Adolescents’ Exposure to Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Sexual Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study

The aim of this study was to investigate, within a social comparison framework, the causal relationship between adolescents’ use of sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM) and their sexual satisfaction. In addition, we tested which adolescents were most susceptible to a potential influence of SEIM on sexual satisfaction. Between May 2006 and May 2007, we conducted a three‐wave panel survey among 1,052 Dutch adolescents aged 13–20. Structural equation modeling revealed that exposure to SEIM consistently reduced adolescents’ sexual satisfaction. Lower sexual satisfaction (in Wave 2) also increased the use of SEIM (in Wave 3). Moderator analyses showed that the negative effect of SEIM on sexual satisfaction was stronger for adolescents who had no or limited sexual experience as well as for adolescents who perceived the majority of their peers to be sexually inexperienced. The effect of exposure to SEIM on sexual satisfaction did not differ among male and female adolescents.     

Suicide acceptability is related to suicide planning in U.S. adolescents and young adults

The association between adolescents' and young adults' attitudes toward suicide and their own suicidality across five racial-ethnic classifications was studied in a nationally representative sample of 3,301 youth ages 14 to 22 years from the National Annenberg Risk Survey of Youth. Results indicate that adolescents and young adults who most strongly believe that it is acceptable to end one's life are more than fourteen times more likely to make a plan to kill themselves as those who do not have such beliefs (p < .001). Future behavioral prevention and intervention research should take into consideration adolescents' and young adults' approval of suicide as a risk factor for taking their own lives.     

Predicting Men's Rape Perceptions Based on the Belief That "No" Really Means "Yes"

This study tested men's perceptions of rape based on the belief that women use token resistance to sex—that they say "no" to sex when they really mean "yes." Participants were 131 male undergraduates who completed the Token Resistance to Sex scale and responded to evaluative statements regarding 1 of 3 scenarios: rape, consent, or ambiguous. Results supported the hypothesis that men with a weaker belief in token resistance would have stronger perceptions of rape when a woman said "no" to sex than when a woman said "yes," and that men with a stronger belief in token resistance would have weak perceptions of rape in both situations. These findings implicate miscommunication as a potential contributing factor in date rape.     

Between adolescents and aging grandparents: Midlife concerns of adults in the “Sandwich generation”

This study examined whether the midlife transition of men and women in the “sandwich generation” was related to their 15- to 19-year-old adolescent's psychosocial development and their relationships with their own aging parents (i.e., the grandparents). One hundred eighty-six (186) respondents representing adolescents, mothers, and fathers from 62 families completed questionnaires that assessed adolescents' psychological autonomy and involvement in adult-type roles, adults' midlife transition and marital quality, and adults' relationships with their aging parents. Analyses conducted by domain revealed that women reported greater concerns with midlife issues when their adolescents demonstrated fewer signs of psychological autonomy and involvement in adult-type roles whereas men reported more intense midlife concerns when they experienced more strain in their relations with their own parents. When adolescent, grandparent, and marital factors were considered conjointly, the results indicated that women's level of midlife concerns was still related to their adolescents' development, but men's level of concerns was most strongly related to their satisfaction with the quality of their marriages. The discussion focuses on adult women's and men's experience of the midlife transition in relation to adolescents' development, parents' relationships with aging grandparents, and marital quality.     

Life values of Finnish adolescents and their beliefs about the values of peers and adults

In the context of a longitudinal developmental study, 182 girls and boys (90 from Helsinki, 92 from North Karelia) were asked, at the ages of 15 and 18, about their life values and their beliefs about the values of their peers and of adults. The pattern of their own values, which were mainly concerned with human relations, self-actualization, and economic matters (at 15) or health (at 18), differed from those they believed to be characteristic of their peers and, especially, of adults. At 15, peers were often seen to value social success and to be comparatively tough; adults were considered to be oriented towards economic values. The differences between own values and beliefs about the values of others are discussed with reference to the pattern of communication between adolescents and their peers and adults; experienced expectations of peer groups; and adolescents' motivation to grow up into an adult world the (judged) values of which they only partly share.     

Adolescents' Exposure to Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Sexual Preoccupancy: A Three-Wave Panel Study

The main aim of this study was to investigate whether adolescents' use of sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM) increased their sexual preoccupancy (i.e., a strong cognitive engagement in sexual issues). Further, we wanted to know (a) whether subjective sexual arousal mediated a potential influence of exposure to SEIM on sexual preoccupancy and (b) whether this process differed between male and female adolescents. Over the course of one year, we surveyed 962 Dutch adolescents aged 13–20 years three times. Structural equation modeling showed that exposure to SEIM stimulated sexual preoccupancy. This influence was fully mediated by subjective sexual arousal from SEIM. The effect of exposure to SEIM on subjective sexual arousal did not differ between male and female adolescents. The findings suggest that a sexualized media environment may affect adolescents' sexual development beyond traditionally studied variables, such as sexual attitudes and sexual behavior.     

