Barriers to mother-adolescent communication about sex,maternal monitoring and sexual behaviour among adolescents in Mexico

Mexican mothers have an important role in adolescent sexuality; however, they report multiple barriers to parent–child sex communication, which may impact adolescent sexual behaviour. This cross-sectional study examines whether adolescent perceptions of maternal barriers to communication are associated with adolescent sexual behaviour frequency indirectly through its association with maternal monitoring, and whether these associations differ by age and gender. Mexican adolescents (N = 1433), ages 12–19 (53% girls), completed a survey on normative sexual behaviours, adolescent perceptions of maternal barriers to sex communication, and maternal monitoring. Structural equation modelling analyses revealed that more barriers to communication (adolescent perceptions) were associated with more sexual behaviour frequency (i.e., oral and vaginal sex) among Mexican adolescents indirectly through its association with maternal monitoring. Findings were stronger for adolescents in 8th grades, but no differences were found by gender. This model expands our understanding of the parenting factors that impact Mexican adolescent sexuality.     

Stress Reactivity as a Pathway from Attentional Control Deficits in Everyday Life to Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Girls

The goal of this research was to expand theoretical models of adolescent depression to determine whether individual differences in cognitive processing—specifically attentional control deficits—help to explain increased risk for depression during adolescence. We also examined whether this pathway was stronger in girls than in boys. A longitudinal design was used to examine whether poor attentional control in everyday life (i.e., difficulties shifting between ideas, tasks, and activities) contributes to depression over time by fostering higher levels of stress reactivity. Youth (298 boys, 338 girls) completed questionnaires assessing stress reactivity (6th and 7th grades) and depressive symptoms (6th, 7th and, 8th grades); teachers completed the shifting subscale of the Behavior Rating Scale of Executive Function (Gioia et al. 2000a) to assess attentional control (6th and 7th grades). Structural equation modeling analyses provided support for the predicted pathway in girls but not boys, yielding a significant indirect effect from 6th grade shifting deficits to 8th grade depressive symptoms via 7th grade stress reactivity. These results suggest that attentional control deficits in early adolescence heighten girls’ sensitivity to stress and consequent depressive symptoms, providing a critical direction for efforts to decrease adolescent girls’ risk for depression.     

Testing a Gender Additive Model: The Role of Body Image in Adolescent Depression

Despite consistent evidence that adolescent girls are at greater risk of developing depression than adolescent boys, risk factor models that account for this difference have been elusive. The objective of this research was to examine risk factors proposed by the gender additive model of depression that attempts to partially explain the increased prevalence of depression in adolescent girls. The theory suggests that body image and eating related variables predict depression for girls, but not for boys, above and beyond the variance accounted for by other well-known risk factors, some of which were examined in the current study. The sample was 247 adolescent girls and 181 adolescent boys studied over a 24-month duration. Results suggest that body dissatisfaction is a potent predictor of depression for girls, but not for boys, above and beyond the predictive effects of other established risk factors. Results provide insight into the etiology of adolescent depression and the disparate rate of depression among adolescent girls and provide direction for identifying high-risk individuals and developing effective prevention programs.     

Maximizing the impact of exposure to scientific role models: Testing an intervention to increase science identity among adolescent girls

A field experiment tested an intervention to maximize the impact of a science outreach program by encouraging early adolescent girls (N = 240, M_age =12) to adopt female role models. Girls participated in workshops led by female role models who were scientific experts in their field. Afterward, they were randomly assigned to choose and write about their favorite workshop leader or to write about the first workshop leader. We hypothesized that the intervention would benefit girls who chose and wrote about a favorite leader. However, girls in both conditions experienced significant increases in science identity. Girls demonstrated strong role model identification with the workshop leaders; moreover, role model identification was associated with increases in science identity. Girls in the chosen leader condition focused on her competence and supportiveness more than girls in the assigned leader condition. There was no difference in science identity between girls from well-represented and underrepresented minority (URM) ethnic groups in scientific fields. URM girls, surprisingly, identified more with the workshop leader than well-represented girls. Science workshops led by female role models with relevant expertise may facilitate science identification among early adolescent girls from diverse ethnic backgrounds.     

