Relations between neighborhood factors, parenting behaviors, peer deviance, and delinquency among serious juvenile offenders.

The present study examined relations among neighborhood structural and social characteristics, parenting practices, peer group affiliations, and delinquency among a group of serious adolescent offenders. The sample of 14-18-year-old boys (N = 488) was composed primarily of economically disadvantaged, ethnic-minority youth living in urban communities. The results indicate that weak neighborhood social organization is indirectly related to delinquency through its associations with parenting behavior and peer deviance and that a focus on just 1 of these microsystems can lead to oversimplified models of risk for juvenile offending. The authors also find that community social ties may confer both pro- and antisocial influences to youth, and they advocate for a broad conceptualization of neighborhood social processes as these relate to developmental risk for youth living in disadvantaged communities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting practices as predictors of substance use, delinquency, and aggression among urban minority youth: Moderating effects of family structure and gender.

This study examined how parenting factors were associated with adolescent problem behaviors among urban minority youth and to what extent these relationships were moderated by family structure and gender. 228 6th grade students reported how often they use alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or engage in aggressive or delinquent behaviors; a parent or guardian reported their monitoring and other parenting practices. Findings indicated that boys and those from single-parent families engaged in the highest rates of problem behavior. More parental monitoring was associated with less delinquency overall, as well as less drinking in boys only. Eating family dinners together was associated with less aggression overall, as well as less delinquency in youth from single-parent families and in girls. Unsupervised time at home alone was associated with more smoking for girls only. Implications for prevention interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shared Predictors of Youthful Gambling, Substance Use, and Delinquency.

Given that gambling, alcohol misuse, other drug use, and delinquency are correlated, it is hypothesized that these problem behaviors have shared antecedents. Measures from 3 explanatory domains--sociodemographic factors (age, race, and socioeconomic status), individual factors (impulsivity and moral disengagement), and socialization factors (parental monitoring and peer delinquency)--were tested for links to problem behaviors in 2 longitudinal samples of adolescents. Black youth had lower levels of problem behaviors than Whites. Impulsivity was a significant predictor of alcohol misuse for females and delinquency for males. Moral disengagement predicted gambling for males. Parental monitoring showed a significant inverse relationship to alcohol misuse and other substance use for males. Peer delinquency showed numerous prospective paths to youth problem behaviors for both genders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental structure of genetic influences on antisocial behavior across childhood and adolescence.

It is necessary to determine if causal influences on developing antisocial behavior change with age to guide both research and theory on its origins. The extent to which the same genetic factors influence antisocial behavior across 4–17 years of age was estimated using 2,482 sibling pairs of varying genetic relatedness. Assessments of antisocial behavior by mothers (4–9 years), mothers and youth (10–13 years), and youth (14–17 years) reflected the changing validity of informants across development. Genetic influences on antisocial behavior at 14–17 years were entirely shared with those on antisocial behavior at 10–13 years according to both informants. Genetic influences on antisocial behavior at 14–17 years were distinct from those at 4–9 years, however. These age differences in genetic influences cannot be fully distinguished from informant differences across age, but the present findings indicate that youth reported to be persistently antisocial during childhood and adolescence are influenced by one set of genetic factors influencing parent-report conduct problems in childhood and a second set of genetic influences on youth-reported delinquency that come into play around the time of the pubertal transition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial factors and high-risk sexual behavior: race differences among urban adolescents

Adolescence is a period of sexual experimentation. We examined psychosocial predictors of high-risk sexual behavior and condom use. The sample included 824 ninth-graders, most of whom are African American. We conducted separate analyses for whites and African Americans. Predictors included alcohol and substance use, delinquency, prosocial behaviors, and family and peer influences. We found that problem behaviors predicted high-risk sexual behavior, but the effects were stronger for white youth. We also found that friends' behaviors were more predictive than family influences, except for family conflict. In general, the models explained more variance for white youths than for African-American youths. The results suggest that problem behavior theory and social interactions theory may be most relevant for white youth and that other models may be necessary to explain high-risk sexual behavior among African-American youths.     

Family managment and deviant peer association as mediators of the impact of treatment condition on youth antisocial behavior.

