Peer relations among adolescents with female same-sex parents.

This study examined associations among family type (same-sex vs. opposite-sex parents), adolescent gender, family and relationship variables, and the peer relations of adolescents. Participants included 44 adolescents parented by same-sex female couples and 44 adolescents parented by opposite-sex couples, matched on demographic characteristics and drawn from a national sample. On both self-reported and peer-reported measures of relations with peers, adolescents were functioning well, and the quality of their peer relations was not associated with family type. Regardless of family type, adolescents whose parents described closer relationships with them reported higher quality peer relations and more friends in school and were rated as more central in their friendship networks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The co-occurrence of depression and substance abuse in late adolescence

This article examines the role of adolescent social relationships in fostering the occurrence and co-occurrence of depression and substance abuse, using two waves of data from a community sample of adolescents (N = 900). Multinomial logistic response models were estimated to identify the extent to which risk and protective features of youths' family and peer relations were differentially linked with depressive symptoms, substance abuse, and their co-occurrence. Taking a within-person, configurational approach to adolescent adaptation, contrasts involved four subgroups of adolescents: those high on both depressed mood and substance abuse, those who experience neither problem, those evidencing high levels of depressive symptoms only, and those high on substance abuse only. Risk for depressive symptoms was differentiated by its association with conflict and lack of support in the friendship domain. Substance abuse was associated with negative peer pressure, but these youth were otherwise little different from youths with no problems. Whereas co-occurrence of depression and substance use was associated with more difficulties in both the family and peer environments, the most distinctive risk was that of low family support. Discussion centers on the developmental antecedents of co-occurring problems and family relations during adolescence.     

The impact of family, peer, and school contexts on depressive symptoms in adolescents with spina bifida.

Objective: Based on social ecological theory, this study examined the joint relations among adolescents' family, peer, and school contexts and depressive symptoms in youth with spina bifida using cumulative, protective, and specific effects models. Method: Sixty families of adolescents with spina bifida and 65 comparison families reported on adolescents' positive experiences within these contexts and on depressive symptoms when youth were 14–15 and 16–17 years old. Results: Adolescents with spina bifida had fewer total positive contexts and less positive experience within peer and school contexts, as compared to typically developing adolescents. Greater total number of positive contexts and higher levels of positive experiences within family and school contexts were associated with fewer depressive symptoms for both groups; peer positive experiences were related to lower depressive symptoms for typically developing adolescents only. Conclusion: Adolescents with spina bifida have fewer positive contexts, which may place them at risk for higher levels of depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Action-oriented representations of implicit personality theories.

120 female undergraduates rated significant persons in their lives on repertory test dimensions. The 5 independent variables were priming (for family life vs, peer life vs, no priming), instrumentality of the psychological dimensions to the actors' goals from family vs peer life, consistency of knowledge about family and peer actors' goals, types of rated persons, and concentration on the persons before ratings. Ratings on dimensions instrumental to family goals were more variable after priming for family life. In contrast, the dimensions instrumental to peer goals were more variable, after priming for peer life. These relations were more marked after concentration, especially among Ss with high consistency of knowledge about family or peer actors' goals. Results support the hypotheses that an individual may have alternative systems of psychological knowledge that are organized in the form of action-oriented representations and in which categories of actors' goals and psychological conditions of achieving the goals play a central role. Ratings in the no-priming conditions corresponded well to the findings of earlier studies on implicit personality theories. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early adolescent peer orientation and adjustment during high school.

The long-term consequences of early adolescents' orientation toward peers for their adjustment during high school were assessed. Approximately 1,200 adolescents completed questionnaires in the 7th grade and in the 10th or 12th grades; course grades were also obtained from the students' school records. Early adolescents who were willing to sacrifice their talents, school performance, and parents' rules engaged in greater problem behavior and evidenced lower academic achievement than did other adolescents during high school. The poorer adjustment of adolescents with this extreme orientation toward peers was mediated by their reported involvement in deviant peer groups. In contrast, a tendency to seek advice from peers more than from parents during early adolescence had little implication for later adjustment. Discussion focuses on the need to consider the role of peer dependence along with the effects of supportive friendships during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical features of major depressive disorder in adolescents and their relatives: Impact on familial aggregation, implications for phenotype definition, and specificity of transmission.

