Corrigendum: Nurturing resilience in American Indian/Alaska Native preschool children: the role of cultural socialization, executive function, and neighborhood risk

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1279336.].

Nurturing resilience in American Indian/Alaska Native preschool children: the role of cultural socialization, executive function, and neighborhood risk

Introduction

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children possess numerous cultural assets, yet higher exposures to neighborhood risks (e.g., lack of housing, crime) may present barriers to healthy cognitive development, including executive function (EF). Cultural socialization may promote resilience and support children's early cognition, but this has not been adequately studied. The present study examined the effects of neighborhood risk and cultural socialization on EF for AI/AN preschool children.

Method

Parents/caregivers of 768 AI/AN preschoolers from the 2015 AI/AN Head Start Family and Community Experiences (FACES) Study rated neighborhood risk via two scales: "Neighborhood Problems" and "Environmental Conditions," and cultural socialization practices via two scales: cultural activities and tribal language activities. Children's EF was measured directly using the Pencil Tap Task and the Leiter-R attention subscale.

Results

Families perceived neighborhood risks as relatively low, and overall risk did not predict children's EF. However, higher average language socialization was significantly related to higher EF, as were two specific language activities (encouraging children to learn their tribal language, making sure children heard their tribal language) and two cultural activities (playing AI/AN games, participating in tribal ceremonies), controlling for neighborhood risk.

Discussion

Findings suggest some aspects of cultural socialization may promote resilience among AI/AN preschoolers by supporting early EF. Mechanisms may include increased spiritual, social, and cultural connections, and practice with EF skills during cultural games. Future research should partner with AI/AN communities to investigate culturally grounded EF interventions and reevaluate measures of neighborhood risk to promote resilience and connectedness for AI/AN children.

Life goal selection pattern and purpose in adolescence: A latent class analysis

PURPOSE

This study aims to investigate the goal selection patterns among adolescents and examines the extent to which goals focused on oneself, relationships, and the larger community were associated with variability of daily purpose and mean level sense of purpose in life.

METHODS

Participants were 213 high school students with an average age of 15.18 years in an urban public school district in the Northeast United States. Students were asked to select their three most important goals one time and report on their sense of purpose once a day for 3 weeks in spring of 2022. Latent class analysis was used to classify students by the type of goals selected. Differences in the overall sense of purpose and its subscales by class were examined.

RESULTS

A model with four classes (Self and Inner Circle, Inner Circle, Other-Oriented, and Self-Oriented) best fits the data. There were no statistical group differences in the variability of daily purpose and overall sense of purpose. Only one pairwise comparison was significant and indicated that students in the Other-Oriented group perceived their purpose as more meaningful than students in the Self and Inner Circle group.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study provide a lens into goal prioritization patterns among adolescents. Further, although students who were more likely to select other-oriented goals had somewhat higher perceptions of sense of purpose, findings support the concept of equifinality by suggesting that a sense of purpose may be actualized through a diverse set of specific goals.

Maturation or disruption? Conscientiousness development in the transition into adolescence

Research to date has shown longitudinal changes in conscientiousness during early and middle adolescence, but most studies have been conducted in Western countries. The present study aimed to examine the pattern of mean-level conscientiousness change at the transition into early adolescence among a Chinese sample using curve of factors (CUFFS) models. Four waves of data from 661 Chinese children aged 8 years old at baseline in the China Family Panel Studies were used. Parents were asked to rate their children’s level of conscientiousness every 2 years. On average, mean-level conscientiousness showed a decelerating increase. Girls had higher average conscientiousness levels than boys, but they did not differ in change patterns. The inconsistency between the current study and previous research indicates that conscientiousness development may depend, in part, on cultural factors.

Revisiting age- and schooling-related growth in school readiness skills: A multimethod validation study

In the present study, we investigated the relative impact of age- versus schooling-related growth in school readiness skills using four modeling approaches that leverage natural variation in longitudinal data collected within the preschool year. Our goal was to demonstrate the applicability of different analytic techniques that do not rely on assumptions inherent in commonly applied methods (e.g., the school entrance cutoff method, regression discontinuity design) that selection into subsequent grades is based on birthdate alone and that the quality of experiences between grades are not responsible for differences in outcomes. Notably, these alternative methods also do not require data collected across multiple grades. Participants included 316 children (M_age = 54.77 months; 47.15% male) who mostly identified as White (64%) or Latinx (20%). A little over half of the sample attended Head Start preschools (54.75%). Four modeling techniques that leverage data collected at two timepoints in preschool were used to examine schooling effects on children's preliteracy, emergent math, and executive function (EF) skills. Results replicate evidence from previous research using traditional methods. Specifically, findings across all models demonstrate a schooling effect on preliteracy skills during the preschool year, above and beyond maturation, but not on emergent math or EF. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each analytical tool for researchers who are interested in answering questions about the effects of schooling with diverse data collection strategies, as well as broader implications for the integrity of educational and developmental science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Does Prior Night’s Sleep Impact Next Day’s Executive Functioning? It Depends on an Individual’s Average Sleep Quality

