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OBJECTIVE: The current study utilized a longitudinal person-centered approach (latent transition analysis; LTA) to assess transitions into and out of risk-behavior profiles during the transition into and throughout the first year of college. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included 579 first-year college students (M(age)=18.13, SD=.94) from a large mid-Atlantic university. METHODS: Participants completed surveys at five points throughout their freshman year. RESULTS: LTA suggested that most individuals either abstained from engaging in risk behaviors or transitioned towards profiles of less risk over time. A smaller portion of individuals either began and ended the year in the same risk profile or transitioned into profiles of greater risk. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the importance of utilizing person-centered analyses to examine change in multiple health-risk behaviors.

Adolescents' awareness of societal inequality has been linked to higher civic engagement. This study expands prior research by testing whether awareness of inequality differentially motivates prosocial and political forms of civic engagement, whether adults' modeling of civic agency moderates links between awareness of inequality and civic engagement, and whether associations differ by race/ethnicity. Longitudinal data came from 3208 youth (M

This study (NIMH RO1 MH095750; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02543359) evaluated the effectiveness of three training models to implement a well-established evidence-based treatment, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).Fifty licensed outpatient clinics, including 100 clinicians, 50 supervisors, and 50 administrators were randomized to one of three training conditions: 1) Learning Collaborative (LC), 2) Cascading Model (CM) or 3) Distance Education (DE). Data to assess training and implementation outcomes were collected at 4 time points coinciding with the training period: baseline, 6- (mid), 12- (post), and 24-months (1-year follow-up).Multi-level hierarchical linear growth modeling was used to examine changes over time in training outcomes. Results indicate that clinicians in CM were more likely to complete training, reported high levels of training satisfaction and better learning experiences compared to the other training conditions. However, supervisors in the LC condition reported greater learning experiences, higher levels of knowledge, understanding of treatment, and satisfaction compared to supervisors in other conditions. Although clinicians and supervisors in the DE condition did not outperform their counterparts on any outcomes, their performance was comparable to both LC and CM in terms of PCIT use, supervisor perceived acceptability, feasibility, system support, and clinician satisfaction.Through the use of a randomized controlled design and community implementation, this study contributes to the current understanding of the impact of training design on implementation of PCIT. Results also indicate that although in-person training methods may produce more positive clinician and supervisor outcomes, training is not a one-size-fits-all model, with DE producing comparable results on some variables.

A lack of emotional support from parents during childhood has been found to predict both physical and mental health problems (i.e., chronic health conditions, depression) during middle and older adulthood. Less research has examined the factors that may either buffer or amplify this association. Using the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) national sample (N = 7,108; age = 20–75 years), the current study examined the moderating role of social support and social strain from three sources (i.e., family, friends, partner/spouse) on the association between early parental support and changes in chronic health conditions and depression. Poisson models indicated that low levels of early parental support were associated with greater health problems over time. However, the association between parental support and chronic health conditions was only significant for individuals with greater levels of friend strain. Additionally, the association between parental support and depression was only significant for individuals with low levels of support from a partner/spouse and high levels of strain from relationships with a partner/spouse. The current findings demonstrate the important role of source-specific social support and social strain in buffering individuals’ risk for experiencing increased problematic outcomes in response to a lack of early parental support.

Research has consistently found evidence for four parenting styles that vary along the dimensions of warmth/responsiveness and control/demandingness. Although these parenting styles have important implications for youth development, less research has explored how parents of adolescents vary in their use of subtypes of warmth and control, as well as negative aspects of parenting. The current study utilized a person-centered approach to examine adolescents’ report of their parents’ engagement in six behaviors (i.e., rules, solicitation, psychological control, problem communication, open communication, warmth). Additionally, the current study examined whether profiles of perceived parenting behaviors are differentially associated with adolescents’ substance use, risky cyber behaviors, over-eating behaviors, under-eating behaviors, and depressive symptoms. Data were collected from 161 adolescents in the US (Mage = 14.42, SD = 1.73, range = 12–18; 80.7% Caucasian; 59.6% female) who completed questionnaires regarding parenting behaviors and problematic outcomes. Latent profile analyses indicated that adolescents perceived their parents as displaying five unique profiles of parenting behaviors (i.e., Problematic, Controlling, Inconsistent, Warm and Open, Authoritative), which were uniquely associated with adolescents’ problematic outcomes. Findings urge researchers to consider how multiple aspects of parental warmth/responsiveness and control/demandingness along with negative parenting behaviors co-occur among parents of adolescents and differentially relate to developmental outcomes. When examining adolescents’ perceived parenting profiles using a wider range of parenting behaviors, findings suggest that parenting styles are more nuanced than previous research has suggested. Further, these nuanced profiles have important implications for adolescents’ problematic outcomes.

