How can gender affect psychopathology in Lebanese school‐age children?

This study investigated the extent to which gender differences in coping, school and family environments could account for variation in psychopathology among school‐age children. Participants were 665 middle school students. Results showed no gender differences for PTSD. Females scored higher on emotional problems and prosocial behavior whereas males scored higher on conduct problems. ADHD was higher among children with LD, whereas emotional and conduct problems were higher in females with LD. Emotional and conduct problems increased more by age in females. Gender differences were found in various patterns of predictor–outcome relations. While emotion‐focused coping was associated with emotional and peer problems in both genders, it was associated with conduct problems in females only. Problem‐focused coping was positively associated with prosocial behaviors in females whereas it was negatively associated with peer problems in males. In addition, family environment was negatively associated with emotional problems and PTSD symptomatology in females, whereas school environment was negatively associated with emotional problems in males. Clinical and research implications were discussed.     

The role of social support in well-being and coping with self-reported stressful events in adolescents

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the role that social support plays in well-being and in coping after a stressful event in a group of non-clinical adolescents. Furthermore, this study aimed at replicating the finding that adolescents who reported sexual abuse reported more symptoms and less adequate coping strategies than adolescents who reported another type of stressful event or no stressful episode. METHOD: Eight hundred and twenty adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age filled out questionnaires assessing social support (Social Support Questionnaire, Sarason, Shearin, Pierce, & Sarason, 1987), trauma-related symptoms (Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children, Briere, 1996), behavior problems (Youth Self-Report, Achenbach, 1991), and coping (How I Cope Under Pressure Scale, Ayers, Sandler, West, & Roosa, 1996). RESULTS: 42% of the adolescents reported a stressful experience, and 4.4% reported sexual abuse. Sexually abused adolescents reported more stress-related symptoms and used more avoidance and fewer support-seeking coping strategies than the other adolescents. The main-effect hypothesis of social support was sustained, but social support did not moderate the relation between a stressful event and coping. Yet, a trend was found suggesting that high support from the family was associated with less avoidance coping and more support-seeking in adolescents who reported a non-sexually abusive, stressful event. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that a highly perceived availability of social support is directly associated with fewer trauma-related symptoms, especially in adolescents who are non-sexually abused. For adolescents who reported a sexual or another type of stressful event, social support did not play a different role in coping.     

Coping Strategies of Caribbean “Problem Students”

Abstract   The coping strategies of middle adolescents (14–16 years) generate interest amongst educators, parents, school psychologists and school counsellors. This study, using a phenomenological approach, examined the coping strategies of ‘problem’ adolescents in the Caribbean in regard to their interactions with peers and teachers. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of twenty middle adolescents in Barbados. The adolescents’ efforts to manage problems in the school environment suggested that they actively sought to prevent problems from progressing to a maladaptive level. An apparent sequence of coping behaviours emerged from the qualitative data analysis. The sequence involves a dynamic process of seven cognitive decision-making and behavioural steps that the adolescents engaged in, in their quest to manage and effectively cope with daily problems. Based on the findings, recommendations are presented for working with adolescents who demonstrate problem behaviours within the school environment.     

Perceived stress,executive function,perceived stress regulation,and behavioral outcomes of adolescents with and without significant behavior problems

Despite school‐based services, adolescents with maladaptive behavior experience negative outcomes, highlighting the need for insight into factors that contribute to and escalate behavior problems during middle school—a high‐risk period. We examined how perceived school stress, stress regulation (engagement/disengagement coping, involuntary responses), and executive function of 79 middle schoolers with and without significant behavior problems were related to internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results showed students with significant behavior problems (a) had lower executive function abilities and higher peer stress, (b) used less engagement coping, and (c) reported more maladaptive behaviors than typical peers. For all students, school‐based stress positively predicted behavior problems and use of stress regulation techniques, with group moderating effects. Involuntary responses to stress positively predicted maladaptive behaviors, whereas engagement/disengagement coping predicted internalizing behaviors only. As a mediator, engagement coping decreased the relationship between perceived stress and behavior problems. Based on these findings, we highlight important prevention and intervention areas.     

