Validating the Scale Measuring Dysfunctional Parenting with Hong Kong Adolescents

Dysfunctional parenting in situations requiring discipline is an important issue in Hong Kong. However, few scales for measuring dysfunctional parenting have been validated in the local context. The current study validated, with a sample of Hong Kong adolescents, a dysfunctional parenting scale that has been widely adopted in the West. A total of 965 adolescent students (males 43.3%, mean age 14.6, and range 12–18) were recruited for this study. Principal component analysis with varimax rotations and Tucker’s congruence coefficient were adopted to examine the factor structure of the scale and its stability. Cronbach’s alpha and correlation analysis were used to assess the internal consistency and the convergent and divergent validity of the scale and of each subscale identified. Three stable factors (laxness, overreactivity, and verbosity) were extracted, and their individual items demonstrated good internal consistency. The convergent and divergent validity of the scale (and subscales) were confirmed by its positive association with the material hardship of the families, the parental stress, and the antisocial behavior of the adolescents, their haughtiness and loneliness, and by its negative association with the adolescents’ social skills. Unlike previous studies that investigated parents’ rearing of young children, where verbosity was not detected as a significant factor, in adolescents, verbosity was detected as a factor affecting discipline. For adolescents in Hong Kong, verbosity is shown to be a dysfunctional parenting behavior; this is also true of Western adolescents but differs from traditional Chinese cultural beliefs.     

Identifying and Distinguishing Value Profiles in American and Israeli Adolescents

Although research has examined how values are correlated with behavior, little has examined how the system of values predicts behavior. In a cross‐cultural sample of American (109 European American; 216 African American) and Israeli (318 Arab Israeli; 216 Jewish Israeli) adolescents, the present study used latent profile analysis to identify groups which reflected the theoretical structure of values across both cultures. Four profiles were found: self‐focused, anxiety‐free, other‐focused, and undifferentiated. Results indicated that Self‐Focused adolescents were the most aggressive and viewed as leaders by their peers compared to the other groups. Self‐Focused and anxiety‐free youth reported more delinquency than their peers. Few differences between cultural groups emerged, suggesting that this approach is a promising avenue for understanding heterogeneity in behavior.     

Gewalt als Reaktion auf Anerkennungsdefizite?

Violence between adolescents is primarily a male phenomenon. For this reason, the analysis of violent behavior focuses on 4.213 male adolescents from three different backgrounds: adolescents of Turkish descent, late migrants from Russia and Poland (Aussiedler) and native Germans. They all are attending schools (10th grade) in Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany. The data have been provided by the Youth-Survey 2001 of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (IKG). The theoretical framework is provided by the theory of disintegration developed at the IKG. In comparison to Germans, Turkish adolescents show a higher rate of violence. The bivariate effect of Turkish descent on violent behavior can in multivariate logistic regression analysis partly be explained by a lack of recognition at the institutional and at the socio-structural dimensions of integration: In comparison to Germans, Turkish adolescents experience more discrimination, both in their daily life and in their school career. Those German adolescents and late migrants who suffer from a comparable degree of discrimination show similar patterns of violent behavior. Lack of recognition at the socio-emotional dimension (i.e. the relationship with the parents) have a smaller effect on violent behavior. In sum, especially the accumulation of deficits at different dimensions of integration in Germany heightens the risk for violent action.     

Friday on My Mind: The Relation of Partying With Antisocial Behavior of Early Adolescents. The TRAILS Study

The relation between partying and antisocial behavior was investigated using a sample of Dutch early adolescents (T2: N=1,076; M age=13.52). Antisocial behavior was divided into rule‐breaking and aggressive behavior. Using a goal‐framing approach, it was argued that the relation of partying to antisocial behavior depends on the way the need to belong is realized. Girls, in early adolescence often physically more mature than boys, are likely to seek older and, thus, often more antisocial boys for partying. Unpopular adolescents are likely to be among themselves when partying, and their feeling of exclusion is likely to lead to antisocial behavior. The findings show that girls who party are indeed at a greater risk of engaging in antisocial behavior, as are unpopular girls and boys.     

