Perceived discrimination amongst young people in socio‐economically disadvantaged communities: Parental support and community identity buffer (some) negative impacts of stigma

There is increasing acceptance that children are not unaware of when they are targets of discrimination. However, discrimination as a consequence of socio‐economic disadvantage remains understudied. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of perceived discrimination on well‐being, perceptions of safety and school integration amongst children growing up within socio‐economically disadvantaged communities in Limerick, Ireland. Mediation analysis was used to explore these relationships and to examine the potential role of parental support and community identity in boys and girls in the 6th to 9th year of compulsory education (N = 199). Results indicate perceived discrimination contributed to negative outcomes in terms of school integration, perceptions of safety and levels of well‐being. Age and gender differences were observed which disadvantaged boys and younger children. All negative outcomes were buffered by parental support. Community identity also protected young people in terms of feelings of school integration and risk but not in terms of psychological well‐being. Findings are discussed in terms of the different role of family and community supports for children negotiating negative social representations of their community.     

Sense of community,civic engagement and social well‐being in Italian adolescents

This study investigates the relationship between sense of community, civic engagement and social well‐being in a sample of Italian adolescents. Participants were 14–19 year‐old high school students (N = 566) from two demographically distinct cities. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing sense of community, social well‐being (Keyes, 1998 ), involvement in structured group activities (group membership) and civic engagement. Results showed that involvement in formal groups is associated with increased civic involvement and increased sense of community. Sense of community predicts social well‐being and explains some of the association between civic engagement and social well‐being. Findings suggest that, to increase social well‐being, it is important to provide adolescents with more opportunities to experience a sense of belonging to the peers' group and promote prosocial behaviours in the community context. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stressors and well‐being in low socio‐economic status Malaysian adolescents: The role of resilience resources

The present study examined the relationship between stressors, resilience resources, and well‐being in adolescents with low socio‐economic status in Malaysia. The specific aims were: (i) to differentiate between resilient and non‐resilient adolescents in terms of their resilience resources; and (ii) to examine the role of resilience resources on the relationship between stressors and well‐being. In a sample of 197 adolescents aged 12–16 years (mean = 13.77, sd = 1.49), results of the k‐mean clustering technique identified 37.5% of the adolescents as resilient (high stressor, high well‐being), 31.0% as maladjusted (high stressor, low well‐being), and the rest, adapted (low stressor, high well‐being). Resilient adolescents were found to have significantly higher scores on all the identified resilience resources (personality, mother–child communication, social support, school coherence, and teacher support) compared to the non‐resilient maladjusted group. Results of structural equation modelling also showed that these resilience resources acted both as mediator and moderator in the relationship between stressors and well‐being. These findings are discussed with respect to the current literature on resilience and well‐being.     

Community identity as resource and context: A mixed method investigation of coping and collective action in a disadvantaged community

Social identities enhance members' well‐being through the provision of social support and feelings of collective efficacy as well as by acting as a basis for collective action. However, the precise mechanisms through which identification acts to enhance well‐being can be complicated by stigmatisation, which potentially undermines solidarity and collective action. The present research examines a real‐world stigmatised community group in order to investigate the following: (1) the community identity processes that act to enhance well‐being and collective action and (2) the consequences of stigmatisation for these processes. Study 1 consisted of a household survey conducted in disadvantaged areas of Limerick city in Ireland. Participants (n = 322) completed measures of community identification, social support, collective efficacy, community action and psychological well‐being. Mediation analysis indicated that perceptions of collective efficacy are an important mediator of the effect of identification upon well‐being. However, levels of self‐reported community action were low and unrelated to community identification. In Study 2, 14 follow‐up multiple‐participant interviews with residents and community group workers were thematically analysed, revealing high levels of stigmatisation, which was reported to lead to disengagement from identity‐related collective action. These findings indicate the potential for stigma to reduce collective action through undermining solidarity and social support. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived Threat,Social Identification,and Psychological Well‐Being: The Effects of Political Conflict Exposure