Contraceptive and sexuality knowledge among inner-city middle school students from minority groups

In exchange for a free physical examination, 116 minority group youths from inner-city middle schools in Texas consented to answer open-ended questions about their sexual behavior, contraceptive knowledge, and type and source of knowledge of sexuality. The students ranged in age from 12-15 years (mean age, 13 years); 27% were Hispanic and 73% were black. Sex education was not a part of the curriculum at the 4 schools from which respondents were drawn. When asked what sex meant to them, 37% of female adolescents and 23% of males indicated they did not know or it did not mean anything. Among remaining students, recreation was identified as the central meaning be males (23% of total), while females tended to cite romance (21% of total). Only 47% were able to list at least 1 question they had about sex; most common were questions about the morality of premarital intercourse and the experience of adolescent pregnancy and parenthood. 89% of females and 57% of males were able to name at least 1 contraceptive method, generally condoms (44%), abstinence (36%), and the pill (8%). Hispanic females named the highest number of contraceptive methods on average (2.2), followed by black females (1.9), Hispanic males (1.8), and black males (1.3). Among female adolescents, 53% listed their mother as their primary source of knowledge about sexual matters and 6% listed a friend. Among males, fathers (17%) and friends (17%) were the most frequent knowledge sources. The fact that these young adolescents view their parents as credible and approachable sources of information about sexuality suggests that school counselors should encourage such communication. aT the same time, the expressed need for more information on the moral aspects of sexuality indicates that values should be incorporated into any sex education program developed for this age group.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder and emotion dysregulation among Syrian refugee children and adolescents resettled in Lebanon and Jordan

BackgroundSince the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, many people, including children and adolescents, have fled their homes into neighboring countries. Little research exists on the psychosocial adjustment of refugee children and adolescents resettled in Lebanon and Jordan.ObjectiveThis study investigated the prevalence and predictors of PTSD and emotion dysregulation in Syrian refugee children and adolescents who resettled in Lebanon and Jordan. It was hypothesized that a combination of pre-trauma variables (age and gender), trauma-specific variables (traumatic events and time spent in host country, and host country), and post-trauma variables (coping strategies, family relationships, and school environment) would be associated with PTSD and emotion dysregulation.Participants and SettingParticipants were 1000 Syrian refugee children and adolescents aged 7–18 years attending formal and non-formal schools representing various governorates in Lebanon and Jordan.MethodsThe trauma exposure scale, DSM-IV criteria for the assessment of PTSD, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form, Kidcope, Family relationship scales, and school environment scale were administered in an interview format with children and adolescents at school by two trained psychologists. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to predict PTSD whereas hierarchical multiple regression was used to predict emotion dysregulation.ResultsResults indicated that 45.6% of the refugees have developed PTSD with excessive risk for comorbidity with emotion dysregulation. Emotion dysregulation was reported by older refugee children and adolescents. The prevalence of PTSD was higher in refugee children and adolescents who had resettled in Lebanon than for those who had resettled in Jordan. Refugee children and adolescents who were exposed to higher levels of war atrocities evidenced the greatest prevalence of PTSD and emotion dysregulation. PTSD symptomatology and emotion dysregulation in children and adolescents varied according to coping styles, family relationships, and school environment. Both decreased significantly with the passage of time spent in host country.ConclusionsThe results may be used to formulate cognitive–behavioral coping interventions that can lead to optimal developmental outcomes in the posttrauma environment.     

