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This study examined the role of academic status norms in friendship selection and influence processes related to academic achievement across the 2nd year of secondary school (SNARE project; N = 1,549 students from 70 classes; Mage = 13.69 years). Academic status norms were operationalized as the class-level correlation between academic achievement and 4 types of peer status: popularity, acceptance, unpopularity, and rejection. Longitudinal social network analyses indicated that the unpopularity and popularity norm play a role in friendship selection processes (but not influence processes) related to academic achievement. In line with our hypotheses, the unpopularity norm in the classroom strengthened similarity-based friendship selection among low-achieving adolescents and predicted greater avoidance of academically similar friends among high-achieving adolescents. Also, the popularity norm strengthened friendship selection among similar peers, both among low and high achievers. Acceptance and rejection norms did not play a role in friendship processes. In sum, the average achievement of popular and unpopular peers shapes friendship preferences in the classroom, which may have important implications for adolescent academic development.

This study examined the coevolution of prosocial and aggressive popularity norms with popularity hierarchy (asymmetries in students' popularity). Cross-lagged-panel analyses were conducted on 2,843 secondary school students (N[subscript classrooms] = 120; M[subscript age] = 13.18; 51.3% girls). Popularity hierarchy predicted relative change in popularity norms over time, but not vice versa. Specifically, classrooms with few highly popular and many unpopular students increased in aggressive popularity norms at the beginning of the school year and decreased in prosocial popularity norms at the end of the year. Also, strong within-classroom asymmetries in popularity predicted relatively higher aggressive popularity norms. These findings may indicate that hierarchical contexts elicit competition for popularity, with high aggression and low prosocial behavior being seen as valuable tools to achieve popularity.

This research investigated whether classroom-based peer norms for achievement goals moderate friendship selection, maintenance and influence processes related to academic achievement in 46 Grade 5 and Grade 6 classrooms (N = 901, 58.7% Grade 5 students, 48.5% boys). A distinction was made between peer norms for mastery (i.e., developing competence) and performance (i.e., demonstrating competence) goals. Peer norms were measured in terms of popularity norms (the within-classroom correlation between student achievement goals and popularity) and descriptive norms (the class-level aggregated average achievement goals). As hypothesized, longitudinal social network analyses revealed that achievement goal popularity norms played a role in friendship processes, rather than achievement goal descriptive norms. Specifically, adolescents formed friendships with similarly achieving peers in classrooms with high performance goal popularity norms but not in classrooms with low performance goal popularity norms. Conversely, adolescents remained friends with similarly achieving peers in classrooms with low performance goal popularity norms but not in classrooms with high performance goal popularity norms. Furthermore, friendship influence on achievement took place in classrooms with high mastery goal popularity norms, but not in classrooms with low mastery goal popularity norms. This study indicates that friendship processes regarding achievement depend upon the extent to which certain achievement goals are made salient by virtue of their association with popularity in classrooms.

This longitudinal study examined the extent to which the development of prosocial and aggressive peer norms was related to individual prosocial and aggressive behavior development across the first year of secondary education (three waves, n = 1,134 adolescents from 51 classes, M[subscript age] = 12.66). A distinction was made between descriptive norms (the aggregated average peer-perceived behavior within the classroom) and status norms (the within-classroom correlation between peer-perceived popularity and behavior). Results indicated that descriptive norms represented a stable, static peer ecology, whereas status norms were somewhat more dynamic and changed across the school year. The development of descriptive and status norms was associated with initial levels of individual prosocial and aggressive behavior, whereas the development of status norms was also associated with the development of prosocial behavior.

Governments and agencies are increasingly turning to digital communication. Similarly, there is a desire for digitalization in population screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer. Besides benefits, digitalization can also lead to unequal access to care and health disparities for citizens who struggle to use digital information. The aim of this article is to provide insight into: (1) the opportunities and preconditions of a redesign, and (2) how to involve vulnerable groups. From four co-creation sessions with people with a migration background, lowliteracy and elderly people, the following recommendations emerged: (1) providing information concisely and in a central place, (2) person-centered communication, (3) visible possibility of language choice, and (4) the possibility of allowing a trusted support figure (for example, family) to access the client portal. The co-creation process yielded the following insights with regard to user involvement: (1) involve and work together with key figures and with organizations representing the target group, (2) ensure sufficient support for participants throughout the co-creation process, and (3) provide regular feedback of the results to stakeholders throughout the process. Importantly, participation in co-creation sessions is also of value to the target group itself (relevant information, perceived appreciation, and feeling empowered). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the social status (i.e., popularity, likeability, and friendships) of adolescents with an early onset of externalizing behavior (i.e., alcohol use, tobacco use, and antisocial behavior). Building on Moffitt's dual-taxonomy model, it was hypothesized that early onset adolescents were more popular, but not necessarily more liked or with more friends. Hypotheses were tested using data from the Social Network Analysis of Risk Behaviors in Early Adolescence (SNARE) study (N = 1,100, 50% boys, X-bar[subscript age] = 12.7, SD = 0.47 years). Findings indicated that adolescents with an early onset of one or more externalizing behaviors were more popular, less liked, and had as many friends as their peers. These findings suggest that early onset adolescents potentially function as role models.

