Adolescent Social, Emotional, and School Adjustment in Mainland China

Recent research has indicated that Chinese adolescents face a variety of challenges and difficulties in socioemotional and school adjustment. It has been found that Chinese adolescents' social and behavioral problems, emotional disturbances, and academic difficulties are highly interrelated and contribute to each other during development. Protective and coping resources that are provided in the culture, including extensive family involvement, support and monitoring systems in school, and regulatory peer group and social networks, may effectively buffer negative effects of adolescent social, school, and psychological difficulties, particularly of an externalizing nature. However, since individual socioemotional well-being has traditionally been neglected in Chinese collectivistic culture, adolescent internalizing problems such as depressed feelings have not received adequate attention from professionals and the public.     

Perceived Relational Support in Adolescence: Dimensions,Configurations, and Adolescent Adjustment

The perceived relational support from four key providers (father, mother, special sibling, and best friend) on five provisions (quality of information, respect for autonomy, emotional support, convergence of goals, and acceptance) was examined for 2,262 adolescents (aged 12 – 18 years). In a variable‐centered approach, factor analyses yielded five dimensions of support: three specific to providers (parent, friend, and sibling support) and two specific to provisions (convergence of goals and respect for autonomy). Only parental support was found to change (decrease) across age. In a person‐centered approach, five types of adolescents with different configurations of perceived support were identified. The first three types differed in overall level of support (high, average, and low) for all of the five dimensions; the fourth type represented extremely low support from parents with above‐average support from best friends; the fifth type consisted of adolescents with no best friend. These configurations were significantly related to different patterns of adolescent adjustment in various domains (psychological well‐being, delinquency, substance use, and peer‐group functioning).     

The Role of Emotion Processing in the Association between Parental Discipline and Adolescent Socio‐Emotional Development

This research investigated whether biases in processing threatening emotional cues operate as an indirect pathway through which parental harsh discipline is associated with adolescent socio‐emotional functioning. Participants were 192 adolescents (M age = 12.4), and their parents assessed over two years. Findings revealed two significant indirect pathways involving fear processing. Greater parental harsh discipline was linked to more emotional response inhibition difficulty for fear, which was linked to more depressive symptoms in the following year. Greater parental harsh discipline was also associated with more emotional response inhibition difficulty for fear, and thereby, more peer problems later. Findings suggest that adolescent emotional processing operated as an indirect pathway linking parental harsh discipline and adolescent socio‐emotional functioning within the broader social context.     

Risk and protective factors for problem behaviors among youth in residential care

In accordance with problem behavior theory (PBT), the study examined the contribution of risk and protective factors among high-risk adolescents living in residential care settings (RCSs) to their delinquency, substance abuse, and risky sexual behavior, as well as the inter-correlations between these problem behaviors. The specific study variables were chosen to represent the personal and environmental factors operating on the adolescent. It was hypothesized that higher levels of problem behaviors would be associated with higher levels of sensation-seeking and deviant peer associations (risk factors), and lower levels of future orientation and parental support (protective factors).One hundred and forty seven adolescents (M = 16.03) from seven residential facilities for children with severe emotional and behavioral problems in Israel responded to structured self-report questionnaires.The powerful associations found between the abovementioned risk behaviors suggested a problem behavior syndrome among this group. The risk factors of sensation-seeking and deviant peer associations made the largest contribution to the prediction of problem behaviors beyond any background or protective factors examined. Of the protective factors, only future orientation was found to be significantly associated with problem behaviors: i.e., a more positive future orientation correlated with lower engagement in problem behaviors, an association that increased in strength with age.The apparent existence of a single behavioral syndrome among youth in RCSs and the central contribution to the syndrome of risk factors – in particular, deviant peer associations – points to the need for holistic group interventions addressing multiple risk factors.     

