The Role of Feminism and Gender in Endorsement of Hookup Culture among Emerging Adults.

Hookup culture has transformed the sexual behavior of emerging adults. Feminism, a movement that has advocated for liberating women from sexual repression, may be associated with hookup endorsement attitudes. This study explores the associations among multiple dimensions of feminism, gender, and hookup culture endorsement. Participants included 318 emerging adults (46% women; Mage = 22.2 years; 51% White, 27% Asian, 5% Hispanic/Latinx, 9% Black, 1% Middle Eastern, 1% American Indian, 6% Multiracial) from five Anglophone countries (62% U.S., 23% United Kingdom, 9% Canada, 5% Australia, 1% New Zealand), who completed the Feminist Beliefs and Behavior Scale and Endorsement of Hookup Culture Index via an anonymous, online survey. Participants were categorized according to their feminist identity label (feminist, non-feminist) and feminist belief system (hold feminist beliefs, hold non-feminist beliefs). A series of ANCOVAs was conducted, revealing that women who identified as feminist and/or held feminist beliefs reported significantly higher endorsement of hookup culture compared to non-feminist women with non-feminist beliefs. Neither dimension of feminism predicted hookup culture endorsement in men. When comparing feminist-identifying women and men, the gender disparity in hookup culture endorsement was eliminated. Together, these findings highlight how social movements, such as feminism, may be associated with young women's attitudes towards hookups, and may ultimately shape their sexual experiences.

Why adolescents conform to high-status peers: Associations among conformity, identity alignment, and self-esteem.

This study examined whether conformity to high- but not low-status e-confederates was associated with increases in identification with popular peers and subsequent increases in self-esteem. A sample of 250 adolescents (55.1% male; Mage = 12.70 years; 40.3% White, 28.2% Black, 23.4% Hispanic/Latino, and 7.7% multiracial/other) participated in a well-established experimental chat room paradigm where they were exposed to norms communicated by high- and low-status e-confederates. Results revealed that for boys in the high-status condition only, but not girls, the positive relation between conformity and self-esteem was mediated by greater response alignment with popular peers. These findings bolster prior research by suggesting that conformity to popular peers may be partly motivated by drives for self-esteem and alignment with a valued reference group.

Longitudinal Change in Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness and Depressive Symptoms: A Within-Person Analysis during Early-to-Middle Adolescence.

Online appearance preoccupation may put adolescents at risk of developing mental health challenges, perhaps especially during early-to-middle adolescence. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model assessed within-person associations between appearance-related social media consciousness and depressive symptoms over three time-points with three months between waves. The sample (n = 1594) included U.S. adolescents aged 11-15 (Mage = 13; 47% girls, 46% boys, 7% another gender; 37% Latine, 33% White, 18% Black, 7% Asian). Within-person increases in appearance-related social media consciousness were associated with subsequent increases in depressive symptoms, but not vice versa. There was no evidence of gender differences and results were robust to controlling for both time on social media and offline self-objectification. Thus, online appearance concerns precede mental health challenges during early and middle adolescence.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents' disordered eating: Exploring general and SGM-specific factors.

OBJECTIVE: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents disproportionately report disordered eating, yet have primarily been considered under a larger SGM umbrella. The current study 1) compared disordered eating between sexual minority (SM) and gender minority (GM) adolescents; 2) examined how general psychological factors (self-esteem, depression, and stress) and SGM-specific factors (e.g., feelings about SGM identity, access to SGM resources) were associated with disordered eating; and 3) examined whether associations between these factors differed for SM versus GM adolescents. METHOD: SGM adolescents in the U.S. (N = 8814; 35.0% GM; 43.7% cisgender girls; 66.9% White; Mage  = 15.6) reported their disordered eating, depressive symptoms, stress, self-esteem, and SGM-related experiences on an anonymous, cross-sectional online survey. RESULTS: GM adolescents exhibited a higher prevalence of clinical threshold disordered eating than SM adolescents. Self-esteem was associated with lower odds of caloric restriction, purging, and binge eating. Depression was associated with higher odds of caloric restriction, diet pill use, purging, laxatives, and binge eating. Stress was associated with higher odds of purging. Associations were stronger for GM adolescents' caloric restriction. Positive feelings about SGM identity were associated with lower odds of caloric restriction, purging, and binge eating, whereas greater stress of "coming out" was associated with higher odds of caloric restriction, purging, and binge eating. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that SGM adolescents' disordered eating is associated with both general psychological factors and unique SGM experiences. Results highlight the importance of considering how the unique experiences of SGM youth may leave them vulnerable to disordered eating behaviors. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth are disproportionately affected by disordered eating. The current study found that higher depression and stress, and lower self-esteem, were associated with SGM adolescents' disordered eating. Furthermore, unique SGM experiences, such as stress about coming out, were also associated with eating pathology. Results highlight the importance of considering SGM adolescents' perceptions of their identity and social support.