Three questions were addressed using family study data from a community sample: (a) Which clinical features of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents are associated with elevated rates of MDD in relatives? (b) Which features of MDD in relatives distinguish family members of depressed adolescents from relatives of adolescents without mood disorders (NMD)? and (c) Do depressed adolescents with particular features have higher proportions of depressed relatives with the same features? Participants included 268 MDD adolescents, 401 NMD adolescents, and their 2,202 first-degree relatives. Rates of MDD were highest among relatives of depressed adolescents with recurrent episodes and greater impairment. Depression severity best distinguished the relatives of depressed adolescents from relatives of controls. Specific clinical features did not aggregate in families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comorbidity between dysthymic and major depressive disorders: a family study analysis

There is an extremely high rate of comorbidity between Dysthymic Disorder (DD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). We used family study data to test four competing models of the relationship between DD, MDD, and comorbid DD/MDD: (1) DD, MDD, and DD/MDD are all variants of a single condition; (2) MDD and DD/MDD are similar, but differ from DD; (3) DD and DD/MDD are similar, but differ from MDD; and (4) all three conditions are distinct disorders. Subjects were the first-degree relatives of 22 outpatients with DD (n = 103), 45 outpatients with MDD (n = 207), 75 outpatients with comorbid DD/MDD (n = 343), and 45 normal controls (n = 229). Best-estimate diagnoses of relatives were derived using direct and family history interviews. Relatives of patients with DD and comorbid DD/MDD exhibited significantly higher rates of DD than relatives of patients with MDD and normal probands. The rate of comorbid DD/MDD was significantly higher in the relatives of patients with DD/MDD than the relatives of normal probands. Finally, the relatives of patients with MDD and comorbid DD/MDD exhibited significantly higher rates of MDD than the relatives of normal controls. Although none of the models received unambiguous support, some were more plausible than others.     

Platelet serotonin transporter in depressed children and adolescents: 3H-paroxetine platelet binding before and after sertraline

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate serotonin transporter protein (5HTPR) binding in platelets from children and adolescents with major depression (MDD) compared to normal controls using the selective ligand 3H-paroxetine. METHOD: Children and adolescents with MDD (n = 24) defined by DSM-III-R criteria and normal controls (n = 22) were compared by platelet 5HTPR kinetic analysis with the hypothesis that 5HTPR is reduced in MDD. A subset of MDD subjects (n = 18) continued to participate in a fixed-dose, open-label sertraline trial for 6 weeks followed by drug-free washout and repeated 5HTPR analysis. RESULTS: Sex, prepubertal status, and age had no effect on 5HTPR. Medication-free MDD subjects differed from controls in reduced binding capacity (Bmax) (p < .001). Sertraline therapy decreased binding affinity from baseline non-selectively (p < .05), and Bmax elevation from baseline was associated with nonresponse and suicide attempt history. CONCLUSION: Earlier literature in this population is replicated with regard to reduced platelet 5HTPR Bmax in MDD. Findings support a continuum of 5HTPR involvement in MDD across the developmental spectrum.     

Individual, family, and peer characteristics of adolescent sex offenders and assaultive offenders.

This study examined the individual functioning, family relations, and peer relations of 60 male adolescents who were divided into 4 demographically matched groups (sex offenders, assaultive offenders, nonviolent offenders, and nondelinquent controls). Mothers and adolescents completed self-report inventories and a video-taped interaction task, and teachers completed a rating measure. Results showed that assaultive offenders' family relations were characterized by rigidity and low cohesion and that their peer relations evidenced high levels of aggression. Nevertheless, assaultive offenders and their mothers reported little anxiety or interpersonal discomfort. In contrast, sex offenders and their mothers reported high rates of neurotic symptoms, and the peer relations of sex offenders showed relatively low levels of emotional bonding. Implications for research and emerging theories of delinquency are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenteral clomipramine challenge in depressed adolescents: mood and neuroendocrine response

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) in the adolescent demonstrates a unique clinical profile, and pathogenic serotonergic dysregulation is hypothesized. Parenteral clomipramine (CMI) is known to distinguish adult MDD from control, but neurochallenge data are lacking in adolescent MDD. METHODS: Thirteen drug-free outpatient adolescents who met DSM-III-R criteria for MDD were compared to adolescent controls by acute neuroendocrine and mood response to 12.5 mg of parenteral CMI. RESULTS: Repeated measures analysis revealed significant changes from baseline for sadness (p < .01) between groups, with normal controls increasing sadness rating after CMI. Prolactin (PRL) maximum change score from baseline was decreased in MDD relative to controls (p < .05). Gender effects on PRL were evident in controls but not in MDD. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of PRL blunting in adolescent MDD mirrors previous work in adults. A unique finding is the induction of sadness in normal adolescent controls after CMI infusion.     

