Predicting cognitive control from preschool to late adolescence and young adulthood

In this longitudinal study, the proportion of time preschoolers directed their attention away from rewarding stimuli during a delay-of-gratification task was positively associated with efficiency (greater speed without reduced accuracy) at responding to targets in a go/no-go task more than 10 years later. The overall findings suggest that preschoolers' ability to effectively direct their attention away from tempting aspects of the rewards in a delay-of-gratification task may be a developmental precursor for the ability to perform inhibitory tasks such as the go/no-go task years later. Because performance on the go/no-go task has previously been characterized as involving activation of fronto-striatal regions, the present findings also suggest that performance in the delay-of-gratification task may serve as an early marker of individual differences in the functional integrity of this circuitry.     

Patterns and correlates of binge drinking trajectories from early adolescence to young adulthood.

Latent growth mixture modeling was used to identify developmental trajectories (described in terms of demographics, exposure and resistance to a pro-drug environment, and deviant behavior) of binge drinking among 5,694 individuals who completed 6 surveys from ages 13 to 23 years: nonbingers (32%); moderate stables (37%), who had consistently low levels of bingeing; steady increasers (16%), who increased from the lowest to highest level of bingeing; adolescent bingers (9%), whose early rise in bingeing was followed by a decrease to a moderate level; and early highs (6%), who decreased from the highest level of bingeing to a moderate level. Results show considerable diversity in binge drinking patterns and the correlates of bingeing across trajectory classes.     

Parental bond and life course transitions from adolescence to young adulthood

In this study the effects of life course transitions in adolescence and young adulthood (leaving the parental home, living together with a partner,entering parenthood, and becoming financially independent) on the parent-child bond are investigated. Data are presented from a three-wave study of 1,064 adolescents and young adults (aged 12-24 years at Wave 1) over a six-year period. As the youth in this study proceeded through the life course, they tended to report a closer parental bond. However, this age-related effect was counterbalanced by a tendency toward a weakened bond with parents following departure from the parental home. Results are in line with individuation theory, which contends that parent-child relationships become less close as a result of transitions leading to more autonomy.     

Problem drinking and psychological well-being: A five year follow-up study for adolescence to young adulthood

The psychological well-being of 651 Finnish adolescents (approximately age 17) was followed to young adulthood (age 22) and examined in terms of their drinking styles at age 22. The young adults were grouped into four categories delineating drinking style (non-users, non-problem drinkers, presumptive problem drinkers, and problem drinkers), and each group was examined for evolved paths of psychological well-being. The psychological profile of the participants was comprised of seven variables: self-esteem, trait anxiety, somatic symptoms, eating concerns, and mature, neurotic, and immature defense styles. The comparison of the drinking style categories revealed that future problem drinkers had lower states of psychological well-being already in adolescence and that the differences became more pronounced during the transition to young adulthood. Poor psychological well-being is a risk for the development of later problem drinking, although the profile of this poor psychological state is somewhat different in women and men.     

Sex-role development in late adolescence and adulthood

The present study investigated associations between age and sex roles in a cross-sectional analysis of people varying in age from late adolescence to middle adulthood. People in the androgynous sex role were older than sex-typed men and women. Cross-sex characteristics tended to be greater among older people, while same-sex characteristics were uncorrelated with age. Sex-role development appears to continue into adulthood, a view more in keeping with a transcendent model than a traditional model of sex-role development.This study was assisted by computer funds from the College of Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University. The authors thank an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.     

Transitions in sleep problems from late adolescence to young adulthood: A longitudinal analysis of the effects of peer victimization

Adolescence is a developmental period with high vulnerability to sleep problems. However, research identifying distinct patterns and underlying determinants of sleep problems is scarce. This study investigated discrete subgroups of, changes in, and stability of sleep problems. We also examined whether peer victimization influenced sleep problem subgroups and transitions in patterns of sleep problems from late adolescence to young adulthood. Sex differences in the effects of peer victimization were also explored. In total, 1,455 male and 1,399 female adolescents from northern Taiwan participated in this longitudinal study. Latent transition analysis was used to examine changes in patterns of sleep problems and the effects of peer victimization on these changes. We identified three subgroups of sleep problems in males and two in females, and found that there was a certain level of instability in patterns of sleep problems during the study period. For both sexes, those with greater increases in peer victimization over time were more likely to change from being a good sleeper to a poor sleeper. The effects of peer victimization on baseline status of sleep problems, however, was only significant for males, with those exposed to higher levels of peer victimization more likely to be poor sleepers at baseline. Our findings reveal an important role of peer victimization in predicting transitions in patterns of sleep problems. Intervention programs aimed at decreasing peer victimization may help reduce the development and escalation of sleep problems among adolescents, especially in males.

