The Interplay Between Adolescents' Friendships and the Exchange of Help: A Longitudinal Multiplex Social Network Study

The aim of this study was to unravel the interrelatedness of friendship and help, and to examine the characteristics of friendship and help networks. The effects of mutual versus one‐sided help relations on friendship initiation and maintenance, and vice versa, were examined. Friendship and help networks were analyzed (N = 953 students; 41 classrooms; M_age = 12.7). The results illustrate that friendship and help networks show some similarities, but only partly overlap and have distinct characteristics. Longitudinal multiplex social network analyses showed that mutual help was important for the maintenance of friendship, but not for the initiation of friendship. Further, particularly mutual friendships provided a context in which help took place. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

A Multivariate Analysis of Bivariate Attitude-Behavior Relationships Based on Marginal Popularities*

The results of a contextual analysis of bivariate attitude-behavior findings, which is based on marginal popularities, are presented. The substantial rise in consistency as the popularity of behavior increases suggests that behavioral popularity has a strong contextual effect on the attitude-behavior relationship. Attitudinal popularity, however, is not positively related to consistency. The implications of the findings for the reference group approach to the attitude-behavior problem are considered, and it is suggested that the behavioral popularities may be indexing behavioral climates that are affecting consistency. An alternative individual-level behavioral competency interpretation of the results is also discussed.     

Family Environment and Adolescents' Well‐Being Before and After Parents' Marital Disruption: A Longitudinal Analysis

Although previous research has noted that children of divorce tend to fare less well than peers raised in families with two biological parents, much less is known about how parents' marital disruption affects children as a continuous process in its different phases. Based on two waves of a large, nationally representative panel, this study demonstrates that even before the disruption, both male and female adolescents from families that subsequently dissolve exhibit more academic, psychological, and behavioral problems than peers whose parents remain married. Families on the verge of breakup are also characterized by less intimate parent‐parent and parent‐child relationships, less parental commitment to children's education, and fewer economic and human resources. These differences in family environment account for most well‐being deficits among adolescents in predisrupted families. Furthermore, the deterioration in different domains of the family environment appears to be associated with maladjustment in different aspects of children's lives. The postdisruption effects on adolescents can either be totally or largely predicted by predisruption factors and by changes in family circumstances during the period coinciding with the disruption. Finally, the analyses indicate that female adolescents are as likely to be affected by the parental divorce process as male adolescents.     

Longitudinal Consistency in Self-Reported Age of First Vaginal Intercourse among Young Adults

We examined consistency in self-reports of age at first vaginal sex among 9,399 male and female respondents who participated in Waves III and IV (separated by approximately seven years) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Respondents were coded as consistent if they reported an age at first vaginal intercourse at Wave IV that was within one year of the age they reported at Wave III. Sociodemographic, behavioral, and cognitive predictors of consistency were examined using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Overall, 85.43% of respondents were able to provide consistent reports. Among both males and females, consistency was associated with age, years since first vaginal intercourse, race/ethnicity, and lifetime number of other-sex partners in final multivariate models. Respondents who were older and had more recently had their first sexual experience were more likely to be consistent. For females only, those who reported a history of nonparental, physically forced sex were less likely to be consistent. Most young adults consistently report age at first vaginal intercourse, supporting the credibility of retrospective self-reports about salient sexual events such as timing of first vaginal intercourse.     

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.     

Self-Exclusion Program: A Longitudinal Evaluation Study

Few self-exclusion programs have been evaluated and their long-term impact remains unknown. This study has two main goals: (1) to assess changes in gambling behaviour and gambling problems for self-excluded patrons, and (2) to follow self-excluded gamblers for a two-year period (during and after the self-exclusion period). Individuals who excluded themselves (N = 161 at the initial stage) participated in telephone interviews after signing the self-exclusion agreement and were followed at 6, 12, 18 and 24-months. Results show that according to the DSM-IV, 73.1% of the participants were pathological gamblers. The self-exclusion program has many positive effects. During the follow-ups, the urge to gamble was significantly reduced while the perception of control increased significantly for all participants. The intensity of negative consequences for gambling was significantly reduced for daily activities, social life, work, and mood. The DSM score was significantly reduced over time. This reduction also took place between the baseline and the 6-month follow-up. The clinical implications of the results are discussed in relation to the effectiveness of the program. Suggestions are provided in order to increase compliance of self-excluded patrons.     

