Accuracy and bias in adolescents' perceptions of friends' substance use.

This study tested competing hypotheses related to the false consensus effect and pluralistic ignorance by examining the accuracy and bias of adolescents' perceptions of peer substance use and the effects of their own substance use, gender, and age on perceptions of peer behavior. Two samples (ns = 163 and 2,194) that collected data on peer nominations, perceptions of peer substance use, and self-reports of substance use were used in analyses. Results from both samples provided evidence supporting the false consensus effect, that is, adolescents' reports of their friends' substance use were biased in the direction of their own use. Users and nonusers did not differ in accuracy of perceptions; however, across all substances and samples, they differed significantly in bias. Substance users displayed nearly perfect liberal bias, assuming their friends also used substances. Nonusers displayed an opposite, conservative bias, assuming their friends did not use substances. Gender and age differences in bias also were observed, with older adolescents and girls having more liberal biases than younger adolescents and boys. Results suggest the importance of differentiating the effects of actual and perceived peer substance use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sociocultural change and adolescents' perceptions of parent behavior.

Administered the Children's Report of Parent Behavior Inventory (CRPBI) and an SES scale to 1,949 13–18 yr olds from 2 cities in India and to 364 age-matched Ss from 1 city in Canada. Indian Ss were designated as traditional or transitional according to the values they were taught (traditional Indian vs modern Western); Canadian Ss were designated as modern. Factor analyses of CRPBI scales revealed 3 replicable factors: Acceptance, Firm Control (FC), and Psychological Control (PC). ANOVAs were used to test the effects of culture, sex, age, and SES on the 3 CRPBI factors. Younger Ss consistently reported more PC and FC than did older ones. Modern Ss reported the most FC, and traditional Ss reported the most PC. Even though higher SES correlated with lower PC and FC, statistical SES control did not attenuate the strong cultural differences for PC. Results suggest considerable congruence between demands and parental socialization practices. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in adolescents' perceptions of their peer groups.

This study employed social psychological theories of group formation to conceptualize and predict age differences in peer groups. Adolescents were administered questionnaires about the characteristics of their peer groups. Early and middle adolescents reported placing more value on being in a popular group and perceived more group conformity and leadership within their groups than pre- and late adolescents. Early and middle adolescents also reported more antagonist interactions and fewer positive interactions with group members and more antagonistic interactions with those not part of their peer groups. Girls reported having more positive group interactions, being more bothered by negative interactions, and having more permeable group boundaries. Boys reported more negative interactions with those outside their groups. Results are discussed in the context of adolescent development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An exploration of young adolescents' social achievement goals and social adjustment in middle school.

Two studies investigated the proposition that social achievement goals (different orientations toward social competence) are an important aspect of young adolescents' social motivation. Study 1 (N=153 6th-grade students) established that different orientations toward developing or demonstrating social competence can be seen in young adolescents' responses to open-ended questions about their social goals and social competence. Study 2 (N=217 6th-grade students) evaluated a new survey measure of social achievement goals for young adolescents. Exploratory factor analyses indicated a 3-factor model (social development, demonstration-approach, and demonstration-avoid goals). Different social achievement goals were associated with distinct patterns of subsequent self- and teacher-reported social adjustment (prosocial, aggressive, and anxious solitary behaviors, as well as social worry, best-friend quality, and perceived popularity). Effects for social achievement goals were independent of perceived social competence and gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental attachment and adolescents' emotional adjustment: The associations with social skills and relational competence.

Young people learn from their interactions with their parents how to initiate and maintain satisfying and warm friendships. Attachment with parents thereby plays an important role in adolescents' social and emotional adjustment. The model tested in this study proposes that the relation between parental attachment and emotional adjustment is mediated by social skills and relational competence. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the models and paths between concepts using data from a sample of 412 12–18-year-olds. In the 12–14-year-old age group, no effects of parental attachment on social skills and relational competence were displayed. However, in the 15–18-year-old age group, parental attachment was moderately related to social skills, which, in turn, affected middle adolescents' competence in friendships and romantic relationships. Parental attachment and relational competence were significant predictors of adolescents' emotional adjustment in both age groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in parents' and their grown children's perceptions of parenting.

A 2–5 factorial between-Ss experiment was conducted, with level of success, sex of stimulus parent, sex of stimulus child, sex of respondent, and generation as the 5 independent variables. 139 undergraduates and their parents of the same sex served as Ss. The overall performance rating, the attributions made to explain parenting success/failure, and the ratings made both of the stimulus parent and of the stimulus child on the same 60 personality items were the dependent variables. The present study replicated one of the principal findings of attribution research: that males are more given to explaining failure in terms of external factors. Males of both generations made greater use of the factor Child's Fault in explaining parenting failure than did females. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early adolescents' perceptions of the classroom social environment, motivational beliefs, and engagement.

