Relations Between Adolescent Ratings of Rothbart's Temperament Questionnaire and the HEXACO Personality Inventory

Conventionally, individual differences have been assessed using temperament measures for infants and children, and personality measures for adults. We chose to explore both temperament and personality to see whether a convergence exists specifically during adolescence. A sample of 225 adolescents completed Rothbart's Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire–Revised (EATQ–R), a 4-factor temperament scale, and the HEXACO Personality Inventory–Revised (HEXACO PI–R), a 6-factor personality scale. As hypothesized, we found significant relations between the 2 measures. However, there were some important differences between the 2 measures regarding Honesty–Humility, Openness, and Frustration that highlight the unique contributions of both instruments to understanding and measuring adolescent individual differences. As there is a relatively scant history of measuring temperament or personality in adolescence, it is sometimes difficult for researchers to decide which instrument is most appropriate. The results reported here suggest that either the EATQ–R or the HEXACO PI–R could be appropriate, depending on the specific research questions being asked.     

Developmental Trajectories of Religious Service Attendance: Predictors of Nicotine Dependence and Alcohol Dependence/Abuse in Early Midlife

Journal of Religion and Health - This longitudinal study assesses the associations between developmental trajectories of religious service attendance from mean age 14 to mean age 43 and nicotine...     

Developing Social Entrepreneurship as an Intervention to Enhance Disadvantaged Young People’s Sense of Self-Worth and Career Competence in Hong Kong

Applied Research in Quality of Life - This is the first empirical research in Hong Kong to examine the impact of social entrepreneurship training on disadvantaged young peoples’ career...     

Communication of Information about Genetic Risks: Putting Families at the Center

Genetic information is a family affair. With the expansion of genomic technologies, many new causal genes and variants have been established and the potential for molecular diagnoses increased, with implications not only for patients but also their relatives. The need for genetic counseling and intrafamilial circulation of information on genetic risks grew accordingly. Also, the amount and, particularly, the complexity of the information to convey multiplied. Sharing information about genetic risks with family members, however, has never been an easy matter and often becomes a source of personal and familial conflicts and distress. Ethical requisites generally prevent healthcare professionals from directly contacting their consultands' relatives (affected or still at risk), who often feel unsupported throughout that process. We discuss here the communication of genetic risks to family members. We first consider genomic testing as a basis for family‐centered health care, as opposed to a predominant focus on the individual. We reviewed the literature on sharing genetic risk information with family members, and the associated ethical issues for professionals. Some clinical cases are presented and discussed, and key issues for meeting the needs of individuals and families are addressed. We argue that genetic information is inextricably linked to the family and that communicating about genetic risks is a process grounded within the broader milieu of family relationships and functioning. We conclude for the need for a more family‐centered approach and interventions that can promote sensitive attitudes to the provision of genetic information to and within the family, as well as its inclusion in educational and training programmes for genetic healthcare professionals.     

Longitudinally Foretelling Drug Use in the Late Twenties: Adolescent Personality and Social-Environmental Antecedents

This research focuses on the interrelation of the parent-child attachment, unconventionality, friends' drug use, and the young adult's use of drugs. Data were collected from participants at 4 points in time: early adolescence, late adolescence, early 20s, and late 20s. Data were collected from mothers at the 3 points in time that corresponded with the first 3 collections of data from their children. Both the youths and their mothers were individually interviewed. The findings indicated that the effect of parent-child mutual attachment was mediated through early adolescent personality attributes of greater responsibility, less rebelliousness, and intolerance of deviance. These non-drug-prone personality and behavioral attitudes, in turn, insulated the young adult from affiliating with drug-using peers, and these attitudes were related to less drug use in the early 20s and ultimately in the late 20s. The results suggest that interventions focused on enhancing parent-child mutual attachment should result in a reduction of the risk factors conducive to drug use during the late 20s. The fact that these findings cover a decade and a half, from early adolescence to the late 20s, underscores the significance of placing drug use in a perspective that includes familial and behavioral aspects.     

Childhood Aggression and Unconventionality: Impact on Later Academic Achievement,Drug Use,and Workforce Involvement

The interrelation of childhood aggression, unconventionality, academic orientation, work involvement, and drug use was explored. Data were obtained for the research participants when they were 5 to 10 years old. Follow-up interviews were conducted when the participants were 15 to 20 years old and again at 21 to 26 years old. Latent variable causal analysis was used, and the findings reveal long-term relations between early childhood aggression and adolescent problem behavior in the academic and occupational areas. The findings also indicate that adolescent drug use generates an early involvement with adult role behaviors, such as work at the expense of further education. Implications of the findings for prevention are discussed.     

Adverse childhood experiences,religious/spiritual struggles,and mental health symptoms: examination of mediation models

Emerging research has documented greater risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among young adults with prior adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Building upon prior findings, we hypothesised that religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles may serve as an intervening pathway through which accumulation of ACEs impacts mental health symptom severity in this population. Young adults (N?=?458) were recruited from a southeastern university to complete an online self-report survey that assessed for ACEs, lifetime trauma exposure, R/S struggles, PTSD and depressive symptomatology. Bivariate correlations yielded significant positive relationships between ACEs and all six types of R/S struggles, depression, and PTSD. Additionally, when accounting for non-childhood trauma exposure, the mediational analyses indicated an indirect effect of struggles with ultimate meaning on the well-establish association between ACEs and mental health symptoms. Clinical implications (such as the importance of fostering meaning making), study limitations, and future research directions are discussed.