Social Responsibility among Low-Income Youth in Physical Activity-Based Positive Youth Development Programs: Scale Development and Associations with Social Relationships

Relationships with peers and adults are expected to foster social responsibility in physical activity-based positive youth development programs. Low-income youth (N = 479) were surveyed pre- and post-program.Psychometric properties of a new social responsibility scale were supported. Belonging predicted changes in social responsibility, and leader emotional support moderated the autonomy support- and belonging-social responsibility associations. Those with higher leader emotional support had a stronger positive association between autonomy support and social responsibility. Those with lower leader emotional support had a stronger positive association between belonging and social responsibility. Positive social relationships with peers and staff may facilitate social responsibility.     

Relationships Between Self-Determined Motivation and Developmental Outcomes in Sport-Based Positive Youth Development

Building on self-determination theory, this study examined the relationships between self-determined motivation toward sport participation and developmental outcomes in sport-based positive youth development. One hundred twenty participants in a sport-based positive youth development program designed to engage youth through running completed a postprogram survey measuring their self-determined motivation toward running and achievement of developmental outcomes. The results of regression analyses indicated that participants with higher self-determined motivation toward running reported higher general self-efficacy, more positive attitudes toward a healthy lifestyle, and lower engagement in threatening behavior. On the other hand, self-determined motivation was unrelated to self-reported academic performance.     

Towards a wider conception of autonomy support in adolescence: The contribution of reflective inner-compass facilitation to the formation of an authentic inner compass and well-being

Ample research has demonstrated the benefits of basic autonomy supportive practices (e.g., perspective-taking, choice, minimizing-control) for adolescents’ psychosocial functioning. Herein, we posit that there is one additional autonomy supportive practice with specific importance for adolescents’ development: Reflective Authentic Inner Compass facilitation. This practice is posited to contribute to the formation of an Authentic Inner-Compass: An action-guiding schema, informing youth on what they truly value, need, and want, and consisting of two parts: (1) A foundation including authentic values, interests, and life-aspirations, and (2) Autonomous commitment to future-oriented goals and decisions, based on the foundation. A longitudinal study of 18–19 year-old Israeli adolescents showed that perceived Reflective Authentic Inner Compass Facilitation by instructors uniquely predicted (beyond Basic Autonomy Support) adolescents’ experience of having an authentic inner-compass in the military domain, which then predicted autonomous engagement in plan-promoting activities. A cross-sectional study with 16?18 year-old Belgian adolescents showed that perceived Reflective Authentic Inner Compass Facilitation by parents uniquely predicted (beyond Basic Autonomy Support) the experience of having an authentic inner-compass, which then related positively to well-being. Implications of the notion of the authentic inner compass for the conceptualization of autonomy support and the experience of autonomy are discussed.

     

The Influence of Supportive Parenting and Racial Socialization Messages on African American Youth Behavioral Outcomes

A warm and supportive parent–child relationship is one of the most crucial determinants of positive outcomes in racially and socioeconomically diverse youth. There is, however, limited understanding of the diverse and unique parenting practices of racially diverse families, particularly those from under-resourced communities. Little empirical research has considered the utility of combining universal and culturally-specific parenting strategies to benefit under-resourced racially diverse youth outcomes. Thus, the purpose of our study was to examine the real-world impact of our proposed model of integrated parenting practices on under-resourced African American youth. We therefore examined parental perception of the direct and interactive effects of (culturally-specific) racial socialization messages and (universal) supportive parenting practices on behavioral outcomes in under-resourced African American youth. A community sample of 150 parents (mean age = 41.32, SD = 1.71) provided self-report responses regarding their use of supportive parenting behaviors, racial socialization messages and their observations of problem behaviors. Consistent with our hypotheses, supportive parenting was associated with fewer maladaptive child behaviors. Regression analyses indicated that the combination of racial pride messages and supportive parenting practices predicted parental reports of observed negative internalizing and externalizing behaviors. We discuss results in the context of their implications of our integrative model of racial socialization and supportive parenting in promoting adaptive functioning in under-resourced African American families.     

