To Örebro University

The developmental taxonomy proposed by Moffitt (1993, 2006) holds that there are two main trajectories of offending: a life-course-persistent (LCP) and an adolescent-limited (AL) pattern. A bulk of research, primarily for males, supports the LCP and AL conceptualization. Childhood risk factors behind the development of LCP and AL offending seem to be quite similar for males and females. If the model proposed by Moffitt is correct, however, possibilities to predict future antisocial behavior should differ between the sexes. Early childhood problems which predict future LCP are more common among males. Hence it should be possible early to forecast LCP trajectories for males, but not for females. Rather, what happens from childhood to early adolescence should be predictive of females' future antisocial behavior. We tested the possibility to predict middle adolescent normbreaking and adult criminality from late childhood and late childhood to early adolescence problem indicators, respectively, for the 1,000 males and females in the longitudinal research program Individual Development and Adjustment (Magnusson et al., 1973). Analyses showed that male offending could be better and earlier predicted than female offending, but what happens in early adolescence mattered for later normbreaking and criminality for both females and males.

Addresses the question of whether it is possible to use a self-report measure of psychopathic traits on non-referred youth samples to identify a subgroup of problematic youths who are particularly problematic and different from other problem youths. A large sample of 1,279 eighth-grade, non-referred adolescents (mean age 14.42 yrs), and their parents were assessed. Students completed self-report measures that assessed personality, conduct problems, and family functioning. Parents responded by completing and mailing in a questionnaire. Results show that the adolescents exhibiting a low-socialized psychopathy-like personality constellation had a more frequent, violent, and versatile conduct-problem profile than other low-socialized and well socialized adolescents. The psychopathy-like adolescents also differed from other poorly socialized adolescents in ways that suggested that their etiological background was different from adolescents with non-psychopathy-like conduct problems. The authors conclude that self-report measures can indeed be useful for research purposes in subtyping youths with conduct problems.

Examined the relationship between bullying in school and street violence. 2,915 adolescents (aged 14-15 yrs) completed questionnaires concerning street violence, weapon carrying, violence victimization, loitering, bullying, and nights away from home. Results show that bullying others in school was strongly linked to violent behavior and weapon-carrying on the streets, both among males and females. Bullying others in school was also related to being violently victimized on the streets. Findings suggest that school bullying is in many cases a part of a more general violent and aggressive behavior pattern, and that preventive efforts targeting individuals with bullying behavior in school may decrease violence among adolescents in the community as well.

Objective:  In the present paper we ask whether it is meaningful to study psychopathic traits in non-referred youths and whether this kind of research can be used to understand the development of criminal full-blown psychopathy.

Method:  We review studies that have investigated the utility of assessing psychopathic traits in non-referred samples of youths.

Results:  Research shows that psychopathic traits in non-referred youths manifest similarly to how they are manifested among incarcerated offenders, as indicated by similarities in factor structures. Also, psychopathic traits relate similarly to frequent, violent antisocial behavior in non-referred youths as among adult and adolescent institutionalized criminal offenders. Thus, the differences between the non-referred conduct-problem youths exhibiting a psychopathic personality pattern and the incarcerated, criminal youths identified as psychopathic seem to be quantitative rather than qualitative.

Conclusion:  It is concluded that research on non-referred youth samples can provide important knowledge about the processes that underlie the development of psychopathic traits and how this development can be prevented. Implications for future research and intervention and prevention are discussed.

Investigated the relationships between the achievement strategies adolescents deploy in a school context, and their self-esteem, school adjustment, and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. A total of 1,185 14-15 yr old adolescents filled in the Strategy and Attribution Questionnaire, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and scales measuring school adjustment, depression and externalizing problem behavior. The adolescents' parents were also asked to evaluate their children's achievement strategies, school adjustment, and externalizing problem behavior. Results reveal that low self-esteem was associated with adolescents' use of maladaptive achievement strategies which, in turn, was associated with their maladjustment at school, and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Moreover, the association between adolescents' maladaptive strategies and their externalizing problem behavior was partly mediated via their school adjustment. The results suggest that the achievement strategies adolescents deploy are reflected not only in their school adjustment but also in their overall problem behavior.