Previous studies from a wide variety of European countries have demonstrated that low educated adolescents engage more frequently in health risk behaviors compared to high educated adolescents. The present study investigates the mediating roles of parental knowledge and time spent with peers in this relationship. Data were retrieved from a nationally representative sample of 12- to 16-year old Dutch adolescents (N = 5422). Risk behaviors were measured by adolescents' report of daily smoking, binge drinking and cannabis use in the previous month, and sexual debut before age 17. Low educated adolescents indicated that their parents had less knowledge on their whereabouts and reported spending more time with peers than high educated adolescents. Both factors mediated the relationship with health risk behaviors. These results hint to parenting practices and adolescent peer relations as points of reference for prevention and intervention work aiming to reduce educational inequalities in adolescent health risk behaviors. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

The present study examined whether the associations between general parenting practices (i.e., support, behavioral control, and psychological control) and parental smoking on the one hand and older and younger siblings' smoking on the other were mediated by parental smoking communication (i.e., frequency and quality of parent-adolescent communication concerning smoking-related issues). The focus of this paper was on examining whether these associations of parental actions and adolescents' smoking were different in older and younger siblings within the family. Participants were 428 Dutch families (mother, father, and their 2 adolescent siblings aged 13-17). The results of parent and adolescent reports indicated that general parenting practices and parental smoking were associated with parental smoking communication, which, in turn, was related with adolescent smoking. The magnitude of the associations between parenting and adolescent smoking did not differ between older and younger siblings. Supportive parents were generally more likely to engage in a high quality communication about smoking with their adolescent children; this was related to a lower likelihood to smoke. Parents who exerted psychological control were more likely to talk more frequently with their adolescents on smoking matters, which in turn, relates to a higher likelihood to smoke. Also, smoking parents were less likely to have high-quality parent-adolescent communication that relates to higher likelihoods to smoke. In general, the findings were similar across reporters. Implications for prevention are addressed. (Contains 3 footnotes, 3 tables, and 2 figures.)

Data from three studies were used to investigate whether the establishment of a no-smoking agreement is related to lower odds of adolescent smoking. The prevalence of a no-smoking agreement was first explored by using a national sample involving 4,501 Dutch adolescents. Second, data from a longitudinal study among 595 early adolescents and their parents were used to test whether establishing a no-smoking agreement prevents adolescents from smoking. Third, the authors tested among 856 early- and mid-adolescents and their parents, whether in addition to the establishment of a no-smoking agreement, the frequency and quality of communication on smoking issues had an effect on adolescent smoking. The findings do not support that establishing a no-smoking agreement is an effective deterrent with regard to adolescent smoking. Parents who want to prevent smoking might consider focusing their efforts on establishing a good quality of communication on smoking issues whereas parents who just talk a lot about smoking issues without considering the quality of their communication might do more harm than good. (Contains 4 tables.)

In this study, we investigated whether parental smoking-specific communication is related to adolescents' friendship-selection processes. Furthermore, we investigated whether adolescents and their best friends influence each other over time, and what role parents play in this process. In the present study we used data from the Family and Health project in which at baseline 428 full families participated. In this 2-year, three-wave longitudinal study data were available from fathers, mothers, early adolescents (aged M = 13.4 years, SD = 0.50), and middle adolescents (aged M = 15.2 years, SD = 0.60). The majority of the participating adolescents were of Dutch origin (greater than 95%). There was an almost equal distribution of boys and girls, and adolescents with lower, middle, and higher educational levels were equally represented. Analyses were conducted by means of Structural Equation Modeling. Results demonstrate that a high quality of the smoking-specific communication is related to a lower likelihood of adolescent smoking, whereas the frequency is positively associated with adolescent smoking. Both the quality and frequency of parental smoking-specific communication were related to adolescents' selective affiliation with (non-)smoking friends. The findings suggest that parental smoking-specific communication is associated with adolescent smoking directly but also indirectly by influencing the friends the adolescents will associate with.

