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Unlike organized activities such as sports and arts, civic activities in adolescence (e.g., volunteering, student government) have been less studied in relation to school success and almost all existing evidence consists of cross-sectional findings. In a longitudinal study, 1035 pupils (64% females, 20% nonwhite, M[subscript age] = 14.21 years) from high schools reported their engagement in organized non-civic and civic activities during the school year, dimensions of activity participation (e.g., intensity, duration, motives), and covariables (age, gender, ethnicity, SES, self-esteem, parental relationship, school motivation). Previous and end-of-year grade point average (GPA) were collected from school administrations. Results revealed that both civic and non-civic organized activities independently predicted increases in GPA over the school year, even after adjusting for all covariables.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the link between friendship instability during emerging adulthood and depressive symptoms. The moderating role of gender and the pursuit (or not) of postsecondary education was also tested. Participants: A total of 268 participants (60.7% women) was interviewed annually between the ages of 22 and 26. Methods: Friendship instability was measured by asking the participants to name their three best friends each year and depressive symptoms were assessed at ages 22 and 26. Results: A multiple hierarchical regression analysis predicting depressive symptoms at age 26 (while controlling for symptoms at age 22) revealed a triple interaction between friendship instability, gender and the pursuit of postsecondary education. Specifically, friendship instability predicted depressive symptoms at age 26, but only among women pursuing postsecondary education. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of maintaining friendships for these individuals.

This study aimed at identifying and describing patterns of sports participation during high school among a general population of students and examining individual, social, and environmental predictors of pattern membership. A sample of 287 high school students (61% girls) from Quebec (Canada) annually reported all the organized sports in which they had participated over the school year during five consecutive years (from Grade 7 to 11; in the Quebec school system, high school is comprised of five years). The predictors were assessed at the end of elementary school (Grade 6). Latent class analyses brought out four different patterns (specialized, moderate-sports, low-sports and no-sport participation). Multinomial logistic regressions revealed that adolescents' sex, parental involvement, best friends' participation in sports and family income were significant predictors of pattern membership. Parental involvement and family income significantly predicted membership in the specialized pattern relative to other patterns, suggesting that tangible support from parent is necessary for youth to maintain their long term commitment in a single sport. Findings highlight that efforts aimed at promoting sport participation during adolescence should target girls and encourage parents to get involved in their children's organized sports.

Parental knowledge is often the result of parents soliciting information from their child and their child's disclosure of that information. Although child disclosure is most closely (and negatively) associated with behavior problems in adolescence, it is not yet known whether this is also the case in childhood. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal associations between child disclosure, parental solicitation, and behavior problems in Grades 1 to 4 in a Canadian sample, taking into account intra-individual stability, the child's gender, and socioeconomic status. The mothers and teachers of 911 children (62.7% boys) completed questionnaires in Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) showed that behavior problems in Grade 2 predicted an increase in parental solicitation in Grade 3. In contrast, behavior problems in Grade 3 predicted a decrease in parental solicitation in Grade 4. No cross-lagged association with child disclosure was observed. Although these results differ from those reported in adolescence, they suggest that middle childhood is a sensitive period for parent–child communication and behavior problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the level of congruence and incongruence between fathers', mothers', and adolescents' perceptions of parental monitoring in relation to the adolescents' antisocial behaviors. A sample of 163 father-mother-adolescent triads (59.5% girls; X-bar age = 12.35) filled out separate questionnaires assessing the dimensions of parental monitoring (i.e., parental knowledge, adolescent self-disclosure, parental control, and parental solicitation) and the adolescents also reported on the frequency of their antisocial behaviors. Polynomial regression analyses revealed that the higher the level of congruence between the father's and/or mother's and adolescent's perceptions, the less the adolescent tended to present antisocial behaviors. Some results differed according to the parents' gender. Incongruence between mothers' and adolescents' perceptions of parental knowledge was associated with higher levels of antisocial behaviors, whereas congruence between fathers' and adolescents' perceptions of parental knowledge showed a nonlinear relationship with these behaviors. These results shed light on how parental monitoring contributes to adolescent functioning.

Peer victimization during the school years can impair victims' mental and physical health even in adulthood. Moreover, some victims of school bullying may also experience revictimization at work as adults. Later revictimization at work may thus at least partly explain (i.e., mediate) the negative consequences of peer victimization in school. Revictimization at work may also exacerbate (i.e., moderate), the association between peer victimization in school and impaired mental and physical health in adulthood. These hypotheses were tested with 251 participants (61% females) followed from age 12 to 25. Participants reported about their depression symptoms and victimization experiences every year throughout adolescence, workplace victimization at age 22, and mental and physical health symptoms at age 25. Latent path analysis revealed that peer victimization during adolescence was significantly associated with lower overall mental and physical health at age 25 and a small, albeit significant part of this association was mediated by workplace victimization at age 22. These associations were mainly due to specific effects on elevated depression symptoms and paranoid ideation at age 25. In contrast, the moderation hypothesis was not supported. The findings emphasize the importance of reducing school bullying before victims become caught in a cycle of abuse and suffer lasting impairments.

Changes in best friendship quality during adolescence coincide with the emergence of romantic relationships. This study aimed to examine the extent to which changes in friendship quality (intimacy, conflict, emotional support) between the ages of 16 and 22 varied according to four romantic involvement patterns (Late, Sporadic, Long-Term, Frequent) followed during this period. Gender was also included as a moderator. Participants (n = 281; 61% girls) identified their romantic partners and reported on the quality of their relationship with their best friend each year. A series of multilevel growth curve models revealed that participants in the Late involvement group reported an increase in conflict with their best friend during this period; those in the Sporadic involvement and Frequent involvement groups reported increases in intimacy; and youths in the Long-Term involvement group reported no changes in friendship intimacy, conflict, or emotional support over time. Thus, among youths who reported changes in best friendship quality between adolescence and emerging adulthood, the observed changes appeared to vary according to the romantic involvement patterns followed during this period.