Investigated the extent to which adolescents' achievement strategies are associated with the parenting styles they experience in their families. 354 adolescents (median age 14 yrs) completed a Strategy and Attribution Questionnaire and a family parenting style inventory. Analogous questionnaires were also completed by the adolescents' parents. Based on adolescents' report of the parenting styles, 4 types of families were identified: those with Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive, and Neglectful parenting styles. The results further showed that adolescents from authoritative families applied most adaptive achievement strategies characterized by low levels of failure expectations, task irrelevant behavior and passivity, and the use of self-enhancing attributions. Adolescents from neglectful families, in turn, applied maladaptive strategies characterized by high levels of task-irrelevant behavior, passivity and a lack of self-enhancing attributions. The results provide a basis for understanding some of the processes by which parenting styles may influence adolescents' academic achievement and performance.

Ethnically harassed immigrant youth are at risk for experiencing a wide range of school adjustment problems. However, it is still unclear why and under what conditions experiencing ethnic harassment leads to school adjustment difficulties. To address this limitation in the literature, we examined two important questions. First, we investigated whether self-esteem and/or depressive symptoms would mediate the associations between ethnic harassment and poor school adjustment among immigrant youth. Second, we examined whether immigrant youths' perception of school context would play a buffering role in the pathways between ethnic harassment and school adjustment difficulties. The sample (n = 330; M _age  = 14.07, SD = .90; 49 % girls at T1) was drawn from a longitudinal study in Sweden. The results revealed that experiencing ethnic harassment led to a decrease in immigrant youths' self-esteem over time, and that youths' expectations of academic failure increased. Further, youths' relationships with their teachers and their perceptions of school democracy moderated the mediation processes. Specifically, when youth had poor relationships with their teachers or perceived their school context as less democratic, being exposed to ethnic harassment led to a decrease in their self-esteem. In turn, they reported low school satisfaction and perceived themselves as being unsuccessful in school. Such indirect effects were not observed when youth had high positive relationships with their teachers or perceived their school as offering a democratic environment. These findings highlight the importance of understanding underlying processes and conditions in the examination of the effects of ethnic devaluation experiences in order to reach a more comprehensive understanding of immigrant youths' school adjustment.

Teachers are thought to play an important role in fostering youth civic engagement; however, the current literature is limited with regard to providing concrete suggestions as to what teachers can do to promote youth civic engagement and why teachers have an impact on youth. To address these limitations, we simultaneously tested three alternative explanations to identify the critical way(s) in which perceived teachers' behaviors might contribute to youth civic engagement in school. We also investigated the underlying processes that may explain why youth's perceptions of teachers' behaviors matter, by focusing on the mediating roles of young people's feelings about politics and their political efficacy beliefs. The sample included 7th (n = 876, M age  = 13.42, SD = .71; 51 % girls) and 10th grade students (n = 857, M age  = 16.62, SD = .71; 51 % girls) residing in Sweden. Among the different aspects of perceived teacher behaviors, only an engaged and inspiring teaching style fostered youth's initiations of civic and political discussions in class over time among both early and late adolescents. Moreover, youth's feelings about politics significantly mediated the effect of perceived teachers' behaviors on youth civic engagement in class. Contrary to our expectation, youth's political efficacy did not act as a mediator. The present study sheds light on what teachers can do to promote youth civic and political engagement in a school setting.

