Unraveling Prospective Reciprocal Effects between Parental Invalidation and Pre-Adolescents' Borderline Traits: Between- and Within-Family Associations and Differences with Common Psychopathology-Parenting Transactions

The etiology of borderline personality pathology has consistently been framed as an interactional process between child vulnerability (i.e. emotional sensitivity and reactivity; Linehan, 1993) and invalidating parenting strategies, which evolves into increased emotion dysregulation and disinhibited behavior of the child and in turn activates more parental invalidation. Despite the strong theoretical base in support of these high-risk parent-child transactions, invalidating parenting behaviors have mostly been explored as a cause of child dysregulation and disinhibition, rather than as a result of child-driven effects. Also, most transactional research in this regard focused at differences between families, thereby not addressing potential changes within families across time. The current study therefore examines bidirectional between- and within-family effects of childhood borderline-related traits and maternal invalidation in the sensitive developmental phase of pre-adolescence (n = 574; 54.4% girls) along three assessment points. Cross-Lagged Panel Models and Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models indicated detrimental parenting effects of invalidation on subsequent development in borderline-related traits of the child both between and within families, and additional child-driven effects for subsequent invalidating parenting strategies within families. Beyond these transactions between borderline-related traits and parenting, the current study also indicates significant differences in the direction of effects when exploring transactions between more common dimensions of child internalizing/externalizing symptomatology and parental invalidation, suggesting a more substantial parenting etiology in the developmental process of borderline traits throughout pre-adolescence. Future longitudinal research may explore to what extent the transactional nature of borderline personality traits during important developmental stages indeed holds unique aspects compared to more common manifestations of symptomatology at young age.

The Link between Parental Support and Adolescent Negative Mood in Daily Life: between-Person Heterogeneity in within-Person Processes

Lack of parental support is related to more adolescent negative mood. However, little is known about how fluctuations of parental support relate to fluctuations of negative mood within adolescents in daily life. The current study aimed to elucidate these processes at a day to day micro-level and examined to which extent adolescents would differ in the association between perceived parental support and adolescent negative mood. The sample consisted of 242 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 13.82, 63.2% female) who completed ecological momentary assessments of 3 weeks 3 months apart. Results from the multilevel regression analyses showed that, on average, adolescents experienced higher levels of negative mood on days when they perceived their parents to be less supportive. Substantial individual differences were found in this association, however, these were partially explained by the level of depressive symptoms and perceived parental intrusiveness. These findings suggest that advice on parental support should be tailored to the unique characteristics of the adolescent.

The social withdrawal and social anxiety feedback loop and the role of peer victimization and acceptance in the pathways

Social withdrawal and social anxiety are believed to have a bidirectional influence on one another, but it is unknown if their relationship is bidirectional, especially within person, and if peer experiences influence this relationship. We investigated temporal sequencing and the strength of effects between social withdrawal and social anxiety, and the roles of peer victimization and acceptance in the pathways. Participants were 2,772 adolescents from the population-based and clinically referred cohorts of the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey. Self- and parent-reported withdrawal, and self-reported social anxiety, peer victimization, and perceived peer acceptance were assessed at 11, 13, and 16 years. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were used to investigate within-person associations between these variables. There was no feedback loop between withdrawal and social anxiety. Social withdrawal did not predict social anxiety at any age. Social anxiety at 11 years predicted increased self-reported withdrawal at 13 years. Negative peer experiences predicted increased self- and parent-reported withdrawal at 13 years and increased parent-reported withdrawal at 16 years. In turn, self-reported withdrawal at 13 years predicted negative peer experiences at 16 years. In conclusion, adolescents became more withdrawn when they became more socially anxious or experienced greater peer problems, and increasing withdrawal predicted greater victimization and lower acceptance.

Social-Ecological Examination of Non-Consensual Sexting Perpetration among U.S. Adolescents

Adolescent sexting is a serious public health concern and is associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, declining academic performance, and health problems. Effective prevention of sexting requires a comprehensive and deep understanding of the multiple contexts whereby sexting is likely to occur. The present study explores individual and contextual risk and protective factors that are associated with sexting behavior among a large sample of adolescents. Participants were high school students in midwestern U.S. (N = 2501; LGB n = 309, 76.4% female; non-LGB n = 2192, 47.4% female) who completed self-report measures of sexting and risk (e.g., pornography exposure, impulsivity) and protective (e.g., social support) factors. Path analysis models were conducted with the sexting outcome for groups of LGB and non-LGB students. Among LGB students, results indicated a significant association between sexting and parental monitoring (b = −0.08, p < 0.01); pornography exposure (b = 0.13, p < 0.05); dating partners (b = 0.01, p < 0.01); bullying perpetration (b = 0.17, p < 0.001); and delinquency (b = 0.13; p < 0.001). Among non-LGB students, significant associations were found between sexting and alcohol/substance use (b = 0.05, p < 0.001); bullying (b = 0.08, p < 0.001); and delinquency (b = 0.06, p < 0.001). Moderation analyses suggest that parental monitoring may have a buffering effect between sexting and several risk factors. Recommendations for practitioners include considering the protective factors of sexting perpetration and encouraging appropriate levels of parental monitoring and the continued importance of bullying and alcohol and drug prevention programming to decrease risk factors of sexting perpetration.

