Religiosity, self-control, and virginity status in college students from the “Bible Belt”: a research note

Using a sample of college students (N = 904) from the "Bible Belt," this study examines the effect of religiosity and self-control on late adolescents' delay in initiating sexual intercourse or oral sex. Findings from logistic regressions provide evidence that for each one unit increase in self-control, the odds of a male remaining a virgin or of delaying oral sex increased by a factor of 1.82 and 2.84, respectively, while for females, the odds of not engaging in oral sex increased by a factor of 1.67. In addition to the effect of self-control, a one unit increase in religiosity results in the odds of a male remaining a virgin by a factor of 3.86 and 3.30, respectively. For females the odds are increased by a factor of 4.13 and 2.60, respectively. Mediation tests also provided evidence that self-control mediated the effects by religiosity on both dependent measures. Thus, both religiosity and self-control independently and additively function as key social control mechanisms that promote late adolescent health.     

Body Dissatisfaction and Mental Health Across Ethnic/Racial and Immigrant Groups: Implications for Marriage and Family Therapists

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this effort is to broaden the scope with which body dissatisfaction (BD) is viewed to inform the practices of MFTs. Associations between college students' BD and measures of depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and body image were tested using mean-level comparisons, path analysis, and multi-group tests by sex, across ethnic/racial groups, and across immigration status. Data were collected from N = 10,573 youth. There was evidence of significant mean level differences, and BD predicted internalizing symptoms while multi-group tests were largely invariant suggesting a more universal impact than dominant theoretical explanations (i.e. Objectification theory) posit.     

Normative Developmental Trajectories of Aggressive Behaviors in African American,American Indian,Asian American,Caucasian, and Hispanic Children and Early Adolescents

The current 5-year accelerated longitudinal investigation modeled the developmental trajectories of aggressive behaviors in 10,107 predominantly minority (>70%; African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Hispanic) children and early adolescents (Kindergarten through 8th grade, 49% female youth) from lower to lower-middle socioeconomic strata. Based on a two-part latent growth model, findings suggest that the probability and frequency of aggressive behavior use decreases slightly (linear) through the elementary school years and then increases as children move into middle school (quadratic). Though mean level differences were found across ethnic and racial groups, socioeconomic strata, and particularly by sex at initial status, rates of change over time across all groups were invariant. Findings suggest that potential socialization differences, if any, occur pre-Kindergarten in all groups.     

Late adolescent perceptions of parent religiosity and parenting processes

The current investigation examined the relations between adolescent reports of parent religiosity and parenting processes, using both a dimensional and a typological conceptualization of parenting. Self-report data were collected from 357 late adolescents. Partial correlations indicated that parent religiosity was associated with both parenting dimensions and parenting styles in conceptually expected directions. Regression analyses provided evidence that the dimensional conceptualization of parenting explained additional variability in perceived parental religiosity above and beyond parenting style effects. Findings suggest that a dimensional conceptualization of parenting processes extends the literature on parent religiosity because it yields more nuanced information about how parental religiosity may be related to differentiated parenting behaviors. Potential therapeutic implications of the findings are discussed.     

Initial behavior outcomes for the peacebuilders universal school-based violence prevention program

PeaceBuilders is a universal, elementary-school-based violence prevention program that attempts to alter the climate of a school by teaching students and staff simple rules and activities aimed at improving child social competence and reducing aggressive behavior. Eight matched schools (N > 4,000 students in Grades K-5) were randomly assigned to either immediate postbaseline intervention (PBI) or to a delayed intervention 1 year later (PBD). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze results from assessments in the fall and spring of 2 consecutive school years. In Year 1, significant gains in teacher-rated social competence for students in Grades K-2, in childself-reported peace-building behavior in Grades K-5, and reductions in aggressive behavior in Grades 3-5 were found for PBI but not PBD schools. Differential effects in Year 1 were also observed for aggression and prosocial behavior. Most effects were maintained in Year 2 for PBI schools, including increases in child prosocial behavior in Grades K-2. Implications for early universal school-based prevention and challenges related toevaluating large-scale prevention trials are discussed.     

Development and Risk Behavior Among African American, Caucasian, and Mixed-race Adolescents Living in High Poverty Inner-city Neighborhoods

Youths growing up in low-income inner-city neighborhoods are at substantial risk for initiating substance use, violent behavior, and sexual intercourse at early ages; these risk behaviors continue at comparatively high rates through adolescence. Hopelessness has been implicated as a risk factor for these behaviors. In this paper, we consider how race influences this process. African Americans form a demographic minority within the United States, but they are often the majority within inner-city neighborhoods. For Caucasians, the opposite typically holds. Mixed-race populations form a minority within both contexts. Using longitudinal data, we examine the relationship between race and risk behaviors in several impoverished inner-city neighborhoods where African Americans form the distinct majority and Caucasians and people of mixed racial heritage form a small minority. We also consider how race moderates the relationship between hopelessness and risk behavior. Our findings show that compared to Caucasian or mixed-race adolescents, African American adolescents are less likely to engage in risk behaviors, and that hopelessness has a less important impact on their behaviors.     

Parental Attachment and Externalizing Behaviors among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Self-Control

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Self-control theory proposes that weak emotional bonds with caregivers are key in the lack of self-control development, that in turn increases the likelihood...     

Parenting processes,self-esteem,and aggression: A mediation model

The present study examined the relations between perceived maternal and paternal parenting processes and adolescent aggression, and to what extent these relations were mediated by self-esteem in a sample of 546 (43.8% males and 56.2% females) Turkish adolescents. Participants’ ages ranged from 14 to 18 with a mean of 15.91 years (SD = .95). Findings supported our hypothesized model of the effect of perceived parenting processes on aggression as being mediated through self-esteem for both maternal and paternal parenting measures. Specifically, self-esteem mediated the relations between parental closeness, monitoring, peer approval and adolescent aggression. Self-esteem is an important individual charecteristic to consider for prevention efforts of adolescent aggressive behaviors, along with key parenting behaviors.     

Future orientation, impulsivity, and problem behaviors: a longitudinal moderation model

In the current study, based on a sample of 1,873 adolescents between 11.4 and 20.9 years of age from the first 3 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we investigated the longitudinal effects of future orientation on levels of and developmental changes in problem behaviors, while controlling for the effects by impulsivity; we also tested the moderating effects by future orientation on the impulsivity-problem behaviors link over time. Additionally, we examined future orientation operationalized by items measuring education, marriage, and life domains. Findings based on growth curve analyses provided evidence of longitudinal effects by education and life future orientation on both levels of and developmental changes in problem behaviors; the effect of marriage future orientation was not significant for either test. In addition, only life future orientation moderated the effect by impulsivity on levels of problem behaviors over time. More specifically, impulsivity had a weaker effect on levels of problem behaviors over time for adolescents who reported higher levels of life future orientation.