Dynamic Associations of Parent-Adolescent Closeness and Friend Support With Adolescent Depressive Symptoms Across Ages 12-19

Motivation to Abstain from Drinking as a Moderator of Associations Between Parent and Offspring Problem Drinking

OBJECTIVE

Motivational processes are key factors in the development and maintenance of problem drinking and include motivation to drink as well as motivation to abstain from drinking. Although motivation to drink has been widely studied, little research has considered motivation to abstain from drinking. The current study addresses this gap in research by exploring the role of motivation to abstain from drinking based on dispositional risk, fear of negative consequences, religious and family constraints, and indifference to alcohol in associations between mother and father problem drinking and the problem drinking of college students.

METHOD

Data were collected from 337 U.S. college students (77.2% female, 86% White) who reported on their exposure to mother and father problem drinking, their own problem drinking, and their motivation to abstain from drinking for several reasons.

RESULTS

Findings supported the protective role of motivation to abstain from drinking based on fear of negative consequences of drinking. Persons exposed to parental problem drinking who had low motivation to abstain from alcohol based on dispositional risk were vulnerable to the intergenerational transmission of problem drinking. In addition, motivation to abstain from drinking based religious or family constraints was associated with lower problem drinking regardless of exposure to parental problem drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Conviction-related motivation may be a powerful motivation to abstain from drinking, including among persons at risk due to parental problem drinking.

The role of cumulative risk and armed conflict exposure in adolescent psychological symptoms in Turkey

Exposure to risk factors and adversity may cause immediate, and sometimes prolonged, psychological symptoms in adolescents. Identifying universal and specific risk factors in a particular context and examining their cumulative effects is crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying psychological symptoms and informing about strategies for intervention. Using concurrent measures, the current study aimed to examine the role of armed conflict experiences and cumulation of other risk factors (e.g., maternal psychological symptoms, socioeconomic indicators) in predicting adolescent psychological symptoms in an underresearched community. The sample included 161 adolescents (54.7% female) aged 11-14 years (M = 12.36, SD = 1.27) and their mothers living in the east of Turkey. The cumulative risk index was calculated by summing the standardized scores of the corresponding factors. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to predict internalizing and externalizing symptoms among adolescents by introducing demographic variables (age, gender) in the first step, armed conflict experiences and cumulative risk in the second step, and their interaction in the final step. Results showed that the levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms were predicted by gender, armed conflict experience and cumulative risk. Being a girl was associated with higher levels of internalizing symptoms and lower levels of externalizing symptoms. Higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms were predicted by exposure to armed and cumulative risk. After controlling for other factors, the interaction of armed conflict experience and cumulative risk significantly predicted externalizing, but not internalizing symptoms. These findings suggested that cumulative risk was a stronger predictor of psychological symptoms, and further amplified the strength of the association between armed conflict experiences and externalizing symptoms. These findings can be used in the formulation of intervention strategies and policies to promote psychological well-being in adolescents living in armed conflict zones under multiple risks.

Associations between adolescent friends' responses during problem talk and depressive symptoms

The present study examined how friends' responses to each other during problem talk predicted depressive symptoms over time. Participants included 271 adolescent friend dyads (69 female and 69 male early adolescent dyads; 72 female and 61 male middle adolescent dyads; 66.4% White and 26.6% Black). The adolescents were observed discussing a problem with the friend and reported on depressive symptoms at the time of observation and 9 months later. Friends' responses were coded into one of nine response type categories (i.e., four positive/engaged response types, one neutral response type, and four negative/disengaged response types). Actor-partner interdependence models revealed significant actor and partner effects for both positive and negative responses. Notably, receiving and/or producing positive/engaged responses, including saying something supportive, sharing related experiences, and asking questions, were associated with lower depressive symptoms over time. Receiving and/or producing negative/disengaged responses, including sharing one's own experience in a distracting way, changing the subject, saying something unsupportive or minimizing the problem, and saying nothing at all heightened risk for depressive symptoms. Additionally, significant Actor × Partner interactions revealed that greater differences between the friends in the degree to which they produced supportive responses were associated with increased depressive symptoms and that both friends saying nothing at all was associated with increased depressive symptoms. When gender and grade differences were found, the associations typically were particularly strong for middle-adolescent girls. These results highlight the importance of attending to friends' specific behaviors in social support contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Interparental conflict, family climate, and threat appraisals: Early adolescent exposure and young adult psychopathology risk