Relationships Between Perceived Family Gambling and Peer Gambling and Adolescent Problem Gambling and Binge-Drinking

The study systematically examined the relative relationships between perceived family and peer gambling and adolescent at-risk/problem gambling and binge-drinking. It also determined the likelihood of at-risk/problem gambling and binge-drinking as a function of the number of different social groups with perceived gambling. A multi-site high-school survey assessed gambling, alcohol use, presence of perceived excessive peer gambling (peer excess—PE), and family gambling prompting concern (family concern—FC) in 2750 high-school students. Adolescents were separately stratified into: (1) low-risk, at-risk, and problem/pathological gambling groups; and, (2) non-binge-drinking, low-frequency-binge-drinking, and high-frequency-binge-drinking groups. Multinomial logistic regression showed that relative to each other, FC and PE were associated with greater likelihoods of at-risk and problem/pathological gambling. However, only FC was associated with binge-drinking. Logistic regression revealed that adolescents who endorsed either FC or PE alone, compared to no endorsement, were more likely to have at-risk and problem/pathological gambling, relative to low-risk gambling. Adolescents who endorsed both FC and PE, compared to PE alone, were more likely to have problem/pathological gambling relative to low-risk and at-risk gambling. Relative to non-binge-drinking adolescents, those who endorsed both FC and PE were more likely to have low- and high-frequency-binge-drinking compared to FC alone or PE alone, respectively. Family and peer gambling individually contribute to adolescent at-risk/problem gambling and binge-drinking. Strategies that target adolescents as well as their closely affiliated family and peer members may be an important step towards prevention of harm-associated levels of gambling and alcohol use in youths.     

The Influence of Family Environment Factors on Self-Acceptance and Emotional Adjustment Among Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Adolescents

Abstract

The quality of an adolescent's family environment has been shown to contribute to their self-acceptance and emotional adjustment. Studies suggest that sexual minority adolescents face unique challenges while negotiating family relationships but few studies have specifically examined the relationships between these family environments and the adolescent's psychological adjustment. This study examined general aspects of family functioning (family cohesion, family expressiveness, family conflict, parental support) and parental attitudes toward homosexuality as predictors of self-acceptance of sexual orientation identity and emotional adjustment among 102 gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents ages 15 to 19 years. Family variables did not predict a significant amount of variance in self-acceptance of sexual orientation identity. However, measures of general family functioning and parental attitudes toward homosexuality accounted for significant amounts of variance in emotional adjustment.     

Are They Listening? Parental Social Coaching and Parenting Emotional Climate Predict Adolescent Receptivity

Associations linking parenting emotional climate and quality of parental social coaching with young adolescents' receptivity to parental social coaching were examined (N = 80). Parenting emotional climate was assessed with adolescent‐reported parental warmth and hostility. Quality of parental social coaching (i.e., prosocial advice, benign framing) was assessed via parent‐report and behavioral observations during a parent–adolescent discussion about negative peer evaluation. An adolescent receptivity latent variable score was derived from observations of adolescents’ behavior during the discussion, change in adolescents’ peer response plan following the discussion, and adolescent‐reported tendency to seek social advice from the parent. Parenting climate moderated associations between coaching and receptivity: Higher quality coaching was associated with greater receptivity in the context of a more positive climate. Analyses suggested a stronger association between coaching and receptivity among younger compared to older adolescents.     

Parent-Child Synchrony and Adolescent Adjustment

This study of 984 children and their parents examined the correlates of adolescent psychosocial adjustment. Based on previous research, it was expected that parental involvement and limit-setting would predict conduct disorder scores and that variables associated with the parent-child relationship, particularly parent-child synchrony, would be more closely related to emotional adjustment and social relationship measures. Contrary to expectations, parenting practices were unrelated to adolescent conduct disorder, but family harmony and adult-child synchrony predicted all measures of adolescent adjustment. It is concluded that positive parenting is not something adults do to children, but a quality of the parent-child relationship characterized by family harmony and parental empathy. Implications for social work practice with adolescents and their families are identified.     

