An Analysis of the Longitudinal Effects of Academic Stress, Insecure Attachment, and Sense of Community on Adolescent Suicidal Ideation

This study aimed to examine the independent influences of academic stress, insecure attachment, and sense of community on suicidal ideation among adolescents. In particular, the independent influence of the sense of community on adolescent suicide was verified by controlling for other variables. For this purpose, youth data (7324 persons) from the panel data of the 4th to 6th Korean Education Longitudinal Studies of the Korea Educational Development Institute were used. Statistical analyses were performed using a generalized estimation equation (GEE). The analysis revealed that gender, academic stress, insecure attachment, and sense of community significantly influenced suicidal ideation. Female students had higher suicidal ideation than male students, and the higher the academic stress and degree of insecure attachment, the higher the suicidal ideation. In particular, the independent influence of a sense of community on suicidal ideation was significant; the higher the sense of community, the lower the suicide ideation score. The implication of this study is to comprehensively consider the factors related to adolescent suicidal ideation in various systems based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory. This research suggests that helping schools and communities to increase their sense of community, which is a macrosystem factor, is important in preventing adolescent suicide.

Attachment and negative affect on mental health and pain experience patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Mediated by coping strategies and loneliness

BACKGROUND

Multiple sclerosis and its related stressors significantly affect the mental health of people with MS. Considering the progressive and relapsing-remitting nature of the disease and somatic complaint, the Pain experience for MS patients is challenging. We examined the direct effects of Attachment and the negative affect on mental health and pain experience and the indirect effects of Attachment, negative affect, loneliness, and coping strategies on the mental health and pain experience of people with multiple sclerosis.

METHODS

Three hundred forty-five patients with MS were selected through the Iranian MS Association. Measures included the negative affect (PANAS), Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ28), short-form McGill pain questionnaire (SF-mpq-2), Social and emotional loneliness scale for adults (SELSA-S), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations(CISS-21). The present study has employed the Structural Equation Model (SEM) to investigate the direct and indirect effects of coping strategies, attachment, loneliness, and negative affect on mental health and pain experienced by individuals with MS. The fit of the model to the data was examined using the Discrepancy Function Divided by Degrees of Freedom (CMIN/DF), Normed Fit Index (NFI), TuckerLewis Index (TLI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA).

RESULTS

The fit indices results showed that the model's fit was good. Furthermore, findings indicate that 13 % (R2=13) of the pain experience Changes and 47 % (R2=47) of the mental health Changes are explained via study predictors. Negative affect directly affects mental health and pain experience, and Attachment directly affects mental health. Negative affect indirectly affects coping strategies. Attachment and Negative affect indirectly affect loneliness. Loneliness and coping strategies indirectly affect mental health and pain experience.

CONCLUSION

Study findings contribute to our understanding of the crucial structures that play a role in the mental health and pain experience of individuals with MS. Loneliness and coping strategies as mediating variables play essential roles in these people's mental health and pain experience. In the times ahead, it would be beneficial to prioritize addressing negative affect, attachment, coping strategies, and loneliness in the patients with MS' medical and psychological intervention.

Risk and protective factors for substance use and media addictive behaviors in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents' substance use, digital media use, and symptoms of internet, gaming, and social media addiction.

METHOD

A nationally representative longitudinal cohort of 1665 Israeli teens and preteens, aged 9-16, completed questionnaires assessing substance use prevalence, daily screen time, symptoms of media addiction, and potential risk and protective factors. Data were collected before the pandemic (October 2019), after the second wave lockdown (November 2020), and after the fifth wave (April 2022) in Israel.

RESULTS

The analysis documented significant increases in substance use, daily screen time, and social media addiction indices over time. Gratitude, life satisfaction, positive emotions, future orientation, grit, and secure attachment emerged as significant protective factors. Sensation-seeking, negative emotions, and mental health symptoms were identified as risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the importance of educational and public mental health services in addressing the pandemic's long-term impact on the mental health and addictive behaviors of adolescents. They also emphasize the significance of enhancing protective factors and reducing risk factors to effectively mitigate substance and digital media abuse among adolescents.

Urbanization, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in left-behind children and adolescents in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Economic development and urbanisation have prompted many Chinese parents to move from rural to urban regions for better job opportunities. Their children, who remain behind in rural regions, become left-behind children (LBC). With absent parents, children and adolescents are unable to maintain the secure attachment required for healthy social and emotional development, increasing the risk of mental illness. This study aimed to compare risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation in LBC and non-LBC in China.

