Nativity as a Moderator of Familial and Nonfamilial Correlates of Latino/a Youth Prosocial Behaviors

Familial and nonfamilial relations play prominent roles in fostering youths’ prosocial tendencies. The present study examined the direct and indirect relations among family conflict, parental and peer acceptance, deviant peer affiliation, and prosocial tendencies. Participants included 306 (53.8% female, M_age = 15.50, SD = .42; range = 14–18) U.S. Latino/a adolescents and their parents (87.9% mothers). The majority of adolescents were born in the United States (N = 206, 68.0%; average time in United States = 10 years) and identified as a Mexican heritage group member (N = 248, 81.0%). Findings differed by nativity as parental acceptance predicted prosocial tendencies for U.S. Latinos/as born outside the United States and peers were significant predictors of prosocial tendencies for U.S.‐born Latino/as.     

Differences in Adolescent Experiences of Polyvictimization and Suicide Risk by Sexual Minority Status

Sexual minority adolescents (SMA) report more suicide risk behaviors than heterosexual adolescents. Polyvictimization (co‐occurrence of multiple types of victimization) may be an important, underresearched correlate of this disparity. With the 2017 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 13,179), national estimates of polyvictimization and suicide risk were assessed among high school students by sexual minority status (SM vs. heterosexual), and multivariate relationships between sexual minority status, polyvictimization, and suicide risk were tested. Additionally, risk profiles of those who experienced polyvictimization (2 + types of victimization; n = 1,932) were compared across sexual minority status. Results confirm that SMA are more likely to experience polyvictimization than heterosexual adolescents (31.8% v. 12.9%, respectively); however, also indicate that polyvictimization does not fully explain elevated suicide risk among SMA.     

Parent‐Adolescent Communication About Sex: Retrospective Reports by Latino College Students

Latina female (n= 97) and Latino male (n= 69) college students (M age = 21.4 years) completed self‐report surveys regarding family of origin experiences, including sexual communication with parents while growing up. Latino parents of this comparatively highly educated sample tended to use direct rather than indirect strategies for communicating about sexuality with their children. Young women reported higher levels of sexual communication with mothers while growing up than did young men, and respondents reported less communication with fathers than mothers. Among young women, sexual communication with mother was positively associated with non‐Mexican origin and negatively associated with having older brothers living at home. In contrast, maternal education was positively associated with mother‐son communication about sex. Paternal education and the absence of older brothers positively predicted communication with both sons and daughters. The analyses provide novel information regarding sexual communication in Latino families and suggest directions for future research.     

Bullied and Punished: Exploring the Links between Bullying and Discipline for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth

This study investigated connections between sexual and gender minority youths’ (SGMY) experiences with bullying victimization and their experiences with punishment. We interviewed 20 diverse adolescents (X = 18.45) about their experiences with bullying and school discipline. Using a qualitative mapping technique, we analyzed the pathways between victimization and punishment that emerged from our participants’ narratives. Our analyses revealed that among the adolescents who had experienced victimization related to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity (or expression) (n = 17), most of them (n = 15) had also experienced punishment connected to their victimization. We identified five pathways linking victimization and bullying. Further, we found that the majority of participants were navigating school contexts rife with pervasive and ongoing harassment and that adults ineffectively intervened and often compounded the harm experienced.     

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.     

Early psychosocial risk factors and postnatal parental reflective functioning

Psychosocial factors have been found to relate to parental reflective functioning (PRF), a parent's ability to mentalize about themselves and their child. Relations between maternal psychosocial risk factors and PRF were investigated in a community sample. A sample of mothers (n = 146) was assessed for risk factors when infants were 6 months, infant temperament was assessed using an observational measure, and PRF was assessed with the Parent Development Interview-Revised (PDI). PRF was measured again with the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ) when children were 4 years (n = 105) and 5 years (n = 92), with an additional sample of mothers (n = 48) tested at these two timepoints. Results showed that in infancy, total maternal psychosocial risk related to lower PDI-PRF; regression analyses highlighted low socioeconomic status, unplanned pregnancy, and low maternal anxiety as independent predictors of lower PDI-PRF. PDI-PRF scores at 6 months did not relate to PRFQ scores, but PRFQ subscales showed stability over time from age 4–5. Results are discussed with regard to the impact of maternal psychosocial risk and infant temperament on PRF and the stability and concordance of PRF measures.     