Although parental knowledge of youth behavior is associated with less adolescent engagement in problem behaviors, many adolescents keep their engagement in various activities secret from their parents. However, less research has examined why youth keep secrets about their engagement in problematic activities. The current study examined adolescents’ reasons for keeping secrets from their parents regarding their engagement in problematic and multifaceted behaviors (alcohol use, risky cyber behaviors, problematic peer associations, and romantic behaviors), as well as the role of parental rules and youth age and gender on adolescents’ secrecy reasons. Participants were 161 parent-adolescent dyads (Adolescent Mage = 14.42, SD = 1.73, range = 12–18, 82% white, 60% female). The current study utilized a sample of adolescents who reported both engaging in the specific behavior and reported keeping secrets from their parents regarding their engagement in the behavior. Results demonstrate that adolescents’ reasons for secrecy differed across various forms of problematic and multifaceted behaviors. Additionally, both individual characteristics (adolescent gender and age) and parental rules (parent and teen report) were associated with adolescents’ secrecy reasoning. However, the pattern of these associations varied depending on the type of behaviors adolescents were keeping secret from their parents.

The current study explored youths' views of President Donald Trump using quantitative ratings and open-ended responses from a diverse sample of 1,432 U.S. adolescents from three geographic regions. Adolescent demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race, geographic location) were systematically associated with their views about Trump. Open-ended responses demonstrated substantial variability in youths' rationales for approving or disapproving of the president. Adolescents' attitudes were informed by knowledge of the president's leadership attributes, political views and policies, and their own experiences. Findings indicate that adolescents draw upon and synthesize a broad range of information when formulating their political views and coordinate this knowledge with their own opinions and experiences when evaluating political figures.

Parents promote character development in many ways: by cultivating a supportive relationship, modeling the strengths they hope to cultivate, and through the ideas they communicate to their children...

Objective : Migraine headaches affect about approximately 15% of the population and some notable efforts have been made to develop meditation interventions to address pain and mood among this population. However, key active ingredients and the necessary duration of meditation interventions to produce an effect are still unknown. The purpose of this study is to assess key meditation ingredients that positively impact mood and headache factors across different meditation techniques and to establish an initial time or” dose” needed to reach proactive treatment efficacy. Method : In this longitudinal study, three active management forms of meditation were compared to a cognitive distraction meditation to assess the effects on migraine headaches and emotions over a 30 day period when practiced 20 min per day. Results : The active group showed significant decreases in anger (p = .005) and migraine pain (p = .002) over time. Further analysis showed that the bulk of the change for the active management group occurred in the final 10 days, after 20 days of practice of the technique (p Conclusion : This suggests that cognitively active forms of meditation are more effective in reducing migraine headache pain and negative mood than distraction techniques. However, individuals engaging in these strategies need to consistently practice these techniques for approximately 20 days to proactively reduce migraine headache pain and negative mood.

We applied foundational intergroup research to a quasi-experiment with stay-at-home mothers (SAHMs) and working mothers (WMs) in order to investigate mothers’ contributions to the pressures of idea...

Parental psychological control is an emotionally manipulative parenting behavior that involves the use of tactics such as love withdrawal, guilt induction, and conditional approval and has been found to be particularly problematic for adolescent development. However, research has not yet examined whether psychological control is also best measured as a multidimensional construct during adolescence or whether various dimensions of psychological control are differentially predictive of adolescents’ problematic outcomes. Therefore, the current study examined the factor structure of a measure commonly used to assess psychological control, the Psychological Control Scale—Youth Self-Report. Additionally, the current study examined whether specific dimensions of psychological control are differentially associated with adolescents’ problematic outcomes, including over- and under-eating behaviors, risky cyber behaviors, substance use, and depressive symptoms. Participants included 161 adolescents (Mage = 14.42, SD = 1.73; 80.7% Caucasian; 59.6% female) living in a University city in a Mid-Atlantic state. Participants completed survey questionnaires about parental psychological control, problematic eating behaviors, risky cyber behaviors, substance use, and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that psychological control is comprised of three distinct factors, including personal attack, invalidating feelings, and love withdrawal, which were uniquely associated with adolescents’ problematic outcomes. The findings provide insights into more precise ways to examine the association between psychological control and problematic outcomes and highlight which aspects of psychological control are important for specific problematic outcomes among adolescents.

Associations between adolescent civic and organized activities (volunteering, standard political, social movement, school/community, religious) and civic beliefs (comprised of should, obligation, and respect judgments) were examined. Cross-sectional models (N = 703, Mage = 15.87) indicated domain specificity between adolescent civic beliefs and behaviors. Longitudinal models (n = 219, Mage = 15.39) indicated that adolescents' standard political beliefs predicted greater levels of standard political involvement one year later, and school/community activities predicted greater standard political beliefs a year later. Youth volunteering predicted lower standard political beliefs, and standard political involvement predicted lower community service beliefs one year later. Findings support the assessment of adolescent sociomoral civic beliefs and demonstrate how civic experiences and civic beliefs can mutually promote each other during adolescence.

