Religious development from adolescence to early adulthood among Muslim and Christian youth in Germany: A person-oriented approach.

Religious decline, often observed among North American Christian youth, may not apply universally. We examined this and whether religiosity is associated with well-being, risk behavior, cultural values, and acculturation among 4080 Muslim and Christian adolescents aged 15-22 in Germany. Utilizing seven waves from the CILS4EU project and a person-oriented analytical approach, we identified different religious trajectories for Muslim (58% high, 31% low, 11% increasing), immigrant-origin Christian (68% low, 32% medium), and non-immigrant Christian (74% low, 17% decreasing, 9% medium) youth. High and medium trajectories were associated with greater well-being, lower risk behavior, more conservative attitudes, and less sociocultural integration. To fully understand religious development, we must consider diverse national contexts and groups, employing long-term perspectives and person-centered analyses.

Changes in young adults' mental well-being before and during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic: disparities between ethnic groups in Germany.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantial disruptions to the daily lives of young people. Yet knowledge is lacking about changes in mental well-being among young adults, whether those from ethnic minorities were more adversely impacted by the pandemic than the ethnic majority, and the extent to which pandemic-related stressors contributed to any declines in mental well-being. METHODS: We draw on nationally representative German CILS4COVID data, collected early in the pandemic (N = 3517, Mage = 25). Respondents provided information on mental well-being (psychosomatic complaints, anxiety, depression, life satisfaction) and exposure to pandemic-related stressors (financial worries, health worries, discrimination, contact with COVID-19). Responses on mental well-being were matched to responses from two pre-pandemic waves. Individual fixed effects regressions examined ethnic group differences in changes in mental well-being prior to, and at the early stage of, the pandemic. Path analysis tested the role of pandemic-related stressors in declines in mental well-being. RESULTS: Overall, young adults' mental well-being had improved at the pandemic assessment compared to pre-pandemic assessments, and few ethnic group differences in changes were found. However, greater pandemic-related stressors were associated with worsened mental well-being at the pandemic assessment. Among Asian minorities, indirect effects were found on anxiety via health worries, and on depression via health worries and discrimination. For Turkish, Middle Eastern and African minorities, indirect effects on anxiety and depression were found via health worries. CONCLUSIONS: We did not find widespread declines in mental well-being among young adults at the early stage of the pandemic, and changes in mental well-being prior to and at the early stage of the pandemic were mostly similar across ethnic German and minority groups. Nevertheless, pandemic-related stressors posed risks for young adults' mental well-being, particularly increased discrimination and health worries among Asian minorities, and health worries among Turkish, Middle Eastern and African minorities.

Anxiety and Depressive Symptom Trajectories in Adolescence and the Co-Occurring Development of Cognitive Biases: Evidence from the CogBIAS Longitudinal Study.

The development of negative cognitive biases, together with symptoms of anxiety and depression, has yet to be investigated longitudinally. Using a three-wave design, the present study examined developmental trajectories of anxiety and depressive symptoms and the co-occurrence of cognitive biases, in a large normative sample of adolescents (N = 504). Data was drawn from the CogBIAS Longitudinal Study (CogBIAS-L-S), which assessed a wide range of psychological variables, including cognitive biases and self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms, when adolescents were approximately 13, 14.5, and 16 years of age. The results showed that overall levels of anxiety were low and stable, while levels of depression were low but increased slightly at each wave. Growth mixture modeling identified four distinct developmental classes with regard to anxiety and depressive symptoms. Multiple group analysis further showed that class membership was related to the development of cognitive biases. The majority of the sample (75%) was characterised by 'Low symptoms' of anxiety and depression and showed low interpretation and memory biases for negative stimuli at each wave. A second class (11%) displayed 'Decreasing anxiety symptoms' and showed decreasing interpretation bias, but increasing memory bias. A third class (8%) displayed 'Comorbid increasing symptoms' and showed increasing interpretation and memory biases. While the fourth class (6%) displayed 'Comorbid decreasing symptoms' and showed decreasing interpretation and memory biases. This longitudinal study sheds light on healthy and psychopathological emotional development in adolescence and highlights cognitive mechanisms that may be useful targets for prevention and early interventions.

Dual Identity Development and Adjustment in Muslim Minority Adolescents.

Dual identity (e.g., strong ethnic and national identity) is a psychological resource for minority groups, but how it develops during adolescence is less clear. In this 3-wave longitudinal study, a person-oriented approach was used to examine dual identity development in a sample of 2145 Muslim adolescents (MT1 = 15 years, 51% female) in four Western European countries. The results of a growth-mixture model pointed toward four distinct developmental Classes: (1) "Dual identity", (2) "Separation to dual identity", (3) "Assimilation to dual identity", and (4) "Separation". Multiple group comparisons further showed that adolescents in Class 1 were well adjusted, but well-being (e.g., internalizing problems, life satisfaction) and health were even higher among adolescents in Class 2. Adolescents in Class 3 had consistently lower levels of well-being, and adolescents in Class 4 had lower levels of socio-cultural adjustment (e.g., problem behaviour at school, delinquent behaviour, and lack of intergroup contact). The findings underscore that most Muslim minority adolescents in Western Europe develop a dual identity, and that the developmental process, not simply the outcome, matters for adjustment.

Balanced Cultural Identities Promote Cognitive Flexibility among Immigrant Children.

The acculturation complexity model suggests that immersion into dissonant cultures promotes cognitive skills in biculturals (Tadmor and Tetlock, 2006). In the present study, we examined links between identity acculturation and executive functioning (EF). Turkish-German immigrant origin children (N = 225; M = 11 years, SD = 1.6 years, 99 males) were given questions about their identification with Turks and Germans to capture bicultural involvement and a Dot Task (using Hearts and Flowers) to measure EF. Results showed that Turkish-German bicultural children who endorse both cultures with equal strength did not have a cognitive advantage in working memory and inhibition compared to their peers who more clearly preferred one culture over the other. However, bicultural children who endorse both cultures with equal strength performed significantly better on a switching task that required cognitive flexibility. The study highlights the potential cognitive benefits associated with biculturalism.

Low ethnic identity exploration undermines positive interethnic relations: A study among Turkish immigrant-origin youth.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study investigates whether immigrant-origin youths' ethnic identity exploration moderates the link between ethnic identity commitment and positive interethnic relations, operationalized as cross-ethnic friendships. METHOD: Turkish-German 4th graders (9-12 years old, n = 73) and 7th graders (13-15 years old, n = 67) reported on their cross-ethnic friendships at Time 1 and approximately 10 months later at Time 2. Commitment and exploration were measured at Time 1 with age appropriate versions of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure. RESULTS: About 40% of the children's friendships were cross-ethnic and the amount of cross-ethnic friendships did not change from Time 1 to Time 2. Ethnic identity commitment and exploration were unrelated to cross-ethnic friendships in both age groups. Yet, among the 7th graders, exploration moderated the link between commitment and cross-ethnic friendships: when exploration was low, a higher level of commitment was associated with fewer cross-ethnic friendships. These associations were not significant among 4th-grade children. CONCLUSION: We conclude that by the age of 13 years, ethnic identity exploration can improve interethnic relations. (PsycINFO Database Record