Does Natural Mentoring Matter? A Multilevel Meta‐analysis on the Association Between Natural Mentoring and Youth Outcomes

In this meta‐analytic review, we examined the relation between natural mentoring and youth outcomes in four domains: academic and vocational functioning, social‐emotional development, physical health, and psychosocial problems. Natural mentoring relationships are thought to foster positive youth development and buffer against the risks associated with the tumultuous years of adolescence. Two separate meta‐analyses were conducted on the presence of a natural mentor and the quality of the natural mentoring relationship, including thirty studies from 1992 to present. The findings indicated that the presence of a natural mentor was significantly associated with positive youth outcomes (r = .106). A larger effect size was found for the quality of the natural mentoring relationship in terms of relatedness, social support, and autonomy support (r = .208). The largest effect sizes were found for social‐emotional development and academic and vocational functioning. Risk‐status (e.g., teenage mothers, homeless youth, youth in foster care, and youth of alcoholic parents) did not moderate the relation between presence and quality of natural mentoring relationships and youth outcomes, which may indicate that natural mentors are generally beneficial for all youth regardless of risk‐status. Implications for theory and practice concerning the quality of the natural mentoring relationship are discussed.     

Observed staff engagement predicts postive relationships and well-being in a physical activity-based program for low-income youth

Positive youth development (PYD) programs aim to support long-term well-being in young people by building their strengths and assets. PYD program staff are pivotal in achieving this goal, as positive staff-youth interactions are associated with well-being in youth. Much of this research relies on youth perceptions of interactions with staff. A better understanding of how observed staff behaviors are associated with youth outcomes would provide guidance for developing interventions regarding effective staff behaviors. This study examined associations between observed staff behaviors and youths' perceptions of their relationships with staff and well-being. Participants were recruited from a summer physical activity-based PYD program for underserved youth. Staff (N = 24, 16 women, 8 men) were observed by researchers to evaluate their engagement, interaction, safety, and support behaviors. Youth from diverse backgrounds (N = 394; 47% girls, 53% boys; M_age = 10.20; 44% Latino/a) completed measures of their perceptions of relationships with staff (mutual respect, autonomy support, and care), and well-being (hope, self-esteem, and social competence) at the end of the program. Structural equation modeling indicated that observed staff engagement positively predicted youth perceptions of their relationships with staff and well-being. Youth perceptions of positive social relationships with staff also positively predicted their well-being. Staff who create opportunities for youth to reflect and respond to program activities are perceived as valuing, making genuine connections, and considering the opinions and feelings of youth. Developing ways to enable staff to build relationships with youth that include these features is an important avenue for future research.     

Mindful Parenting and Emotion Socialization Practices: Concurrent and Longitudinal Associations

Caregivers play a crucial role in the socialization of youth emotion understanding, competence, and regulation, which are implicated in youth social and emotional health; however, there is less understanding of parental psychosocial or cognitive factors, like mindful parenting, that may be associated with the use of particular emotion socialization (ES) strategies. This study tests a model of the cross‐sectional and short‐term longitudinal associations between mindful parenting and supportive and nonsupportive ES strategies in a community sample of parents (N = 246; 63.8% mothers) of youth ranging from ages 3–12. Caregivers reported on mindful parenting and ES strategies at two time points 4 months apart. The structural equation model indicated that higher levels of mindful parenting are positively related to supportive ES responses and negatively related to nonsupportive ES responses both concurrently and over time. The longitudinal association between mindful parenting and nonsupportive, but not supportive, ES was marginally larger for fathers as compared to mothers. Given the documented impact of ES strategies on youth emotional and behavioral outcomes and interventions emerging to educate parents about how to provide a healthy emotional atmosphere, incorporating a focus on mindful parenting strategies may provide one pathway to increase supportive responses and decrease nonsupportive ones.     