Executive functioning (EF) is a series of fundamental goal-directed cognitive abilities that enable effective learning. Differences in daily sleep quality may covary with fluctuations in EF among youth. Most studies linking sleep to EF rely on between-person differences and average effects for the sample. This study employed an intensive longitudinal design and examined the within-person relations between self-reported prior night’s sleep quality and next day’s EF. Students from Grades 4 to 12 (M age= 14.60, SD = 2.53) completed three behavioral EF tasks repeatedly across approximately one semester. The final analytic sample included 2898 observations embedded in 73 participants. Although, on average, sleep did not significantly covary with EF, there was heterogeneity in within-person sleep-EF relations. Moreover, individuals’ average sleep quality moderated within-person effects. For individuals with low mean sleep quality, a better-than-usual sleep quality was linked to better EF performance. However, for individuals with high mean sleep quality, better-than-usual sleep quality was linked to worse EF performance. Understanding person-specific relations between sleep and EF can help educators optimize EF and learning on a daily basis and produce positive academic outcomes across longer time periods.

Natural and anthropogenic controls on lake water-level decline and evaporation-to-inflow ratio in the conterminous United States

Lake water levels are integral to lake function, but hydrologic changes from land and water management may alter lake fluctuations beyond natural ranges. We constructed a conceptual model of multifaceted drivers of lake water-levels and evaporation-to-inflow ratio (Evap:Inflow). Using a structural equation modeling framework, we tested our model on 1) a national subset of lakes in the conterminous United States with minimal water management to describe natural drivers of lake hydrology and 2) five ecoregional subsets of lakes to explore regional variation in water management effects. Our model fit the national and ecoregional datasets and explained up to 47% of variation in Evap:Inflow, 38% of vertical water-level decline, and 79% of horizontal water-level decline (littoral exposure). For lakes with minimal water management, Evap:Inflow was related to lake depth (β = -0.31) and surface inflow (β = -0.44); vertical decline was related to annual climate (e.g., precipitation β = -0.18) and water management (β = -0.21); and horizontal decline was largely related to vertical decline (β = 0.73) and lake morphometry (e.g., depth β = -0.18). Anthropogenic effects varied by ecoregion and likely reflect differences in regional water management and climate. In the West, water management indicators were related to greater vertical decline (β = 0.38), whereas in the Midwest, these indicators were related to more stable and full lake levels (β = -0.22) even during drought conditions. National analyses show how human water use interacts with regional climate resulting in contrasting impacts to lake hydrologic variation in the US.

Intraindividual fluctuations in sleep predict subsequent goal setting in adolescents

The purpose of this study was to investigate within- and between-person associations between sleep and subsequent goal setting in adolescents. We conducted an intensive repeated measures longitudinal study to assess intra- and inter-individual associations between sleep and goal setting and potential moderators of such associations. Thirty-nine seventh through 12th graders reported on their sleep quality and propensity to set goals in their daily lives several times per week for approximately four months. We used a combination of multilevel modeling with time-varying covariates and centering techniques to partition within- and between-person variance. We found significant and positive associations between sleep and goal setting within individuals, but no such associations between individuals. That is, students were more likely to set goals for their work after getting a good night’s sleep relative to their own average sleep quality, but getting good sleep on average relative to other individuals showed no association with average goal setting. These relationships were not moderated by participant age, gender, or sociodemographic status as indexed by maternal education. Differences in average sleep between adolescents matters less for their propensity to set goals than whether they experienced better- or worse-than-usual sleep the previous night given their own average. This finding represents the first evidence documenting effects of sleep on goal setting, which is an important psychological precursor to many youth behavioral and achievement outcomes. Our findings highlight the individuality of sleep needs and point to new directions for sleep-related practice and policy aimed at youth.

Positive Youth Development in 2020: Theory, Research, Programs, and the Promotion of Social Justice

We use Hamilton's (1999) tripartite conception of the positive youth development (PYD) literature - that is, PYD as a theoretical construct, PYD as a frame for program design, and PYD as an instance of specific youth development programs - as a framework for reviewing scholarship involved in the PYD field across the second decade of the 21st century. Advances were made in all three domains and, as well, new issues emerged; chief among them was a focus on the promotion of social justice. We discuss ways in which social justice issues are being addressed within each of these domains and we present a vision for enhancing the PYD-social justice relation in future scholarship involving theory, research, program design, and community-based PYD programs.

The Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Revised: Links to Academic Outcomes and Measures of EF in Young Children

The measurement of self-regulation in young children has been a topic of great interest as researchers and practitioners work to help ensure that children have the skills they need to succeed as they start school. The present study examined how a revised version of a commonly used measure of behavioral self-regulation, the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task (HTKS) called the HTKS-R, and measures of executive function (EF) was related to academic outcomes between preschool and kindergarten (ages 4–6years) in a diverse sample of children from families with low income participating in Head Start in the United States. Participants included 318 children (53% female; 76% White; and 20% Latino/Hispanic) from 64 classrooms in 18 Head Start preschools who were followed over four time points between the fall of preschool and the spring of kindergarten. Results indicated that children with higher HTKS-R scores had significantly higher math and literacy scores at all-time points between preschool and kindergarten. The HTKS-R was also a more consistent predictor of math and literacy than individual EF measures assessing inhibitory control, working memory, and task shifting. Parallel process growth models indicated that children who had high initial scores on the HTKS-R also had relatively higher initial scores on math and literacy. In addition, growth in children’s scores on the HTKS-R across the preschool and kindergarten years was related to growth in both children’s math and literacy scores over the same period independent of their starting points on either measure. For the HTKS-R and math, children’s initial scores were negatively associated with growth over the preschool and kindergarten years indicating that lower skilled children at the start of preschool started to catch up to their more skilled peers by the end of kindergarten.

Longitudinal Research About, and Program Evaluations of, Positive Youth Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Methodological Issues and Options

The study of positive youth development (PYD) requires theory-based methodological considerations pertinent to measurement, research and program design, and data analysis. We outline the appropriate steps that researchers and program evaluators must enact to address these methodological foci in their respective attempts to describe, explain, and optimize the course of positive development among diverse youth around the world. We focus on longitudinal (developmental) research designed to evaluate programs promoting PYD in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where life challenges are shaped by multiple adverse situations associated with racism, poverty, gender inequalities, political inequities, and the absence of adequate health and medical resources. Using the Compassion International Study of PYD as a sample case, we suggest how researchers and practitioners might collaborate to enact rigorous, theory-based research aimed at promoting PYD among youth living in LMICs and worldwide.

Self-Perceptions of Aging: Factorial Structure and Invariance by Gender

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Self-perceptions of aging (SPA)-the appraisals people place on their own aging processes-predict well-being in later life. Researchers are increasingly hypothesizing that the overarching construct of SPA is comprised of two factors-positive SPA and negative SPA-and that SPA are gendered. The purpose of this study was to empirically test the hypothesized two-factor structure of SPA and to analyze how the two-factor structure varies between men and women.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Data come from the 2012 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 7,029; Mage = 68.08), which includes an 8-item SPA scale. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess (i) the positive SPA and negative SPA two-factor solution for the 8-item scale and (ii) whether the two-factor solution had configural, strong, or weak invariance across men and women.

RESULTS

CFAs indicated a two-factor latent structure of the 8-item scale, with SPA being comprised of both a positive SPA factor and a negative SPA factor. The latent structure was the same for both men and women.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Results suggest that SPA is a broader construct made up of positive and negative latent factors. Researchers should consider separating the SPA by positive and negative factors to analyze how each factor uniquely shapes health. Moreover, the two-factor solution was equivalent across men and women, possibly because of the generalized nature of the 8-item scale. Researchers can use the 8-item scale similarly for men and women and should continue to elucidate possible gender differences in SPA.

Associations Between Control Beliefs and Response Time Inconsistency in Older Adults Vary as a Function of Attentional Task Demands

OBJECTIVE

Control beliefs are established correlates of cognitive aging. Despite recent demonstrations that response time inconsistency (RTI) represents a proxy for cognitive processing efficiency, few investigations have explored links between RTI and psychosocial correlates. We examined associations among RTI and control beliefs (perceived competence and locus of control) for two choice-response time (RT) tasks varying in their attentional demands.

METHOD

Control beliefs and RTI were measured weekly for 5 weeks in a sample of 304 community-dwelling older adults (Mage = 74.11 years, SD = 6.05, range = 64-92, 68.58% female).

RESULTS

Multilevel models revealed that for the attentionally demanding task, reporting higher perceived competence than usual was associated with lower RTI for relatively younger participants and greater RTI for relatively older participants. For the less attentionally demanding task, reporting higher perceived competence than usual was associated with lower RTI for relatively older participants. Links between locus of control and RTI were comparatively scant.

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggest that control beliefs may have adaptive and maladaptive influences on RTI, depending on dimension of control beliefs, individual differences in level of control beliefs and age, as well as attentional task demands. Both for whom and when control beliefs can be leveraged to optimize cognitive aging are discussed.

Exploring Idiographic Approaches to Children's Executive Function Performance: An Intensive Longitudinal Study

Traditional variable-centered research on executive functions (EFs) often infers intraindividual development using group-based averages. Such a method masks meaningful individuality and involves the fallacy of equating group-level data with person-specific changes. We used an intensive longitudinal design to study idiographic executive function fluctuation among ten boys from Grade 4. Each of the participants completed between 33 and 43 measurement occasions (M = 38.8) across approximately three months. Data were collected remotely using a computerized short version of the Dimensional Change Card Sort task. Multi-group analyses of three participant pairs (Participants 5 and 3, 5 and 2, and 5 and 6) demonstrated that Participant 5 differed from Participants 3 and 2 in different ways but Participants 5 and 6 were similar in all comparisons. Dynamic structural equation modeling demonstrated unique individual trajectories, which were not represented by the trajectory of group-averages. Although more than half of the participants showed a negative association between EFs and inattention, two participants showed a positive association between EF and inattention. This study demonstrated meaningful person-specific trajectories of EFs, suggesting that future study should undertake the analysis of individual development before data-aggregation or generalization from aggregate statistics to individuals.

