Influence of Close Friends on the Boundaries of Adolescent Personal Authority

Perceptions of close friends' influence on the construction of boundaries between legitimate parental and personal authority were assessed using a semistructured interview with 183 early (M=11.82 years) and middle (M=15.72 years) adolescents. Participants described sources relevant to the construction of authority beliefs, processes of friend influence, and justifications for influence and noninfluence. Personal, conventional, prudential, and multifaceted issues were assessed. Friends were most salient sources in the construction of boundaries about personal and multifaceted issues and were more salient for middle than for early adolescents. Parental influence was most significant over conventional and prudential issues. Friend influence was primarily attributed to indirect processes, as adolescents used friends as metrics demonstrating age‐appropriate levels of freedom. Adolescents endorsed moral reasoning when they justified monitoring friends' jurisdictional bounds.     

Associations Between Observed Mother–Adolescent Interactions and Adolescent Information Management

Associations between observed mother–adolescent interactions during a conflict task and adolescents’ information management strategies were examined in 108 primarily middle class, European‐American adolescents (M = 13.80 years, SD = 1.52) and their mothers. Teens who communicated more clearly disclosed more about personal and multifaceted activities, lied less about personal activities, and engaged in less avoidance regarding multifaceted and prudential activities. Mothers’ clear communication was associated with less adolescent disclosure and more avoidance about personal and multifaceted activities. Teens with more receptive mothers omitted less prudential information but avoided discussing prudential issues more. Maternal warmth was not associated with information management. The results highlight the need to distinguish between parent and teen behaviors and between affective quality and specific communicative behaviors.     

Beliefs About Parents' Right to Know: Domain Differences and Associations With Change in Concealment

Parent and adolescent (M = 15.7 years) beliefs regarding parents' right to know (RTK) about adolescents' activities were examined in 174 middle‐class U.S. families. Mean differences and associations with latent changes in teens' concealment were assessed. RTK was greatest about risky prudential activities, least for personal activities for parents and romantic activities for teens, and higher for mothers' ratings of girls' than boys' romantic behavior. Adolescents' stronger RTK beliefs predicted lower concealment 6 months later and less increase in concealment over time, although less so for romantic issues. In contrast, mothers' stronger RTK beliefs predicted more concealment over time. For personal issues, greater teen RTK beliefs slowed increases in concealment only when parents' RTK beliefs were low.     

What They Don't Know Won't Hurt Them: Parents’ Judgments About Lying to Their Adolescents

This research examined judgments about parents lying to their adolescents. Ninety‐six participants from four primarily Caucasian groups (24 parents of 18‐year‐olds, 24 parents of 14‐year‐olds, 24 18‐year‐olds, and 24 14‐year‐olds) assessed hypothetical situations in which a parent lies to their adolescent about their past experience engaging in risky activities such as drug use and shoplifting. Evaluations and justifications for deception varied as a function of the domain of each act, the age of the adolescent being lied to, and consideration of parents’ duty to foster a protective and trusting relationship. Results are discussed in terms of parents’ and adolescents’ reasoning about deception to achieve and resist socialization goals in several (moral, personal, prudential, and multifaceted) social‐cognitive domains.     

Authority,Autonomy, and Deception: Evaluating the Legitimacy of Parental Authority and Adolescent Deceit

This research examined adolescents’ judgments about lying to avoid parental control over different types of activities. Participants (N = 66, M_age = 16.38, 73% European American) were interviewed about hypothetical situations describing adolescents who defied parental directives and lied about their defiance. Judgments about the legitimacy of parents’ directives and protagonists’ deception differed by types of parent relationship with adolescents (mutual or unilateral). Directives were least accepted, and deception was most accepted, in the context of unilateral relationships. Judgments also differed by domain of the action (personal, prudential, or conventional). Participants were least accepting of parental directives, and most accepting of deception about personal activities. Findings indicate that adolescents value honesty and parental authority, but sometimes give priority to concerns with autonomy and mutuality.     

Adolescents' Civic Engagement: Concordant and Longitudinal Associations Among Civic Beliefs and Civic Involvement

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, M_age = 15.87) indicated domain specificity between adolescent civic beliefs and behaviors. Longitudinal models (n = 219, M_age = 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.     

Profiles of Emotion Deficits and Adolescent Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in an Inpatient Sample

This study examined profiles of specific emotion deficits, including poor emotion awareness, reluctance to express emotion, sadness inhibition and dysregulation, and anger inhibition and dysregulation. Self‐report questionnaires assessed adolescents’ emotion skills and nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) engagement, frequency, severity, methods, and age of onset. Latent profile analysis yielded a three‐profile solution: Low Deficit (LD; n = 49), Unaware/Anger Dysregulated (UAD; n = 24), and Anger Inhibited (AI; n = 20) profiles. Adolescents in the UAD profile were more likely to engage in NSSI, displayed a higher NSSI frequency, and reported a higher number of NSSI methods when compared to adolescents in the LD profile. No links emerged for NSSI severity or age of onset.     

