Showing papers in "Journal of Research on Adolescence in 2001"
TL;DR: In this article, the most important ideas to have emerged from the last 25 years of research on adolescent development in the family context and suggests some directions for the future are examined, and two major sets of questions organize the review.
Abstract: This article examines the most important ideas to have emerged from the last 25 years of research on adolescent development in the family context and suggests some directions for the future. Two major sets of questions organize the review. First, how can we best characterize normative family relationships during adolescence, and, more specifically, is adolescence a time of parent A child conflict? Second, how do variations in parent – child relationships affect the developing adolescent? The answer to the first question depends on what is meant by conflict and, more importantly, from whom one gathers data. There is a need for a new perspective on the family, one that emphasizes the different viewpoints and stakes that parents and adolescents bring to their relationship with each other. Special attention should be paid to studies of the mental health of parents of adolescents. With regard to the second question, it is argued that there is enough evidence to conclude that adolescents benefit from having parents who are authoritative: warm, firm, and accepting of their needs for psychological autonomy. Therefore, it would seem most beneficial to institute a systematic, large-scale, multifaceted, and ongoing public health campaign to educate parents about adolescence, one that draws on the collective resources and expertise of health-care professionals, scientists, governmental agencies, community organizations, schools, religious institutions, and the mass media.
1,998 citations
TL;DR: The perceived relational support from four key providers (father, mother, special sibling, and best friend) on five provisions (quality of information, respect for autonomy, emotional support, convergence of goals, and acceptance) was examined for 2,262 adolescents.
Abstract: The perceived relational support from four key providers (father, mother, special sibling, and best friend) on five provisions (quality of information, respect for autonomy, emotional support, convergence of goals, and acceptance) was examined for 2,262 adolescents (aged 12 – 18 years). In a variable-centered approach, factor analyses yielded five dimensions of support: three specific to providers (parent, friend, and sibling support) and two specific to provisions (convergence of goals and respect for autonomy). Only parental support was found to change (decrease) across age. In a person-centered approach, five types of adolescents with different configurations of perceived support were identified. The first three types differed in overall level of support (high, average, and low) for all of the five dimensions; the fourth type represented extremely low support from parents with above-average support from best friends; the fifth type consisted of adolescents with no best friend. These configurations were significantly related to different patterns of adolescent adjustment in various domains (psychological well-being, delinquency, substance use, and peer-group functioning).
275 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the impact of childhood sexual abuse on later sexual victimization among 372 homeless and runaway youth in Seattle and found that exposure to dysfunctional and disorganized homes placed youth on trajectories for early independence.
Abstract: Path analysis was used to investigate the impact of childhood sexual abuse on later sexual victimization among 372 homeless and runaway youth in Seattle. Young people were interviewed directly on the streets and in shelters by outreach workers in youth service agencies. High rates of both childhood sexual abuse and street sexual victimization were reported, with females experiencing much greater rates compared with their male counterparts. Early sexual abuse in the home increased the likelihood of later sexual victimization on the streets indirectly by increasing the amount of time at risk, deviant peer affiliations, participating in deviant subsistence strategies, and engaging in survival sex. These findings suggest that exposure to dysfunctional and disorganized homes place youth on trajectories for early independence. Subsequently, street life and participation in high-risk behaviors increases their probability of sexual victimization.
209 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a longitudinal study assessed the prediction of school dropout from measures of antisocial behavior, social preference, and achievement, and found that aggression and achievement predicted subsequent dropout.
Abstract: This longitudinal study assessed the prediction of school dropout from measures of antisocial behavior, social preference, and achievement. The sample was assessed at 8th grade (n= 516) and was expanded at 10th grade (n= 1157). In the 8th, but not 10th grade, rejected–antisocial students had higher dropout rates than those in other groups. Seperate logistic regression analyses were then conducted using the 8th- and 10th-grade data. Across both sets of analyses, aggression and achievement, but not social preference, predicted subsequent dropout. These results, in conjunction with those of others, suggests that social preference does not uniquely predict school dropout. The possibility exists, however, that youth who are both antisocial and rejected may be at heightened risk for school dropout.