Daily suppression of discrete emotions during the work of police service workers and criminal investigation officers

Abstract

This study provided an initial test of a theoretical model which emphasizes patterns of actual and perceived control. The model suggests that profiles of actual and perceived control are differentially related to emotional and behavioral problems. We examined whether anxiety and depression symptoms and aggressive behavior would differ among diverse patterns of actual (caregiver reported competencies) and perceived control (anxiety-related control beliefs) in youth (n=203). Results were consistent with the theoretical predictions in that reported levels of anxiety and depression symptoms and aggressive behavior varied depending upon youth's control profiles. For example, youth with high actual and low perceived control exhibited relatively more anxiety/depression symptoms than aggressive behavior, while those youth with low actual and high perceived control exhibited relatively more aggressive behavior. Furthermore, youth with both high actual and perceived control reported and were reported by caregivers as having the least anxiety/depression symptoms and aggressive behavior, respectively. The findings provide empirical support for the model and suggest the importance of considering the role of actual and perceived control in emotional and behavioral problems. Implications for future tests of the model are also discussed.     

Examining Correctional Staff Members’ Engagement in Rehabilitation as Part of Their Everyday Practices in Short‐term Juvenile Detention

Research on the rehabilitation of juvenile justice‐involved youth is often focused on specific evidence‐based interventions. Less attention has been paid to everyday interactions that correctional staff members have with detained youth and, further, how these may align with trauma‐informed care principles and thus encourage a more supportive setting. Using an ethnographic case study approach, this study addressed this gap in knowledge by documenting the nature of rehabilitative practices as they naturally occurred in the context of short‐term detention staff members’ daily routine and interactions with detained youth. This study found evidence for three primary forms of routine rehabilitative practices: (a) promotion of youths’ emotional safety and well‐being, (b) provision of rights‐based information and explanations, and (c) encouraging youths’ success in and beyond detention. These practices were observed across several key setting contexts: (a) staff‐led group activities, (b) routine contact between individual youth and staff (e.g., formal procedures, informal conversations), and (c) staff‐only spaces. Our findings highlight the need for ongoing research to effectively translate promising intervention approaches, such as trauma‐informed care, into juvenile detainment settings.     

Do Some People Need Autonomy More Than Others? Implicit Dispositions Toward Autonomy Moderate the Effects of Felt Autonomy on Well‐Being

The present studies examined whether implicit or explicit autonomy dispositions moderate the relationship between felt autonomy and well‐being. Study 1 (N = 187 undergraduate students) presents an initial test of the moderator hypothesis by predicting flow experience from the interaction of autonomy need satisfaction and autonomy dispositions. Study 2 (N = 127 physically inactive persons) used vignettes involving an autonomy (un)supportive coach to test a moderated mediation model in which perceived coach autonomy support leads to well‐being through basic need satisfaction. Again, the effects of need satisfaction on well‐being were hypothesized to be moderated by an implicit autonomy disposition. Study 1 showed that individuals with a strong implicit autonomy (but not power or achievement) motive disposition derived more flow experience from felt autonomy than individuals with a weak implicit autonomy disposition. Study 2 revealed that perceived autonomy support from sports coaches, which we experimentally induced with a vignette method, leads to autonomy satisfaction, leading in turn to positive effects on well‐being. This indirect effect held at high and average but not low implicit autonomy disposition. The results indicate that the degree to which people benefit from autonomy need satisfaction depends on their implicit disposition toward autonomy.     

Caregivers’ emotional competence and behavioral responsiveness as correlates of early childcare workers’ relationships with children in their care

In the current study, we examined associations among early childcare workers’ emotional competence, observed responsiveness, comfort with socioemotional teaching practices, and the quality of their relationships with children in their care. The participants were 100 early childcare workers (72 center-based Early Head Start teachers and 28 family childcare providers). Results showed that caregivers’ emotion regulation ability was positively associated with caregiver–child relational closeness. Understanding and regulation of emotion were both positively associated with childcare workers’ comfort with socioemotional teaching practices. Their observed responsiveness was positively related to relational closeness and negatively related to relational conflict. Findings are consistent with aspects of the prosocial classroom model, which asserts that educators high in emotional and social competence tend to adopt childcare practices that result in supportive relationships with children. Results provide insight into whether childcare workers’ responsiveness to young children and their perceived socioemotional teaching practices provide a pathway between emotional competence and the quality of caregiver–child relationships.     