Longitudinal analysis of adolescent girls' aspirations at school and perceptions of popularity

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine changes in adolescent girls' aspirations at school and perceptions of popularity as they matured, and to determine if there were any differences between participants and nonparticipants on interschool teams. One hundred forty girls completed a questionnaire each year for five years from Grades 6 to 10 (ages 11 to 15), answering the following questions: What would you most like to do at school? Which of the following make you most popular among your friends? and How many interschool teams have you been on? For aspirations at school the overwhelming first choice of the total sample was making good grades; participants ranked being good at sports second; nonparticipants ranked being popular second. For the total sample, being popular increased slightly in importance, while sports decreased slightly over the five years. As for perceptions of popularity, grades were most important in Grades 6 and 10, while looks were ranked first during junior high school. Interschool participants ranked grades and sports first or second, while nonparticipants chose looks as most important for achieving popularity.     

Predictors of Young Adolescents’ Math Grades and Course Enrollment Intentions: Gender Similarities and Differences

Gender differences and similarities in the relations of key constructs in Eccles and colleagues (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) model of achievement were examined as predictors of math grades and enrollment intentions for Grade 9 boys (n = 263) and girls (n = 277). A number of gender similarities were found, particularly in the prediction of math grades. There were, however, two gender-specific paths: for girls, a direct path from competence beliefs to enrollment intentions, and for boys, a direct path from prior math grades to enrollment intentions. In addition, for boys, the path from utility value to enrollment intentions was stronger than it was for girls. These differential predictive patterns were found even though girls and boys reported similar levels of math utility and girls had lower math competence beliefs. For girls, competence beliefs were a significant predictor of both intentions and current math grades, which indicates the central role of competence beliefs.     

Social engagement in adolescence moderates the association between weight status and body image

This study examined whether the association between adolescent weight status and body image varies by social engagement. A nationally representative sample of 6909 students in grades 6-10 completed the 2006 HBSC survey. Separate linear regressions for boys and girls, controlling for age, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, were conducted with an interaction term (weight status×social engagement). Adolescents' overweight/obese status was related to body dissatisfaction. Social engagement moderated the relationship between weight status and body image for girls but not for boys. Overweight/obese boys had more body dissatisfaction compared to their normal/underweight peers, regardless of their social engagement. However, overweight/obese girls with more social engagement were more likely to have body satisfaction compared to overweight/obese girls with less social engagement. Encouraging adolescent girls to develop healthy relationships with peers may prevent them from developing body dissatisfaction.     

Female Juvenile Offenders: Defining an Early-Onset Pathway for Delinquency

We examined whether childhood factors predict age of first arrest in adolescent girls referred for placement and treatment for serious delinquency problems (N = 62). Measures included child characteristics (i.e., age of menstrual onset, childhood ADHD, and IQ), family environmental factors (i.e., severe punishment, parental transitions, and sexual abuse), biological parent criminality, and juvenile court records. Parental transitions and biological parent criminality significantly predicted the age of first arrest (M = 12.5 years), and IQ showed a trend to be a significant predictor. The final model accounted for 52% of the variance. A younger age of first arrest was related to increased health-risking sexual behaviors and to increased self-reported delinquency. Logistic regression analyses indicted that membership in an early-onset group could be reliably formed using family and child predictors, with accurate classifications for 46-90% of the girls. Family environmental and child characteristics played a strong role in predicting which girls would be arrested at an earlier age. The strong predictive utility of parental transitions and biological parent criminality, in particular, suggest two avenues for identifying girls at risk for delinquency problems.     

Factorial validity of the Bulimia Test-Revised in adolescent boys and girls.

The present study examined the psychometric properties and principal components structure of the Bulimia Test Revised (BULIT-R; [Thelen, M.H., Farmer, J., Wonderlich, S. & Smith, M. (1991). A revision of the Bulimia Test: the BULIT-R. Psychological Assessment, 3, 119-124.]) using a sample of early adolescent males and females. Three hundred and six girls (mean age = 13.66; S.D. = 1.12) and 297 boys (mean age = 13.89: S.D. = 1.13) from grades 7-10 completed the BULIT-R as part of a larger study investigating disordered eating in early adolescence. In comparison to the 5 factors identified in adult female samples, the factor analysis identified four similar factors for adolescent boys and girls: bingeing, control, normative weight loss (dieting and exercise) and extreme weight loss behaviors (vomiting, diuretics and laxatives). The findings highlight similarities between boys and girls and differences in the factorial nature of the BULIT-R for adult and adolescent samples. The BULIT-R also demonstrated good reliability with adolescent samples and adequate concurrent validity with the DFT, DEBQ and binge eating as defined by the DSM-IV criteria. The emergence of bingeing and control as two distinct factors is an important distinction that needs to be considered when attempting to provide accurate incidence rates of binge eating and bulimic symptomatology in adolescents.     