174 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between parenting style and adolescent functioning was examined in a sample of 302 African American adolescent girls and their mothers who lived in impoverished neighborhoods and found that the mothers who were disengaged (low on both parental warmth and supervision/monitoring) had the most negative outcomes.
Abstract: The relationship between parenting style and adolescent functioning was examined in a sample of 302 African American adolescent girls and their mothers who lived in impoverished neighborhoods. Although previous research has found that authoritative parenting, as compared with authoritarian, permissive, and disengaged parenting, is associated with positive adolescent outcomes in both European American, middle-class and large multiethnic school-based samples, these parenting categories have not been fully explored in African American families living at or near poverty level. Data were collected from adolescent girls and their self-identified mothers or mother figures using in-home interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Parenting style was found to be significantly related to adolescent outcome in multiple domains including externalizing and internalizing behaviors, academic achievement, work orientation, sexual experience, and pregnancy history. Specifically, teens whose mothers were disengaged (low on both parental warmth and supervision/monitoring) were found to have the most negative outcomes.
172 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared the explanatory power of ethnic labels (African American, non-Hispanic White, Mexican American, and mixed ethnicity) and two dimensions of ethnic identity in predicting drug use, focusing on perceived ethnically consistent behavior, speech, and looks, while measuring a sense of ethnic pride.
Abstract: This article explores differences in the self-reported drug use and exposure to drugs of an ethnically diverse group of 408 seventh-grade students from a large city in the southwest. We contrast the explanatory power of ethnic labels (African American, non-Hispanic White, Mexican American, and mixed ethnicity) and two dimensions of ethnic identity in predicting drug use. One dimension focuses on perceived ethnically consistent behavior, speech, and looks, while the other gauges a sense of ethnic pride. Ethnic labels were found to be somewhat useful in identifying differences in drug use, but the two ethnic identity measures, by themselves, did not generally help to explain differences in drug use. In conjunction, however, ethnic labels and ethnic identity measures explained far more of the differences in drug use than either did alone. The findings indicate that the two dimensions of ethnic identity predict drug outcomes in opposite ways, and these relations are different for minority students and non-Hispanic White students. Generally, African American, Mexican American, and mixed-ethnicity students with a strong sense of ethnic pride reported less drug use and exposure, while ethnically proud White students reported more. Ethnic minority students who viewed their behavior, speech, and looks as consistent with their ethnic group reported more drug use and exposure, while their White counterparts reported less. These findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.
164 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated gender differences in the relation between internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety reported by adolescents and emotional distress and marital discord reported by their mothers and found that there were no gender differences for early adolescents, however, by mid-adolescence, at which time parental disturbances were significantly associated with internalising symptoms in adolescent females but not adolescent males.
Abstract: This longitudinal study investigated gender differences in the relation between (1) internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety reported by adolescents, and (2) emotional distress and marital discord reported by their mothers. Structural equation modeling was used to track the relationship between these variables in a community sample of 116 males and 101 females and their parents across three data intervals roughly corresponding to early adolescence (M = 11,4), mid-adolescence (M = 13,7), and late adolescence/early adulthood (M = 19,2). For early adolescents, there were no gender differences in the relation between internalizing symptoms and parental distress and discord. Gender differences did emerge, however, by midadolescence, at which time parental disturbances were significantly associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescent females but not adolescent males. The emergence of this risk factor during this developmental phase may help account for frequent findings that place adolescent females at higher risk for anxiety and depression than adolescent males.
159 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a longitudinal study examined the relation between puberty status and timing, and adjustment problems, as measured by externalized hostile feelings and internalized distress symptoms, among adolescent males in grades 7 through 10.