The 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump has ushered in a turbulent time in U.S. history. Given the Trump administration's emphasis on anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric, scholars and practitioners need to better understand how Latinx youth are responding to and affected by the political climate. Using written, open-ended responses from 562 Latinx adolescents from Southern California, the current study documented reactions to Trump's immigration politics. Forty percent of youth articulated views about immigration in their election reactions, and 96% of immigration-related responses were critical of the President's approach. Salient themes identified in immigration-related responses included feeling afraid and/or anxious; expressing anger, contempt, and/or disgust; recognizing and experiencing racism; offering pro-immigrant narratives; and increasing civic engagement. Findings align with social contract theory and suggest that many Latinx youth are feeling marginalized and threatened by government and recognizing injustices in the rights and protections afforded to their racial/ethnic communities. This work can raise awareness among educators and social workers about the tangible consequences of immigration policies and rhetoric for Latinx youth. This sociopolitical moment may also offer opportunities for youth empowerment through civic engagement.

Parental psychological control has consistently been linked to greater engagement in problem behaviors among adolescents, including over-eating behaviors, under-eating behaviors, risky cyber behaviors, and substance use. Previous research has suggested that child characteristics, such as temperament, may moderate this association. However, little research has examined characteristics of the adolescent that may place them at greater risk for experiencing such problem behaviors as a result of psychologically controlling parenting. Therefore, the current study examined the role of adolescents’ depressive symptoms as a risk factor (moderator) for the association between parental psychological control and adolescent problem behaviors. Participants included 161 adolescents (Mage = 14.42, SD = 1.73; 80.7% Caucasian; 59.6% female) living in a University city in a Mid-Atlantic state. Participants completed survey questionnaires about parental psychological control, problematic eating behaviors, risky cyber behaviors, substance use, and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that psychological control was significantly and positively associated with under-eating behaviors. Psychological control was also found to be associated positively with risky cyber behaviors and substance use, but only for adolescents who reported greater depressive symptoms. The findings provide support for the role of depressive symptoms as a risk factor for the associations between psychological control and problem behaviors among adolescents.

SYNOPSISObjective. Extant research examining the predictors and outcomes of parenting self-efficacy has predominantly focused on families with young children. Adolescence is a time of increased autonomy during which parents may be uncertain about their abilities to influence their adolescents’ risk-taking behavior. Design. Parents’ (N = 145 mothers and 53 fathers) confidence in their parenting abilities across prudential adolescent behaviors was investigated, including alcohol consumption, cyber activities, eating behaviors, and problem peer associations. Additionally, we explored how adolescents’ (N = 161, Mage = 14.4 years, 60% female) reports of their engagement in those behaviors were associated with parents’ perceptions of their ability to impact their adolescents’ behavior (i.e., self-efficacy). Results. Mixed-model analysis of variance revealed that mothers and fathers felt most efficacious in reducing their adolescents’ engagement in problematic cyber activities and least efficacious regarding alc...

OBJECTIVES We examined participant characteristics as moderators of adolescents' smoking cessation outcomes as a function of intervention: Not-on-Tobacco (N-O-T), N-O-T with a physical activity (PA) module (N-O-T+FIT), or Brief Intervention (BI). METHODS We randomly assigned youth (N = 232) recruited from public high schools to an intervention, and measured their baseline levels of PA and motivation to quit. The number of cigarettes/day for weekdays and weekends was obtained at baseline and 3-month follow-up. RESULTS Across timepoints, cigarette use declined for youth in N-O-T (p = .007) and N-O-T+FIT (ps < .02), but not BI (n.s.). For N-O-T+FIT youth, the steepest declines in weekday smoking occurred for those with high PA levels (p = .02). Weekend cigarette use decreased for N-O-T+FIT youth with moderate-high levels of intrinsic motivation to quit (ps < .04). CONCLUSIONS Adolescents may benefit from interventions designed to address the barriers faced during a quit attempt, including their motivation to make a change and their engagement in other healthy behaviors such as physical activity.

Using a dual-process model (DPM) framework, this research examined whether right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) are differentially associated with adolescent delinquency. In Study 1 ( N = 847; Mage = 15.96) and Study 2 ( N = 340; Mage = 16.64), adolescents completed measures of RWA, SDO, and engagement in different forms of delinquency. In Study 2, adolescents also reported their beliefs about obeying different laws. Across both studies, adolescents who endorsed greater RWA engaged in lower levels of delinquency and those who endorsed greater SDO engaged in higher levels of delinquency. Findings from Study 2 suggest that these associations are contingent on the domain-specific purpose of the law being violated and are also present with adolescents' beliefs about their obligation to obey laws. These results extend the DPM, demonstrating that RWA and SDO are differentially linked with youth delinquency.