Using data drawn from the adult population in Northern Ireland (N = 1,515), this article examines the relationship between perceived intergroup threat and psychological well‐being, taking into consideration the mediating role of social identification and the moderating role of political conflict exposure. Results by and large confirmed our predictions that perceived threat would be directly associated with poorer well‐being but would also exert a positive indirect effect on well‐being via increased social identification. However, these relationships were dependent on individuals' prior conflict exposure, such that the positive indirect relationship between perceived threat and psychological well‐being emerged only for two subpopulations: individuals who had high direct and high indirect exposure to conflict, and individuals who had low direct, but high indirect conflict exposure. No indirect effects emerged for individuals with relatively lower conflict exposure. Results are discussed with regard to their implications for research on the consequences of intergroup threat in political conflict settings and beyond.     

Identification Reduces Stigma of Mental Ill‐Health: A Community‐Based Study

The stigma surrounding mental ill‐health is an important issue that affects likelihood of diagnosis and uptake of services, as those affected may work to avoid exposure, judgment, or any perceived loss in status associated with their mental ill‐health. In this study, we drew upon social identity theory to examine how social group membership might influence the stigma surrounding mental ill‐health. Participants from two urban centers in Ireland (N = 626) completed a survey measuring stigma of mental health, perceived social support as well as identification with two different social groups (community and religion). Mediation analysis showed that subjective identification with religious and community groups led to greater perceived social support and consequently lower perceived stigma of mental ill‐health. Furthermore, findings indicated that high identification with more than one social group can lead to enhanced social resources, and that identification with a religious group was associated with greater community identification. This study thus extends the evidence base of group identification by demonstrating its relationship with stigma of mental ill‐health, while also reinforcing how multiple identities can interact to enhance social resources crucial for well‐being.     

Neighborhood Identity Helps Residents Cope with Residential Diversification: Contact in Increasingly Mixed Neighborhoods of Northern Ireland

Research on residential diversification has mainly focused on its negative impacts upon community cohesion and positive effects on intergroup relations. However, these analyses ignore how neighborhood identity can shape the consequences of diversification among residents. Elsewhere, research using the Applied Social Identity Approach (ASIA) has demonstrated the potential for neighborhood identity to provide social and psychological resources to cope with challenges. The current article proposes a novel model whereby these “Social Cure” processes can enable residents to cope with the specific challenges of diversification. We present two studies in support of this model, each from the increasingly religiously desegregated society of postconflict Northern Ireland. Analysis of the 2012 “Northern Ireland Life and Times” survey shows that across Northern Ireland, neighborhood identity impacts positively upon both well‐being and intergroup attitudes via a reduction in intergroup anxiety. A second custom‐designed survey of residents in a newly mixed area of Belfast shows that neighborhood identification predicts increased well‐being, reduced intergroup anxiety, and reduced prejudice independently of group norms and experiences of contact. For political psychologists, our evidence suggests a reformulation of the fundamental question of “what effects do residential mixing have on neighborhoods?” to “how can neighborhood communities support residents to collectively cope with contact?”     

Operating within the mainstream: Coping and adjustment among a sample of homosexual youths

A sample (N = 37) of African American adolescent homosexual males was administered a questionnaire that focused on four areas of social psychological functioning (self‐identity, family relation, school‐work relations, and social adjustment). The findings contradicted several past studies that reported in general that homosexual males experience crippling cognitive dissonance. Even with the existence of homophobia in the society, the adolescents were found to possess an adequate social psychological attitude and survival skills. The sampled adolescents reported being comfortable with their sexual orientation even though the majority of them had not disclosed their homosexuality. The respondents reported how they managed self‐presentation among heterosexual persons. The adolescents appeared well‐adjusted and stable in their social functioning and disagreed with the idea that they needed professional counseling.     