This research examined whether 5th-grade students' (N = 602) perceptions of the classroom social environment (teacher support, promotion of mutual respect, promotion of task-related interaction, student support) were related to their engagement in the classroom (self-regulation and task-related interaction) and whether those relations were mediated by personal motivational beliefs (mastery goals, academic and social efficacy). Teacher support, promotion of interaction, and student support were related to both types of engagement, and those relations were fully or partially mediated by motivational beliefs. Relations with promoting mutual respect were not significant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental perceptions of young children and their relation to indexes of adjustment.

Studied 4 relatively independent measures of parent attitude and perception of child behavior using 395 parents of 3rd graders. These instruments were found to be reliable and to discriminate consistently between 3rd graders judged by teachers to be well or poorly adjusted. The 4 measures interrelate in a logical and systematic fashion with teacher, peer, and self-measures of adjustment and indexes of achievement. These relationships tended to be more clear-cut for females than for males. The present battery extends the potential for identifying early emotional dysfunction and complements existing assessment procedures in the area. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The stability and validity of early adolescents' reports of parenting constructs.

The stability and validity of early adolescents' reports of 6 parenting constructs were examined: parent–child conflict, positive family relations, parental monitoring, parents' rule making, consistent enforcement of rules, and use of positive reinforcement. Hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; H. W. Marsh & D. Hocevar, 1988) on questionnaire data from 3 quarterly assessments of 174 5th–7th grade youth was used to test a multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) model containing 6 parenting constructs as trait factors and 3 assessment occasions as method factors. Youths' reports of these parenting constructs were stable over time, and the CFA approach to MTMM data demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity of the constructs. Each parenting construct was significantly correlated with youths' reports of deviant peer associations, antisocial behavior, and substance use, providing evidence of criterion validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of kinship social support on the parenting experiences and psychosocial adjustment of African-American adolescents.

The association of kinship support with psychosocial adjustment and parenting practices for 125 African-American adolescents (52 boys and 73 girls) in Grades 9–12 from single- and 2-parent households was assessed. Findings reveal that kinship support was positively associated with adolescent adjustment and with authoritative parenting practices in single- but not 2-parent households. Results also indicate that parenting practices mediated the effects of kinship support. When the effects of authoritative parenting practices were controlled, significant relations found between kinship support and adolescent adjustment were no longer apparent. The importance of kinship support for the functioning of African-American families and adolescents was discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The specificity of maternal parenting behavior and child adjustment difficulties: A study of inner-city African American families.

The specificity of the association between 2 parenting behaviors (warmth and supervision) and 2 indicators, aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms, of major child outcomes (externalizing problems and internalizing problems) was examined among 196 inner-city African American mothers and their school age children. Given the growing number of African American families affected by HIV/AIDS and demonstrated compromises in parenting associated with maternal infection, the moderating role of maternal HIV/AIDS was also examined. Findings from longitudinal analyses supported the specificity of maternal warmth but not of maternal supervision. Maternal warmth was a stronger predictor of decreases in child aggressive behavior than of decreases in depressive symptoms. In addition, maternal warmth was a stronger predictor of decreases in aggressive behavior than was maternal supervision. Parenting specificity was not moderated by maternal HIV/AIDS. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between academic achievement and social adjustment: Evidence from Chinese children.

A sample of children in Shanghai, P. R. China, initially aged 10 and 12 years, participated in this 2-year longitudinal project. Information on academic achievement and indexes of social adjustment, including social competence, aggression, social inhibition, leadership, and peer acceptance, was collected from multiple sources. It was found that academic achievement predicted children's social competence and peer acceptance. In turn, children's social functioning and adjustment, including social competence, aggression-disruption, leadership, and peer acceptance, uniquely contributed to academic achievement. These results generally supported the "reciprocal effects" model concerning the relations between academic achievement and social adjustment (S. P. Hinshaw, 1992). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks.

Tested the hypothesis that children would report that different social-network members provide different social provisions, using 199 5th–6th grade White children. Ss completed network of relationships inventories, which assessed 10 qualities of their relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, friends, and teachers. Consistent with R. S. Weiss's (1974) theory (i.e., that individuals seek specific social provisions or types of social support in their relationships with others), Ss reported seeking different provisions from different individuals. Mothers and fathers were turned to most often for affection, enhancement of worth, a sense of reliable aid, and instrumental aid. Next to parents, grandparents were turned to most often for affection and enhancement of worth, and teachers were turned to most often for instrumental aid. Friends were the greatest source of companionship, and friends and mothers received the highest ratings of intimacy. Ss also reported having more power in their relationships with other children than in those with adults. Conflict was perceived as occurring most often in sibling relationships. Ss were most satisfied with their relationships with mothers, and they thought their relationships with mothers and fathers were the most important. Bases for children's differentiations of their relationships and implications for understanding social networks are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marriage and the parenting alliance: longitudinal prediction of change in parenting perceptions and behaviors

The study evaluates how marriage and the parenting alliance affect parenting experiences over time. Couples (N = 79) with school-age children who have mental retardation completed self-report and observational measures of marriage, the parenting alliance, and parenting attitudes and behaviors at 2 periods, 18-24 months apart. Longitudinal structural equation modeling demonstrated significant effects of marital quality on changes over time in self-reports of perceived parenting competence for both the mothers and the fathers, and in observed negative mother-child interactions. Also, in all cases, the parenting alliance mediated the effects of marriage on parenting experiences. There was little evidence of reciprocal causation in which parenting variables predicted change in the quality of marriage and the parenting alliance. Interactions involving child age suggested that teenagers as opposed to younger children were more reactive to negative features of their parents' marital functioning and parenting alliance. Implications are discussed regarding stable but negative marital functioning and regarding possible differences in mothers' and fathers' parenting in the context of marital distress.     

