Parental Control and Adolescent Delinquency Based on Parallel Process Latent Growth Curve Modeling

Confirmatory factor analysis and gender invariance of the Persian version of psychological control scale: association with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems

Introduction

The current cross-sectional study aimed to examine the reliability, construct validity, gender invariance and concurrent validity of the psychological control scale-youth self-report (PCS-YSR) among Iranian adolescents.

Methods

A total of 1,453 high school students (49.2% boys; Mage = 15.48, SD = 0.97), who aged between 14 and 18 years old completed the PCS-YSR and the youth self-report (YSR) scale of behavior problems.

Results

Reliability was established using Cronbach's alpha and ordinal alpha for maternal and paternal psychological control. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results supported the original unidimensional model of the PCS-YSR scale for both mother and father forms. Results also revealed that mother and father forms of PCS-YSR were invariant across adolescents' gender. When comparing the mean differences, mothers were more psychologically controlling toward their sons, compared to their daughters. The mother and father forms of PCS-YSR were found to have acceptable concurrent validity through their relationship to internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems.

Discussion

Overall, our findings supported the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Psychological Control Scale-Youth Self-Report among Iranian adolescents. This scale can be used as an efficient tool for parental psychological control among adolescents in Iran. The negative effect of the intrusive parenting behavior on child' negative outcomes in Iran, irrespective of culture, was shown.

How Does Sustainable Leadership Affect Environmental Innovation Strategy Adoption? The Mediating Role of Environmental Identity

This paper uses social identity theory to develop an environmental identity theory and interpret why sustainable leadership can influence environmental identity, which in turn, results in environmental innovation strategy (EIS) adoption. Data were collected from 90 samples of technology manufacturing firms in Taiwan, and a latent growth curve model was employed to analyze the longitudinal data. The research results confirm all hypotheses. Mediating analysis also supports the environmental identity as a mediating role between sustainable leadership and EIS. Indeed, past studies have not explored the mechanism studied in this paper, a novel mechanism which can not only advance the literature on sustainable development but also help companies to realize sustainable development through environmental innovation strategy adoption.

The role of family and peer factors in the development of early adolescent depressive symptoms: A latent class growth analysis

Few studies have explored the trajectories of Chinese early adolescent depressive symptoms or comprehensively considered the factors of family and peers. The present study aimed to identify the trajectories of depressive symptoms in early adolescence using a school-based sample assessed in three waves. The study also examined whether family and peer factors were significant predictors. A total of 586 Chinese primary and middle school students participated in the survey. A growth mixture model was used to find the trajectories of depressive symptoms, and multinominal logistic regression was used to identify the predictors. Three trajectories were identified, including a stable-low class, an increasing class, and a high-decreasing class. Results indicated that gender, parental psychological aggression and neglect, parental psychological control, traditional bullying/cyberbullying victimization, and friendship quality were significant predictors. However, witnessing intimate partner violence, parental behavior control, and traditional bullying/cyberbullying perpetration could not significantly predict the trajectories. The findings of this study can provide an empirical basis for teachers and clinical interveners to determine different development trajectories of depressive symptoms and carry out prevention and intervention.

Parental and School Influences on Character Attributes Among Chinese Adolescents

Objectives

While there are many theoretical propositions on parental and school impacts on character formation among adolescents, limited empirical evidence is available. To fill the research gaps, this study examined how parental factors (e.g., behavioral control, support, parent-child relationship, and psychological control) and school factors (teacher-student relationship and student-student relationship) affect adolescents' character attributes in the areas of "treating others well," "self-discipline and law-abidance," and "traditional Chinese virtues," from both child and parent perspectives.

Methods

We used survey data collected from 2,472 Chinese adolescents (Mean age = 14.76 ± 1.82 years; 1,271 girls) and 412 Chinese parents (Mean age = 45.68 ± 6.53 years; 313 mothers) in Hong Kong.

Results

Structural equation modeling revealed significant positive effects of positive parental factors and relational factors in school on children's character attributes. However, psychological control as the indicator of negative parenting did not serve as a negative predictor of adolescents' character attributes.

Conclusion

These findings shed light on the unique contribution of different parental and school factors to character development among Chinese adolescents. The findings also imply the importance of promoting ecological assets in family and school through parent and teacher training in effective character education, which is essential for children and adolescents' healthy development.

Family Functioning and Adolescent Delinquency in Mainland China: Positive Youth Development Attributes as a Mediator

According to the positive youth development (PYD) approach, PYD attributes such as psychosocial competencies are developmental assets which can promote the holistic development of adolescents, such as increase in thriving and decrease in risk behavior. Although there are research findings supporting this theoretical proposition, there are several weaknesses in this literature. These include a lack of studies examining family antecedents of PYD attributes and the mediating role of PYD attributes in the relationship between family functioning and adolescent delinquency. There are also few longitudinal studies utilizing large samples and validated measures of family functioning and PYD attributes in the scientific literature. In this study, we examined the predictive effect of family functioning on adolescent delinquency and the mediating role of PYD attributes. Using a short-term longitudinal study in Sichuan, China, we collected two waves of data from 4,981 adolescents aged 11 and above, with 6 months between the two waves. Analyses using structural equation modeling showed that family functioning at Wave 1 negatively predicted the level of and change in delinquent behavior at Wave 2, with PYD attributes at Wave 2 as a mediating factor. The present study enriches the conceptual framework on the role of family functioning and PYD attributes in adolescent delinquent behavior. The findings also suggest that strengthening family functioning and PYD attributes would protect adolescents from engaging in delinquent acts.

Internet Addiction and Emotional and Behavioral Maladjustment in Mainland Chinese Adolescents: Cross-Lagged Panel Analyses

Adolescence is a developmental stage when adolescents are vulnerable to addictive behaviors, such as Internet addiction (IA), which refers to pathological use of the Internet. Although there are views proposing that the links between IA and adolescent problem behavior may be bidirectional in nature, few studies have examined the reciprocal relationships between IA and other maladjustment indicators, and even fewer studies have simultaneously employed both emotional and behavioral maladjustment indicators in a single study. To address the above research gaps, the present study investigated how IA is associated with both depression and delinquency among Chinese adolescents. Two waves of data were collected at two consecutive years, respectively, with 1year apart, from 3,010 students (Mean age=13.16, SD=0.81; 57.48% boys) in four junior high schools in mainland China. These students completed the same questionnaire containing measures of IA, depression, and delinquency at each wave. The proposed cross-lagged panel model fitted the data very well, and there were significant positive reciprocal effects between IA and depression as well as delinquency after controlling for background socio-demographic factors. Gender differences were also observed in multi-group comparisons. Specifically, IA showed a stronger longitudinal impact on delinquency among boys than among girls. While depression significantly predicted IA in 1year among boys, such a prediction was not significant among girls. These findings delineate the bidirectionality of the associations between IA and emotional and behavioral maladjustment indexed by depression and delinquency, respectively. The findings also suggest that researchers and practitioners have to take gender differences as well as different developmental indicators in understanding the bidirectional influences between IA and adolescent behavioral and emotional development.