Risk Factors of Sexual Harassment by Peers: A Longitudinal Investigation of African American and European American Adolescents

The present research explores risk factors for, and longitudinal associations of, sexual harassment by peers during adolescence. Eight‐hundred and seventy‐two African American and European American adolescents (65.4% African American, 51.1% females) were assessed during the summer after the eighth grade (mean age=14.2 years) and then again in the 11th grade (mean age=17.1 years). At the first assessment, adolescents were asked about their experiences with sexual harassment, their psychological reactions to sexual harassment, and also about their peer relationships, perceived pubertal timing, problem behavior, and mental health. At the second assessment, adolescents reported on their problem behavior and mental health. In general, youth who associated with peers who were involved in problem behavior were at risk for victimization. Among females, those who perceived themselves to be experiencing early pubertal development were also at risk. Additionally, for some adolescents, sexual harassment predicted later adjustment difficulties.     

Nonresident fathers' involvement and adolescents' smoking

Although prior research has shown that adolescents from divorced and separated households are more likely to smoke than their peers from intact families, few studies have addressed factors that may minimize this risk, such as the role of involvement by nonresident fathers. A sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) is used to examine the longitudinal effects of nonresident fathers 'involvement, changes in involvement, and fathers' modeling of smoking behavior on the probability that adolescents will begin smoking regularly. Results indicate that adolescents who are more involved with their fathers are less likely to begin smoking regularly, that changes in involvement over time predict changes in the probability that adolescents will begin to smoke regularly, and that fathers' smoking also affects this outcome. Implications for theory and public policy are discussed.     

On a Roll: The Process of Initiation and Cessation of Problem Gambling Among Adolescents

As gambling becomes more accessible and acceptable in society, problems associated with gambling and gaming have begun to affect ever increasing numbers of adolescents. Although restricted from most forms of gambling by law, many adolescents are finding a path into problem gambling. Some are becoming compulsive gamblers early in their gambling career, facing a future filled with consequences and problems. Understanding the pathway or process by which these adolescents become engaged in gambling behavior and how they can extricate themselves from this addictive behavior can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our interventions. This article offers a perspective on the initiation and cessation of compulsive gambling using the basic elements of the process of intentional behavior change outlined in the Stages of Change from the Transtheoretical Model. The process of initiation of a problematic behavior is similar to the process of modification or cessation of a problematic behavior in terms of these stages of change. With adolescents it is important to distinguish between the process of initiation, which has implications for prevention of gambling problems, and the process of cessation, which often necessitates the assistance of treatment. Creating interventions that parallel the process of change offers the potential for personalizing and potentiating efforts to reduce the prevalence and consequences associated with compulsive or pathological and problem gambling. Application of this model to gambling behavior offers a heuristic that is intriguing and requires substantiation through rigorous research.     

Internet lives: social context and moral domain in adolescent development

The author examines the thinking and behavior of adolescents within the digital world. What does all this instant messaging and blogging outside school hours mean? Why do adolescents do it? How much time do they spend doing it? How does it shape their social, emotional, and moral development? Bradley describes the phenomenon and explores some moral development ramifications of a new context of social experience for adolescents. It proposes that the digital world creates its own social context, with a different set of social conventions from the adult-mediated "real" world that adolescents also inhabit. It is a social context that most adults are aware of but do not understand. Adolescents' experiences in the online world influence their experiences in the face-to-face world and play an important role in the development of their social and moral knowledge. This chapter places the discussion within the context of literature on youth ethics that has been developed based on more traditional settings.     

Nonverbal Deception Abilities and Adolescents' Social Competence: Adolescents with Higher Social Skills are Better Liars

High and low socially-skilled adolescents, ranging in age from 11 to 16 years, were led to be verbally deceptive or truthful about their enjoyment of a drink that either tasted good or bad. Short, silent videotaped samples of the adolescents while they were being deceptive or truthful were shown to a group of judges, who were asked to indicate how much each adolescent actually enjoyed the drink on the basis of their nonverbal behavior. Results indicated that, as predicted, adolescents with higher levels of social competence were generally better at deceiving than adolescents of lower social competence. However, these findings held primarily for younger adolescents. Furthermore, older adolescents were better at being deceptive than younger ones, and younger females were more proficient liars than younger males.     