A Population‐Based Comparison of Female and Male Same‐Sex Parent and Different‐Sex Parent Households

This investigation compared Dutch same‐sex parent and different‐sex parent households on children's psychological well‐being, parenting stress, and support in child rearing. It was also assessed whether associations among children's well‐being, parenting stress, and support in child rearing were different in the two household types. Data were based on a nationally representative survey (N = 25,250). Matching was used to enhance similarity in background characteristics between both types of families. Parental and child characteristics were matched for 43 female same‐sex parent, 52 male same‐sex parent, and 95 different‐sex parent households with offspring between 5 and 18 years old. No significant differences were found on children's well‐being, problems in the parent–child relationship, being worried about the child, or the use of formal and informal support between mothers in same‐sex and different‐sex parent households or for fathers in same‐sex and different‐sex parent households. Regarding perceived confidence in child rearing, fathers in same‐sex parent households and mothers in different‐sex parent households felt less competent than their counterparts. Neither the associations between children's well‐being and the predictors (parenting stress variables) nor those between support and the predictors (parenting stress and children's well‐being) differed along household type. In this population‐based study, the similarity in child outcomes regardless of household type confirms the results of prior investigations based on convenience samples. These findings are pertinent to family therapists, practitioners, court officials, and policymakers who seek information on parenting experiences and child outcomes in female and male same‐sex parent families.     

Impact of school sense of community within a faith-based university: administrative and academic staff perceptions on institutional mission and values

Academic staff (n = 305) and administrative staff (n = 595) at a large urban, Catholic, and religious order teaching university completed on-line school sense of community, social desirability, and mission-identity plus mission-driven activity measures. Partial correlates (controlling for social desirability) indicated that for both faculty and staff a sense of community with co-workers and with administrators were significantly related to mission-identity characteristics of the university. Moreover, regression analyses found that for faculty and staff significant predictors of school sense of community variables were perceptions that the university was innovative and inclusive of pragmatic and risk-taking ideas. For staff but not for faculty, a feeling of Catholic pluralism on campus was a significant predictor of a sense of community with co-workers. These outcomes suggest that employees at faith-based universities may strengthen their school sense of community by institutional practices and programs that foster creating a setting for innovative, inclusive, pragmatic, and risk-taking policies, but not necessarily religious practices on campus.     

Relationships Among Disease,Social Support,and Perceived Health: A Lifespan Approach

We examined the relationship between the cumulative presence of major disease (cancer, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension), social support, and self‐reported general and emotional well‐being in a community representative sample of predominantly White and African American respondents (N = 1349). Across all ages, greater presence of disease predicted poorer reported general health, and predicted lower emotional well‐being for respondents 40 and above. In contrast, social support predicted better‐reported general and emotional well‐being. We predicted that different types of social support (blood relatives, children, friends, community members) would be relatively more important for health in different age groups based on a lifespan or life stage model. This hypothesis was supported; across all ages, social support was related to better reported general and emotional health, but sources of support differed by age. Broadly, those in younger age groups tended to list familial members as their strongest sources of support, whereas older group members listed their friends and community members. As a whole, social support mediated the effect of disease on reported well‐being, however, moderated mediation by type of support was not significant. The results are consistent with a lifespan approach to changing social ties throughout the life course.     

Gender differences in subjective well-being, self-esteem and psychosocial functioning in adolescents with symptoms of anxiety and depression: findings from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study

