Adolescent Electronic Media Use: Instead of Doing What?

Adolescents like to watch TV and listen to the radio, even on school days, but their day contains, like for all other people, only 24 hours. What do those who use electronic media frequently neglect? Data from 14- and 16-year-old adolescents from 12 European countries and from the USA (EURONET sample) were analyzed (N = 3,250). The correlations between time spent using electronic media (EM) and 15 other daily activities were all negative, which is not surprising given the fact that the sum of all activities is bound to be 24 hours. We, therefore, calculated correlations between electronic media use and the proportions of each other activity within the remaining time. A clear pattern emerged. The method allowed us to identify “mandatory” activities that always have high priority, such as sleeping and attending school, and “optional” activities that enter into competition with electronic media use, including engaging in sports, playing music, leisure reading, and being with friends without media use. As to the mandatory activities, the correlations between media-using time and the proportions of remaining time were positive; relative to the optional activities, the correlations between media-using time and the proportions of remaining time were negative. While one might expect school homework to be regarded as mandatory, the correlation patterns identified it as optional. As to the average electronic media-using times, there were marked differences not only between the individual participants, but also between the countries. While Bulgarian adolescents spent an average of 2.37 hours of a regular school day using electronic media, French adolescents averaged only 1.72 hours.     

Teacher Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Adolescent Risky Behaviours: Is Adolescent Gambling Perceived to be a Problem?

Despite legislative prohibitions, there is empirical evidence that youth gamble on both regulated and unregulated activities. The current survey was designed to assess teachers’ awareness and attitudes regarding adolescent gambling and other high-risk behaviours. Three-hundred and ninety teachers from Ontario and Quebec, with experience teaching students aged 12–18, completed an online survey. Results suggest that teachers are aware of the fact that youth gamble. Furthermore, they recognized the addictive nature of gambling and their subsequent consequences. Despite overestimating the proportion of youth experiencing gambling problems, gambling was viewed as being the least serious of issues affecting youth, with drug use and school violence topping the list. Almost half of respondents indicated that gambling in school can constitute a good learning activity. In regards to prevention, all other risky behaviours and academic problems were perceived as issues needing greater attention than gambling. These results, which are largely consistent with findings from a previous study examining parental perceptions of adolescent risky behaviours, suggest a need for greater awareness and teacher education.     

Risky Sexual Behavior Among Young Adult Latinas: Are Acculturation and Religiosity Protective?

A sexual health disparity exists among U.S. Latinas, who have rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that are more than double their peers. Previous research has identified acculturation and religiosity as key social determinants of sexual health, but such findings have been inconsistent, with some researchers identifying protective benefits and other researchers noting increased risk. The purpose of this study was to explain how intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity as well as acculturation predict risky sexual behavior using Structural Equation Modeling of a nationally representative sample of self-identified Latinas (N = 1,168) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Results indicated that intrinsic religiosity and acculturation assert protective effects while extrinsic religiosity increases risk. Recommendations for policy, intervention, and future research are offered.     

Deviant Peer Behavior and Adolescent Delinquency: Protective Effects of Inhibitory Control,Planning, or Decision Making?

We examined relations between adolescent perceptions of deviant peer behavior and delinquency as moderated by inhibitory control, planning, and decision making in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development at age 15 (N = 991). Adolescents reported perceptions of deviant peer behavior. Inhibitory control, planning, and decision making were assessed behaviorally. Delinquency was evaluated with a latent variable comprised of parent‐guardian perceptions of adolescent delinquency and adolescent self‐reports. Only inhibitory control moderated the relationship between deviant peer behavior and delinquency, showing that better inhibition protected against delinquency in contexts of high levels of adolescent perceptions of deviant peer behavior. Findings are discussed in the context of theories of adolescent delinquency and risk taking.     

Adolescent egocentrism and indoor tanning: is the relationship direct or mediated?

This paper explored how imaginary audience and personal fable ideations contribute to adolescent indoor tanning intentions directly and indirectly through the way they shape pro-tanning attitude and association with peers who use tanning beds. Five hundred and ninety-five male (n = 207) and female (n = 387) adolescents, ranging in age from 11 to 19 (M = 16.87; SD = 1.34) years completed a cross-sectional survey. Measures included imaginary audience, personal fable (three dimensions: invulnerability, uniqueness, and omnipotence), pro-tanning attitude, association with peers who use tanning beds, and tanning bed use intentions. Bootstrapping analyses documented that imaginary audience ideations are indirectly associated with indoor tanning intentions through the mediation of pro-tanning attitude and association with peers who use tanning beds. Of the personal fable ideations, only invulnerability ideation is indirectly associated with indoor tanning intentions through the mediation of association with peers who use tanning beds. Design and evaluation of interventions and campaigns to reduce indoor tanning must be targeted to adolescents varying in imaginary audience ideations differently.     