Retrospective Paternal and Maternal Parenting Styles,Regulatory Self-Efficacy and Adolescent Risk Taking

This study aims to calculate a scaled risk-taking behavior index and to test a model in which maternal and paternal parenting styles affect risk-taking behavior with a mediation of adolescents’ regulatory self-efficacy. Participants were 816 adolescents (44% males) responding to a self-report questionnaire about their risk-taking behavior, regulatory self-efficacy, and retrospective memories of paternal and maternal parenting styles. Results suggested an item rating in the index showing that behaviors considered less risky referred to alcohol use and the unplanned first sexual intercourse, whereas behaviors considered more risky referred to the lack of use of contraceptives and the age of the first sexual intercourse. Results revealed a significant indirect effect of authoritative and authoritarian styles on risk-taking behavior. These styles shaped the adolescents’ regulatory self-efficacy, which in turn predicted adolescent risk-taking behavior. Results underline the complex interplay of relationships between parents and their children.     

Associations between discussions of racial and ethnic differences in internationally adoptive families and delinquent behavior among Korean adopted adolescents

Internationally adopted adolescents may have more delinquent behavior than non-adopted adolescents. One explanation is that these adolescents experience discrimination and loss of culture, and adoptive parents are not adequately addressing these experiences. However, studies have not examined the effects of family discussions of racial and ethnic differences within adoptive families on adopted adolescents' delinquent behavior. To test this relationship, this study utilized data from 111 U.S. internationally adoptive families with 185 South Korean adopted adolescents (55% female, M age = 17.75). During an observational assessment, families discussed the importance of their racial and ethnic differences, and adolescents completed a delinquent behavior questionnaire. Analysis of covariance showed differences in adolescent delinquent behavior across three ways adoptive families discussed racial and ethnic differences; adolescents whose families acknowledged differences had the fewest mean delinquent behaviors. There were no significant differences in delinquent behavior between adolescents whose families acknowledged or rejected the importance of racial and ethnic differences. However, adopted adolescents whose families held discrepant views of differences had significantly more problem behavior than adolescents whose families either acknowledged or rejected the importance of racial and ethnic differences. Clinicians, adoption professionals, and other parenting specialists should focus on building cohesive family identities about racial and ethnic differences, as discrepant views of differences are associated with the most adoptee delinquent behavior.     

The Inside Out? Views of Young People,Parents, and Professionals Regarding Successful Secure Residential Care

Although adolescents often seem to improve in their functioning during residential care, there still is little knowledge on what factors are important in achieving these changes. The present study aims to identify the care factors that are important for adolescents’ behavior change during secure residential care. We conducted in-depth interviews with eight adolescents, their parents, eight group care workers and seven teachers concerning their in-care experiences. Both adolescents and parents commonly attributed changes during secure residential care to the treatment environment. Group care workers and teachers did not have a clear, consistent view on the treatment aspects causing positive change with the adolescents. According to the adolescents, good professionals apply a fine balance between rules and freedom, show empathy and are available for support. The view of parents corresponds to this image. Although group care workers are perceived as available for support, adolescents tend to make little use of this help if they experience personal problems during care. The results highlight the importance of responsiveness of secure residential care professionals to the needs and perspectives of adolescents and parents.     

Self-harm among adolescents with developmental disabilities. What are they trying to tell us?

Self-harm behavior exhibited by adolescents with developmental disabilities can be the most challenging behavior for caregivers and health care professionals to address. Past interventions have taken a behavioral approach and focused on functional analysis to guide assessment and treatment. However, self-harm behavior is becoming more recognized as a means of communication. Therefore, it is important for health care professionals and caregivers to listen to adolescents' attempts to communicate and try to understand the meaning of the behavior. Early assessment is crucial to understanding the meaning of the behavior, and early intervention is necessary to prevent escalation or chronicity. Thorough assessment guides interventions and must be implemented in the context of clients' families and social world, and the broader community. Establishment of trusting relationships among adolescents, their families, and health care professionals is imperative. This article discusses self-harm behavior from a psychosocial perspective related to prevalence, onset, purpose, maintenance, and escalation. It also introduces a comprehensive framework to guide assessment and intervention.     