Long-term studies evaluating threat appraisals as an intervening variable linking interparental conflict (IPC) and internalizing problems are lacking, as are longitudinal studies evaluating the role of the broader family context in these models. Guided by the cognitive-contextual framework, this study followed 225 adolescents (53% females) and their families from age 11 into young adulthood (age 19.6) to evaluate the long-term implications of IPC and threat appraisals for young adult internalizing symptoms. First, a long-term mediation model revealed that increases in IPC from age 11 to 14 (but not initial levels) best accounted for adolescent threat appraisals at age 14. In turn, threat appraisals mediated the association between IPC and young adult (age 19.6) internalizing problems. Second, the family climate-defined as high levels of cohesion and organization-moderated the relation between IPC and threat appraisals. Adolescents in families that experienced declines in positive family climate and increasing IPC had the highest threat appraisals; however, families that maintained (or increased in) positive family climate were protective against increasing IPC. Interestingly, the combination of decreasing IPC and decreasing positive family climate corresponded with the lowest threat appraisals in the sample, contrary to expectations. This finding seems consistent with a family disengagement perspective which may be less threatening to adolescents but may confer risk for other problem outcomes. This study underscores the importance of IPC and threat appraisals during adolescence, and offers new insights into the role of the family climate in protecting against escalating IPC for young adult internalizing risk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Daily association between parent-adolescent relationship and life satisfaction: The moderating role of emotion dysregulation

INTRODUCTION

In adolescence, life satisfaction is an early indicator of later psychological well-being. However, researchers know little about how daily family relationships shape adolescent life satisfaction. The current study examined the day-to-day associations between parent-adolescent relationships and life satisfaction, and whether adolescent emotion dysregulation moderated these associations.

METHODS

A total of 191 adolescents (Mage  = 12.93, SDage  = 0.75, 53% female) recruited from junior high schools in Taiwan participated in a 10-day daily diary protocol. We conducted multilevel analyses to examine within-family and between-family processes.

RESULTS

At the within-family level, adolescents reported higher life satisfaction on days when parent-adolescent closeness was higher, but lower life satisfaction on days when parent-adolescent conflict was higher. At the between-family level, higher parent-adolescent closeness was associated with greater life satisfaction on average, while parent-adolescent conflict was not related to adolescent life satisfaction. Cross-level interactions indicated that within-family changes in parent-adolescent closeness and conflict were only associated with life satisfaction for adolescents with higher levels of emotion dysregulation, indicating emotion dysregulation may intensify the role of daily parent-adolescent relationships in shaping adolescent life satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

This study expands current literature and provides novel evidence that changes in day-to-day parent-adolescent relationships have important implications for adolescent life satisfaction, especially for youth higher in emotion dysregulation. The findings underscore the importance of evaluating family and individual characteristics to better support adolescent well-being.

The roles of caregivers and friends in adolescent daily emotion dynamics

Daily emotion dynamics provide valuable information about individuals' emotion processes as they go about their lives. Emotion dynamics such as emotion levels (mean), emotion variability (degree of fluctuation), and emotion network density (strength of temporal connections among emotions) are associated with risks for various psychopathology in youth and adults. Prior work has shown that caregivers and friends play crucial socializing roles in adolescent emotional well-being, but less is known about their roles in daily emotion dynamics. This study examined whether caregiver emotion coaching, caregiver-adolescent closeness, and friendship quality were associated with adolescents' emotion levels, emotion variability, and emotion network density. Further, we examined whether caregiver-adolescent closeness moderated the associations between coaching and emotion dynamics. Participants were 150 adolescents (61% girls; Mage = 14.75) and one of their caregivers (95% female; Mage = 43.35) who completed a baseline survey and 21 daily surveys. Results showed that caregiver emotion coaching interacted with caregiver-adolescent closeness in predicting emotion levels and variability. Specifically, when closeness was higher, emotion coaching was significantly associated with lower sadness and anger levels, higher happiness levels, and lower happiness variability. Caregiver emotion coaching, independent of closeness, was also associated with lower anxiety levels, lower sadness variability, and lower emotion network density. Friendship quality was significantly associated with lower levels of sadness, anxiety, and anger, higher levels of happiness, and lower variability in anxiety and anger. These findings suggest that caregivers and friends are central to everyday emotion levels and variability and a more flexible emotion system in adolescents.

Mother-child cohesion, friendship quality, and depressive symptoms in children: Direct and indirect associations between developmental trajectories

BACKGROUND

Mother-child cohesion and friendship quality have been shown to be protective factors against the development of children's depressive symptoms. However, the possible direct and indirect pathways from these two important interpersonal relationships to children's depressive symptoms need to be further elucidated. Moreover, these associations have not been examined from a developmental perspective. Therefore, this study examined the direct and indirect relations among developmental trajectories of mother-child cohesion, friendship quality, and depressive symptoms in children.