Youth are often involved in multiple organized and civic activities simultaneously, resulting in complex patterns or “networks” of participation. Little research has examined the network structure of adolescents’ organized and civic participation and whether these networks vary across communities. Examining activity networks may help identify specific forms of participation that are more widely and strongly connected with other activities, and may thus provide a gateway for becoming multiply involved. Youth (N= 902; Mage = 15.90; 55.7% female) from a rural (n= 476) and non-rural (n= 426) community completed measures assessing engagement in 25 civic and organized activities. Network analysis indicated that activities in the rural community had greater network density relative to the non-rural community. Volunteering to clean up the neighborhood was most central to both networks. Church attendance and community sports were more central for the rural network, whereas protesting and school arts were more central for the non-rural network. These findings suggest that volunteer activities may serve as a “hub” for organized and civic activity participation and highlight similarities and differences in the co-occurrence of activities across two distinct communities.

Organized activities represent a potentially important context for the development of adolescent sociopolitical values, but few studies have examined longitudinal associations between youths’ sociopolitical values and activity involvement. Adolescents (N = 299, Time 1 Mage = 15.49, SD = .93, 62% female) reported on their organized activity involvement (volunteering, church, sports, arts/music, school and community clubs) and sociopolitical values (materialism, social dominance, authoritarianism, patriotism, spirituality) at baseline and one year later. Greater involvement in arts/music predicted lower spirituality and patriotism one year later and greater involvement in church predicted higher levels of spirituality and lower levels of social dominance one year later. Higher levels of materialism predicted less involvement in arts/music one year later and higher social dominance values predicted less involvement in volunteering one year later. Findings support the importance of organized activities in sociopolitical development, and suggest that sociopolitical values may guide decisions concerning future organized activity involvement.

Food-related parenting behaviors have the potential to impact youth eating behaviors and nutrition knowledge. The present study examined associations between parental behaviors specific to eating (i.e., rules, solicitation, and the creation of a health-focused home environment) and specific unhealthy eating behaviors prevalent during adolescence. Additional analyses examined whether such associations were explained by adolescent nutrition knowledge. A total of 145 adolescents ( M = 14.48, SD = 1.75 years) and their mothers ( M = 43.52, SD = 6.76 years) completed questionnaires as part of a larger study investigating parent–adolescent communication. Mothers’ food-related parenting behaviors were not directly associated with adolescents’ engagement in unhealthy eating behaviors. However, more parental rules were associated with greater adolescent nutrition knowledge. In addition, mothers’ creation of a health-focused home environment was indirectly associated with less fast food consumption through greater adolescent nutrition knowledge. Implications and future directions are discussed.

The current study investigated associations among adolescents’ reports of harmfulness and family decision-making beliefs regarding potentially problematic cyber behaviors (e.g., talking to strangers online), cyber-specific information management strategies (disclosure, secrecy, concealment), and family rules regarding adolescents’ use of information and communication technology (ICT). The sample consisted of 159 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years ( M = 14.45, SD = 1.72, 59% female, 80% Caucasian). Youth were more likely to disclose their ICT behavior when they recognized the harm associated with cyber risks and viewed their family as less restrictive about ICT activities. Age differences indicated that older adolescents’ ICT beliefs were more strongly related to their information management strategies, whereas families’ ICT rules were more predictive of cyber disclosure for younger adolescents. Results demonstrate that both adolescents’ conceptualization of ICT risks and families’ ICT-specific rules contribute to adolescents’ choice of information management strategies regarding ICT behaviors.

The development of civically engaged citizens is vital for democratic societies. Although several studies have explored children and adolescents’ conceptualizations of civic engagement, less is known about youths’ understanding of the individual skills and attributes best suited for civic action. The current study utilized a Q-sort methodology to explore the types of character strengths children and adolescents ( n = 87; Mage = 13, 9-19, 52% female) assigned to people who engage in different types of civic activities. Participants sorted 12 character strengths (amazed, creative, forgiving, future-minded, generous, grateful, humble, joyful, leader, purposeful, responsible, and thrifty) into five categories ranging from “most like” to “least like” based on their perceptions of individuals engaged in four distinct civic activities: volunteering, voting, protesting, and engaging in environmental or conservation behaviors. Youth not only differentially applied certain character strengths to individuals engaged in distinct civic activities but also identified a set of character strengths (future-minded, leader, purposeful, and responsible) as core to multiple forms of civic engagement. Results provide new insights into youths’ budding conceptualization of the individual characteristics, attributes, and motivations, which undergird different forms of civic action. Qualitative analysis of youths’ justifications for their rankings provided additional nuance into their developing understanding of civic actions.