Health Beliefs About UV and Skin Cancer Risk Behaviors

Our purpose was to examine the beliefs of college students about UV exposure and sunscreen use and their associations with skin cancer risk and protective behaviors in a cloudy climate. The sample was online survey participants (N = 334) recruited from a large university in Oregon. After fitting an initial measurement model, we fit a structural equation model including Health Beliefs About UV (HBAU) subscales (Health Benefits of Tanning, Seasonal Effects, Tanning Through the Winter, and Sunscreen Toxicity), outcome variables (sunscreen use, indoor tanning, and outdoor tanning), and covariates (eg, tanning and sunscreen use). A minority of participants held the beliefs represented by 3 HBAU subscales, but beliefs about negative health effects of the local weather (Tanning Through the Winter) were common. The measurement and adjusted models provided good fit to the data (χ² = 143.30; P = .29; df = 136; Root-Mean Square Error of Approximation = .014; Comparative Fit Index = .992; Tucker-Lewis Index = .981). After adjusting for covariates, Sunscreen Toxicity predicted reduced sunscreen use (β = −.12, P = .021), Health Benefits of Tanning predicted outdoor tanning (β = .43, P < .001), and Tanning Through the Winter predicted indoor tanning (β = .31, P = .02). The small sample size, nonresponse rate, and cross-sectional nature of this study mean these findings should be interpreted cautiously. Beliefs about health benefits of sun exposure, the regional weather, and sunscreen safety play a role in skin cancer risk and protective behaviors.

Tanning benefits, seasonal effects, and concerns about sunscreen: Measuring health beliefs about UV among college students

Objective: To develop and validate a scale measuring health beliefs about UV in cloudy climates that may impact UV exposure behaviors. Participants: Students at a large university in Oregon completed pilot (N = 115) and final (N = 335) scales online March-July, 2016. Five participants underwent cognitive interviews. Methods: Expert feedback, cognitive interviews, and pilot data guided item development and refinement. We conducted factor analysis and invariance testing. Results: The final four-factor model fit well (χ² = 37.97, df = 37, RMSEA = 0.000, CFI = 1.000). HBAU subscales are Sunscreen Toxicity, Seasonal Effects, Health Benefits of Tanning, and Tanning Through the Winter. Invariance testing supported strong invariance across sex and tanning status. Conclusion: The HBAU measures beliefs that encourage UV exposure and discourage protection (eg, the belief that sunscreen ingredients are toxic). This scale will enable more comprehensive measurement of cognitive predictors of UV exposure for student health, clinical, and research purposes.

Evaluating the effects between metal mixtures and serum vaccine antibody concentrations in children: a prospective birth cohort study

BACKGROUND

Many populations are exposed to arsenic, lead, and manganese. These metals influence immune function. We evaluated the association between exposure to single and multiple metals, including arsenic, lead, and manganese, to humoral immunity as measured by antibody concentrations to diphtheria and tetanus toxoid among vaccinated Bangladeshi children. Additionally, we examined if this association was potentially mediated by nutritional status.

METHODS

Antibody concentrations to diphtheria and tetanus were measured in children's serum at age 5 (n = 502). Household drinking water was sampled to quantify arsenic (W-As) and manganese (W-Mn), whereas lead was measured in blood (B-Pb). Exposure samples were taken during pregnancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood. Multiple linear regression models (MLRs) with single or combined metal predictors were used to determine the association with antibody outcomes. MLR results were transformed to units of percent change in outcome per doubling of exposure to improve interpretability. Structural equation models (SEMs) were used to further assess exposure to metal mixtures. SEMs regressed a latent exposure variable (Metals), informed by all measured metal variables (W-As, W-Mn, and B-Pb), on a latent outcome variable (Antibody), informed by measured antibody variables (diphtheria and tetanus). Weight-for-age z-score (WFA) at age 5 was evaluated as a mediator.

RESULTS

Diphtheria antibody was negatively associated with W-As during pregnancy in MLR, but associations were attenuated after adjusting for W-Mn and B-Pb (- 2.9% change in diphtheria antibody per doubling in W-As, 95% confidence interval [CI]: - 7%, 1.5%). Conversely, pregnancy levels of B-Pb were positively associated with tetanus antibody, even after adjusting for W-As and W-Mn (13.3%, 95% CI: 1.7%, 26.3%). Overall, null associations were observed between W-Mn and antibody outcomes. Analysis by SEMs showed that the latent Metals mixture was significantly associated with the latent Antibody outcome (β = - 0.16, 95% CI: - 0.26, - 0.05), but the Metals variable was characterized by positive and negative loadings of W-As and B-Pb, respectively. Sex-stratified MLR and SEM analyses showed W-As and B-Pb associations were exclusive to females. Mediation by WFA was null, indicating Metals only had direct effects on Antibody.