The influence of family management skills (i.e., supervision, discipline, and positive adult–youth relationship) and deviant peer association on youth antisocial behavior was examined within the context of a randomized clinical trial contrasting multidimensional treatment foster care and services-as-usual group care. Participants were male adolescents with histories of chronic and serious juvenile delinquency who were mandated into residential care by the juvenile court. As hypothesized, family management skills and deviant peer association mediated the effect of treatment condition and accounted for 32% of the variance in subsequent antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer cluster theory, socialization characteristics, and adolescent drug use: A path analysis.

A new psychosocial model, peer cluster theory, suggests that the socialization factors that accompany adolescent development interact to produce peer clusters that encourage drug involvement or provide sanctions against drug use. These peer clusters are small, very cohesive groupings that shape a great deal of adolescent behavior, including drug use. Peer cluster theory suggests that other socialization variables, strength of the family, family sanctions against drug use, religious identification, and school adjustment influence drug use only indirectly, through their effect on peer clusters. Correlations of these socialization variables with drug use confirm the importance of socialization characteristics as underlying factors in drug use and also confirm that other socialization factors influence drug use through their effect on peer drug associations. Peer cluster theory suggest that treatment of the drug-abusing youth must alter the influence of the peer cluster or it is likely to fail. Prevention programs aimed at the family, school, or religion must also influence peer clusters, or drug use will probably not be reduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latent Growth Curve Analyses of Peer and Parent Influences on Smoking Progression Among Early Adolescents.

Social influences on smoking uptake were examined in latent growth curve analyses of data from 1,320 youths assessed 5 times during 6th to 9th grade. Initial smoking stage predicted increases in number of friends who smoked, indicating selection; however, initial number of friends who smoked did not predict smoking stage progression, indicating no significant effect of socialization. Associations over time among smoking stage progression, affiliation with friends who smoke, and parenting behaviors were significant, suggesting dynamic, reciprocal relationships. Parental involvement, monitoring, and expectations provided direct protective effects against smoking progression as well as indirect effects, by limiting increases in number of friends who smoke. These results are consistent with the peer selection hypothesis, confirm the powerful association over time of social influences with smoking, and provide the first evidence that parenting behavior may protect against smoking progression by limiting increases in number of friends who smoke. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differentiating stages of smoking intensity among adolescents: Stage-specific psychological and social influences.

Researchers' understanding of the impact of sociocultural and psychological factors on the various stages of adolescent smoking update is limited. Using national data, the authors examined transitions across smoking stages among adolescents (N=20,747) as a function of interpersonal, familial, and peer domains. Peer smoking was particularly influential on differentiating regular smoking, whereas alcohol use was most influential on earlier smoking. Although significant, depression and delinquency were attenuated in the context of other variables. Higher school grade was more likely to differentiate regular smoking from earlier smoking stages, whereas African American ethnicity and connectedness to school and family were protective of smoking initiation. Results lend support for an interactional approach to adolescent smoking, with implications for stage-matched prevention and intervention applications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of gender in social control of smoking cessation.

This study of 93 men and 117 women smokers during an ongoing quit attempt examined the roles of gender and social network influences on quitting. For men, social influences appeared to positively affect their ability to reduce their smoking but were less effective for women. Specifically, increased reports of a spouse or partner's influence, and family and friends' influence, were associated with greater reductions in men's smoking 2 days and 4 months post quit date, respectively. In contrast, for women, greater reports of spouse or partner influence and of family and friends' influence were associated with smaller reductions in smoking. Sex differences in social control strategies and perceived autonomy supportiveness of those strategies are discussed as possible explanations for these results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cigarette use among migrant and nonmigrant Mexican American youth: A socialization latent-variable model.

