A synergistic mindsets intervention protects adolescents from stress.

Social-evaluative stressors-experiences in which people feel they could be judged negatively-pose a major threat to adolescent mental health1-3 and can cause young people to disengage from stressful pursuits, resulting in missed opportunities to acquire valuable skills. Here we show that replicable benefits for the stress responses of adolescents can be achieved with a short (around 30-min), scalable 'synergistic mindsets' intervention. This intervention, which is a self-administered online training module, synergistically targets both growth mindsets4 (the idea that intelligence can be developed) and stress-can-be-enhancing mindsets5 (the idea that one's physiological stress response can fuel optimal performance). In six double-blind, randomized, controlled experiments that were conducted with secondary and post-secondary students in the United States, the synergistic mindsets intervention improved stress-related cognitions (study 1, n = 2,717; study 2, n = 755), cardiovascular reactivity (study 3, n = 160; study 4, n = 200), daily cortisol levels (study 5, n = 118 students, n = 1,213 observations), psychological well-being (studies 4 and 5), academic success (study 5) and anxiety symptoms during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns (study 6, n = 341). Heterogeneity analyses (studies 3, 5 and 6) and a four-cell experiment (study 4) showed that the benefits of the intervention depended on addressing both mindsets-growth and stress-synergistically. Confidence in these conclusions comes from a conservative, Bayesian machine-learning statistical method for detecting heterogeneous effects6. Thus, our research has identified a treatment for adolescent stress that could, in principle, be scaled nationally at low cost.

The subjective well-being in Peruvian adolescence: Identifying domains and evaluations in a non-WEIRD context.

The present qualitative study examined how a group of Peruvian adolescents (N = 32) from different cultural contexts conceive their well-being. The goal was to identify the domains that structure their conception of well-being and how they evaluate it based on their elaboration. For this objective, 32 in-depth interviews were carried out with adolescents from different cultural contexts in Perú. Elements such as region, academic performance, and gender were considered to identify specificities during the analysis. Interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis strategy. As a result, six domains of adolescent well-being emerged where well-being is associated with socioeconomic factors, family and peer relationships, future aspirations, social skills and self-esteem, academic performance, and health care. Participants' evaluations of well-being were mainly grounded in the socioeconomic, family, and educational domains. Findings highlight the need to further develop psychology research on adolescence in non-WEIRD societies.

Identity Matters for Well-Being: The Longitudinal Associations Between Identity Processes and Well-Being in Adolescents with Different Cultural Backgrounds.

Adolescents' identity processes and their levels of well-being are likely to be intertwined. On the one hand, how adolescents cope with the core developmental task of forming their identity has important implications for their well-being. On the other hand, experiencing a condition of well-being can help adolescents consolidate their identity. This longitudinal study adopted a multidimensional and culturally sensitive perspective to unravel how identity processes (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) in two domains (i.e., educational and interpersonal identity) were developmentally related to multiple indicators of positive well-being (i.e., physical health, subjective, psychological, and social well-being) in adolescents with different cultural backgrounds. Participants were 1396 adolescents (Mage = 15.73, SDage = 1.23, 49.93% females; 20.89% with a migrant background) who completed questionnaires at four-time points across one year. Results of cross-lagged models confirmed the positive reciprocal associations between identity commitment and well-being in all its facets. The nuanced picture of associations of in-depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment with multiple dimensions of well-being highlighted the importance of adopting a multi-dimensional perspective on well-being and a domain-specific approach to identity. Multigroup analyses indicated that the associations between identity commitment in the educational domain and well-being are relevant, especially for adolescents with a migrant background. Overall, this study highlights the centrality of identity processes for adolescents' adaptation and points to a dynamic loop of reciprocal influences at the core of youth positive development.

Trajectories of cortical structures associated with stress across adolescence: a bivariate latent change score approach.

BACKGROUND: Stress exposure in childhood and adolescence has been linked to reductions in cortical structures and cognitive functioning. However, to date, most of these studies have been cross-sectional, limiting the ability to make long-term inferences, given that most cortical structures continue to develop through adolescence. METHODS: Here, we used a subset of the IMAGEN population cohort sample (N = 502; assessment ages: 14, 19, and 22 years; mean age: 21.945 years; SD = 0.610) to understand longitudinally the long-term interrelations between stress, cortical development, and cognitive functioning. To these ends, we first used a latent change score model to examine four bivariate relations - assessing individual differences in change in the relations between adolescent stress exposure and volume, surface area, and cortical thickness of cortical structures, as well as cognitive outcomes. Second, we probed for indirect neurocognitive effects linking stress to cortical brain structures and cognitive functions using rich longitudinal mediation modeling. RESULTS: Latent change score modeling showed that greater baseline adolescence stress at age 14 predicted a small reduction in the right anterior cingulate volume (Std. ß = -.327, p = .042, 95% CI [-0.643, -0.012]) and right anterior cingulate surface area (Std. ß = -.274, p = .038, 95% CI [-0.533, -0.015]) across ages 14-22. These effects were very modest in nature and became nonsignificant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Our longitudinal analyses found no evidence of indirect effects in the two neurocognitive pathways linking adolescent stress to brain and cognitive outcomes. CONCLUSION: Findings shed light on the impact of stress on brain reductions, particularly in the prefrontal cortex that have consistently been implicated in the previous cross-sectional studies. However, the magnitude of effects observed in our study is smaller than that has been reported in past cross-sectional work. This suggests that the potential impact of stress during adolescence on brain structures may likely be more modest than previously noted.

