on actual aggressive behavior and the IPAS more on emotions and their regulation. Future research is needed to elucidate the applicability of both questionnaires in further detail.

Examining the reactive proactive questionnaire in adults in forensic and non-forensic settings: A variable- and person-based approach

The Reactive Proactive Questionnaire (RPQ) was originally developed to assess reactive and proactive aggressive behavior in children. Nevertheless, some studies have used the RPQ in adults. This study examines the reliability of the RPQ within an adult sample by investigating whether reactive and proactive aggression can be distinguished at a variable- and person-based level. Male adults from forensic samples (N = 237) and from the general population (N = 278) completed the RPQ questionnaire. Variable-based approaches, including factor analyses, were conducted to verify the two-factor model of the RPQ and to examine alternative factor solutions of the 23 items. Subsequently, a person-based approach, i.e., Latent Class Analysis (LCA), was executed to identify homogeneous classes of subjects with similar profiles of aggression in the observed data. The RPQ proved to have sufficient internal consistency. Multiple-factor models were examined, but the original two-factor model was statistically and theoretically considered as most solid and in line with previous research. The multi-level LCA identified three different classes of aggression severity (class 1 showed low aggressive behavior; class 2 subjects displayed modest aggression levels; and class 3 exhibited the highest level of aggressive behavior). In addition, class 1 and 2 showed more reactive than proactive aggression, whereas class 3 displayed comparable levels of reactive/proactive aggression. The RPQ appears to have clinical relevance for adult populations in the way that it can distinguish severity levels of aggression. Before the RPQ is implemented in adult populations, norm scores need to be developed. Aggr. Behav. 43:155-162, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Forms of Friendship: A Person-Centered Assessment of the Quality, Stability, and Outcomes of Different Types of Adolescent Friends

Friendships differ in terms of their quality and participants may or may not agree as to their perceptions of relationship quality. Two studies (N = 230 and 242) were conducted to identify distinct and replicable categories of friendship among young adolescents (M = 11.6 years old) using self and partner reports of relationship quality. Same-sex friendships were identified from reciprocated friend nominations. Each friend described perceptions of negativity and social support in the relationship. Cluster analyses based on reports from both friends yielded 4 friendship types in each study: a high quality group, a low quality group, and two groups in which friends disagreed about the quality of the relationship. High quality friendships were most apt to be stable from the 6^th to the 7^th grade. Participants in high quality friendships reported the highest levels of global self-worth and perceived behavioral conduct and the lowest levels of problem behaviors. Dyads reporting discrepant perceptions of quality differed from dyads who agreed that the friendship was high quality in terms of stability and individual adjustment, underscoring the advantages of person-centered strategies that incorporate perceptions of both partners in categorizations of relationships.

Getting By With a Little Help From My Friends: A Pilot Study of the Measurement and Stability of Positive Social Support From Significant Others for Adolescents

Based on research into adult social support and the ecological model of development, we sought to redefine and establish the levels and nature of support provided to Year 7 (n= 52), 9 (n= 52) and Year 11 (n= 33) adolescents over a period of 3 months. A questionnaire to identify who provided support to adolescents was developed to measure instrumental, informational and emotional support, and add siblings to the primary support network. Factor analysis confirmed the expected four-factor model of support, with parents, teachers, siblings and friends providing different levels and priorities of support. Results indicated high levels of internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Trends in the amount of social support generally showed a decrease from Time 1 to Time 2, significantly so from parents and teachers. Females indicated they received significantly more support from friends in comparison with males, regardless of year level. Year 7 students indicated significantly higher support from parents and teachers. Importantly, this study showed the general decline of social support from early to late adolescence, and the relative consistency of social support for male and female adolescents. The different types of supports provided to the individuals in the adolescents’ social network are discussed.

Development of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Implications for Community Mental Health

Romantic relationships emerge in the early adolescent years and mature over the course of adolescence from initial cross-gender affiliations to dyadic partnerships. Adolescents’ romantic relationships are important because they contribute to relational development and foretell the quality of intimate relationships in adulthood. This paper summarizes current research findings on the development of romantic relationships, focusing first on the normative stages of mainstream youth and subsequently on atypical patterns of troubled youth. Peer and family influences on romantic development are considered as well as ethnocultural variation. The paper concludes with several policy implications for community mental health.

I-states-as-objects-analysis (ISOA): Extensions of an approach to studying short-term developmental processes by analyzing typical patterns

I-states-as-objects-analysis (ISOA) is a person-oriented methodology for studying short-term developmental stability and change in patterns of variable values. ISOA is based on longitudinal data with the same set of variables measured at all measurement occasions. A key concept is the i-state, defined as a person’s pattern of variable values at a specific time point. All i-states are first subjected to a classification analysis that results in a time-invariant classification characterized by a number of typical i-states. Each person is then characterized at each time point by the typical i-state he/she belongs to. Then the person’s sequences of typical i-states are analyzed with regard to structural and individual stability and change. Extensions of ISOA are presented where: (1) some methods for checking the assumption of a time-invariant classification are indicated; (2) information about the degree of dissimilarity between typical i-states is used as an aid in interpreting the findings; and (3) attention is given to closed paths—that is, typical i-state sequences that do not occur at all. To demonstrate the methods, an empirical example is given that concerns the development of children’s achievement-intelligence patterns between ages 10 and 13.