An extensive body of research has explored the effects of parental monitoring on adolescent outcomes, but studies consistently find substantial discrepancies between parent and adolescent reports of different monitoring behaviors. Little research has examined whether parents and adolescents are more or less discrepant when reporting on parents’ rules or solicitation for different adolescent problem and health risk behaviors and few studies have explored potential explanatory variables to explicate individual variability in parent-adolescent discrepant reporting. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examined discrepancies in mother-adolescent reports of family rules and solicitation across five distinct adolescent behaviors: personal behaviors and four different risk behaviors (alcohol-related, cyber, over- and under-eating). Participants were 143 mother-adolescent dyads (Adolescent M age = 14.42, SD = 1.73, range = 12–18, 81 % white, 60 % female). Mean-level discrepancies between maternal and adolescent reports significantly differed by category of adolescent behavior and also varied as a function of reported parental monitoring behavior (rules vs. solicitation). Discrepancies in mother-adolescent reports of behavior-specific rules and solicitation were positively associated with discrepancies in mother and adolescent judgments of the harmfulness of the activities. The results demonstrate that discrepancies in mother-adolescent reports of family process differ by category of adolescent behavior and may be undergirded by differences in mother and adolescent informational assumptions about the potential harm involved with different activities.

Using detailed vignettes and scale measures, concepts of laws regulating domain-specific issues and engagement in delinquency were assessed among 340 9th through 12th graders (Mage = 16.64, SD = 1.37). Adolescents distinguished between laws that regulate moral, drug-related prudential, conventional, personal, and multifaceted issues in their criterion judgments and justifications. Youths' ratings of the importance of laws, obligation to obey laws, and deserved punishment for breaking different laws also followed domain-consistent patterns. Adolescents' engagement in moral, drug-related prudential, and multifaceted forms of delinquency was associated with less supportive judgments about laws within the same domain. FINDINGS contribute to civic development research by demonstrating domain specificity in adolescents' beliefs about laws and suggest that these beliefs are linked with engagement in similar types of delinquency.© 2016 The Authors. Journal of Research on Adolescence © 2016 Society for Research on Adolescence. Language: en

This study examined differences in civic beliefs and efficacy for youth living in rural or city contexts and from higher or lower socioeconomic homes. Youth (N = 1847; 88.6% White; 56% female; Mage = 15.72) from a rural town (46.1%) and a mid-sized city (53.9%) completed questionnaires assessing civic beliefs (should, obligation, respect judgments) for community service, standard political, and social movement behaviors, as well as community efficacy, political knowledge efficacy, and political action efficacy. Rural youth and youth from less educated households had lower political efficacy and rated standard political activity as less important, obligatory, and worthy of social praise. Adolescents from more educated households viewed social movement involvement as more important and morally worthy. A parent education by rurality interaction indicated rural youth from less educated families endorsed lower beliefs that people should engage in standard political action. Findings highlight the importance of community and socioeconomic context for youth civic development.

The current study examined sociodemographic characteristics and political discussion as correlates of adolescents’ qualitative understanding of three civic behaviors. Participants were 743 adolescents ( Mage= 15.87, range = 13-20; 55.6% female; 89.9% White) from a midsized city and a small rural town in an Appalachian state. Open-ended responses to three civic behavior scenarios, asking participants why should people protest, vote, and volunteer were content coded (28 codes total). Anecdotal statements are provided to illustrate the variety of themes that emerged among adolescents’ written responses. Adolescents applied domain-specific reasons (moral, conventional, and personal) for specific types of civic behavior. Structural justifications were provided for all three civic behaviors, suggesting that many adolescents reason about the broader, structural impact of civic behaviors. In probit regression models, coding categories were differentially associated with adolescent demographic characteristics and political discussion. Findings offer insight into youth’s divergent understanding of different forms of civic responsibility and shed light on individual differences in youth’s developing civic beliefs.

Observational and multi-informant survey data were used to examine associations among mothers' civic behavior, observed mother–adolescent messages about civic responsibility, and adolescents' judgments about civic duty and civic behavior. Adolescents ( N = 144, M age = 14.49 [12–18] years) and their mothers ( N = 144) participated in a semi-structured, dyadic discussion task focused on civic responsibility and adolescents completed questionnaires assessing civic behavior and judgments about whether individuals should engage in different civic activities. Eight themes emerged within the parent–adolescent civic discussion task: community service , vote , other standard political involvement (e.g., political awareness), follow regulations , be productive (e.g., working and becoming educated), help others , respect others , and respect country . Mothers' community service involvement and messages concerning respect and helping were positively associated with adolescents' community service behavior. Mothers' messages concerning following regulations were negatively associated with teens' social movement judgments. Additionally, adolescents' own messages were associated with their civic judgments.

