Chinese Adolescents' Sibling Conflicts: Links With Maternal Involvement in Sibling Relationships and Coparenting

This study explored how maternal involvement in sibling relationships and coparenting behaviors were associated with adolescents' sibling conflicts. Adolescents (M_age = 12.25 years; 47.8% boys) and their mothers from 542 families in China participated in this research. Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed their strategies of involvement in sibling relationships, as well as their perceptions of the quality of their coparenting behaviors. Furthermore, adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed sibling conflicts. Results revealed that the mother's positive guidance was negatively related and their authoritarian control was positively related to sibling conflict. A significant interaction was also found between positive maternal guidance in sibling relationships and undermining coparenting behaviors. These findings underscore the unique and interactive effects of mothers' direct involvement in sibling relationships and coparenting behaviors in adolescents' sibling conflicts.     

Infant regulation during the pandemic: Associations with maternal response to the COVID-19 pandemic,well-being,and socio-emotional investment

In the transition to parenthood, the COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional strain on parental well-being. Confirmed infections or having to quarantine, as well as public health measures negatively affect parents and infants. Contrary to previous studies mainly focusing on the well-being of school-aged children and their parents during lockdown periods, the present study investigated how mothers of infants respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and whether this is related to maternal well-being, maternal socio-emotional investment, and infant regulation. Between April and June 2021, 206 mothers of infants (M_age = 7.14 months, SD_age = 3.75 months) reported on COVID-19 infections, their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, their well-being, socio-emotional investment, and their infant’s regulation. Exploratory factor analyses yielded five dimensions of maternal response to the COVID-19 pandemic: social distancing, worrying about the child, birth anxiety, distancing from the child, and information on COVID-19-related parenting behavior and support. These dimensions were related to mother-reported infant regulatory problems. Path analyses revealed paths via reduced maternal well-being and maternal socio-emotional investment. Maternal perceptions of infant regulatory problems are related to how the mothers respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Better information about COVID-19-related parenting behavior and support might buffer against these effects.     

Adolescents' Daily Assistance to the Family in Response to Maternal Need

Although children's provision of family assistance is a common routine, little is understood about the day‐to‐day variability that may exist in children's assistance behaviors. Guided by a family systems framework, the current study examined whether Mexican American adolescents' provision of family assistance was contingent on daily maternal need. Adolescents (N = 354, 49% males, M_age = 14.96 years) and their mothers (M_age = 41.55 years) each completed reports on 14 consecutive days. The results indicated that adolescents generally responded to maternal need, being more likely to help their families on days when their mothers worked or felt fatigued. This daily contingency was modified by family and adolescent characteristics, with adolescents thought to generally engage in low levels of assistance (i.e., youngest males and those in families with little economic strain) increasing their help when their mothers were fatigued. In contrast, daily maternal work did not appear to stimulate greater assistance among families with low levels of economic strain.     

Examining Secondary School Choice Processes as a Predictor of Adjustment After the School Transition

The secondary school transition is an important moment in adolescents' lives. Taking a prospective approach, the present study examined whether educational identity regarding a secondary school choice and own and parental expectations during the last year of primary school predicted post-transition school and psychological adjustment in Dutch adolescents (N = 314, M_age = 11.58). Additionally, the study qualitatively examined the reasons adolescents gave for their school choice, and linked these reasons to exploration behavior and post-transition adjustment. Identity processes and expectations predicted adjustment. Adolescents mostly reported multiple reasons for their school choice, with educational, practical, and social aspects of secondary schools appearing most important. The number of reasons mentioned was associated with pre-transition exploration behavior.     