A self-report survey of cigarette use among 10th- and 12th-grade Mexican American students found no differences in rates of use by migrant status. Male students reported higher levels of lifetime, experimental, and daily smoking than female students, and 12th-grade students reported higher levels of daily smoking than 10th-grade students. A socialization model of cigarette use based on peer cluster theory was evaluated using structural equation methods, examining the effects of family strength, family tobacco use, school adjustment, religious identification, and peer tobacco associations. The basic latent-structure socialization model was supported in all groups, but final models including specific effects identified both unique and common relationships by gender and migrant status. Common patterns across groups suggest that completely different prevention programs may not be necessary for these youth. However, program elements based on subtle group differences may serve to tailor prevention efforts and make them more effective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of tooth loss on the anatomy of the maxilla]

OBJECTIVES: To compare prevalence rates of weight-control behaviors among adolescents with and without chronic illness and to explore the role of familial and other social factors on associations between disordered eating and chronic illness. DESIGN AND SETTING: Survey conducted in public schools in Connecticut. PARTICIPANTS: A representative statewide population-based sample of 9343 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade public school students, of whom 1021 reported a chronic illness. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Disordered eating (vomiting, diet pills, and laxatives), dieting, and exercise for weight control; chronic illness status; family structure, family communication, parental caring, parental monitoring, parental expectations, peer support, and sexual and physical abuse. RESULTS: Adolescents with chronic illness were at greater risk for disordered eating than youth without chronic illness, after controlling for sociodemographic variables (girls: odds ratio, 1.59 [95% confidence interval, 1.19-2.14]; boys: odds ratio, 2.22 [95% confidence interval, 1.49-3.32]). Adolescents with chronic illness were less likely to come from 2-parent families; reported lower levels of family communication, parental caring, and parental expectations; and reported more sexual and physical abuse than youth without chronic illness. Male adolescents with chronic illness were more likely to report low peer support and low parental monitoring. Most of these familial-social factors were also associated with an increased prevalence of disordered eating. After familial-social factors were controlled for, however, associations between disordered eating and chronic illness remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with chronic illness are at greater risk for disordered eating behaviors than youth without chronic illness. Factors other than the familial-social factors assessed in this study may be contributing to this increased risk. In the clinical setting, youth with chronic illness need to be screened for disordered eating and familial and other social concerns.     

Family preservation using multisystemic therapy: An effective alternative to incarcerating serious juvenile offenders.

Multisystemic therapy (MST) delivered through a community mental health center was compared with usual services delivered by a Department of Youth Services in the treatment of 84 serious juvenile offenders and their multiproblem families. Offenders were assigned randomly to treatment conditions. Pretreatment and posttreatment assessment batteries evaluating family relations, peer relations, symptomatology, social competence, and self-reported delinquency were completed by the youth and a parent, and archival records were searched at 59 wks postreferral to obtain data on rearrest and incarceration. In comparison with youths who received usual services, youths who received MST had fewer arrests and self-reported offenses and spent an average of 10 fewer weeks incarcerated. In addition, families in the MST condition reported increased family cohesion and decreased youth aggression in peer relations. The relative effectiveness of MST was neither moderated by demographic characteristics nor mediated by psychosocial variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examination of the mediational influences of peer norms, environmental influences, and parent communications on heavy drinking in athletes and nonathletes.

The present study used perspectives from the general literature on college alcohol consumption to examine mediational influences of peer, environmental, and parental variables on heavy drinking for student athlete and nonathlete samples. Eight hundred thirty-five freshmen who differed in organized sports involvement were compared on heavy drinking outcomes, peer norms, environmental influences, and parental communication. College athletes reported significantly more heavy drinking experiences than nonathletes. Peer norms, environmental influences, and parental communication were all significant mediators of the athlete-heavy drinking relationship. Athletes reported a higher perception of peer drinking, peer approval of drinking, higher alcohol availability, and direct drink offers, which, in turn, were related to higher rates of heavy drinking. Parental communication mediated the athlete-heavy drinking relationship differently, depending on the specific topic of conversation. Discussion surrounding the importance of incorporating a variety of interventions aimed at reducing collegiate athlete drinking on the basis of the peer, environmental, and parental influences observed in the present analyses are presented. Limitations and directions for future research are also noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affiliation with antisocial peers, susceptibility to peer influence, and antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood.