RECENT FINDINGS

Greater risks for poor mental health outcomes including worse depression, loneliness and anxiety have been identified in LBC in cross-sectional studies. Previous studies have also identified higher prevalence of bullying victimization, poorer school performance and worse school attendance amongst LBC.

SUMMARY

Findings indicate that prolonged separation from parents put LBC at greater risks of poor mental health. Policy changes to allow children to migrate with their parents and policies to reduce inequalities in job opportunities between urban and rural regions are needed.

Comparison of Attachment Styles, Family Functioning and Locus of Control in Individuals with and without Alcohol Use Disorder

This study aims to examine the variables of attachment styles , family functioning, and locus of control in individuals with and without alcohol use disorder. The 54 participants, including 51 male and 3 females with alcohol use disorder between the ages of 18-60s were chosen from the outpatients of xx service, the attendants of xx meetings, and the people referred by them. The control group consisted of 60 participants who were similar to the study group in terms of age and gender variables, without alcohol use disorder and psychological disorder. Data were collected through a questionnaire including Sociodemographic Data Form, Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised (ECR -R), Family Assessment Device (FAD), and Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale (LCS). In the results of the study, it was found that the participants with alcohol use disorder had a significantly higher ECR-R anxiety and avoidance score, and LCS score than the control group. Participants with the alcohol use disorder had a considerably lower FAD score than the control group. Finally, the effects of the applied scales on alcohol addiction are analyzed and it was concluded that the scores of FAD and LCS had a statistically significant effect on alcohol addiction. Accordingly, an increase in the FAD score by one unit reduces the alcohol addiction risk by %95, while an increase in the LCS score by one unit increases the alcohol addiction risk by %31.

The benefits of nurturant-involved parenting for children's internalizing symptoms and cardiometabolic health in high-risk contexts

Despite evidence that nurturant-involved parenting is linked with children's social, psychological, and physiological development, less is known about the specific contexts in which nurturant-involved parenting is most beneficial for children's mental and physical health. The present study examined how associations between nurturant-involved parenting and children's internalizing symptoms and cardiometabolic risk varied as a function of children's stress and discrimination. Participants included 165 Black and Latinx children (Mage = 11.5 years) and their guardians. Children reported on their ongoing stress, experiences of discrimination, and internalizing symptoms (depression and anxiety). Guardians provided information about their nurturant-involved parenting practices. Children's cardiometabolic risk was assessed as a composite reflecting a high level of systolic or diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, HbA1c, triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol. Regression analyses indicated that among youth who reported high levels of stress and discrimination, nurturant-involved parenting was negatively associated with cardiometabolic risk. Although children's stress and discrimination were significantly associated with their internalizing symptoms, neither stress nor discrimination moderated the relation between nurturant-involved parenting and internalizing symptoms. Results highlight the significant role that parents play in shaping children's health, particularly among youth experiencing high levels of stress and discrimination.

Parental warmth, adolescent emotion regulation, and adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

The United States (U.S.) Surgeon General Advisory has characterized the COVID-19 pandemic as a youth mental health crisis. Thus, elucidating factors affecting adolescents' mental health during the pandemic is important for supporting youth through current and future challenges. Parenting influences adolescents' ability to cope with stressors, and emotion regulation strategy use may underlie these effects.

Methods

This longitudinal study of 206 adolescents (49% female; 46.6% Latine) from the U.S. evaluated pathways from perceived parental warmth and affection at age 12 to changes in adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems from before the pandemic (age 14) to the initial phase of the U.S COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 (age 15) through adolescents' pre-pandemic cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression emotion regulation strategy use at age 14.

Results

Parental warmth and affection predicted decreased internalizing, but not externalizing, problems during the initial phase of the pandemic, and this effect was explained by adolescents' reduced reliance on expressive suppression as an emotion regulation strategy.

Conclusion

These findings illuminate parenting and emotion regulation strategy selection as modifiable processes to support adolescents' mental health in this crisis and beyond.

