Early Adolescent Peer Foundations of Late Adolescent and Young Adult Psychological Adjustment

The long‐term impacts of failing to establish autonomy and relatedness within close friendships are poorly understood. Adolescent behaviors undermining autonomy and relatedness in friendships at 13 were examined as predictors of friendship competence at 18 and depressive symptoms and social withdrawal at 21. A diverse community sample of 184 adolescents participated in self‐, peer, and observational assessments. Teens' inability to establish autonomy and connection with friends at 13 predicted decreases in friendship competence at 18 (β = ?.20, p = .02). Direct links to increase in depressive symptoms (β = .34, p < .001) and social withdrawal (β = .18, p = .03) were observed, with friendship competence partially mediating these relations. Results highlight the importance of problematic adolescent peer relationships as risk factors for the development of young adult internalizing symptoms.     

The Adolescent Peer Group in Cross-Cultural Perspective*

Cette etude se penche sur la question suivante: quelles sortes de relations sociales entretiennent entre eux et la societe des adultes, les adolescents qui vivent dans deux societes dont les degres de complexite sont differents ? Les donnees proviennent de deux etudes comparables d'adolescents americains et libanais. Les resultats indiquent que les jeunes americains sont plus orientes vers les groupes d'age que ne le sont ceux du Liban. Les jeunes libanais, au con-traire, sont plus influences par les valeurs familiales et scolaires que le sont les adolescents des Etats-Unis. Ces resultats s'expliquent a partir des differences dans les fonctions de la famille et des groupes d'age aux Etats-Unis et au Liban et a partir egalement des differences dans les empechements socio-structurels a l'autonomie des groupes d'age. On discute la signification de ces resultats pour la recherche. This study examines the question of how youth in each of two societies at different levels of structural complexity relate themselves to each other and to the adult community. Data were obtained from two comparable studies of American and Lebanese youth. The results show that American youth are more oriented to youth peer groups than are their Lebanese counterparts. Contrariwise, Lebanese youth are more oriented to the family and to school related values than are their American counterparts. These results are explained in terms of societal differences in family and peer group functions, as well as differences in social structural impediments to peer group autonomy. The research implications of the study are discussed.     

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.     

Positive Attentional Bias,Attachment Style,and Susceptibility to Peer Influence

Susceptibility to peer influence may be related to activation in reward‐related brain regions. The current study extends research on the role of reward sensitivity in peer influence by examining whether preferential attention to positive emotional stimuli predicts behavior in peer interactions, and whether this association is moderated by attachment style in a sample of 36 same‐sex peer dyads. Positive attentional bias was associated with lower autonomy and greater avoidance with peers. This association was attenuated among individuals with secure attachment style. Attention to negative stimuli was associated with less avoidant and more hostile behavior during peer interactions. Results suggest that preferential attention to positive emotional stimuli is associated with greater susceptibility to peer influence, particularly in individuals low in secure attachment.     

Susceptibility to Peer Influence,Self‐Control,and Delinquency

The significance of peers during adolescence is well established in the social science literature. However, relatively few studies have devoted attention to susceptibility to peer influence with regard to both its causes and consequences. The current study aims to add to this literature in two ways. First, it investigates the role of self‐control in the etiology of susceptibility to peer influence. Second, it examines the independent and interactive effects of these two constructs on self‐reported delinquency. Results indicate that individuals who are higher in self‐control are less likely to be susceptible to peer influence, that susceptibility is a stronger predictor of delinquency than self‐control, and that the influence of susceptibility on delinquency is moderated by one's level of self‐control. In particular, the effect of susceptibility to peer influence on delinquency is stronger for individuals with higher levels of self‐control. The implications of the findings for theory and future research are discussed.     

Conceptualization and Measurement of Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: Looking Back and Moving Forward

The struggle to cast a net around the numerous ways prosocial behavior is expressed lends itself to the absence of widely accepted methods of measurement. Additionally, research intent on evaluating the psychometric properties of current approaches has been somewhat limited. Weaving together seminal as well as contemporary research, the current review focuses on how these conceptual and measurement issues pertain to adolescent studies (in an intentional effort to offset the somewhat disproportionate focus directed toward prosocial development in infants, children, and adults). Recommendations to address current limitations and attain a more nuanced understanding of the construct are presented and discussed.     