The complex story of educational identity in adolescence: Longitudinal relations with academic achievement and perfectionism.

OBJECTIVE: Education has a strong impact on adolescent development. This study investigated the complex longitudinal associations between educational identity processes, academic achievement, and perfectionism. METHOD: The study used a 4-wave design (N = 744 adolescents, Mage = 15.2 years, 55% girls). RESULTS: Results showed that self-oriented perfectionism mediated the longitudinal relation between academic achievement and educational commitment, whereas educational commitment mediated the longitudinal relation between self-oriented perfectionism and academic achievement. Also, a unidirectional positive direct link from educational in-depth exploration to socially prescribed perfectionism was found, while self-oriented perfectionism mediated the positive relationship between academic achievement and exploration. Finally, higher academic achievement led to decreases in educational reconsideration of commitment, whereas socially prescribed perfectionism predicted increases in educational reconsideration of commitment and decreases in academic achievement. CONCLUSIONS: These findings bring forward the intricate and possibly sabotaging links between educational identity processes, academic achievement, and perfectionism.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Advancing Racial Justice in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

Relative to White youth, racially and ethnically marginalized youth in the U.S. are less likely to initiate treatment, stay in treatment, and receive adequate care. This special issue attends to racial injustice in clinical child and adolescent psychology. While numerous factors drive these racial disparities, this special issue focuses specifically on opportunities and responsibilities we have as mental health providers, teachers, mentors, researchers, and gatekeepers to make our field more racially just. In this introduction to the special issue, we review barriers and solutions across multiple contexts including structural, institutional, and practice-based. We also discuss challenges and opportunities to diversify our field and increase the representation of racially and ethnically marginalized practitioners and scholars in clinical child and adolescent psychology. We then briefly review the special issue articles and make final recommendations for how to move the field forward.

Evidence Base Update of Psychosocial Treatments for Adolescents with Disruptive Behavior.

OBJECTIVE: This article expands the review of psychosocial treatments for adolescents with disruptive behavior (DB), published previously by this journal. That earlier review focused on DB treatment studies published 1966-2014; the current paper updates the evidence base by incorporating DB treatment studies published 2014-2021. METHOD: A literature search and screening process identified 63 new studies for inclusion in this updated review. The 63 new studies were combined with 86 studies from the prior review and evaluated using Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology level of support criteria, which classify studies as well established, probably efficacious, possibly efficacious, experimental, or of questionable efficacy based on the evidence. RESULTS: In total, 3 well-established, 7 probably efficacious, and 10 possibly efficacious treatments for adolescents with DB were identified. Further, 52 treatments were classified as experimental and 22 treatments were determined to have questionable efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: There continues to be a large body of literature building the evidence base for treatments of adolescent DB. With a few exceptions, treatments falling into the top three evidence levels utilized more than one theoretical approach, enhancing each treatment's ability to target DB from multiple angles. Key advances include broad representation of various demographic groups, countries of origin, treatment settings, and provider types in this body of research. Despite these advances, more research is needed to address key gaps in the field, including the need for more studies on treatments tailored to adolescents with DB who are not yet involved with the juvenile justice system.

Diversifying Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology: A Change Gonna Come.

OBJECTIVES: Workforce diversity is an ongoing challenge in the field of clinical child and adolescent psychology. This article discusses individual, institutional, and nonspecific factors that contribute to a lack of diversity among clinical child and adolescent psychologists and offers suggestions to diversify and advance the field of clinical child and adolescent mental health. METHOD: Seventeen professors, licensed psychologists, faculty, and clinicians in the field of clinical child and adolescent psychology answered questions about workforce diversity and who is permitted access to the field. No formal research was conducted. RESULTS: Individual factors included: racial discrimination and microaggressions, feelings of isolation, otherness, and not belonging. Institutional factors included: racism in academia, racial underrepresentation, ethnocentric and culturally-biased training, biased admissions selection processes, financial barriers, and lack of institutional commitment. Nonspecific factors were: values misalignment, hidden expectations, suboptimal mentoring, and limited research opportunities. CONCLUSIONS: Drawing on recent scholarship and the Contexts, Actions, and Outcomes (CAO) Model, we recommend institutional changes in programs, policies, practices, resources, climate, partnerships, and inquiry to improve diversity in the field of clinical child and adolescent psychology.

