Safe Sex Education for Adolescent Daughters: vhaVenda Mothers Views

The study explored vhaVenda mothers' perceptions of imparting safe sex education to their adolescent daughters. Data was collected through six focus group discussions with each group consisting of six to eight mothers. The results indicated that mothers want their children to be knowledgeable about sexuality to avoid consequences associated with negative sexual behaviour. The mothers were of the vew that children ought to receive sexuality education from parents. Nonethless, relatively few parents appear to be eager to discuss sexuality in great depth.     

Young Rural Males in South Africa Speak on Teenage Pregnancy: “It's Really Her Problem”

The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of school-going rural males in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on teenage pregnancy. Two methods of data collection were used, namely, a quantitative survey with a sample of 294 male youth from 10 schools. This was followed by focus group interviews with three groups, each comprising ten males, from three of the schools. Quantitative data examined self reported knowledge, behaviours, beliefs and attitudes of participants relating to teenage pregnancy. Qualitative data from the focus groups generated both an individual and ‘group think and provided insights into the relational construction of these beliefs and behaviours. Although the analysis revealed some mixed reactions, the majority response pointed to ‘dominant male-submissive female’ views of sexual relationships. Most participants supported the notion that the burden of pregnancy fell on the female, with males frequently denying paternity and criticizing females for careless sexual behaviour. Attributions for teenage pregnancy by boys are important for intervention to curtail impact on survivor girls.     

Interpersonal Problems,Mindfulness, and Therapy Outcome in an Acceptance-Based Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Objective: To better understand the role interpersonal problems play in response to two treatments for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD); an acceptance-based behavior therapy (ABBT) and applied relaxation (AR), and to examine how the development of mindfulness may be related to change in interpersonal problems over treatment and at follow-up. Method: Eighty-one individuals diagnosed with GAD (65.4% female, 80.2% identified as white, average age 32.92) were randomized to receive 16 sessions of either ABBT or AR. GAD severity, interpersonal problems, and mindfulness were measured at pre-treatment, post-treatment, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up. Results: Mixed effect regression models did not reveal any significant effects of pre-treatment interpersonal problems on GAD severity over treatment. After controlling for post-treatment GAD severity, remaining post-treatment interpersonal problems predicted 6- but not 12-month GAD severity. Participants in both conditions experienced a large decrease in interpersonal problems over treatment. Increases in mindfulness over treatment and through follow-up were associated with decreases in interpersonal problems, even when accounting for reductions in overall GAD severity. Conclusions: Interpersonal problems may be an important target of treatment in GAD, even if pre-treatment interpersonal problems are not predictive of outcome. Developing mindfulness in individuals with GAD may help ameliorate interpersonal difficulties among this population.     

Pre-adoptive risk factors and behavioural problems in children adopted from Poland

Behavioural problems in adoptees have been related to adverse circumstances prior to adoption. We examined pre-adoptive risk factors and post-adoptive behavioural problems in children adopted from Poland. Dutch adoptive parents of 133 Polish adoptees (M_age = 8.7 years, range 2.8–15.2; M_ageadoption = 3.0 years, range .4–6.9) answered the Child Behaviour Checklist and questions regarding pre-adoptive risk factors, such as institutionalization, neglect and abuse. Polish adoptees in our sample were four times more likely to have clinical behavioural problems than non-adopted children. Compared with a group of children adopted from various countries, predominantly from Asia, Polish adoptees had higher levels of behavioural problems as well. Multiple pre-adoptive risk factors were present. Only a history of abuse was found to be associated with behavioural problems after adoption. Special attention and support after adoption are needed for these children and their adoptive parents, especially when a pre-adoptive history of abuse is known.     

