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The current study examined associations among parenting practices, adolescents' self-esteem and dating identity exploration, and adolescents' sexual behaviors. Participants were 680 African American and European American sexually experienced adolescents attending public high schools in the southeast. Results indicated that risky sexual behavior was associated positively with parental psychological control, and negatively with self-esteem and dating identity exploration. Parental support positively predicted self-esteem and dating identity exploration; psychological control also showed a positive association with dating identity exploration. Contrary to expectation, neither self-esteem nor dating identity exploration mediated associations between parenting and risky sexual behavior; moderation tests showed few differences. However, dating identity exploration showed potential to serve as a protective factor for higher risk groups (i.e., males, African Americans), and psychological control appeared particularly detrimental for older adolescents. Finally, youth from stepfamilies showed associations among the variables that differed from youth living in single-parent and two-parent biological/adoptive families.

We examined relations among perceived parenting practices (support and psychological control), attachment dimensions for romantic relationships (anxiety and avoidance) and exploration of the dating identity among actively dating adolescents in two high school aged samples. In the all female sample of Study 1 (n = 653) and the gender balanced sample of Study 2 (n = 1003), parenting practices contributed to adolescent exploration of the dating identity. Parent psychological control, but not parental support, also contributed to elevated feeling of avoidance and anxiety in romantic relationships. Avoidance, in turn, was related to less exploration of the dating identity while anxiety seemed to increase it. Gender moderated the model, with parenting practices predicting exploration only for girls and with the links for avoidance and anxiety with exploration stronger for boys than girls. Indirect effects for parenting practices through attachment dimensions on exploration of the dating identity were also noted. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)

Integration of adult attachment and psychosocial development theories suggests that adolescence is a time when capacities for romantic intimacy and identity formation are co-evolving. The current study addressed direct, indirect and moderated associations among identity and romantic attachment constructs with a diverse sample of 2178 middle adolescents. Identity styles were found to have unique and direct associations with identity commitment. Attachment anxiety showed only indirect associations and attachment avoidance had both direct and indirect associations with identity commitment. Tests of moderation revealed that gender, race and relationship status had no influence on the direct associations of identity styles or romantic attachment with identity commitment. Few differences in association strength among identity styles and romantic attachment emerged for gender or race. However, the differences found for relationship status suggested that relationship experiences adolescents bring to their exploration of identity and intimacy matter for how these two areas of development articulate. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

This exploratory study examines identity exploration and commitment in different domains and how family structure (original/alternative), gender, and age affect these processes in a convenience sample of 388 college students. Results reveal that participants from alternative family structures explore more in the political and gender role domains than do participants from original families. Furthermore, women explore more in the occupational and friendship domains and are more committed in the values and family domains. Younger participants explore less in the gender role domain compared to older ones. Significant interactions reveal that (a) younger women explored the least, and (b) men from alternative families are the least committed in the values domain, compared to all other groups. Findings support the value of exploring the relative impact of family-focused experience on the processes of identity formation and, for the current convenience sample, suggest that growing up in an alternative family structure does not necessarily have a negative impact on identity. (Contains 4 tables.)

We examined the relationships between family structure, gender and age and profiles of identity exploration and commitment in the ideological (occupation, values, politics, religion, gender roles) and interpersonal identity (dating, friendships, and family) domains among 388 young adults. The general profile revealed low exploration in both domains, with ideological exploration being the lower, compared to high and comparable levels of commitment in the two domains. Older participants explored more than younger ones, and females gave more attention to the interpersonal domain than did males. Participants from original families explored more in the interpersonal domain than in the ideological domain, but their commitment was the same for the two domains. Participants from non-original families explored in equal amounts in the two domains, but were more committed in the interpersonal domain compared to participants from original families. Participants from non-original families explored more in the ideological domain than did participants from original families. Our findings indicate that individuals from non-original families exhibit positive outcomes and strengths that are often overlooked in the literature.