Individual, Family, and Peer Correlates of Adolescent Gambling

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the individual, family, and peer factors that correlate with adolescent gambling. High school students from three states ( N = 1,846) completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing the behavior of themselves, their parents, and their peers. Participants also reported on their gambling behavior via the SOGS-RA, which was used to create five adolescent gambling groups (i.e., Non-Gamblers, Non-Problem Gamblers, At-Risk Gamblers, Problem Gamblers, and Probable Pathological Gamblers). In a discriminant function analysis using demographic, individual, family, and peer factors as potential discriminators, two functions emerged that accounted for 94% of the variance between groups. The first function was linear, with the Probable Pathological Gamblers reporting the highest level of peer and parent gambling, susceptibility to peer pressure, conduct problems, binge drinking, suicide attempts, drug use, and being male. The second function highlighted three unique qualities of individuals in the two outlying groups: Probable Pathological Gamblers and Non-Gamblers. These findings suggest that demographic, individual, family, and peer variables are all important correlates of probable pathological gambling in adolescents. Results also support the utility of a five-group classification scheme based on the SOGS-RA. The clinical implications of these results are discussed.     

A Behavioral Conceptualization of Aphasia

Aphasia is an acquired language impairment that affects over 1 million individuals, the majority of whom are over age 65 (Groher, 1989). This disorder has typically been conceptualized within a cognitive neuroscience framework, but a behavioral interpretation of aphasia is also possible. Skinner''s (1957) analysis of verbal behavior proposes a framework of verbal operants that can be integrated with the work of Sidman (1971) and Haughton (1980) to describe the language difficulties individuals with aphasia experience. Using this synthesis of models, we propose a new taxonomy of aphasia based on the observed deficit relations. Assessment and treatment implications are also discussed.     

A Conceptualization of Parenting:

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for examining the parenting process. Tasks, roles, rules, communication, resources, and relationships are described as essential components of parenting. The conceptualization of parenting is not tied to a particular family structure or type. Rather, parenting is examined as a process undertaken with the goal of ferrying children from conception and birth through developmental challenges and life events to adulthood. As a bridge between the conceptualization of parenting and its application to single parent families, questions are raised concerning what it takes to parent adequately. Notions of the successful or ‘‘good enough’’ parent are derived from facets of the conceptual framework. The challenge of providing adequate parenting for single parent families is presented. Single parent families are not described as automatic ‘‘at risk’’ situations for children. However, identification of the ingredients needed for adequate parenting provides a useful framework for evaluation of the effectiveness of single parent families in the many forms and situations con- sidered in the other papers in this special volume of Marriage & Family Review.     

Patterns of Sensitivity to Parenting and Peer Environments: Early Temperament and Adolescent Externalizing Behavior

Although parenting behavior and friendship quality predict adolescent externalizing behaviors (EBs), individual differences in temperament may differentially affect susceptibility to these factors over time. In a multi‐method and multi‐informant study of 141 children followed prospectively from toddlerhood to adolescence, we tested the independent and interactive associations of age 3 reactive temperament (e.g., negative emotionality) and age 13 observed parenting (i.e., positive and negative behavior) and friendship (i.e., conflict and warmth), with multi‐informant ratings of age 15 aggression and rule‐breaking behavior. Negative parenting predicted growth in parent‐rated EB, but only for adolescents with early reactive temperament. Temperament did not affect sensitivity to positive parenting or friendship. Results are discussed in the context of differential susceptibility theory and intervention implications for adolescents.     

Differential Susceptibility to Parenting in Adolescent Girls: Moderation by Neural Sensitivity to Social Cues

This research examined whether heightened neural activation to social cues confers adjustment advantages in supportive social contexts but adjustment disadvantages in stressful social contexts. Forty‐five adolescent girls were exposed to social exclusion during an fMRI scan and reported on parent–child relationship quality and depressive symptoms. Stressful parent–child relationships predicted subsequent depressive symptoms in girls with high and moderate but not low dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, and anterior insula activation during exclusion. In the context of supportive parent–child relationships, however, neural activation to exclusion predicted particularly low levels of depressive symptoms. This support for a biological sensitivity to context model suggests the possibility of redirecting adolescent girls’ neural sensitivity to social cues toward more positive adaptation.     

A Sociological Alternative to the Psychiatric Conceptualization of Mental Suffering

Uncovering both the structural causes and experiences of suffering is a central sociological endeavor. Sociologists study many different kinds of suffering; after all, strife is experienced both physically and emotionally, because of internal factors such as illness, due to external factors such as trauma, and as a result of economic, political or natural environments. In this paper, I address one form of suffering: mental suffering. In particular, I describe the medicalization of mental suffering in biological psychiatry, which focuses on the genetic factors of illness and equates mental suffering with mental illness. The psychiatric concept of mental illness highlights the continuing, crucial role for sociology in both understanding the experience and identifying the structural roots of suffering. Since the dominant conceptualization of mental suffering is as a medical concept, it is vital for sociology to offer alternative explanations and contribute to a multidimensional analysis. The roots of mental suffering are much more than biological; social comparison, social inequality, and other social stressors are equally important etiological considerations. Therefore, a true understanding of mental suffering requires multiple perspectives, and sociological constructs guard against a total medicalization of mental suffering.     