Abstract: This longitudinal study examined the relation between puberty, as measured by both pubertal status and timing, and adjustment problems, as measured by externalized hostile feelings and internalized distress symptoms, among adolescent males in grades 7 through 10. The results showed that boys who were physically more developed in grade 7, compared with their less physically developed peers, manifested more externalized hostile feelings and internalized distress symptoms in grades 8 through 10. Pubertal timing was significantly related to both internalized distress and externalized hostile feelings. This relation remained statistically significant, even after controlling for grade 7 maladjustment symptoms and concurrent stressful life events. Several significant interaction effects emerged between pubertal timing and concurrent stressful life events. The significant long-term effect of the pubertal transition, independent of stressful life experiences and symptom continuity, suggests that the past undifferentiated view of the favorable influence of early maturation on males needs to be modified.
156 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of team sports involvement on adolescent depressed mood and found that sports involvement positively contributes to mental health independent of other known protective factors (parental and peer support); and whether it moderates the depressive effects of family, peer, and school-based risk factors.
Abstract: Working within a risk and protection framework, this research brief examines the protective inAuence of team sports involvement on adolescent depressed mood The objective was to understand whether sports involvement positively contributes to mental health independent of the effects of other known protective factors (parental and peer support); and whether it moderates the depressive effects of family, peer, and school-based risk factors Analyses focused on 1,036 high school-aged youth interviewed at two time points Regression analysis results indicated a signiAcant association between team sports involvement and depressed mood among both males and females, which was reduced to insigniAcance after controlling for the other protective factors One interaction effect was observed: for females, but not males, team sports involvement was shown to protect against depressed mood associated with poor school performance (low grade point average) Thus, the role of sports involvement as a positive instrumental activity for females is discussed
132 citations
TL;DR: Early timing of pubertal development correlated with number of alcohol intoxications and number of units consumed on each occasion, and, to a lesser degree, with the frequency of alcohol use.
Abstract: The relation between pubertal timing and alcohol use was investigated in a nationally representative sample (N= 4,686) of junior high school students who were followed up 2 years later (N= 3,862). Information regarding pubertal timing and status, sex-role identification, number of alcohol intoxications, substance use, sexual behavior, friends’ alcohol use, and involvement in other types of problem behaviors was obtained. The results showed that early timing of pubertal development correlated with number of alcohol intoxications and number of units consumed on each occasion, and, to a lesser degree, with the frequency of alcohol use. Moreover, correlations were stronger among males than among females. Substantial parts of the association between pubertal timing and alcohol intoxications were mediated through friends’ problem behavior. Pubertal timing predicted alcohol use at follow-up, but the effect was mostly due to increased alcohol intoxications at initial testing.
105 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of adolescent employment were investigated in a sample of 251 low-income, African American youth that were followed since birth.
Abstract: The antecedents, correlates, and consequences of adolescent employment were investigated in a sample of 251 low-income, African American youth that were followed since birth. The youth (age: M at preschool = 4.89, SD= .70; M at adolescence = 16.44, SD= .66; M at transition to adulthood = 19.36, SD= .76; and M at early adulthood = 27.67, SD= .75) were the firstborn children of African American teenage mothers who gave birth in Baltimore in the 1960s. Analyses examined the antecedents and correlates of age of entry into employment and stability of employment during adolescence. The associations of adolescent work experiences with subsequent adult education and employment outcomes also were considered. Findings indicate that among this sample of low-income, African American youth, those who repeated a grade in school during middle childhood were more likely to enter the workforce at later ages than their peers who did not repeat a grade. The small subset of adolescents who never worked (n= 12) appear to be markedly more disadvantaged than their peers who worked. At the transition to adulthood, adolescents who entered the workforce earlier were more likely to complete high school than their peers. In addition, stable employment during the adolescent years had more beneficial effects on young men's chances of attending college than young women's postsecondary education. This pattern of findings is consistent with ethnographic accounts of adolescent employment among poor, minority, urban youth.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the relation between family characteristics and participation in one or both types of violent behavior and found that the youth were more likely to report use of violence in relationships if they were also participating in violence as part of other criminal behavior.