Romantic relationships matter for adolescents. Experiences in romantic relationships facilitate key areas of personal and interpersonal development, however, problems in romantic relationships and lack of positive role models can lead to increased risk of developing unhealthy relationship patterns that can persist into adulthood. The goals of this applied research project were to examine the effectiveness of a youth-focused relationships education curriculum, and to use the knowledge gained to inform practices in relationships education for adolescents. Findings from pre and post-intervention assessments and from two follow-up surveys provide evidence of program success and offer key insights for the development of an effective model of relationships education tailored for adolescents. (Contains 3 tables and 7 figures.)

Identity styles represent strategies individuals use to explore identity-related issues. Berzonsky (Berzonsky, M. D. (1992). Identity style and coping strategies. "Journal of Personality, 60", 771-788) identified three styles: informational, normative, and diffuse. In three studies, this paper presents (a) the identity processing style Q-sort (IPSQ), a new measurement technique for assessing identity styles, along with the reliability and validity of three criterion sorts that represent "ideal types" for the three respective styles, (b) a description of the styles in a sample of 480 college students along with direct comparisons with the paper-pencil measure of identity styles originally developed by Berzonsky, and (c) an examination of convergent and discriminant validity of the IPSQ in a sample of 321 college students based on correlations with measures tapping identity status, family relationship quality, social competence, coping styles, and social desirability. The general discussion concludes that the reliability and validity of the sort are supported and future directions and potential uses are described. (Contains 6 tables.)

High school-age adolescents (N=262) in two samples completed a measure of identity style, along with measures of self-esteem, hopelessness, delinquent attitudes, educational expectations, and optimism/efficacy. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate the relationship between identity style and the other psychosocial variables. Participants classified as having a diffuse/avoidant orientation had lower self-esteem and higher delinquent attitude scores than those with either an information or normative orientation. At the same time, the diffuse-avoidant style was associated with higher hopelessness and lower optimism/efficacy scores than the normative and information styles. The normative and information styles did not differ significantly in terms of the dependent variables. Results also indicated that males were more likely to be diffused and females more likely to be information-oriented.

Objective: This study compared perceptions of personal distress, interpersonal and marital problems, and aspects of family climate of maltreating fathers and mothers. Methods: Subjects were 2841 offenders (1918 of whom were fathers or father-figures) who were identified and treated by the USAF Family Advocacy Program between 1988 and 1996. Independent variables for the analysis were parent sex (mother vs. father) as well as type and severity of maltreatment, history of repeat offenses, and history of abuse in childhood. Results: Maltreating mothers were more distressed and reported more problems from individuals outside the family than maltreating fathers; fathers reported more rigid expectations for children, less cohesive families, and less organized families than did maltreating mothers. Regardless of parental sex, victimization in the family of origin was related to distress and unhappiness. Similarly, both victimization in the family of origin and history of repeated offenses were powerful predictors of a more negative family climate regardless of the offending parent's sex. No significant statistical interactions between parental sex and other independent variables were found when predicting personal and interpersonal distress, marital problems, or family climate. Conclusions: Studies rarely examine maltreating fathers except in the context of sexual abuse. Fewer still compare maltreating mothers and fathers. This study identified meaningful, though generally small, differences between maltreating mothers and fathers. Patterns suggest that maltreating mothers may tend to cope more poorly with personal distress, whereas maltreating fathers tend to operate in a family climate that is both distant and rigid, while holding inappropriate expectations for children's behavior. The absence of interactions between parental sex and the other independent variables included in the analysis indicate that these patterns do not vary by the history of victimization in the family of origin, the type or severity of child maltreatment, or the history of prior maltreatment in the family.

