Early Sexual Initiation and Mental Health: A Fleeting Association or Enduring Change?

The present research examined how the within‐person association between sexual initiation and internalizing symptoms decays over time, using data with annual measurement occasions across adolescence (N = 1,789) and statistical models of within‐person change. Sexual initiation was associated with increased levels of internalizing symptoms for early‐initiating girls (ninth grade, approximately age 15), but not for on‐time‐initiating girls or for boys. The association between girls' early sexual initiation and internalizing symptoms declined precipitously over time. Indeed, 1 year after sexual debut, early‐initiating girls were similar to on‐time or noninitiating girls on internalizing symptoms, suggesting early sexual initiation does not produce lasting detriments to girls' mental health. Findings inform how researchers perceive sexual initiation, both as a developmental milestone and as a prevention target.     

Developmental Recapitulation in Adaptation to Vision Loss Among Middle-Age and Older Adults

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that a recapitulation of developmental stages occurs during periods of readjustment in situations involving significant contextual or environmental change. The purpose of this paper is to examine if evidence exists for developmental recapitulation among middle-age and older adults adapting to recent vision impairment. Psychosocial development was operationalized in accordance with Erikson's stage theory (Erikson, 1963, 1980) and measured using the Inventory of Psychosocial Balance (Domino & Affonso, 1990). Data were obtained from 99 middle-age and 96 older adult vision rehabilitation service applicants and compared with normative scale data for these age groups. Results found significantly lower Trust, Initiative, Industry, and Intimacy scores for middle-age adults and lower Initiative and Industry scores for older adults. Unexpectedly, middle-age adults who were visually impaired had significantly higher Integrity scores compared to the normative group. Findings provide preliminary evidence for developmental recapitulation of psychosocial stages in the process of adaptation to vision loss in middle age and older adults. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of social work practice with this population and future research.     

Cross‐Cultural Measurement Invariance of Adolescent Self‐Report on the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0

This study evaluated the cross‐cultural measurement invariance of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0 (PedsQL^?) among adolescents sampled from Bulgaria, Croatia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Serbia, and Turkey. The multiple‐indicator multiple‐cause (MIMIC) model was used, which allowed controlling of demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, and socioeconomic status). Significant effects of country on scores within the PedsQL^? domains were observed, with up to 17 items showing differential item functioning (DIF) across the countries. We did not find support for cross‐cultural measurement invariance hypotheses for scores on the PedsQL^? adolescent self‐report in this study. Researchers should use caution in making cross‐cultural quality of life comparisons while using the PedsQL.     

Anger Expression Mode,Depressive Symptoms,Hopelessness, and Decision Coping among African American Adolescents

This study examined the relationship between anger expression mode, depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and decision coping patterns among a non-clinical community sample of 276 low-income African American adolescents (mean age = 14.47). Participants were students in sixth through tenth grades enrolled in health and wellness classes in two public schools in West Tennessee. They were asked to complete a battery of instruments including the Anger Style Inventory, Children's Depression Inventory, Hopelessness Scale for Children, and Flinders Adolescent Decision Making Questionnaire. Findings indicate a significant association between anger expression mode, depressive symptomatology, hopelessness, and decision coping pattern among study participants. Gender and screening positive for depressive symptoms predicted participant's anger response mode. Using multiple assessment scales may provide useful information toward preventing the onset of clinically significant emotional disorders among adolescents.     

Evaluating Therapeutic Intervention with Sexually Abused Children

The progress of sexually abused children attending community-based treatment programmes run by selected voluntary agencies was evaluated on several different dimensions. By the end of the treatment programmes, improvement was apparent in the children's scores on the Children's Depression Inventory and self-esteem scores and in behaviour (CBCL) reports from parents. Young people over the age of 11 years reported for themselves improvements in the CBCL total problem and internalizing scores, but no improvement in the externalizing scores. The reasons why many therapists had difficulty providing all the necessary information were explored in interviews with senior managers and suggestions are made for improving the ways in which abused children's progress through treatment can be evaluated. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Practical Ways Psychotherapy Can Support Physical Healthcare Experiences for Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

This pilot study was conducted to examine older child molestation victims' self-report of their long-term psychological adjustment at least 12 months after the date of their initial clinic evaluation. Female participants were assesed using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, Children's Depression Inventory, and the Hopelessness Scale which were also administered during their first evaluation. T-ratios revealed that scores on all measures, including five of the six Piers-Harris subscales showed significant improvement. The high rate of noncompliance associated with this population is also discussed in terms of removal from the home, type of abuse, and age of the perpetrator.     