Post-Separation Conflict Trajectories: A Longitudinal Study

Although previous studies have shown that parental separation and parental conflict contribute independently to the adaptation difficulties of young people, there is, as of yet, no precise portrait of how post-separation conflicts evolve. Indeed, some fundamental questions remain unanswered: (1) Do parents who experience few conflicts during their break-up continue to enjoy a harmonious relationship afterward? (2) When parents have a conflictual relationship in the first years after separating, do problems eventually subside? (3) Are a family's characteristics associated with the way a post-separation conflict evolves? The present, exploratory study attempts to provide some answers to these three questions. The sample was composed of 123 boys and girls from 8 to 11 years old. The children and their parents were interviewed on two separate occasions at a 1-year interval. The first interview (time 1) took place 2.5 years after the separation on average. The children were notably asked to give their perception of the parental conflict. Four post-separation conflict trajectories were brought to light. Analysis also targeted three more-specific variables that distinguished these conflict trajectories, namely family income, quality of the relationship with the mother, and the degree of agreement at the time of separation.     

The Longitudinal Interplay of Maternal Warmth and Adolescents' Self‐Disclosure in Predicting Maternal Knowledge

This study examined the longitudinal associations among maternal warmth, adolescents' self‐disclosure, and maternal knowledge during the transition to adolescence. Three years of self‐report data were collected from 131 married mothers and their adolescents. Results from longitudinal analysis using adolescent reports indicated that greater maternal warmth in sixth grade predicted higher levels of adolescents' self‐disclosure in seventh grade, which in turn led to higher levels of maternal knowledge in eighth grade. Thus, adolescents' self‐disclosure served as an indirect link between higher maternal warmth and greater knowledge over time. An alternative model with prior self‐disclosure predicting subsequent maternal warmth and knowledge was not supported. Overall, this study demonstrated a time‐ordered process by which maternal warmth and adolescents' self‐disclosure predict maternal knowledge. Understanding such processes that affect parental knowledge may be beneficial for future prevention and intervention efforts during the transition to adolescence.     

Nonmetropolitan Sex-Role Ideologies: A Longitudinal Study1

Abstract Using the two waves (1987–1988 and 1992–1994) from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), I focused on the 3,792 Main Respondents (MRs) living in sexual unions at Wave 1 who, along with the spouse or domestic partner, were successfully recontacted at Wave 2. MRs from both formal marriages and nonmarital cohabitations were included. An identically worded set of questions about proper roles for men and women was posed to each member of the pair at Wave 1 and again at Wave 2. An Exploratory Factor Analysis uncovered two factors. A conservative orientation on the Sexuality/Reproduction Factor (#1) defined legal marriage as the only acceptable domain for sexual intercourse, pregnancy, and childbirth. An orthodox perspective on the Childcare Factor (#2) assigned mothers the primary responsibility for the care of young children and men responsibility for earning the main living. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that nonmetro residents would be more conservative on both sex-role dimensions than metro residents at Wave 1, would be slower than metro residents to adopt more egalitarian attitudes, and thus would remain more traditional on both sex-role dimensions at Wave 2. The influence of nonmetro-to-metro and metro-to-nonmetro migration, as well as the sway over attitudes of the spouse/partner, was taken into account.     

Administrative Practices in American Unions: A Longitudinal Study

Using data collected from surveys conducted in 1990 and 2000, we examine changes in the administrative practices of US-based national and international unions. We examine the hiring, human resource, financial, strategic planning, and organizational practices and how they have changed over time. We find that unions are changing their staff hiring practices in ways that contribute to workforce professionalization and that unions are moving toward more formal human resource policies and more systematic financial and strategic planning practices. These developments appear to be a reaction to the unions’ changing operating environment and reflect the pressure on union leaders to make effective use of their declining resources.