Longitudinal associations between appearance-related social media consciousness and adolescents' depressive symptoms.

INTRODUCTION: Frequent social media use among adolescents is associated with depressive symptoms, though prior work has overwhelmingly used cross-sectional designs and focused on "screen time." Subjective social media experiences, such as the concern with one's physical appearance on social media, may be more relevant to adolescents' depressive symptoms than mere frequency of use. Appearance-related social media consciousness (ASMC) is the preoccupation with one's physical attractiveness in social media photos and has been associated with depressive symptoms above and beyond frequency of social media use in prior cross-sectional work. METHODS: In this brief report, we assessed this association longitudinally over 1 year within a diverse sample of highschool adolescents in the Southeastern US (n = 163, M age = 16.19; 55.8% girls; 44.8% White, 23.9% Black, 26.4% Hispanic/Latinx; 49.7% received free or reduced-price lunch). RESULTS: Baseline ASMC was associated with higher depressive symptoms 1 year later, even when controlling for time spent on social media. Although girls reported higher levels of ASMC, associations were similar for adolescent boys and girls. No evidence was found that heightened depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with higher ASMC 1 year later. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the importance of physical appearance concerns on social media-above and beyond the frequency of use-in the development of depressive symptoms among adolescents. Implications for future research to examine the role of subjective social media experiences in adolescents' depressive symptoms are discussed.

Disparities in disordered eating between gender minority and cisgender adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescence is a developmental period of increased risk for disordered eating. Gender minority adolescents (GMAs), or those whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth, may experience body image concerns related to unique gender-related stressors. GMAs may use disordered eating to affirm a feminine, masculine, or nonbinary gender identity. However, little is known about differences in disordered eating between GMAs and cisgender adolescents. Therefore, this study had two primary goals: (a) to compare disordered eating between GMAs and cisgender adolescents by examining the role of gender identity and sex assigned at birth; and (b) within GMAs, to examine associations between gender identity congruence and disordered eating. METHOD: A large U.S. sample of GMAs and cisgender adolescents (n = 1,191 GMAs; 919 cisgender; Mage = 15.93 years) reported their disordered eating on an anonymous online survey. RESULTS: A MANOVA revealed a significant interaction between gender identity and sex assigned at birth. Follow-up ANOVAs demonstrated that purging, caloric restriction, excessive exercise, and muscle building differed as a function of gender identity and sex assigned at birth. Among GMAs, a multiple multivariate regression model demonstrated that disordered eating was lower among participants who reported greater gender identity congruence. DISCUSSION: GMAs should not be considered a homogenous group, as differences in gender identity may lead to the internalization of different appearance ideals and disparate eating disorder symptomatology. Results suggest that clinicians working with GMAs consider the unique body image concerns that could accompany a specific gender identity.

Values-Alignment Messaging Boosts Adolescents' Motivation to Control Social Media Use.

Two preregistered experiments with 2,733 U.S. high school students (age range = 13-19 years) compared the impact of different messages on adolescents' motivation to control social media use (SMU). A traditional message emphasized the benefits of avoiding SMU, whereas a values-alignment message framed controlling SMU as being consistent with autonomy and social justice. Compared to no message or a traditional message, in both studies, a values-alignment message led to greater motivation to control SMU immediately afterward, and in Study 2, awareness of "addictive" social media designs 3 months later. As hypothesized, values-alignment messaging was more motivating for girls than boys. Results offer preliminary support for leveraging adolescents' drives for autonomy and social justice to motivate self-regulation of SMU.

#Grateful: Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescents' Social Media Use and Gratitude During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some ways of using social media-such as directly communicating with friends-may have helped adolescents thrive. We examined longitudinal associations between high school adolescents' social media use and gratitude across a 15-month period before and during the pandemic (n = 704, Mage  = 15.10; 52% girls). The trajectories of gratitude and the importance of social media for meaningful conversations with friends-but not frequency of social media use-were positively associated over time. At the within-person level, gratitude predicted increased importance of social media for meaningful conversations, but not vice-versa. Findings suggest that gratitude may be associated with and may motivate using social media to foster social connection, but may not increase overall social media use.

The Gender Minority Youth Study: Overview of Methods and Social Media Recruitment of a Nationwide Sample of U.S. Cisgender and Transgender Adolescents.

