Embracing the hidden potential: The contribution of majority world research to developmental science.

Research on adolescence from the Majority World possesses major hidden potential in contributing to global adolescent research and developmental science more broadly. In this commentary, the authors (1) describe the background and the process through which this special issue came into fruition, (2) introduce the emic approaches to study the influences of macro-contextual variations on developmental science and provide several pertinent examples on the contributions of Majority World research, (3) elaborate on challenges and barriers that Majority World scholars often face in conducting and disseminating their research, and (4) a few actionable steps and recommendations in promoting the representation and inclusion of Majority World research into global developmental science. Only when our field fully integrates findings from all regions of the world will we be able to develop a fundamental scientific representation and understanding of what it means to be an adolescent, how adolescents develop over time, and what tasks or phenomena in adolescent development are truly universal or specific to particular groups, regions, or areas.

The impact of COVID-19 on the peer relationships of adolescents around the world: A rapid systematic review.

The main objective of this rapid systematic review was to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted peer relationships for adolescents (10-25 years of age) around the globe. We focused on four indices of peer relationships: (1) loneliness, (2) social connectedness, (3) social support, and (4) social media use. In addition, we examined gender and age differences. Four databases (APA PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) were searched for articles published from January 2020 to November 2022. A total of 96 studies (cross-sectional: n = 66, longitudinal: n = 30, quantitative: n = 67, qualitative: n = 12, mixed-methods: n = 17) met our inclusion criteria (empirical observational studies with data on at least one of the indices of interest, cross-sectional data on COVID-19-related experiences or longitudinal data collected during the pandemic, age range of 10-25 years, typically developing adolescents). We extracted data and conducted a narrative synthesis. Findings suggest that COVID-19 disruptions negatively impacted peer relationships for youth. Most studies reported either an increase in loneliness over the course of the pandemic or a positive association between loneliness and COVID-19-related experiences. Similar findings were observed for increased social media use as a means of continued communication and connection. Fewer studies focused on social support but those that did reported a decrease or negative association with COVID-19-related experiences. Lastly, findings suggest a mixed impact on social connectedness, which might be due to the strengthening of closer ties and weakening of more distant relationships. Results for gender differences were mixed, and a systematic comparison of differences across ages was not possible. The heterogeneity in measures of COVID-19-related experiences as well as timing of data collection prevented a more nuanced examination of short and more long-term impacts.

Longitudinal Change in Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Symptoms from before to during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aimed to examine changes in depression and anxiety symptoms from before to during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of 1,339 adolescents (9-18 years old, 59% female) from three countries. We also examined if age, race/ethnicity, disease burden, or strictness of government restrictions moderated change in symptoms. Data from 12 longitudinal studies (10 U.S., 1 Netherlands, 1 Peru) were combined. Linear mixed effect models showed that depression, but not anxiety, symptoms increased significantly (median increase = 28%). The most negative mental health impacts were reported by multiracial adolescents and those under 'lockdown' restrictions. Policy makers need to consider these impacts by investing in ways to support adolescents' mental health during the pandemic.

Short Research Article: Promoting digital citizenship through a school-based intervention in early adolescence in Perú (a pilot quasi-experimental study).

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of a school-based intervention to promote digital citizenship (DC) in Perú. METHODS: We piloted a translation and cultural adaptation of a DC curriculum originally designed for the U.S. with students in Perú. Students were assigned to either the Intervention group (n = 136, 52% female; mean age = 13.3) or Control group (n = 130, 55% female; mean age = 13.4). Students in the Control group continued with "business-as-usual" during their advisory period while the Intervention group received the DC curriculum. RESULTS: We found limited evidence that the DC curriculum can promote positive online experience and online conflict resolution skills, as well as increase knowledge regarding DC terms and concepts. However, the lack of strong effects suggests the need to revise materials, improve implementation and consider further adaptations. Nonetheless, results from this proof-of-concept study provide building blocks for future implementations of DC interventions for youth in Latin America.

Positive and Negative Online Experiences and Loneliness in Peruvian Adolescents During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

Global COVID-19 lockdowns have disrupted adolescents' in-person social networks, increasing likelihood of loneliness. Social media can help adolescents maintain and develop peer relationships across distance. In this short longitudinal study with 735 Peruvian adolescents (ages: 11-17) from low-to-middle-income urban settings, we investigated whether online experiences relate to loneliness during initial stages of lockdown. Loneliness remained constant between week 6 and 11 of lockdown, was higher for females and similar across school-grades. Positive and negative online experiences were more frequent for older students, and females experienced more negative online experiences than males. Greater positive online experiences related to lower loneliness, with the reverse pattern for negative online experiences. Our results suggest that positive online experiences may mitigate loneliness during physical isolation.

Sustained and Transient Processes in Event-based Prospective Memory in Adolescence and Adulthood.