Coping as a Mediator between Attachment and Depressive Symptomatology Either in Pregnancy or in the Early Postpartum Period: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Peripartum depression (PPD) is a major complication of pregnancy, and numerous risk factors have been associated with its onset, including dysfunctional coping strategies and insecure attachment styles, both during pregnancy and postpartum. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of coping strategies in mediating the relationship between women's attachment style and depressive symptomatology in pregnancy and one week after giving birth in a large sample of women (N = 1664). Our hypothesis was that the relationship between anxious and avoidant attachment and depressive symptomatology would be mediated by use of maladaptive coping strategies. The assessment instruments were Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Brief Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences (COPE), and Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR). The results indicated that the effect of insecure attachment styles (anxious and avoidant attachment) on antepartum depressive symptomatology was partially mediated by dysfunctional coping styles. Anxious attachment also has an indirect significant effect on postpartum depressive symptomatology through emotional coping; however, avoidant attachment does not seem to be significantly related to postpartum depressive symptoms. Our findings revealed that not only is it important to consider attachment in understanding peripartum depressive symptomatology, but also that coping plays an important role in these relationships. These findings would help a preventive coping-based intervention strategy to enhance the capacity of women with insecure attachment styles to use more adaptive coping during and after pregnancy.

Bullying victimization and internalizing and externalizing problems in school-aged children: The mediating role of sleep disturbance and the moderating role of parental attachment

BACKGROUND

Studies have shown that bullying victimization may be related to internalizing and externalizing problems; however, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unknown. This study explored the mediating role of sleep disturbance and the moderating role of parental attachment.

METHODS

A total of 1543 Chinese primary school students (M age = 8.92 years, SD1.7 years; range, 6-12) completed bullying victimization, sleep disturbance, and parental attachment measures, and provided information on their parents' occupations. The parents or guardians (n = 1995) also completed ratings on their children's internalizing and externalizing problems.

RESULTS

It was found that bullying victimization directly affected internalizing and externalizing problems and also influenced sleep disturbance. Regardless of the parent's socioeconomic status, parental attachment was found to moderate the relationship between bullying victimization and internalizing problems.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings contribute to understanding the partial mediating mechanism of sleep disturbance in the association between bullying victimization and internalizing and externalizing problems. The protective role of parental attachment proved central to preventing internalizing problems in bullied children. Intervention programs that enhance parental attachment and improve sleep quality could assist in mitigating the impact of bullying victimization on internalizing or externalizing problems.

COVID anxiety and its predictors among Slovak adolescents

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related restrictions, mainly social distancing, had an impact on the mental health of various groups, including adolescents.

Methods

The main goal of our study was to explore the impact of gender, age, resilience (measured using the Brief Resilience Scale), attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance (both measured using the Experiences in Close Relationships Revised Scale for adolescents), and mental and general health (measured using items of SF-8 Health Survey) on COVID anxiety (measured using the COVID Anxiety Scale) among a sample of Slovak adolescents (N = 1,786, age 15 to 19, mean age = 16.8, SD = 1.2). The data were collected online between 13 April and 24 May 2021.

Results

Four nested linear regression models were fitted to the data and evaluated. The significant predictors that had a greater effect than our smallest effect size of interest (β  = 0.10) were gender (β  = -0.26, p  < 0.001, where boys had lower scores in COVID anxiety), general and mental health (β  = -0.13 and β  = -0.14, respectively, both with p  < 0.001), resilience (β  = -0.12, p  < 0.001), and attachment avoidance (β  = -0.11, p  < 0.001). Similarly, age and attachment anxiety were significant predictors with a lower effect size (β  = 0.06, p  = 0.003, and β  = 0.09, p  < 0.001, respectively).

Discussion

Our results are in line with previous research findings highlighting the importance of prevention and interventions programs focused mainly on preventing loneliness and social disconnection, fostering secure attachment with parents and peers, and increasing the resilience of adolescents, especially in the stressful time of a pandemic, to promote their mental health.

The positive role of parental attachment and communication in Chinese adolescents' health behavior and mental health during COVID-19

INTRODUCTION

Given that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has largely influenced adolescents' physical and mental health around the globe, it is important to identify protective factors that may promote adolescents' positive adjustment during the pandemic. This study aimed to examine the role of parental attachment and COVID-19 communication in adolescents' health behavior and mental health during COVID-19.

