The role of social cognitions in the social gradient in adolescent mental health: A longitudinal mediation model.

The social gradient in adolescent mental health is well established: adolescents' socioeconomic status is negatively associated with their mental health. However, despite changes in social cognition during adolescence, little is known about whether social cognitions mediate this gradient. Therefore, this study tested this proposed mediational path using three data waves, each 6 months apart, from a socioeconomically diverse sample of 1,429 adolescents (Mage = 17.9) in the Netherlands. Longitudinal modeling examined whether three social cognitions (self-esteem, sense of control, and optimism) mediated associations between perceived family wealth and four indicators of adolescent mental health problems (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems). There was evidence of a social gradient: adolescents with lower perceived family wealth reported more concurrent emotional symptoms and peer problems and an increase in peer problems 6 months later. Results also showed evidence of mediation through social cognitions, specifically sense of control: adolescents with lower perceived family wealth reported a decrease in sense of control (though not self-esteem nor optimism) 6 months later, and lower sense of control predicted increases in emotional symptoms and hyperactivity 6 months later. We found concurrent positive associations between perceived family wealth and all three social cognitions, and concurrent negative associations between social cognitions and mental health problems. The findings indicate that social cognitions, especially sense of control, may be an overlooked mediator of the social gradient in adolescent mental health.

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.

Educational level, attention problems, and externalizing behaviour in adolescence and early adulthood: the role of social causation and health-related selection-the TRAILS study.

Social causation and health-related selection may contribute to educational differences in adolescents' attention problems and externalizing behaviour. The social causation hypothesis posits that the social environment influences adolescents' mental health. Conversely, the health-related selection hypothesis proposes that poor mental health predicts lower educational attainment. From past studies it is unclear which of these mechanisms predominates, as attention problems and externalizing behaviour have the potential to interfere with educational attainment, but may also be affected by differences in the educational context. Furthermore, educational gradients in mental health may reflect the impact of 'third variables' already present in childhood, such as parental socioeconomic status (SES), and IQ. We investigated both hypotheses in relation to educational differences in externalizing behaviour and attention problems throughout adolescence and young adulthood. We used data from a Dutch cohort (TRAILS Study; n = 2229), including five measurements of educational level, externalizing behaviour, and attention problems from around age 14-26 years. First, we evaluated the directionality in longitudinal associations between education, externalizing behaviour, and attention problems with and without adjusting for individual differences using fixed effects. Second, we assessed the role of IQ and parental SES in relation to attention problems, externalizing behaviour, and educational level. Attention problems predicted decreases in education throughout all of adolescence and young adulthood. Differences in parental SES contributed to increases in externalizing behaviour amongst the lower educational tracks in mid-adolescence. Childhood IQ and parental SES strongly predicted education around age 14. Parental SES, but not IQ, also predicted early adolescent attention problems and externalizing behaviour. Our results provide support for the health-related selection hypothesis in relation to attention problems and educational attainment. Further, our results highlight the role of social causation from parental SES in determining adolescent educational level, attention problems, and externalizing behaviour.

Decline in positive future orientations among adolescents during covid-19: The role of socioeconomic status, parental support, and sense of control.

INTRODUCTION: Before coronavirus disease (covid-19), adolescents from a lower socioeconomic status (SES) background tend to have less positive future orientations, receive less parental support, and have a weaker sense of control than adolescents from a higher SES background. The covid-19 pandemic has potentially increased the socioeconomic gaps in positive future orientations, parental support, and sense of control among adolescents who are currently in vocational education. As societies are aiming to return back to precovid norms, certain groups of adolescents might require more attention for ensuring a stable future than others. METHODS: Two-wave questionnaire data of 689 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 17.8; 56% female) from the Youth Got Talent project was analyzed. Latent Change Score models are a relatively novel approach that allows two-wave data to estimate associations between precovid predictor variables and changes in outcome variables from before to during covid-19 (e.g., SES, positive future orientations, parental support, and sense of control). Analyses were preregistered. RESULTS: The precovid socioeconomic differences in adolescent's positive future orientations and sense of control remained stable during covid-19, whereas the socioeconomic difference in parental support decreased during covid-19. A decline in parental support, an increase in sense of control, and more covid-19 hardships were associated with an increase in future orientations. CONCLUSION: The covid-19 situation has not substantially increased socioeconomic differences in positive future orientations and sense of control, but did decrease socioeconomic differences in parental support among adolescents. Short-term policies should aim to facilitate parental support and positive future orientations to all adolescents who experienced a decline, while also long-term focusing on the more consistent socioeconomic difference in sense of control among adolescents.