Prospective memory (PM) refers to the cognitive processes associated with remembering to perform an intended action after a delay. Varying the salience of PM cues while keeping the intended response constant, we investigated the extent to which participants relied on strategic monitoring, through sustained, top-down control, or on spontaneous retrieval via transient bottom-up processes. There is mixed evidence regarding developmental improvements in event-based PM performance after the age of 13 years. We compared PM performance and associated sustained and transient neural correlates in 28 typically developing adolescents (12-17 years old) and 19 adults (23-30 years old). Lower PM cue salience associated with slower ongoing task (OT) RTs, reflected by increased µ ex-Gaussian parameter, and sustained increases in frontoparietal activation during OT blocks, both thought to reflect greater proactive control supporting cue monitoring. Behavioral and neural correlates of PM trials were not specifically modulated by cue salience, revealing little difference in reactive control between conditions. The effect of cue salience was similar across age groups, suggesting that adolescents are able to adapt proactive control engagement to PM task demands. Exploratory analyses showed that younger, but not older, adolescents were less accurate and slower in PM trials relative to OT trials than adults and showed greater transient activation in PM trials in an occipito-temporal cluster. These results provide evidence of both mature and still maturing aspects of cognitive processes associated with implementation of an intention after a delay during early adolescence.

Social and Nonsocial Relational Reasoning in Adolescence and Adulthood.

Reasoning during social interactions requires the individual manipulation of mental representations of one's own traits and those of other people as well as their joint consideration (relational integration). Research using nonsocial paradigms has linked relational integration to activity in the rostrolateral PFC. Here, we investigated whether social reasoning is supported by the same general system or whether it additionally relies on regions of the social brain network, such as the medial PFC. We further assessed the development of social reasoning. In the social task, participants evaluated themselves or a friend, or compared themselves with their friend, on a series of traits. In the nonsocial task, participants evaluated their hometown or another town or compared the two. In a behavioral study involving 325 participants (11-39 years old), we found that integrating relations, compared with performing single relational judgments, improves during adolescence, both for social and nonsocial information. Thirty-nine female participants (10-31 years old) took part in a neuroimaging study using a similar task. Activation of the relational integration network, including the rostrolateral PFC, was observed in the comparison condition of both the social and nonsocial tasks, whereas the medial PFC showed greater activation when participants processed social as opposed to nonsocial information across conditions. Developmentally, the right anterior insula showed greater activity in adolescents compared with adults during the comparison of nonsocial versus social information. This study shows parallel recruitment of the social brain and the relational reasoning network during the relational integration of social information in adolescence and adulthood.

Social influence on risk perception during adolescence.

Adolescence is a period of life in which peer relationships become increasingly important. Adolescents have a greater likelihood of taking risks when they are with peers rather than alone. In this study, we investigated the development of social influence on risk perception from late childhood through adulthood. Five hundred and sixty-three participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations and were then informed about the ratings of a social-influence group (teenagers or adults) before rating each situation again. All age groups showed a significant social-influence effect, changing their risk ratings in the direction of the provided ratings; this social-influence effect decreased with age. Most age groups adjusted their ratings more to conform to the ratings of the adult social-influence group than to the ratings of the teenager social-influence group. Only young adolescents were more strongly influenced by the teenager social-influence group than they were by the adult social-influence group, which suggests that to early adolescents, the opinions of other teenagers about risk matter more than the opinions of adults.

Peruvian Adolescent Mental Health Across Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Four Time-Point Longitudinal Study.

PURPOSE: This study investigated symptoms of anxiety and depression, feelings of loneliness, and life satisfaction among low-to-middle income Peruvian adolescents during 2 years of remote schooling due to the COVID-19 lockdown. METHODS: We used a four-wave longitudinal observational approach. Data were collected in April 2020, October 2020, June 2021, and November 2021 in Perú. A total of 2,392 adolescents (ages 10-15; 57% female) participated in the study. We described longitudinal changes in symptoms of anxiety and depression, feelings of loneliness, and life satisfaction across the four time points and investigated sex and school grade differences. RESULTS: Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and loneliness increased, and life satisfaction decreased over the course of 2 years of remote education. The rate of change was different for each outcome of well-being. We found robust sex differences for all outcomes. In addition, we found school grade differences for anxiety and depression. DISCUSSION: The mental health and well-being of Peruvian adolescents, particularly female adolescents, declined during 2 years of remote education, despite loosening of other pandemic restrictions. Depression appears to have the earliest impacts, with anxiety levels showing even some improvement for male adolescents. School grade differences in levels of anxiety and depression for seventh and eighth graders in 2020 and 2021 provide initial evidence to disentangle pandemic from developmental effects.

Perspectives of researchers engaging in majority world research to promote diverse and global psychological science.

Journal analyses have documented the historical neglect of research pertaining to the Majority World in psychological science, and the need for inclusivity is clearly articulated to ensure a science that is comprehensive and globally applicable. However, no systematic efforts have explored the perspectives of researchers working with Majority World communities regarding the challenges they experience in conducting and disseminating research and ways to address them. Our aim was to explore these challenges from the perspective of these researchers using an embedded mixed-methods design. Based on responses of 232 researchers who engage in psychological research with Majority World communities (68.1% from Africa, Asia, or Latin America, remaining from the Minority World), we identified challenges in three areas: (a) stemming from an inherent bias against Majority World research, (b) experienced by all researchers, which nonetheless are heightened for those engaging in research with Majority World populations, and (c) specific to researchers affiliated with Majority World institutions. Based on the findings, we recommend journal editorial teams and funding agencies: (a) acknowledge and address the bias inherent in the publication and funding process, (b) recruit editorial team members, program officers, and reviewers from the Majority World, (c) train editorial team members, program officers, and reviewers from the Minority World to thoughtfully evaluate Majority World research, and (d) provide resources for researchers affiliated with Majority World institutions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).