CONCLUSIONS

We observed significant modulation of vaccine antibody concentrations among children with pregnancy and early life exposures to drinking water arsenic and blood lead. We found distinct differences by child sex, as only females were susceptible to metal-related modulations in antibody levels. Weight-for-age, a nutritional status proxy, did not mediate the association between the metal mixture and vaccine antibody.

Critical Reflection and Positive Youth Development among White and Black Adolescents: Is Understanding Inequality Connected to Thriving?

Critical consciousness supports youth's development and participation in civil society, yet it remains unclear how this process is connected to indicators of thriving, such as the Five Cs. This study examined critical reflection-a component of critical consciousness-and the Five Cs among 515 youth (M_age = 13.38; 46.47% female): White youth attending middle-income schools (N = 112), White youth attending low-income schools (N = 250), and Black youth attending low-income schools (N = 153). Black youth attending low-income schools had the highest critical racial reflection and White youth attending low-income schools had the lowest critical socioeconomic reflection. Critical reflection was negatively associated with some of the Five Cs, but only among White youth. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are provided.

Illuminating the Use of the Specificity Principle to Go Inside the Black Box of Programs

Abstract. The UN 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for disaggregating results of program effectiveness within subgroups. Using the Bornstein (2017) specificity principle, involving within-group assessments regarding what specific youth prosper in what specific ways in what specific programs, we analyzed data from 888 Salvadoran youth (50% female), aged 9–15 years ( M = 11.60 years, SD = 1.7), participating in the Compassion International (CI) Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD). We compared CI-supported youth with non-CI-supported youth on nine variables related to PYD, intentional self-regulation, hopeful future expectations, and spirituality. Whereas tests of group averages indicated no meaningful differences, disaggregated results across 20 program sites indicated that 2 sites showed no group differences, 7 sites showed better CI-supported youth performance, 3 sites showed better non-CI-supported youth performance, and 8 sites showed a mixed pattern. We discuss the use of the specificity principle in future assessments of SDG indicators.

Indicators of positive youth development can be maladaptive: The example case of caring

INTRODUCTION

Research on positive youth development typically takes a more-is-better approach in which higher scores on measures of positive youth development indicate better outcomes. We question the validity of this assumption and describe how an imbalance among the Five Cs of Positive Youth Development can lead to a situation where "more" is actually "less." We then provide an empirical illustration using cross-sectional data.

METHODS

We examined conditional associations between indicators of thriving and the C of caring using survey data obtained from a sample of 2,386 students in Norway (mean age 16.60 years [SD = 1.98]; 44.8% girls). Multilevel models assessed whether associations between caring and the thriving indicators (here defined as greater mental well-being and lower anxiety and depressive symptoms) differed when versus when not controlling for overall positive youth development.

RESULTS

When positive youth development was not included as a covariate, caring was positively associated with mental well being and anxiety but not significantly associated with depressive symptoms. After adding positive youth development to the model, caring became less strongly associated with mental well-being, more strongly associated with anxiety, and significantly (positively) associated with depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that, after controlling for a set level of positive youth development, caring does not predict adaptive outcomes in a monotonic more-is-better way. These findings illustrate an instance where developmental regulations benefit the context at the cost of the individual and therefore speak to a growing acknowledgement in the literature-young people may suffer if they "care too much."

Revisiting the utility of retrospective pre-post designs: The need for mixed-method pilot data

The retrospective pre-post design affords many benefits to program staff and, accordingly, has piqued renewed interest among applied program evaluators. In particular, the field has witnessed increasing application of a post-program-only data collection strategy in which only posttest and retrospective pretest data are collected. A post-program-only assessment strategy takes considerably less time than is required for collecting pre-program data and presumably has the added benefit of eliminating the impact of response-shift bias. Response-shift bias occurs when the knowledge, skills, or experiences participants gain through program participation leads them to interpret questionnaire items in a qualitatively different manner at pretest versus posttest. In this article, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses associated with administering retrospective pretest assessments and underscore the importance of thoroughly evaluating any application of a retrospective measurement strategy prior to its broader implementation. We provide a practical illustration of this evaluation process using a mixed-method study that assesses one measure of parenting education program effectiveness-the Parenting Skills Ladder.

Stable goals despite economic strain: Young adults’ goal appraisals across the Great Recession

Drawing on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this study examines change and stability in personal goal appraisals among German young adults aged 18–29 from 2008, the depth of the Great Recession, to 2012, into the recovery period ( N = 3,292). Young adults in Germany, particularly young male workers, were greatly affected by the recession. We examine adaptation in personal appraisals of family, work, leisure, and self-fulfillment goals. Latent transition analysis revealed two profiles of goal adaptation, which differed mainly on the significance of family formation goals (low vs. high). Transitions between the latent profiles over time were less common. Females, older participants, partnered, and employed respondents were more likely to be classified into the high family formation profile. The high family formation profile was also associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and satisfaction with family life, yet simultaneously with lower levels of satisfaction with work and more concerns about the general economy at the onset of the recession. Furthermore, results do not reveal that family formation goals were relinquished over the recession years in favor of self-fulfillment or work-related goals. The high degree of stability in goal appraisals suggests that holding on to family formation goals was important for the well-being of young adults, and that maintaining high aspirations for multiple goals may have protected young people from the effects of economic strain. These findings are discussed in light of the unique aspects of German context.