Variance constraints strongly influenced model performance in growth mixture modeling: a simulation and empirical study.

BACKGROUND: Growth Mixture Modeling (GMM) is commonly used to group individuals on their development over time, but convergence issues and impossible values are common. This can result in unreliable model estimates. Constraining variance parameters across classes or over time can solve these issues, but can also seriously bias estimates if variances differ. We aimed to determine which variance parameters can best be constrained in Growth Mixture Modeling. METHODS: To identify the variance constraints that lead to the best performance for different sample sizes, we conducted a simulation study and next verified our results with the TRacking Adolescent Individuals' Lives Survey (TRAILS) cohort. RESULTS: If variance parameters differed across classes and over time, fitting a model without constraints led to the best results. No constrained model consistently performed well. However, the model that constrained the random effect variance and residual variances across classes consistently performed very poorly. For a small sample size (N = 100) all models showed issues. In TRAILS, the same model showed substantially different results from the other models and performed poorly in terms of model fit. CONCLUSIONS: If possible, a Growth Mixture Model should be fit without any constraints on variance parameters. If not, we recommend to try different variance specifications and to not solely rely on the default model, which constrains random effect variances and residual variances across classes. The variance structure must always be reported Researchers should carefully follow the GRoLTS-Checklist when analyzing and reporting trajectory analyses.

Investigating the Joint Development of Approach Bias and Adolescent Alcohol Use.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the joint development between implicit approach bias and early adolescent alcohol use, and examined whether the link between approach bias and alcohol use was moderated by working memory (WM). METHODS: The current study used data from a 2-year, 4-wave online sample of 378 Dutch early adolescents (mean age 14.9 years, 64.8% female). First, using latent growth curve modeling, we examined trajectories of approach bias and alcohol use over time. Second, we examined relations between baseline approach bias and WM and the development of alcohol use. Third, we examined the joint development of approach bias and alcohol use. Fourth, we examined whether the nature of this joint development varied for different levels of WM. RESULTS: Unconditional growth curve model analyses indicated that the functional forms of alcohol use and cognitive bias were best captured by quadratic and linear trajectories, respectively. We found that cognitive bias decreased over time. We found no significant relations between baseline predictors and observed increases in alcohol use. We found relations between the intercepts, but not to growth factors, in the joint development of alcohol use and approach bias. WM was not found to moderate relations between growth in approach bias and alcohol use in this sample. CONCLUSIONS: While we observed evidence of association between approach bias and alcohol use at baseline, there was no evidence of relations between development trajectories of the two. These findings replicate prior research demonstrating a role of implicit approach bias in predicting early adolescent alcohol use but do not demonstrate, in a light drinking early adolescent sample, the importance of interrelations between changes in approach bias and alcohol use over time, or a moderating role of WM. It is important to consider the potential consequences of repeated online approach bias assessment (e.g., changes in stimulus valence) when interpreting these results.

Working memory and alcohol use in at-risk adolescents: a 2-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has identified working memory (WM) as a possible risk factor for problem drinking in adolescence. At the same time, results suggest that WM functioning is negatively influenced by the use of alcohol. To get a better understanding of the nature of this relationship, the present study examined the prospective bidirectional association between alcohol use and WM in a sample of young adolescents at risk for problem drinking. METHODS: Adolescents were all 8th graders from 17 different Special Education Schools (for youth with externalizing behavior problems). At the beginning of the study, 374 adolescents participated (mean age of 13.6 years). Approximately every 6 months, adolescents completed a questionnaire to establish alcohol use and a Self-Ordered Pointing Task (SOPT) to assess WM. RESULTS: Cross-lagged analyses revealed that alcohol use at T1 negatively predicted WM functioning 6 months later (p < 0.001). WM functioning at T2 and at T3 predicted alcohol use 6 months later (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: WM functioning has been identified as both risk factor for and as function negatively influenced by alcohol use. Findings indicate that early alcohol use in at-risk adolescents negatively influences the development of subsequent WM functioning, which in turn constitutes as a risk factor for later alcohol use problems. Implications for early interventions are discussed.

