Internalizing Symptoms among Kosovar Adolescents: Pubertal Correlates in Boys and Girls.

Pubertal status/stage of maturation and pubertal timing have been linked with emotional symptoms of problems among youth, particularly in vulnerable developmental contexts at risk for stress exposure. The present study tested the extent to which pubertal status/stage of maturation and pubertal timing were associated with anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, and somatic complaint symptoms in Kosovar adolescents. It also tested whether sex moderated these relationships. Data were collected from N = 1,342 Kosovar adolescents (665 girls; M age = 13.26 years, SD = 1.27; 677 boys M age = 13.19 years, SD = 1.31). Regression analyses provided evidence that pubertal status/stage was positively associated with rates of anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, and somatic complaint symptoms in girls, but only with withdrawn/depressed symptoms in boys. Additionally, pubertal timing was positively associated with anxious/depressed, and somatic complaint symptoms in girls; no significant links were found for boys. The present study provided evidence that advanced pubertal status/stage as well as timing is positively associated with internalizing symptoms in girls; however, only pubertal status/stage was positively associated with withdrawn/depressed symptoms in boys. The study highlights the importance of pubertal development for internalizing symptoms in a developmental context known for high stress exposure, particularly for girls.

Developmental changes in school burnout: The importance of sleep and problematic Internet use.

INTRODUCTION: School burnout remains a prevalent problem among adolescents; it is associated with low academic achievement and school dropout risk, in turn linked to a whole host of deleterious developmental outcomes. The current longitudinal study sought to better understand the developmental course of school burnout by testing whether poor sleep and problematic internet use each uniquely and additively explained the variance in school burnout over time. METHOD: Data were collected four times over 18 months, 6 months apart from N = 405 adolescents, grades 9 to 11. RESULTS: Sleep quality, but not quantity, was significantly associated with the school burnout intercept (ß = -0.29); no effects were found for the slope. Problematic internet use was also significantly associated with the intercept (ß = .44), but not the slope. In a combined model, both sleep quality and problematic internet use significantly predicted the school burnout intercept. The slope was only predicted by age (ß = -0.21). CONCLUSIONS: The study found partial support for the hypotheses that both poor sleep quality and problematic internet use predicted school burnout, intercept only, not the rate of change. The evidence suggests that school burnout increased across high school; however, the rate of increase slowed with age. In contrast to some previous work, study findings highlight the importance of separately considering both poor sleep and problematic internet use in understanding the development of school burnout during adolescence. N = 229.

Effects of parenting program components on parental stress: A systematic review and component network meta-analysis.

The present study tested the effectiveness and ranking of the different combinations of parenting program components in reducing parental stress at the first posttreatment measurement in treatment settings for parents of children with disruptive behaviors. Fifty-seven studies were identified. Six different combinations of parenting program components were compared to the inactive component (control group), based on five active components (psychoeducation [PE], behavior management [BM], relationship enhancement [RE], parental self-management [SM], and parent as a coach [PC]). Except for BM with PE, all treatments, namely (a) BM with RE, (b) BM with SM, (c) BM with PE and SM and PC, (d) BM with RE and SM, and (e) BM with PE and RE and SM and PC, were effective in reducing parental stress when compared to the control group. The ranking of combinations provided evidence that BM with RE (e.g., parent-child interaction therapy) was the most effective combination for reducing parental stress. The evidence also indicated that more comprehensive parenting program components (BM with PE and RE and SM and PC, e.g., The Incredible Years) were less effective in reducing parental stress. The current findings indicate that parenting programs have the potential to reduce parental stress, even if programs are primarily aimed at improving children's behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal Links Between Parental Emotional Distress and Adolescent Delinquency: The Role of Marital Conflict and Parent-Child Conflict.

The mediating processes linking parental emotional distress and changes in adolescent delinquency over time are poorly understood. The current study examined this question using data from 457 adolescents (49.5% female; 89.5% White; assessed at ages 11, 12, and 15) and their parents, part of the national, longitudinal Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD). Maternal depression was only directly associated with changes in adolescent delinquency. Paternal depression was indirectly associated with changes in adolescent delinquency through a partner effect on mother-child conflict. The findings indicate the salience of parental depression and mother-child conflict for increases in adolescent delinquency and highlight the importance of including parental actor and partner effects for a more comprehensive understanding of the tested associations.