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a lifestyle-related disease whose prevalence increases with age. Diabetes self-management through mobile health (mHealth) apps enables patients with T2D to improve their health. According to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), technology acceptance (ie, intended use) is necessary to ensure mHealth can be implemented successfully. Therefore, the specific acceptance requirements of patients with T2D should be considered. Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to examine the extent to which different TAM predictors are associated with the acceptance of a diabetes app including an electronic coach (eCoach; Iris app) among patients with T2D. Methods: Using a web-based survey, data on 92 patients with T2D (mean age 62.76 years, SD 8.29 years) were collected. Acceptance of the Iris app with the TAM predictors (ie, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, perceived self-efficacy, perceived security, prior usage experience, perceived health, and propensity of data/information sharing) was assessed. Further, control variables (ie, gender, age, education, ethnicity, household, BMI, amount of years with diabetes, diabetes-related complaints, and medication use) were assessed. Results: Multiple linear regression analyses showed that acceptance of the Iris app was positively associated with perceived usefulness (ß=.57, P<.001), social influence (subjective norm; ß=.20, P=.004), and willingness to share data (ß=.25, P<.001). In addition, acceptance regarding the Iris app was higher among patients with T2D with overweight (ß=.23, P=.01) or obese BMI (ß=.21, P=.01). The model explained 75.8% of the variance in the acceptance of the Iris app by patients with T2D. In addition, perceived usefulness of the Iris app was positively related to perceived ease of use (ß=.32, P<.001), subjective norm (ß=.26, P=.004), perceived control (ß=.19, P=.03), willingness to share data (ß=.20, P=.01) regarding the Iris app, and perceived security regarding general use of apps/smartphone/internet (ß=.15, P=.04). The model explained 58.2% of the variance in patients' perceived usefulness about the Iris app. Conclusions: Among patients with T2D, the belief that the use of the Iris app is helpful/beneficial, the willingness to share their Iris app data, and others' approval of using this app can stimulate the acceptance of this app. In addition, the belief that the use of (health) apps is reliable and secure, the belief that the use of the Iris app is easy to use, a higher perceived capability and personal control with using this app, the willingness to share their Iris app data, and others' approval of using this app can stimulate the perceived usefulness of such an app. These TAM predictors explained a high variance in acceptance and perceived usefulness of the Iris app. Implications for practice are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2005.05.003 Byline: Zeena Harakeh (a), Ron H.J. Scholte (a), Hein de Vries (b), Rutger C.M.E. Engels (a) Keywords: Personality types; Personality dimensions; Adolescent smoking; Smoking onset; Birth order Abstract: The present study examined the association between adolescents' personality traits and smoking, and tested whether this association was moderated by birth order or gender. Participants were 832 Dutch siblings aged 13 to 17 years participating at baseline assessment (T1) and at follow-up 12 months later (T2). Personality was assessed by applying a variable-centered approach including five personality dimensions (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Openness to Experience), and a person-oriented approach using three personality types (i.e., Resilients, Overcontrollers and Undercontrollers). Cross-sectional findings indicated that Extraversion (at T1 and T2), Agreeableness (at T2), Conscientiousness (at T2), and Emotional Stability (at T2) were related to adolescent smoking. Longitudinal findings indicated that only Extraversion and Emotional Stability were related to onset of adolescent smoking. Using a person-oriented approach, Overcontrollers and Undercontrollers did not differ from Resilients on smoking onset. No indication was found for a moderating effect of birth order on the association between personality and smoking. Additional findings showed that gender moderated the effect of Agreeableness on adolescents' smoking onset. Implications for prevention are also addressed. Author Affiliation: (a) Institute of Family and Child Care Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands (b) Department of Health Education, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