Research on ethnic victimization to date has done little to identify the reasons why adolescents victimize their peers due to their ethnic background. To address this limitation, we examined: (1) the extent to which prejudiced attitudes within adolescents' close and larger social networks determine their engagement in ethnic harassment, and (2) the extent to which classroom ethnic diversity plays a role in any such link. Our sample included 902 Swedish adolescents (M age  = 14.40, SD = .95; 50.3% girls). We found that Swedish adolescents who held negative attitudes toward immigrants or who were surrounded by prejudiced peers were more likely to be involved in ethnic harassment, particularly in classrooms with high ethnic diversity. Adolescents in classrooms with a high anti-immigrant climate were more likely to harass their immigrant peers. These findings suggest that prejudiced beliefs in youth social networks put young people at risk of engaging in ethnic harassment, particularly in ethnically diverse classrooms.

The present study aimed to examine whether ethnic harassment was related to violent behaviors among immigrant youth over time and to identify the risk factors. The sample comprised immigrant adolescents living in Sweden (N = 365; Mage  = 13.93, SD = 0.80). Results showed that the more youth were ethnically harassed, the more they engaged in violent acts over time. A separated identity significantly moderated the effect of ethnic harassment on youth's engagement in violent behaviors. Specifically, ethnic harassment positively predicted engagement in violent behaviors only at high levels of separated identity. Impulsivity and school ethnic composition did not act as moderators. The findings suggest that preventing violent behaviors among immigrant youth requires a focus on promoting positive interethnic relationships, and multicultural identity among immigrant youth.

mmigrant youth are at risk of experiencing harassment in school; however, we have only limited understanding of what makes youth harass their peers on ground of their ethnic origin. To address this major limitation, we examined (a) whether youth’s negative attitudes toward immigrants impact their engagement in ethnic harassment over time and (b) whether youth’s impulsivity, their tendencies to engage in risky behaviors, and a chaotic surrounding school environment moderate the link between their negative attitudes toward immigrants and their involvement in ethnic harassment. The sample included 583 Swedish youth (Xage = 13.93, SD = .71). Youth with negative attitudes toward immigrants ethnically were found to harass their immigrant peers when they had high levels of impulsivity and violent tendencies. Contrary to our expectation, youth perceptions of school atmosphere did not act as a moderator. The present study highlights the importance of identifying risk factors to reach a comprehensive understanding of ethnic harassment.

Immigrant adolescents who experience ethnic devaluation are prone to having adjustment difficulties, including school dissatisfaction and low academic performance. However, it is unclear why and under what conditions experiencing ethnic harassment lead to school adjustment difficulties. This lack of understanding limits our ability of developing strategies to reduce negative consequences of ethnic harassment. To address this limitation, we examined the mediating roles of self-esteem and depressive symptoms in the association between ethnic harassment and immigrant youths’ school outcomes, including school satisfaction, perceived academic failure, and cutting classes. We also explored whether youths’ relationship with their teachers or democratic school environment buffer these processes.

The data are part of a longitudinal study on youths’ experiences inside and outside of school and their relationships with their parents, peers, and teachers. The sample included 394 first- and second-generation immigrant youths (50% girls; M = 14.08, SD = .90).

The findings suggested that immigrant youths who experienced ethnic harassment decreased in self-esteem, and so became less satisfied with school, and increased in expectations of academic failure. In addition, youths’ relationship with their teachers and their perception of school democracy moderated these mediation processes. When youths had low positive relationships with their teachers or perceived their school context as less democratic, being exposed to ethnic harassment leaded to a decrease in their self-esteem, and so they reported low school satisfaction and perceived themselves as not being successful in school. Contrary, youths’ self-esteem did not significantly decrease in the face of ethnic harassment when they had supportive relations with teachers or perceived the school as a democratic environment. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the underlying processes and conditions when examining the effects of migration related risk factors in order to reach a more comprehensive understanding of immigrant youths’ school adjustment.