Anxiety and Stress among American, Chinese, Italian, and Russian Emerging Adults: Does Uncertainty Avoidance Matter?

Levels of anxiety and stress vary throughout the lifespan and across cultures. Uncertainty appears particularly relevant during emerging adulthood, thus potentially affecting both stress and anxiety. Uncertainty as a construct was identified by Hofstede (i.e., Uncertainty Avoidance Index, UAI), who defined it as the extent to which members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and tend to avoid them. The UAI was considered as a means to understand cultures in addition to the "classic" distinction between collectivist and individualistic cultures. The present study compared levels of anxiety and stress in 1790 university students (18-21 years old) from two individualistic (Italy and the US) and two collectivistic (China and Russia) countries, with a consideration of country UAI levels. Results showed that country-level UAI scores were associated with levels of anxiety and stress, controlling for age and sex. Italian and Russian students reported greater anxiety than American and Chinese ones. Chinese emerging adults reported the lowest stress levels, followed by American, Italian, and Russian students. The study findings provide initial evidence that anxiety and stress in emerging adults are associated with how a culture deals with perceived instability and uncertainty about the future.

The Importance of Narcissism and Impulsivity for Bullying and Cyberbullying Perpetration.

Bullying and cyberbullying remain serious public health concerns threatening the well-being of adolescents. The current study tested the links between narcissism and impulsivity and measures of both bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. Data were collected from 575 Turkish adolescents (54.4% female, M age = 15.86, SD = 1.15). Hierarchical logistic regressions tested the main study hypotheses. Findings showed that narcissism and impulsivity were each independently and additively positively associated with both bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. Findings from a competing, ex post facto alternative model provided evidence that impulsivity was a mediator in the narcissism-bullying perpetration (partial) and the narcissism-cyberbullying perpetration links (full). Findings highlight the importance of considering both narcissism and impulsivity in evaluating the factors contributing to both forms of bullying behaviors, which has important prevention and intervention effort implications.

Longitudinal links of parental solicitation, knowledge, and peer approval with deviance during early adolescence.

The current study examined growth-to-growth associations of parental solicitation, knowledge, and peer approval with deviance during early adolescence, using a 4-wave, 18-month self-reported longitudinal data set from 570 Czech early adolescents (58.4% female; Mage = 12.43 years, SD = 0.66 at baseline). Unconditional growth model tests provided evidence of significant changes in the three parenting behaviors and in deviance over time. Multivariate growth model tests showed that declines in maternal knowledge were associated with increases in deviance, while greater increases in parental peer approval were associated with slower increases in deviance. Findings provide evidence of dynamic changes in parental solicitation, knowledge, and peer approval over time, as well as in deviance; additionally, they importantly show how parental knowledge and peer approval covary developmentally with deviance.

Is the Effect of Parenting on Substance Use among Adolescents and Young Adults Context Dependent? Evidence from Ten Countries of Southeastern Europe.

Related to some inconsistent evidence in the literature, the current study tested the links between three parenting styles and four measures of substance use in samples of adolescents and young adults from ten, socio-economically diverse countries in Southeastern Europe (N = 10,909, 50.3% males, Mage = 21.70, SD = 4.5); it also tested whether these links were moderated by a measure of social progress. Results indicated that only authoritative parenting style was negatively associated with substance use; both authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were positively associated with substance use. The country-level effect on substance use was modest, yet significant; it explained between 1% and 4% of the total variance. Findings also provided some evidence of a moderation effects by social progress. Exploratory follow-up HLM analyses also provided evidence of significant country level social progress effects on alcohol use, soft drug use, and hard drug use; however, no significant cross-level interactions effects were found. Key study implications include positive effects by both authoritarian and permissive parenting on young adult substance use, but importantly, negative ones by authoritative parenting. Findings have important implications for potential intervention and prevention efforts, in addition to addressing potential country-level differences.