Nature of life events and difficulties in depressed adolescents

OBJECTIVE: To examine the significance of acute life events and ongoing difficulties in adolescents with a recent major depressive disorder. METHOD: Adolescents (aged 13-18 years) with a recent episode of major depressive disorder based on DSM-III-R (n = 26) and normal controls free of any Axis I lifetime psychiatric disorder (n = 15) were assessed using the investigator-based Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS). RESULTS: Traditionally defined severe events were more likely to occur in the year prior to onset among depressed adolescents (46%) than in a comparable period among normal controls (20%), but these differences did not reach statistical significance. Expanding the definition of severe events to include those events focused on others important to the adolescent resulted in a significantly higher percentage of depressed adolescents having one or more refined "severe" events in the year prior to onset (62%) compared with normal controls (27%) (p < or = .02). It is interesting that one half of the depressed adolescents had two or more refined severe events occur during the year prior to onset compared with none of the normal controls (p < or = .01). Further analyses showed that depressed adolescents were significantly more likely to have a major difficulty precede the onset of their depression (27%) compared with normal controls (0%) (p < or = .04). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that depressed adolescents are exposed to high levels of stress prior to becoming depressed. Future investigations might benefit from using the LEDS with adolescents to assess acute and ongoing stressors.     

Multisystemic treatment of juvenile offenders: Effects on adolescent behavior and family interaction.

57 delinquent adolescents received family ecological treatment, 23 delinquent adolescents received an alternative treatment, and 44 normal adolescents served as developmental controls. The mean age of the adolescents at pretreatment was 14.8 yrs. Pre- and posttreatment assessments were conducted with the adolescent and his/her parents. Measures included the Behavior Problem Checklist, the Eysenck Personality Inventory, and self-report and observational measures of family relations. Ss who received family ecological treatment evidenced significant decreases in conduct problems, anxious-withdrawn behaviors, immaturity, and association with delinquent peers. The mother–adolescent and marital relations in these families were significantly warmer, and Ss were significantly more involved in family interaction. In contrast, the families who received the alternative treatment evidenced no positive change and showed deterioration in affective relations. The normal families manifested relationship changes that were consistent with those identified by investigators of normal adolescent development. Findings support a multisystemic model of behavior disorders and treatment. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-concept and peer acceptance in students with learning disabilities: A four- to five-year prospective study.

Examined the peer relations and self-concepts of students prior to and following their identification by the school district as learning disabled (LD) in a 4- to 5-yr prospective study. Self-concept ratings (kindergarten–4th grade) and peer acceptance ratings (kindergarten–3rd grade), as well as academic achievement scores, were compared across 3 groups: LD students who were placed in resource special education programs during 2nd grade, low-achieving (LA) students, and average-achieving/high-achieving (AA/HA) students. For peer acceptance, AA/HA students' scores were higher than LA students' scores only. No between-groups differences were obtained during any school year on the self-concept measure. Findings suggest that LD students' self-perceptions are not negatively affected by academic and social difficulties in the early grades or by the identification and labeling process. Though generalization is limited by the small sample size, few studies have examined students with learning disabilities longitudinally or prior to and following their identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' management of preschooler's peer relations: Is it related to children's social competence?

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the relation between parents' efforts to initiate and monitor children's peer contacts and qualities of children's peer relations in nonschool and school settings. Parents of 58 preschool children completed logs of their initiation and monitoring practices and of their children's peer contacts in nonschool settings during late preschool. Parents were classified as high versus low initiators, and direct versus indirect monitorers, depending on the form of management they tended to use for children's peer contacts. Information about children's peer relations in school was obtained through observational, sociometric, and teacher assessments conducted during preschool and kindergarten. Parents who initiated a higher proportion of peer contacts tended to have children who possessed a larger number of different play partners and more consistent companions in nonschool settings. For boys but not girls, higher levels of parental initiation were also associated with greater peer acceptance and lower levels of peer rejection in school. Direct or indirect forms of parental monitoring were unrelated to children's peer relations in nonschool settings, but directive styles were predictive of children's social maladjustment in school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and the social developmental context of adolescence.

