Who is likely to help and hurt? Profiles of African American adolescents with prosocial and aggressive behavior

Identifying Relationally Aggressive Students: How Aligned are Teachers and Peers?

Relational aggression is characterized by attempts to damage another's relationships or social status and is a major concern affecting academic, socioemotional, behavioral, and health outcomes, particularly for urban, minority youth. Teachers and peers frequently disagree about which students are relationally aggressive. Factors associated with peer and teacher discordant and concordant identification of relationally aggressive students were explored including prosocial behavior, perceived popularity, academic competence, and gender. Participants included 178 3rd-5th grade students across 11 urban classrooms. Findings revealed that students were more likely to be rated as relationally aggressive by their peers but not their teacher as scores on peer nominations for prosocial behavior decreased, while teacher-rated academic motivation/participation increased. Female students were more likely to be concordantly identified by peers and teachers as relationally aggressive when ratings for overt aggression increased. These results highlight the utility of obtaining ratings from multiple informants as well as the difficulty in accurately identifying all students who may benefit from interventions targeting relational aggression. Findings also suggest factors that may be related to the potential shortcomings of current measures and provide avenues for additional research to improve detection of relationally aggressive students.

"Be Kind But Not Too Kind": Black Males' Prosocial Behaviors in the Face of Dehumanization

This qualitative study examined how adolescent Black males (N = 12) talk about their identities, prosocial behaviors, and connections between them. Of special interest was whether and how the participants included their experiences of dehumanization. Focus group data were analyzed using modified analytic induction. Participants felt good about their racially gendered identities but felt they occupied a precarious position in the United States. Participants' beliefs about how others viewed them motivated restraint from engaging in too many prosocial acts to prevent appearing vulnerable. Participants explicitly referred to their experience of oppression in these discussions and its interaction with identity and prosociality. Results suggest research must consider how macro-level processes like racism influence the identities and prosocial behaviors of adolescent Black males.

Relationship between Perception, Educational Level, Place, Achievement, and Risk Behavior Among in-school Adolescents in Garut District

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a period that is prone to risky behaviors. The Indonesian National Commission for Child Protection has reported an increasing trend in engagement in risk behaviors among children and adolescents. A total number of 328 drug abuse cases and 153 drug dealing cases were reported from 2011 to 2016, and 93.7%t of adolescents had already been engaged in sexual behaviors. These risk-taking behaviors have led to 967 children who conflict with the law. AIM: This study aimed to identify risky behaviors in adolescents in Tarogong Kidul Subdistrict, Garut District, West Java, Indonesia. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study using cluster random sampling on 1175 in-school adolescents. Six schools were involved. The Adolescent Exploratory and Risk Behavior Rating Scale questionnaire collected data. Data were analysed descriptively and inferentially (Chi-square). RESULTS: Most students had a low risk of engaging in risk behaviors, with a small proportion of students (27.3%) having positive perceptions. There was a relationship between perception of risk behavior and risk behavior with (p = 0.026, OR = 95%, CI = 3.050). A relationship was identified between the level of education and risk behaviour (p = 0.000) and between educational level, grade, academic achievement, and perception of risk behavior (p = 0.000). There is no relationship between gender, student residence, student preservation value, and risk behavior (p = 0.804). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents’ perception of risk behavior and educational level influences their risk behavior, while educational level, grade, and academic achievement are linked to the perception of risk behavior. Gender, student residence, and preservation value do not influence risk behavior. Therefore, it is suggested that this information develops an adolescent prevention model and prevention interventions for adolescents in Garut District.

Taking a Critical Look at Adolescent Research on Black Girls and Women: A Systematic Review

In the field of adolescent development, the language, theoretical frameworks, methods for collecting and analyzing data, and ways of interpretation that researchers use may advance notions of white supremacy and perpetuate racist ideas. Understanding how researchers study Black girls and women, in particular, is a critical step in working toward the production of science and knowledge that promotes an anti-racist and anti-sexist agenda and centers the voices of historically marginalized adolescents. Accordingly, we engaged in a systematic review (k = 48) with the goal of taking a critical look at how researchers study Black girls and women. Our synthesis of empirical articles from four prominent adolescent research journals published between 2010 and 2020 revealed themes related to (a) a dearth of critical theoretical frameworks, (b) a lack of acknowledgment of the intersectional experiences of Black girls and women, (c) differences in how researchers incorporate ethnic/racial information, (d) the use of a deficit perspective, and (e) the dominance of quantitative designs. We discuss these themes and conclude with recommendations for incorporating critical frameworks and more varied methodologies, issuing a call for adolescent development scholars to take a deeper, asset-based, and more critical approach to studying Black girls and their development.