Relation of filial responsibility to the personal and social adjustment of Latino adolescents from immigrant families.

A multidimensional model of filial responsibility encompassing caregiving activities in the home and perceptions of fairness was examined in relation to multiple self- and teacher-reported indices of competence and distress in a sample of Latino adolescents from immigrant families (N = 129, mean age = 16.8, 64% girls). Whereas most research of Latino adolescents has focused on felt familial obligations and attitudes, this study found that reports of actual caregiving activities were associated with higher competence for the sample as a whole and fewer acting out problems among boys. Perceived fairness was associated with lower levels of distress and moderated the curvilinear association of caregiving with behavioral restraint. High levels of filial caregiving predicted high levels of restraint, but only when the balance of give-and-take at home was perceived as fair. These results are consistent with a model that views filial responsibilities as a source of both personal distress and competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of positive and negative sociometric valuations to social and personal adjustment of school children.

For students (N = 250) in seven grade-school classes, the frequency of positive and negative sociometric choices was related to scores on the subtests of the California Test of Personality. Frequency of both positive and negative choices was dichotomized into "few" and "many," and the subtest scores were analyzed in a 2 X 2 factorial design created by the four possible combinations of choices. "Seven of the 12 subsections of the… test… produced evidence to indicate a relationship between one's social position among his peers and some aspect of personality adjustment as measured by this test." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adjusting to change: Linking family structure transitions with parenting and boys' adjustment.

This study examined links between family structure transitions and children's academic, behavioral, and emotional outcomes in a sample of 238 divorcing mothers and their sons in Grades 1-3. Multiple methods and agents were used in assessing family process variables and child outcomes. Findings suggest that greater accumulations of family transitions were associated with poorer academic functioning, greater acting-out behavior, and worse emotional adjustment for boys. However, in all three cases, these relationships were mediated by parenting practices: Parental academic skill encouragement mediated the relationship between transitions and academic functioning, and a factor of more general effective parenting practices mediated the relationships between transitions and acting out and emotional adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mediational role of adolescents' friends in relations between activity breadth and adjustment.

This investigation addresses the mediational role of friends' characteristics between adolescents' activity breadth (i.e., variety in activity participation) and their later adjustment. Data were drawn from 2 longitudinal studies: the Childhood and Beyond (CAB; N = 925) study and the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (MADICS; N = 1,338). Adolescents at Time 2 in each study (8th, 9th, and 11th graders in CAB and 8th graders in MADICS) reported on the breadth of their participation across 5 activity settings: sports, religious, volunteering, community, and school. Friends' characteristics and adolescent adjustment were reported by adolescents at Times 1 and 3. Friends' positive characteristics significantly mediated relations between activity breadth and adolescent depressive affect, self-worth, alcohol use, and problem behavior in both studies. Friends' negative characteristics significantly mediated these relations in CAB, but not in MADICS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational continuity in parenting quality: The mediating role of social competence.

Prospective studies of intergenerational continuity in parenting quality remain scarce, with little attention given to the potential role of social competence as a mediator of continuity. This study examined social competence as a mediator in the pathway from 1st generation (G1) to 2nd generation (G2) parenting quality. A normative sample of children and their parents were assessed in childhood, and again 10 and 20 years later. Parenting quality of G1 parents was assessed at each time point with multiple informants, as was G2 social competence. G2 parenting was assessed at the 20-year follow-up for those who were parents. The mediational role of social competence in G1 to G2 parenting quality was tested via nested path analytic models, accounting for continuity and cross-domain relations. Social competence mediated the intergenerational relation of parenting quality; results were invariant across gender and ethnic minority status and were unchanged after controlling for age, IQ, socioeconomic status, rule-abiding conduct, and personality (i.e., constraint). The authors discuss results regarding developmental theories of close relationships and the potential for cascading benefits within and across generations from interventions to improve G1 parenting or G2 social competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relations of maternal and social environments to late adolescents' materialistic and prosocial values.

Organismic theories and recent research suggest that environments that do not support growth and self-expression are associated with valuing financial success relatively more than affiliation, community feeling, and self-acceptance. This prediction was investigated in a heterogenous sample of 18-yr-olds using a variety of methods and informants. Teenagers who rated the importance of financial success aspirations relatively high compared to other values were found to have mothers who were less nurturant. Further, materially oriented teenagers grew up in less advantageous socioeconomic circumstances and were raised by mothers who especially valued the teens' financial success. Discussion focuses on explicating the different ways values are acquired. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)