To examine whether trajectories of participation in organized activities during the high school years and beyond (from ages 14 to 20) predicted outcomes at age 21 (externalizing problems, internalizing problems, civic engagement, number of years of education, and perception of physical health), 354 youths (60% girls) were surveyed annually over nine years. Four trajectories were found: (a) "Low and decreasing" (71%), (b) "Moderate and stable" (12%), (c) "High and decreasing after high school" (12%), and (d) "High and increasing after high school" (5%). Results revealed that the predicted outcomes varied according to the different trajectories. Pursuing high levels of activity participation beyond high school was especially beneficial with respect to externalizing problems and educational attainment.

Current knowledge of intraindividual longitudinal patterns of civic participation (CP) and their predictors remains limited. As life cycle trends are showing a decline in civic/political involvement during early adulthood years, increased understanding of these aspects could enhance efforts to promote greater and/or sustained CP trajectories among youth transitioning into adulthood. The current study aimed to identify youths CP developmental trajectories from age 18 to 22 and examine their predictors in late adolescence. The four following CP trajectories were identified among 327 Canadian youths (61% Female; 90% Caucasian; 100% French-speaking) through semiparametric modeling: "Low with slight decline" (56.9%), "Moderate sustained" (25.1%), "High with steep decline" (12.5%), and "High sustained" (5.5%). Youths displaying higher academic performance, civic attitudes, altruistic orientation, prosocial/community-oriented, and academic/vocational activity involvement were more likely to be assigned to higher at baseline and/or sustained CP trajectories. Implementing youths CP promotional programs targeting these attributes may hold promise for addressing issues sustaining CP in youths transitioning into adulthood.

Preschool is a particularly opportune time to introduce measures that promote parental school-based involvement, as this is when the initial contact with the school is made. In Québec, a French-speaking province in Canada, voluntary school-based preschools for 4-year-olds have been offered to families in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. A component for parents comprised of 10 activities was developed specifically to promote parent involvement from the beginning of their child's schooling. However, some parents are more likely than others to encounter barriers that curtail their participation in these activities. Seventeen teachers working in preschools for 4-year-olds in targeted areas and 25 of their parents participated in this qualitative study. The study's objective was to identify the barriers to participation among parents whose involvement in school activities during the school year was low. Based on Hornby and Lafaele's conceptual model, a phronetic iterative analysis was used to describe the experiences reported by teachers and parents. Finally, the four main findings emerging from this study were formulated, and avenues for reflection by school-based preschool personnel were put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to verify whether the links between features of best-friendship quality (intimacy, reliable alliance, conflict) and well-being indicators (self-esteem, loneliness) change from early emerging adulthood to early established adulthood. The moderating effect of gender and investment in romantic life on these links was examined as well. For the purpose, 346 individuals (58% women) completed questionnaires at age 20 and again at age 30. Multilevel analysis were performed for each well-being indicators separately. The results showed reliable alliance to be associated with both well-being indicators, and intimacy to be associated with loneliness. Age moderated the effect of intimacy on self-esteem, whereas investment in romantic life moderated the effect of reliable alliance. Finally, triple interactions emerged between conflict, gender and age in their associations with self-esteem and loneliness, underscoring particularities for men. These results underscore the most influential features of friendship quality for well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's adolescents will inevitably face the negative effects of climate change and will need to engage in pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) as part of the solutions. The primary objective of this scoping review was to identify the individual, peer and family, and school and community predictors of PEB in adolescence. The secondary objectives were to highlight the main types of PEBs, the main conceptual frameworks examined in adolescence, and the main research gaps mentioned in prior studies. A bibliographic search on multiple databases was conducted. Among the 2578 records identified, 209 were retrieved and assessed for eligibility, and 62 met the inclusion criteria (i.e., peer-reviewed primary research articles published in English in the last ten years with adolescent data). Results reveal a heterogeneous set of correlates with an imbalance favoring individual correlates. The most frequent PEBs in the reviewed studies were linked to energy and water conservation. The most frequent theoretical frameworks were the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Value–Belief–Norm Theory, while the most frequently highlighted research gap was the use of cross-sectional designs. These results can inform the targets of interventions aimed at increasing PEBs, which are fundamental aspects of the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organized activities can provide a conducive context for various social processes that may prevent internalizing problems. Some types of organized activities, such as team sports, seem particularly favorable to these positive experiences. The aim of this 4‐year longitudinal study is to describe the changes in the feeling of social integration into the organized activity peer group and to examine whether this social process predicts depressive symptoms in adolescence. Team sports also are proposed to promote a high sense of social integration. A total of 292 adolescents (62% female) were followed annually from ages 14 to 17. The type of main organized activity practiced and the feeling of social integration into the activity peer group was measured each year. Depressive symptoms were self‐reported at the beginning and end of this period. Latent growth analyses showed that social integration into the organized activity peer group was high and decreasing during adolescence. Social integration was higher in team sports compared to individual sports and non‐sport activities as a whole. Finally, a high and sustained level of social integration during adolescence was associated with a low level of depressive symptoms at the end of adolescence, controlling for important covariates. These results suggest that organized activities, particularly team sports, provide a favorable context for developing a feeling of social integration, and that this may protect against depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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