Seventy-six late adolescents and their peer partners participated in a study that focused on possible selves tied to anticipated career, marriage, and parenthood roles. Control theory and the concept of psychosocial moratorium were integrated to explain identity construction processes. Integration of theory with concept offers explanations for emergence of new identities and their ultimate stabilization. (BF)

Examines relationships among prosocial values and three measures of self-efficacy as predictors of delinquency, risky sex, and drug use in a sample of 2,146 racially diverse adolescents. Adolescents with strong prosocial values and self-efficacy reported fewer problem behaviors. Discusses implications for program development and implementation. (SLD)

Department of Defense (DoD) surveys were examined to develop a demographic profile of military families affected by divorce and remarriage. It appears that a substantial portion of military personnel have experienced divorce, are in remarriages, and have nonresidential children, particularly given the young average age of military personnel. Compared to the U.S. population, service members marry, divorce, and remarry earlier. Divorced and remarried service members are slightly over-represented among the enlisted ranks, joint service couples, and lower education categories. Notably, the proportions of female service members who have experienced divorce and remarriage in different age categories are substantially greater than the proportions of male service members and women in the U.S. Implications are discussed. KEYWORDS. Remarriage, divorce, military, demographics

This study examined differences in offenders' background characteristics, personal and interpersonal problems, and family climate between three types of child abuse offenders (neglecters, physical abusers, and psychological abusers) and two forms of spouse abuse offenders (physical abusers and psychological abusers) in two large samples (child abuse n = 2,910; spouse abuse; n = 7,035) of cases officially identified over a 8-year period (1988-1995) by the U.S. Air Force Family Advocacy Program. Comparisons addressed demographic factors, personal and interpersonal problems, and aspects of family climate. Among child abusers, results supported the conclusion that types of child abuse varied with offender demographics and family climate factors. For spouse abusers, however, types of abuse were not as distinctly different in terms of the comparison variables. In general, therefore, for child abuse--but not for spouse abuse--findings challenge the view of abuse as a unitary phenomenon.

Where previous research on satisfaction with housework has examined satisfaction with relative allocations, this study examined spouses' satisfaction with their own performance. The authors found that satisfaction was a function of time spent, quality of outcomes, stress originating both at home and away, and approval by spouses for performance. Time spent and quality of outcomes were related in a complex fashion to satisfaction with own performance. The relation between time contributions and satisfaction was partially mediated by quality of outcomes, but the relation between quality of outcomes and satisfaction was also moderated by time spent. Several significant moderating effects suggested that the time contributions and perceived quality of outcomes had different meanings under varying circumstances. Patterns of findings for husbands and wives suggested that both used personal standards to evaluate performance and both valued their contributions to housework, but the greater responsibility for housework among wives was supported.

The veracity of the assumption that the relationship between work hours and marital quality is mediated by the perceived work/family fit was examined. To test the hypothesis, a structural model was constructed based on a sample of 407 male US Army males and their wives, where the perceptions of both partners on the work of the husband were assessed. Military-based couples were used because a 'greedy institution' context seems to provide a clearer picture of work-family tension. The supposition was supported by the evidence. Work hours were not seen to be unrelated to marital tension, and only predicted the wives' satisfaction with the work hours and work settings of their husbands. For the husbands, the work/family fit negatively predicted marital tension, but was found to be positively related to work-hour and job satisfaction. Any direct association for work variables on marital tension was inevident but work/family fit mediated significant indirect relations.