Is Sexual Abuse a Unique Predictor of Sexual Risk Behaviors,Pregnancy, and Motherhood in Adolescence?

This study tested sexual abuse as a unique predictor of subsequent adolescent sexual behaviors, pregnancy, and motherhood when in company with other types of maltreatment (physical abuse, neglect) and alternative behavioral, family, and contextual risk factors in a prospective, longitudinal study of maltreated (n = 275) and comparison (n = 239) nulliparous females aged 14–19 years old assessed annually through 19 years old. Hierarchical regression was used to disentangle risk factors that account for the associations of maltreatment type on risky sexual behaviors at 19 years old, adolescent pregnancy, and adolescent motherhood. Findings indicate that sexual and physical abuse remain significant predictors of risky sexual behaviors, and that sexual abuse remains a significant predictor of adolescent motherhood when alternative explanatory variables are controlled.     

Risky Sexual Behavior among Arrested Adolescent Males: The Role of Future Expectations and Impulse Control

The current study evaluates two predictors of adolescent sexual risk‐taking, specifically whether impulse control or future expectations predict condom use and casual sex. We examine whether risky sex occurs among youth who tend to act without thinking about the future, or instead, youth who report low future expectations. We consider these relations longitudinally among a sample of sexually active justice‐involved adolescent males (N = 752, M age = 15.58) a group at heightened risk for sexual risk‐taking. We found that optimistic expectations for the future predict a higher likelihood of engaging in consistent condom use, whereas high impulse control is related to a lower likelihood of casual sex. Implications for intervention and research on positive sexual health are discussed.     

Disparities in Persistent Victimization and Associated Internalizing Symptoms for Heterosexual Versus Sexual Minority Youth

This study investigated whether lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents were at higher risk for persistent victimization of bullying compared to heterosexual adolescents, and how victimization trajectories were associated with internalizing symptom development across LGB and heterosexual adolescents. Data came from a five‐wave study (M_ageT1 = 11.1 to M_ageT5 = 22.3; n = 151 LGB; n = 1,275 heterosexual) and informants were adolescents and their parents. Adolescents were classified in three victimization trajectories: persistent (5.6%), decreasing (28.1%) or low (66.3%) victimization. LGB adolescents reported more persistent victimization, relative to no (OR = 6.79, 95% CI [3.52, 13.13]) or decreasing victimization (OR = 3.09, 95% CI [1.53, 6.24]), compared to heterosexual peers. Further, persistent victimization was more strongly associated with anxiety among LGB than among heterosexual adolescents.     

Cultural Contributors to Ego‐Resiliency and Associations with Depressive Problems in Midwestern Latino Youth

Ego‐resiliency is an enduring psychological construct reflecting how individuals‐adapt to environmental stressors, conflict, and change which is linked to positive adjustment. Ego‐resiliency has not been examined in Latino youth, despite their high risk for mental health problems; nor have cultural precursors to ego‐resiliency been examined. Given these gaps, we examined whether familism values (supportive, obligation, and referent) were associated with ego‐resiliency and, in turn, depressive problems in Latino adolescents across two time points (N = 123, mean age = 11.53). Results indicated that supportive familism was associated positively with ego‐resiliency and negatively with depressive problems. Ego‐resiliency negatively predicted depressive problems across time, controlling for prior levels, suggesting that ego‐resiliency may have long‐term effects on depressive problems in Latino youth.     