Shy children and adolescents have previously been found to have friends with similarly shy, withdrawn behavioral characteristics. How peers might socialize shyness over time has, however, not been thoroughly investigated before. Our network included 834 youths (339 girls, and 495 boys; M = 14.29), followed for three years. We used the social network analysis software, SIENA, to analyze the data. The results show that those youths who are shy are less popular and choose fewer friends in the network. They also tend to choose friends who are shy, and over time they will influence each other into becoming more shy – over and above other effects. Finally, girls’ shyness is more influenced than boys’ by their friends’ shyness levels. These results show the significance of looking at shy youths’ friendships over time, and embedded in social networks.

Cette étude examine les processus de sélection et d’influence liés à l’engagement scolaire et au comportement délinquant dans les relations d’amitié chez les adolescents. Nous appliquons des modèles d’analyse de réseaux dynamiques (Snijders, Steglich et Schweinberger, 2007) examinant la co-évolution des comportements et des réseaux à un échantillon longitudinal de jeunes suédois (n = 445) observé pendant cinq ans. Les résultats indiquent que les choix des jeunes sont caractérisés par un fort niveau de réciprocité, de transitivité, d’homophilie de genre et d’homophilie fondée sur des niveaux semblables d’engagement scolaire et de comportement déviant. Des effets d’influence indiquent que les jeunes adoptent les comportements déviants de leurs amis. Le niveau d’engagement scolaire permet de prédire des changements dans le comportement déviant et ce dernier permet en retour de prédire une évolution dans l’engagement scolaire.

Objective: This study examined developmental trends of peer selection and socialization related to friends' alcohol use in early-, middle-, and late-adolescent peer networks, with the primary goal of identifying when these mechanisms emerge, when these mechanisms exert their strongest effects, and when (or if) they decrease in importance. Gender and reciprocity are also tested as moderators of selection and socialization.

Method: Cross-sequential study (three age cohorts assessed at three annual measurements) of 950 youth (53% male) initially attending classrooms in Grade 4 (n = 314; M = 10.1 years), Grade 7 (n = 335; M = 13.1 years), and Grade 10 (n = 301; M = 16.2 years).

Results: Similarity between friends' drinking behaviors emerged in Grade 6, peaked in Grade 8, and decreased throughout late adolescence. Adolescents in all three age groups selected peers with similar drinking behaviors, with effects being more robust for early-adolescent males and for late-adolescent females. Peers' alcohol use emerged as a significant predictor of middle-adolescent alcohol use and remained a significant predictor of individual drinking behaviors throughout late adolescence. Socialization did not differ as a function of gender or reciprocity.

Conclusions: Alcohol-related peer selection was relatively more important than socialization in early-adolescent friendship networks; both mechanisms contributed to explaining similarity between the drinking behaviors of friends in middle and late adolescence. Effects of peer socialization emerged in middle adolescence and remained throughout late adolescence. (J Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 89-98, 2012)

The purpose of this study is to examine the adolescents who cross the boundaries of legality, also including illegal political means in their political action repertoire. The data comprised of questionnaire responses from middle and late adolescents in a Swedish city of around 130,000 citizens. Analyses of covariance, EXACON, and logistic regression were used to examine the extent to which adolescents including illegal political activities in their political activity repertoire compare with their legally oriented counterparts. Adolescents using illegal political activity reported higher levels of political interest and goal-orientation than adolescents involved solely in legal political activity. The major contrasts with legal political activism were that illegal political activism seemed to co-occur with (a) reluctance to accept authority, irrespective of the context (societal, school, or parental) and (b) approval of violent political means. In a simultaneous model, further analysis revealed that reluctance to accept authority reduced the predictive power of illegal political activities with regard to approval of political violence. This suggests that the tendencies to approve of political violence, among adolescents involved in illegal political activities, might be partially explained by challenges toward authority. To conclude, adolescents in illegal political activism seem to have similar resources for political engagement as their legally oriented counterparts. However, adolescents involved in illegal political activity seem more likely to let ends justify the means. Most likely, this position is related to authority challenges.