Developmental theories suggest that affiliation with deviant peers and susceptibility to peer influence are important contributors to adolescent delinquency, but it is unclear how these variables impact antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood, a period when most delinquent individuals decline in antisocial behavior. Using data from a longitudinal study of 1,354 antisocial youth, the present study examined how individual variation in exposure to deviant peers and resistance to peer influence affect antisocial behavior from middle adolescence into young adulthood (ages 14 to 22 years). Whereas we find evidence that antisocial individuals choose to affiliate with deviant peers, and that affiliating with deviant peers is associated with an individual’s own delinquency, these complementary processes of selection and socialization operate in different developmental periods. In middle adolescence, both selection and socialization serve to make peers similar in antisocial behavior, but from ages 16 to 20 years, only socialization appears to be important. After age 20, the impact of peers on antisocial behavior disappears as individuals become increasingly resistant to peer influence, suggesting that the process of desistance from antisocial behavior may be tied to normative changes in peer relations that occur as individuals mature socially and emotionally. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining the relation between IQ and delinquency: Class, race, test motivation, school failure, or self-control?

An inverse relation between IQ and delinquency has been well established, but the direction of effect remains to be specified. Differing explanatory accounts of the relation were empirically examined in the present study using data on 13-yr-old boys involved in a high-risk longitudinal study. Accounts that interpreted the relation as spurious or that posited that delinquency-related factors lead to low IQ scores received no support; findings were most consistent with the hypothesis that the direction of effect runs from low IQ to delinquency. The IQ–delinquency relation was robust after race, class, and observed test motivation were controlled statistically. Additionally, the effect of IQ was mediated by school performance for Black youth but not for White youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sports participation and juvenile delinquency: The role of the peer context among adolescent boys and girls with varied histories of problem behavior.

In a study of 1,344 urban adolescents, the authors examined the relation between participation in organized sports and juvenile delinquency. They compared youth who participated in sports to those who only participated in nonathletic activities and to those who did not participate in any organized activities. They also examined the indirect relations between sports and delinquency via 2 peer-related constructs—deviant peer affiliations and unstructured socializing. Finally, they examined the extent to which gender and prior externalizing problems moderated the direct and indirect relations between sports participation and delinquency. The authors found that the odds of nonviolent delinquency were higher among boys who participated in sports when compared to boys who participated only in nonathletic activities but not when compared to boys who did not participate in any organized activities. Deviant peer affiliations and unstructured socializing mediated the relation between sports participation and boys' nonviolent delinquency. Moreover, prior externalizing problems moderated the mediated path through peer deviance. The authors did not, however, find direct, mediated, or moderated relations between sports and boys' violent delinquency nor between sports and girls' violent or nonviolent delinquency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Explaining the relation between IQ and delinquency: Class, race, test motivation, school failure, or self-control?" Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by D. Lynam et al (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1993[May], Vol 102[2], 187–296). The coefficient in Figure 1 representing the effect of impulsivity on delinquency for White youth was printed as –.27 but should read .27. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1993-29924-001.) An inverse relation between IQ and delinquency has been well established, but the direction of effect remains to be specified. Differing explanatory accounts of the relation were empirically examined in the present study using data on 13-yr-old boys involved in a high-risk longitudinal study. Accounts that interpreted the relation as spurious or that posited that delinquency-related factors lead to low IQ scores received no support; findings were most consistent with the hypothesis that the direction of effect runs from low IQ to delinquency. The IQ–delinquency relation was robust after race, class, and observed test motivation were controlled statistically. Additionally, the effect of IQ was mediated by school performance for Black youth but not for White youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

Sex differences in predictors of adolescent smoking cessation.

Sex differences in predictors of smoking cessation were investigated among 337 male and 490 female participants in the RAND adolescent panel study. Participants reported smoking at least 11–20 times during the past year at Grade 10, with cessation defined as not smoking during the past year at Grade 12. Controlling for demographics, sex-specific analyses indicated that girls who quit smoking within 2 years had friends who smoked less frequently, perceived less parental approval of their smoking, had weaker intentions to continue smoking, used marijuana less frequently, attended fewer different schools, were more likely to have an intact nuclear family, experienced greater peer support, and rated themselves as healthier. Similar analyses for boys yielded results that were generally weaker and nonsignificant, with smoking quantity accounting for several associations in the sex-specific models. Despite these differences, interaction tests revealed significant sex differences for only three predictors. Implications of these results for understanding adolescent smoking cessation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)