Black Mothers' Perceptions of the Role of Race in Children's Education

Many Black parents consider racial climate and academic quality when thinking and making decisions about their children's schooling experiences. However, few studies have directly asked Black parents about the role they believe race will play in their children's schooling, if any. The authors interviewed 76 Black mothers (M_age = 34; SD_age = 6.67) of children entering first grade (M_age = 6.13; SD_age = 0.36), asking what role they believed race would play in their children's schooling. The authors found that mothers considered the racial composition of the school and the perspectives and behaviors of teachers and the administration to be important factors when assessing the role of race in their children's education. Mothers were also particularly concerned about the discrimination their sons may face because of their position as Black boys. Given these contextual factors, mothers considered themselves to be protective agents through their involvement in their children's academic lives.     

A Longitudinal Examination of Support,Self‐Esteem,and Mexican‐Origin Adolescent Mothers' Parenting Efficacy

Guided by a risk and resilience framework, this study used a prospective longitudinal, multiple‐reporter design to examine how social support from a mother figure during pregnancy interacted with Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers' self‐esteem to inform their parenting efficacy when their children were 10 months old. Using reports of perceived social support by adolescent mothers (M_age = 16.24, SD = 0.99) and their mother figures (M_age = 40.84, SD = 7.04) in 205 dyads, and controlling for demographic factors (i.e., adolescent age, adolescent nativity, family income, mothers' educational attainment, adolescent – mother coresidence) and adolescents' social support from a significant other, the findings indicated that social support during pregnancy was positively associated with adolescent mothers' future parenting efficacy when adolescent mothers had relatively lower self‐esteem. The findings were consistent for adolescents' and mothers' reports and emphasize the value of social support from a mother figure among adolescent mothers with lower self‐esteem. Implications for interventions are presented.     

Adolescents' and parents' affect in relation to discrepant perceptions of parental warmth in daily life

The current study aimed to evaluate how adolescents' and parents' perceptions of daily parenting—and their discrepancies—relate to daily parent and adolescent affect. Daily parental warmth and affect were assessed using electronic diaries in 150 American adolescent–parent dyads (61.3% females, M_age = 14.6, 83.3% White; 95.3% mothers, M_age = 43.4; 89.3% White) and in 80 Dutch adolescents with 79 mothers and 72 fathers (63.8% females, M_age = 15.9, 91.3% White; M_age = 49.0, 97.4% White). Results of preregistered models indicated that individuals' affect may be more important for perceptions of parenting than discrepancies between parent–adolescent reports of parenting for affect, stressing the need to be aware of this influence of affect on parenting reports in clinical and research settings.     

Longitudinal associations of parental psychological control and friend support with autonomy during early adolescence

Although theories suggest transactional associations between adolescents' autonomy and relationships with parents and friends, few studies have examined these within-person effects. This longitudinal study examined the within-person co-development of adolescents' autonomy and relationships with parents and friends. Adolescents (N = 244 M_age = 11.54, SD = 0.43 at T1; 50% boys) participated in a four-wave study across 2 years in the Netherlands. In random-intercept cross-lagged panel models, within-person results showed that higher levels of autonomy predicted less parental psychological control but not vice versa. However, no lagged-effects between friend support and autonomy were found. This study suggests that adolescents' autonomy steers changes in parental psychological control.     

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.     

Mexican American Adolescents' Emotional Support to the Family in Response to Parental Stress

In this two‐wave longitudinal, daily diary study that followed up with 421 Mexican American parent–adolescent dyads (adolescents: M_age = 15 years, 50% males) after 1 year, we investigated the contingency between parental stressors and adolescents' emotional support to family members. Adolescents provided support to their parents and other family members at similar rates, but adolescents were more likely to provide support to other family members than to their parents on days when parents experienced a family stressor. This pattern was especially pronounced in families with parents who reported physical symptoms and adolescents with a strong sense of family obligation. Adolescents' provision of emotional support was associated with same‐day feelings of role fulfillment, but not to their concurrent or long‐term psychological distress.     