Psychological changes and cognitive impairments in adolescent heavy drinkers.

AIMS: Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by increased risk-taking behavior, including the initiation of alcohol and other substance use. In this brief review paper we describe psychological and cognitive constructs that are associated with heavy drinking during adolescence. These associations raise the question of causality: is alcohol somehow neurotoxic, or can we identify specific psychological and cognitive variables that serve as risk factors for the escalation of heavy drinking? METHODS: This narrative review summarizes results of recent prospective studies that focus on causal relationships between adolescents' alcohol use, and psychological changes and cognitive impairments. RESULTS: Psychological constructs such as elevated impulsivity and poor executive function are risk factors for alcohol involvement in youth. Furthermore heavy drinking during adolescence, particularly in a binge pattern, may exert neurotoxic effects and produce corresponding changes in executive function, perhaps setting the stage for the development of alcohol use disorders later on in life. CONCLUSION: Although the findings of the discussed studies shed light on the nature of the relationships between alcohol involvement and cognitive deficits, the question of cause and effect remains unanswered. The limitations of existing research and the need for well-powered prospective studies are highlighted.

Interactions between parental alcohol-specific rules and risk personalities in the prediction of adolescent alcohol use.

AIMS: To examine the impact of an important context variable (alcohol-specific parental rules) and an important person variable (risky personality traits) and their interaction on prospective adolescent drinking. METHODS: Participants were 252 adolescents, 67.9% female, between 13 and 16 years old. Data were collected via online assessments during 2 years with four time points of assessments. We examined membership of alcohol use trajectories as a function of parental alcohol-specific rules, moderated by risk-associated personality traits. RESULTS: Permissive parental rules predicted early onset and trajectories of heavy drinking. High scores on Sensation Seeking and Hopelessness also predicted early onset and heavy drinking, but there was no evidence for moderation. CONCLUSION: The influence of parental rule setting and risk personality was confirmed, but no evidence was found that the impact of risk personality on adolescent drinking is moderated by parental rules. Implications of these findings, and limitations of the study, are discussed.

Dynamic Associations Between Anxiety Symptoms and Drinking Behavior From Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood.

PURPOSE: Research is inconclusive with respect to the possible risk-increasing effect of anxiety symptoms on heavy drinking behavior among adolescents and young adults. Adult role transitions and changes in the social context from early adolescence into young adulthood may impact the association between anxiety symptoms and alcohol use. METHODS: The TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey, including 2,229 individuals at baseline, was used to evaluate the bi-directional and longitudinal associations between anxiety symptoms and alcohol use, using data at 14, 16, 19, 22, and 25 years of age. RESULTS: Cross-lagged models revealed a relatively stable negative association at 14, 16, and 19 years, showing that relatively higher anxiety symptoms were associated with relatively lower drinking levels three years later. This effect was absent in young adulthood. There was no evidence for significant associations between alcohol use and subsequent anxiety symptoms, with the exception of alcohol use at age 19, which predicted relatively lower levels of anxiety symptoms at age 22. DISCUSSION: Overall, the results indicated that anxiety symptoms may withhold adolescents from (heavy) drinking, although this protective effect disappeared in young adulthood. Transitions in social contexts as well as autonomy and adult responsibilities could underlie the changing association between alcohol use and anxiety symptoms throughout adolescence and young adulthood.

Automatic processes and the drinking behavior in early adolescence: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the bi-directional prospective link between automatic alcohol-approach tendencies and alcohol use in a group of young adolescents (mean age = 13.6 years). The adolescents in the present study were assumed to be at-risk of early alcohol use and later problem drinking. It was hypothesized that alcohol use and automatic approach tendencies would reinforce one another particularly in the absence of well-developed inhibition skills. METHODS: A total of 347 adolescents (N = 279 at follow-up) from special secondary education, a risk group for the development of substance use problems, participated in the study. Automatic approach tendencies were assessed with the alcohol-approach avoidance task, inhibition skills were assessed with the Stroop task, and alcohol used was measured using a self-report measure. RESULTS: Zero-inflated Poisson analysis revealed a significant effect of automatic approach tendencies predicting alcohol use 6 months later, although only for adolescents with weaker inhibition skills. CONCLUSIONS: Automatic approach tendencies predict future drinking behavior of young adolescents with relatively weak inhibition skills. The findings of the present study have important implications for alcohol interventions for adolescents. Results are discussed in terms of risk factors for the development of problematic alcohol use in young adolescents.