Analysis of direction of association between radiation risk perception and relocation using a random-intercept and cross lagged panel model: The Fukushima Health Management Survey

In the aftermath of a nuclear disaster, a person's radiation risk perception can harm their sociopsychological health. Although there are reports of an association between radiation risk perception and relocation, the direction of this association has not been clarified yet. In this study, we used a random-intercept and cross lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to investigate the association and its direction between radiation risk perception and the prefectural-level relocation (i.e., inside/outside of Fukushima Prefecture). We did this by using five waves of longitudinal surveys between 2011 fiscal year and 2015 fiscal year among the people affected by the Fukushima disaster in 2011. We included 90,567 participants aged ≥15 years during the time of the disaster who responded to the questionnaire at least once. RI-CLPM was applied to examine the reciprocal relationship between radiation risk perception and locations. We used two radiation risk perception indicators (i.e., genetic effect and delayed effect) and two handling methods on missing data (i.e., listwise deletion and full information maximum likelihood estimation) as sensitive analyses. The effects of radiation risk perception on relocation were found to be negligibly small. Living inside Fukushima Prefecture reduced radiation risk perception irrespective of the difference of indicators or methods, highlighting that radiation risk perception did not dominantly govern whether people were living inside Fukushima Prefecture, but that the locations also affected radiation risk perception. This was the first study to reveal the direction of the association between radiation risk perception and relocation in the aftermath of nuclear disasters.

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Directionality between radiation risk perception and relocation is ambiguous.

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We analyzed the bidirectionality after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

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The effects of radiation risk perception on relocation are negligibly small.

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Living inside Fukushima Prefecture reduces radiation risk perception.

Description, prediction and causation: Methodological challenges of studying child and adolescent development

Scientific research can be categorized into: a) descriptive research, with the main goal to summarize characteristics of a group (or person); b) predictive research, with the main goal to forecast future outcomes that can be used for screening, selection, or monitoring; and c) explanatory research, with the main goal to understand the underlying causal mechanism, which can then be used to develop interventions. Since each goal requires different research methods in terms of design, operationalization, model building and evaluation, it should form an important basis for decisions on how to set up and execute a study. To determine the extent to which developmental research is motivated by each goal and how this aligns with the research designs that are used, we evaluated 100 publications from the Consortium on Individual Development (CID). This analysis shows that the match between research goal and research design is not always optimal. We discuss alternative techniques, which are not yet part of the developmental scientist's standard toolbox, but that may help bridge some of the lurking gaps that developmental scientists encounter between their research design and their research goal. These include unsupervised and supervised machine learning, directed acyclical graphs, Mendelian randomization, and target trials.

Internalizing Problems in Adolescence: Linking Loneliness, Social Anxiety Symptoms, and Depressive Symptoms Over Time

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to experiencing loneliness, social anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms. These internalizing problems often co-occur but, until now, it remains unclear how they are associated over time. Insight in these temporal sequences is important to enhance our understanding of how internalizing problems arise and may reinforce each other over time. To examine these temporal sequences, three samples of adolescents were used: Sample 1 consisted of 1,116 adolescents (48.97% girls, M_age = 13.59), Sample 2 of 1,423 adolescents (52.42% girls, M_age = 13.79), and Sample 3 of 549 adolescents (62.66% girls, M_age = 14.82). Adolescents filled out well-established self-report measures of loneliness, social anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms during regular school hours at three measurement occasions with a 1-year interval. Meta-analytic techniques were used to estimate the average true effects across three-variable autoregressive cross-lagged models in the three samples. In addition, indirect effects and gender differences in the temporal associations were explored in all three samples. The results suggest that social anxiety symptoms play a crucial role as potential antecedent of emerging feelings of loneliness and depression in adolescence. In addition, in line with theoretical expectations, our results suggest the presence of a vicious cycle between adolescents' feelings of loneliness and social anxiety symptoms. The indirect effects were inconsistent across samples and no gender differences were found. These findings shed more light on the unique temporal relationships among different internalizing problems. Clinical interventions should target social anxiety symptoms to prevent feelings of loneliness and vice versa.

Risk eating behaviors, perception of parental practices and assertive behaviors in high school students

Background: Late adolescence is considered a risk stage for psychological health. The objective of this research was evaluating the association among risk eating behaviors (REB), parental practices and assertive behavior in high school students according to sex. Method: With a non-experimental design and transversal study participated 200 students (104 men and 96 women) from a public high school with age mean of 16.52 (SD = 1.05 years), who after signing informed consent fulfilled the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT), the Scale of Parental Practices for Adolescents (PP-A) which has nine subscales, four towards the father (PPf) and five towards the mother (PPm) and the Assertive Behavior Scale (CABS), all of them validated for Mexican population. Results: Differential associations were found according to sex: in women, EAT-26-Total was associated with CABS-Total, parental Communication, maternal Imposition and maternal Psychological Control (rs = -.36, .25, -.28, -.36, respectively); but in men, was only associated with parental Imposition (rs = -.30). The CABS-Total was associated with all PPm subscales in women (range rs = .22 to .36) and in men only with Communication, Psychological and Behavioral Control (rs = .30 .35, -.23). Conclusion: The high school students –women to a greater degree– higher REB greater aggressive style (no assertiveness), greater maternal psychological control and less maternal behavioral control.