Predicting students' noncompliance with a smoke-free university campus policy

The adoption of university campus smoke-free and tobacco-free policies has risen dramatically, but research on effective implementation is scant. Significant challenges exist regarding policy implementation, particularly enforcement. This study examined college students' noncompliance with a recently implemented smoke-free campus policy at a public university. The sample included students who reported past-month smoking of tobacco or e-cigarettes in a 2013 web-based survey, 9 months after a smoke-free campus policy took effect. Ordinal logistic regression was used to examine predictors of students' having smoked on campus since the policy began (n = 1055). Predictor variables included past-month use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and non-cigarette tobacco products, secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, support for a smoke-free campus, tobacco-related social norms, use of strategies to deal with smoking urges, and other variables. In multivariate analysis, policy violation was positively associated with past-month use of cigarettes and non-cigarette combustible tobacco, SHS exposure on campus, living on campus, and use of nicotine gum/patches to handle urges. Violation was negatively associated with smoke-free campus support, age, estimates of student policy support and cigarette smoking, and self-reported absence of smoking urges. Results suggest that nicotine dependence may be an underlying influence on policy violation. Several recommendations are offered. First, upon policy adoption, campuses should ensure student smokers' access to cessation support and assistance with dealing with nicotine cravings. Second, campus information campaigns should focus particularly on younger students and those living on campus. Third, campuses should establish strong anti-tobacco norms, monitor SHS exposure, and communicate levels of students' policy support.

Development, Construct Validity, and Predictive Validity of a Continuous Frailty Scale: Results From 2 Large US Cohorts

Frailty is an age-related clinical syndrome of decreased resilience to stressors. Among numerous assessments of frailty, the frailty phenotype (FP) scale proposed by Fried et al. has been the most widely used. We aimed to develop a continuous frailty scale that could overcome limitations facing the categorical FP scale and to evaluate its construct validity, predictive validity, and measurement properties. Data were from the Cardiovascular Health Study (n = 4,243) and Health and Retirement Study (n = 7,600), both conducted in the United States. Frailty was conceptualized as a continuous construct, assessed by 5 measures used in the FP scale: gait speed, grip strength, exhaustion, physical activity, and weight loss. We used confirmatory factor analysis to investigate the relationship between the 5 indicators and the latent frailty construct. We examined the association of the continuous frailty scale with mortality and disability. The unidimensional model fit the data satisfactorily; similar factor structure was observed across 2 cohorts. Gait speed and weight loss were the strongest and weakest indicators, respectively; grip strength, exhaustion, and physical activity had similar strength in measuring frailty. In each cohort, the continuous frailty scale was strongly associated with mortality and disability and continued to be associated with outcomes among robust and prefrail persons classified by the FP scale.

Characterizing Caregiving Intensity Among Mexican-origin Women Caregivers

Purpose of the Study

Objective (physical) caregiving burden has not often been associated with subjective (emotional) burden among Mexican-origin women caregivers. Yet, many studies show that Latina caregivers suffer from negative psychological outcomes related to caregiving at a higher rate than non-Latino Whites. This study considered whether self-rated intensity of ADL/IADL support explained the relationship between number of care recipient illnesses and caregiver emotional drain among Mexican American women caregivers.

Design and Methods

Participants included Mexican-origin women caregivers (n = 132) in East Los Angeles, CA who completed a survey that asked culturally appropriate questions about their experiences caring for elderly relatives.

Results

Logistic regression models indicated that ADL/IADL supports ranked as difficult were also chosen as causing emotional drain. Mediation models revealed a significant indirect effect of number of care recipient illnesses on caregiver emotional drain for English-speaking caregivers but not for Spanish-speaking caregivers. These results indicate that Mexican-origin women caregivers do experience subjective burden associated with specific objective ADL/IADL supports and suggest that culturally relevant survey design can assist in better understanding the emotional drain among this population.

Implications

Cultural values should be considered when discussing aspects of care provision with Mexican-origin women caregivers in order to elicit an accurate description of their informal caregiving experiences that may contribute to caregiver burden.

A cross sectional study of urinary phthalates, phenols and perchlorate on thyroid hormones in US adults using structural equation models (NHANES 2007-2008)

BACKGROUND

Biomonitoring data shows that people are exposed to phthalates, phenols and perchlorates. Many of these compounds are endocrine disrupting compounds that affect thyroid hormone levels. Yet the effect of these compounds on thyroid hormone levels are often evaluated individually rather than as a mixture. Our objective was to examine the association between 11 urinary endocrine disrupting compounds and thyroid hormones using structural equation models.