Community,Family, and Individual Factors Associated with Adolescents’ Vulnerability,Daily Stress,and Well-being Following Family Separation

ABSTRACT

This study identified correlates of resilience among adolescents from separated families. Twenty-four adolescents (age 9–14 years) and their parents completed measures of sociodemographic risk and protective factors, interparental conflict, and adolescent responses to conflict. Adolescents reported their behavior, learning, mood, and anxiety difficulties as well as their stress and well-being using a 5-day diary. Resilient adolescents reported more constructive family representations, reported lower interparental conflict, and were from schools and neighborhoods that were more advantaged. Resilient adolescents reported significantly less stress across the diary days than vulnerable adolescents. The results of this study highlight the role of sociodemographic factors, family functioning, and adolescents’ own individual characteristics in their adjustment to their parents’ separation.     

上海青少年创造力发展状况最新调查

上海作为我国社会改革、经济发展的前沿阵地,在强化青少年创新教育项目上发展较快。对当前上海中小学生的创造力发展状态及创新环境的调查表明:上海青少年创造力的总体水平为中等偏上,呈现出随年级升高而下降的趋势,并与学业成绩呈现出高度正相关关系;他们的想象力和参与创新活动的积极性有待提高,并且成绩越好的上海青少年越重视创新能力锻炼;他们认为恒心、自信和好奇心是最重要的创新品质;同时,教师的创新态度良好,但学校创新资源仍不充分,并且他们的创造力行为仅能获得不到四成家长的支持;因此,要提高上海青少年学生创造力的整体水平,仍需要学生、家长、学校、政府和社会等各方面的共同努力。     

Development of Financial Capacity in Adolescents

This study aims to check whether the framework of developing financial capacity of adolescents is similar as that of college students, as well as whether adolescence, compared to college age, is the better age for objective financial knowledge to trigger the positive cycle of developing financial capacity. Using a convenience sample of 967 adolescent students from five Hong Kong secondary schools, this study conducted structural equation modeling to evaluate the development of financial capacity. Both subjective and objective financial knowledge in adolescents can be internalized into financial self-beliefs. Subsequently, these self-beliefs influence their financial behavior. The effect of objective financial knowledge on the financial self-beliefs, which is weak for college students, was much stronger for adolescents. The framework of developing financial capacity of adolescents is similar as that of college students. Adolescence, compared to college age, is the better age for objective financial knowledge to trigger the positive cycle of developing financial capacity.     

Adolescent American Sex

SUMMARY

Though there has been a decline in the percentage of sexually active high school students in the past decade in the United States, the rate of adolescents engaging in sexual behavior leading to orgasm has actually increased. Such orgasms are achieved without penetration and penetration is how most American adolescents define sex. Most adolescent sex also occurs within intimate relationships with partners at or near their own age but definitions of what constitutes intimacy is different than in the past. Sexuality is very important in the life of adolescents in the United States, and sexual activity broadly defined begins fairly early among teenagers although actual sexual intercourse usually takes place much later.     

Adolescent sexuality and peer pressure

It appears that adolescents are becoming sexually active at younger ages than in past generations. How much are they influenced by their peers to become sexually active? A study of 89 adolescent girls in a parochial high school in Manhattan showed that adolescent girls are influenced by their peers when they decide to become sexually active; however, they do not see themselves influenced by their peers. Adolescents appear to have internalized their peers opinions. If adolescents are becoming sexually active at younger ages, they need to be given adequate information to allow them to make informed decisions about their behavior; thus balancing the influence of peer groups.     

The mediational effect of affect regulation on the relationship between attachment and internalizing/externalizing behaviors in adolescent males who have sexually offended

Research has shown that adults who sexually offend frequently report perpetrating a sexual offense for the first time during childhood/adolescence; therefore in this preliminary study, we examine the possible covariates related to offending sexually in adolescents. For this study, 62 incarcerated adolescents at a correctional facility in Alabama completed self-report questionnaires regarding demographic information, internalizing/externalizing behavior problems, attachment, and affect regulation. The results of this study indicate that attachment is related to internalizing and externalizing behaviors, as well as, both adaptive affect regulation and maladaptive affect regulation. Through path analyses, this study was the first to test and find that affect regulation ability mediated the relationship between attachment and externalizing behavior; however, it did not mediate the relationship between attachment and internalizing behavior. Interestingly, maladaptive affect regulation appeared to have a stronger influence on problem behaviors than adaptive affect regulation for these adolescents. The findings from this study could help professionals identify more successful therapeutic interventions for these adolescents and consequently prevent later sexual offending and further negative, individual or societal outcomes.