同伴对青少年冒险行为的影响及其作用机制

青少年更倾向于从事冒险或鲁莽行为, 并且更容易受到同伴影响。从个人特质和社交互动等多个角度探讨的研究结果表明, 同伴对青少年冒险行为存在助长作用, 即当同伴在场时, 青少年的行为会更加冒险。同伴对青少年冒险行为的作用机制可以从心理、神经、遗传、社会文化等多个层面进行解释：在心理层面, 这种影响源于青少年寻求同伴认可和归属感的需要, 以及社会学习的作用; 在神经机制层面, 源于认知控制网络和刺激处理系统的相互作用; 在遗传层面, 源于特定基因的易感性等; 在社会文化层面, 同伴影响会因文化差异而带来程度与表现上的差异。未来研究应从发展、文化心理、构建复杂模型网络等视角深入探究同伴对青少年冒险行为的影响。     

Do women sometimes say no when they mean yes? The prevalence and correlates of women's token resistance to sex

We investigated whether women ever engage in token resistance to sex--saying no but meaning yes--and, if they do, what their reasons are for doing so. A questionnaire administered to 610 undergraduate women asked whether they had ever engaged in token resistance and, if so, asked them to rate the importance of 26 possible reasons. We found that 39.3% of the women had engaged in token resistance at least once. Their reasons fell into three categories: practical, inhibition-related, and manipulative reasons. Women's gender role attitudes, erotophobia-erotophilia, and other attitudes and beliefs varied as a function of their experience with token resistance and their sexual experience. We argue that, given society's sexual double standard, token resistance may be a rational behavior. It could, however, have negative consequences, including discouraging honest communication, perpetuating restrictive gender stereotypes, and--if men learn to disregard women's refusals--increasing the incidence of rape.     

Cognitive variables related to worry among adolescents: avoidance strategies and faulty beliefs about worry

Studies aiming to better understand worry have neglected children and adolescents. This constitutes an important limitation considering that excessive worry is frequent among adolescents and that patients suffering from excessive worries associate the beginning of their disorder with adolescence. This study evaluates the cognitive variables associated with worry in a sample of 777 adolescents. It attempts to determine whether cognitive avoidance and false beliefs about the usefulness of worries are present and associated with worries in adolescence. The results showed that participants with a high level of worry used more avoidance strategies and held more beliefs about worry. The results also revealed that avoidance of stimuli that trigger unpleasant thoughts and thought substitution were the major avoidance strategies related to worry among adolescents. The belief that worry helps to avoid future negative events was also related to worry. These findings may suggest that adolescents' worries are maintained by processes similar to those observed among adults.     

Bicultural adolescents' anger regulation: in between two cultures?

This study explored the anger-regulation strategies of bicultural individuals who are brought up with two distinct cultures that might carry contradictory demands about how to regulate emotions. With a sample of 525 adolescents in the Netherlands and Morocco, we found that bicultural Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' anger regulation in response to hypothetical peer conflict were largely similar to those of their Dutch peers. In fact, both the Dutch and the Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' anger regulation differed in the same ways from the Moroccan group, with greater acting out and less calm verbalisation, reflection, and diversion in the former than in the latter. Additionally, our findings indicate that Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' identification with the Dutch as well as with the Moroccan culture is related to more anger verbalisation and less externalising anger regulation. These results are interpreted in light of the complex cultural position faced by bicultural adolescents.     

Individual differences in early adolescents' beliefs in the legitimacy of parental authority

Adolescents differ in the extent to which they believe that parents have legitimate authority to impose rules restricting adolescents' behavior. The purpose of the current study was to test predictors of individual differences in legitimacy beliefs during the middle school years. Annually, during the summers following Grades 5, 6, and 7, early adolescents (n = 218; 51% female, 47% African American, 73% in 2-parent homes) reported their beliefs regarding the legitimacy of parents' rules that restrict and monitor adolescents' free time activities. Cross-lagged analyses revealed that legitimacy beliefs were bidirectionally associated with independent decision making, psychological control, antisocial peer involvement, and resistance to control. Legitimacy beliefs declined more rapidly during the middle school years for boys than for girls and for adolescents who were older relative to their classmates. More independent decision making in Grades 5 and 6 predicted larger than expected declines in legitimacy beliefs in Grades 6 and 7. In sum, legitimacy beliefs weaken developmentally, and weaker legitimacy beliefs relative to same-grade peers are anteceded by premature autonomous experiences, psychological control, and adolescent attributes.     

Victim Resistance: Theory and Data on Understanding Perceptions of Sexual Harassment

This article reports on a study of perceptions of sexual harassment when a victim offers verbal resistance, and introduces the theoretical application of the notion that women sometimes use token resistance to sexual attention. Perceptions of sexual harassment were examined based on a vignette in which physical or verbal harassment and victim's facial expression were varied. Participants were 337 undergraduates (91% European American, 5% African American, 1% Hispanic American, 1% Asian American). Perceptions of sexual harassment were stronger for physical harassment than verbal harassment, except when the target smiled. Overall, women had stronger perceptions of harassment than did men. Also, a stronger belief in women's use of token resistance to sex was associated with weaker perceptions of sexual harassment. These findings suggest that a number of factors influence perceptions of harassment, even when a victim verbally resists.     