People with sleep-onset problems often experience neuroticism. To what extent the one problem leads to the other is unknown. We used self-reported data from a Swedish longitudinal project to examine developmental links between neuroticism and sleep-onset problems. A sample of 212 people, followed from birth to midlife, was part of a cohort study spanning 37 years. Adolescent neuroticism was measured at age 16 with the High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ, Form A) and in midlife at age 37 with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). Sleep-onset problems were measured at ages 15 to 17, 25, and 37 with items developed for the Solna Project. Adolescent neuroticism failed to predict sleep-onset problems. Instead, sleep-onset problems in adolescence and young adulthood predicted midlife neuroticism. We found that sleep-onset problems during adolescence were a direct risk for midlife neuroticism, as well as, an indirect risk through continuance of sleep-onset problems into adulthood. This study provides longitudinal support for adolescent sleep-onset problems as a potent risk factor for heightened neuroticism in midlife.

This study tests the hypothesis that adolescents with romantic partners are less similar to their friends on rates of alcohol abuse than adolescents without romantic partners. Participants (662 girls, 574 boys) ranging in age from 12 to 19 years nominated friends and romantic partners, and completed a measure of alcohol abuse. In hierarchical linear models, friends with romantic partners were less similar on rates of alcohol abuse than friends without romantic partners, especially if they were older and less accepted. Follow-up longitudinal analyses were conducted on a subsample (266 boys, 374 girls) of adolescents who reported friendships that were stable across 2 consecutive years. Associations between friend reports of alcohol abuse declined after adolescents became involved in a romantic relationship, to the point at which they became more similar to their romantic partners than to their friends.

OBJECTIVE: Inadequate parent supervision during the early adolescent years forecasts a host of conduct problems, including illicit alcohol consumption. Early pubertal maturation may exacerbate problems, because girls alienated from same-age peers seek the company of older, more mature youth. The current study examines overtime associations between parent autonomy granting and adolescent alcohol abuse during a developmental period when alcohol consumption becomes increasingly normative, to determine if early maturing girls are at special risk for problems arising from a lack of parent supervision.

METHODS: At annual intervals for 4 consecutive years, a community sample of 957 Swedish girls completed surveys beginning in the first year of secondary school (approximate age: 13 years) describing rates of alcohol intoxication and perceptions of parent autonomy granting. Participants also reported age at menarche.

RESULTS: Multiple-group parallel process growth curve models revealed that early pubertal maturation exacerbated the risk associated with premature autonomy granting: Alcohol intoxication rates increased 3 times faster for early maturing girls with the greatest autonomy than they did for early maturing girls with the least autonomy. Child-driven effects were also found such that higher initial levels of alcohol abuse predicted greater increases in autonomy granting as parent supervision over children engaged in illicit drinking waned.

CONCLUSIONS: Early maturing girls are at elevated risk for physical and psychological adjustment difficulties. The etiology of escalating problems with alcohol can be traced, in part, to a relative absence of parent supervision during a time when peer interactions assume special significance.

There is some evidence that adolescent romantic involvement is associated with delinquent behaviour. One aim of this longitudinal study was to determine whether this holds for romantic relationships deemed important by the participants. A second aim was to test whether this association was stronger for adolescents with pre-existing delinquent behaviour and personality traits of impulsivity and thrill seeking (delinquency propensity). Sex differences also were examined. Participants were 686 7th and 8th grade students who completed three assessments over three years. The results showed that delinquency was associated with earlier romantic relationships among those who were higher in delinquency propensity one year earlier. This association was stronger among girls than boys. Thus, romantic relationships amplified girls' and boys' existing delinquency propensity, but this was strongest among girls. (C) 2009 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parental control is assumed to be associated with smoking onset: Parents who exert control on their children and monitor their children's behavior are less likely to have children who start to smoke. However, the empirical evidence for this assumption is mostly from cross-sectional studies. The present research examined the prospective associations between parental control and smoking onset among Dutch and Swedish adolescents and their parents. Findings revealed nonsignificant links between general parental control and smoking onset in both samples, and no link between smoking-specific parental control and smoking onset in the Dutch sample, thereby questioning the assumption that parental control prevents adolescent smoking onset.