Effects of Parenting and Community Violence on Aggression-Related Social Goals: a Monozygotic Twin Differences Study

Community violence exposure and harsh parenting have been linked to maladaptive outcomes, possibly via their effects on social cognition. The Social Information Processing (SIP) model has been used to study distinct socio-cognitive processes, demonstrating links between community violence exposure, harsh parenting, and maladaptive SIP. Though much of this research assumes these associations are causal, genetic confounds have made this assumption difficult to rigorously test. Comparisons of discordant monozygotic (MZ) twins provide one empirical test of possible causality, as differences between MZ twins must be environmental in origin. The present study examined effects of parenting and community violence exposure on SIP - specifically aggressive and avoidant social goals - in a sample of 426 MZ twin dyads (N = 852 twins, 48% female). Phenotypically, we found that lower positive parenting and greater harsh parenting were associated with greater endorsement of dominance and revenge goals. We also found that indirect and direct community violence exposure was associated with greater endorsement of avoidance goals. Using an MZ difference design, we found that the relationships between lower levels of positive parenting and endorsement of dominance and revenge goals were due, in part, to environmental processes. Moreover, the relationships between the impact of indirect and direct community violence exposure and avoidance goals, as well as between the impact of indirect community violence exposure and revenge goals, appeared to be due to non-shared environmental processes. Our results establish social and contextual experiences as important environmental influences on children's social goals, which may increase risk for later psychopathology.

ADHD symptoms across adolescence: the role of the family and school climate and the DRD4 and 5-HTTLPR genotype

We examined bidirectional relations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and family and school climate, and the possible role of DRD4 and/or 5-HTTLPR genotypes herein. Three-wave longitudinal data of 1860 adolescents (mean ages 11, 13.5, and 16 years) from the general population and clinic-referred cohort of TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey were used. Using a multigroup Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model, we tested between-person (i.e., stable trait levels) and within-person (i.e., causal processes) associations across ADHD symptoms, family and school climate, and the extent to which these depended on genotype. Findings indicated no influence of genotype. Results did show significant between-person differences (ADHD symptoms with family climate r = .38; and school climate r = .23, p values < .001), indicating that higher stable levels of ADHD symptoms were associated with a less favorable family and school climate. Regarding within-person causal processes, ADHD symptoms predicted a less favorable family climate in early adolescence (β = .16, p < .01), while ADHD symptoms predicted a more favorable family climate in the later phase of adolescence (β = - .11, p < .01), a finding which we explain by normative developmental changes during adolescence. Overall, this study showed that negative associations between ADHD symptoms and both family and school climate are largely explained by stable between-person differences. We recommend applying the Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Path Model to developmental data to tease stable associations and change processes apart.

Revealing the Transactional Associations among Teacher-Child Relationships, Peer Rejection and Peer Victimization in Early Adolescence

Peer victimization is a persistent problem in early adolescents' peer relationships that is related to various difficulties in the short and long run. Previous studies have investigated whether relationships with peers and teachers predict victimization, but to date, few studies have examined the simultaneous contribution of both classroom-based relationships to victimization over time. Therefore, this study investigated how peer rejection and teacher-child relationships uniquely predict peer victimization over the course of one school year in upper elementary school. The transactional associations among teacher-child relationships, peer rejection, and relational and physical victimization were examined in a sample of 692 children (36 classes; M_age = 10.28; range: 7.92-13.14; 48.4% female). Teacher-child relationship quality and peer victimization were measured by student self-report, peer rejection by peer-report. Cross-lagged analyses showed that rejection predicted victimization from wave 1 to wave 2. In turn, more victimization predicted more rejection throughout the whole school year. More supportive teacher-child relationships predicted less victimization. Additionally, more victimization (wave 1) predicted less supportive relationships with teachers (wave 2). Peer rejection and teacher-child relationships were found to have unique, additive effects on victimization in early adolescence over time. Therefore, to effectively intervene in victimization processes, relationships with both peers and teachers need to be considered.

Daily parenting of children with cerebral palsy: The role of daily child behavior, parents' daily psychological needs, and mindful parenting

The purpose of this study was to advance the current understanding of the daily dynamics that are involved in raising a child with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Specifically, we examined the role of mindful parenting and of day-to-day variation in parents' psychological needs and child behavior in explaining day-to-day variation in parents' autonomy-supportive, psychologically controlling, and responsive parenting behavior. Parents (N = 58) of children with CP (Mage = 12.68 years) participated in a 7-day diary study. Multilevel analyses indicated that parents' autonomy-supportive, psychologically controlling, and responsive behaviors fluctuate considerably between days. Further, daily fluctuations in both child behavior and parents' own psychological needs were found to be associated with this daily variability in parenting. In addition, interindividual differences in mindful parenting were associated positively with parents' responsiveness and negatively with psychologically controlling parenting across the week. These findings point towards the changeability of parenting behavior among parents of a child with CP and suggest that interventions targeting parenting behavior in the context of CP will be most effective when taking into account both the parents' and the child's functioning.

Transactional Links Between Social Anxiety Symptoms and Parenting Across Adolescence: Between- and Within-Person Associations

This 4-year longitudinal multi-informant study examined between- and within-person associations between adolescent social anxiety symptoms and parenting (parental psychological control and autonomy support). A community sample of 819 adolescents (46.1% girls; Mage T1  = 13.4 years) reported annually on social anxiety symptoms and both adolescents and mothers reported on parenting. Between-person associations suggested that adolescent social anxiety symptoms were associated with higher adolescent- and mother-reported psychological control and lower mother-reported autonomy support. At the within-person level, however, mothers reported lower psychological control and higher autonomy support after periods with higher adolescent social anxiety symptoms. Our findings illustrate the importance of distinguishing among between-person and within-person associations and including perceptions of both dyad members in longitudinal research concerning parenting and adolescent mental health.