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 Pathways to Co‐Occurring Problem Behavior: The Effects of Peer Delinquency and Peer Substance Use

Delinquency and substance use are more likely to co‐occur in adolescence compared to earlier and later developmental periods. The present study examined developmental pathways to co‐occurring problem behavior from 6th to 10th grade (N = 2,002), testing how peer delinquency and substance use were linked to transitioning between abstaining, delinquency, substance use, and co‐occurring problem behavior. Developmentally, most youth transition from abstinence to delinquent behavior and then escalate to co‐occurring problem behavior. Once co‐occurring problem behavior onsets, remitting to single‐problem behavior or abstinence is unlikely. The impact of peers on problem behavior is domain‐specific when individuals transition from abstaining to a single‐problem behavior, but is more general with respect to escalation of and desistance from problem behavior.     

Social Support and Academic Engagement Among Reconnected Youth: Adverse Life Experiences as a Moderator

Using motivational theories of engagement and adopting a multidimensional perspective of academic engagement, the authors investigate the associations among teacher and parent support, students’ academic self‐efficacy, and academic engagement among a sample of reconnected youth who have returned to academic pursuit after dropping out (N = 938, mean age = 16.50, SD = 1.78). In addition, they examine how youth's adverse life experiences moderate the pathways in this model, an analysis notably missing from much of the academic engagement literature. They find that students’ academic self‐efficacy mediates parent and teacher support and youth academic engagement. Moreover, participants’ adverse life experiences moderate the connections among perceived support from parents, academic self‐efficacy, and academic engagement. Implications for practice and future directions are discussed.     

Belief in a Loving Versus Punitive God and Behavior

We examined the extent to which beliefs in a loving God and punitive God correspond with self‐reported behavior in an online, longitudinal survey involving three waves of data collection, each separated by 6 months. Adolescents (N = 760) reported the extent to which they believed in a loving God and a punitive God (Times 1 and 3) and reported their engagement in benevolent (helping and forgiveness) and aggressive behavior (Times 2 and 3). Participants strongly endorsed a loving God but not a punitive God. In addition, belief in a loving God corresponded with reports of less aggressive and more benevolent behavior, whereas belief in a punitive God corresponded with more aggressive and less benevolent behavior.     

Career‐Related Parental Processes and Career Adaptability and Ambivalence Among Chinese Adolescents: A Person‐Centered Approach

Using latent profile analyses and based on two‐wave data from 5,388 Chinese adolescents (M_age = 15.79, SD = 0.66; 51.99% females), this study examined the variety of ways in which adolescents’ perceived career‐related parental processes (i.e., parental expectations, support, interference, barriers to engagement, and parent–child congruence) may be configured within families and how such configurations may be associated with adolescents’ career adaptability and ambivalence one year later. Three meaningful profiles were identified: the “Supportive but not Intrusive” (SNI) profile, the “Unsupportive but not Permissive” (UNP) profile, and the “Ambivalent and Controlling” (AC) profile. Adolescents in the UNP profile reported higher levels of career ambivalence and lower levels of career adaptability than did those in either the SNI or the AC profiles. Implications for career development among Chinese adolescents were discussed.     

Delinquency,School Context,and Risk Factors in India,Australia, and the United States: Implications for Prevention

There is a dearth of research on delinquency, school context, and risk factors across developed and developing nations. Using representative samples and matched surveys, we examined delinquency among cohorts in Mumbai, India (N = 3,717); Victoria, Australia (N = 1,842); and Washington State (WA), United States (N = 1,828). We used multivariate Poisson hierarchical linear modeling. Risk factor and delinquency levels varied across sites. Delinquency clustered within certain schools, particularly in Mumbai. Community disorganization exhibited an association with delinquency as a school‐level context effect in Mumbai and Victoria. Peer delinquency, sensation seeking, and poor family management exhibited cross‐nationally consistent associations with delinquency. Programs that target schools, the clustering of problem behaviors, and cross‐nationally consistent risk factors should be considered internationally.     

Adolescent Psychological Functioning and Membership in Latent Adolescent–Parent Communication Dual Trajectory Classes

The primary goal of this study was to examine the relationship between adolescents’ psychological functioning (as indicated by depressive symptoms) and substance use (alcohol and drug use) and membership in adolescent–parent communication trajectory subgroups in a large, diverse community sample of adolescents from the United States (n = 1,057; 53% female; 51% Caucasian; Age: M = 16.15, SD = .75). Adolescents completed questionnaires at three annual assessments. Fit indices from parallel process growth mixture models suggested three dual trajectory classes: (1) Average communication with both parents (Average‐Both); (2) Good adolescent–mother and poor adolescent–father communication (Good‐Mom/Poor‐Dad); and (3) Poor adolescent–mother and good adolescent–father communication (Poor‐Mom/Good‐Dad). The trajectory classes differed by gender. In addition, psychological functioning and substance use were differentially related to the trajectory classes.     