Dismantling Structural Racism in Child and Adolescent Psychology: A Call to Action to Transform Healthcare, Education, Child Welfare, and the Psychology Workforce to Effectively Promote BIPOC Youth Health and Development.

The field of clinical child and adolescent psychology is in critical need of transformation to effectively meet the mental health needs of marginalized and minoritized youth. As a field, we must acknowledge and grapple with the racist and colonial structures that support the scientific foundation, education and training of psychologists, and the service systems currently in place to support youth mental health in this country. We argue that to effectuate change toward a discipline that centers inclusivity, intersectionality, anti-racism, and social justice, there are four interrelated systems, structures, or processes that currently support racial inequity and would need to be thoroughly examined, dismantled, and re-imagined: (1) the experience of mental health problems and corresponding access to quality care; (2) the school-to-mental healthcare pathway; (3) the child welfare and carceral systems; and (4) the psychology workforce. A "call to action" is issued to address structural racism in these systems and recommendations are provided to guide clinicians, health care systems, educators, welfare and carceral systems, and those involved in training and retaining psychologists in the field in actions they can take to contribute to transformation. We assert that change will only occur when we individually and collectively take responsibility for the roles we have as agents for radical change within the personal and professional contexts in which we live and work. Only then will the field of clinical child and adolescent psychology be able to address the youth mental health crisis and effectively promote the health and well-being of all children.

Treatment of mental illness in American adolescents varies widely within and across areas.

Many mental health disorders first manifest in adolescence, and early treatment may affect the course of the disease. Using a large national database of insurance claims, this study focuses on variations in the type of care that adolescent patients receive when they are treated for an initial episode of mental illness. We found large variations in the probability that children receive follow-up care and in the type of follow-up care received across zip codes. We also found large variations in the probability that children receive drug treatments that raise a red flag when viewed through the lens of treatment guidelines: Overall, in the first 3 mo after their initial claim for mental illness, 44.85% of children who receive drug treatment receive benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, or a drug that is not Food and Drug Administration-approved for their age. On average, these children are 12 y old. While the supply of mental health professionals impacts treatment choices, little of the overall variation is explained by supply-side variables, and at least half of the variation in treatment outcomes occurs within zip codes. These results suggest that other factors, such as physician practice style, may play an important role in the types of treatment that children receive.

The social gradient in adolescent mental health: mediated or moderated by belief in a just world?

PURPOSE: A social gradient in adolescent mental health exists: adolescents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) have fewer mental health problems than their peers with lower SES. Little is known about whether adolescents' societal beliefs play a role in this social gradient. Belief in a just world (BJW) may be a mediator or moderator of the social gradient in adolescent mental health. METHODS: Using data from 848 adolescents (Mage = 17) in the Netherlands, path analyses examined whether two indicators of BJW (general and personal) mediated or moderated the associations between two indicators of SES (family affluence and perceived family wealth), and four indicators of adolescent mental health problems (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems). RESULTS: Adolescents with lower family affluence and lower perceived family wealth reported more emotional symptoms, and the association between perceived family wealth and emotional symptoms was mediated by lower personal and general BJW. Furthermore, higher personal BJW amplified the negative association between SES and peer problems. CONCLUSION: This study suggests BJW may both mediate and amplify the social gradient in adolescent mental health. Adolescents' beliefs about society may be important to include in research aimed at understanding this social gradient.

Associations Between Adolescents' Antisocial Behavior, Conflict Management Styles, and Romantic Relationship Breakup: An Observational Study.

Adolescents' antisocial behavior and negative conflict management styles are each associated with adverse romantic relationship outcomes, yet little research exists on their associations. We investigated whether adolescents' antisocial behavior was associated with conflict management styles, and whether it predicted breakup 3 months later. In total, 91 adolescent couples (Mage = 16.43, SD = 0.99; 41.2% Hispanic/Latinx) participated in videotaped conflict discussions coded for negotiation, coercion, and avoidance. Actor-partner interdependence models suggest adolescents' antisocial behavior is associated with decreased use of negotiation (couple pattern) and increased use of coercion (actor pattern). No significant associations were found for avoidance. Neither antisocial behavior nor conflict management styles predicted breakup. Findings are discussed in light of the unique developmental importance of adolescents' romantic relationships.

The Five Cs of Positive Youth Development: Configurations of Thriving in Four U.S. Adolescent Samples.