Background Evidence that different neuropsychiatric conditions share genetic liability has increased interest in phenotypes with ‘cross-disorder’ relevance, as they may contribute to revised models of psychopathology. Cognition is a promising construct for study; yet, evidence that the same cognitive functions are impaired across different forms of psychopathology comes primarily from separate studies of individual categorical diagnoses versus controls. Given growing support for dimensional models that cut across traditional diagnostic boundaries, we aimed to determine, within a single cohort, whether performance on measures of executive functions (EFs) predicted dimensions of different psychopathological conditions known to share genetic liability. Methods Data are from 393 participants, ages 8–17, consecutively enrolled in the Longitudinal Study of Genetic Influences on Cognition (LOGIC). This project is conducting deep phenotyping and genomic analyses in youth referred for neuropsychiatric evaluation. Using structural equation modeling, we examined whether EFs predicted variation in core dimensions of the autism spectrum disorder, bipolar illness, and schizophrenia (including social responsiveness, mania/emotion regulation, and positive symptoms of psychosis, respectively). Results We modeled three cognitive factors (working memory, shifting, and executive processing speed) that loaded on a second-order EF factor. The EF factor predicted variation in our three target traits, but not in a negative control (somatization). Moreover, this EF factor was primarily associated with the overlapping (rather than unique) variance across the three outcome measures, suggesting that it related to a general increase in psychopathology symptoms across those dimensions. Conclusions Findings extend support for the relevance of cognition to neuropsychiatric conditions that share underlying genetic risk. They suggest that higher-order cognition, including EFs, relates to the dimensional spectrum of each of these disorders and not just the clinical diagnoses. Moreover, results have implications for bottom-up models linking genes, cognition, and a general psychopathology liability.

Civic developmental theory anticipates connections between normative developmental competencies and civic engagement, but little previous research has directly studied such links. The current study sought to contribute to civic development theory by examining associations between emotional and sociocognitive competencies (empathy, emotion regulation, prosocial moral reasoning, future-orientation) and civic engagement (volunteering, informal helping, political behaviors and beliefs, environmental behaviors, social responsibility values, civic skills). Data came from a geographically and racially diverse sample of 2467 youth (Mage = 13.4, Range: 8–20 years, 56% female). The results indicated that empathy and future-orientation significantly predicted nearly all forms of civic engagement, whereas emotion regulation and prosocial moral reasoning were uniquely associated with specific forms of civic engagement. Exploratory multi-group models indicated that empathy and emotion regulation were more strongly associated with civic engagement among younger youth and prosocial moral reasoning and future-orientation were more strongly related to civic engagement among older youth. The findings help to advance developmental theory of youth civic engagement.

This study examined adolescents' beliefs about the amount of punishment individuals should receive for violating different laws and whether these beliefs are connected with their informational assumptions (i.e., perceived facts) about crime, laws, and authority. American adolescents (N = 340; Mage = 16.64, 58.2% female) reported their judgments concerning the appropriate punishment for violating laws regulating domain-specific behaviors and their informational assumptions regarding the prevalence and causes of crime, beliefs that authority is knowledgeable, and the purpose of punishment. Greater internal attributions for crime was associated with stronger punishment judgments for violating laws that regulate moral and conventional issues. Greater beliefs that punishment teaches right from wrong was associated with stronger punishment judgments for violating laws that regulate drug-related prudential issues, and lower punishment judgments for violating laws that regulate personal issues. Greater beliefs that authorities are more knowledgeable than others was associated with stronger punishment judgments for violating laws that regulate personal issues.

The current study examined demographic and civic behavior correlates of observed messages concerning civic duty coded from dyadic, semi-structured interactions between 160 adolescents ( Mage= 14.42, range = 12-18) and their parents (144 mothers, 52 fathers). Anecdotal statements are provided to illustrate the eight themes that emerged within parent-adolescent civic discussion. Three themes concerned community and political involvement— community service, voting, and other standard political involvement (e.g., keeping up with current events)—and five themes concerned informal civic duties— be productive (e.g., working and becoming educated), follow regulations, help others, respect country, and respect others. In mixed-effect logistic regression models, coding categories were differentially associated with parent and adolescent demographic characteristics and parent-reported civic behavior.

Sociopolitical values are hypothesized to form during adolescence, but the developmental and contextual origins of these values have been largely unexplored. A sample of 846 adolescents (Mage = 15....