The Gratification of Psychological Needs and Well‐Being Among Turkish Adolescents: An Examination of Direct and Indirect Links

Based on the self‐determination theory (SDT), the present study tested a mediational model in a cross‐sectional data and found that gratification of basic psychological needs (GBPN; autonomy, relatedness, and competence) in adolescents’ relationships with their mother and father is linked with wellness (life satisfaction, problem‐solving confidence, and anxiety), through family cohesion, and disclosure and secrecy from mother. Adolescents (N = 1,097; 61.6% girls, M_age = 15.12, SD = 0.64; range = 14–16 years) were from nine public schools in Istanbul, Turkey. Findings showed that GBPN in the relationship with each parent has unique contribution to family cohesion, adolescent disclosure and secrecy from parents, and wellness. Findings also supported SDT’s claim that GBPN is conducive to well‐being cross‐culturally.     

Public Participation: Moving Beyond the Four Walls of Therapy

Family therapists have an ethical responsibility for public participation, to work toward creating a better society. Serving the public interest and developing laws to promote the profession and the public good can be achieved through policy advocacy and political participation. Political and policy work are important but overlooked aspects of family therapy, which is significant given the consequences differing policies have for clients and the profession. This paper reports on results from a random, national survey of licensed family therapists’ (N = 174) advocacy actions. Findings indicate family therapists have overarching policy concerns yet lack proactive legislative and activist engagement. The exploration of therapists’ actions and beliefs presented in this paper, serves as a springboard for therapists’ movement into the public arena. Video abstract accessible by clicking here .     

Changes in Family Relationships among Substance Abusing Runaway Adolescents: A Comparison between Family and Individual Therapies

Eligible adolescents (12–17 years old) were recruited from a short‐term crisis shelter for runaway adolescents in a large Midwestern city. Adolescents (N = 179) were randomly assigned to Ecologically‐Based Family Therapy (EBFT, n = 61), the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA, n = 57), or brief Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET, n = 61) with the primary focus on substance abuse. A significant increase in perceived family cohesion and a significant reduction in perceived family conflict were found among all treatment conditions from baseline to the 24‐month follow‐up. Adolescents who received EBFT demonstrated more improvement in family cohesion after treatment than those who received CRA or MET, and more reduction in family conflict during treatment than those who received MET.     

Bidirectional Relations Between Authoritative Parenting and Adolescents’ Prosocial Behaviors

This study examined the bidirectional relations between authoritative parenting and adolescents’ prosocial behavior over a 1‐year time period. Data were taken from Time 2 and 3 of the Flourishing Families Project, and included reports from 319 two‐parent families with an adolescent child (M age of child at Time 2 = 12.34, SD = 1.06, 52% girls). Cross‐lag analyses supported bidirectional relations between parenting and prosocial behavior with particular emphasis on the role of the adolescents’ prosocial behavior on subsequent parenting. Results also varied as a function of the reporter. Discussion focuses on the implications for understanding the multifaceted nature of prosocial development in adolescence.     

Psychosocial Correlates and Consequences of Adolescents’ Self‐Generated Academic Goals and Appraisals

The current study examined whether characteristics of adolescents (i.e., externalizing problems) and their environments (i.e., social support, adverse childhood experiences) relate to academic goal setting, appraisals, and outcomes. Adolescents (n = 99; 87% Black/African American) 13–16 years old completed baseline interviews, and 80% also completed follow‐up interviews. Adolescents with more externalizing problems set fewer academic goals, and youth with social networks characterized by greater support (and less strain) appraised their academic goals as more supported and achievable. Adolescents’ appraisals of their academic goals, but not how many academic goals they had, predicted grades at follow‐up. Increasing social support (and reducing social strain) may foster adolescents’ positive appraisals of their academic goals, which may promote academic achievement.     

Parenting,emotion regulation,and externalizing symptomatology as adolescent antecedents to young adult health risk behaviors

This study used longitudinal data to elucidate how trajectories of negative parenting across adolescence are associated with young adult health risk behaviors (HRBs) by testing difficulties with emotion regulation and externalizing symptomatology as sequential underlying mediators. The sample included 167 adolescents (53% males, M_age = 14 at Time 1 and M_age = 18 at Time 5) who were assessed five times. Adolescents self-reported on negative parenting, emotion regulation, externalizing symptomatology, and engagement in HRBs. Results suggest that increasingly negative parenting across adolescence has adverse consequences for emotion regulation development and in turn, externalizing symptomatology, which confers risk for young adult HRBs. Results offer insights towards mechanisms for prevention and intervention and public health policy aimed at reducing the prevalence and consequences of engagement in HRBs.