Positive and negative intergroup contact in school and out-of-school contexts: A longitudinal approach to spillover effects

This study aims to tackle positive and negative intergroup contact in school and out-of-school contexts to test whether a spillover effect (i.e., the extent to which experiences that individuals have in one context spill over into another) applies to intergroup contact. Participants were 984 adolescents (M_age = 14.66; 62.7% female; 24.8% ethnic minority). Results indicated that positive contact in school was related over time to higher positive contact in out-of-school contexts and vice versa (i.e., valence consistent spillover effect). Positive contact in school was linked over time to lower negative contact in out-of-school contexts (i.e., valence inconsistent spillover effect). Overall, this study provides novel insights into the transmission of adolescents' intergroup contact across socialization contexts by emphasizing the leading role of positive contact in schools.     

Adolescent Offenders' Qualitative Reflections on Desistance From Crime

Although many young offenders desist from crime during adolescence, little is known about this process. This study used a qualitative approach to elucidate adolescent offenders' experiences in desisting from crime. Thirty‐nine male adolescent offenders (M_age = 16.59 years) participated in a semistructured interview about the desistance process. One of four themes characterized adolescents' reflections on their own desistance: having a psychological reorientation, reacting to consequences, persisting, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Adolescents discussed five agentic moves they make to facilitate desistance: seeking and maintaining supportive relationships, navigating peer groups, working toward long‐term goals, structuring time, and finding sanctuaries from the outside. These findings highlight adolescents' strengths, resources, and active role in desisting from crime.     

Public Ethnic Regard and Academic Adjustment Among Latino Adolescents

This study examined whether Latino adolescents' perceptions of personal support vis‐à‐vis those of ethnic regard by adults at school differentially relate to academic outcomes. Data were drawn from a sample of 156 Latino students (age M=16.17, SD=1.27; 61% girls, 39% boys) attending an urban high school. As expected, youth who perceived more positive public ethnic regard (i.e., by adults at school) were more engaged and higher achieving than their counterparts with more negative public regard. Importantly, after accounting for personal support from adults in school, public ethnic regard contributed uniquely to the variance explained by models predicting academic engagement and performance. These results suggest that public ethnic regard comprises a meaningful dimension of Latino adolescents' relationships with adults in school.     

Mother-infant emotional availability through the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining continuity,stability, and bidirectional associations

The COVID-19 pandemic may impact the development of infants' social communication patterns with their caregivers. The current study examined continuity, stability, and bidirectional associations in maternal and infant dyadic Emotional Availability (EA) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 110 Israeli mother-infant dyads (51% girls) that were assessed prior to (Mage = 3.5 months) and during (Mage = 12.4 months) the pandemic. At both time points, mother-infant interactions were observed during play (nonstressful context) and tasks designed to elicit infant frustration (stressful context). Maternal and child EA were coded offline. Maternal EA demonstrated no significant mean-level changes from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas infant responsiveness and involvement increased over time. Stability and bidirectional associations in EA differed by context and were evident only in the stressful context. Mothers' perceived levels of social support further moderated these associations. Specifically, infants' pre-pandemic responsiveness and involvement predicted maternal EA during the pandemic only when mothers reported low levels of social support. Our findings suggest that maternal and child EA were not adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, patterns of EA demonstrated moderate-to-no stability over time, suggesting considerable individual differences in trajectories of EA.     

Effect of Trajectories of Friends' and Parents' School Involvement on Adolescents' Engagement and Achievement

In a sample of 527 academically at‐risk youth, we investigated trajectories of friends' and parents' school involvement across ages 12–14 and the joint contributions of these trajectories to adolescents' age 15 school engagement and academic achievement. Girls reported higher levels of friends' and parents' school involvement than boys. Both parents' and friends' school involvement declined across ages 12–14. Combined latent growth models and structural equation models showed effects of the trajectories of friends' and parents' school involvement on adolescents' age 15 school engagement and academic achievement, over and above adolescents' prior performance. These effects were additive rather than interactive. Strategies for enhancing parent involvement in school and students' affiliation with peers who are positively engaged in school are discussed.     