Multiculturalism as a dimension of school climate: the impact on the academic achievement of Asian American and Hispanic youth

Multiculturalism constitutes an important element of school climate, but the relation between perceived multiculturalism and academic achievement has not been widely studied. This study examined the influence of students' perceptions of school support for multiculturalism on academic achievement among 280 Asian American and Hispanic youth, including ethnic identity and ethnocultural empathy as potential mediators. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that perceived multiculturalism was significantly positively related to ethnocultural empathy for Asian Americans and Hispanics, and that ethnocultural empathy, in turn, was predictive of academic achievement for Hispanics only. Results of bootstrapping to test for mediation effects revealed ethnocultural empathy to be a salient mediator for Hispanic youth. Although ethnic identity did not mediate the link between multiculturalism and academic achievement, ethnic identity was significantly predictive of achievement for Hispanics. On the whole, these findings suggest that fostering a school climate supportive of multiculturalism may improve empathy toward ethnic out-groups. Furthermore, schools that promote compassion and tolerance for diverse ethnic groups may achieve better academic outcomes among Hispanic youth.     

Perceived parenting and separation-individuation in Belgian college students: associations with emotional adjustment

The present study examined associations among perceived parenting, separation-individuation, and emotional adjustment in a convenience sample of college students in Belgium (N=350; 68% female; aged 18 to 26). In line with a conceptual model advanced in the literature, factor analysis supported the distinction between three dimensions of separation-individuation: overdependence and healthy separation (both of which had already been described in earlier research) and a new dimension, labeled excessive autonomy. Path analysis findings were consistent with a mediational model in which lower quality of perceived parenting predicted more excessive autonomy, which in turn predicted poorer emotional adjustment. In addition, healthy separation predicted superior emotional adjustment, whereas overdependence was not associated with this particular type of adjustment. Implications for current understanding of the process of separation-individuation in college students and of excessive autonomy, in particular, are discussed.     

Enhancing Program Quality in a National Sample of After‐school Settings: The Role of Youth–Staff Interactions and Staff/Organizational Functioning

Using multilevel data from the national evaluation of Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), this study examined associations among programmatic structures, workplace and workforce characteristics, and relational practices of program staff as they relate to young people's ratings of their experience attending local clubs. The sample included 57,710 members and 5,231 staff members at 740 BGCA sites throughout the United States. Staff relational practices—including establishing caring relationships, setting high expectations, positive behavior management, encouraging youth input and agency, and cultural sensitivity—explained associations between staffing and organizational functioning and youths’ perceptions of the quality of their clubs. Findings suggest a central role of staff relational practices in establishing conditions that youth experience positively, and that staffing and organizational processes, including community engagement and teamwork and efficiency can be viewed as foundations for establishing a culture of positive adult‐youth interaction, which in turn can contribute to the promotion of positive youth development. Further, identification with the experiences of youth had a direct association with youths’ perceptions of club quality. These results underscore the importance of staff workforce development initiatives as key to improving youth experiences in after‐school programs.     

The Relation of Psychological Needs for Autonomy and Relatedness to Vitality,Well-Being,and Mortality in a Nursing Home1

Drawing from both self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1991) and Carstensen's (1993) socioemotional selectivity theory, we hypothesized that well-being and health would be facilitated by: (a) greater personal autonomy; (b) perceived support for autonomy from both nursing-home staff and residents friends and relatives; and (c) the emotional quality (rather than quantity) of residents' contacts with friends and family. Results based on structured interview and survey data from 50 nursing-home residents, showed that both autonomy support and relatedness indexes correlated with psychological out-comes. Personal autonomy also was significantly related to mortality at a 1-year follow-up. It also was found that subjective vitality (Ryan & Frederick, 1997) was associated with lower distress and greater well-being, and perceived autonomy and relatedness.     