METHODS

A total of 4078 Chinese children (45.2 % girls, M_age = 9.90 years, SD = 0.73) participated in assessments at five time points across 2.5 years, employing six-month intervals. Latent growth curve modeling was conducted to examine the direct and indirect relations among the developmental trajectories of mother-child cohesion, friendship quality, and depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

The developmental trajectories of both mother-child cohesion and friendship quality were negatively and directly associated with the developmental trajectory of children's depressive symptoms. The developmental trajectory of friendship quality was indirectly associated with the developmental trajectory of depressive symptoms through the mediating role of mother-child cohesion.

LIMITATIONS

This study did not investigate father-child cohesion and other important psychological mechanisms linking interpersonal relationships to depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings documented the direct and indirect relations among mother-child cohesion, friendship quality, and depressive symptoms from a developmental perspective, which suggested that prevention and intervention efforts target improving mother-child cohesion and friendship quality to reduce children's depressive symptoms.

Link Between Peer Victimization in College and Cortisol Secretion: Roles of Genetic Vulnerabilities and Social Support

It is unclear whether peer victimization in college interacts with genetic vulnerabilities or social support in predicting cortisol secretion. This issue was addressed using a sample of 162 Monozygotic and 237 Dizygotic twin pairs (54% females; 86% Whites, 6% Blacks, 6% Asians, 0.3% Native North Americans). At age 19, participants provided hair for cortisol extraction and reported about victimization in college and support by the mother, father, and best friend. Biometric modeling revealed that environmental influences on cortisol secretion were reduced and genetic influences exacerbated when victimization was high. Moderate to high maternal support mitigated the association between victimization and high cortisol secretion. The findings suggest that victimization in college contributes to physical "wear-and-tear", which may be counteracted by social support.

Combined Race and Gender Trend Disparities in Depressive Symptoms among U.S. High School Students: 1999-2019

In 2019, over 3.2 million adolescents in the U.S. reported depressive symptoms-a number that continues to increase annually. Not only can depression negatively impact an adolescent's academic performance, social development, and cognitive function, but it is also the most common condition associated with suicide. Previous studies have reported prevalence rates and statistical trends by either gender or race. We conducted an in-depth analysis of the current racial and gender trend disparities in adolescent depressive symptoms by examining linear and quadratic trends from the Youth Behavior Risk Survey (N = 158,601) over two decades (1999-2019), stratified by gender and race subgroups, both separately and combined. This novel quantitative method allows for a more nuanced approach when exploring social and cultural influences on adolescent depressive symptoms. We found a significant difference in the prevalence of depressive symptoms between males and females among Black, Hispanic, and multiracial adolescents in each separate year of pooled data. However, an increased prevalence trend over the 20-year period was only seen among the females of these three racial categories. White and Asian female adolescents also exhibited a statistical increase in prevalence of depressive symptoms over time. The only group of males with a significant trend increase over time were White adolescents. Understanding the intersection of gender and race in adolescent depressive symptoms trends enhances evidence for nurses and other healthcare professionals when developing and implementing targeted, effective prevention and intervention measures.

Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Analysis Between Mobile Phone Dependence, Friendships, and Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Adolescents

This study examined reciprocal longitudinal effects between mobile phone dependence, friendships, and depressive symptoms using 3-year longitudinal data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey. An autoregressive cross-lagged model was applied to a sample of 1,737 adolescents. Results suggested that unidirectional relationships exist between the three variables: friendships reduce mobile phone dependence (B = -0.068, p = 0.058; B = -0.118, p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms increase mobile phone dependence (B = 0.082, p = 0.001; B = 0.128, p < 0.001); however, mobile phone dependence does not affect friendships and depressive symptoms. In addition, this study provided evidence of the negative bidirectional relationship between friendships and depressive symptoms. We suggest that, to prevent or treat adolescents' mobile phone dependence, a practical approach regarding friendships and depressive symptoms is needed.