Family Functioning and Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: Disentangling between-, and Within-Family Associations

Adolescence is often a period of onset for internalizing and externalizing problems. At the same time, adolescent maturation and increasing autonomy from parents push for changes in family functioning. Even though theoretically expected links among the changes in family functioning and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems exist, studies examining this link on the within-family level are lacking. This longitudinal, pre-registered, and open-science study, examined the within-family dynamic longitudinal associations among family functioning, and internalizing and externalizing problems. Greek adolescents (N = 480, Mage = 15.73, 47.9% girls, at Wave 1) completed self-report questionnaires, three times in 12 months. Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPM) were applied; such models explicitly disentangle between-family differences from within-family processes, thereby offering a more stringent examination of within-family hypotheses. Results showed that family functioning was not significantly associated with internalizing or externalizing problems, on the within-family level. Also, alternative standard Cross-Lagged Panel Models (CLPM) were applied; such models have been recently criticized for failing to explicitly disentangle between-family variance from within-family variance, but they have been the standard approach to investigating questions of temporal ordering. Results from these analyses offered evidence that adolescents with higher internalizing and externalizing problems compared to their peers, tended to be those who later experienced worse family functioning, but not vice versa. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Lability in Parent- and Child-Based Sources of Parental Monitoring Is Differentially Associated with Adolescent Substance Use

Parental knowledge about adolescents' whereabouts and activities remains one of the strongest predictors of reduced adolescent substance use. A recent study found that across middle childhood and adolescence, parental knowledge is characterized by fluctuations on a year-to-year basis, termed lability, even more-so than by linear trends, and that lability too is a predictor of adolescent substance use (Lippold et al., Dev. Psychol. 17, 274-283, 2016). The present study replicates Lippold et al. (Dev. Psychol. 17, 274-283, 2016) by quantifying developmental change and lability in parental knowledge across adolescence and examining associations with drinking, smoking, and other drug use later in adolescence, and extends the study by examining the sources of knowledge: child disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control, separately. Using a community-based sample of 1023 youth in the Northeastern region of the USA, all three sources of knowledge were characterized by developmental change and lability. In general, higher levels and steeper developmental declines in knowledge were associated with substance use outcomes. Findings for child disclosure replicated the prior findings: increased lability of child disclosure predicted substance use. Unexpectedly, decreased lability of parental solicitation and control was associated with worse substance use outcomes. Findings suggest different mechanisms by which lability in child- and parent-driven cultivation of knowledge is associated with substance use. If replicated in studies that address causality, these mechanisms could be leveraged for prevention/intervention efforts. For example, increasing the consistency of child disclosure may help prevent substance use, but teaching parents to be more responsive to time-specific challenges with adolescents may be more effective than increasing the consistency of parents' knowledge-building parenting behaviors.

Bidirectional Relations Between Parenting Practices and Child Externalizing Behaviors in Formerly Homeless Families: A Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the bidirectional relation between effective parenting practices and externalizing problems in children in homeless families.

DESIGN

The sample comprised 223 children (M = 8.12 years) in 137 families living in temporary supportive housing, who participated in the Early Risers conduct problems prevention program lasting 2 years. Video-recorded observations of parent-child interactions were collected and rated by trained observers to assess effective parenting practices. Child externalizing problems were reported by their school teachers. Both variables were assessed at baseline prior to intervention and at 1- and 2-year post-baseline.

RESULTS

Child externalizing problems at baseline were negatively associated with effective parenting from baseline to year 1 as well as from year 1 to year 2. Observed effective parenting practices at year 1 were negatively associated with child externalizing problems from year 1 to year 2.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings underscore the presence of bidirectional influence processes between parents and children in high-risk families. Implications for intervention programs for high-risk families are discussed.

Adolescent–Parent Relationships: Progress, Processes, and Prospects

The nature of adolescent–parent relationships has been a topic of enduring concern in developmental science. In this article, we review theory and current research on several central topics. First, we define adolescence as a developmental period and briefly discuss current theoretical and analytical approaches. Then, we consider adolescent–parent relationship quality, including developmental trends and individual differences in negative interactions, positive relationships, and conflict resolution, as well as research that examines relationship quality within different family subsystems. Next, we discuss effects of emotional variability and flexibility on parent–adolescent relationships and review research on adolescents’ and parents’ beliefs about parental authority legitimacy. This is followed by a discussion of current research on parenting effects on adolescent–parent relationships, including approaches that provide greater specificity in defining parental control and its links with relationship quality, as well as research on parental monitoring and adolescent information management. We conclude this article with directions for future research.

Kindergarten antecedents of the developmental course of active and passive parental monitoring strategies during middle childhood and adolescence

Decades of research have highlighted the significance of parenting in children's development, yet few studies have focused specifically on the development of parental monitoring strategies in diverse families living in at-risk neighborhoods. The current study investigated the development of active (i.e., parental discussions and curfew rules) and passive (i.e., child communication with parents) parental monitoring strategies across different developmental periods (middle childhood and adolescence; Grades 4-5 and 7-11) as well as individual (child, parent), family, and contextual antecedents (measured in kindergarten) of this parenting behavior. Using an ecological approach, this study evaluated longitudinal data from 753 participants in the Fast Track Project, a multisite study directed at the development and prevention of conduct problems in at-risk children. Latent trajectory modeling results identified little to no mean growth in these monitoring strategies over time, suggesting that families living in at-risk environments may engage in consistent levels of monitoring strategies to ensure children's safety and well-being. Findings also identified several kindergarten antecedents of the growth factors of these parental monitoring strategies including (a) early child conduct problems; (b) parental warmth/involvement, satisfaction, and efficacy; and (c) parent-child relationship quality. These predictive effects largely highlighted the important role of early parenting behaviors on later levels of and growth in parental monitoring strategies. These findings have important implications for potential prevention and intervention targets to promote the development of parental monitoring strategies among families living in more at-risk contexts.

Parents still matter: the influence of parental enforcement of bedtime on adolescents’ depressive symptoms

Study Objectives

The aim of the current study was to test a multilevel mediation model that examined how adolescent sleep duration might be linked to depressive symptoms via their daytime energy levels. Furthermore, the study examined how parents’ enforcement of various types of bedtime rules predicted the duration of adolescent sleep.