The development of parental monitoring during adolescence: A meta-analysis

Abstract

As adolescents grow up, one of the important developmental tasks is to individuate themselves and to become more autonomous from parents. This requires a realignment of the parent-adolescent communication. The current meta-analytic study aims at identifying developmental changes in parent-adolescent communication, conceptualized within the parental monitoring framework, as entailing parental solicitation, control and knowledge, and adolescent’s disclosure and secrecy. Thirty-one longitudinal studies published between 2000 and 2015 were identified and included in the current meta-analysis. Informants, age at assessment and study duration were tested as moderators. Results showed a low to medium normative decline in parental control (Cohen’s d = ?.395, 95% CI [?.541, ?.249]), knowledge (d = ?.245,95% CI [?.331, ?.160] and adolescence disclosure (d = ?.147, 95% CI [?.204, ?.090]), and an increase in adolescent’s secrecy (d = .194, CI [031, .356]). Parental solicitation decreased based on parents’ (d = ?.242, 95% CI[?.376, ?.109]) but not on adolescents’ reports (d = .038, 95% CI[?.099, .175]). Another significant moderator was the duration of the study, with studies longer than 2 years being able to detect a more pronounced change in parental control than studies lasting less than 2 years (≤2 years, d = ?.139 vs. duration > 2 years, d = ?.581). Limitations of the current knowledge and new directions of studies are discussed.     

Parental influences on self-regulation and achievement in children with adolescent mothers

The predictors of academic achievement and self-regulation in 95 high-risk children studied from birth were investigated during the second grade. Parenting, early maternal adjustment, child adjustment and temperament were hypothesized to predict the emergence of self-regulation. Although parenting, maternal adjustment, and child adjustment were related to achievement and classroom adjustment, they were not related to children's self-regulation, which was the strongest predictor of teacher ratings of academic performance, standardized achievement in math and reading, and classroom adjustment.     

Better elementary number processing in higher skill arithmetic problem solvers: Evidence from the encoding step

This paper addresses the relationship between basic numerical processes and higher level numerical abilities in normal achieving adults. In the first experiment we inferred the elementary numerical abilities of university students from the time they needed to encode numerical information involved in complex additions and subtractions. We interpreted the shorter encoding times in good arithmetic problem solvers as revealing clearer or more accessible representations of numbers. The second experiment shows that these results cannot be due to the fact that lower skilled individuals experience more maths anxiety or put more cognitive efforts into calculations than do higher skilled individuals. Moreover, the third experiment involving non-numerical information supports the hypothesis that these interindividual differences are specific to number processing. The possible causal relationships between basic and higher level numerical abilities are discussed.     

Preschool Boys’ Development of Emotional Self-Regulation Strategies in a Sample At Risk for Behavior Problems

Little longitudinal research has been conducted on changes in children's emotional self-regulation strategy (SRS) use after infancy, particularly for children at risk. In this study, the authors examined changes in boys’ emotional SRS from toddlerhood through preschool. Repeated observational assessments using delay of gratification tasks at ages 2, 3, and 4 years were examined with both variable- and person-oriented analyses in a low-income sample of boys (N = 117) at risk for early problem behavior. Results were consistent with theory on emotional SRS development in young children. Children initially used more emotion-focused SRS (e.g., comfort seeking) and transitioned to greater use of planful SRS (e.g., distraction) by 4 years of age. Person-oriented analysis using trajectory analysis found similar patterns from 2 to 4 years, with small groups of boys showing delayed movement away from emotion-focused strategies or delay in the onset of regular use of distraction. The results provide a foundation for future researchers to examine the development of SRS in low-income young children.     

Tobacco Use and Health in Young Adulthood

In this prospective longitudinal study, the authors investigated the association between lifetime tobacco use and subsequent health problems by age 30. The authors interviewed a community group of 749 participants from upstate New York at mean ages of 14, 16, 22, and 27 years. Daily tobacco use during any of the time periods, as well as the number of periods of daily tobacco use, were significantly associated with increased risk for respiratory ailments, neurobehavioral and cognitive problems, and general malaise. The results suggested that daily tobacco use, either during childhood, adolescence, the early 20s, or a combination of those times, predicted health problems by age 30. Effective smoking prevention programs that begin in childhood are imperative to prevent the occurrence of later health problems.     

Methods of Overcoming Children's Fears

Forty-eight noninstitutionalized elderly were administered Piaget's Conservation of Surfaces Test. Only 13 subjects were designated as conservers in this content domain. A strong relationship existed between conservation ability and educational attainment, but not between sex and performance, and age and performance. Results indicated that cognitive abilities may be subject to qualitative disorganization in the latter portions of the life-span.