Parenting Practices as Moderators of the Relationship Between Peers and Adolescent Marijuana Use

Using data from a probability sample of 4,987 adolescents, we examine the degree to which closeness to mother, closeness to father, parental support, and parental monitoring buffer the relationship between peer drug use and adolescent marijuana use. The relationship between peer drug use and adolescent marijuana use was attenuated by both closeness to father and the perception that parents would catch them for major rule violations. These findings confirm the value of conceptualizing certain family characteristics as separate variables and verify that authoritative parenting may help insulate adolescents from peer pressure to use drugs.     

The Effects of Parental Resources on Adolescent Perceptions of Parental Rewarding and Punishing: Persuasive Appeals

The present study examined the impact of parental socioeconomic resources on adolescent perceptions of parental rewarding and punishing persuasive message strategies. It was argued that parents with greater socioeconomic resource bases are equipped better than lesser endowed parents to invoke rewarding and punishing persuasive appeals. Using Marwell and Schmitt's typology of rewarding and punishing persuasive strategies, one hundred and ninety adolescents ranging from seventh to twelfth grade were sampled from two midwestern communities. Results provide some support for the influence of parental socioeconomic resources on adolescent perceptions of parental rewarding and punishing persuasive appeals. However, a secondary analysis revealed adolescents' age and gender affect their perceptions more than parental resources.     

Neighborhood influences on adolescent cigarette and alcohol use: mediating effects through parent and peer behaviors

The influence of neighborhoods on adolescent behaviors has received increasing research attention. In the present study, we use structural equation models to specify pathways from neighborhoods to adolescent cigarette and alcohol use through parental closeness, parental monitoring, parent substance use, and peer substance use. We use a national sample with 959 adolescents 12 to 14 years of age whose residential addresses were matched with 1990 Census tracts to provide neighborhood characteristics. We found that for adolescent cigarette use low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods were associated with increased parental monitoring, which was further associated with decreased adolescent cigarette use. For adolescent alcohol use, high SES neighborhoods were associated with increased parent drinking, which was further associated with increased adolescent alcohol use. Low SES neighborhoods were associated with increased parental monitoring and increased peer drinking, which were in turn associated with decreased and increased adolescent alcohol use, respectively.     

Adolescents’ Perceived Parenting Styles and Their Substance Use: Concurrent and Longitudinal Analyses

The relation between parenting style and adolescent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, hashish, and amphetamines) was examined concurrently (at age 14) for licit drug use and longitudinally (from age 14 to 17) for both licit and illicit drug use in a sample of 347 youth from compulsory schools in Reykjavik, Iceland. After controlling for adolescent perceptions of parental and peer use, own previous use, and gender, results indicated that adolescents who characterized their parents as authoritative were more protected against substance use than adolescents who perceived their parents as neglectful, both concurrently and longitudinally. Compared with adolescents who characterized their parents as authoritative and neglectful, those from authoritarian and indulgent families each showed a different pattern of substance use both with regard to the type of substance and over time in a longer term perspective.     

Latino adolescent substance use: A mediating model of inter-parental conflict,deviant peer associations,and parenting

Substance use among Latino adolescents continues to be a growing concern for researchers and clinicians. This paper reviews relevant literature regarding the impact of inter-parental conflict (IPC), deviant peer associations (DPA) and parenting behaviors, namely as parental support, psychological control, and parental monitoring knowledge on substance use among Latino adolescents. Although mediating models of IPC and similar parenting behaviors on adolescent externalizing behaviors have been represented in empirical studies, none have included the influence of peer associations or have analyzed these factors with substance use among Latino adolescents in the U.S. This study investigated direct relationships of IPC and DPA with adolescent substance use, and tested parental support, psychological control and parental monitoring knowledge as mediators between those relationships in Latino adolescents. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze direct and indirect relationships of the variables mentioned among 744 Latino adolescents. Results indicated that DPA was positively associated with substance use, parental monitoring knowledge was negatively associated with substance use and that parental monitoring knowledge partially mediated the relationship between DPA and substance use. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of areas of focus for interventions.     