ADHD Symptoms and Educational Level in Adolescents: The Role of the Family, Teachers, and Peers.

Few studies have explored the contribution of family and school factors to the association between ADHD symptoms and lower education. Possibly, having more ADHD symptoms contributes to poorer family functioning and less social support, and consequently a lower educational level (i.e., mediation). Moreover, the negative effects of ADHD symptoms on education may be stronger for adolescents with poorer family functioning or less social support (i.e., interaction). Using data of the Dutch TRAILS Study (N = 2,229), we evaluated associations between ADHD symptoms around age 11 and educational level around age 14, as well as between ADHD symptoms around age 14 and 16 years and subsequent changes in educational level around age 16 and 19, respectively. We assessed the potential mediating role of family functioning, and social support by teachers and classmates, all measured around ages 11, 14, and 16, while additionally evaluating interactions between ADHD symptoms and these hypothesized mediators. ADHD symptoms were associated with poorer family functioning, less social support by teachers and classmates, and lower education throughout adolescence. No conclusive evidence of mediation was found, because unique associations between family functioning and social support by teachers and classmates and education were largely absent. Furthermore, we found no interactions between ADHD symptoms and family functioning and social support by teachers and classmates. Although social support by teachers and classmates and good family functioning may benefit the wellbeing and mental health of adolescents with high levels of ADHD symptoms, they will not necessarily improve their educational attainment.

A cross-national comparison of problematic gaming behavior and well-being in adolescents.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The popularity of playing games among adolescents has increased during the last decades, possibly affecting the prevalence of problematic gaming behavior. The current study aimed to compare country-level prevalence rates of adolescents' problematic gaming behavior in five countries and identify cross-cultural similarities and differences in the relationship between problematic gaming and well-being (life satisfaction, psychological complaints, and peer support). METHODS: Cross-national data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study were used. The sample comprised 14,398 gamers (61% boys) aged 11 to 16 (average age between 13.31 and 13.85) from Azerbaijan, England, Serbia, Slovenia, and the Netherlands. RESULTS: The findings showed that the prevalence of problematic gaming differs between countries. The highest prevalence of problematic gaming was seen in Azerbaijan (16.1%) and the lowest in the Netherlands (4.3%). In contrast, Azerbaijan reported the lowest gaming intensity, whereas the Netherlands and England showed the highest gaming intensity. Additional analyses revealed that problematic gaming was associated with lower life satisfaction, more psychological complaints, and lower peer support in all countries, although the strength of these associations varied between countries. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The current study's results are consistent with the assumption that problematic gaming negatively affects adolescents' social and mental well-being. These findings are further discussed in light of the normalization theory which suggests that cultural gaming norms (i.e., the percentage of gamers per country) would influence the strength of the relationship between problematic gaming and adolescents' well-being. The present findings highlight the need for adequate prevention strategies aiming at problematic gaming among youngsters.

Disentangling the interplay between genes, cognitive skills, and educational level in adolescent and young adult smoking - The TRAILS study.