Heterosocial involvement, peer pressure for thinness, and body dissatisfaction among young adolescent girls

The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal connections among young adolescent heterosocial involvement (i.e., mixed-sex interactions), peer pressure for thinness, and body dissatisfaction. Three years of self-report questionnaire data were collected from 88 adolescent girls as they completed 6th through 8th grades. Results indicated that the relation between heterosocial involvement and body dissatisfaction was mediated by perceived peer pressure for thinness. Within this model, heterosocial involvement was associated with greater peer pressure for thinness. In turn, peer pressure for thinness was associated with greater body dissatisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at girls during their middle-school years.     

Counteracting Media's Thin-Body Ideal for Adolescent Girls: Informing Is More Effective Than Warning

The present study investigated whether information or warnings about depictions of the thin-body ideal in mass media are effective in counteracting media-induced negative body perceptions of adolescent girls. Based on counter-advertising and reactance theories, our hypotheses were tested in a 3 (weight labels: information vs. warning vs. no label) × 2 (media models' body shape: thin vs. normal weight) × 2 (self-esteem: lower vs. higher) design (N = 178). Body dissatisfaction, objectified body consciousness, and body comparison with media models served as dependent variables. Pretested media models were systematically combined with various textual weight labels and presented on the front page of a magazine targeted toward girls. The results indicated that a simple information label that provided the weight status of thin media models induced less negative body perceptions in adolescent girls when compared with the use of warning labels or images only. Especially, girls with lower self-esteem then exhibited lower levels of body dissatisfaction and objectified body consciousness. When compared with exposure to images only, the warning labels had little effect on body perceptions by adolescent girls. Thus, informing is more effective than warning in counteracting the undesired effects of the thin-body ideal promoted by the media.     

Latina and European American Girls’ Experiences with Academic Sexism and their Self-Concepts in Mathematics and Science During Adolescence

The study investigated Latina and European American adolescent girls’ (N?=?345, M?=?15.2 years, range?=?13 to 18) experiences with academic sexism in mathematics and science (M/S) and their M/S perceived competence and M/S value (liking and importance). M/S academic sexism was based on girls’ reported experiences hearing sexist comments about girls’ abilities in math and science. Older European American adolescents, and both younger and older Latina adolescents, who experienced several instances of academic sexism felt less competent in M/S than girls who experienced less sexism (controlling for M/S grades). In addition, among older girls (regardless of ethnicity), those who experienced several instances of academic sexism valued M/S less than girls who experienced less sexism.     

Linkages between childhood executive functioning and adolescent social functioning and psychopathology in girls with ADHD

We followed an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of preadolescent girls with ADHD (n = 140) and matched comparison girls (n = 88) over a period of 5 years, from middle childhood through early/midadolescence, with the aim of determining whether childhood levels of executive function (EF) would predict adolescent multi-informant outcomes of social functioning and psychopathology, including comorbidity between externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. Predictors were well-established measures of planning, response inhibition, and working memory, along with a control measure of fine motor control. Independent of ADHD versus comparison group status, (a) childhood planning and response inhibition predicted adolescent social functioning and (b) childhood planning predicted comorbid internalizing/externalizing disorders in adolescence. Subgroup status (ADHD-Combined, ADHD-Inattentive, and comparison) moderated the relationship between childhood planning and adolescent internalizing/externalizing comorbidity, with the combined type revealing particularly strong associations between baseline planning and adolescent comorbidity. Mediation analyses indicated that adolescent social functioning mediated the prediction from childhood EF to comorbidity at follow-up; in turn, in the girls with ADHD, adolescent comorbidity mediated the prediction from childhood EF to social functioning at follow-up. We conclude that childhood interventions should target EF impairments in addition to behavioral symptoms.     

青少年学生身体自我特点的初步研究

本研究编制的青少年学生身体自我量表具有较高的信度和效度,该量表包含五个因素：相貌特征、运动特征、身体特征、性特征和负面特征。我国青少年学生的身体自我在总体上不存在性别差异,但女生对自己在运动特征和身材特征上的满意度显著高于男生。从中学生到大学生的年级发展趋势看,青少年学生身体自我的满意度总体上呈下降趋势;随着年级的升高,他们对自己的身体越来有越多的不满意。     

Pathways of Economic Influence on Adolescent Adjustment

An important part of a science aimed at the prevention of human dysfunction involves the development of empirically based models that identify processes of risk for or protection from emotional distress or behavioral problems over time. The present study developed and evaluated such a model that proposed two pathways through which family economic pressure was expected to influence change in adolescent internalizing symptoms (depression and anxiety) during the period from the eighth to the tenth grades. A total of 377 rural families in a midwestern state provided data for the analyses. The results were generally consistent with the conceptual model in that family economic pressure increased adolescent perceptions of family economic hardship, which, in turn, reduced the adolescent's sense of control or mastery over time. Lowered mastery was associated with increases in emotional distress. Also consistent with the model, prior levels of mastery appeared to reduce the magnitude of economic stress experienced by the adolescent, whereas prior emotional distress intensified the economic stress process. Although gender differences were found in these processes, the overall pattern of results suggests that girls and boys are both at risk for internalizing problems when families experience economic pressure. Implicatios of the findings for the dvelopment of effective preventive interventions with financially stressed families in rural areas are discussed.     