METHODS

A total of 442 Chinese parent-adolescent dyads (mean age of adolescents = 13.35 years; 50% girls) completed two-wave longitudinal surveys over the span of 2 months during the pandemic (Wave 1: July 2020; Wave 2: September 2020). At each wave, adolescents reported on their COVID-19-related health behavior, general health behavior, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. At Wave 1, parent-adolescent attachment security and COVID-19 communication were also assessed.

RESULTS

Adolescents' attachment security to parents was associated with their increased COVID-19-related and general health behavior as well as decreased depression and anxiety over 2 months during COVID-19. Moreover, more frequent parent-adolescent COVID-19 communication was associated with adolescents' increased COVID-19-related and general health behavior over time. Notably, attachment security's and COVID-19 communication's associations with health behavior largely remained the same after taking into account both factors simultaneously. In addition, results from exploratory analyses suggest that more frequent COVID-19 communication mediates the link between attachment security and increased health behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the importance of promoting attachment security and COVID-19 communication between parents and adolescents during the pandemic, which may play a positive role in adolescents' health behavior and mental health.

Late Adolescents' Attachment to Parents and Peers and Psychological Distress Resulting from COVID-19. A Study on the Mediation Role of Alexithymia

The scientific literature has shown the key role played by attachment to parents and peers and difficulties in recognizing, processing, and regulating emotions (i.e., alexithymia) in the (mal-)adaptive psychological response to the COVID-19 pandemic during late adolescence. No study has yet explored the complex interplay between these variables. We recruited a sample of 454 late adolescents (Mage = 22.79, SD = 2.27) and assessed attachment to parents and peers, alexithymia, and peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19 through self-report instruments. Attachment to fathers and peers, but not to mothers, and alexithymia significantly predicted levels of peritraumatic distress. Alexithymia fully and partially mediated the effect of, respectively, attachment to mothers and attachment to peers on peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19. These findings suggested that intervention programs focused on the promotion of peer social relationships, supportive parent-adolescent relationships, and the ability to recognize and discriminate one's own and others' emotions are needed in helping late adolescents to face the current health emergency and preventing short- and long-term psychopathological consequences related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effects of Father and Mother Attachment on Depressive Symptoms in Middle Childhood and Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation

Background: Attachment and emotion regulation play a decisive role in the developmental pathways of adaptation or maladaptation. This study tested concurrent and longitudinal associations between the attachment to mother and father, sadness regulation, and depressive symptoms. Methods: A total of 1110 participants from middle childhood to adolescence completed measures of attachment, emotion regulation, and depressive symptomatology. In total, 307 of them participated in the longitudinal assessment. Results: Results revealed attachment affects emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, we found linear effects of the cumulative number of secure attachment relationships on adaptive and maladaptive deactivating sadness regulation, as well as on depressive symptoms. Longitudinal analysis showed the significant mediating role of sadness regulation in the relationship between attachment and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Adaptive and maladaptive deactivating sadness regulation explain the longitudinal effects of attachment on depressive symptoms. Insecurely attached children and adolescents use maladaptive and adaptive sadness regulation strategies, but differ in their hierarchy of strategy use.

Attachment security predicts adolescents' prosocial and health protective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

Prosocial and health protective behaviors are critical to contain the COVID‐19 pandemic, yet adolescents have been difficult to engage. Attachment security promotes adolescents’ capacities to navigate stress, and influences prosocial and health behaviors. Drawing on a diverse sample of 202 adolescents (48% female; 47.5% Latinx) this study evaluated relations among attachment, mental health, and prosocial and health protective responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Attachment security (age 12) predicted adolescents’ (age 15) COVID‐19 prosocial (f² = .201) and health protective behaviors (f² = .274) during the pandemic via smaller‐than‐expected increases in mental health symptoms above pre‐pandemic levels (age 14). Findings highlight the importance of attachment for supporting adolescents’ mental health responses to life stressors and promoting prosocial and health protective behaviors.

Coping with Stress Among Israeli-Palestinian High School Students: The Role of Self-Control, Religiosity, and Attachment Pattern

Israeli-Palestinian adolescents living in Israel may have a unique set of stressors, given the societal tension between Israeli and Palestinian practices that may influence youths' identities (e.g., modernization, gender roles). However, little research has examined risk factors that may undermine one's ability to cope with stress effectively within this population. Thus, the current study examined the role of religiosity, self-control skills and emotional attachment style as risk factors for less effective (more passive, fewer active strategies) coping with stressful situations. Participants (n  = 487) were recruited from seven junior high schools located in the Northern Triangle region of Israel. Consistent with hypotheses, poorer self-control skills, and anxious and avoidant emotional attachment style were each associated with a greater likelihood to engage in passive coping skills. In addition to positive correlation between religiosity and active coping skills in response to stressful situations, these findings parallel prior studies that have examined broader demographic samples, suggesting the cross-cultural relevance of these risk factors for effective coping with stress.