A THEORY OF PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY: THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG SELF-CONCEPT, GENDER, SEX ROLE STEREOTYPES, AND WORK-EMERGENT TRAITS

A theoretical framework is presented that focuses on the division of labor by gender to account for both sex role stereotypes and the correspondence between these stereotypes and the self-concepts of women and men. According to this framework, the self-images of adults are largely constituted by attributes generated by their productive activity. These attributes, referred to as work-emergent traits, are consequences of working within particular social and physical conditions of production because they help individuals to perform work tasks and to regulate their emotional responses to the Stressors attendant upon their work roles. Because of sexual segregation in the work force, certain traits have been generalized to all women and to all men, appearing as sex role stereotypes. Although the sexual division of labor is the root cause of stereotypical beliefs regarding the attributes of women and men, the beliefs themselves also sustain the division of labor. Suggestive pilot data, which provide initial substantiation for this theoretical perspective, are briefly discussed.     

Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Adolescents’ Sexual Performance Orientation: The Mediating Roles of Enjoyment and Perceived Utility

Little is known about how exposure to sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM) relates to a performance-focused orientation toward sex. Based on a three-wave panel study among adolescents (N = 1,022), we found that watching SEIM predicted a sexual performance orientation from Wave (W) 2 to W3, but not from W1 to W2. A sexual performance orientation at W2 predicted adolescents’ exposure to SEIM at W3. The relationship between exposure to SEIM and a sexual performance orientation was explained by a two-step mediation model. The more adolescents were exposed to SEIM at W1, the more they enjoyed consuming this content at W2. In turn, enjoyment of SEIM (W2) predicted adolescents’ perceived utility of SEIM (W2). This increased perceived utility at W2 predicted a more intense performance orientation towards SEIM at W3. Within this 2-step model, we also found full support for a reciprocal relationship between using SEIM (W1/W2/W3) and enjoyment of SEIM (W1/W2/W3) and partial support for a reciprocal relationship between sexual performance orientation (W2) and perceived utility of SEIM (W3).     

Self-verification as a mediator of mothers' self-fulfilling effects on adolescents' educational attainment

This research examined whether self-verification acts as a general mediational process of self-fulfilling prophecies. The authors tested this hypothesis by examining whether self-verification processes mediated self-fulfilling prophecy effects within a different context and with a different belief and a different outcome than has been used in prior research. Results of longitudinal data obtained from mothers and their adolescents (N=332) indicated that mothers' beliefs about their adolescents' educational outcomes had a significant indirect effect on adolescents' academic attainment through adolescents' educational aspirations. This effect, observed over a 6-year span, provided evidence that mothers' self-fulfilling effects occurred, in part, because mothers' false beliefs influenced their adolescents' own educational aspirations, which adolescents then self-verified through their educational attainment. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed.     

Peer network drinking predicts increased alcohol use from adolescence to early adulthood after controlling for genetic and shared environmental selection

Research consistently links adolescents' and young adults' drinking with their peers' alcohol intake. In interpreting this correlation, 2 essential questions are often overlooked. First, which peers are more important, best friends or broader social networks? Second, do peers cause increased drinking, or do young people select friends whose drinking habits match their own? The present study combines social network analyses with family (twin and sibling) designs to answer these questions via data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Analysis of peer nomination data from 134 schools (n = 82,629) and 1,846 twin and sibling pairs shows that peer network substance use predicts changes in drinking from adolescence into young adult life even after controlling for genetic and shared environmental selection, as well as best friend substance use. This effect was particularly strong for high-intensity friendships. Although the peer-adolescent drinking correlation is partially explained by selection, the present finding offers powerful evidence that peers also cause increased drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Magazine exposure,tanned women stereotypes,and tanning attitudes

This study investigated whether magazine exposure is related to stereotypical beliefs about tanned women. A survey of White college women (n = 205) assessed their exposure to beauty/fashion and health/fitness magazines. Outcome variables were the beliefs that tanned women are fashionable, fit, and shallow. Attention to the tanned women's images in health magazines positively predicted the belief that tanned women are fit and that tanned women are shallow; in contrast, attention to the images in beauty magazine negatively predicted the belief that tanned women are fit. Number of beauty magazines women read negatively predicted the belief that tanned women are shallow. The belief that tanned women are fit was unrelated, but the belief that tanned women are shallow was negatively related, with tanning attitudes.     

Risk Taking in Adolescence: New Perspectives From Brain and Behavioral Science

ABSTRACT— Trying to understand why adolescents and young adults take more risks than younger or older individuals do has challenged psychologists for decades. Adolescents' inclination to engage in risky behavior does not appear to be due to irrationality, delusions of invulnerability, or ignorance. This paper presents a perspective on adolescent risk taking grounded in developmental neuroscience. According to this view, the temporal gap between puberty, which impels adolescents toward thrill seeking, and the slow maturation of the cognitive-control system, which regulates these impulses, makes adolescence a time of heightened vulnerability for risky behavior. This view of adolescent risk taking helps to explain why educational interventions designed to change adolescents' knowledge, beliefs, or attitudes have been largely ineffective, and suggests that changing the contexts in which risky behavior occurs may be more successful than changing the way adolescents think about risk.