Emotional Autonomy Redux: Revisiting Ryan and Lynch

Ryan and Lynch have suggested that emotional autonomy in adolescence, at least as indexed by Steinberg and Silverberg's Emotional Autonomy Scale, is associated with poor family functioning and might therefore be better conceptualized as detachment. In the present study, we contrast adjustment scores among adolescents who differ in both emotional autonomy and perceptions of support in their relationship with their parents. Several thousand adolescents aged 14 through 18 completed Steinberg and Silverberg's emotional autonomy measure, a measure designed to assess the provision of support in the parent-adolescent relationship, and a number of standardized measures of adjustment. Adolescents high in emotional autonomy but low in relationship support show problematic adjustment profiles, consistent with Ryan and Lynch's interpretation of the measure as an index of detachment. Although adolescents high in both emotional autonomy and relationship support report more internal distress and behavior problems than some adolescents, they score higher on measures of psychosocial development and academic competence than their peers. Emotional autonomy in the context of a supportive adolescent-parent relationship may carry some developmental advantages as well as some deleterious consequences suggested by Ryan and Lynch.     

The influence of instruction modality on brain activation in teenagers with nonverbal learning disabilities: two case histories

Teenagers with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) have difficulty with fine-motor coordination, which may relate to the novelty of the task or the lack of "self-talk" to mediate action. In this study, we required two teenagers with NLD and two control group teenagers to touch the thumb of each hand firmly and accurately to the fingertips of the same hand, in an order specified by verbal or tactile instruction. Brain activity patterns (measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging) suggest that unlike control participants, the NLD participants used internalized speech to facilitate the novel task only when instructions were verbal. NLD participants also showed activity in a more widely distributed network of neural structures. These findings provide preliminary evidence for remediation strategies that encourage internal speech.     

Reciprocal relations between parenting and adjustment in a sample of juvenile offenders

The over-time reciprocal links between parenting and adolescent adjustment were examined in a sample of 1,354 serious adolescent offenders followed for 3 years (16 years of age at baseline, SD = 1.14). Parallel processing growth curve models provided independent estimates of the impact of parenting on adolescent functioning as well as the impact of adolescent functioning on parenting. Positive adolescent development was facilitated by high parental warmth and low parental hostility. Parental monitoring predicted less problematic behavior, but less positive functioning as well. Predictably, parents became warmer and less hostile in response to positive adolescent development, and less warm in response to problematic adolescent functioning. Parental monitoring declined when adolescents exhibited either positive or problematic functioning.     

Examining the Black-White achievement gap among low-income children using the NICHD study of early child care and youth development

The Black–White achievement gap in children’s reading and mathematics school performance from 4½ years of age through fifth grade was examined in a sample of 314 lower income American youth followed from birth. Differences in family, child care, and schooling experiences largely explained Black–White differences in achievement, and instructional quality was a stronger predictor for Black than White children. In addition, the achievement gap was detected as young as 3 years of age. Taken together, the findings suggest that reducing the Black–White achievement gap may require early intervention to reduce race gaps in home and school experiences during the infant and toddler years as well as during the preschool and school years.     

The influence of warning messages on the public's perception of substance use: A theoretical framework

We bring different theories together to develop a theoretical framework that helps to understand how early warning messages about (new) dangerous drugs can influence the public's perception of substance use. We bring together the agenda setting theory, framing theory, dual processing theory, social learning theory, health belief model, theory of planned behavior, and cultivation theory in order to explain how warning messages diffused through the mass media can have an impact on the receivers' perceptions. Based on these insights we construct the Integrated Media Effect Framework (IMFE) that takes into account the role of cultural and structural contexts in the realm of early warning systems (EWS). Ultimately, this framework provides valuable guidelines for conceptualizing EWS and for developing applications by governments.     