Sweet sixteen ... Adolescents’ problems and the peer group as source of support

This survey reports on the coping process of adolescents with three relational problems, two personal problems, and two socio-institutional problems. Overall, 770 Italian adolescent between 14 and 20 years took part. They responded to a questionnaire consisting of four parts: a part querying demographic data, one on the peer group the adolescents join, the third was on life values, and in the final part seven developmental tasks were presented and aspects of the coping process were investigated. The study shows, first, that adolescents who strongly identify with their peers also feel close to their family, their best friend, and their school mates. Thus, identification with the peers does not lead to isolation from the family. Second, the study shows that identification with social entities, in part, is due to the similarity of value the adolescent and the respective entities have. The more similar life values are the more strongly the adolescents identify with the peers, the family, the best friend, or the school mates. Third, effective coping with developmental tasks was found to be dependent on the degree of identification with the peers. The type of group that adolescents join, be it a formal group or an informal street group, had no significant effect on the coping process. Highly identified adolescents more often relied on their family, peers, and other social entities for emotional and instrumental support, and trace more advantages out of a developmental problem for their future.     

Gender differences in the severity of adult familial dyslexia

Thirty seven adults with a three generation family history of dyslexia and a strong personal history of reading/spelling problems were administered a psychoeducational battery to confirm the diagnosis of dyslexia. Males were not disproportionately represented in the dyslexic sample although they exhibited a more severe profile of reading impairment relative to females. Severity of dyslexia is discussed as a possible mechanism of the reported higher prevalence of dyslexia among males.     

Environmental and Individual Influences on Adolescents,Aspirations: A Moderation-Mediation Model

A moderation-mediation model was constructed to examine relationships among distal family contexts, children,s cognitive performance and cognitive attitudes, adolescents, proximal family and school settings, and adolescents, aspirations. The sample in the longitudinal study included 250 female and 250 male 16-year-olds and their parents from Adelaide, Australia. The findings from moderation-mediation investigations and from regression surface analyses indicated that (1) distal family contexts moderate the relations among children,s individual characteristics and adolescents, aspirations, (2) the associations between distal family contexts and adolescents, aspirations are mediated, in part, by the adolescents, perceptions of their parents, and teachers, educational capital, (3) there are different patterns for females and males in terms of relationships among distal family contexts, children,s individual characteristics, perceptions of proximal settings, and adolescents, aspirations and (4) there are family-context differences in the linear and curvilinear nature of the relations among individual characteristics, proximal settings, and adolescents, aspirations, that also vary between females and males in those family contexts.     

School counsellors' perceptual sex role differences in Dutch secondary education

In a pilot study two Dutch secondary schools have been investigated with respect to four characteristics of school counselling as perceived by the school counsellors and students: (1) What counselling in the school should or should not be; (2) What are the reasons for starting a counselling activity; (3) What are the outcomes of school counselling; and (4) What are the necessities for school counselling.As a total group both males and females disagree with students on the practice of counselling within the context of the school, while both groups agree with students on the person oriented aims of counselling. Males and females perceive different reasons why counselling in the school is necessary and they perceive different kinds of outcomes. Female counsellors perceive markedly less reasons for counselling in school achievements of students than males, while they report more reasons for counselling than males where the prevention of conflicts between students in the classroom are concerned. Apart from discrepancies between male and female school counsellors, the students perceive more counselling outcomes than both groups of counsellors in terms of coping behaviour and conflict management. Students and counsellors disagree on several necessities for counselling, such as the amount of commitment required for counselling duties and the prerequisites of cooperation and support between counsellors.Paper presented at the XIIth International Round Table for the Advancement of Counselling, 22–26 June 1986, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden     

Perfectionism differences in gifted middle school students

Perfectionism has been cited as a major characteristic associated with children and adolescents who have been identified as gifted and talented. This study explored grade level, birth order, and gender differences among 391 students in three gifted and talented programs. The students completed an adaptation of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. A2 × 3 × 3 between subject multivariate analysis revealed that females expressed more concern than males about organization, while males reported stronger parental expectations. First born adolescents reported higher parental criticism and expectations than youngest children. Females' concerns about making mistakes increases from grade 6 to grade 8 while the pattern for males fluctuated insignificantly. Patterns of parental criticism varied between males and females from grade 6 through grade 8.     