Through Myths, Attitudes, or Norms? The Relationship Between Low Self-Control and Sexual Aggression.

This study tested the direct and indirect effects of low self-control on sexual aggression and violence, mediated through rape myth acceptance, date rape attitudes, and promiscuous sexual norms among college-aged men. Self-report data were collected from 369 male college students attending a large university in the southeastern United States. The final model with all three mediators indicated significant mediated effects through date rape attitudes as well as promiscuous sexual norms on sexual aggression; it explained 16% (Cox & Snell) and 23% (Nagelkerke) of the variance. Study findings support the importance of low self-control on sexual aggression among male college students.

Longitudinal bidirectional effects between sleep quality and internalizing problems.

INTRODUCTION: The current study tested the longitudinal bidirectional links between changes in sleep quality and two measures of internalizing problems, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and whether these links differed between males and females. METHODS: Longitudinal data were collected from 570 early adolescents (58.6% female; Mage = 12.43 years, SD = 0.66 at Time 1) who were assessed four times over the course of 1.5 years. RESULTS: Cross-lagged panel models were hypothesized and tested the bidirectional links between sleep quality and both depressive and anxiety symptoms; multigroup tests were used to test for sex differences. Sleep quality and developmental changes in sleep quality were negatively associated with developmental changes in depressive symptoms as well as anxiety symptoms over time, and vice versa. These associations did not differ between male and female early adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings provide evidence that the relationship between poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms as well as anxiety symptoms are likely bidirectional and consistently intertwined. Clinicians might consider both problems to better guide case conceptualization and treatment.

Maternal closeness, kinship ties, and future orientation among rural African American youth: The mediating role of ethnic identity.

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have considered the importance of kin or extended family relationships on future orientation. Additionally, some of the underlying processes linking social bonds to future orientation remain poorly understood. Based on theoretical work focused on attachment and identity, this study tested the potential mediating effects of ethnic identity on the links between close relationships (maternal closeness and kinship ties) and future orientation over time. Specifically, the study tested the extent to which ethnic identity mediated the relationship between maternal closeness and future orientation, and the relationship between kinship ties and future orientation. In addition, it tested whether sex moderated the relationships between maternal closeness/kinship ties and future orientation measures (education and career) as well as between ethnic identity and future orientation measures. METHODS: Self-report data were collected twice, approximately 6 months apart, during a school year from a sample of rural African American adolescents (n = 274, Mage = 14.81, SD = 1.48). RESULTS: Findings provided evidence of mediation effects by ethnic identity on the relationships between maternal closeness and future orientation measures, and the link between kinship ties and future orientation measures. In addition, sex moderated the associations between ethnic identity and future education orientation as well as between maternal closeness and future education orientation; no moderation effects were found for the links with future career orientation measures. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal closeness and kinship ties appear to be critical for supporting ethnic identity and for developing educational and career future orientation among rural African American youth.

Empathy, Self-control, Callous-Unemotionality, and Delinquency: Unique and Shared Developmental Antecedents.

The current investigation tested childhood developmental antecedents of adolescent empathy, self-control, callous-unemotionality, and delinquency, namely difficult temperament, positive socialization experiences, and intelligence; it also tested potential mediation effects of temperament via socialization. Data were collected as part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care and Youth Development Study, which followed N = 1364 children from birth through 15 years (51% female, 80% European American). Early positive socialization (maternal sensitivity, secure attachment, and quality home environment) and temperament variables were assessed from 1 to 36 months, intelligence at age 9, and self-control, empathy, callous-unemotionality, and delinquency at age 15. Based on structural equation modeling hypothesis tests, early positive socialization positively predicted self-control and empathy, and negatively predicted callous-unemotionality and delinquency. Intelligence uniquely and positively predicted empathy. Difficult infant temperament indirectly predicted each of the four traits through early positive socialization. Important research and practical implications are discussed.

Links Between Parenting and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: Cross-Cultural Evidence from Ten Countries.