Examines the interrelations of personal and social factors in fostering longitudinal patterns of depressive symptoms, using 3 waves of data from high school students in the Boston area. Previously depressed and nondepressed youths differed markedly in their emotional responsiveness to family and friend relations. Chronically depressed youths were unresponsive to family problems, but were highly reactive to peer relations. Among previously asymptomatic youths, family relations exerted greater effects on depressed mood than relations with peers. Further analyses suggest a process through which chronic family turmoil shapes long-term mental health while also intensifying the distancing from family and investment in peer relationships that typically occurs in adolescence. Findings illustrate the importance of modeling transactions between personal and environmental factors in research on adolescent mental health and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between panic disorder and major depression. A new family study

OBJECTIVE: The comorbidity between panic disorder and major depression (MDD) in individuals has been amply documented. However, data from family studies to determine whether panic disorder and MDD aggregate separately or together in families have been inconclusive, in part because of the absence of studies with the full range of proband groups. This report presents results from a family study with the necessary mutually exclusive groups: panic disorder without MDD, panic disorder with MDD, MDD without panic disorder, and normal controls. METHODS: Diagnostic information was obtained from 193 probands and 1047 of their adult relatives with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia--Lifetime Version for Anxiety Disorders by direct interview, and/or from multiple informants, without knowledge of proband diagnoses. Best-estimate diagnoses were based on all available information by clinicians independently of data collection and without knowledge of probands' and other relatives' status. RESULTS: Findings indicated the specific and independent transmission of panic disorder and MDD, the separation of panic disorder from MDD, and the nonfamilial nature of late-onset MDD. The pattern of results was unaffected by the use of different diagnostic criteria, number of informants, interview status of relatives, presence of substance abuse or agoraphobia or the sequence of MDD and panic disorder in probands, or whether probands were selected from treatment clinics or community sample. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that panic disorder and MDD are separate disorders with substantial co-occurrence in individuals, and that panic comorbid with MDD is not a single, distinct disorder. Finally, we illustrate an approach to examining comorbidity in family data through analysis of mutually exclusive, parallel diagnoses in probands and relatives.     

Identification and self-image in adolescents. A comparison between two cultural groups

Following a review of the literature concerning the problem of identity structure in adolescents, two groups of lower secondary school students were examined, one of which belonged to the Walser community in Valsesia. The family drawing test was used, a personality projective test which, by analysing some indices, enables and understanding to be obtained of the identification processes with parent figures. From the comparison of the two groups it was found that the traditional Walser family offers to adolescents a more clear-cut model and that therefore there is less evident conflict in parent-adolescent relations. In non-Walser families the increased dispersion of data served to create more confused identity processes and greater conflict in intrafamilial affective links.     

A cross-cultural study of family and peer correlates of adolescent misconduct

Participants were 4 groups of early adolescents from middle-class backgrounds (European and Chinese Americans in southern California and Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan, and Beijing, China). The 591 adolescents (M age = 13.8 years) completed questionnaires about their involvement in misconduct and about family and peer characteristics. Mothers of a subsample of adolescents (n = 405) also completed a questionnaire about their relationships with their adolescents. The 4 groups of adolescents reported significantly different mean levels of family and peer correlates but showed strikingly similar levels and patterns of self-reported misconduct. Structural equation models revealed that 2 latent variables (family relationships and peer sanctions) accounted for more variance in misconduct among European and Chinese American adolescents (51%-62%) than among the 2 Chinese groups (15%-24%), mainly because of a greater contribution of peer factors in the former groups.     

Goal setting among adolescents: A comparison of delinquent, at-risk, and not-at-risk youth.

A series of studies was conducted to compare group differences in the goal orientations of delinquent, at-risk, and not-at-ask adolescents. An Importance of Goals Scale was developed by examining the item responses of 230 high school students and validated by administering the revised scale to 80 delinquent, 90 at-risk, and 90 not-at-risk adolescents. Results identified differences in the importance attributed to different goals by the 3 groups. Delinquent and at-risk adolescents attached significantly more importance to goals associated with developing a social image (e.g., delinquency, freedom–autonomy), whereas not-at-ask adolescents were more concerned with goals associated with an academic image (e.g., educational, interpersonal). Results are discussed in terms of their implications for school achievement, peer relations, and future life paths. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding parent-adolescent interactions: Perceptions of family members and outsiders.

To see whether adolescents view parent–child relationships more like their parents or more like outsiders, 41 mother–father–adolescent child triads were videotaped interacting over two tasks. Each family member then viewed both interactions and rated levels of anxiety, dominance, involvement, and friendliness, for each interactant. These same interactions were also watched and rated by another mother–father–adolescent triad (outsider family) who did not know the family. These interactions were then rated by a trained observer. For ratings of anxiety, dominance, involvement, and friendliness, analyses involved comparisons (a) between the insider and outsider families ratings, on correlations between insider family members and outsider family members with the trained observer, and (b) comparisons among the three types of observers. Ratings by members of the outsider family were generally more negative than those by members of the insider family. Ratings of self tended to be more objective than ratings of other family members. Ratings by the trained observer were more highly correlated with those of the outsider family, although differences between the means showed that trained observers used a similar metric to the insider family. The importance of looking at patterns of ratings as well as mean differences is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)