Recent research has documented significant mental health disparities for transgender adolescents. However, the extant literature is hindered by vague operationalizations of gender identity and limited measurement of trans-specific stressors. In this article, we (1) introduce and describe the Gender Minority Youth (GMY) Study, a large-scale study of transgender youth disparities; and (2) provide evidence of the feasibility of using social media to recruit a diverse sample of U.S. transgender and cisgender youth. Facebook and Instagram advertisements targeted 14-18-year-old adolescents to complete an online survey. Participants (N = 3318) self-reported gender assigned at birth and current gender identity, mental health symptoms, and transgender-specific stressors and milestones. Adolescents included 1369 cisgender (n = 982 cisgender female; n = 387 cisgender male), 1938 transgender (n = 986 transgender male; n = 132 transgender female; n = 639 nonbinary assigned female at birth; n = 84 nonbinary assigned male at birth; n = 84 questioning gender identity assigned female at birth; n = 13 questioning gender identity assigned male at birth), and 11 intersex youth. The GMY Study is the first nationwide sample of U.S. adolescents recruited specifically for a study of mental health disparities between transgender and cisgender youth. We demonstrate the feasibility of using social media advertisements and a waiver of parental permission to recruit a large sample of adolescents, including subsamples of gender minority youth. We remedied limitations in the existing literature by including appropriate measures of gender assigned at birth, current gender identity, and detailed questions about transgender-specific stressors and transition milestones.

Popular peer norms and adolescent sexting behavior.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescents misperceive and are heavily influenced by the behavior of their popular peers, yet research has not yet investigated this phenomenon for a relatively new and potentially risky behavior: adolescent sexting. The present study investigates rates of sexting among popular and non-popular adolescents and the association between adolescents' perceptions of popular peers' sexting behavior and their own sexting behavior. METHODS: A school-based sample of 626 adolescents from a rural high school in the Southeastern U.S. (Mage = 17.4, 53.5% female) completed surveys indicating whether they had sent a sext in the past year. Participants also reported on perceptions of popular peers' sexting behavior and completed sociometric nominations of peer status. RESULTS: While 87.4% of adolescents believed the typical popular boy or girl in their class had sent a sext in the past year, only 62.5% of popular adolescents had actually sent a sext. There was no significant difference between rates of sexting among popular and non-popular (54.8%) adolescents. After adjusting for gender and sexual activity status, adolescents who believed that the typical popular peer sent a sext were over ten times more likely to have also sexted in the past year. Among adolescents who believed their popular peers had not sexted, girls were more likely than boys to have sexted themselves; however, this gender difference disappeared among adolescents who believed their popular peers had sexted. CONCLUSIONS: These results underscore the importance of peer status and perceptions of peer norms in adolescents' sexting.

Romantic relationships and sexuality in diverse adolescent populations: Introduction to the special issue.

Although scientific research on adolescent romantic and sexual development has proliferated in recent years, currently, too little is known about how development in these areas can be understood across diverse populations (e.g., different socio-cultural groups within countries) and contexts (e.g., countries or different proximal social environments). The goal of the current virtual special issue in the Journal of Adolescence was to highlight relevant and timely empirical findings from studies utilizing innovative and diverse research methods in the areas of adolescent romantic and sexual development from around the globe, with an emphasis on data collected outside of the Western world. It combines an interesting set of nine empirical papers, which describe datasets from 5 countries (Canada, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States). In this editorial, we provide an introduction to this special issue, and illustrate how these studies expand our understanding of adolescent romantic and sexual development by examining: 1) romantic and sexual relationship constructs that are relevant for understudied and diverse populations; 2) how culture-specific factors may shape adolescents' romantic and sexual relationships; 3) how romantic and sexual relationship constructs are linked to psychosocial adjustment outcomes in understudied cultural contexts; 4) the role of different proximal social environments (e.g., parents, siblings, peers) in romantic and sexual development in diverse populations.

Developmental patterns of sexual identity, romantic attraction, and sexual behavior among adolescents over three years.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescents are heterogeneous in how they define and experience their sexual orientation, which can include specific identity labels, romantic attractions, and other- and/or same-sex sexual behavior. These three components of sexual orientation are not always concordant, and studies suggest adolescents-particularly girls-are fluid in these dimensions of orientation over time. The current study examined: 1) fluidity in adolescent girls' and boys' self-labeled identities and romantic attractions over time, and 2) patterns of adolescent girls' and boys' self-labeled identities and romantic attractions as they coincide with sexual behavior. METHODS: Surveys were administered to adolescents in three low-income high schools in the rural Southeastern U.S. at three yearly intervals (n = 744; Mage = 15.0; 54.3% girls; 48% White, 24% Hispanic/Latinx, 21% Black/African American). Participants reported their self-labeled sexual identity and romantic attraction at each time point and their lifetime sexual behavior with girls and boys at year 3. RESULTS: Results revealed 26% of girls and 11% of boys reported fluidity in identity and 31% of girls and 10% of boys reported fluidity in attractions. At each time point, up to 20% of girls and 6% of boys reported a sexual minority identity label with concurrent same-sex attraction; the majority of these participants also reported same-sex behavior. Among heterosexual-identified participants reporting some degree of same-sex attraction at year 3, approximately 66% of girls and 10% of boys reported same-sex behavior. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that many adolescents are nuanced and dynamic in how they identify and experience their developing sexualities.