A Person‐Centered Approach to the Study of Black Adolescent Religiosity,Racial Identity,and Sexual Initiation

Decreasing the number of adolescents who have never had sexual intercourse is one way to address sexual health disparities. We used intersectionality to explore the joint effects of religiosity and racial identity on Black adolescent sexual initiation. Data originated from the National Survey of American Life‐Adolescent (n = 1,170), a nationally representative study of Black adolescents. Latent profile analysis and survival analysis were used to evaluate study hypotheses. Results showed four distinct profiles of religiosity and racial identity. These profiles explained 19% of the variability in sexual initiation. Additional analyses revealed sociodemographic differences in profile membership. Findings contribute to understanding ethnic heterogeneity among Black adolescents and racial identity and religiosity as sociocultural factors that influence sexual initiation; and support reconceptualizing Black adolescent religiosity.     

Community Service and Adolescents' Social Capital

In two studies of 5th–12th graders (n = 2,371; n = 999), we compare four groups based on engagement patterns in community service (CS) and/or extracurricular activities (EC). In both studies, adolescents who engaged in BOTH CS (whether mandated or voluntary) and EC had the highest reports of bonding and bridging social capital, intergenerational harmony, and social support whereas those who did NEITHER had the lowest. For most outcomes, adolescents engaged only in CS had higher reports than peers engaged only in EC. Content analyses of what adolescents learned in CS suggest its potential for broadening their awareness of fellow members of their communities, their mutual obligations, and collective capacities.     

Sexual Partners and Contraceptive Use: A 16‐Year Prospective Study Predicting Abstinence and Risk Behavior

Antecedents and correlates of sexual behavior among 167 (46% female) adolescents were examined in this multi‐informant longitudinal study. Data were collected at birth through middle adolescence. Data on number of sexual partners and contraception use at age 16 defined sexual abstinence (SAs, n=73), high‐risk sexual behavior (HRTs, n=45) and low‐risk sexual behavior (LRTs, n=49) groups. Moffitt's (1993) antisocial behavior taxonomy, problem behavior theory ( Jessor & Jessor, 1977 ), social control theory (Hierschi), and a biosocial model ( Udry, 1988 ) guided expectations of differential group prediction. Variables from each of three developmental periods (<age 12, ages 12–13, age 16) were significantly associated with sexual behavior groups. The most salient factors that differentiated LRTs from SAs were physical maturation at age 13 and romantic relationship progression and alcohol use at age 16. Romantic relationship progression and drug use at age 16 differentiated HRTs from SAs.     

Gender,Generational Status,and Parent–Adolescent Sexual Communication: Implications for Latino/a Adolescent Sexual Behavior

There is little research on how specific parent–adolescent sexual communication topics influence Latino/a youth's sexual behaviors, and how gender and generational status may moderate effects. This study examined effects of three different messages on intercourse and condom use among 1,944 Latino/as from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (T1 mean age = 15.46; SD = 1.50). Results indicated discussing health consequences predicted higher odds of intercourse 1 year later across gender and generation groups. Birth control recommendation effects on subsequent intercourse and condom use differed by generational status and gender. Results indicated that message content is important for understanding effects of parent–adolescent sex communication on adolescents' behavior and underscored the need to consider gender and generational status in Latino/a parent–adolescent sexual communication studies.     

How does discharge status impact suicide risk in military veterans?

Little is known about over 125,000 veterans who received non-honorable military discharges since 2001, even though these veterans face substantial barriers to obtaining services and are likely to be at high risk for negative mental and behavioral health outcomes including suicide. Seven-hundred twenty-two veterans living the in the San Francisco Bay Area participated in the study. The sample comprised honorably discharged (n = 508) and non-honorably discharged veterans (n = 214). T-tests were used to compare means on predictors of suicide risk including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol use, somatic symptoms, and physical disability. A series of regression models tested relationships between predictors, discharge status, and suicide risk. Non-honorably discharged veterans demonstrated higher mean scores than honorably discharged veterans on all predictors. In regression models, somatic symptoms (β = 0.22, p < 0.001), physical disability (β = 0.16, p < 0.05), and discharge status (β = 0.33, p < 0.001) were associated with suicide risk. The final model showed an interaction effect for discharge status on the relationship between somatic symptoms and suicide risk (β = 0.16, p < 0.05). Non-honorably discharged veterans showed higher rates of mental and physical health problems and suicide risk compared to honorably discharged veterans. The magnitude of the relationship between somatic symptoms and suicide risk was significantly greater in non-honorably discharged veterans.     

