Mother–Adolescent and Father–Adolescent Relationships After Divorce: Relations with Emerging Adults’ Romantic Attachment

This longitudinal study examined relations between mother–child relationship quality and father support in adolescence (ages 15–19) and emerging adults’ (ages 24–28) romantic anxiety and avoidance in a sample that experienced parental divorce in childhood (n = 72). A significant interactive effect of mother–adolescent relationship quality and father support on romantic anxiety occurred. High levels of father support protected emerging adults from the negative effects of a low quality mother–adolescent relationship. These results highlight the importance of examining effects of one parental relationship in the context of the other and the role that nonresidential fathers play in influencing their offspring’s romantic attachment.     

“To get the word out”: LGBTQ+ Young adults’ motivations for participating in qualitative research studies

Understanding why socially marginalized individuals, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ+) people, participate in research can improve qualitative research designs, as well as social services and policies. In providing a participant-centered foundation, we interviewed 65 LGBTQ+ young adults and asked “Why are certain LGBTQ+ young adults motivated to engage in qualitative social science studies?” Many LGBTQ+ young people said they were committed to enacting social change and promoting advocacy. Participants also highlighted supporting scientific research and knowledge production. Finally, LGBTQ?+ participants engaged with research to introspectively analyze their identity development processes. These findings can facilitate access to socially vulnerable and underrepresented groups through a methodological focus on participant benefits.     

Parental Alienation: A Measurement Tool

The Rowlands Parental Alienation Scale (RPAS) was administered to 592 parents along with measures of convergent and discriminant validity. The scale was designed to capture the eight domains of parental alienating behavior posited in the literature. Factor analysis extracted only six factors, one of which was not included in the original eight: (a) campaign of denigration towards the alienated parent, (b) the independent thinker phenomenon, (c) reflexive support, (d) presence of borrowed scenarios, (e) spread of animosity to extended family, and (f) lack of positive affect towards the alienated parent. Parents who reported either that a court evaluation or court findings had confirmed the presence of parental alienation scored significantly higher on all six RPAS factors as well as on the overall RPAS score.     

Emerging Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms Underlying Pubertal Maturation in Adolescence

The adolescent transition begins with the onset of puberty which, upstream in the brain, is initiated by the gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse generator that activates the release of peripheral sex hormones. Substantial research in human and animal models has revealed a myriad of cellular networks and heritable genes that control the GnRH pulse generator allowing the individual to begin the process of reproductive competence and sexual maturation. Here, we review the latest knowledge in neuroendocrine pubertal research with emphasis on genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying the pubertal transition.     

Association between sexually explicit messages and sleep health among French sexual minority men

It has been demonstrated that sexual minority men (SMM) participate in sexting. While research has shown that engagement in the exchange of sexually explicit media is associated with poor health outcomes, no previous research has investigated its association with sleep health outcomes. This study sought to examine the association between sexually explicit media and sleep health among SMM, a population that suffers from poor sleep health. A popular geosocial networking application was used to recruit SMM individuals (N?=?580) in the Paris, France, metropolitan area. Multivariate analyses, adjusting for sociodemographics, were used to test the association between the frequency of sexually explicit messaging and three dimensions of sleep health: (1) sleep quality, (2) sleep duration, and (3) two aspects of sleep problems. In multivariate analyses, those who reported engaging in sexually explicit messaging more were more likely to report getting less than seven?hours of sleep (aRR = 1.24; 95% CI = 1.08, 1.43) compared with those who reported engaging in sexually explicit messaging less. No significant associations were found between sexting and sleep quality or reporting sleep problems. Sexually explicit messaging was associated with shorter sleep duration. Intervention targeted at individuals who sext could potentially improve sleep health outcomes.     

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.     

The belonging model of trust

Although we know that high‐quality employee–organization relationships are beneficial, these relationships are complex and not fully understood, especially among employees of nonprofit organizations. In particular, we know little about how these employees perceive trust, which may overlook an important contributor to effective management. We begin to address this issue by testing a new theoretical model that conceptualizes perceived insider status, psychological ownership, and organizational identification as foundations for the perception of justice and subsequent trust. Our results indicate that psychological ownership and perceived insider status relate to trust through procedural and interpersonal justice. These results contrast those typically found in for‐profit contexts in that organizational identification did not predict justice and that distributive and informational justice did not predict trust.     

Talking Turkey: Effects of Family Discussions About the 2016 Election over the Thanksgiving Holiday

Four hundred and seventy-nine undergraduates reported on family discussions about the 2016 election that occurred over that same year’s Thanksgiving break. Family Communication Patterns Theory was used to predict the perceived outcomes of such discussion on family members. Higher conversation orientation predicted a more positive perceived effect of political talk on family closeness. Perceived similarity of political views partially moderated the relationship between conformity orientation and perceived effect of political talk on family closeness. Reported stress levels since the election were negatively predicted by the perceived (positive) effect of political talk on family closeness. Practical and theoretical implications for families and political socialization processes are discussed.