Socioemotional competence in context: Black adolescent boys' socioemotional competence, neighborhood-school racial (in)congruence, and social adjustment

The current study examined patterns of Black adolescent boys' socioemotional competence (SEC) in the midst of racial (in)congruence of their neighborhood and school contexts and the associations of these patterns with self- and teacher-reported social adjustment. Data collected from 417 Black adolescent boys in 7th-11th grade were analyzed using a multilevel class analysis to derive student-level classes of SEC and neighborhood racial composition and school-level classes of school racial composition. Class associations with social adjustment were examined via analysis of variance and analysis of covariance among a subsample of 258 Black males. Four patterns of SEC-neighborhood racial composition and two patterns of school racial composition were identified; the former were associated with self- and teacher-reported social adjustment. Interactive patterns of SEC-neighborhood racial composition classes and school racial composition classes were associated with teachers' reports of negative social adjustment. Study findings suggest that considering SEC within racialized contexts is important for understanding Black adolescent boys' adjustment.

Aggressive Behavior in School-aged Children: Clusters based on Anger, Empathy and Testosterone and Cortisol Measures

The aim of this piece of research was to study the existence of clusters based on anger, empathy and cortisol and testosterone measures associated with aggressive behavior in school-aged children. The sample group comprised 139 eight-year-old children (80 boys and 59 girls). Aggressive behavior was measured using the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale. Both psychological and biological variables were used to determine psychobiological profiles. The psychological variables considered were trait anger, measured using the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory for Children and Adolescents, and empathy, measured using the Empathy Quotient-Child Version. Testosterone and cortisol concentrations were measured through saliva samples and analyzed using an ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). A Cluster Analysis revealed three clusters which were clearly different as regards their psychological and biological characteristics. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the cluster characterized by having higher anger levels, lower empathy levels and higher testosterone and cortisol levels was more aggressive than the other two (p < .0001, η2 = .19). The results indicate that studying psychological and biological variables together may help establish differentiated aggression patterns among children.

Social decision making mediates the association between anger and externalising problems in Chinese adolescents

The goal of this study was to test the mediating effect of social decision making in the relations of anger and anger control to externalising and internalising problems. A sample of 174 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.36 years) completed self-reports of trait anger, anger control, externalising problems, internalising problems and social decision making, which was operationalized as situational judgement reflecting an individual's ability to interact effectively with parents, teachers and peers. Findings indicated that adolescents' trait anger and anger control were positively related to both externalising and internalising problems. In addition, path analysis revealed that social decision making mediated the relationship between trait anger, anger control and externalising problems. Findings on the mediating effect will be discussed by referencing appraisal tendency theory and response evaluation and decision.

Negative emotions and behaviour: The role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy

The objective of this study is to test a longitudinal model that analyses the direct effect of negative emotions (anger, depression and anxiety, wave 1) on prosocial and aggressive behaviour (wave 2) in adolescents. And the indirect effect of negative emotions (wave 1) on prosocial and aggressive behaviour (wave 2) through regulatory emotional self-efficacy. Data was obtained from 417 adolescents in a two-wave longitudinal study (225 girls, M age = 14.70 years) from schools located in Valencia, Spain. SEM was employed to explore longitudinal models. The results showed that anger had a direct relationship with prosocial behaviour and aggression, measured two years later. However, the depression and anxiety states did not predict prosociality and aggressiveness. The mediation role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy between negative emotion and behaviours was only partially confirmed. Finally, only the perception of self-efficacy in expressing positive affect is related to prosociality and aggressiveness.

Youth Violence: How Gender Matters in Aggression Among Urban Early Adolescents

Although research suggests gender differences in both forms and functions of aggressive behavior, there has been limited research into these types among African American early adolescents. This study examined the types and patterns of aggression in girls and boys in that group. Participants were 452 predominantly African American middle school youth (50.4% girls) aged 11 to 13 ( M = 11.97) enrolled in three urban public schools. Students were invited to participate in a school-based intervention designed to prevent aggressive and deviant behaviors. Assessments occurred pre- and post-intervention. Surveys were analyzed to identify gender differences in the levels and types of aggressive behaviors, as well as differences in predictors of aggressive behaviors. Predictors were measured at baseline; aggressive behaviors at follow-up. There were significant gender differences in types of aggressive behaviors and their predictors indicating a need to develop and implement more suitable, gender-tailored prevention and treatment approaches.