METHODS

Using data from the National Health and Nutrition and Examination Survey 2007-2008, we fit a latent variable utilizing urinary measurements of 9 compounds in females (perchlorate, bisphenol A, benzophenone-3, mono-2ethyl5carboxypentyl phthalate, mono-n-butyl phthalate, mono-(3-carboxypropyl) phthalate, mono(2ethyl5hydroxyhexyl) phthalate, mono-benzyl phthalate, and mono-isobutyl phthalate) and 8 compounds in males (without benzophenone-3). The association of the latent variable with serum thyroid hormones (Total T3, Total T4, and Thyroid Stimulating Hormones) was assessed in females (N = 710) and males (N = 850) over the age of 12 controlling for age, race, and urinary creatinine.

RESULTS

In males, urinary endocrine disrupting compound levels were negatively associated with thyroxine (β: -0.19, 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI): -0.31, -0.05). In females, urinary endocrine disrupting compound levels were positively associated with triiodothyronine serum concentrations (β: 0.09, 95% CI: -0.03, 0.21) however this association was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

This cross-sectional analysis provides additional evidence that environmental exposure to phthalates and phenols is associated with endocrine-related processes. Furthermore, these results suggested sex-specific differences in exposure to endocrine disrupting mixtures, and the exposure-response between endocrine disrupting mixtures and thyroid hormone levels. Specifically, higher exposure to a mixture of endocrine disrupting compounds was associated with lower levels of total T4 in males but not in females. While a structural methodological framework was used to assess these complex relationships, the cross sectional nature of this analysis limits causal inference and further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings.

Accommodating binary and count variables in mediation

The existence of several accessible sources has led to a proliferation of mediation models in the applied research literature. Most of these sources assume endogenous variables (e.g., M, and Y) have normally distributed residuals, precluding models of binary and/or count data. Although a growing body of literature has expanded mediation models to include more diverse data types, the nonlinearity of these models presents a substantial hurdle to their implementation and interpretation. The present study extends the existing literature (e.g., Hayes & Preacher, 2010; Stolzenberg, 1980) to propose conditional indirect effects as a useful tool for understanding mediation models that include paths estimated using the Generalized Linear Model (e.g., logistic regression, Poisson regression). We briefly review the relevant literature, culminating in a discussion of conditional indirect effects and their importance when examining nonlinear associations. We present a simple extension of the equations presented by Hayes and Preacher (2010) and provide an applied example of the technique.

Family-Centered Care Measurement and Associations With Unmet Health Care Need Among US Children

OBJECTIVE

Family-centered care (FCC), including shared decision making (SDM), has become increasingly emphasized in pediatric health care delivery. Past studies using national surveys have used different FCC measurement approaches without determining their validity. We, therefore, sought to develop an FCC measurement model with Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) items previously used to assess FCC or SDM; and to determine temporal associations of FCC with unmet health care need.

METHODS

Four longitudinal MEPS data files (2007-2011) were combined. The study sample included 15,764 US children aged 0 to 17 years. Eight items assessed FCC, and 5 items assessed unmet health care need. We performed exploratory factor analyses to develop an FCC measurement model and fit a cross-lagged structural equation model to determine temporal associations between FCC and unmet health care need.

RESULTS

Results supported a 2-factor FCC model including family-provider communication and SDM. The family-provider communication factor was indicated by items reflecting general communication between the child's doctor and family. The SDM factor was indicated by items reflecting decision-making about the child's health care. Adjusted cross-lagged structural equation model results showed family-provider communication and SDM were associated with a reduced likelihood of unmet health care need the following year. Unmet health care need was not significantly associated with family-provider communication or SDM the subsequent year.

CONCLUSIONS

Study results support differentiating between family-provider communication and SDM as interrelated aspects of FCC in future pediatric health care quality measurement and improvement. Family-provider communication and SDM may reduce the likelihood of unmet health care need the following year among US children.

A Bifactor Model of School Engagement

School engagement involves cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that overlap conceptually. This conceptual ambiguity has led to measures that have either consisted of one general factor or separate correlated factors. However, neither approach can sufficiently account for both the uniqueness and the overlap of the subcomponents. The bifactor model has been recommended to determine the degree to which a measure is unidimensional versus multidimensional. In this study, we examined the validity of a multidimensional measure of school engagement in adolescence, the Behavioral-Emotional-Cognitive School Engagement Scale (BEC-SES; Li & Lerner, 2013), by comparing the model fit and predictive power of the widely-used one- and three-factor models with a bifactor model. Using data from 561 youth in Iceland (46% girls, Mage at Wave 1 = 14.3 years, SD = 0.3), only the multidimensional models (i.e., the three-factor and bifactor models) gave a good fit to the data. We then assessed the predictive power of the multidimensional models for academic achievement. The addition of academic achievement as an outcome variable to the bifactor model revealed that general school engagement, as well as specific behavioral engagement, predicted achievement. These findings are distinct from previous results using three-factor models, which indicated that behavioral engagement alone predicted later achievement. The results of the current study support the use of a bifactor model when using measures of school engagement.

Orientation to the Caregiver Role Among Latinas of Mexican Origin

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

To develop the Caregiver Orientation Scale for Mexican-Origin Women and evaluate its psychometric properties.

