Variability and change in adolescents' prosocial behavior across multiple time scales

We examined variability and change in adolescents' prosocial behaviors directed to peers and friends across four time scales: two-years, one-year, two-monthly, and daily. Data from three longitudinal datasets with a total of 569 adolescents (55.7% girl, M_age = 15.23, SD = 3.90) were included. The overall time-related stability of prosocial behavior across time scales was moderate to excellent. Variability did not differ between early (age 10–15) and late (age 16–21) adolescence, but late adolescence was associated with higher mean levels of prosociality. Finally, results indicated that prosocial behaviors measured over longer periods (i.e., two-years and one-year) were positively associated with cognitive processes (perspective taking), whereas prosocial behaviors measured over shorter periods (i.e., two-monthly) were positively associated with affective processes (empathy).     

Socioeconomic hardship,uncertainty about the future,and adolescent mental wellbeing over a year during the COVID-19 pandemic

Socioeconomic vulnerabilities put adolescents at risk for mental wellbeing issues, also in times of a pandemic. In the present longitudinal online survey study, we explored changes in mental wellbeing (i.e., mood and life satisfaction) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, we examined how socioeconomic hardship in online home schooling predicted adolescents’ mental wellbeing 1 year later. Third, we tested whether this relation was mediated by feelings of uncertainty about the future. Fourth, we tested whether this relation was moderated (in terms of a protective factor) by self-efficacy. In total, 177 Dutch-speaking adolescents aged 10–18 years (M_age = 15.64, SD_age = 1.72, 79% females) participated in all three 6-month separated waves (T1 = May 2020, T2 = November 2020, and T3 = May 2021). Mood results demonstrated that feelings of vigor decreased between T1 and T2, and feelings of tension and depression increased between T1, T2, and T3. Socioeconomic hardship in online home schooling in the early phase of the pandemic was negatively associated with both baseline mental wellbeing and 1 year later. Socioeconomic hardship at T1 predicted higher feelings of future uncertainty at T2, and higher levels of future uncertainty were associated with lower feelings of vigor, and higher feelings of tension and depression at T3. However, we found no evidence for mediation or moderation effects. In conclusion, the present findings illustrate the complexity of disentangling the adverse effects of socioeconomic hardship on adolescent mental wellbeing.     

Cognitive reappraisal and need to belong predict prosociality in Mexican-origin adolescents

This 2-year longitudinal study examined Mexican-origin adolescents’ need to belong and cognitive reappraisal as predictors of multiple forms of prosocial behavior (i.e., general, emotional, and public prosocial behaviors). Prosocial behaviors, which are actions intended to benefit others, are hallmarks of social proficiency in adolescence and are influenced by intrapersonal abilities and motivations that typically develop during adolescence. Yet, few studies of Mexican-origin or other U.S. Latinx youths have examined whether such individual difference characteristics, specifically social motivation and emotion regulation skills, support prosocial behavior. In a sample of 229 Mexican-origin youth (M_age = 17.18 years, SD = .42, 110 girls), need to belong, cognitive reappraisal, and general prosocial behaviors were assessed at ages 17 and 19. Emotional and public forms of prosociality also were assessed at age 19. Cognitive reappraisal was positively associated with concurrent general prosociality at age 17, whereas need to belong was positively associated with concurrent public prosociality at age 19. Moderation analyses revealed that general and emotional types of prosocial behaviors at age 19 were lowest for youth with both lower need to belong and less use of cognitive reappraisal at 19 years. Greater cognitive reappraisal skills and need to belong may reflect distinct motivations for engaging in varying forms of prosocial behavior in late adolescence.     

Natural cubic splines for the analysis of Alzheimer's clinical trials

Mixed model repeated measures (MMRM) is the most common analysis approach used in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease and other progressive diseases measured with continuous outcomes over time. The model treats time as a categorical variable, which allows an unconstrained estimate of the mean for each study visit in each randomized group. Categorizing time in this way can be problematic when assessments occur off-schedule, as including off-schedule visits can induce bias, and excluding them ignores valuable information and violates the intention to treat principle. This problem has been exacerbated by clinical trial visits which have been delayed due to the COVID19 pandemic. As an alternative to MMRM, we propose a constrained longitudinal data analysis with natural cubic splines that treats time as continuous and uses test version effects to model the mean over time. Compared to categorical-time models like MMRM and models that assume a proportional treatment effect, the spline model is shown to be more parsimonious and precise in real clinical trial datasets, and has better power and Type I error in a variety of simulation scenarios.