Adolescent Siblings' Daily Discussions: Connections to Perceived Academic,Athletic, and Peer Competency

First‐ and second‐born adolescent siblings from 21 families completed a daily diary on each of 7 days. The frequency and content of siblings' conversations are described and the relationship between the content of siblings' discussion and their perceived academic, athletic, and peer competency is explored. Siblings most often talked about extracurricular activities, media, and academics. The remaining topics, friends, family, eating, and body image, were the focus of discussion <10% of the time. The extent to which siblings discussed extracurricular activities, media, and academics was connected to perceived competency. Discussion focuses on the sibling relationship as an important context for adolescent development.     

The Role of Parent and Peer Support in Predicting Adolescent Depression: A Longitudinal Community Study

This study examines whether perceived parent support, peer support, and the interaction between them predict depression symptoms and depression diagnosis 2 years later in a community sample of 389 adolescents. Controlling for Time 1 depression, parent support and anticipated peer support were not independently related to Time 2 depression in either linear or logistic regression analyses. However, there was a significant interaction between the two support variables, suggesting that parent support moderates the relationship between anticipated peer support and depression symptoms and diagnosis. Anticipated peer support is protective among adolescents with high parental support, but may act as a risk factor for adolescents with low parental support. Regarding developmental differences, low anticipated peer support at Time 1 was a stronger predictor of Time 2 depression symptoms among older, compared with younger, adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of parent and peer support in predicting future depression among community adolescents.     

The Company You Keep: Adolescent Mobility and Peer Behavior*

Residential mobility has been linked to a variety of problematic behaviors during adolescence, but the reasons for this association are not well understood. This analysis examines the relationship between adolescent residential mobility and the academic and deviant behaviors of members of adolescents’ friendship networks. Using data from approximately 12,000 respondents in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we find that residentially mobile adolescents belong to school‐based friendship networks whose members exhibit weaker academic performance and expectations, less school engagement, and higher rates of deviance than do members of the friendship networks of nonmobile adolescents, even after controlling for adolescents’ own academic and deviant behaviors. These differences in the behavioral composition of adolescent friendship networks are not ephemeral, but appear to persist for several years. Moreover, these differences are equally pronounced among older and younger adolescents and among girls and boys. We also find that parental socioeconomic status is positively associated with adolescents’ involvement in high‐achieving and prosocial friendship networks. Directions for future research exploring the impact of residential and school mobility on adolescent development and functioning are discussed.     

Longitudinal Test of a Multiple Domain Model of Adolescent Condom Use

A comprehensive multiple domain model (MDM) to understand condom use in adolescents was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling of data at three time points. The proposed model integrates social psychological theory, demographic and personality factors, social environment, and situational/contextual variables. Adolescents who were sexually active at time 2 (6 months after baseline) and time 3 (1 year after time 2) and completed surveys at all three time points were included in the analyses (N = 511). An iterative process of model testing resulted in a structural equation model that provided a good fit to the data (CFI = .92, RMSEA = .04). Models comparing gender and race as moderators also were calculated and supported the generalizability of the model. Results provide support for an MDM that goes beyond traditional social psychological models for a broader understanding of condom use in adolescents. Implications for further theory testing and safer sexual interventions are discussed.     

The Peer Context of Adolescent Substance Use: Findings from Social Network Analysis

To examine the peer context of adolescent substance use, social network analysis was used to measure three domains of attributes of peer networks: social embeddedness, social status, and social proximity to substance users. The sample was a panel of 5,104 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in three public school systems surveyed every 6 months for five assessments. Hierarchical generalized linear models showed that adolescents less embedded in the network, with greater status, and with closer social proximity to peer substance users were more likely to use substances. Also, adolescents in less dense networks and networks with higher smoking prevalence were more likely to smoke and use marijuana. Results establish the utility of social network analysis for measuring peer context and indicate that conventionality of relationships—having friends in the network, being liked but not too well liked, and having fewer friends who use substances—is most beneficial.     

A Solution Focused Approach to Adolescent Groupwork

The use of Solution Focused Therapy in a group setting with adolescents requires the therapist to encourage the young persons to recognise when they are not bullying, what prosocial behaviours they use and how others respond to them. Furthermore it gets bullies to work together in a cooperative and purposeful direction, approaches negative behaviours positively, and allows desired outcomes to be supported. The group setting enables the adolescent to gain support from peers as well as provide support to others. The therapist must be flexible, remain focused on the solution and allow the group to determine the course to a certain extent.