The present study tested the links between perceived maternal and paternal parenting and internalizing and externalizing problems across ten cultures (China, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States). Self-report data were collected from N = 12,757 adolescents (Mage = 17.13 years, 48.4% female). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models tested whether: (1) the six parenting processes (closeness, support, monitoring, communication, peer approval, and conflict; Adolescent Family Process, Short Form (AFP-SF, 18 items) varied across cultures, and (2) the links between parenting processes and measures of internalizing and externalizing problems varied across cultures. Study findings indicated measurement invariance (configural and metric) of both maternal and paternal parenting processes and that the parenting-internalizing/externalizing problems links did not vary across cultures. Findings underscore the ubiquitous importance of parenting processes for internalizing and externalizing problems across diverse Asian, European, Eurasian, and North American cultures.

The Associations of Polygenic Scores for Risky Behaviors and Parenting Behaviors with Adolescent Externalizing Problems.

The current study focused on longitudinal effects of genetics and parental behaviors and their interplay on externalizing behaviors in a panel study following individuals from adolescence to young adulthood. The nationally representative sample of Add Health participants of European ancestry included N = 4142 individuals, measured on three occasions. Parenting was operationalized as experiences with child maltreatment and maternal closeness. Externalizing problems were operationalized as alcohol use, cannabis use, and antisocial behaviors. Genetic effects were operationalized as a polygenic score (PGS) of risky behaviors. The results showed significant effects for child maltreatment, maternal closeness, and PGS, above and beyond other factors and previous levels of externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, maternal closeness was found to negatively correlate with PGS. No significant interaction effects of parenting and PGS were found. The results underscore the joint independent effects of parenting and genetics on the change in externalizing behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood.

Does Self-control Outdo IQ in Predicting Academic Performance?

Duckworth and Seligman's seminal work found that self-discipline (self-control) was more salient for academic achievement than intelligence. Very little replication work exists, including in different cultures; the current study addressed these gaps. Data were collected from 6th and 7th grade cohorts of early adolescents (N = 589; age: Mean = 12.34 years, and SD = 0.89; 58% female) over two years. The study tested whether self-control was a stronger predictor than intelligence in explaining academic performance two years later as well as in explaining developmental changes over the course of two years. Path analyses provided evidence that both self-control and intelligence longitudinally predicted teacher-reported academic competence as well as school-reported grades; however, intelligence was a significantly stronger predictor than self-control. In addition, only intelligence predicted developmental changes in each measure of academic performance over time, self-control did not.

Sleepless: The developmental significance of sleep quality and quantity among adolescents.

The current study tested the developmental significance of both early adolescent sleep quantity and quality for academic competence and internalizing and externalizing problems over the course of 2 years. As part of an accelerated longitudinal study, data were collected from N = 586 Czech adolescents (Mage = 12.34 years, SD = .89, 58.4% female). Data analyses included a series of logistic regressions that controlled for adolescent sex, age, family structure, and socioeconomic status. Findings showed that sleep quality at Wave 1 predicted developmental changes 1 year later (Wave 3) in depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem (ORrange = 1.7-1.8) and 2 years later (Wave 5) in externalizing behaviors (OR = 2.6). Importantly, despite the associations observed with Wave 3 anxiety and deviance, Wave 1 sleep quantity was unrelated to subsequent developmental changes in adjustment measures, both 1 and 2 years later. No sleep effects at all were observed on a variety of measures of academic competence. Study findings underscore the developmental significance of sleep and indicate greater salience of sleep quality vis-à-vis sleep quantity. They also replicate some of the observed relationships found in previous longitudinal work on the sleep-mood link but extend the sleep-adolescent adjustment literature in a number of important ways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI): Psychometric and clinical risk score applications among college students.