Predicting fear and perceived health during the COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning: A cross-national longitudinal study

During medical pandemics, protective behaviors need to be motivated by effective communication, where finding predictors of fear and perceived health is of critical importance. The varying trajectories of the COVID-19 pandemic in different countries afford the opportunity to assess the unique influence of 'macro-level' environmental factors and 'micro-level' psychological variables on both fear and perceived health. Here, we investigate predictors of fear and perceived health using machine learning as lockdown restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were introduced in Austria, Spain, Poland and Czech Republic. Over a seven-week period, 533 participants completed weekly self-report surveys which measured the target variables subjective fear of the virus and perceived health, in addition to potential predictive variables related to psychological factors, social factors, perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD), and economic circumstances. Viral spread, mortality and governmental responses were further included in the analysis as potential environmental predictors. Results revealed that our models could accurately predict fear of the virus (accounting for approximately 23% of the variance) using predictive factors such as worrying about shortages in food supplies and perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD), where interestingly, environmental factors such as spread of the virus and governmental restrictions did not contribute to this prediction. Furthermore, our results revealed that perceived health could be predicted using PVD, physical exercise, attachment anxiety and age as input features, albeit with smaller effect sizes. Taken together, our results emphasize the importance of 'micro-level' psychological factors, as opposed to 'macro-level' environmental factors, when predicting fear and perceived health, and offer a starting point for more extensive research on the influences of pathogen threat and governmental restrictions on the psychology of fear and health.

The Role of Familial Incarceration and Ethnic Identity in Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempt: Findings from a Longitudinal Study of Latinx Young Adults in California

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young adults; however, contextual risks and cultural factors are rarely studied in the context of ethnic minority suicidal ideation (SI) and suicidal attempt (SA). This study assessed the association between familial incarceration and suicide behaviors and examined ethnic identity as a potential moderator. Data from a longitudinal study of health among Hispanics (n = 1,094) in California were used to test associations between familial incarceration, ethnic identity, and SA and SI, adjusting for demographic factors and covariates. Approximately 18% and 8% of respondents reported SI and SA, respectively. Compared to no incarceration, or the incarceration of a relative, parental incarceration was associated with higher odds (AOR: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.23-3.34) of SI whereas higher affective ethnic identity reduced the odds (AOR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.31-0.89) of SA. Ethnic identity moderated the association between parental incarceration and SI (AOR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13-0.79). Incarceration of a family member can set the stage for exclusion from critical institutions and can have long-term consequences for adult mental health. Promoting a positive ethnic identity may be a promising prevention strategy that could bolster resilience among at-risk, urban minority youth.

How coping styles, cognitive distortions, and attachment predict problem gambling among adolescents and young adults

Background and aims Recent research suggests that youth problem gambling is associated with several factors, but little is known how these factors might influence or interact each other in predicting this behavior. Consequently, this is the first study to examine the mediation effect of coping styles in the relationship between attachment to parental figures and problem gambling. Methods A total of 988 adolescents and emerging adults were recruited to participate. The first set of analyses tested the adequacy of a model comprising biological, cognitive, and family variables in predicting youth problem gambling. The second set of analyses explored the relationship between family and individual variables in problem gambling behavior. Results The results of the first set of analyses demonstrated that the individual factors of gender, cognitive distortions, and coping styles showed a significant predictive effect on youth problematic gambling, and the family factors of attachment and family structure did not reveal a significant influence on this behavior. The results of the second set of analyses demonstrated that the attachment dimension of angry distress exerted a more indirect influence on problematic gambling, through emotion-focused coping style. Discussion This study revealed that some family variables can have a more indirect effect on youth gambling behavior and provided some insights in how some factors interact in predicting problem gambling. Conclusion These findings suggest that youth gambling is a multifaceted phenomenon, and that the indirect effects of family variables are important in estimating the complex social forces that might influence adolescent decisions to gamble.