Sinners or Saints? Preachers’ Kids and Risky Health Behaviors

How do parents influence adolescent risky behavior? In this paper, we focus on a unique population: children of the clergy, more commonly known as preachers’ kids (PKs). We used data on risky behavior among American adolescents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort and used latent variable and zero-inflated count models to analyze the effect of being a PK on both uptake and intensity of use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs. We found that being a PK significantly reduced alcohol use. This effect came exclusively from a reduction in the probability of any alcohol use and this increased abstinence among children of the clergy persisted into adulthood. We found no significant effects of being a PK on cigarette uptake or intensity of use but some evidence of a negative PK effect on the uptake of marijuana and other drugs.     

Does one Size Fit All?—Linking Parenting With Adolescent Substance Use and Adolescent Temperament

Using longitudinal Swedish data from 1,373 early‐adolescent youths, this study aims to answer the question of whether the previously established protective function of parental knowledge and its sources—adolescent disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control—on substance use among early‐adolescents is moderated by the adolescent's temperament. Adolescent temperament moderated several links between parental knowledge and its sources and adolescent substance use. The most pronounced moderating results were found for those adolescents with fearless, socially detached and thrill‐seeking tendencies. For these “detached thrill‐seekers”, bidirectional links between adolescent disclosure and substance use, and negative links between parental solicitation and substance use were found. We recommend, therefore, that adolescent temperament is considered when designing parenting programs.     

Risky discounts: Do people prefer them on a per-item or per-purchase basis and why?

Risky discounts differ from other discount formats in that the actual discount level is determined by chance (e.g., “scratch & save” cards). Four studies investigated whether consumers prefer to receive risky discounts on a per-purchase or per-item basis. Although these options do not differ with regard to expected value, they entail multiple differences (e.g., savings distribution, amount of individual gains, excitement, and effort involved) that may lead to differential consumer perceptions and experiences. Controlling for expected value of savings, participants preferred per-item over per-purchase discounts. As hypothesized, the main reasons for this preference were a partly incorrect perception of the properties of the savings distribution, the adoption of a narrow mindset focusing on the best outcome in a series of discount gambles, and the greater excitement provided by multiple discount gambles.     

Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words? Adolescent Interpretations of Parental Substance Use

Parents are powerful socialization agents for children and as children reach adolescence parental role models, among other sources of influence, become particularly salient in adolescents’ decision-making regarding initiation of substance use. Open parent-adolescent communication about substances is associated with less substance use by adolescents; however, it is unclear how youth interpret antidrug use messages from their parents, especially if the parents engage in legal and/or illicit substance use themselves. Framed by social learning theory and social constructionism, this study analyzed in-depth interviews with 108 adolescents about personal experiences with substance use, family communication about substance use, and adolescent interpretations of parental use. Emergent themes in the data include: positive parental influence, parental contradictions, and negative outcomes of use. Prevalence of parental use—regardless of legality, rarity of explicit communication about parental use, and various interpretations of parental use are discussed.     

Does Family Intervention for Adolescent Substance Use Impact Parental Wellbeing? A Longitudinal Evaluation

Adolescent substance abuse is a common problem and family interventions are emerging as a strategy to prevent it and assist family coping. The effectiveness of a prevention‐focussed family intervention was evaluated for its secondary impacts on improving parental mental health and family functioning. Twenty‐four secondary schools in Melbourne Victoria were randomly assigned to either a control condition or an intervention titled Resilient Families. The two intervention levels analysed were: (1) a parenting booklet only and; (2) combining the booklet with face‐to‐face parent education sessions. Parent surveys at baseline were followed up one year and four years later. Repeated‐measures analysis (n = 560) found parents attending parent education demonstrated reductions in mental health symptoms, however this had negative effects on family cohesion and no impact on family conflict. These findings were interpreted in terms of parent education assisting parent mental health by promoting assertive parenting styles that may increase adolescent‐parent tension by encouraging firmer parental boundaries and strategies to reduce adolescent substance use.     

Step In or Stay Out? Parents' Roles in Adolescent Siblings' Relationships

We studied parents' direct involvement in adolescent sibling relationships, including parents' reactions to sibling conflict and their time spent in the company of the sibling dyad. Participants were 185 White, working‐ and middle‐class families; firstborns averaged 15 and secondborns averaged 13.5 years of age. In separate home interviews mothers, fathers and both adolescents described their personal and family relationship qualities and experiences. In a series of 7 evening phone calls, family members reported on each day's activities including the time they spent and their companions in 63 daily activities (e.g., do dishes, play sports, talk on phone). Analyses revealed 3 general conflict reactions by parents: (a) noninvolvement (e.g., tell siblings to work out problem themselves); (b) intervene (e.g., step in and solve problem); and (c) coach (e.g., give advice about how to solve problem). We found mother‐father differences in conflict reactions and time spent with siblings; differences in parents' direct involvement as a function of the gender constellation of the sibling dyad also were evident. Direct involvement was linked to sibling relationship qualities and explained variance beyond that accounted for by an index of indirect involvement, that is, parental warmth. Further, parents' orientations toward autonomy were linked to the indices of involvement such that parents with stronger autonomy orientations were less involved, and parents' orientations explained variance in their involvement beyond that explained by adolescent characteristics.     