Saint-Eloi Cadely et al. found longitudinal patterns for the perpetration of both psychological and physical intimate partner violence (IPV), including actively and minimally aggressive patterns. The current study builds on these findings by examining four theory-derived variables (interparental aggression, social-information processing [SIP] biases, relationship insecurities [preoccupied and fearful], and discontinuity in relationship partner over time) as predictors of membership within these patterns, using multinomial logistic regression. The analysis sample consisted of 484 participants who were romantically involved at least once during the eight waves of data collection from the ages of 18 to 25. In predicting psychological IPV, more SIP biases, higher levels of a preoccupied insecurity, and less discontinuity in relationship partners over time differentiated the actively aggressive patterns from the minimally aggressive pattern. In addition, two actively aggressive patterns of psychological IPV differed in terms of SIP biases and discontinuity in romantic partners. Specifically, more SIP biases and less discontinuity in romantic partnerships distinguished the extensively aggressive pattern from the pattern that mainly consisted of minor types of aggression. In predicting physical IPV, the aggressive pattern differed from the nonaggressive pattern in terms of more interparental aggression, more SIP biases, and more relationship insecurities. The findings that developmental patterns of IPV can be predicted by social and psychological factors may aid both developmental theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers do not agree on how intimate partner violence (IPV) emerges and changes from adolescence to young adulthood. This may be because change in these behaviors varies across individuals. The present study uses a longitudinal, person-centered approach to examine whether there are multiple classes or patterns of change in the perpetration of IPV during the transitional period from adolescence (age 18) to young adulthood (age 25) using data collected annually from a community sample of 484 participants. Latent class analysis was the analytic approach used. Results revealed three patterns for psychological IPV (Little-to-None, Minor/Increasing, and Extensive/Increasing) and two patterns for physical IPV (Little-to-None and Extensive). Patterns varied greatly in number of representatives, although they were more balanced in size for psychological than physical IPV. Variations in IPV behaviors were also revealed across classes, although as expected in a community sample, minor forms of IPV were more common than severe forms. In addition, classes differed in demographic and relationship status variables. These findings suggest that IPV may occur in multiple distinct patterns as opposed to one average pattern across a population. This suggests that interventions for IPV may need to be geared to differences in patterns to enhance their efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the relationship between psychological and physical forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) across four waves of data during the developmental period of young adulthood. The links from early psychological aggression to later physical aggression and from early physical aggression to later psychological aggression across waves were tested while controlling for their cross-time stabilities and concurrent associations. IPV data were collected annually from 434 young adult respondents involved in a romantic relationship at least once during the respective years from the ages of 22–25. On average, participants provided IPV data for 3 out of the 4 years covered by the study (M = 2.82; standard deviation [ SD ] = 1.14). Results of a cross-lagged structural equation model (SEM) model indicated significant cross-time stabilities as well as significant, positive concurrent associations for both forms of aggression. Most important to this study were the findings that, controlling for these stabilities and concurrent associations, early psychological aggression was a consistent positive predictor of later physical aggression across waves whereas the opposite direction from early physical aggression to later psychological aggression was either non-significant or significant and negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Path models on random samples of 159 fathers and 275 mothers in Utah were used to examine direct and indirect relations between parenting difficulty and variables reflecting family stressors, social and personal resources, and background characteristics. Findings suggest that parenting difficulty appears to be significantly affected by the stressful characteristics of the parenting environment. (Author/TE)

In our contribution to this special issue devoted to reflections on Erik Erikson’s theorizing in Identity Youth and Crisis, 50 years later, we present the value of integrating attachment theory with Erikson’s conceptualization of identity development within a dynamic relational context. We attend closely to how internal working models of self and other link with identity development across time and relationships. We describe how attachment security, initially developed in early childhood, sets the stage for how adolescents’ approach identity formation processes and how both identity and attachment security operate together throughout adulthood. Three streams of research are offered for empirical examination of the identity-relational interface to elucidate processes and products of the intricate dance of identity and attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collective influence of identity styles and romantic attachment insecurity on psychological dating aggression was examined for 1,975 adolescents living in a southern state in the United States. Informational identity style related negatively to psychological dating aggression, but anxious romantic attachment related positively to this behavior. Diffuse-avoidant identity style and using psychological dating aggression were associated positively, whereas normative identity style and receiving psychological dating aggression were associated negatively. In addition, the combination of high informational or normative identity style with high avoidant romantic attachment was linked to lower psychological dating aggression. Our findings build on the previously noted parallelism between identity styles and romantic attachment insecurity by showing how they work together to explain variability in psychological dating aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the article "Adult Attachment Orientations and Relationship Processes," by P. R. Shaver and M. Mikulincer. The author says that the attachment theory's construct has contributed to the knowledge and thinking of life-span development and various behaviors in relationships. He says that the authors offers a reminder that the theory of attachment is a theory of motivation. He believes that the attachment theory's predictive power emanates from the individual differences in the orientation of attachment that the authors review. He adds that the article explains families from a multidimensional and rich point of view.