"No messages needed-just pats on the back": Exploring young men's reports of male and female friends' sexual communications.

The current study provided an exploratory mixed methods investigation of the messages undergraduate men received about sex and relationships from their male and female friends. Participants included 310 undergraduate men who provided written responses regarding the specific messages they had received from male and female friends. Descriptive codes included: Just Do It, Meaningful Intimacy, Gentlemen, Postpone Sex, Women's Sexual Desire, and Objectification of Women. Reports of sexual communications were typically consistent with the Heterosexual Script and congruent with the friend's gender. Accordingly, reports of male friends' communications often portrayed the accumulation of sexual experiences and partners as necessary and desirable, whereas serious, romantic relationships were often portrayed as hindrances. Reports of female friends' messages, in contrast, primarily focused on the importance of romantic relationships and the idealization of sex within such relationships. Reports of messages that were incongruent with the Heterosexual Script were rare, and were more often found in reports of female friends' communications. For example, female friends were the only source of messages regarding women's sexual needs, desire, and pleasures. By documenting patterns of common and uncommon messages and their sources, the present study contributed insights into how male and female friends similarly and differentially reinforce different dimensions of hegemonic masculinity.

Technology-Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation.

This study investigated longitudinal associations between adolescents' technology-based communication and the development of interpersonal competencies within romantic relationships. A school-based sample of 487 adolescents (58% girls; Mage  = 14.1) participated at two time points, one year apart. Participants reported (1) proportions of daily communication with romantic partners via traditional modes (in person, on the phone) versus technological modes (text messaging, social networking sites) and (2) competence in the romantic relationship skill domains of negative assertion and conflict management. Results of cross-lagged panel models indicated that adolescents who engaged in greater proportions of technology-based communication with romantic partners reported lower levels of interpersonal competencies one year later, but not vice versa; associations were particularly strong for boys.

Ethnic differences in associations among popularity, likability, and trajectories of adolescents' alcohol use and frequency.

Two-part latent growth models examined associations between two forms of peer status (popularity, likability) and adolescents' alcohol use trajectories throughout high school; ethnicity was examined as a moderator. Ninth-grade low-income adolescents (N = 364; Mage = 15.08; 52.5% Caucasian; 25.8% African American; 21.7% Latino) completed sociometric nominations of peer status and aggression at baseline, and reported their alcohol use every 6 months. After controlling for gender, aggression, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, popularity-but not likability-prospectively predicted alcohol use trajectories. However, these effects were moderated by ethnicity, suggesting popularity as a risk factor for alcohol use probability and frequency among Caucasian and Latino, but not African American adolescents. Results suggest that developmental correlates of peer status should be considered within cultural context.

Intrinsic religiosity buffers the longitudinal effects of peer victimization on adolescent depressive symptoms.

Peer victimization is a common and potentially detrimental experience for many adolescents. However, not all youth who are exposed to peer victimization experience maladaptive outcomes, such as depression. Thus, greater attention to potential moderators of peer victimization is particularly important. The current study examined the potential moderating effect of intrinsic religiosity and religious attendance on the longitudinal association between physical and relational victimization and depressive symptoms. A diverse sample of adolescents (N = 313; M(age) = 17.13 years; 54% female; 49% Caucasian, 24% African American, 19% Latino, 8% mixed race/other; 80% Christian religious affiliation) were recruited from a rural, low-income setting. Adolescents completed self-report measures of religious attendance and intrinsic religiosity, and two forms of victimization (i.e., physical and relational) were assessed using sociometric procedures in 11th grade. Depressive symptoms were measured in both 11th and 12th grade. Results suggest that relational victimization is associated prospectively with depressive symptoms only under conditions of adolescents' low intrinsic religiosity. Findings may contribute to efforts aimed at prevention and intervention among adolescents at risk for peer victimization and depression.

Demographic and developmental differences in the content and sequence of adolescents' ideal romantic relationship behaviors.