(From the cover) Everyone agrees that peers are important in adolescence. Recently, there have been some noteworthy advances in research on adolescent peer relationships and this volume, written by leading experts, presents four key areas of these innovative studies. Firstly, the discovery of a "deviancy training" mechanism of peer influence is examined, in which antisocial pairs have been observed to reward each other with approval for deviant or antisocial talk, and this has been linked to escalations in antisocial behavior. The second area is the study of romantic partners as important peer relationships in adolescence. This is a newly emerging field of research with only a dozen or so studies published to date. The text then looks at the application of behavioral genetic analytical techniques to understand peer selection and influence processes. This line of research will also shed a new light on social environmental influences on adolescent problem behaviors. The final area covers the use of designs that capture both in-school and out-of-school peers in order to understand their relative influence on problem behavior. As the first of the Hot Topics in Developmental Research series, a three-part developmental psychology range, this volume presents the work of highly prestigious chapter authors edited by Rutger Engels, Margaret Kerr and Håkan Stattin. This research tool is useful reading for researchers, final year undergraduates and postgraduates in developmental and health psychology, and child psychologists.

An important task for academic institutions is disseminating knowledge also to practitioners and decision-makers. Örebro University gives the Art of Prevention- Mental Health among Children and Young People and the Art of Prevention – Parental Support. The challenge was to provide an up-to-date training at campus and ICT (Information and Communications Technology) facilitating the participation of practitioners and policy makers. A follow-up more than six months after the Art of Prevention– Parental Support has been done. The training has been important for thinking and action. Program structure (distance learning with two campus meetings, recorded lectures, practical assignments, literature and practice-based assessment tasks) has been very successful. The program has high relevance and quality due to cooperation with authorities, researchers and experts in Sweden.

Background.

Epidemiological data on subtypes of social phobia are scarce and their defining features are debated. Hence, the present study explored the prevalence and descriptive characteristics of empirically derived social phobia subgroups in the general population.

Methods.

To reveal subtypes, data on social distress, functional impairment, number of social fears and criteria fulfilled for avoidant personality disorder were extracted from a previously published epidemiological study of 188 social phobics and entered into an hierarchical cluster analysis. Criterion validity was evaluated by comparing clusters on the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). Finally, profile analyses were performed in which clusters were compared on a set of sociodemographic and descriptive characteristics.

Results.

Three clusters emerged, consisting of phobics scoring either high (generalized subtype), intermediate (non-generalized subtype) or low (discrete subtype) on all variables. Point prevalence rates were 2.0%, 5.9% and 7.7% respectively. All subtypes were distinguished on both SPS and SIAS. Generalized or severe social phobia tended to be over-represented among individuals with low levels of educational attainment and social support. Overall, public-speaking was the most common fear.

Conclusions.

Although categorical distinctions may be used, the present data suggest that social phobia subtypes in the general population mainly differ dimensionally along a mild-moderate-severe continuum, and that the number of cases declines with increasing severity.

Background

In spite of the proven effectiveness of parenting based programs to prevent adolescent risk behaviors, such programs are rarely implemented in Mediterranean countries.

Objective

This pilot study was aimed at assessing the feasibility and the effects of a parenting based universal prevention program (Connect) in Italy.

Methods

Our sample comprised 147 mothers and 147 youths, aged 11–14 (M = 12.46, SD = .72). We adopted a quasi-experimental design. Forty percent of the parents in the sample were in the intervention condition (receiving 10 one hour lessons a week). ANCOVAs and Cohen’s d coefficients were used to compute intervention effects.