Gendered experiences of sexual abuse of teenagers and children in Mexico

The prevalence of sexual abuse during childhood and adolescence in a national representative sample of Mexican youngsters is examined from a gender perspective using data from the 2007 National Survey on Exclusion, Intolerance and Violence in Public Institutions of High School Level Education. Of those surveyed, 1.76% were forced into their first experience of intercourse, and 6.43% had their genitalia touched or their first sexual interaction imposed against their will. In this sample, 6.82% had experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18. Child sexual abuse was most commonly perpetrated by family members and neighbors. Only 20% reported being abused by an unknown person. Males and females had different victimization experiences. Forty percent disclosed information about the abuse to another person, and 7% reported their experiences to law enforcement agencies. Males and females stated different reasons for not disclosing. These findings are discussed within the context of the social construction of the male and female body and sexuality in the Mexican context.     

Adolescent Perceptions of Help-Seeking Resources for Substance Abuse

Adolescent perceptions of help-seeking social resources (e.g., parents, friends, school counselor, clergyman) they would utilize if they were having substance abuse difficulties were investigated for samples of early and middle adolescents. 8 different perceived help-seeking categories were identified, and intergroup comparisons were made with regard to gender and ethnic/racial group and with regard to alcohol consumption, substance-related problems, and school misconduct. 2 perceived help-seeking categories had the highest levels of problem behaviors. The first category consisted of adolescents who identified friends as the only social resource they would utilize if they were having substance abuse problems. The second category, referred to as social isolates, indicated that they would not utilize any social resource if they were having substance abuse problems. There were approximately twice as many male social isolates as female social isolates, and blacks and Hispanics were highly overrepresented in the social isolate category.     

‘It’s a bit taboo’: a qualitative study of Norwegian adolescents’ perceptions of mental healthcare services

The aim of this study is to investigate adolescents’ perspectives on mental healthcare services. Based on theoretical perspectives concerning barriers for help-seeking, individual interviews were carried out in order to obtain the adolescents’ perspectives on knowledge of services for mental health problems, potential barriers for help-seeking, and services to which they have access. The sample consisted of vocational students from an upper secondary school in the southwest of Norway (n = 8). None of the informants was currently in treatment for mental health problems. Interview data were transcribed and analysed with the assistance of NVivo Software. Qualitative content analysis indicated that the adolescents have limited knowledge of available resources, and, that stigma-related factors may prevent the adolescents from seeking help for mental health problems. Future directions for delivering mental health services for adolescents are given.     

Coping Socialization in Middle Childhood: Tests of Maternal and Paternal Influences

A theoretical model of parental socialization of children's coping behavior is described and tested with 310 elementary school children ( M age = 10.5 years). Mothers and fathers reported on the coping suggestions they made to their children, their own coping strategies, and their perceptions of the family environment. Children reported on their relationships with their parents and on their usual coping behavior. Children's coping efforts were associated with family environment, the quality of the parent-child relationship, parent's own coping, and parent coping suggestions, though these relationships differed by gender and were quite specific. Maternal data were more strongly associated with children's coping than paternal data, and active and support coping were predicted more successfully than avoidance strategies. Analyses supported a model of direct, rather than mediated, effects on children's coping. There was modest support for the interactive effects of maternal coaching and modeling on girls' active coping and boys' avoidant coping.     

青春期儿童父母性教育状况调查研究

青春期儿童的性教育是家庭性教育中的重要组成部分.青春期是儿童身体快速成熟的时期,生理和心理上发生的新变化会在生活和学习等方面给儿童带来一定的挑战.家庭性教育对于帮助他们顺利度过青春期,获得身心全面健康发展具有积极的促进作用.本文通过对处于青春期的儿童的父母进行性教育知识、性教育态度及家庭性教育开展状况调查,发现受访父母...     