Derdikman‐Eiron, R., Indredavik, M. S., Bratberg, G. H., Taraldsen, G., Bakken, I. J. & Colton, M. (2011). Gender differences in subjective well‐being, self‐esteem and psychosocial functioning in adolescents with symptoms of anxiety and depression: Findings from the Nord‐Trøndelag health study. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology52, 261–267. Gender differences in the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression during adolescence are well documented. However, little attention has been given to differences in subjective well‐being, self‐esteem and psychosocial functioning between boys and girls with symptoms of anxiety and depression. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the associations between such symptoms and subjective well‐being, self‐esteem, school functioning and social relations in adolescents. Data were taken from a major population‐based Norwegian study, the Nord‐Trøndelag Health study (HUNT), in which 8984 (91% of all invited) adolescents, aged 13–19 years, completed an extensive self‐report questionnaire. Although prevalence rates of symptoms of anxiety and depression were higher in girls than in boys, a significant interaction between gender and symptoms of anxiety and depression was found in respect of each of the following outcome variables: subjective well‐being, self‐esteem, academic problems, frequency of meeting friends and the feeling of not having enough friends. These interactions indicate that the associations between symptoms of anxiety and depression and lower subjective well‐being and self‐esteem, more academic problems in school and lower social functioning were stronger for boys than for girls. Our findings may contribute to an earlier assessment and more efficient treatment of male adolescent anxiety and depression.     

Social Distancing in Adolescents’ Perceptions of Alcohol Use and Social Disapproval: The Moderating Roles of Culture and Gender1

College students attribute more conservative attitudes and behaviors concerning alcohol use to themselves and progressively less conservative attitudes and behaviors to their friends and more distal peers. We examined whether a similar social‐distancing effect would occur with adolescents in America and Ireland. Students (n= 2, 554) attributed the most conservative drinking frequency to themselves and progressively less conservative frequencies to their best friends, other good friends, other students their age at their own school, and other students their age at other schools, respectively. Similarly, adolescents attributed more disapproval of drinking to their best friends and progressively less conservative disapproval to other good friends, other students their age at their own school, and other students their age at other schools, respectively. As predicted, more social distancing occurred among Americans (relative to Irish) and girls (relative to boys).     

Black Youths' perceptions of school cultural pluralism,school climate and the mediating role of racial identity

Researchers have become interested in the school climate experiences of Black youth given findings of less positive evaluations of school climate in comparison to their other-race peers. School support for cultural pluralism, also referred to as school support for cultural diversity, has been regarded as one aspect of school climate, but is sometimes distinct from Black youth's ratings of general perceptions of school climate. This project sought to understand the relationship between Black students' perceptions of school support for cultural pluralism and perceptions of school climate. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to determine whether previous perceptions of school support for cultural pluralism predicted later perceptions of school climate in a sample of 336 Black adolescents (M_age = 13.74 years). Furthermore, racial identity was explored as the mechanism through which school support for cultural pluralism impacted school climate appraisals, and differences between Black boys (N = 151) and Black girls (N = 185) were tested. Results confirmed that Black youth who rated their school as being supportive of culturally pluralism had more positive ratings of school climate during the following school year after controlling for the previous year's school climate ratings. However, the mediating role of racial identity differed for Black boys and Black girls, underscoring the need for intersectional research for Black youth and the importance of racial identity. We conclude with a discussion regarding the importance of racial/ethnic identity and pluralism within the school context, as well as, the unique role of school psychologists as preventionists and advocates of change within schools.     

Family,School, and Peer Influences on Alcohol Abstinence and Use among American Indian and White Female Adolescents

This analysis is informed by social bonding, social learning, and self-control theories and is based on data collected between 2009 and 2013 in 27 school districts located in five U. S. regions. The sample (N = 2,140) includes female adolescents (7th–12th graders) who identified themselves as white or American Indian. In support of the social learning theory, pro-alcohol use definitions, association with peers who drink excessively, and the peers’ differential reinforcement of alcohol abuse are significant predictors of alcohol use in the racially integrated model. Conversely, when controlling for a selected group of predictors, one’s level of self-control and measures of social bond are no longer differentiating alcohol users from abstainers. Yet, additional mediation analyses show that the lack of family attachment, parental monitoring, and school attachment have significant indirect effects on alcohol use.     