Parental Problem Drinking and Adolescent Psychosocial Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Adolescent–Parent Communication

This study explored the relations between parental problem drinking, adolescent–parent communication, and adolescent psychosocial adjustment. Surveys were administered to a diverse sample of 683 15–17‐years‐old adolescents in the spring of 2007 and again in the spring of 2008. Results indicated that paternal problem drinking directly predicted substance use (alcohol and drug use) for boys, but not for girls. In contrast, maternal problem drinking directly predicted substance use (drug use) for girls, but not for boys. Adolescent–parent communication also mediated the relationship between parental problem drinking and psychosocial adjustment for girls, but not for boys. These gender differences highlight the need to consider both the gender of the adolescent and the parent when examining parental problem drinking and adolescent adjustment.     

Leisure, recreation, and play from a developmental context

Participation in activities and experiences defined as play, recreation,and leisure has important developmental implications for youth. Elements and characteristics of leisure experiences contribute directly to the development of identity, autonomy, competence,initiative, civic duty, and social connections. Whether in informal or formal, appropriately structured and organized programs,leisure experiences can help facilitate adolescent development in these areas. For example, one of the defining elements of leisure is that it is characterized by free choice and self-determination. Programs that promote leadership, choice, autonomy, and initiative can help adolescents deal with developmental challenges associated with this age group. Leisure experiences can also promote civic engagement and provide important peer-to-peer, peer to-adult, and peer-to-community connections. The social context of leisure is important to adolescent development in that it provides opportunities to learn empathy, loyalty, and intimacy in their group activities, as well as to negotiate with peers, resolve conflict,and work together for communal goals. In addition, adolescents often report positive emotional experiences in leisure, which can serve as a relief from the stress they feel in other areas of their lives and contribute to positive psychological adjustment and well-being. A case study is used to show how planned, purposive programs can be used as critical components of efforts to contribute to adolescent development.     

Chinese Parenting Behaviors,Adolescent School Adjustment,and Problem Behavior

The present research examined the relationship between supportive and controlling dimensions of parenting behaviors and Chinese adolescent outcomes (school adjustment and problem behavior). Researchers collected self-report data from 589 adolescents in Hangzhou, China. Results showed the factor structure for the Parent Behavior Measure in the Chinese sample was different from the factor structure based on Western research. Specifically, paternal support did not emerge as a viable factor. Parental monitoring and involvement predicted positive adolescent outcomes, whereas punitiveness and permissiveness predicted negative outcomes. Surprisingly, maternal support predicted more adolescent problem behavior, especially for boys. Guilt induction, love withdrawal, and positive induction did not predict any significant adolescent outcomes when other parenting behaviors were controlled. School adjustment mediated and gender moderated the relationship between parenting and adolescent problem behavior. The importance of considering parenting behaviors, adolescent school adjustment, gender, and cultural norms when examining adolescent problem behavior was discussed.     

The impact of parenting style on fear of crime among adolescent girls and boys

Research on adolescent fear of crime is still relatively limited and often simply applies theoretical explanations proposed for adults. This study strives to extend current knowledge in this field by analyzing the impact of parenting style on fear of crime, namely parental attachment, parental supervision, and parental support of adolescent autonomy, while also considering possible gender differences. Using data from a self-report survey of approximately 1500 Czech adolescents, a hierarchical regression analysis is employed to examine these relationships while controlling for socio-demographic variables, environmental disorder, leisure time indicators, as well as victimization experience. The results suggest that higher parental supervision and lower parental support of adolescent autonomy are associated with increased fear of crime among adolescents. In addition, a gender-specific effect is found for parental attachment which somewhat decreases fear of crime for boys and increases it for girls. Nevertheless, the overall impact of parental indicators on fear of crime is relatively low. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.     