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Background: Music may influence young people's behavior through its lyrics. Substance use references occur more frequently in rap/hip-hop than in other music genres. Objectives: The aim was to examine whether the exposure to rap/hip-hop lyrics referring to substance use affected cigarette smoking. Methods: An experiment with a 3-group between subject design was conducted among 74 daily-smoking young adults ranging in age from 17 to 25 years old. Three conditions were tested in a mobile lab (camper vehicle) from May to December 2011, i.e., regular chart pop music (N = 28), rap/hip-hop with non-frequent references to substance use (N = 24), and rap/hip-hop with frequent references to substance use (N = 22). Results: One-way ANOVA showed that participants listening to substance use infused rap/hip-hop songs felt significantly less pleasant, liked the songs less, and comprehended the songs less compared to participants listening to pop songs. Poisson loglinear analyses revealed that compared to the pop music condition, none of the two rap/hip-hop music conditions had a significant effect on acute smoking. Thus, contrary to expectations, the two different rap/hip-hop conditions did not have a significantly different effect on acute smoking. Conclusions: Listening to rap/hip-hop, even rap hip/hop with frequent referrals to substance use (primarily alcohol and drug use, and general smoking referrals), does not seem to encourage cigarette smoking among Dutch daily-smoking young adults, at least short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment investigated the effect of peer discouragement on adolescent risk taking. Overall, 269 Dutch adolescents aged 11-15 years completed a risk taking computer task in the presence of an e-confederate who demonstrated very little risk taking (passive peer discouragement) and/or sent risk-discouraging messages to participants (active peer discouragement). The results showed that, compared to a situation with no peer discouragement, adolescents took significantly less risk only when they encountered a combination of active and passive peer discouragement; hence, when peers practiced what they preached. No gender differences were found in the effect of passive and active peer discouragement on risk taking. The results showed that digital peer messages play a promising role in diminishing adolescent risk taking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peers exert influence not to smoke but little is yet known on how this affects young people's behavior and cognitions.Objectives: This experimental study investigates the impact of two types of peer influence not to smoke on the verbalized attitudes and responses of daily-smoking young people.Methods: Two conditions were conducted: 1) a peer confederate stating three times that s/he had quit smoking and was glad to have done so (covert peer influence); 2) a peer confederate making similar statements, but urging to quit smoking (overt peer influence). The participant performed a music task with the peer in order to disguise the true nature of the experiment. Thirty-one daily-smoking young people (16–24 years) participated; 44 responses in the overt and 34 responses in the covert condition were analyzed in a discourse analysis.Results: The participants in the covert condition were more elaborative about smoking, i.e., taking an active role in a dialogue about the experiences of the peer or the participant in quitting smoking while in the overt condition participants showed more passive resistance, i.e., not showing an intention to follow the advice but avoid causing the peer embarrassment or discomfort. Open resistance, i.e., demonstration of being well-informed and indicating the redundancy of the advice, does not significantly differ in these two conditions but occurs, for both, primarily at the third discouragement.Conclusions: Overt and frequent discouragement seems to be less effective in stimulating young people to take an active role in the dialogue with their peers about smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background and Aims: Excessive alcohol use is assumed to affect maturation of cognitive functioning in adolescence. However, most existing studies that have tested this hypothesis are seriously flawed due to the use of selective groups and/or cross-sectional designs, which limits the ability to draw firm conclusions. This longitudinal study investigated whether patterns of alcohol use predicted differences in maturation of executive functioning in adolescence. Additionally, gender was tested as a possible moderator. Methods: We used data from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), which comprises a cohort of 2,230 Dutch adolescents. Maturation of executive functioning was measured by assessing the standardized improvement on each of four basic executive functions (i.e., inhibition, working memory, and shift- and sustained attention) between ages 11 and 19. Participants were assigned to one of six (heavy) drinking groups (i.e., non-drinkers, light drinkers, infrequent heavy drinkers, increased heavy drinkers, decreased heavy drinkers, and chronic heavy drinkers). We conducted linear regression analyses, and adjusted for relevant confounders. Results: The six drinking groups did not reveal significant differences in maturation between drinking groups. E.g., maturation executive functioning of chronic heavy drinkers in comparison to non-drinkers; inhibition: B = -0.14, 95% CI [-0.41 to 0.14], working memory: B = -0.03, 95% CI [-0.26 to 0.21], shift attention: B = 0.13, 95% CI [-0.17 to 0.41], sustained attention: B = 0.12, 95% CI [-0.60 to 0.36]. Furthermore, gender was not found to be a significant moderator. Conclusions: Four years of weekly heavy drinking (i.e., chronic heavy drinkers) did not result in measurable impairments in four basic executive functions. Thus, regular heavy drinking in adolescence does not seem to affect these basic behavioural measures of executive functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: One explanation for the increase in delinquency in adolescence is that young people are trapped in the so-called maturity gap: the discrepancy between biological and social maturation, which motivates them to engage in delinquency as a temporary means to bridge this gap by emphasizing their maturity. In the current study, we investigated to what extent the discrepancy between pubertal status (i.e., biological maturation) and autonomy in decision making (i.e., social maturation) is related to conflict with parents, which in turn predicts increasing levels of delinquency as well as substance use. Methods: Hypotheses were tested by means of path models in a longitudinal sample of adolescent boys and girls (N = 1,844; M age 13.02) from the Social Network Analyses of Risk behaviors in Early adolescence (SNARE) study using a one-year time interval. Results: Results indicate that biological maturation in interaction with social maturation predict conflict with parents, which in turn was related to higher levels of delinquency and substance use over time. No gender differences were found. Conclusions: These findings reveal that conflict with parents is an important mechanism, linking the interplay of biological and social maturation with delinquency and substance use in early adolescence for boys and girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypothesis that adolescents start smoking because they perceive it as a strategy to control their weight was examined. At the same time, we controlled for sociodemographic, individual, and parental factors. Longitudinal data were collected among 428 Dutch families (mother, father, and two siblings between 13 and 16 years of age) in two measurements: the first in 2002–2003 and the second a year later. Logistic regression analyses supported the hypothesis: weight control motives to smoke were positively related with smoking initiation. The study's limitations and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]