Associations Between Perceived Material Deprivation,Parents’ Discipline Practices,and Children's Behavior Problems: An International Perspective

This study investigated the association between perceived material deprivation, children's behavior problems, and parents’ disciplinary practices. The sample included 1,418 8- to 12-year-old children and their parents in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Multilevel mixed- and fixed-effects regression models found that, even when income remained stable, perceived material deprivation was associated with children's externalizing behavior problems and parents’ psychological aggression. Parents’ disciplinary practices mediated a small share of the association between perceived material deprivation and children's behavior problems. There were no differences in these associations between mothers and fathers or between high- and low- and middle-income countries. These results suggest that material deprivation likely influences children's outcomes at any income level.     

Family History,Gender, and Eating and Body Image Concerns in University Students Seeking Counseling Services

Family history events have been shown to be reliable predictors of eating and body image concerns; however, little is known regarding how family history events compare in a clinical sample, or if these events differ by gender. The current study addresses this paucity, focusing on 3,129 university students seeking clinical services. Having a family member with an eating problem was the most consistent family history predictor across all severity levels. Men and women demonstrated different family history predictors, indicating possible separate pathways to eating or body image concerns based on gender.     

Parental influences on adolescent problem behavior: revisiting Stattin and Kerr

High school students (approximately 14-18 years old; N=2,568) completed questionnaires in which they reported on their involvement in substance use and delinquency, and their perceptions of parental warmth, control, monitoring, and knowledge. Three alternative models were compared describing the nature of relations among these variables. Problem behavior was best predicted by a model that included indirect effects of warmth, control, and monitoring (all by way of parental knowledge), as well as direct effects of control and monitoring. Analyses are framed and findings are discussed with reference to recent work by Stattin and Kerr (2000; Kerr & Stattin, 2000) on the measurement and meaning of parental monitoring.     

Longitudinal Trajectories of Four Domains of Parenting in Relation to Adolescent Age and Puberty in Nine Countries

Children, mothers, and fathers in 12 ethnic and regional groups in nine countries (N = 1,338 families) were interviewed annually for 8 years (M_age child = 8–16 years) to model four domains of parenting as a function of child age, puberty, or both. Latent growth curve models revealed that for boys and girls, parents decrease their warmth, behavioral control, rules/limit-setting, and knowledge solicitation in conjunction with children’s age and pubertal status as children develop from ages 8 to 16 across a range of diverse contexts, with steeper declines after age 11 or 12 in three of the four parenting domains. National, ethnic, and regional differences and similarities in the trajectories as a function of age and puberty are discussed.     

Cross-Cultural Associations of Four Parenting Behaviors With Child Flourishing: Examining Cultural Specificity and Commonality in Cultural Normativeness and Intergenerational Transmission Processes

Families from nine countries (N = 1,338) were interviewed annually seven times (M_age child = 7–15) to test specificity and commonality in parenting behaviors associated with child flourishing and moderation of associations by normativeness of parenting. Participants included 1,338 children (M = 8.59 years, SD = 0.68, range = 7–11 years; 50% girls), their mothers (N = 1,283, M = 37.04 years, SD = 6.51, range = 19–70 years), and their fathers (N = 1,170, M = 40.19 years, SD = 6.75, range = 22–76 years) at Wave 1 of 7 annual waves collected between 2008 and 2017. Families were recruited from 12 ethnocultural groups in nine countries including: Shanghai, China (n = 123); Medellín, Colombia (n = 108); Naples (n = 102) and Rome (n = 111), Italy; Zarqa, Jordan (n = 114); Kisumu, Kenya (n = 100); Manila, Philippines (n = 120); Trollhättan & Vänersborg, Sweden (n = 129); Chiang Mai, Thailand (n = 120); and Durham, NC, United States (n = 110 White, n = 102 Black, n = 99 Latinx). Intergenerational parenting (parenting passed from Generation 1 to Generation 2) demonstrated specificity. Children from cultures with above-average G2 parent warmth experienced the most benefit from the intergenerational transmission of warmth, whereas children from cultures with below-average G2 hostility, neglect, and rejection were best protected from deleterious intergenerational effects of parenting behaviors on flourishing. Single-generation parenting (Generation 2 parenting directly associated with Generation 3 flourishing) demonstrated commonality. Parent warmth promoted, and parent hostility, neglect, and rejection impeded the development of child flourishing largely regardless of parenting norms.