Coping Strategies in Late Adolescence: Relationships to Parental Attachment and Time Perspective

The authors investigated adolescents' use of coping strategies in relation to attachment to parents and time perspective. Adolescents in Grade 3 upper secondary school (M age = 18.3 years, SD = 0.6 years; n = 160) completed the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, and the Brief COPE. Correlational analyses showed that attachment to parents was associated with a more favorable view of the past (higher past positive and lower past negative), a less fatalistic view of the present, and a more favorable view of the future (higher future positive and lower future negative). Parental attachment accounted for significant variance in composite coping scores (adaptive and maladaptive) when entered before, but not after, time perspective subscales in hierarchical regression analyses. However, time perspective (mainly present hedonistic and positive or negative future) predicted adaptive or maladaptive coping over and beyond attachment. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that most of the relationship between adolescents' attachment to parents and coping is mediated by individual differences in time perspective. By contrast, factors other than attachment to parents (e.g., temperament) must be considered to fully account for the relationship between time perspective and coping.

Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence: Attachment, Affect and Sex

Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents.

The Role of Parent Communication and Connectedness in Dating Violence Victimization among Latino Adolescents

Dating violence among U.S. adolescents is a substantial concern. Previous research indicates that Latino youth are at increased risk of dating violence victimization. This secondary data analysis examined the prevalence of physical and sexual dating violence victimization among subgroups of Latino adolescents and associations of parent communication, parent caring, and dating violence victimization using data from the 2010 Minnesota Student Survey (N = 4,814). Parallel analyses were conducted for Latino-only and multiple-race Latino adolescents, stratified by gender. Multivariate logistic regression models tested associations between race/ethnicity, parent communication, perceived parent caring, and adolescent dating violence experiences. Overall, 7.2% to 16.2% of Latinos reported physical or sexual dating violence. Both types of dating violence were more prevalent among multiple-race Latinos than among Latino-only adolescents, with prevalence rates highest among multiple-race Latino females (19.8% and 19.7% for physical and sexual dating violence victimization, respectively). In multivariate models, perceived parent caring was the most important protective factor against physical and sexual dating violence among males and females. High levels of mother and father communication were associated with less physical violence victimization among males and females and with less sexual violence victimization among females. Results highlight the importance of parent communication and parent caring as buffers against dating violence victimization for Latino youth. These findings indicate potential for preventive interventions with Latino adolescents targeting family connectedness to address dating violence victimization.

Longitudinal association between adolescent attachment, adult romantic attachment, and emotion regulation strategies

Attachment security towards parents and peers in adolescence, and romantic attachment styles and emotion regulation strategies in young adulthood, were evaluated using an eight-year longitudinal design. Fifty-six young adults completed the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) at age 14, and then, at age 22, the Experience in Close Relationships (ECR) and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), an emotion regulation questionnaire concerning coping strategies, including task-oriented versus emotion-oriented foci. Results indicated that greater insecurity to parents and peers in adolescence predicted a more anxious romantic attachment style and greater use of emotion-oriented strategies in adulthood. Concurrently, anxious adult attachment style was related to more emotion-oriented strategies, whereas an avoidant attachment style was related to less support-seeking. Analyses also identified emotion-oriented coping strategies as a partial mediator of the link between adolescent attachment insecurity to parents and adult anxious attachment, and a complete mediator of the association between adolescent attachment insecurity to peers and adult anxious attachment. These findings support the core assumption of continuity in attachment theory, where relationships to parents influence close romantic relationships in adulthood.

Parental Depression and Economic Disadvantage: The Role of Parenting in Associations with Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Children and Adolescents

This study examined the effects of parental depression symptoms, economic disadvantage, and parenting behaviors in 180 children and adolescents of depressed parents (ages 9-15 years-old). Analyses revealed that while parental depression symptoms, economic disadvantage, and disrupted parenting behaviors were related to children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms, disrupted parenting (e.g., intrusive, neglectful parenting) accounted for the association of parental depressive symptoms and economic disadvantage with children's symptoms. This study provides evidence that disrupted parenting may be a common or shared process through which both parental depression and economic disadvantage are associated with children's internalizing and externalizing problems.