Methods

A total of 193 adolescent (ages 14–17; Mage = 15.7 years old, SD = .94; 54.4% female; 71% Caucasian) and parent dyads completed baseline, online surveys, and adolescents also completed online 7-day, twice-daily (i.e. morning and evening) reports of their sleep duration (morning diary) and their energy levels and depressive symptoms throughout the day (evening diary). Parents (Mage = 47.6 years old, SD = 5.4; 80% female) completed assessments of enforcement of bedtime-related rules (i.e. bedtime, cessation of electronic media usage, prohibiting afternoon/evening caffeine consumption). Multilevel modeling enabled the testing of the mediation model both at the between-person level and within individuals.

Results

Results suggested that adolescents’ energy levels mediated the association between adolescents’ sleep duration and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, both greater enforcement of bedtimes and later school start times predicted longer sleep durations for adolescents, and were indirectly associated with adolescents’ depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

These findings underscore the importance of adolescents obtaining sufficient sleep to support their mental health and suggest a critical point of intervention for preventing or decreasing insufficient sleep. Given the diverse threats to adolescents’ sleep as well as adolescents’ desire for greater independence, collaborative, autonomy-promoting bedtime limit-setting is recommended to support adolescents’ well-being.

Observing Change Over Time in Strength-Based Parenting and Subjective Wellbeing for Pre-teens and Teens

The focus of this study was on adolescent mental health. More specifically, the relationship between strength-based parenting (SBP) and subjective wellbeing (SWB) during adolescence was examined at three time points over 14 months (N = 202, M age = 12.97, SD age = 0.91, 48% female). SBP was positively related to life satisfaction and positive affect at each of the three time points, and was negatively related to negative affect. SBP and SWB both declined significantly over time. When examining the causal relationships between SBP and SWB, two different statistical models were applied: latent growth-curve models (LGM) and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM). The LGM revealed a strong positive relationship between changes in SBP and SWB. Specifically, this model showed that SBP at one time point predicted adolescent SWB at future time points. However, when the more stringent statistical test was completed through RI-CLPMs, no cross-lagged paths reached significance. Thus, while parenting is a significant predictor of wellbeing for pre-teens and teens in real time, it is not predictive of wellbeing at future time points. Parents, thus, cannot assume that their current levels of SBP are 'banked' by their children to support future wellbeing. Instead, SBP needs to be an ongoing, contemporary parenting practice. Furthermore, the fact that perceptions of SBP decline in this age bracket suggest that SBP interventions may be helpful in supporting adolescent mental health.

Perfectionism and Precompetition Emotions in Youth Footballers: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Test of the Mediating Role of Perfectionistic Cognitions

Perfectionism is related to precompetition emotions in athletes. However, it is unclear why this is the case. In the present study, the authors sought to determine whether perfectionistic cognitions explain this relationship and mediate the relationships between self-oriented perfectionism (SOP), socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP), and general precompetition emotions and multidimensional anxiety and anger. The authors adopted a three-wave longitudinal design and examined between- and within-person effects in a sample of 352 youth footballers (Mage = 14.03 years, SD = 2.30). At the between-person level, perfectionistic cognitions mediated the relationships between SOP, SPP, and all general precompetition emotions plus multidimensional anxiety and anger. At the within-person level, perfectionistic cognitions mediated the relationships between SOP, SPP, and general anxiety and anger plus multidimensional anxiety and anger. Our findings imply that athletes higher in SOP and SPP experience more anxiety and anger when the frequency of perfectionistic cognitions increases in the lead-up to competition.

Keeping secrets from parents: on galloping horses, prancing ponies and pink unicorns

We identify the need for a new wave of research on adolescent secrecy in their relationship with parents that relinquishes the focus on the nomothetic objective of finding general principles. This third wave builds on novel insights on three fallacies committed in previous waves of research: (1) between-person effects do not necessarily provide insights into within-family processes (the ecological fallacy), (2) within-family processes are not necessarily homogeneous across adolescents and families (the one size fits all fallacy), and (3) longer-term effects are not necessarily identical to short-term processes (the galloping horse fallacy). This approach promises to provide us with a more person-specific understanding of adolescent secrecy from parents, which enables more tailored insights as to when and for whom secrecy is bad versus good.

Parent-Adolescent Communication and Adolescent Delinquency: Unraveling Within-Family Processes from Between-Family Differences

Understanding the factors that predict adolescent delinquency is a key topic in parenting research. An open question is whether prior results indicating relative differences between families reflect the dynamic processes occurring within families. Therefore, this study investigated concurrent and lagged associations among parental behavioral control, parental solicitation, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent delinquency by separating between-family and within-family effects in three-wave annual data (N = 1515; Mage = 13.01 years at T1; 50.6% girls). At the within-family level, parental behavioral control negatively predicted adolescent delinquency. Adolescent disclosure and delinquency, and adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation, reciprocally predicted each other. Parental solicitation negatively predicted parental behavioral control. The findings indicate a prominent role of adolescent disclosure in within-family processes concerning parental-adolescent communication and adolescent delinquency.

Why and how to include parents in the treatment of adolescents presenting Internet gaming disorder?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Clinicians and researchers are increasingly interested in investigating excessive use of video gaming recently named Internet gaming disorder (IGD). As is the case with extensively researched adolescent problem behaviors such as substance use disorder, several studies associate IGD with the young person's family environment and the parent-adolescent relationship in particular. Evidence-based treatments for a range of adolescent clinical problems including behavioral addictions demonstrate efficacy, the capacity for transdiagnostic adaptation, and lasting impact. However, less attention has been paid to developing and testing science-based interventions for IGD, and at present most tested interventions for IGD have been individual treatments (cognitive behavioral therapy).