Adolescent Perceptions of Interparental Conflict, Stressors, and Coping as Predictors of Adolescent Family Life Satisfaction

Using family stress theory, this study examined the relationship between adolescent reports of selected demographic variables (gender, age, family form), interparental conflict (style, content, intensity, resolution), stress due to the pileup of stressors, coping strategies (social support, detrimental coping), and adolescent family life satisfaction. The sample was comprised of 155 adolescents ranging from 14 to 18 years of age who completed self-report questionnaires at one of three rural Oklahoma high schools. Four dimensions of interparental conflict (overt conflict style, conflict about childrearing, conflict about family roles/finances, conflict resolution), stress due to pileup, social support coping, and detrimental coping were significantly related to family life satisfaction. Adolescent age was positively related to family life satisfaction. Within the scope of family stress theory, scholars have addressed how the combination of stressors and coping strategies relates to the adaptation of individuals within family systems (McCubbin and Patterson 1983). Further, investigations of the relationship of parental divorce to well-being in children and adolescents suggest that interaction patterns within various family forms may be more fruitful in explaining the adaptation of youth than parental marital status (Demo 1992). The perception by youth of conflict between their parents (i.e., interparental conflict) has emerged as a key family stressor that has the potential to explain variation in adolescent adaptation in a variety of family forms (Buehler, Krishnakumar, Anthony, Tittsworth, and Stone 1994). Stressor events for adolescents such as interparental conflict generally do not occur in isolation. Rather, they exist within the context of other stressors such as economic stress, difficulties at school, or normative developmental tasks for families with adolescents (e.g., changing family roles to allow greater adolescent autonomy; McCubbin and Patterson 1986). Further, considerable variation exists in the coping strategies (e.g., social support, avoidance) that adolescents use in response to stress (McCubbin and Patterson 1986). Finally, previous research shows variation between certain demographic variables and adolescent adaptation. Thus, the current study was developed to examine how selected demographic variables (gender, age, family form), adolescent perceptions of interparental conflict (style, content, intensity, degree of resolution), stress based on the pileup of stressor events, and coping strategies relate to adolescent satisfaction with family life (one indicator of adaptation).     

Friendship Quality,Peer Group Affiliation,and Peer Antisocial Behavior as Moderators of the Link Between Negative Parenting and Adolescent Externalizing Behavior

Quality of peer relationships and perceived peer antisocial behavior were examined as moderators of the link between negative parenting and externalizing behavior problems in school from middle childhood to early adolescence. Data on negative parenting (i.e., unilateral parental decision making, low supervision and awareness, and harsh discipline) were collected from 362 parents in the summer preceding the adolescents' entry into Grade 6. Adolescent reports of positive peer relationships and peer antisocial behavior were assessed in the winter of Grade 7. The outcome measure was teacher report of adolescent externalizing behavior in the spring of Grade 7, controlling for externalizing behavior in Grade 5. High levels of friendship quality and peer group affiliation attenuated the association between unilateral parental decision making and adolescent externalizing behavior in school; this was particularly true when adolescents associated with peers perceived to be low in antisocial behavior. In addition, having low‐quality peer relationships and having peers perceived to be highly antisocial further amplified the association between unilateral parental decision making and adolescent externalizing behavior problems. Finally, high levels of friend and peer group antisocial behavior exacerbated the predictiveness of harsh discipline for adolescents' externalizing behavior.     

Parental and peer characteristics as modifiers of the bond-behavior relationship: an elaboration of control theory.

Three bonds are at the core of Hirschi's control theory: attachment to parents, commitment to conventional activities, and belief in the conventional rules of society. Control theory does not include parental and peer attitudes and behaviors, variables that frequently are implicated in adolescent behavior. This study examines whether parental and peer behaviors and attitudes modify bond/behavior relationships. Adolescent cigarette smoking is the behavior of interest. Panel data from a probability sample of 685 adolescents shows that the relationship between attachment and adolescent smoking is modified by parental smoking; the relationship between commitment to conventional activities and adolescent smoking is modified by father's smoking; but the relationship between belief in conventional rules and adolescent smoking is not modified by parental or peer variables. We conclude that control theory needs to encompass parental behavior when considering adolescent smoking behavior.