Cyberbullying victimisation and mental distress: testing the moderating role of attachment security,social support,and coping styles

Although it has been well established that cyberbullying leads to mental health problems, less is known about the factors that confer resilience to the adverse effects of cyberbullying among young people. To address this gap, adolescents aged 13–19 years (n = 476) completed a survey measuring cyberbullying victimisation, attachment styles, perceived social support, coping styles, and mental distress. Compared to non-victims, victims of cyberbullying experienced higher levels of depression and anxiety and endorsed more self-statements indicative of attachment anxiety. Peer support, security in attachment relationships, and the endorsement of positive coping strategies attenuated the positive relationship between cyberbullying victimisation and mental health difficulties. Family support did not appear to buffer adolescents from mental distress in this context. However, family support was the strongest bivariate predictor of reduced mental distress. Although peer relations should be the target of intervention programmes within school settings, the findings highlight the importance of including families in cyberbullying prevention programmes.     

A Study of the Decision-Making Behaviours of Turkish Adolescents

The research reported in this paper aimed to examine the relationships between decision-making behaviours, self-esteem, and the perceived problem-solving skills of adolescents and to investigate the contributions of self-esteem and perceived problem-solving skills in predicting decision-making behaviours (decision response styles, decisional self-esteem, and decisional stress). Another aim of the study was to investigate whether there is a difference in the decision-making behaviours of adolescents considering gender and school type. For this purpose, Decision Behaviour Questionnaire, Self-Esteem Inventory, and Problem-Solving Inventory were administered to 511 adolescents (276 females and 235 males) in Turkish high schools. The findings revealed that decisional behaviours were positively correlated with self-esteem and problem solving. At the same time, self-esteem (general, social, academic, and home/family) and problem-solving were significant predictors of decisional behaviours. There were significant differences in decisional behaviours according to gender and type of school.     

Child sexual abuse consequences in community samples of Latino and European American adolescents

ObjectiveResearch investigating the impact of child sexual abuse (CSA) in community samples of adolescents has been limited. This study aims to identify sexual abuse among ethnically diverse high school adolescents of both genders and evaluate their psycho-emotional consequences.MethodThrough the use of self-report instruments, a sample of 223 Latino and European American 16–19-year-old high school students were identified as either victims of CSA or as nonabused. The emotional impact of sexual abuse was also investigated among these ethnically diverse adolescent males and females.ResultsInitial findings revealed that those adolescents who gave inconsistent responses to CSA assessments questions were much more similar in patterns of psychological distress to CSA victims compared to nonabused teenagers. Prevalence analyses revealed that females (45%) were nearly two times more likely to report CSA than males (24%). Latinos (44%) were significantly more likely to experience CSA compared to European Americans (27%), and Latinas (54%) had the highest prevalence overall. Other findings indicated substantial differences in type of perpetrator. While female victims of CSA identified male perpetrators in 91.9% of cases, male victims of CSA identified female perpetrators in 52.9% of cases. Consistent with past research, sexually abused adolescents reported significantly greater psychological distress than their nonabused peers, regardless of gender or ethnic group. Gender differences emerged with females reporting greater psychological symptoms, but these differences were substantially reduced when CSA was controlled. European Americans reported greater anxious arousal symptoms compared to Latinos.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the prevalence of CSA among adolescents is higher than existing research has noted for both males and females and particularly higher for Latinos compared to European Americans. Perpetration by females upon males may also be higher than research has noted. Our findings also revealed many ethnic and gender similarities and fewer differences in the psychological impact and circumstances of sexual abuse in this diverse sample of adolescents.Practice implicationsThe high prevalence of CSA among adolescent males and particularly Latinas emphasize the need to intervene on a community level and with parents for both prevention and intervention regarding issues of sexual victimization. The numbers of female perpetrators, especially when boys are the targets of abuse, may be higher than previously imagined and thus must be assessed tactfully and thoroughly. This study found that adolescents who reported CSA inconsistently had similar symptoms as those with confirmed CSA and therefore warrant greater attention and more persistent intervention. When treating victims of CSA, the Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) is effective in identifying specific areas of emotional distress to treat in sexually abused ethnically diverse male and female adolescents. Culturally relevant prevention efforts are needed for ethnically diverse children of both genders.