Sleep is closely related to physical and mental health problems as well as problem behaviors among adolescents and young adults. Thus, to better understand sleep seems paramount, including how to best measure it. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is one of the most widely used sleep measures. Some recent psychometric evidence (i.e., inconsistent dimensionality across studies) has called into question the application of this clinically developed measure. The current study sought to rigorously test the dimensionality of the measure, by comparing a psychometric application of it to a clinical application. It also tested correlates of sleep quality measured by the PSQI, including academic achievement, mental health, and substance use (alcohol and drug use) . Data were collected from 820 college students using an online computer-assisted protocol. Results from factor analyses supported a 2-factor solution for the PSQI. Findings from path analyses using scale scores based on the extracted factor structure as the independent variable provided evidence that the psychometric approach worked equally well as the clinical application using the global sleep quality risk score , providing some support for the use of a psychometric approach of the PSQI. Sleep quality scores (both scale and global sleep quality risk scores) were consistently associated with academic achievement, mental health, and substance use problems, thus providing further support on the importance of good sleep for young adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The link between individualism-collectivism and life satisfaction among emerging adults from four countries.

The current investigation tested life satisfaction (LS), a cognitive component of subjective well-being, among emerging adults, in the context of individualism (I) and collectivism (C), by distinguishing both cultural and individual levels of analysis, considering their horizontal (H) and vertical (V) dimensions, and controlling age and gender effects. Emerging adults (N = 1760 university students, aged 18-25, Mage  = 19.46, SDag  = 1.50) located across four countries, namely China, Italy, Russia, and the USA, known to differ in the individualism index value (IDV), completed measures on the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism and Life Satisfaction. At the cultural level, an ANCOVA showed a significant country effects on LS. The post hoc comparisons indicated that the higher the country IDV score, the higher the average LS score, in the following order: Americans, Italians, Russians, and Chinese. At the individual level, LS was unrelated to HI and VI. Instead, it was associated with HC and VC. The positive link between LS and VC suggested an important role of family connectedness on LS across different cultures during emerging adulthood. However, contrary to previous studies, LS was unrelated to HI and VI.

Bullying Perpetration and Victimization: A Test of Traditional and Cyber-Behaviors as Latent Constructs.

The current investigation hypothesized and tested latent bully/victim traits for physical, verbal, or relational bullying/victimization, both cyber and traditional behaviors. Data were collected from 1,356 German students who attended Grades 5 to 10: 48.4% males, 49.3% females from eight different schools in Northern Germany. Based on two samples for cross-validation (Ntraining set = 525, Nvalidation set = 525), study findings provided strong evidence of adequate model fit, both for traditional and cyber behaviors. Consistent with the current state of knowledge, bullying and victimization latent traits highly associated, more so for cyber behaviors than traditional ones. Thus, both the theoretical plausibility as well as statistical evidence support the application of latent modeling to these behaviors. Further research is needed to replicate the applied measurement models proposed in this work and to reveal moderators or measurement invariance across diverse populations. Nevertheless, the current evidence substantiates the importance of the application of a latent modeling approach to overcome known psychometric challenges of reliability and validity in bullying research.

Parental and kinship ties, and low self-control: Violence perpetration among rural African American adolescents from the Black Belt.

INTRODUCTION: A substantial body of research supports both social control and self-control theories in explaining violent or deviant behaviors. Most previous work has focused on the links between family ties or bonds and deviance, along with low self-control. A potentially untested and overlooked bond is the extended kinship network, particularly among African American youth. The current study tested the extent to which kinship ties explained unique variability in violence perpetration, net the effects by family ties, low self-control, and background variables. METHODS: Data were collected from rural African American adolescents enrolled in a poor, rural public school located in the Black Belt in the Southeastern United States. The sample included N = 610 adolescents (55.9% female; Mage = 15.64, SD = 1.74). RESULTS: Findings from hierarchical regressions provided evidence that kinship ties explained unique variance in violence perpetration, above and beyond the effects of parental support and low self-control. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings provide some support for the unique importance of kinship ties in understanding variability in adolescent violence perpetration in this sample of poor, rural African American adolescents. Thus, they highlight a potentially unique extra-familial source of socialization and social control; this finding, in particular, has important theoretical and practical implications for prevention and intervention efforts targeting violent behaviors among rural African American youth.