This study used a sample of 467 middle and high school students (Mage= 15.26) from a mid-Atlantic state. Structural equation models controlling for demographic variables (age, gender, and parents’ education) examined associations between three developing sociopolitical values (spiritualty, patriotism, and authoritarianism) and adolescents’ social and moral judgments (obligation and social praise) concerning four civic activities (community service, standard political involvement, social movement, and community gathering). Spirituality was associated with judgments for community service and community gathering involvement while authoritarian values were associated with the prioritization of all forms of civic activity. Multigroup analyses indicated that associations between authoritarianism and both community service and social movement judgments were stronger for younger adolescents while spirituality was more strongly associated with community service judgments for older adolescents. Patriotic beliefs were associated with civic judgments for children of college-educated parents, but not children of noncollege-educated parents.

Guidelines for self-report assessment with older adults emphasize the use of shorter Likert-type or agree/disagree response formats to reduce cognitive load (e.g., Yesavage et al., 1983). However, these suggestions are not founded on empirical studies directly comparing younger and older adults’ responses on different scales. Thus, the current study tested differential responding on varying Likert-type response scale lengths between younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Participants completed three versions of the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Neuroticism scale with 3, 5, and 7 Likert-type response scale lengths in counterbalanced orders with other questionnaires between versions. Six multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) assessed measurement invariance across scale lengths and age groups. Invariance of convergent validity networks was also assessed with multi-group CFAs of the associations between the IPIP and measures of depression, anxiety, anger, worry, and affect. The final sample consisted of 835 adults (327 18-44; 279 45-64; and 229 65 or older) via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Measurement invariance was supported in analyses by age within each scale length and by scale length within each age group, indicating that response patterns across all scale lengths and age groups did not significantly differ. Analyses of convergent validity also supported invariance, suggesting that responses across all scale lengths and age groups reflect the same underlying construct. This study indicates that, among community-dwelling adults, shortened response scale lengths do not yield significantly different or more valid responses for older adults compared to younger adults.

The present study examined smoking-specific and general parenting predictors of in vivo observed patterns of parent-adolescent discussion concerning adolescents' cigarette smoking experiences and associations between these observed patterns and 24-month longitudinal trajectories of teen cigarette smoking behavior (nonsmokers, current experimenters, escalators). Parental solicitation, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent information management were coded from direct observations of 528 video-recorded parent-adolescent discussions about cigarette smoking with 344 teens (M age = 15.62 years) with a history of smoking experimentation (321 interactions with mothers, 207 interactions with fathers). Adolescent initiation of discussions concerning their own smoking behavior (21% of interactions) was predicted by lower levels of maternal observed disapproval of cigarette smoking and fewer teen-reported communication problems with mothers. Maternal initiation in discussions (35% of interactions) was associated with higher levels of family rules about illicit substance use. Three categories of adolescent information management (full disclosure, active secrecy, incomplete strategies) were coded by matching adolescents' confidential self-reported smoking status with their observed spontaneous disclosures and responses to parental solicitations. Fully disclosing teens reported higher quality communication with their mothers (more open, less problematic). Teens engaged in active secrecy with their mothers when families had high levels of parental rules about illicit substance use and when mothers expressed lower levels of expectancies that their teen would smoke in the future. Adolescents were more likely to escalate their smoking over 2 years if their parents initiated the discussion of adolescent smoking behavior (solicited) and if adolescents engaged in active secrecy.

Domain-specific judgments about different forms of civic engagement were assessed in a sample 467 primarily White adolescents (M age=15.26, range=11-19). Adolescents reported on the obligatory nature and social praiseworthiness (respect) of different forms of civic involvement. Adolescents distinguished among four different categories of civic involvement in their judgments: community service, standard political involvement (e.g., voting), social movement involvement (e.g., protesting), and community gathering activities. These mean differences were moderated by adolescent age (early, middle, and late adolescents) and gender. With increasing age, adolescents judged community service to be more worthy of respect but less obligatory. Compared to early adolescents, late adolescents prioritized standard political involvement as an activity in which US citizens should be engaged, but judged community gathering activities to be less obligatory. Across all age groups, girls judged community service and community gathering activities to be more obligatory than boys.

Food-related parenting behaviors have the potential to impact youth eating behaviors and nutrition knowledge. The present study examined associations between parental behaviors specific to eating (i.e., rules, solicitation, and the creation of a health-focused home environment) and specific unhealthy eating behaviors prevalent during adolescence. Additional analyses examined whether such associations were explained by adolescent nutrition knowledge. A total of 145 adolescents ( M = 14.48, SD = 1.75 years) and their mothers ( M = 43.52, SD = 6.76 years) completed questionnaires as part of a larger study investigating parent-adolescent communication. Mothers' food-related parenting behaviors were not directly associated with adolescents' engagement in unhealthy eating behaviors. However, more parental rules were associated with greater adolescent nutrition knowledge. In addition, mothers' creation of a health-focused home environment was indirectly associated with less fast food consumption through greater adolescent nutrition knowledge. Implications and future directions are discussed.