METHODS

This article presents the rationale for a systemic conceptualization of IGD and a therapeutic approach that targets multiple units or subsystems. The IGD treatment program is based on the science-supported multidimensional family therapy approach (MDFT). Following treatment development work, the MDFT approach has been adapted for IGD.

RESULTS

The article discusses recurring individual and family-based clinical themes and therapeutic responses in the MDFT-IGD clinical model, which tailors interventions for individuals and subsystems within the young person's family.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Basic science developmental research can inform conceptualization of IGD and a systemic logic model of intervention and change. This paper aims to expand treatment theorizing and intervention approaches for practitioners working with frequently life-altering behaviors of excessive Internet gaming. We operationalize this aim by addressing the question of why and how parents should be involved in youth IGD treatment.

Unravelling the Prospective Associations Between Mixed Anxiety-Depression and Insomnia During the Course of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

OBJECTIVE

Previous studies have suggested that there is a reciprocal relationship between anxiety/depression and insomnia. However, little is known about the prospective relationships between these constructs across the course of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The aim of the study was to examine these relationships in clients who received short-term CBT in a primary care setting.

METHODS

A total of 653 clients (mean [SD] age = 37.8 [12.9], 26.4% men) with mild to moderate levels of anxiety and depression and a treatment duration of at least 7 weeks were included for analyses. The clients completed questionnaires measuring mixed anxiety-depression (MAD - Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale) and insomnia (3 items derived from the Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire representing core DSM-V criteria) on a session-to-session basis. The data were analyzed using latent growth curve models and random intercept cross-lagged panel models.

RESULTS

The results of the latent growth curve models showed that there was a significant decrease in both MAD (cubic slope; B = .002, p < .001, quadratic slope; B = .036, p < .001, linear slope; B = -.205, p < .001) and insomnia (linear slope; B = -.080, p < .001) across treatment. A strong correlation (r = .838, p < .001) between the linear slopes indicated co-occurring change processes. The cross-lagged panel model showed that insomnia significantly predicted MAD at the subsequent measurements (B = .190, p < .001), but not vice versa (B = .252, p = .343).

CONCLUSIONS

Changes in MAD and insomnia are co-occurring processes during the course of CBT. Changes in insomnia predicted prospectively changes in MAD, but not vice versa. Targeting insomnia in the context of brief CBT in clients with mild to moderate anxiety and depression may therefore further reduce not only symptoms of insomnia but also symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Disentangling longitudinal relations between youth cannabis use, peer cannabis use, and conduct problems: developmental cascading links to cannabis use disorder

AIMS

To determine whether cannabis use during adolescence can increase risk not only for cannabis use disorder (CUD) but also for conduct problems, potentially mediated by exposure to peers who use cannabis.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS

Longitudinal study analyzing four waves of longitudinal data from 364 racially and socio-economically diverse, urban, US community youth (at baseline: Mage  = 13.51 (0.95); 49.1% female).

MEASUREMENTS

Self-reports of cannabis use, conduct problems, proportion of peers using cannabis and CUD criteria at the final wave were analyzed using a method sensitive to changes over development, the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model.

FINDINGS

Change in cannabis use did not predict changes in conduct problems or peer cannabis use over time, controlling for gender, race-ethnicity and socio-economic status. Instead, increases in conduct problems predicted increases in cannabis use and ultimately CUD, with some of the effect mediated by increases in the prevalence of peer cannabis use [β = 0.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.07, 0.20]. Additionally, affiliation with peers who used cannabis predicted subsequent CUD via increased personal cannabis use (β = 0.08, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.14). Significant within-person betas for the cross-lagged effects ranged between 0.20 and 0.27.

CONCLUSIONS

Cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to lead to greater conduct problems or association with cannabis-using peers apart from pre-existing conduct problems. Instead, adolescents who (1) increasingly affiliate with cannabis-using peers or (2) have increasing levels of conduct problems are more likely to use cannabis, and this cascading chain of events appears to predict cannabis use disorder in emerging adulthood.

Longitudinal, reciprocal relationships between family management and antisocial peer associations

INTRODUCTION

Poor family management and antisocial peer associations are related risk factors for negative outcomes such as adolescent substance misuse and conduct disorders. The relationship between family management and antisocial peer associations is complex. The purpose of this study was to test the reciprocal relationships between youth-reports of poor family management and antisocial peer associations over multiple time-points.

METHODS

We used four data points (5th-11th grade) from the Australian arm of the longitudinal International Youth Development Study (IYDS) to test a random-intercepts cross-lagged path model (N = 922).

RESULTS

The model fit the data well with path estimates showing that poor family management predicted greater antisocial peer associations at the next wave but not the reverse. A second model included a third autoregressive path to control for youth's own antisocial behavior; the direction of the relationships between poor family management and antisocial peer associations did not change.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that across adolescence poor family management predicts greater antisocial peer association, which provides evidence that family-focused interventions are an important prevention strategy even in adolescence.