A Mixed-Methods Approach to Refining and Measuring the Construct of Positive Risk-Taking in Adolescence

Adolescence is a peak period for risk-taking, but research has largely overlooked positive manifestations of adolescent risk-taking due to ambiguity regarding operationalization and measurement of positive risk-taking. We address this limitation using a mixed-methods approach. We elicited free responses from contemporary college students (N = 74, M_age = 20.1 years) describing a time they took a risk. Qualitative analysis informed the construction of a self-report positive risk-taking scale, which was administered to a population-based sample of adolescents (N = 1,249, M_age = 16 years) for quantitative validation and examination of associations with normative and impulsive personality. Sensation seeking predicted negative and positive risk-taking, whereas extraversion and openness were predominantly related to positive risk-taking. Results provide promising evidence for a valid measure of adolescents' engagement in positive risks.     

Family Influences on Mexican American Adolescents’ Romantic Relationships: Moderation by Gender and Culture

This study examined prospective associations between the family context and adolescents’ romantic relationships as moderated by adolescents’ gender and culture among Mexican American families (N = 189). Adolescents at Time 1 (early adolescence) were on average 12.29 years of age (SD = 0.50) and 54% female. Mothers and fathers reported on family structure and dynamics during early adolescence, and youth reported on their romantic relationship involvement and quality during middle and late adolescence. Results from path analyses indicated that family structure and dynamics (supportive parenting, consistent discipline, and parent–adolescent and interparental conflict) were associated with adolescents’ romantic involvement and quality, and with differences by adolescents’ gender and culture. Findings highlight Mexican American family contexts that contribute uniquely to adolescents’ romantic relationships.     

Mother–Adolescent Proficiency in a Common Language Facilitates Socialization Among Mexican‐Origin Families

The primary goal of this study was to test how mother and adolescent proficiency in a common language moderates the link from parenting to adolescent development. A sample of Mexican‐origin fifth‐grade adolescents (N = 674, 50% female) was measured longitudinally on self‐control and aggression. Mothers were rated on observed positive discipline, warmth, and harsh discipline. Positive discipline and warm parenting predicted increases in self‐control and decreases in aggression, but only among mother–adolescent dyads who were proficient in a common language. Harsh parenting predicted decreases in self‐control and increases in aggression, but only among dyads who were not proficient in a common language. Similar results were found in a conceptual replication among a second sample of 167 Mexican‐origin adolescents.     

Early Age of First Sexual Intercourse and Depressive Symptomatology among Adolescents

Past literature has provided conflicting evidence for the association between adolescent sexual intercourse and depressive symptomatology. Whereas some studies conclude that sexually active youth may be at risk for depression, others provide contrary results. Thus, it is unclear as to whether depression results directly from coitus or if this relationship is explained by other factors—that is, there may be biological, psychological, or sociological predictors of both depressive symptomatology and early sexual intercourse. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health dataset, depressive symptomatology in adolescents over a seven-year time period was analyzed. The final sample (n = 6,510) was comprised of 49.35% male (n = 3,213) and 50.65% female (n = 3,297) participants. Although an earlier age of first coitus was predictive of future depressive symptoms, both variables appear to be concomitant outcomes of the biopsychosocial process. Thus, although one may be able to use early coitus as a marker for subsequent depressive symptomatology, it does not appear to occur because of early sexual intercourse. Furthermore, the reverse relationship was not found to be significant in this study—that is, higher levels of previous depressive symptomatology did not predict an earlier age of first sexual intercourse in adolescents.