Pubertal timing and depressive symptoms in late adolescence: the moderating role of individual, peer, and parental factors.

This longitudinal study examined personal-accentuation and contextual-amplification models of pubertal timing. In these models, individual and contextual risk factors during childhood and adolescence can magnify the effects of early or late puberty on depression symptoms that occur years later. The moderating role of prepubertal individual factors (emotional problems in late childhood) and interpersonal factors (deviant peer affiliation, early dating, perceived peer popularity, and perceived parental rejection during adolescence) were tested. A representative sample of 1,431 Canadian adolescents between 10-11 and 16-17 years of age was followed biannually. In line with the personal-accentuation model, early puberty has been shown to be a predictor for depression in both girls and boys who presented emotional problems in childhood. This effect was also noted for late maturing boys. Consistent with the contextual-amplification model, early puberty predicted later depression in youth who perceived greater parental rejection. Interpersonal experiences such as early dating in girls and deviant peer affiliation in boys predicted depression in early maturers as well. For girls, early dating was also found to be amplified by childhood emotional problems. In line with biopsychosocial models, results indicate that the effect of pubertal timing on depressive symptoms must be conceptualized through complex interactions between characteristics of adolescents' interpersonal relationships and prepubertal vulnerabilities.

Adolescents' perceptions of parental practices: a cross-national comparison of Canada, France, and Italy.

This study compares two dimensions of parenting-emotional bonding and control-as perceived by adolescents living in three countries: Canada (province of Québec), France, and Italy. A cross-sectional sample was composed of 1256 adolescents who filled out a self-report questionnaire. Multiple Correspondence Analyses provided a graphic synthesis of cross-cultural results. Results indicate that parents are perceived as highly emotionally bonded, yet the perception of parental control produced two contrasting models. Canadian adolescents perceive less control and disciplinary actions from parents, and more tolerance. Conversely, Italian adolescents perceive more requirements and rules, and stricter disciplinary actions, while French adolescents' perceptions fall between the two. Results also suggested a gradual decrease in the perception of parental control between the ages of 11 and 19 years across all three countries. This reduction in parental constraints is perceived earlier by Canadian adolescents and later by Italian adolescents.

Developmental trajectories of boys' delinquent group membership and facilitation of violent behaviors during adolescence.

Being part of a delinquent group has been shown to facilitate the expression of an individual's own delinquent propensities. However, this facilitation effect has not been investigated from a developmental perspective within a population heterogeneity model. Using a semiparametric mixture model with data from the Montreal Longitudinal Experimental Study, this article addresses important issues in the developmental trends of membership to delinquent groups. We explore how the rate of violent behaviors follows delinquent peer group trajectories and investigate a differential facilitation effect of delinquent peers on violence across multiple developmental pathways. Results suggest that 25% of males followed a childhood or an adolescence delinquent group affiliation trajectory. These two groups account far most of the violent acts assessed during adolescence. In addition, the rate of violent behaviors follows these developmental trajectories. Controlling for these delinquent group trajectories, we also found that being involved in a delinquent group at any specific time during adolescence is associated with an increased rate of violent behaviors, and that leaving these groups results in a decrease in violent behaviors. This facilitation effect appears homogeneous over time and across developmental trajectories. Results are discussed from a social interactional perspective.

Parental practices in late adolescence, a comparison of three countries: Canada, France and Italy.

The objective of this study was to examine parental practices, such as affection, control and conflict, in three countries: Canada, France and Italy. The sample was composed of more than 900 late adolescents with an average age of 17 years, from three large cities: Montreal, Paris and Rome. Participants answered a self-report questionnaire that assessed five measures: emotional bonds with the father and mother, parental supervision, tolerance towards friends, punitiveness for violation of rules, and conflict frequency. Analyses of the results indicated that the country of origin discriminated for most of the parental practice dimensions. Canadian adolescents considered their parents to be more tolerant and rated them as using less punitive measures when rules were broken. Canadian parents also seemed to adopt comparable norms for boys and girls, which could be interpreted as a form of sexual egalitarianism, whereas Italian and French parents appeared less tolerant towards girls. Italian adolescents reported strong emotional bonds with each parent, and also identified more conflicts in their relationships with parents. French adolescents reported weaker emotional bonds with each parent and less parental supervision. Results were interpreted in the light of studies that have reported an influence of cultural background on both parental practices and parental decisions in each of these countries.

Theoretical structure of adolescent alienation: a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis.

This study examined the construct validity of adolescent alienation using second-order confirmatory factor analysis of the five dimensions conceptualized by Seeman (1959). Analysis was based on data from 275 high school students aged 14 to 18. The hypothesized multidimensionality of the construct was confirmed for both boys and girls using a second-order factor labeled alienation. Central dimensions of alienation as a latent construct were self-estrangement and powerlessness. Social isolation, meaninglessness, and especially normlessness were poorly explained by the second-order factor, suggesting that these dimensions entail enough specificity to be considered separately. A different theoretical model relating these dimensions is suggested and discussed.