Comparing Parents of Children With Down Syndrome at Different Life Span Stages

The present study explored the experiences of parents of children with Down syndrome at different phases of the life span. Using a mixed‐method design, the current study included 445 participants who were divided into 4 groups based on the age of the child: (a) parents of children under 5 years of age (early childhood), (b) parents of children between 5 and 11 years of age (middle childhood), (c) parents of children between 12 and 18 years of age (adolescence), and (d) parents of children over the age of 18 (chronological adults). Parents reported higher coping strategy scores during the middle childhood and adolescent years than early childhood or later years (adult children). Qualitative data identified key areas that parents across the 4 groups reported, including acceptance of the diagnosis, having a positive attitude, their child's developmental level, and other internal and external factors that contribute to their attitudes and coping.     

Delivery Pain and the Development of Mother—Infant Interaction

This study examined delivery pain as a possible risk factor for the development of mother‐infant interaction. Eighty‐one mothers completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. A retrospective evaluation of labor pain was performed using the Visual Analog Scale at 2 days postpartum. Six weeks after birth the mothers were visited at home, completed measures of anxiety and depression, and were observed during a free play session with the infant. The mother's tendency to catastrophize pain predicted lower levels of mother‐infant reciprocity at 6 weeks, controlling for maternal age, education, parity, epidural analgesia, pain perception, anxiety, and depression. Trait anxiety was related to lower maternal sensitivity. The mother's tendency to catastrophize pain was discussed in relation to the personality trait of exaggerated emotional perception of pain and its potential interference with the formation of the mother‐infant relationship.     

Clinical trial of treatment with saikokaryukotsuboreito for eugonadal patients with late-inset hypogonadism-related symptoms

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of saikokaryukotsuboreito (SKRBT), which is widely used for a variety of clinical conditions, neuropsychiatric disorders, for patients with LOH-related symptoms. Twenty-two eugonadal patients over 40 years of age with LOH-related symptoms were included in this study. SKRBT was given orally to these patients three times daily to a total of 7.5 g/day for more than two months. Laboratory and endocrinological profiles were reviewed, and LOH symptoms were judged by means of several health assessment instruments such as the Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) scale, Self-rated Depression Scale (SDS), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ). Total AMS scores and AMS subscores were significantly decreased after the treatment. The KHQ, general health perception and impact on life scores were also significantly decreased, although no significant improvement was observed in other KHQ factors or the SDS score or IPSS. The serum concentrations of testosterone fractions did not change with treatment. Laboratory values did not change, and no adverse effects were identified after treatment. We conclude that SKRBT may be considered for treatment of patients with LOH-related symptoms for eugonadal patients.     

The effect of urinary incontinence on sexual functioning in turkish women of reproductive and menopausal ages

Objectives: The primary objective was to investigate the effects of urinary incontinence (UI) on Turkish women's sexual functioning. Methods: We evaluated 396 women and divided them into 4 groups: reproductive-aged women without UI (Group A), reproductive-aged women with UI (Group B), menopausal-aged women without UI (Group C), and menopausal-aged women with UI (Group D). Results: The mean Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) score was significantly higher and the Beck's Depression Inventory scores were significantly lower in Group A. FSFI scores showed a strong negative correlation with age and parity and a strong positive correlation with years of education. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that UI is an independent risk factor for female sexual problems.     