DESIGN AND METHODS

We developed a questionnaire to measure domains of cultural orientation to the caregiver role based on formative research and on the Cultural Justifications for Caregiving Scale. We conducted a series of exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) on data collected from 163 caregivers. We estimated internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's coefficient alpha) and assessed construct validity by estimating correlations between all latent factors and self-rated health, interview language, and weekly hours of care.

RESULTS

EFAs suggested four factors representing familism, obligation, burden, and caregiving intensity that displayed good fit (χ² (df = 63) = 70.52, p = .24; RMSEA = .03 [90% CI: 0.00, 0.06]; comparative fit index = .99). Multi-item scales representing the four domains had coefficient alphas ranging from .68 to .86. Obligation was positively associated with burden (.46, p < .001) and intensity (.34, p < .01), which were themselves positively correlated (.63, p < .001). Familism was positively associated with obligation (.25, p < .05) yet negatively associated with burden (-.35, p < .01) and intensity (-.22, p < .05). Weekly hours of care were positively associated with burden (.26, p < .01) and intensity (.18, p < .05), whereas self-rated health and burden (-.21, p < .05) and Spanish language and intensity (-.31, p < .001) were negatively correlated.

IMPLICATIONS

The study shows that Mexican-origin caregiver orientation is multidimensional and that caregivers may have conflicting motivations for caregiving.

Selection, optimization, and compensation

Intentional self-regulation (ISR) undergoes significant development across the life span. However, our understanding of ISR’s development and function remains incomplete, in part because the field’s conceptualization and measurement of ISR vary greatly. A key sample case involves how Baltes and colleagues’ Selection, Optimization, and Compensation (SOC) model of ISR, which was developed with adult populations, may be applied to understand and measure adolescent self-regulation. The tripartite structure of SOC identified in older populations has not been replicated in adolescent samples. This difference may be due to measurement issues. In this article, we addressed whether using a Likert-type format instead of a forced-choice format of the SOC Questionnaire resulted in a tripartite factor structure when used with an adolescent population. Using data from 578 late adolescents who participated in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (70.80% female), we showed that the two versions of the measure produced a similar factor structure and were similar in terms of reliability and validity, although the traditional forced-choice version provided data with slightly lower criterion validity. We therefore conclude that both types of the measure are acceptable, but the choice of measure may depend on the sample in question and the analytical approach planned for the findings. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research.

Self-regulation among youth in four Western cultures

We address how to conceptualize and measure intentional self-regulation (ISR) among adolescents from four cultures by assessing whether ISR (conceptualized by the SOC model of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation) is represented by three factors (as with adult samples) or as one “adolescence-specific” factor. A total of 4,057 14- and 18-year-old youth in Canada, Germany, Iceland, and the US participated. Confirmatory factor analyses did not confirm a tripartite model of SOC in any sample, whereas a single (nine-item) composite fit in all samples. A partial weak factorial invariance model showed a roughly equivalent meaning of the nine-item composite among German, Icelandic, and US youth. We discuss the need for further examination of the relative importance of items among Canadian youth, and possible problems using reverse-coded items with adolescents. The similarities that were observed across age and cultural groups suggest that a single factor structure of SOC, as measured by nine items, may be robust for youth in Western cultural settings and that SOC processes are not fully developed until adulthood.

Reliability estimation in a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis framework

Scales with varying degrees of measurement reliability are often used in the context of multistage sampling, where variance exists at multiple levels of analysis (e.g., individual and group). Because methodological guidance on assessing and reporting reliability at multiple levels of analysis is currently lacking, we discuss the importance of examining level-specific reliability. We present a simulation study and an applied example showing different methods for estimating multilevel reliability using multilevel confirmatory factor analysis and provide supporting Mplus program code. We conclude that (a) single-level estimates will not reflect a scale's actual reliability unless reliability is identical at each level of analysis, (b) 2-level alpha and composite reliability (omega) perform relatively well in most settings, (c) estimates of maximal reliability (H) were more biased when estimated using multilevel data than either alpha or omega, and (d) small cluster size can lead to overestimates of reliability at the between level of analysis. We also show that Monte Carlo confidence intervals and Bayesian credible intervals closely reflect the sampling distribution of reliability estimates under most conditions. We discuss the estimation of credible intervals using Mplus and provide R code for computing Monte Carlo confidence intervals.

Understanding entrepreneurial intent in late adolescence: the role of intentional self-regulation and innovation

Entrepreneurship represents a form of adaptive developmental regulation through which both entrepreneurs and their ecologies benefit. We describe entrepreneurship from the perspective of relational developmental systems theory, and examine the joint role of personal attributes, contextual attributes, and characteristics of person-context relationships in predicting entrepreneurial intent in a sample 3,461 college students enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States (60 % female; 61 % European American). Specifically, we tested whether personal characteristics (i.e., gender, intentional self-regulation skills, innovation orientation) and contextual factors (i.e., entrepreneurial parents) predicted college students' intentions to pursue an entrepreneurial career. Our findings suggest that self-regulation, innovation orientation, and having entrepreneurial role models (i.e., parents) predict entrepreneurial intent. Limitations and future directions for the study of youth entrepreneurship are discussed.