Importance of having agreeable friends in adolescence (especially when you are not)

Using the actor–partner interdependence model, we examined whether adolescent's agreeableness, best friend's agreeableness, and the interaction between adolescent‐friend agreeableness are important for interpersonal functioning. Adolescents (N = 158) in fifth to eighth grades who were part of best friend pairs completed personality and friendship measures. Adolescents' adjustment and victimization experiences were assessed by peer nominations. For boys, best friend's agreeableness moderated the relationship between the target boy's agreeableness and overt victimization, relational victimization, and externalizing problems. For girls, best friend's agreeableness moderated the relationship between the target girl's agreeableness and internalizing problems and prosocial skills. This study provides an initial glimpse into how traits of friends can influence outcomes beyond what would be expected from adolescents' personality alone.     

An Analysis of the Relations Among Tests of Musical,Artistic, and Mechanical Abilitiesa

In a study of 80 fifth grade American boys and girls, an attempt was made to demonstrate a causal link between children's first names and judgments about the rightness or wrongness of those children's conflicted decisions. It was expected that children possessing liked names would be judged as right more frequently than children having disliked names. The expected effect was not found. Reasons for this negative finding were discussed.     

The Role of Theistic Spirituality in Adolescent Girls' Body Esteem: A Pilot Outcome Study

A pilot outcome study explored associations between psychospiritual variables and body esteem in adolescent girls at a Roman Catholic high school by examining the influence of The Imago Dei Experience (TIDE), an intervention program the first author designed. Perception of God's loving acceptance accounted for significant variance in weight and appearance body esteem; religious crisis accounted for significant variance in weight body esteem. Lack of significant changes in body esteem from pretest to 18‐month follow‐up suggested the TIDE program may have buffered the typical increase in body dissatisfaction over that period of time for adolescent girls. The authors recommend counselors explore qualities of God image and religious crisis with adolescent girls.     

Factors related to eating disorders in young adolescent girls

The objective of this study was to identify factors related to eating disorders in young adolescent girls. Three hundred eighty-five girls who were attending a career conference at a midwestern university completed the Eating Disorder Instrument (EDI) along with a biographical data sheet. The EDI is designed for the assessment of psychological and behavior traits common in eating disorders. While 81% of the young subjects were assessed to be within the range for ideal weight or were underweight, 78% preferred to weigh less. Only 14% were satisfied with their current weight. Findings for each of the subscales used revealed significant differences among the girls based on intact versus broken family; subjects' actual and preferred weight; whether the family ate meals together; average grades; age and grade in school; fathers' occupation; future career plans; place of residence; and feelings toward their mothers.     

Subjective Well-Being of Bullied Children in Indonesia

This study aimed to explore sibling bullying and school bullying across three age groups (8, 10, and 12 years old) in Indonesia (N = 21,002; 49.44% boys, 50.56% girls) and how these bullying actions (physical, psychological, verbal) affect children’s subjective well-being. The study used data from the third wave of Children’s Worlds Survey, which was conducted in West Java Province. Bullying actions were measured by reported frequency of experiencing being bullied by siblings and other children during the last month. Subjective well-being (SWB) was measured using the Children’s Worlds Subjective Well-Being Scale (CW-SWBS). Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Being hit by siblings displayed significant effects on the CW-SWBS for Grades 6 and 2, while being called unkind names by siblings showed significant effects in the three grades. Being hit by other children at school did not display a significant effect on the CW-SWBS for Grades 2 and 4, and only a low level of significance for Grade 6. Being left out by children in class showed significant effects for all grades. Being called unkind names by children at school displayed significant effects for Grades 2 and 4 and was non-significant for Grade 6. Many Indonesian children who are victims of bullying seem to have adapted to physical bullying to maintain their level of SWB through buffers (behaviour and good relationships). The incidence of bullying in Indonesian children is very worrying and it must be taken into account by parents and teachers that these children may be at risk, although they remain passive to the situation in apparently a conformist way, by reporting rather high SWB scores.