Attachment and pain outcomes in adolescents: the mediating role of pain catastrophizing and anxiety

This study examined the relations between attachment styles and pain severity/depression in adolescents. Analyses examined whether anxiety and the 3 dimensions of pain catastrophizing mediated the associations between attachment styles, pain severity and depression. A total of 382 high-school students completed questionnaires assessing attachment styles, catastrophizing, depression, anxiety and, for those who reported pain during the last month, pain severity. Results revealed that secure attachment was associated with lower levels of pain severity, depression, pain catastrophizing and anxiety. Preoccupied and fearful attachment styles were associated with heightened pain severity, depression, pain catastrophizing and anxiety. Dismissing attachment style was only associated with high levels of depression and anxiety. Regression analyses revealed that anxiety and the helplessness dimension of pain catastrophizing mediated the relations between secure, preoccupied and fearful attachment styles and pain severity. Moreover, anxiety and the rumination dimension of pain catastrophizing mediated the relation between secure, preoccupied and fearful attachment styles and depression. These findings suggest that anxiety, pain catastrophizing and attachment styles are related processes but nevertheless make independent contributions to the prediction of pain severity and depression. In addition, these findings suggest that attachment styles and cognitive-affective factors might increase the risk of problematic outcomes in adolescents with pain conditions. Theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.

PERSPECTIVE

The results of this study revealed that anxiety and the helplessness dimension of pain catastrophizing mediated the relation between attachment and pain severity whereas anxiety and rumination mediated the relation between attachment and depression. Attachment style and cognitive-affective factors might increase vulnerability for problematic pain outcomes in adolescents.

The Relation Between Dimensions of Attachment and Internalizing or Externalizing Problems During Adolescence

The authors examined the relation between dimensions of attachment and internalizing and externalizing problems in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents (n = 62) who completed the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; J. Feeney, P. Noller, & M. Hanrahan, 1994) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR; T. M. Achenbach, 1991). In total, the ASQ dimensions accounted for 48% of the variance in scores on the broad YSR internalizing problem scale. Three ASQ dimensions (confidence, discomfort with closeness, preoccupation with relationships) accounted for unique variance. Girls exhibited higher problem scores than did boys even when the authors considered ASQ scores. The authors observed comparable results for the anxious/depressed subscales. The confidence, discomfort, and preoccupation dimensions predicted scores on the withdrawn subscale. The authors observed weak relations or no relations between results on the ASQ and the externalizing problems scale. In conclusion, dimensions of attachment are powerful predictors of internalizing problems in adolescents. The authors discussed the potential cause and effect relationship between attachment variables and self-reported problems.

Posttraumatic stress disorder reactions among children with learning disabilities exposed to terror attacks

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reactions were examined among adolescents exposed to terror attacks. In the first stage, 56 children with learning disabilities (LDs) were compared with 48 nonclinical controls aged 14 to 18 years. Posttraumatic stress disorder in children with LD was significantly higher than in the control group. Next, hierarchic regression predicting PTSD reactions among children with LD was performed. Results revealed that personal exposure to terror, past personal threatening life events, avoidant and anxious attachment, and the anxious attachment x threatening past events interaction contributed significantly to the explained variance of PTSD. Examination of the source of this interaction revealed that adolescents high in anxious attachment who underwent more threatening past life events were more prone to PTSD when exposed personally to terror attacks. The findings suggest that adolescents with LD have difficulties in cognitive processing of traumatic events. This group of adolescents is in double jeopardy for developing PTSD symptoms if they personally experienced threatening events in the past and are characterized by anxious attachment. The anxious attachment damages their self-regulation, intensifies their distress, and exacerbates the risk for PTSD. Hence, special attention and specific intervention are needed for youth with LD to enhance their coping strategies.

Adolescent-parent attachment: Bonds that support healthy development

Adolescence is characterized by significant neurological, cognitive and sociopsychological development. With the advance of adolescence, the amount of time spent with parents typically drops while time spent with peers increases considerably. Nonetheless, parents continue to play a key role in influencing their adolescent's development. Adolescent-parent attachment has profound effects on cognitive, social and emotional functioning. Secure attachment is associated with less engagement in high risk behaviours, fewer mental health problems, and enhanced social skills and coping strategies. The present article provides a brief synopsis of the changes that occur during adolescence and describes what attachment is, why it continues to be important and how it is transformed during adolescence. It summarizes major findings on the impact of attachment on adolescent adjustment and discusses strategies for supporting healthy adolescent-parent attachment.