Family process and peer deviance influences on adolescent aggression: longitudinal effects across early and middle adolescence.

Beginning in sixth grade at an average age of 11.9 years, 416 adolescents and their parents participated in 4 waves of data collection involving family observations and multiple-reporter assessments. Ecological theory and the process-person-context-time (PPCT) model guided the hypotheses and analyses. Lagged, growth curve models revealed that family hostility and peer deviance affiliation predicted adolescent aggression in the subsequent year. Family warmth played only a minor role in protecting against adolescent aggression. In hostile or low-warmth families, peer deviance affiliation linked to a declining aggression trajectory consistent with the arena of comfort hypothesis. The longitudinal findings suggest a nonadditive, synergistic interplay between family and peer contexts across time in adding nuance to understanding the adolescent aggression.

Parent-adolescent relations and adolescent functioning: self-esteem, substance abuse, and delinquency.

The present study examined parental support and monitoring as they relate to adolescent outcomes. It was hypothesized that support and monitoring would be associated with higher self-esteem and less risky behavior during adolescence. The diverse sample included 16,749 adolescents assessed as part of the National Educational Longitudinal Study. Both high parental support and parental monitoring were related to greater self-esteem and lower risk behaviors. The findings partially confirm, as well as extend, propositions in attachment theory.

Post-traumatic stress in children following motor vehicle accidents.

BACKGROUND: This study examined children's experiences following a motor vehicle accident (MVA). METHODS: Approximately 9 months following the accident, children (n=50) and their parents (n=50) participated in extensive interviews about the accident and in comprehensive, structured diagnostic interviews concerning overall psychological functioning. Additional assessments included post-traumatic stress questionnaires, archival police report records, and emergency treatment medical records. RESULTS: Of the 50 children, 7 children (14%) met criteria for PTSD diagnosis, and an additional 5 children met criteria for specific phobia (10%) related to the automobile accident on the structured diagnostic interview (DICA-R-C; total of 24%). Degree of physical injury predicted more PTSD symptoms, and previous accident experiences predicted fewer symptoms, before and after controlling for other variables. Holding degree of physical injury and age constant revealed that social support predicted fewer PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest the possible inoculating role of previous accidents and the importance of social support following MVA injury.