Abstract: Few studies have evaluated how participation in violence that occurs on the streets as part of criminal or delinquent behavior relates to violence that occurs as part of dating or marital relationships (partner violence). Using longitudinal data from 141 African American and Latino male youth (15–19 years old), the relation between family characteristics and participation in one or both types of violent behavior was evaluated. The youth in this study were more likely to report use of violence in relationships if they were also participating in violence as part of other criminal behavior. However, there were distinct groups of offenders. Among those males reporting involvement in a dating or romantic relationship, four groups were identified: (1) those who had not participated in either type of violence, 57%; (2) those who had participated in partner violence only, 14%; (3) those who had participated in street violence only, 12%; and (4) those who had participated in both, 17%. Discriminate function analyses significantly differentiated the group who had participated in both types of violence from the nonviolent group, with the former group having poorer functioning families. These two groups were also differentiated from the partner violence-only and street violence-only groups. No differences were found between the partner violence-only and the street violence-only groups. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the attitudes of 87 middle-class African American parents (87 mothers and 51 fathers) of early adolescents (M= 13.11 years of age) who were queried about two developmentally salient issues of early adolescence: parental limit-setting and adolescent independence.
Abstract: Conceptions of parenting were examined in 87 middle-class African American parents (87 mothers and 51 fathers) of early adolescents (M= 13.11 years of age). Using semistructured interviews, parents were queried about two developmentally salient issues of early adolescence: parental limit-setting and adolescent independence. Parents primarily defined firm limits in terms of nonnegotiation, strongly endorsed setting firm limits regarding a range of issues, and justified the importance of limits by focusing on adolescents’ socialization and psychological development. Mothers rated limiting adolescents’ behavior as more important than permitting or encouraging adolescents’ independence. Limits were seen as more important by mothers of younger rather than older early adolescent females, but mothers encouraged independence more for younger rather than older early adolescent males. Mothers permitted independent decisions regarding a limited range of issues such as clothes and appearance, based on psychological concerns with adolescents’ developing autonomy and competence; they encouraged independence primarily by encouraging greater responsibility. The results demonstrate that there is considerable heterogeneity in African American parents’ beliefs and goals about parenting in early adolescence.
TL;DR: This article examined adolescents' cognitions of their relationships with their parents as a function of sociometric status and found that rejected adolescents differ from their more accepted peers in their perceptions of relationships with both mothers and fathers, specifically with regard to warmth from both parents and autonomy from mothers.
Abstract: This study examined adolescents' cognitions of their relationships with their parents as a function of sociometric status. The adolescents' subjective views of their relationships with their mothers and fathers were assessed with respect to seven relationship qualities (general warmth, displays of warmth, intimate self-disclosure, parental monitoring, conflict, instrumental aid, and provisions of autonomy) across two cognition types: perceptions (beliefs about “how things are”) and standards (beliefs about “how things should be”). The participants were sixth-, eighth-, tenth-, and twelfth-grade students. Peer sociometric status was determined based on unlimited peer nominations completed by 462 participants. The 190 adolescents classified as average, popular, or rejected were included in the analyses. Perceptions and standards were shown to be distinct but related cognitions. Rejected adolescents differed from their more accepted peers in their perceptions of relationships with both mothers and fathers, specifically with regard to warmth from both parents and autonomy from mothers. Rejected adolescents also reported lower standards for parental monitoring and a range of support qualities from both parents. In addition, rejected adolescents' reports demonstrated greater perception-standard discrepancies, indicating unmet standards. Overall, sociometric status group differences were more pronounced and consistent for standards than for perceptions, and most status group differences occurred primarily among older adolescents. Findings are discussed in terms of social cognitive patterns associated with peer rejection and developmental changes in family–peer linkages across adolescence.