Predictors of Strength of In‐Group Identity in Northern Ireland: Impact of Past Sectarian Conflict,Relative Deprivation,and Church Attendance

Social identity in Northern Ireland is multifaceted, with historical, religious, political, social, economic, and psychological underpinnings. Understanding the factors that influence the strength of identity with the Protestant or Catholic community, the two predominate social groups in Northern Ireland, has implications for individual well‐being as well as for the continuation of tension and violence in this setting of protracted intergroup conflict. This study examined predictors of the strength of in‐group identity in 692 women (mean age 37 years) in post‐accord Northern Ireland. For Catholics, strength of in‐group identity was positively linked to past negative impact of sectarian conflict and more frequent current church attendance, whereas for Protestants, strength of in‐group identity was related to greater status satisfaction regarding access to jobs, standard of living, and political power compared with Catholics; that is, those who felt less relative deprivation. The discussion considers the differences in the factors underlying stronger identity for Protestants and Catholics in this context. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differences in parental perceptions of walking and cycling to high school according to distance

BackgroundParental perceptions towards different modes of transport correlate with adolescents’ mode choice for school trips. Whether parental attitudes differ for walking versus cycling and/or home-to-school distance is unknown. We compared parental perceptions of walking versus cycling to school in adolescents in Dunedin, New Zealand and examined whether mode-specific barriers differ by distance to school.MethodsParents (n = 341; age: 47.5 ± 5.2 years; 77.1% females) completed a survey about their adolescent’s (age: 13–18 years; 48.1% boys) school travel and their own perceptions of walking/cycling to school. Participants were categorised into three groups according to distance to school as ‘walkable’ (≤2.25 km), ‘cyclable’ (>2.25–≤4.0 km) and ‘beyond cyclable’ (>4.0 km).ResultsCommon modes of transport to school differed significantly across the ‘walkable’/’cyclable’/’beyond cyclable’ categories (car passenger: 25.7%/40.5%/60.6%; public/school bus: 5.5%/15.4%/28.4%; walking: 66.2%/28.2%/1.2%; cycling: 0.0%/7.7%/0.5%; all p < 0.001). Compared to walking, parents perceived cycling to school to be less important (walking/cycling: 87.5%/62.5%), with less social support from parents (46.2%/17.1%), peers (20.6%/4.8%) and school (24.5%/12.4%), less interest from adolescents (48.5%/31.9%), fewer cycle paths (26.5%) versus footpaths (65.0%) and more safety concerns (35.0%/64.6%; all p < 0.001). As distance to school increased, parents’ social support decreased whereas personal, environmental and safety-related barriers increased for both modes, with less consistent findings for cycling. Overall, 68.2% of parents expected to participate in adolescents’ walking/cycling to school decision-making.ConclusionsParents favoured walking compared to cycling to school with parental attitudes for both modes changing with increasing distance to school. The findings illustrate the importance of addressing parental concerns, considering the specificity of walking and cycling and taking into account distance to school in active transport to school initiatives.     

Development and content validity of a screening instrument for gaming addiction in adolescents: The Gaming Addiction Identification Test (GAIT)

This study describes the development of a screening tool for gaming addiction in adolescents – the Gaming Addiction Identification Test (GAIT). Its development was based on the research literature on gaming and addiction. An expert panel comprising professional raters (n = 7), experiential adolescent raters (n = 10), and parent raters (n = 10) estimated the content validity of each item (I‐CVI) as well as of the whole scale (S‐CVI/Ave), and participated in a cognitive interview about the GAIT scale. The mean scores for both I‐CVI and S‐CVI/Ave ranged between 0.97 and 0.99 compared with the lowest recommended I‐CVI value of 0.78 and the S‐CVI/Ave value of 0.90. There were no sex differences and no differences between expert groups regarding ratings in content validity. No differences in the overall evaluation of the scale emerged in the cognitive interviews. Our conclusions were that GAIT showed good content validity in capturing gaming addiction. The GAIT needs further investigation into its psychometric properties of construct validity (convergent and divergent validity) and criterion‐related validity, as well as its reliability in both clinical settings and in community settings with adolescents.