Parenting Practices and Adolescent Sexual Behavior: A Longitudinal Study

The effects of parental attitudes, practices, and television mediation on adolescent sexual behaviors were investigated in a study of adolescent sexuality and media (N = 887). Confirmatory factor analyses supported an eight‐factor parenting model with television mediation factors as constructs distinct from general parenting practices. Logistic regressions indicated that adolescents reporting greater parental disapproval and limits on viewing at Wave 1 were less likely to initiate oral sex between Waves 1 and 2. Adolescents who reported more sexual communication with parents were more likely to initiate oral sex. Results for vaginal intercourse were similar to those for oral sex. Coviewing was a significant negative predictor of initiation of sexual behavior. Parental attitudes and television mediation can delay potentially risky adolescent sexual behaviors.     

Nursing-Home Resident Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Case Study Approach

Longitudinal quality-of-life (QOL) research incorporating multiple perspectives can add to knowledge about how nursing home residents experience QOL, but these methods are seldom used. This study employed interviews and participant observation to conduct multiple-perspective, longitudinal case studies of six residents. Close, reciprocal relationships with staff members, staff knowledge of residents, and autonomy were fundamental to QOL. Autonomy was experienced through choice and self-advocacy. Changes in QOL over time related to changes in resident health status, acclimation to the setting and family member availability. Study results may have implications for staffing and staff training.     

A Longitudinal Study of the Problems and Concerns of Urban Divorced Men

This study examined thoughts, problems, and con- cerns of urban divorced men at three points in time: during the first month of divorce (Time I), at six months (Time 2), and one year later (Time 3). Finances, social relationships, and loneliness were major areas of concern; problems in practical living were least troublesome. These men thought more about financial malters at Time 1 than aboul any of the other areas which were major concerns a year later. Statistically significant decreases existed between T i e s 1 and 2 concerning loneliness, reaction of friends to the divorce, reaction of relatives to the divorce, and also between Times 1 and 3 for h e latter two concerns. Five problem areas (loneliness, former spouse contacts, interpersonal relationships, control and compe- tence, discussing the dworce) were derived through factor analysis of problem and concern items. Statistically significant decreases between Times 1 and 2 and between Times 1 and 3 were found in loneliness and also in control and competence.     

A Case Study of Sample Design for Longitudinal Research: Young Lives

This paper presents a case study to illustrate the range of decisions involved in designing a sampling strategy for a complex, longitudinal research study. It is based on experience from the Young Lives project and identifies the approaches used to sample children for longitudinal follow‐up in four less developed countries (LDCs). The rationale for decisions made and the resulting benefits, and limitations, of the approaches adopted are discussed. Of particular importance is the choice of sampling approach to yield useful analysis; specific examples are presented of how this informed the design of the Young Lives sampling strategy.     

Therapy Outcome with Children in Foster Care: A Longitudinal Study

The present paper describes a naturalistic study of therapy with children in foster care. The goal was to attempt to begin to understand what happens to children in foster care while they are in therapy. The functioning of all children referred for therapy in a foster care agency was assessed as rated by different informants at different points in time over an 18-month period. These children present with low-level behavior problems but the level and type of problem they present with depends on the person rating the child and the child’s gender and age. Two thirds of the children improve and do so within the early stages of therapy. One third of the children do not improve. The distinguishing feature of this group appears to be the high level of aggressive behaviors reported at intake. Results suggest that improvement depends on the eye of the beholder. These findings are discussed and recommendations for therapeutic and systemic practice are made. The importance of using multiple informants when evaluating the treatment needs of children in care is pointed out as is the need to rethink therapeutic strategies with children that present with high levels of aggressive behavior at intake and show no improvement after the first 6 months of therapy.     

Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescents' Bullying‐Related Indirect Defending,Outsider Behavior,and Peer‐Group Status

During adolescence, youth become more likely to avoid involvement in witnessed bullying and less likely to support victims. It is unknown whether—and how—these bystander behaviors (i.e., outsider behavior and indirect defending) are associated with adolescents' peer‐group status (i.e., popularity and social acceptance) over time. Cross‐lagged path modeling was used to examine these longitudinal associations in a sample of 313 Dutch adolescents (M_age‐T1 = 10.3 years). The results showed that status longitudinally predicted behavior, rather than that behavior predicted status. Specifically, unpopularity predicted outsider behavior and social acceptance predicted indirect defending. These findings suggest that a positive peer‐group status can trigger adolescents' provictim stance. However, adolescents may also strategically avoid involvement in witnessed bullying to keep a low social profile.