Maternal Responsiveness and the Development of Directed Vocalizing in Social Interactions

For effective communication, infants must develop the phonology of sounds and the ability to use vocalizations in social interactions. Few studies have examined the development of the pragmatic use of prelinguistic vocalizations, possibly because gestures are considered hallmarks of early pragmatic skill. The current study investigated infant vocal production and maternal responsiveness to examine the relationship between infant and maternal behavior in the development of infants' vocal communication. Specifically, we asked whether maternal responses to vocalizations could influence the development of prelinguistic vocal usage, as has been documented in recent experimental studies exploring the relation between maternal responses and phonological development. Twelve mother–infant dyads participated over a six‐month period (between 8 and 14 months of age). Mothers completed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory when infants were 15 months old. Maternal sensitive responses to infant vocalizations in the previous months predicted infants' mother‐directed vocalizations in the following months, rather than overall response rate. Furthermore, mothers' sensitive responding to mother‐directed vocalizations was correlated with an increase in developmentally advanced, consonant–vowel vocalizations and some language measures. This is the first study to document a social shaping mechanism influencing developmental change in pragmatic usage of vocalizations in addition to identifying the specific behaviors underlying development.     

Developmental Differences in Infants' Attention to Social and Nonsocial Threats

Research has demonstrated that humans detect threatening stimuli more rapidly than nonthreatening stimuli. Although the literature presumes that biases for threat should be normative, present early in development, evident across multiple forms of threat, and stable across individuals, developmental work in this area is limited. Here, we examine the developmental differences in infants' (4‐ to 24‐month‐olds) attention to social (angry faces) and nonsocial (snakes) threats using a new age‐appropriate dot‐probe task. In Experiment 1, infants' first fixations were more often to snakes than to frogs, and they were faster to fixate probes that appeared in place of snakes vs. frogs. There were no significant age differences, suggesting that a perceptual bias for snakes is present early in life and stable across infancy. In Experiment 2, infants fixated probes more quickly after viewing any trials that contained an angry face compared to trials that contained a happy face. Further, there were age‐related changes in infants' responses to face stimuli, with a general increase in looking time to faces before the probe and an increase in latency to fixate the probe after seeing angry faces. Together, this work suggests that different developmental mechanisms may be responsible for attentional biases for social vs. nonsocial threats.     

Career Concerns,Values, and Role Salience in Employed Men

This study tested Super's model of career adaptability by examining the relationships between career development concerns, values, and role salience among 881 men employed full-time in a cement factory. They responded to the Adult Career Concerns Inventory, the Values Inventory, and the Salience Inventory. The inter-correlations of the resulting scores were appropriately small and coincided with theoretical predictions. A principal components analysis clarified the latent structure of the relations between and among the scales. The results supported both Super's model of career adaptation and his model for Career Development Assessment and Counseling.     

Development and Lability in the Parent–Child Relationship During Adolescence: Associations With Pubertal Timing and Tempo

Adolescents' and parents' reactions to pubertal development are hypothesized to contribute to changes in family dynamics. Using 7‐year longitudinal data from the NICHD‐SECCYD (488 boys, 475 girls), we examined relations between pubertal development (timing, tempo) and trajectories (developmental change and year‐to‐year lability) of parent–child conflict and closeness from age 8.5 to 15.5 years. Changes were mostly characterized by year‐to‐year fluctuations—lability. Parent–child conflict increased and closeness decreased some with age. Pubertal timing and tempo were more consistently associated with lability in parent–child relationships than with long‐term trends, although faster tempo was associated with steeper decreases in parent–child closeness. Findings provide a platform for examining how puberty contributes to both long‐term and transient changes in adolescents' relationships and adjustment.     

The Development of a Reliable Change Index and Cutoff for the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale

The Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS; Busby, Crane, Larson, & Christensen, 1995) is a measure of couple relationship adjustment that is often used to differentiate between distressed and non‐distressed couples. While the measure currently allows for a determination of whether group mean scores change significantly across administrations, it lacks the ability to determine whether an individual's change in dyadic adjustment is clinically significant. This study addresses this limitation by establishing a cutoff of 47.31 and reliable change index of 11.58 for the RDAS by pooling data across multiple community and clinical samples. An individual whose score on the RDAS moves across the cutoff changes by 12 or more points can be classified as experiencing clinically significant change.     