Results

The results showed that, despite difficulty in recruiting parents, the program held promising effects regarding the prevention of alcohol use at a universal level (Cohen’s d = .55); the intervention also marginally decreased the level of non-empathic answers from parents, at least in the short term (Cohen’s d = .32).

Conclusions

This study highlighted the importance of focusing on families to prevent problem behaviors in adolescence. It also points to the need for new strategies to engage parents in universal prevention.

Adolescents' hyperactivity, impulsivity, and attention problems (HIA) have been shown to make parents feel powerless. In this study, the authors examined whether these feelings were dependent on parents' experiences with their older children. Two models that offer different predictions of how parents make use of their earlier experiences when raising their later-born children were explored: the learning-from-experience model and the spillover model. The authors used reports from 372 parents with 1 child (M-age=11.92) and 198 parents with 2 children (M-age=11.89 and 14.35) from a small town in a European country. The results did not support a learning-from-experience process. Instead, consistent with a spillover process, parents felt particularly powerless about their younger children with HIA if they also felt powerless about their older children. This study suggests that parents' experiences of raising their older children are important for their reactions to HIA in their younger children.

Studies have shown that parents reduce control and support in response to youths' drinking. Why they react this way, however, is still unknown. From cognitive dissonance theory, we derived hypotheses about parents' reactions. We used a longitudinal, school-based sample of 494 youths (13 and 14 years, 56% boys) and their parents. General Linear Model (GLM) analyses were used to test the main hypotheses. In accord with our hypotheses, parents who encountered their youths intoxicated became less opposed to underage drinking over time. In addition, parents who remained strongly opposed to youth drinking experienced more worries than parents who became less opposed. Alternative explanations for the results were tested, but were not supported. The findings suggest that to eliminate the dissonance between their strict attitudes against youth drinking and their knowledge of their own youths' drinking, parents changed their attitudes and became more lenient.

Background:

Studies have shown that parents reduce control and support in response to youths’ drinking. Why they react this way, however, is still much unknown. From cognitive dissonance theory, we derived hypotheses about parents’ reactions.

Methods:

We used a longitudinal, school-based sample of 494 youths (13 and 14 years, 56% boys) and their parents. General Linear Model (GLM) analyses were used to test the main hypotheses.

Results:

In accord with our hypotheses, parents who encountered their youths intoxicated became less opposed to underage drinking over time. In addition, parents who remained strongly opposed to youth drinking experienced more worries than parents who became less opposed. Alternative explanations for the results were tested, but were not supported.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that to eliminate the dissonance between their strict attitudes against youth drinking and their knowledge of their own youths’ drinking, parents changed their attitudes and became more lenient.

Parents learn from their experiences of having raised a child before, but it is unknown if it makes them better to deal with challenging behaviors in their later-born children. Some behaviors are particularly difficult to handle, such as Hyperactivity, impulsivity, and attention problems (HIA), which have been shown to make parents feel powerless. In this study, we examined if these feelings were dependent on parents’ experiences with their older children. Two models were examined, the learning-from-experience model and the spillover model, which make different predictions of how parents make use of their earlier experiences when they raise their later-born children. We used reports from 372 parents who had one child (M = 11.92 years), and 198 parents who had two children (M = 11.89 and 14.35 years). In agreement with Bugental’s parental attribution model, HIA was associated with parents’ feelings of powerlessness among parents who both had and those who had not raised a child before. Further, we did not find empirical support for the learning-from-experience model — parents felt powerless about their younger children with HIA even if they had raised a child before with HIA. However, consistent with the spillover hypothesis, parents felt particularly powerless about their younger children with HIA if they also felt powerless about their older children. These findings highlight the importance of acknowledging parents’ experiences with their older children in research and clinical settings.