Prosocial Behaviors of Black Adolescent Boys: An Application of a Sociopolitical Development Theory

Sociopolitical development theory asserts that critical social analysis informs prosocial behaviors. We suggest that one aspect of Black adolescents’ critical social analysis development is an oppression analysis, in which Black adolescents consider (1) the importance of race to they are, (2) their personal feelings about their racial group, and (3) the experience of oppression for minority groups. The current study examined oppression analysis as a latent construct among a sample of 265 Black male adolescents in Grades 7 to 10 from three suburban districts in the Midwestern United States. Structural equation modeling revealed that received parental racial pride messages, but not school-based discrimination experiences, predicted Black male adolescents’ oppression analysis. An oppression analysis and school-based discrimination had direct effects on prosocial behaviors. Racial pride messages had an indirect effect on prosocial behaviors through oppression analysis. In addition, an oppression analysis had an indirect effect on prosocial behaviors through social-emotional skills. This research offers insight into the role of Black boys’ critical social analysis among individual and contextual factors in facilitating positive developmental outcomes.

Psychosocial determinants of marijuana use among African American youth

This study examines the psychosocial determinants of marijuana use among youth. A total of 7,488 African American middle and high school students from 133 metropolitan private and public schools completed a survey assessing psychosocial factors associated with annual marijuana use. The PRIDE survey, a nationally recognized survey on substance use, was used to assess the frequency of marijuana use and the influence of psychosocial factors on marijuana use among African American students. Results indicated that 18.5% of African American youth used marijuana in the past year. Males were significantly more likely than females to report using marijuana. Engaging in risky behaviors, such as getting in trouble at school and with police and attending a party with alcohol and other drugs, were significantly correlated with annual marijuana use. Conversely, having multiple parent, teacher, and school protective factors reduced annual marijuana use in this population. Such findings may assist prevention specialists in developing interventions to reduce and prevent marijuana use.

Brief report: Ethnic identity and aggression in adolescence: a longitudinal perspective

Ethnic identity has been found to relate to many positive psychological outcomes, such as self-esteem and well-being, but little has been said about negative social outcomes such as aggression, nor have these relations been tested across time. The current study examined the concurrent and longitudinal relations between ethnic identity and peer nominated aggression at two time points with a two-year interval (8th and 10th grades) in a sample of 125 Israeli adolescents with an immigration background (56.8% girls). As hypothesized, ethnic identity related negatively to aggression at both T1 and T2. In addition, ethnic identity predicted a relative decrease in future aggression. Given these findings, the article suggests the importance of strengthening ethnic identity through interventions and educational programs.

Culture, Racial Socialization, and Positive African American Youth Development

Positive youth development is critical for African American youth as they negotiate a social, political, and historical landscape grounded in systemic inequities and racism. One possible, yet understudied, approach to promote positive youth development is to increase African American youth consciousness and connection to their Africentric values and culture. The primary purpose of this article was to investigate the degree to which cultural and group consciousness factors (i.e., cultural orientation, Africentric values, and racial socialization) predicted positive youth development (i.e., future orientation, prosocial behavior, political/community, and social justice/equality civic mindedness) and how these might differ by gender. This article utilized survey data from 1,930 African American youth participants of the Pen or Pencil™ mentoring program. Results generally indicated that cultural orientation, Africentric values and, to a lesser degree, racial socialization, predicted positive youth development variables, with these effects varying by gender. These findings suggest that enhancing cultural consciousness may support the positive development of African American youth, although male and female youth may respond to these efforts in different ways.

Ethnic and racial identity in adolescence: implications for psychosocial, academic, and health outcomes

The construction of an ethnic or racial identity is considered an important developmental milestone for youth of color. This review summarizes research on links between ethnic and racial identity (ERI) with psychosocial, academic, and health risk outcomes among ethnic minority adolescents. With notable exceptions, aspects of ERI are generally associated with adaptive outcomes. ERI are generally beneficial for African American adolescents' adjustment across all three domains, whereas the evidence is somewhat mixed for Latino and American Indian youth. There is a dearth of research for academic and health risk outcomes among Asian American and Pacific Islander adolescents. The review concludes with suggestions for future research on ERI among minority youth.

Aggressive and prosocial behavior: community violence, cognitive, and behavioral predictors among urban African American youth

We use longitudinal multilevel modeling to test how exposure to community violence and cognitive and behavioral factors contribute to the development of aggressive and prosocial behaviors. Specifically, we examine predictors of self-, peer-, and teacher-reported aggressive and prosocial behavior among 266 urban, African American early adolescents. We examine lagged, within-person, between-person, and protective effects across 2 years. In general, results suggest that higher levels of violence exposure and aggressive beliefs are associated with more aggressive and less prosocial peer-reported behavior, whereas greater self-efficacy to resolve conflict peacefully is associated with less aggression across reporters and more teacher-reported prosocial behavior. Greater knowledge and violence prevention skills are associated with fewer aggressive and more prosocial teacher-reported behaviors. Results also suggest that greater self-efficacy and lower impulsivity have protective effects for youth reporting higher levels of exposure to community violence, in terms of teacher-reported aggressive behavior and peer-reported prosocial behavior. Differences among reporters and models are discussed, as well as implications for intervention.