     

Race-ethnic inequality and psychological distress: depressive symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood

Social inequality is well established in the mental health of race-ethnic groups, but little is known about this disparity from adolescence to young adulthood. This study examined differences in trajectories of depressive symptoms across 4 race-ethnic groups (Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians) using 3 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Latent trajectory analyses showed race-ethnic variations among both females and males. Stressors were significantly related to depressive symptoms for all study members, but they accounted for symptom trajectories only among Black males and minority females. Persistent differences in trajectories for Blacks and Whites showed parallel slopes that did not converge over time. Neither background characteristics nor social resources (i.e., social support) altered this gap. However, social support represents a potential equalizer of these race-ethnic differences, owing to the ubiquitous nature of its protective effects.     

Personality development from late adolescence to young adulthood: differential stability, normative maturity, and evidence for the maturity-stability hypothesis

This investigation examined personality development during the transition from adolescence to adulthood using the brief form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Patrick, Curtin, & Tellegen, 2002). Parent and self-reports of personality were obtained in 1994 (average age=17.60 years), and self-reports were obtained in 2003 (average age=27.24 years). There was evidence of both differential stability and normative changes in the direction of increased functional maturity during this transition. Moreover, adolescents with more mature personalities in 1994 tended to show fewer personality changes from 1994 to 2003. These maturity-stability effects held when parent reports were used to assess personality. All told, there was evidence of both stability and change in personality during the transition to adulthood.     

Body dissatisfaction from adolescence to young adulthood: Findings from a 10-year longitudinal study

Given mixed findings regarding the unique trajectories of female and male adolescents’ body dissatisfaction over time, comprehensive longitudinal examinations are needed. This 10-year longitudinal, population-based study, with 1902 participants from diverse ethnic/racial and socioeconomic backgrounds in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, examined changes in body dissatisfaction from adolescence to young adulthood. Results revealed that: (a) female and male participants’ body dissatisfaction increased between middle and high school, (b) body dissatisfaction increased further during the transition to young adulthood, and (c) this increase was associated with an increase in BMI over time, such that the upward trend in body dissatisfaction became nonsignificant when BMI was controlled. These results highlight a trend in which diverse female and male youth are increasingly dissatisfied with their bodies as their BMI increases from middle school to young adulthood, and emphasize the need for targeted prevention efforts to intervene in this trajectory and mitigate potential harm.     

Change and stability of needs from middle adolescence to young adulthood in Swedish females

The Cesarec–Marke Personality Schedule, a Swedish inventory for the measurement of needs, was administered to a sample of females, aged 15, and readministered 10 years later. Longitudinal analyses showed that most dispositions changed significantly, although the changes were rather small. All traits were moderately stable over the 10-year period.     

How trajectories of reasons for alcohol use relate to trajectories of binge drinking: National panel data spanning late adolescence to early adulthood

Developmental changes in both alcohol use behaviors and self-reported reasons for alcohol use were investigated. Participants were surveyed every 2 years from ages 18 to 30 as part of the Monitoring the Future national study (analytic weighted sample size N = 9,308; 53% women, 40% college attenders). Latent growth models were used to examine correlations between trajectories of binge drinking and trajectories of self-reported reasons for alcohol use across young adulthood. Results revealed developmental changes in reasons for use and correlations between the patterns of within-person change in frequency of binge drinking and within-person change in reasons for use. In particular, an increase in binge drinking between ages 18 and 22 was most positively correlated with slopes of using alcohol to get high and because of boredom. Continued binge drinking between ages 22 and 30 was most strongly correlated with using alcohol to get away from problems. Almost no moderation by gender, race, college attendance, employment, or marital status was found. Binge drinking and reasons for alcohol use traveled together, illustrating the ongoing and dynamic connections between changes in binge drinking and changes in reasons for use across late adolescence and early adulthood.     

Mutual and unrequited love in adolescence and young adulthood

The purpose of the study was to examine the frequency of experiencing passionate love during adolescence and young adulthood as recalled by young adults, and to examine gender differences in this frequency. Female and male US. introductory psychology students, several of whom were of nontraditional age, responded to a questionnaire that asked about the frequency of their mutual and unrequited love experiences. Respondents provided information for four age periods ranging from childhood to age 25 years. Although the frequency of recalled mutual love experiences increased for both genders from childhood through the 16-to-20-year-age period, men reported more episodes or unrequited love during the 16-to-20-year-age period compared to (a) other age periods, (b) their reports of mutual love during that age period, and (c) the reports of unrequited love for 16-to-20-year-old women.     