Psychometric Properties of the Differentiation of Self Inventory‐Revised in Turkish Adults

The purpose of the current study was to examine the validity and reliability of (Journal of Marital and Family Therapy 2003, 29, 209) Differentiation of Self Inventory‐Revised (DSI‐R; Skowron & Schmit, 2003) in Turkish adults. The DSI‐R was translated, independently back‐translated, and revised. Two independent samples of adults over the age of 25 were used. The original 46‐item DSI‐R was not supported by the data derived from Sample 1 (n = 221). However, a revised 20‐item, four‐factor model fit the data well. This 20‐item model was subsequently cross‐validated with a second sample of Turkish adults (n = 187). Scale scores showed adequate internal consistency, 5‐week test–retest reliability, and satisfactory convergent and criterion‐related validity. It was concluded that Turkish DSI‐R (DSI‐T) is a valid and reliable measure to assess an individual's differentiation level. In light of the findings, implications for the use of the DSI‐T and ideas for future research are discussed.     

Pupil Mobility: Using Students' Voices to Explore their Experiences of Changing Schools

This article explores the ways in which students' voices can be used to analyse the process of moving schools, at a time outside of those that young people normally change schools. The paper is based on a study in a secondary school and uses qualitative data collected by researchers and student co‐researchers. Two areas were raised by students as important about being at a new school: the perceived challenges and their perceptions of learning in a new environment. It is argued that to respond to issues that arise due to mobility, an engagement with students' views is necessary. Furthermore, this can facilitate policy‐makers, school leaders and educators in providing more effective support for those young people.     

Longitudinal growth of post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms following a child maltreatment allegation: An examination of violence exposure,family risk and placement type

Few longitudinal studies have analyzed how traumatic experiences (e.g. home removal, violence exposure) influence both depressive and Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) symptoms in children involved with Child Protective Services (CPS). This study investigated the change trajectories of both depressive and PTS symptomatology as well as their associations over time, focusing on the effect of complex trauma. Data were obtained from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (1999–2007), a nationally representative study of children and adolescents who were referred to child protective services for alleged maltreatment. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) scale measured depressive symptoms and the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder section of a version of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) provided the measure of current trauma-related symptoms or distress. Analyses were conducted using a parallel process growth curve model. The participants' initial levels of depressive and PTS symptomatology were significantly and positively related; furthermore, any changes in these two outcomes were also correlated longitudinally. The initial assessment of PTS symptoms significantly contributed to the advancement of more severe depressive symptoms over time. No significant differences were found between youth who remained in the home and those removed from the home. However, violence exposure, sexual abuse, gender and age were significant predictors of level and rate of change in both PTS and depressive symptoms. PTS growth factors mediated the longitudinal relationship between witnessing severe violence and depressive symptoms. The findings suggest a complex developmental association between depressive and PTS symptomatology among CPS-involved youth that is rooted in early childhood experiences with complex trauma.     

Birth Cohort and Age Changes in the Self‐Esteem of Chinese Adolescents: A Cross‐Temporal Meta‐Analysis, 1996–2009

The present cross‐temporal meta‐analysis involving 68 studies (n = 35,499) found that Chinese adolescents' scores on the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale decreased substantially from 1996 to 2009. The decline of self‐esteem across birth cohorts was associated with the slide of social connection level of Chinese adolescents. Correlations between self‐esteem and corresponding social indicators like the floating population and divorce rate were significant. Analysis on self‐esteem age differences showed that self‐esteem development in China was different from Western results: self‐esteem scores followed a roughly increasing trend from Grade 7 through Grade 12 with double dip points at Grades 7 and 11.     

Families,Not Parents,Differ: Development of Communication in Finnish Infants

This longitudinal study on Finnish families was conducted to identify developmental differences in family‐level communication among mothers, fathers, and their infants during the second half of the infant's first year, and associations with infants' later language and communicative skills. We examined coregulated communication of parent‐infant dyads during 5‐min laboratory play sessions at 7 and 11 months. Few differences in mutually regulated communicative exchanges emerged between maternal and paternal dyads, and few developmental changes were found across the whole sample. Families with different communication profiles were identified, and changes rather than stability characterized communicative development at the family level. The family‐level differences at 7 months predicted variation in children's language and communicative skills at 14 months.