The Role of Unconditional Parental Regard in Autonomy‐Supportive Parenting

Two studies explored the role of parents’ unconditional positive regard (UCPR) as perceived by adolescents and young adults in promoting the effectiveness of specific parenting practices that may support offspring's academic autonomous motivation. Study 1 tested the hypothesis that UCPR predicts rationale‐giving and choice‐provision practices and, at the same time, moderates their relations with adolescents’ autonomous motivation. Study 2 replicated the association between UCPR and the parental practices, and further explored the role of parents’ authenticity as an antecedent of UCPR and parental autonomy support. Study 1 included 125 adolescents and Study 2 considered 128 college‐students and their mothers. The offspring reported on their perceptions of their mothers and on their autonomous motivation, and the mothers reported on their sense of authenticity. Both studies found consistent associations between UCPR and parenting practices that may support autonomous motivation. Moreover, Study 1 demonstrated that the rationale giving and choice provision were more strongly related to adolescents’ autonomous motivation when adolescents perceived mothers as high on UCPR. Finally, Study 2 demonstrated that mothers’ authenticity predicted UCPR, which in turn was related to autonomy‐supportive parenting. Findings support the assumption that parents’ autonomy‐supportive practices are more effective when accompanied by UCPR.     

The support appraisal for work stressors inventory: Construction and initial validation

In order to better understand the role of perceived available support in buffering the negative effects of workplace stressors, a new multidimensional measure of perceived available support, the SAWS, was developed. Initial item development and content validation were conducted, followed by scale evaluation and validation. Two samples of 190 and 170 nursing staff supported the hypothesized structure of the scale, and provided evidence for discriminant validity amongst the sub-constructs of source of support (e.g., support from supervisor) and supportive function (e.g., emotional support). Criterion-related validity of the SAWS constructs were supported by measures of network orientation and relationship closeness. Evidence for predictive validity was provided by examining the moderating effects of the SAWS constructs on the relationship between work-family conflict and adjustment outcomes. The final SAWS inventory assesses three sources of support, and within each source, assesses four distinct supportive functions.     

父母心理控制与儿童自我控制和问题行为:有中介的调节模型

选取343名儿童及其家长为被试考察父母心理控制对儿童问题行为的影响及其机制。结果:(1)心理控制正向预测儿童的内外化问题行为且这种影响受父母自主支持的调节;(2)父母自主支持的调节作用部分通过情绪控制影响儿童内外化问题行为,部分通过抑制控制影响儿童外化问题行为。结论:心理控制对儿童问题行为的影响受自主支持的调节,儿童自我控制能力在其中起部分中介作用。     

Psychosocial determinants of young athletes' continued participation over time

The aim of this study was to examine the differences in psychosocial and motivational variables between persistent and dropout youth athletes and between groups with different years in training. Team and individual youth athletes completed questionnaires measuring autonomy support from parents and coaches, peer motivational climate, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and sport motivation. The results showed that athletes who dropped out perceived significantly less competence, relatedness, and autonomy need satisfaction, and they perceived less autonomy support from parents and were less intrinsically motivated than persistent athletes. Youth athletes with up to one year in training reported significantly lower effort and intra-team conflict with peers, relatedness need satisfaction, and external motivation than athletes with 1 to 3 years and >3 years in training. Findings extend knowledge of the psychosocial determinants of sport continuation behaviour among young athletes.     

Letting go or holding on? Parents' perceptions of their relationships with their children during emerging adulthood

This qualitative interview study explored and examined the transitions surrounding emerging adulthood within the family from the parents' perspective. Interviews conducted with a purposive sample of parents (N = 59) revealed the perceived difficulties parents have in ‘letting go’ of their grown‐up children, and in acknowledging their developing autonomy; and demonstrated a range of perceived parental strategies in response to young people's growing independence. The significance of these intertwined elements of perceived dependency, emotional tensions, and interactive behaviours for relationships in the family, and the implications for ‘emerging adulthood’, was discussed.