The authors examined linkages among identity styles, academic possible selves, and grades for 1,137 public high school students across a southern state in the United States. The measurement model revealed a positive association for the informational style and a negative association for the diffuse style with academic possible selves. There were positive associations for the informational style, normative style, and academic possible selves with grades, but negative associations for the diffuse style with grades. The structural model showed academic possible selves mediated the relationship between the informational and diffuse styles and grades. Moderation tests indicated that the association between academic possible selves and grades was stronger for girls, and that the normative style was related to academic possible selves only for European Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theories of John Bowlby and Erik Erikson reveal parallels that, together, offer opportunities to examine attachment-linked working models (secure base representations) as contexts of identity formation. Although the theories are grounded in fundamentally different assumptions, each offers concepts that can enrich the application of the other. One's attachment history serves as a foundation for identity formation. We argue that identity formation is less an individual accomplishment than a co-construction of an individual with significant others. Hence, attachment histories affect not only one's approach to identity formation but also one's contributions to the identity formation of others. Our review promotes theory building that bridges Bowlby and Erikson and offers new hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose that interventions targeting youth should consider the effects of identity formation on outcomes. In this study, data from 935 high school students address the potential moderating effects of identity style (high vs. low informational, normative, diffuse orientations) on intervention-related change in faulty relationship beliefs, future orientation, perceived interpersonal communication skills, salience of future marital and parental roles, and perception of knowledge gains. Four moderating effects suggest that high use of informational style promotes active exploration of curriculum content. Two moderating effects suggest that high use of the normative style limits responsiveness to some topics. Finally, three moderating effects reveal a tendency for diffuse students to resist the positive messages of the curriculum. Taken together, findings support the idea that identity style is an important influence on intervention outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an abundance of literature on the topic of adolescent identity formation, little is known about the relationship between socioeconomic status and identity processes, particularly potential effects of poverty on identity formation. Three correlates of poverty-derogatory self-relevant information (in the form of social stigma, marginalization, and disparate treatment), limitations in opportunity structure, and excessive stress-are hypothesized to circumscribe identity processes in poor adolescents. We present a theory that extends current and historical thinking about identity, culminating in an attempt to explain how and through what processes these correlates might impact identity formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes identity development during adolescence from the microprocess perspective and to extend the Grotevant model of identity formation process. Definitions of the identity control system; Empirical support of the model; Implications for using identity control theory to elaborate the identity statuses; Reciprocal identity processes.

Researchers of family science acknowledge the existence of a cycle of family violence: exposure to violence in one's family of origin increases one's susceptibility to perpetuating violence in one's family of procreation. This study investigated the mediating effects of men's ineffective conflict resolution strategies and marital distress on the intergenerational transmission of wife battering. Subjects were 1836 men who participated in the Second National Family Violence Survey. Results showed that men who, as children, witnessed interparental violence were more likely to use faulty conflict resolution strategies. The use of ineffective strategies increased men's likelihood of encountering marital distress and engaging in wife battering. Contrary to expectations, results also revealed a direct link between witnessing interparental violence and wife battering.

A three-level group therapy program for substance abusers is described. Each level is characterized by different emphases on educational, behavioral, and dynamic intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the attitudes of 35 male and 122 female college students toward six target groups of elderly individuals: males and females aged 65-74, 75-99 and 100 or older. A twenty-item semantic differential scale was used. Findings support the conclusion that the elderly are perceived as a heterogeneous group with age being an important discriminator, and with gender being less potent but, nevertheless, important. Older target groups were perceived less favorably than younger target groups, but actual values of attitude scores indicate that the least favorable means were in a neutral affect range rather than the more extreme negative range of possible scores. Finally, the effects of several characteristics of respondents on attitudes toward the elderly were examined. Only modest differences were found, suggesting that perceived differences between target groups are widely shared. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]