Positive youth development (PYD) models are widespread, but the empirical evidence for them is primarily nomothetic (i.e., investigations of universal patterns). Contemporary developmental theory suggests that concepts and processes within PYD models should also be explored with respect to specificity. This study demonstrates how the Five Cs Model, a predominant PYD model, can be advanced using group-differential methods. Secondary data from four studies of adolescents were used to test: (1) Whether there were subgroups who varied in their patterns of scores across the Five Cs, and (2) Whether subgroups also varied in Contribution behaviors. Unexpectedly, the four data sets used could not be combined, yielding an opportunity to discuss consistencies and inconsistencies in findings across the four data sets through contextual and sample differences. Findings demonstrate how understanding specificity in theorized concepts and processes in PYD models can complement studies of universal patterns, which are both necessary to advance PYD research and practice.

Adolescents' friendship quality and over-time development of well-being: The explanatory role of self-esteem.

INTRODUCTION: The mechanism underlying the positive longitudinal link between adolescents' friendship quality and their well-being is unclear. The present study was performed to investigate whether this longitudinal association between friendship quality and well-being was established via adolescents' global self-esteem, and to examine gender differences in these associations. METHODS: Online questionnaire data were collected in two waves (in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019) from 1298 Dutch adolescents aged 11-17 years (mean age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, 53.2% girls). RESULTS: Multigroup path analyses revealed a significant indirect effect between friendship quality and well-being over time via global self-esteem for girls. For boys, significant direct effects of friendship quality on global self-esteem and well-being were found, but no significant indirect effect. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that higher-quality friendships improve boys' global self-esteem and well-being directly, and that they affect girls' well-being indirectly and positively, by improving their global self-esteem. These results suggest that preventive and intervention-based strategies for the promotion of well-being during the developmental stage of adolescence should incorporate focus on friendships, global self-esteem, and gender specificities.

Mother-Adolescent Perceived Parenting Profiles and Mexican-origin Adolescents' Academic Performance.

Mothers and adolescents often perceive parenting differently, but it is unclear how different profiles of mother-adolescent perceived parenting and developmental transitions of such profiles would influence adolescent academic performance longitudinally. The current study adopted a three-wave dataset of 604 Mexican-origin adolescents (54% female; Mwave1.age = 12.92 years) and 595 mothers. Adolescents who agreed on high levels of positive parenting with their mothers in early adolescence (i.e., the Both High group) and stayed in the Both High group demonstrated the best academic performance in late adolescence. However, adolescents who changed from the Both High group in early adolescence and ended with discrepancies in perceived parenting or an agreement on low positive parenting with mothers in late adolescence had the worst academic performance. The findings suggest the plasticity of mother-adolescent relationships during adolescence, which can be an intervention target to improve Mexican-origin adolescent academic performance.

Longitudinal Relations among Identity Distinctiveness, Continuity, and Integration among Dutch Adolescents.

Identity distinctiveness, continuity, and coherence are all components of adolescents' identity development, but their longitudinal relations have rarely been examined. Data were analyzed on these three constructs collected over three years from 349 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 14.7, SDage = 0.7, 215 [61.6%] girls and 133 [38.1%] boys). A cross-lagged panel model of the three constructs showed that stability was relatively high for distinctiveness and continuity, whereas coherence was less stable. Distinctiveness and continuity were correlated positively within time, but cross-lagged associations were mostly not significant: Only distinctiveness and coherence negatively predicted each other across waves. Results suggest that distinctiveness, continuity, and coherence may be interrelated, but may not drive the development of each other.

Are Discrepancies Between Father and Adolescent Perceptions of Harsh Parenting and Conflict Associated with Adolescent Mental Health Symptoms?

Though differences in informant perceptions of family processes are associated with poorer health, few studies have examined discrepancies between father- and adolescent-report of family phenomena and their impact on adolescent mental health. This study examined how father and adolescent-reported parenting and the differences in their perceptions is related to adolescent mental health. Participants were 326 father-adolescent dyads (Fathers: Mage = 41.2; Adolescents: 7th grade students, Mage = 12.0, 48.5% female). Overall, analyses revealed significant main effects of father and/or adolescent report of father-adolescent conflict and harsh parenting on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Analyses revealed two instances in which discrepancies between father- and adolescent-report of family phenomena was related to adolescent mental health. Given the mixed nature of the findings based on the outcome reporter, the current study discusses implications for discrepancy research and future directions to better understand discrepant perceptions as useful information on their own. The parent clinical trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03125291, Registration date: 4/13/2017).

[Adolescence and identity peregrinations]. / Adolescence et pérégrinations identitaires.

When we work with children and teenagers, we are always open to their singular questions about their subjective foundations and their future. Questions of identity are increasingly present at the heart of our fast-paced modern world. Two clinical extracts from psychotherapies show that this quest for identity is dealt with on a case-by-case basis, while respecting each individual's temporality.