Recent studies suggest that smoking and lower educational attainment may have genetic influences in common. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which genetics contributes to educational inequalities in adolescent and young adult smoking. Common genetic liabilities may underlie cognitive skills associated with both smoking and education, such as IQ and effortful control, in line with indirect health-related selection explanations. Additionally, by affecting cognitive skills, genes may predict educational trajectories and hereby adolescents' social context, which may be associated with smoking, consistent with social causation explanations. Using data from the Dutch TRAILS Study (N = 1581), we estimated the extent to which polygenic scores (PGSs) for ever smoking regularly (PGSSMOK) and years of education (PGSEDU) predict IQ and effortful control, measured around age 11, and whether these cognitive skills then act as shared predictors of smoking and educational level around age 16, 19, 22, and 26. Second, we assessed if educational level mediated associations between PGSs and smoking. Both PGSs were associated with lower effortful control, and PGSEDU also with lower IQ. Lower IQ and effortful control, in turn, predicted having a lower educational level. However, neither of these cognitive skills were directly associated with smoking behaviour after controlling for covariates and PGSs. This suggests that IQ and effortful control are not shared predictors of smoking and education (i.e., no indirect health-related selection related to cognitive skills). Instead, PGSSMOK and PGSEDU, partly through their associations with lower cognitive skills, predicted selection into a lower educational track, which in turn was associated with more smoking, in line with social causation explanations. Our findings suggest that educational differences in the social context contribute to associations between genetic liabilities and educational inequalities in smoking.

A cross-sectional study on gaming intensity and social vulnerability in adolescents that have a chronic condition.

Background: Adolescents growing up with a chronic condition might experience more social vulnerabilities compared to their healthy peers as an indirect result of their conditions. This can lead to a relatedness need frustration for these adolescents. Consequently, they might spend more time playing video games compared to their peers. Research shows that both social vulnerability and gaming intensity are predictors for problematic gaming. Therefore, we investigated if social vulnerability and gaming intensity are more pronounced in adolescents that have a chronic condition compared to the general population; and if these levels reflect the levels of a clinical group being treated for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Methods: Data on peer problems and gaming intensity were compared from three separate samples: a national representative sample of adolescents, a clinical sample of adolescents that are undergoing treatment for IGD, and a sample of adolescents diagnosed with a chronic condition. Results: No differences were found on either peer problems or gaming intensity between the group of adolescents that have chronic conditions and the national representative group. The group with chronic conditions scored significantly lower on gaming intensity than the clinical group. No significant differences were found between these groups on peer problems. We repeated the analyses for boys only. Similar results were found for the group with chronic conditions compared to the national representative group. The group with chronic conditions now scored significantly lower on both peer problems and gaming intensity than the clinical group. Conclusion: Adolescents growing up with a chronic condition appear similar in their gaming intensity and peer problems compared to their healthy peers.

Educational level and alcohol use in adolescence and early adulthood-The role of social causation and health-related selection-The TRAILS Study.

Both social causation and health-related selection may influence educational gradients in alcohol use in adolescence and young adulthood. The social causation theory implies that the social environment (e.g. at school) influences adolescents' drinking behaviour. Conversely, the health-related selection hypothesis posits that alcohol use (along other health-related characteristics) predicts lower educational attainment. From past studies it is unclear which of these mechanisms predominates, as drinking may be both a cause and consequence of low educational attainment. Furthermore, educational gradients in alcohol use may reflect the impact of 'third variables' already present in childhood, such as parental socioeconomic status (SES), effortful control, and IQ. We investigated social causation and health-related selection in the development of educational gradients in alcohol use from adolescence to young adulthood in a selective educational system. We used data from a Dutch population-based cohort (TRAILS Study; n = 2,229), including measurements of educational level and drinking at ages around 14, 16, 19, 22, and 26 years (waves 2 to 6). First, we evaluated the directionality in longitudinal associations between education and drinking with cross-lagged panel models, with and without adjusting for pre-existing individual differences using fixed effects. Second, we assessed the role of childhood characteristics around age 11 (wave 1), i.e. IQ, effortful control, and parental SES, both as confounders in these associations, and as predictors of educational level and drinking around age 14 (wave 2). In fixed effects models, lower education around age 14 predicted increases in drinking around 16. From age 19 onward, we found a tendency towards opposite associations, with higher education predicting increases in alcohol use. Alcohol use was not associated with subsequent changes in education. Childhood characteristics strongly predicted education around age 14 and, to a lesser extent, early drinking. We mainly found evidence for the social causation theory in early adolescence, when lower education predicted increases in subsequent alcohol use. We found no evidence in support of the health-related selection hypothesis with respect to alcohol use. By determining initial educational level, childhood characteristics also predict subsequent trajectories in alcohol use.

Socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health behaviours across 32 different countries - The role of country-level social mobility.