Identity Structure and Processes in Adolescence: Examining the Directionality of Between- and Within-Person Associations

Developing a stable and coherent identity structure (i.e., a synthesized sense of self that can support self-directed decision making) represents a lifelong task. A person's identity structure is continually revised through ongoing processes of identity exploration and commitment. However, longitudinal studies linking identity structure to identity processes are largely lacking. The present three-wave longitudinal study among 530 Flemish high school students [50.6% female; M_age = 15; SD = 1.85; age range = 11-19 years] examined the directionality of both between- and within-person associations linking identity synthesis and confusion to identity exploration and commitment processes. Between-person cross-lagged models indicated that adolescents who scored high on identity synthesis relative to their peers also scored high on proactive exploration and commitment processes, and low on ruminative exploration one year later, again relative to their peers. Adolescents who scored high on identity confusion relative to their peers also scored high on ruminative exploration one year later, again relative to their peers. With respect to effects of identity processes on identity structure, adolescents who scored high on identification with commitment relative to their peers also scored low on identity confusion one year later. Within-person cross-lagged models indicated that, when adolescents scored high on identity synthesis relative to their own average score, they reported increased proactive exploration processes one year later. In general, reaching a degree of identity synthesis appears to represent a prerequisite for proactive identity exploration at both the between- and within-person levels.

The multidimensional self-objectification process from adolescence to emerging adulthood

This longitudinal study (N = 400, 54.5% female) explores the relationships between three components of self-objectification: the internalization of the media's appearance ideals, the valuing of appearance over competence, and body surveillance. The study adds to the self-objectification literature by taking a long-term, developmental approach. The relationships are examined over 6-month intervals during adolescence and a 5-year interval from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Furthermore, this study is the first to examine relationships between different components of self-objectification at the within-person level and, thus, study personal changes over time. Most notably, an increase in internalization during adolescence predicted subsequent increases in valuing appearance over competence and body surveillance five years later, when the respondents had reached emerging adulthood. No evidence for gender differences was found. Implications for the development of self-objectification from adolescence to emerging adulthood and the difference between within- and between-person effects are discussed.

Examining the intertwined development of prosocial skills and ASD symptoms in adolescence

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and reduced prosocial behaviour are strongly intertwined. However, social interactions with peers may be increasingly practiced over the course of development and may instigate a reduction in ASD symptoms and vice versa. We, therefore, sought to determine if, during adolescence, possible improvements in prosocial behaviours and ASD symptoms may benefit one another over time. Participants were 2773 adolescents from the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) cohorts. Measurements took place over three waves (mean ages: 11.1, 13.4, and 16.2 years). Longitudinal associations between teacher-rated classroom prosocial skills and parent-rated ASD symptoms were examined using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). In addition to estimating the stable, between-person associations, the dynamical effects between prosocial skills and ASD symptoms over time were estimated at the within-person level. At the between-person level, prosocial skills and ASD symptoms were substantially negatively correlated. At the within-person level, a small and unexpected positive cross-lagged effect from wave 1 ASD symptoms on wave 2 prosocial skills was observed. We added to the existing literature by showing that, in addition to replicating the already firmly established between-person association between low prosocial skills and ASD, within-person gains in prosocial skills do not lead to subsequent reduction of ASD symptoms, and reductions in ASD symptoms do not lead to subsequent enhancement of prosocial skills. We, therefore, conclude from our findings that the inverse association between autistic symptoms and prosocial skills in adolescence is highly stable.

Relationships between parental attitudes, family functioning and Internet gaming disorder in adolescents attending school

While recent data suggest a high prevalence of adolescent with Internet gaming disorder, little is known about interpersonal factors that contributes or protect to this disorder. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the relationships between parental attitudes, adolescent perception of family functioning and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and explore gender differences. From a sample of 434 adolescents attending school (n =434; age 13.2 years), 383 non-problematic gamers (NPG, 196 males; 187 females) were compared with 37 problematic gamers (PG, 29 males; 8 females). Family functioning was assessed with the Family Relationship Index and parental attitudes with a questionnaire measuring rules, access to video games, monitoring and banning of video games. NPG have a better family cohesion while PG have more family conflict and a poorer family relationship. While rules about gaming use are important in males, for females, banning is associated with IGD. For both sex, parental monitoring, conflicts and family relationship are associated with IGD. These findings highlight the strong influence of parental attitudes and family functioning on the occurrence of IGD in adolescents and their gender specificities. Thus, prevention programs need to take into account the importance of parents, parenting and gender specificities.

Clear Self, Better Relationships: Adolescents' Self-Concept Clarity and Relationship Quality With Parents and Peers Across 5 Years

This study examined reciprocal associations between adolescents' self-concept clarity (SCC) and their relationship quality with parents and best friends in a five-wave longitudinal study from age 13 to 18 years. In all, 497 adolescents (57% boys) reported on their SCC and all informants (i.e., adolescents, both parents, and adolescents' best friends) reported on support and negative interaction. Within-person cross-lagged analyses provided systematic evidence for both parent effects and child effects, with the direction of effects being strongly dependent on the relational context. For example, higher maternal support predicted higher adolescent SCC, supporting a parent effects perspective, whereas higher SCC predicted lower paternal negative interaction, supporting a child effects perspective. Peer effects on adolescent SCC were not consistently found across adolescent and best friend reports.

Self-esteem in Early Adolescence as Predictor of Depressive Symptoms in Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Motivational and Social Factors

Ample research has shown that low self-esteem increases the risk to develop depressive symptoms during adolescence. However, the mechanism underlying this association remains largely unknown, as well as how long adolescents with low self-esteem remain vulnerable to developing depressive symptoms. Insight into this mechanism may not only result in a better theoretical understanding but also provide directions for possible interventions. To address these gaps in knowledge, we investigated whether self-esteem in early adolescence predicted depressive symptoms in late adolescence and early adulthood. Moreover, we investigated a cascading mediational model, in which we focused on factors that are inherently related to self-esteem and the adolescent developmental period: approach and avoidance motivation and the social factors social contact, social problems, and social support. We used data from four waves of the TRAILS study (N = 2228, 51% girls): early adolescence (mean age 11 years), middle adolescence (mean age 14 years), late adolescence (mean age 16 years), and early adulthood (mean age 22 years). Path-analyses showed that low self-esteem is an enduring vulnerability for developing depressive symptoms. Self-esteem in early adolescence predicted depressive symptoms in late adolescence as well as early adulthood. This association was independently mediated by avoidance motivation and social problems, but not by approach motivation. The effect sizes were relatively small, indicating that having low self-esteem is a vulnerability factor, but does not necessarily predispose adolescents to developing depressive symptoms on their way to adulthood. Our study contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the association between self-esteem and depressive symptoms, and has identified avoidance motivation and social problems as possible targets for intervention.