A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Masculinity and Relationships in Men From Turkey, Norway, and the United States

Masculinity ideology is the endorsement of a set of culturally based male role norms that influences gender-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. However, masculinity research has been criticized for not being inclusive enough of different cultures. This study explored the cultural and relational components of masculinity by comparing 564 Turkish, Norwegian, and U.S. men’s endorsement of masculinity ideology and examining the associations between masculinity ideology and interpersonal attitudes and behavioral competencies with romantic partners and work colleagues separately for the three groups of men. Norwegian men had significantly lower scores on a measure of masculinity ideology than both Turkish and U.S. men. Canonical correlation analyses revealed that all three groups of men had significant associations between male role norms and interpersonal relationship variables, but the patterns of association differed by country. Generally, endorsement of traditional male role norms was associated with poorer interpersonal competencies for men in all three countries, although the associations were much stronger for the Norwegian sample. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Racial Barrier Socialization and the Well-being of African American Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Mother-Adolescent Relationship Quality

Racial socialization has been suggested as an important factor in helping African American adolescents cope effectively with racism and discrimination. Although multiple studies have reported a positive link between racial pride socialization and psychological adjustment among African American youth, assessments of the association between adolescent adjustment and another dimension of racial socialization-racial barrier socialization-have yielded inconsistent findings. Using a sample of 190 African American adolescents, the present study focuses attention on the quality of mother-adolescent relations as an indicator of affective context, and examines its moderating influence on the association between racial barrier socialization and adolescent adjustment. Regression analyses indicated that the link between racial barrier socialization and adolescent adjustment is moderated by mother-adolescent relationship quality. However, these associations varied by gender.

Convergence and Non-convergence in the Quality of Adolescent Relationships and its Association with Adolescent Adjustment and Young Adult Relationship Quality

With the aim of identifying and examining both converging (matched relationship quality across one's set of relationships) and non-converging (mixed relationship quality across one's set of relationships), the present study used a pattern-centered approach to examine the different ways adolescent relationships pattern together among a large, national sample of U.S adolescents (aged 13-19). The study also examined how adolescent adjustment and young adult relationship quality varied across the different relationship patterns or constellations. The current study used latent class analysis and data from Add Health (n = 4,233), a national U.S. longitudinal study that spans adolescence and young adulthood, to uncover heterogeneity in adolescent relations with parents, friends, romantic partners, peers, and teachers. As predicted, patterns of both convergence and non-convergence were found, though patterns of non-convergence were more common than expected. Some patterns of non-convergence appear more stable (i.e., similar pattern found during both adolescence and young adulthood) than others. Also, no "high" converging pattern was found, indicating that few adolescents have "first-rate" relations in every relational domain.

Perception of social relationships with classmates and social support in adolescents with Asperger syndrome attending mainstream schools in Poland

One of the factors affecting successful inclusion of adolescents with Asperger syndrome (AS) in mainstream schools is positive relationships with classmates. The present study investigates how adolescents with AS: (1) perceive their classmates' attitude towards them; (2) what attitude towards classmates they declare, and (3) how they assess the effectiveness of social support received from parents, teachers, and classmates. The relationship between social support received by adolescents with AS and their perception of their relationships with classmates was also analysed. There were 50 participants in the study: Two groups with equal numbers of participants, one with adolescents with AS and the other with typically developing adolescents (age 12- to 17-years-old). All participants attended mainstream schools. A set of questionnaires measuring perception of social relationships in class and perceived social support was used. Adolescents with AS gave poorer assessments of their classmates’ attitude towards them and their attitude to their classmates. They also claimed to receive less support from classmates. Moreover, that type of support was significantly correlated with their evaluation of their peers attitude towards them and declared behaviour towards their peers.

The Relations between Infant Negative Reactivity, Non-Maternal Childcare, and Children's Interactions with Familiar and Unfamiliar Peers

The present study examined the influence of children's experiences during non-maternal childcare on their behavior towards unfamiliar peers. Participants included children classified as negatively reactive at 4 months of age (n = 52) and children not negatively reactive (n = 61), who were further divided into those who experienced non-maternal care and those who did not. Children were observed during childcare at 24 months of age and in the laboratory with an unfamiliar peer at 24 and 36 months of age, where their wariness, dysregulation and social engagement were assessed. Within the negatively reactive childcare group, children's positive interactions with peers during childcare at 24 months predicted lower levels of wariness towards an unfamiliar peer at 36 months. This relation was not significant for children not classified as negatively reactive. The findings suggest that the influence of non-maternal childcare is dependent on a child's temperament and the nature of peer interactions during care.

Social Support and Neighborhood Stressors Among African American Youth: Networks and Relations to Self-Worth

Although neighborhood stressors have a negative impact on youth, and social support can play a protective role, it is unclear what types and sources of social support may contribute to positive outcomes among at-risk youth. We examined the influences of neighborhood disadvantage and social support on global self-worth among low-income, urban African American youth, both concurrently and longitudinally. We examined social support from both a structural and functional perspective, and tested the main-effects and the stress-buffering models of social support. Participants included 82-130 youth, in 6th-8th grade, who completed self-report measures. Network support results suggest participants received emotional, tangible, and informational support most often from mothers and other female relatives, with friends, fathers, and teachers also playing important roles. Model testing accounted for neighborhood stressors and support from various sources, revealing support from close friends was associated with concurrent self-worth; whereas, parent support predicted self-worth longitudinally, above and beyond initial levels of self-worth. The findings provide evidence for the main-effects model of social support and not the stress-buffering model. Our findings illustrate the importance of extended family networks and the types of support that youth rely upon in African American impoverished communities, as well as how support contributes to global self-worth. Implications and suggestions for future research and intervention are discussed.