Higher family affluence is associated with healthier behaviours in adolescents, but the strength of this association varies across countries. Differences in social mobility at the country-level, i.e. the extent to which adolescents develop a different socioeconomic status (SES) than their parents, may partially explain why the association between family affluence and adolescent health behaviours is stronger in some countries than in others. Using data from adolescents aged 11-15 years from 32 countries, participating in the 2017/2018 wave of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study (N = 185,086), we employed multilevel regression models with cross-level interactions to examine whether country-level social mobility moderates the association between family affluence and adolescent health behaviours (i.e. moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, vigorous physical activity, healthy and unhealthy foods consumption, having breakfast regularly, and weekly smoking). Higher family affluence was more strongly associated with higher levels of adolescent physical activity in countries characterized by high levels of social mobility. No cross-level interactions were found for any of the other health behaviours. Differences in social mobility at the country-level may contribute to cross-national variations in socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent physical activity. Further research can shed light on the mechanisms linking country-level social mobility to inequalities in adolescent physical activity to identify targets for policy and interventions.

Bayesian evidence synthesis in case of multi-cohort datasets: An illustration by multi-informant differences in self-control.

The trend toward large-scale collaborative studies gives rise to the challenge of combining data from different sources efficiently. Here, we demonstrate how Bayesian evidence synthesis can be used to quantify and compare support for competing hypotheses and to aggregate this support over studies. We applied this method to study the ordering of multi-informant scores on the ASEBA Self Control Scale (ASCS), employing a multi-cohort design with data from four Dutch cohorts. Self-control reports were collected from mothers, fathers, teachers and children themselves. The available set of reporters differed between cohorts, so in each cohort varying components of the overarching hypotheses were evaluated. We found consistent support for the partial hypothesis that parents reported more self-control problems than teachers. Furthermore, the aggregated results indicate most support for the combined hypothesis that children report most problem behaviors, followed by their mothers and fathers, and that teachers report the fewest problems. However, there was considerable inconsistency across cohorts regarding the rank order of children's reports. This article illustrates Bayesian evidence synthesis as a method when some of the cohorts only have data to evaluate a partial hypothesis. With Bayesian evidence synthesis, these cohorts can still contribute to the aggregated results.

Clueless or powerful? Identifying subtypes of bullies in adolescence.

This study examined the heterogeneity of bullying among adolescents. It was hypothesized that bullying behavior serves different social functions and, depending on these functions, bullies will differ in their skills, status and social behavior. In a total sample of 806 8th graders, 120 adolescents (52 boys, 68 girls) were identified as bullies based on peer nominations. An additional group of 50 adolescents (25 boys, 25 girls) served as the non-bully comparison group. Cluster analysis revealed three corresponding bully subtypes for boys and girls: a popular-socially intelligent group, a popular moderate group, and an unpopular-less socially intelligent group. Follow-up analyses showed that the clusters differed significantly from each other in physical and verbal aggression, leadership, network centrality, peer rejection, and self-perceptions of bullying. The results confirm the heterogeneous nature of bullies and the complex nature of bullying in the adolescent peer group.

Unique developmental trajectories of risk behaviors in adolescence and associated outcomes in young adulthood.

This study aimed at assessing developmental trajectories of risk behaviors from adolescence into young adulthood and their associations with outcomes in young adulthood (i.e. education, employment). Data of the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) including 2,149 participants (mean age = 13.6, SD = 0.5, 51% girls) were used to examine the development of alcohol, cannabis, smoking, and externalizing behavior. The results showed that the associations between these risk behaviors varied with age, and revealed varying developmental patterns throughout adolescence. Most notably alcohol use did not covary strongly with the other risk behaviors. The often assumed peak in risk behavior in adolescence was only found in a small group, and only for alcohol (7.4%) and cannabis use (3.4%), but not for smoking or externalizing behavior. Most adolescents revealed only low involvement in risk behavior, with the largest differences between low and high trajectories emerging in late adolescence (> 19 years). Clustering of risk behavior throughout adolescence is rather the exception than the rule and depends on age and type of risk behavior. Differences in risk behavior between individuals become the largest in late adolescence, possibly influencing successful transition into adulthood visible in educational attainment and employment.