Codevelopment Between Key Personality Traits and Alcohol Use Disorder From Adolescence Through Young Adulthood

OBJECTIVE

Personality traits related to negative emotionality and low constraint are strong correlates of alcohol use disorder (AUD), but few studies have evaluated the prospective interplay between these traits and AUD symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood.

METHOD

The Minnesota Twin Family Study (N = 2,769) was used to examine the developmental interplay between AUD symptoms and three personality measures of constraint, negative emotionality, and aggressive undercontrol from ages 17 to 29.

RESULTS

Results from random-intercept, cross-lagged panel models showed that low constraint and aggressive undercontrol predicted subsequent rank-order increases in AUD symptoms from ages 17 to 24. AUD symptoms did not predict rank-order change in these traits from ages 17 to 24. There was support for both cross-effects from ages 24 to 29. Biometric analysis of the twin data showed genetic influences accounted for most of the phenotypic correlations over time.

CONCLUSION

Results are consistent with the notion that personality traits related to low constraint and aggressive undercontrol are important vulnerability/predisposition factors for the development of early adult AUD. In later young adulthood, there is more evidence for the simultaneous codevelopment of personality and AUD. Implications are addressed with attention to personality-based risk assessments and targeted AUD prevention approaches.

A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parental Monitoring on Adolescent Antisocial Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Adolescent Empathy

In adolescence, youth antisocial behaviors reach a peak. Parents can use different strategies, such as parental solicitation and control, to monitor their children's activities and try to prevent or reduce their antisocial behaviors. However, it is still unclear if, and for which adolescents, these parental monitoring behaviors are effective. The aim of this study was to examine if the impact of parental solicitation and control on adolescent antisocial behaviors depends on adolescent empathy. In order to comprehensively address this aim, we tested the moderating effects of multiple dimensions (affective and cognitive) of both trait and state empathy. Participants were 379 Dutch adolescents (55.9% males) involved in a longitudinal study with their fathers and mothers. At T1 (conducted when adolescents were 17-year-old) adolescents filled self-report measures of antisocial behaviors and trait empathy during one home visit, while their state empathy was rated during a laboratory session. Furthermore, parents reported their own monitoring behaviors. At T2 (conducted 1 year later, when adolescents were 18-year-old), adolescents reported again on their antisocial behaviors. Moderation analyses indicated that both affective and cognitive state empathy moderated the effects of parental solicitation on adolescent antisocial behaviors. Results highlighted that solicitation had unfavorable effects on antisocial behaviors in adolescents with high empathy whereas the opposite effect was found for adolescents with low empathy. In contrast, neither state nor trait empathy moderated the effects of control on adolescent antisocial behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Emerging Trends and Future Directions for the Field of Motivation Psychology: A Special Issue in Honor of Prof. Dr. Willy Lens

This special issue is devoted to Prof. Dr. W. Lens, who passed away end of August 2014 while he was vacationing. The special issue is meant to honor Willy’s intellectual contribution to the field of motivation psychology and his enthusiastic and devoted mentorship, which has spurred many of us to study motivation-related topics. In line with Willy’s interest and extensive network, the special issue brings together scholars from diverse theoretical perspectives (i.e., Achievement Goal Theory, Future Time Perspective Theory, and Self-Determination Theory) and diverse cultural backgrounds (i.e., China, Peru, Greece, Portugal, Belgium, US, Australia, Canada). We introduce the special issue by highlighting four emerging trends that characterize contemporary motivation psychology and that were central to Willy’s work: (a) multiperspectivism (i.e., a reliance on multiple motivational frameworks); (b) the diversity of motives and goals that underlie behavior (i.e., motivational heterogeneity); (c) interest in motives for non-participation; and (d) the issue of universalism versus relativism (i.e., the question whether there exist universal motivational processes or whether these processes are contingent upon sociodemographic, personality-based, and contextual factors). Each of the eight contributions in the special issue touch upon one or more of these emerging themes, which are critically discussed in conjunction with a number of directions for future research.

Evidence of Factorial Validity of Parental Knowledge, Control and Solicitation, and Adolescent Disclosure Scales: When the Ordered Nature of Likert Scales Matters

For evaluating monitoring and parent-adolescent communication, a set of scales addressing parental knowledge, control and solicitation, and adolescent disclosure was proposed by Kerr and Stattin (2000). Although these scales have been widely disseminated, their psychometric proprieties have often been found to be unsatisfactory, raising questions about their validity. The current study examines whether their poor psychometric properties, which are mainly attributed to the relatively poor conceptual quality of the items, could have been caused by the use of less-than-optimal analytical estimation methods. A cross-validation approach is used on a sample of 1071 adolescents. Maximum likelihood (ML) is compared with the diagonal weighted least squares (DWLS) method, which is suitable for Likert scales. The results of the DWLS approach lead to a more optimal fit than that obtained using ML estimation. The DWLS methodology may represent a useful option for researchers using these scales because it corrects for their unreliability.