Association of parental depression with psychiatric course from adolescence to young adulthood among formerly depressed individuals

The authors examined whether parental major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with course of depression and other psychopathology among formerly depressed adolescents as they enter adulthood. The sample consisted of 244 individuals (age 24) in a longitudinal study who had experienced MDD by 19. Maternal MDD was associated with MDD recurrence, chronicity and severity, anxiety disorders, and (among sons only) lower psychosocial functioning in offspring between the ages of 19 and 24. Paternal MDD was associated with lower functioning. Sons of depressed fathers had elevated suicidal ideation and attempt rates in young adulthood. Recurrent paternal MDD was associated with depression recurrence in daughters but not sons. The impact of parental MDD on offspring could not be attributed to characteristics of the offspring's depression prior to age 19.     

The relationship of personality and behavioral development from adolescence to young adulthood and subsequent parenting behavior

The purpose of the study was to examine the association of parental personality, behavior, and substance use during adolescence and adulthood as related to the later parent-offspring relationship. The sample consisted of 297 parents (M age 32 yr.), who were first interviewed at earlier points in their lives in childhood and early adolescence at six points in time, extending from 1983 to 2002. Multiple regression models showed that parents with certain earlier personality and behavioral attributes, e.g., more rebelliousness and more frequent tobacco use, had a more difficult relationship with their children. Findings indicated an association between the cumulative number of psychosocial risk factors in the parents and difficulties in the parent-child relationship. The findings suggested that interventions designed to decrease youths' substance abuse may increase the likelihood that later when they are parents they will form nurturing relationships with their children.     

Marijuana use from adolescence to young adulthood: multiple developmental trajectories and their associated outcomes.

This study used latent growth mixture modeling to identify discrete developmental patterns of marijuana use from early adolescence (age 13) to young adulthood (age 23) among a sample of 5,833 individuals. After the a priori removal of abstainers, 4 trajectory groups were identified: early high users, who decreased from a relatively high level of use at age 13 to a more moderate level: stable light users, who maintained a low level of use: steady increasers, who consistently increased use; and occasional light users, who began use at age 14 and used at low levels thereafter. Analyses of covariance comparing the trajectory groups on behavioral, socioeconomic, and health outcomes at age 29 revealed that abstainers consistently had the most favorable outcomes, whereas early high users consistently had the least favorable outcomes.     

Influence of sensation seeking on general deviance and specific problem behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood

Indicators of a Sensation Seeking latent construct were assessed during adolescence and used to predict changes in repeatedly gathered measures of a latent construct of General Deviance. A community sample of 595 male and female Ss was assessed 3 times over a 5-year period from late adolescence to young adulthood. Most Ss reported use of licit drugs, about one half had tried illicit drugs, and a substantial minority had engaged in other delinquent or criminal activities. The General Deviance construct was stable over time, although specific cross-effects were found. Sensation Seeking was moderately correlated with General Deviance at all 3 levels but did not predict directly the General Deviance construct over time; the effects of Sensation Seeking on later deviant behavior and attitudes were specific rather than general.     

Stability and change in personality traits from late adolescence to early adulthood: a longitudinal twin study

We conducted a longitudinal-biometric study examining stability and change in personality from ages 17 to 24 in a community sample of male and female twins. Using Tellegen's (in press) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), facets of Negative Emotionality (NEM) declined substantially at the mean and individual levels, whereas facets of Constraint (CON) increased over time. Furthermore, individuals in late adolescence who were lowest on NEM and highest on CON remained the most stable over time, whereas those exhibiting the inverse profile (higher NEM, lower CON) changed the most in a direction towards growth and maturity. Analyses of gender differences yielded greater mean-level increases over time for women as compared to men on facets of CON and greater mean-level increases for men than women on facets of Agentic Positive Emotionality (PEM). Biometric analyses revealed rank-order stability in personality to be largely genetic, with rank-order change mediated by both the nonshared environment (and error) as well as genes. Findings correspond with prior evidence of a normative trend toward growth and maturity in personality during emerging adulthood.     

Causal attributions from adolescence through adulthood

Attributional reasoning for events varying on level of informational ambiguity and context (relationship, achievement) were examined from adolescence through older adulthood. Participants rated the degree to which a cause of an event was a function of the primary character, situation, or a combination of these; wrote essays assessing underlying reasons for attributions; and responded to ego level, attributional style, and intolerance for ambiguity questionnaires. Older age groups made more interactive (relativistic) attributional ratings than did younger age groups for ambiguous events. Compared to adult and middle-aged adults, older women demonstrated a drop in dialectical attributional reasoning as assessed by the essays. Ego level, tolerance for ambiguity, and verbal ability predicted more dialectical attributional reasoning above and beyond the effects of age.