This study illustrates the application of a latent modeling approach to genotype-phenotype relationships and gene × environment interactions, using a novel, multidimensional model of adult female problem behavior, including maternal prenatal smoking. The gene of interest is the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene which has been well studied in relation to antisocial behavior. Participants were adult women (N = 192) who were sampled from a prospective pregnancy cohort of non-Hispanic, white individuals recruited from a neighborhood health clinic. Structural equation modeling was used to model a female problem behavior phenotype, which included conduct problems, substance use, impulsive-sensation seeking, interpersonal aggression, and prenatal smoking. All of the female problem behavior dimensions clustered together strongly, with the exception of prenatal smoking. A main effect of MAOA genotype and a MAOA × physical maltreatment interaction were detected with the Conduct Problems factor. Our phenotypic model showed that prenatal smoking is not simply a marker of other maternal problem behaviors. The risk variant in the MAOA main effect and interaction analyses was the high activity MAOA genotype, which is discrepant from consensus findings in male samples. This result contributes to an emerging literature on sex-specific interaction effects for MAOA.

Little is known about slow-to-warm-up temperament in infancy. This study examined the trajectory of shyness in children who were slow-to-warm-up in infancy in comparison to children with other temperament profiles in infancy. Participants were 996 mothers and children in the NICHD SECC studied from 6 months to first grade. Latent growth curve modeling showed that children who were slow-to-warm-up in infancy tended to be shy in early childhood, but with increasing age these children became indistinguishable from children who were easy or intermediate. In comparison, children who were difficult in infancy remained more shy than children with other temperament profiles. Maternal sensitive and stimulating/supportive parenting was associated with less shyness in early childhood for boys who were slow-to-warm-up in infancy. Findings support the distinctiveness of the slow-to-warm-up temperament in comparison to other temperament profiles as well as its potential usefulness for predicting later child outcomes.

Judgments and justifications for different forms of civic involvement and their associations with organized and civic behavior were examined in 312 middle-class primarily White adolescents (M = 17.01 years). Adolescents applied moral, conventional, and personal criteria to distinguish involvement in community service, standard political, social movement, and social gathering activities. Males judged standard political involvement to be more obligatory and important than did females, who judged community service to be more obligatory and important than did males. For each form of civic involvement, greater involvement was associated with more positive judgments and fewer personal justifications. Structural equation modeling indicated that adolescents' judgments about specific types of civic involvement were associated with similar forms of civic behaviors.

Using multilevel analyses, we examined the influence of domain (moral, conventional, and personal) and the familiarity of different authority figures (mother, teacher, person in charge, and stranger) in public, school, or home settings in 123 four to seven-yearold Chinese children (M = 5.6 years) in Hong Kong. Children affirmed authority more for moral and conventional than personal events, based primarily on punishment avoidance and conventional justifications. Children judged that they should obey mothers more than all other authorities and the person-in charge in the associated setting and the teacher more than strangers. At school, teachers were seen as having more authority over moral and conventional events than mothers whereas at home, mothers had more authority than teachers over all issues. With age, children increasingly evaluated mothers’ authority as generalizable across contexts for the moral event; reflecting the importance of familiarity, mothers were seen as having more authority to extend her regulation outside the home, including for personal events, than teachers’ authority outside the school.

A sample of 118 predominantly European American families with early and middle adolescents (M(ages)= 12.32 and 15.18 years) and 1 parent evaluated hypothetical conflicts between adolescents' and parents' requests for assistance versus the other's personal desires. Evaluations differed by level of need, but in low-need situations, adolescents viewed teens as more obligated to help parents than did parents, whereas parents rated it as more permissible for teens to satisfy personal desires than did teenagers. Justifications for helping focused on concern for others, role responsibilities, and among parents, psychological reasons. Middle adolescents reasoned about role responsibilities more and viewed satisfying personal desires as less selfish than did early adolescents, but satisfying personal desires was seen as more selfish by parents of middle than early adolescents. Implications for adolescent-parent relationships are discussed.

This study examines patterns of organized activity and their concurrent association with academic achievement, problem behavior, and perceived adult support in a sample of urban, early adolescent, middle school students (mean age = 13.01; N = 2,495). Cluster analyses yielded six activity profiles: an uninvolved group ( n = 775, 31.1%), a multiply involved group ( n = 247, 9.9%), a sports group ( n = 469, 18.8%), a church group ( n = 486, 19.5%), a school and community clubs group ( n = 278, 11.1%), and a community clubs and sports group ( n = 240, 9.6%). These profiles are differentially associated with academic achievement, problem behavior, and adult support. While some form of organized activity is generally associated with more positive outcomes, the school and community and community and sports profiles also report the highest levels of delinquency, drug use, and school suspensions. Results support the utility of using person-centered approaches to studying youth-organized activities.