Momentary social interactions and affect in later life varied across the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many different facets of life. The infectious nature of the disease has led to significant changes in social interactions in everyday life. The present study examined how older adults’ patterns of everyday momentary social interactions (i.e., with no one, partner, family, and friends) and their affect varied across the early stages of the pandemic and whether the magnitude of affective benefits associated with social interactions changed across time. A total of 188 adults aged 50 or above (M_age = 62.05) completed momentary assessments in early March, late March, May, and July 2020. Overall, older adults spent more time in solitude and less time interacting with their friends after the declaration of the pandemic. Further, negative affect (NA) spiked after the pandemic declaration and then returned to pre-pandemic level. Finally, momentary interactions with close social ties were consistently associated with higher positive affect (PA) and lower NA whereas momentary solitude was associated with lower PA, but not related to NA. The magnitude of associations between specific social interactions (or solitude) and affect varied across time, and the onset of the pandemic appeared associated with this variation. During the presumably most stressful period, solitude was not associated with lower PA and family interaction was not associated with higher PA as they were at other times. Further, interactions with friends seemed to have diminished affective benefits following the onset of the pandemic.

Adolescent Social Media Use: Pitfalls and Promises in Relation to Cybervictimization, Friend Support, and Depressive Symptoms

The saturation of social media use in adolescents' lives has raised questions about both the risks and positive outcomes that may be associated with use. This study filled this gap by examining longitudinal associations among active social media use and depressive symptoms for male and female adolescents and the mediating role of friend support and cybervictimization. These relations were investigated in a sample of 800 13-15-year-old (M = 14.45) adolescents (57% female, 81% White) across four waves of data over two years. The results indicated that higher levels of active social media use led to reduced depressive symptoms for female adolescents, while active social media use predicted more cybervictimization for male adolescents. In contrast, cybervictimization predicted higher levels of active social media use for female adolescents. Friend support predicted more active social media use for male and female adolescents. Overall, findings reveal a complex picture of social media use for both male and female adolescents and further research is needed which examines types of social media use and their associations with both online and offline experiences.

Grandparent-child cohesion, friendship quality, and left-behind children's positive/negative affect in rural China

This study examined the roles of grandparent-child cohesion and friendship quality in left-behind children's positive and negative affect compared with non-left-behind children. Data from 557 participants indicated that grandparent-child cohesion and friendship quality predicted children's emotional adaptation. Friend trust and support and intimate exchange had a stronger predictive effect on positive affect among non-left-behind children. Moreover, the interaction effects between grandparent-child cohesion and friendship quality on children's positive affect supported the reinforcement model, while the interaction effects on negative affect supported the reinforcement model among left-behind children but supported the compensation model among non-left-behind children.

Developmental timing of parent-youth intimacy as a protective factor for adolescent adjustment problems

Parent-youth intimacy protects adolescents from adjustment problems, including weight concerns, low self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to identify when in development parent-youth intimacy emerges as a protective factor, how this protective effect changes in its strength across adolescence, and whether there are differences in intimacy-adjustment linkages depending on parent and youth gender. The sample was 388 predominately White American adolescents (50.8% female; ages 12-20 years, M = 15.2, SD = 1.63 at Time 1) from 202 families. Time-varying effect models revealed that associations between intimacy and adjustment problems were dynamic and differed by parent and youth gender and across adjustment problems. Father-youth intimacy was associated with fewer weight concerns across most of adolescence for girls and boys, and these effects were strongest in mid- and late adolescence, respectively. Mother-youth intimacy was associated with boys' but not girls' weight concerns, and only in early adolescence. Father-youth intimacy was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for boys and girls across most of adolescence, whereas mother-youth intimacy was associated with fewer depressive symptoms in mid-adolescence. However, the association between intimacy and depressive symptoms was strongest during mid-adolescence for mother- and father-youth intimacy. Finally, father-youth intimacy was associated with higher self-esteem from early through mid-adolescence for boys and girls, whereas mother-youth intimacy was associated with higher self-esteem across most of adolescence for girls and during early and late adolescence for boys. Findings have implications for the timing and targets of family interventions and highlight parents' unique and shared roles in adolescents' adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Fall From Grace: Increased Loneliness and Depressiveness Among Extraverted Youth During the German COVID-19 Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected young people's social and emotional life. Based on longitudinal data provided by 843 adolescents (57.3% female) of the German Family Panel (pairfam), we investigated effects of extraversion on changes in loneliness and depressiveness between 2018 and 2019 and the first German COVID-19 lockdown in the first half of 2020. Findings of latent change modeling show that highly extraverted adolescents experienced a larger rise in depressiveness, and a third of this total effect was mediated through increases in loneliness. These results contradict previous work evidencing lower depressiveness among extraverted youth and challenge the notion of extraversion as a mere protective factor. Under conditions of restricted access to others, this personality trait may become a burden.