Hyperactivity, impulsivity, and attention problems(HIA) in children and adolescents are stressful for parents. In this study, we used theories of parents’ perceived power and attributions for youths’ behaviors to develop a model to understand parents’ reactions to their youths’ HIA. We followed 706 youths (376 boys and 330 girls, aged 10–12 years at T1) and their parents in a community-based project over 5 years. Measures of youths’ HIA, youths’ unresponsiveness to correction, parents’ feelings of powerlessness, parental monitoring, and parents’ negative behaviors toward their youths, were used. HIA in youths predicted increases in parents’ perceptions that their youths were unresponsive to correction, which in turn prompted parents to feel more powerless over time. Further, parents’ feelings of powerlessness were associated with increases in negative parenting behaviors over time. These results indicate a movement to more negative parenting practices over time as a result of youths’ HIA.

Examined whether cholesterol level is related to commission of violent crimes against others in a large community cohort. One-time cholesterol measurements on 79,777 subjects enrolled in a health screening project in Sweden were merged with subsequent police records for arrests for violent crimes in men and women aged 24-70 at enrollment; and with information on covariates. A nested case control comparison of cholesterol in violent criminals--defined as those with 2 or more crimes of violence against others--to cholesterol in nonoffenders matched on age, enrollment year, sex, education and alcohol, was performed. 100 individuals met criteria for criminal violence. Low cholesterol was strongly associated with criminal violence in unadjusted analysis. Age emerged as a strong confounder. Adjusting for covariates using a matching procedure, violent criminals had significantly lower cholesterol than others identical in age, sex, alcohol indices and education. It is concluded that, adjusting for other factors, low cholesterol is associated with increased subsequent criminal violence.

In this article, we propose that, among females, high educational motivation in adolescence is related to a young adult orientation toward career whereas low educational motivation in adolescence is related to a young adult orientation toward homemaking. It is further hypothesized that, particularly for adolescents with low educational motivation, initial orientation is affected by the differential influences of nonconventional peer types: older peers, younger peers, working peers, or a steady boyfriend. Subjects (N = 450) from a Swedish longitudinal study were chosen on the basis of their peer networks at age 15. The results demonstrate (a) that educational motivation at age 15 comprised a valid indicator of career versus homemaking orientation at age 26, and (b) that, with respect to the young adult outcomes, adolescents with low educational motivation are more susceptible to the hypothesized nonconventional peer influences than are their counterparts with high educational motivation. Discussion emphasizes the value of a longitudinal perspective and of specifying conditions under which differential patterns of development might be observed.

This study examines homophily among adolescent friends. Participants were drawn from a community-based sample of Swedish youth who ranged from 11 to 18 years old. A total of 436 girls and 338 boys identified their closest friends and described their own delinquent activities, intoxication frequency, achievement motivation, and self-worth. Correlations and difference scores describe similarity between reciprocally nominated friends on each dimension. Adolescents who remained friends from one year to the next tended to be more similar than those who did not, during the friendship and, to a lesser extent, before the friendship. Comparisons with random pairs of same-age peers revealed that age-group homophily accounts for most of the similarity between unstable friends but only a fraction of the similarity between stable friends.

The present study was designed to examine best friend influence over alcohol intoxication and truancy as a function of relative perceptions of friendship satisfaction. The participants were 700 adolescents (306 boys, 394 girls) who were involved in same-sex best friendships that were stable from one academic year to the next. Participants completed self-report measures of alcohol intoxication frequency and truancy at 1-year intervals. Each member of each friendship dyad also rated his or her satisfaction with the relationship. At the outset, participants were in secondary school (approximately 13-14 years old) or high school (approximately 16-17 years old). More satisfied friends had greater influence than less satisfied friends over changes in intoxication frequency and truancy. Problem behaviors of less satisfied friends increased over time if the more satisfied friend reported relatively higher, but not relatively lower, initial levels of drinking or truancy. The results support the hypothesis that adolescent friends are not similarly influential. The power to socialize, for better and for worse, rests with the partner who has a more positive perception of the relationship.