Does the Role of Student Factors with Adolescent Substance Use Vary by Geography?

This study assesses the association of 12th-grade student factors (e.g., grades, classroom misbehaviors) with substance use (i.e., binge drinking, cigarette smoking, marijuana) across large, medium-sized, and nonmetropolitan areas. Based on a sample of 2,189 students from the 2013 Monitoring the Future data set, logistic regression analyses showed that poor student academic and behavioral factors were associated with higher substance use after controlling for gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Interaction analyses further showed no significant differences in the influence of student factors on substance use across locales. Results suggest that prevention efforts against substance use should target student factors regardless of area of residency.     

Social Activity,School-related Activity,and Anti–substance Use: Media Messages on Adolescent Tobacco and Alcohol Use

In this article, we present the effects of three hypothesized protective factors—social activities, school-related activities, and anti–substance use media messages—on adolescent tobacco and alcohol use. Data were drawn from the “Monitoring the Future” research project, which was conducted by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. The sample included 2,551 twelfth-grade students. The results of the structural equation model showed that exposure to media anti-drug messages had an indirect negative effect on tobacco and alcohol use through school-related activity and social activity. The results suggest that comprehensive ecological interventions encompassing media, family, and school can increase the preventive effects of adolescent's substance use.     

Nonprofit's Use of Awards to Improve and Demonstrate Performance: Valuable Discipline or Burdensome Formalities?

Arrangements to certify that an organization's management systems meet standards of good practice are an increasingly prominent feature in the environment of public and private nonprofits. This paper reports an exploratory study of the issues that this phenomenon presents to managers and policy makers, drawing on the limited literature, and five case studies covering two different schemes. The main conclusions are that nonprofits can and do use these awards in very different ways, and hence the outcomes are diverse. These findings run counter both to the rational system assumptions on which such arrangements are based, and to the general thrust of institutional theory with its emphasis on isomorphism. Some implications for decision makers and future research are outlined.     

Adolescent Pregnancy's Intergenerational Effects: Does an Adolescent Mother's Education Have Consequences for Her Children's Achievement?

Although substantial work has examined the influence of adolescent pregnancy on mothers’ developmental outcomes, few studies have investigated the influence of adolescent mothers’ educational attainment on their children's achievement. This article examined the reading and math achievement trajectories of children born to adolescent and nonadolescent mothers with various levels of educational attainment. Results demonstrate that higher levels of maternal education predicted children's higher initial achievement at kindergarten and growth in achievement through eighth grade. The achievement of children with adolescent mothers, however, never reaches parity with the achievement of their peers with nonadolescent mothers. Race also predicted achievement differences. Black and Latino children of adolescent mothers were at greater risk for underachievement.     

Should They Stay or Should They Go: Greek Housing on Campus as Substance Use Prevention?

Greek life on college campuses offers many student benefits, including leadership skills and career networking, but is also associated with risk factors such as excessive alcohol use. This cross-sectional study compares hazardous alcohol and drug use, and use of protective behavioral strategies among non-Greek and Greek-affiliated students at 2 universities and differences among students at a university that offers on-campus Greek housing and a college with off-campus Greek housing. Findings reveal that Greek-affiliated students report more alcohol use, and no difference in drug use or in protective behavioral strategies, than non-Greek students. Among Greek students, those living in on-campus Greek housing report significantly lower alcohol use than students residing in off-campus Greek housing. Regardless of Greek status, students at the college with off-campus Greek housing are significantly more likely to use alcohol and marijuana in a fraternity or sorority house than students at the university with on-campus Greek housing.     

Risky choice in interpersonal context: Do people dare because they care?

This paper presents an experimental study investigating the interplay of individuals’ other-regarding preferences and individuals’ risk attitude. Participants (N = 120) had to make choices between a certain and risky payoff only for themselves (individual context) and choices in which the participants were paired with another randomly assigned participant who functioned as a passive recipient (interpersonal context). In the interpersonal context the risky option was beneficial for the other person while the certain option was not. Thus, the interpersonal choice context was an abstract representation of the incentive structure in helping situations, which yield risk only for the helper. Risky options in the interpersonal context yielded different payoff distributions, which allowed us to identify how considerations of fairness affect interpersonal risky choices. To assess other-regarding preferences, a dictator game was played. First we found that participants were generally less risk averse in the interpersonal choices; however, the degree of risk aversion was affected by the distribution of payoffs between decider and recipient. Furthermore, we found that changes of risk aversion in an interpersonal context could be predicted with the proposed splits in the dictator game.