Direct and Moderating Effects of Social Affordances on School Involvement and Delinquency Among Young Adolescents

Using social control theory and attachment theory as guides, this study examined how qualities of young adolescents' social relationships (i.e., mother, sibling, and friend) and dynamic interactions among characteristics of those relationships are associated with school involvement and delinquency. The participants included older siblings (M age=14.3), younger siblings (M age=11.6), and their mothers from 434 families who completed web‐based surveys. Results were largely consistent with tenets of social control theory and attachment theory. Young adolescents' social relationships mostly worked in additive ways, but sometimes in compensatory ways for older siblings, to promote positive adjustment. The results suggest that young adolescents' social relationships may be differently associated with adjustment depending on birth order or developmental stage.     

Associations Between Adolescents' Antisocial Behavior,Conflict Management Styles,and Romantic Relationship Breakup: An Observational Study

Adolescents' antisocial behavior and negative conflict management styles are each associated with adverse romantic relationship outcomes, yet little research exists on their associations. We investigated whether adolescents' antisocial behavior was associated with conflict management styles, and whether it predicted breakup 3 months later. In total, 91 adolescent couples (M_age = 16.43, SD = 0.99; 41.2% Hispanic/Latinx) participated in videotaped conflict discussions coded for negotiation, coercion, and avoidance. Actor–partner interdependence models suggest adolescents' antisocial behavior is associated with decreased use of negotiation (couple pattern) and increased use of coercion (actor pattern). No significant associations were found for avoidance. Neither antisocial behavior nor conflict management styles predicted breakup. Findings are discussed in light of the unique developmental importance of adolescents' romantic relationships.     

Trajectories of discrimination among Chinese American youth: Variation,predictors, and outcomes

Using 3 waves of longitudinal data from 444 Chinese American adolescents (M_age = 13.04 at Wave 1, 54% identified as women), the current study explored if there was variation in discrimination trajectories from early to late adolescence and whether contextual and individual factors predicted trajectories as well as if trajectories were associated with academic achievement and mental health. Three distinct discrimination trajectories were identified: low-increasing, moderate-stable, and high-decreasing. The results also revealed that neighborhood Chinese concentration and adolescents' acculturation predicted discrimination trajectories. Different trajectories were also associated with depressive symptoms; adolescents in the high-decreasing trajectory reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in late adolescence than in the other two trajectories. The findings highlight the heterogeneity in Chinese American adolescents' discrimination experience.     

Educational identity and maternal helicopter parenting: Moderation by the perceptions of environmental threat

This four-wave study examined longitudinal associations between maternal helicopter parenting and college students' educational identity processes over 1 year, as well as the moderating effects of mothers' perceived environmental threats (i.e., uncertainty and competition). Participants were 349 first-year university students (39.8% male, M_age = 18.20) and their mothers (M_age = 49.10) in Hong Kong. Latent class growth analysis identified two subgroups based on levels of mothers' threat perceptions (i.e., lower vs. higher). Multi-group random-intercept cross-lagged models found that, at the within-person level, students' reconsideration of educational commitments positively predicted helicopter parenting only for mothers with higher threat perceptions. These findings mainly support youth-driven effects on overbearing parenting behaviors. Mothers' threat perceptions might exacerbate these excessive responses to youth's academic turbulence.     

Black adolescents' racial discrimination and suicide behaviors: Testing perceived school safety as a protective moderator

The current study examined associations between Black adolescents' (M_age = 15.55, SD = 1.23) racial discrimination and suicide behaviors (i.e., suicide ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempts), and whether perceived school safety was a protective moderator. Furthermore, we tested gender differences in relations, which were not significant. Racial discrimination predicted greater suicide behaviors, and school safety informed less suicide behaviors. School safety moderated the relation between discrimination and suicide plan, such that at low school safety, discrimination predicted having a suicide plan but was not significant at high school safety. Furthermore, school safety moderated the relation between discrimination and suicide attempts. At low school safety, discrimination predicted more suicide attempts, but was not significant at high school safety.