This study utilizes data from 18,392 respondents (aged 12-19) in Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to provide a detailed descriptive analysis of U.S. adolescents' desired behaviors in their ideal romantic relationships. Age, gender, and ethnic group differences in the desire for--and preferred sequence of--a set of activities that could occur in a hypothetical romantic relationship were explored within subsets of heterosexual (n = 17,274) and sexual minority adolescents (n = 1118). Non-sexual behaviors were more commonly desired compared to sexual behaviors. The typical desired behavioral sequence was: holding hands, going out alone, telling others they were a couple, kissing, saying "I love you," sexual touching, and finally having sex. Overall, more similarities than differences emerged across groups, with some notable differences in the percentages who desired sexual behaviors. Results provide a nuanced picture of adolescent relationship scripts, with implications for education and prevention.

Peer Influence, Peer Status, and Prosocial Behavior: An Experimental Investigation of Peer Socialization of Adolescents' Intentions to Volunteer.

Peer influence processes have been documented extensively for a wide range of maladaptive adolescent behaviors. However, peer socialization is not inherently deleterious, and little is known about whether adolescents influence each other's prosocial behaviors, or whether some peers are more influential than others towards positive youth outcomes. This study addressed these questions using an experimental "chat room" paradigm to examine in vivo peer influence of prosocial behavior endorsement. A school-based sample of 304 early adolescents (55% female, 45% male; M(age) = 12.68) believed they were interacting electronically with same-gender grademates (i.e., "e-confederates"), whose peer status was experimentally manipulated. The participants' intent to engage in prosocial behaviors was measured pre-experiment and in subsequent "public" and "private" experimental sessions. Overall, the adolescents conformed to the e-confederates' prosocial responses in public; yet, these peer influence effects were moderated by the peer status of the e-confederates, such that youth more strongly conformed to the high-status e-confederates than to the low-status ones. There also was some evidence that these peer influence effects were maintained in the private session, indicating potential internalization of prosocial peer norms. These findings help bridge the positive youth development and peer influence literatures, with potential implications for campaigns to increase prosocial behaviors.

An experimental examination of peers' influence on adolescent girls' intent to engage in maladaptive weight-related behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: Social psychological theories provide bases for understanding how social comparison processes may impact peer influence. This study examined two peer characteristics that may impact peer influence on adolescent girls' weight-related behavior intentions: body size and popularity. METHOD: A school-based sample of 66 9th grade girls (12-15 years old) completed an experimental paradigm in which they believed they were interacting with other students (i.e., "e-confederates"). The body size and popularity of the e-confederates were experimentally manipulated. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions in which they were exposed to identical maladaptive weight-related behavior norms communicated by ostensible female peers who were either: (1) Thin and Popular; (2) Thin and Average Popularity; or (3) Heavy and Average Popularity. Participants' intent to engage in weight-related behaviors was measured pre-experiment and during public and private segments of the experiment. RESULTS: A significant effect of condition on public conformity was observed. Participants exposed to peers' maladaptive weight-related behavior norms in the Heavy and Average condition reported significantly less intent to engage in weight-related behaviors than participants in either of the thin-peer conditions (F(2) = 3.93, p = .025). Peer influence on private acceptance of weight-related behavior intentions was similar across conditions (F(2) = .47, p = .63). DISCUSSION: Body size comparison may be the most salient component of peer influence processes on weight-related behaviors. Peer influence on weight-related behavior intention also appears to impact private beliefs. Considering peer norms in preventive interventions combined with dissonance-based approaches may be useful.

Bidirectional associations between online and offline appearance concerns during early-to-middle adolescence.

During early and middle adolescence, individuals are at heightened risk of poor body image and subsequent negative mental health outcomes, and the highly visual nature of social media may play a role in this process. It remains unclear, however, if appearance preoccupation on social media-such as appearance-related social media consciousness (ASMC)-influences offline body image, or if preexisting body image concerns influence online appearance preoccupation. The present study investigated between-person differences and potential bidirectional within-person associations in these experiences among eighth grade adolescents in the United States (n = 1,582; ages 11-15 years old; Mage = 13; 47.5% girls, 45.9% boys, 6.5% another gender identity; 37% Latine, 32% White, 18% Black, 7% Asian, 6% another racial/ethnic identity). Participants completed a longitudinal study over three waves within one academic year. Results indicated that within-person increases in ASMC preceded within-person increases in appearance-contingent self-worth and were bidirectionally associated with worse appearance esteem, with no differences in these associations by gender. Among girls only, self-objectification was associated with subsequent within-person increases in ASMC, but not vice versa. Findings indicate that online appearance preoccupation may influence and be reinforced by general body image concerns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).