Digital Commons Network^™

Altered Developmental Trajectories For Impulsivity And Sensation Seeking Among Adolescent Substance Users, Nora E. Charles, Stacy R. Ryan, Bethany C. Bray, Charles W. Mathias, Ashley Acheson, Donald M. Doherty

Faculty Publications

A number of studies have associated impulsivity and sensation seeking with level of substance use and risk for developing a substance use disorder. These relationships may be particularly apparent during adolescence, when developmental changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking occur at the same time as increased opportunities for substance use. To examine this, the current study measured impulsivity and sensation seeking from pre-adolescence to mid-adolescence in a sample of youth, the majority of whom were identified as being at risk for developing a substance use disorder based on their family history of substance use disorders. Youth were separated into those …

The Influence Of Informant And Measurement On The Relations Among Adolescent Narcissism, Prosocial Behavior, And Emotional And Social Intelligence, Rebecca Lynn Kauten

Dissertations

Adolescent narcissism has been extensively linked with aggression, but its relation with more positive behavioral correlates has been largely overlooked in the literature. Some research has investigated the divergent adaptive and maladaptive personality and behavioral correlates of non-pathological and pathological (i.e., grandiose, vulnerable) narcissism (Barry & Kauten, 2014; Barry & Wallace, 2010). This study sought to replicate previous findings that pathological narcissism is linked to self-reported prosocial behavior (Kauten & Barry, 2014) and further investigated the relation of self-reported narcissism with self-, parent-, and peer-reported prosocial behavior in a sample of 212 adolescents (M age = 16.8 years, SD …

Universal School-Based Depression Prevention ‘Op Volle Kracht’: A Longitudinal Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial, Y. R. Tak, A. Lichtwarck-Aschoff, Jane Gillham, R. M. P. Van Zundert, R. C. M. E. Engels

Psychology Faculty Works

The longitudinal effectiveness of a universal, adolescent school-based depression prevention program Op Volle Kracht (OVK) was evaluated by means of a cluster randomized controlled trial with intervention and control condition (school as usual). OVK was based on the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) (Gillham et al. Psychological Science, 6, 343–351, 1995). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Child Depression Inventory (Kovacs 2001). In total, 1341 adolescents participated, Mage = 13.91, SD = 0.55, 47.3 % girls, 83.1 % Dutch ethnicity; intervention group n = 655, four schools; control group n = 735, five schools. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed that OVK did not …

The Psychometric Evaluation And Validation Of A Measure Assessing Pharmacological And Social Alcohol Expectancies In Adolescents, Megan Victoria Mcmurray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Extending prior alcohol expectancy measurement research, this researcher (McMurray, 2013) recently developed the Pharmacological and Social Alcohol Expectancy Scale (PSAES). The PSAES is the only alcohol expectancy measure to date that provides adequate coverage of both social expectancies and the anticipated positive pharmacological effects resulting from alcohol consumption, and was developed and validated in a sample of young adults (aged 18-23). Research has shown that adolescents at high risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) hold higher expectations of reward from alcohol, suggesting that expectancy patterns may help distinguish at-risk youth. Building upon the previous PSAES validation study, the primary purpose …

Rebelliousness, Effortful Control, And Risky Behavior: Metamotivational And Temperamental Predictors Of Risk-Taking In Older Adolescents, Kathryn Lafreniere, Rosanne Menna, Kenneth M. Cramer

Kathryn Lafreniere

Adolescence is frequently regarded as a time of increased vulnerability to engaging in risky behaviors such as binge drinking, unsafe sexual activities, and illicit drug use. The present study examined risk perception and risk-taking behavior in older adolescents from two different perspectives, by examining temperamental and metamotivational predictors of likelihood of engaging in risky activities. A sample of 76 undergraduate students aged 17 to 19 years completed a questionnaire package that included the Motivational Style Profile, Rebelliousness Questionnaire, the short form of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire, and the expected risk and expected involvement subscales of the Cognitive Appraisal of Risky …

Rebelliousness, Effortful Control, And Risky Behavior: Metamotivational And Temperamental Predictors Of Risk-Taking In Older Adolescents, Kathryn Lafreniere, Rosanne Menna, Kenneth M. Cramer

Kathryn Lafreniere

Adolescence is frequently regarded as a time of increased vulnerability to engaging in risky behaviors such as binge drinking, unsafe sexual activities, and illicit drug use. The present study examined risk perception and risk-taking behavior in older adolescents from two different perspectives, by examining temperamental and metamotivational predictors of likelihood of engaging in risky activities. A sample of 76 undergraduate students aged 17 to 19 years completed a questionnaire package that included the Motivational Style Profile, Rebelliousness Questionnaire, the short form of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire, and the expected risk and expected involvement subscales of the Cognitive Appraisal of Risky …

Rebelliousness, Effortful Control, And Risky Behavior: Metamotivational And Temperamental Predictors Of Risk-Taking In Older Adolescents, Kathryn Lafreniere, Rosanne Menna, Kenneth M. Cramer

Kathryn Lafreniere

Adolescence is frequently regarded as a time of increased vulnerability to engaging in risky behaviors such as binge drinking, unsafe sexual activities, and illicit drug use. The present study examined risk perception and risk-taking behavior in older adolescents from two different perspectives, by examining temperamental and metamotivational predictors of likelihood of engaging in risky activities. A sample of 76 undergraduate students aged 17 to 19 years completed a questionnaire package that included the Motivational Style Profile, Rebelliousness Questionnaire, the short form of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire, and the expected risk and expected involvement subscales of the Cognitive Appraisal of Risky …

Pubertal Maturation Compression And Behavioral Impulsivity Among Boys At Increased Risk For Substance Use, Charles W. Mathias, Nora E. Charles, Yuanyuan Lang, Ashley Acheson, Sarah L. Lake, Stacy R. Ryan, Rene L. Olvera, Donald M. Dougherty

Faculty Publications

Objectives: While early onset of puberty among girls has been related to substance use involvement and other adverse outcomes, less research has examined pubertal development and outcomes in boys. Further, research on puberty has not been conducted in the context of other risk factors for substance use involvement such as impulsivity. To address these gaps, this study characterized boys' pubertal development from preadolescence to mid adolescence and related it to substance use risk and behavioral impulsivity.

Methods: A sample of 153 boys completed the Pubertal Development Scale to assess perception of their pubertal development relative to same-age peers …

Brief Report: Assessment Of Intervention Effects On In Vivo Peer Interactions In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Bridget Dolan, Amy V. Van Hecke, Audrey M. Carson, Jeffrey S. Karst, Sheryl Jayne Stevens, Kirsten A. Schohl, Stephanie Potts, Jenna Kahne, Nina Linneman, Rheanna Remmel, E. Hummel

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a randomized controlled trial of a social skills intervention, the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS: Laugeson et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 39(4): 596–606, 2009), by coding digitally recorded social interactions between adolescent participants with ASD and a typically developing adolescent confederate. Adolescent participants engaged in a 10-min peer interaction at pre- and post-treatment. Interactions were coded using the Contextual Assessment of Social Skills (Ratto et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 41(9): 1277–1286, 2010). Participants who completed PEERS demonstrated significantly improved vocal expressiveness, as well …

Sexual Health Promotion Programming For Youth In Or At-Risk For Foster Care: Improving Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors., Maya Boustani

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Among girls in foster care, 48% become pregnant at least once by age 19 (Dworkey & Courtney, 2010). Teen moms are less likely to graduate from high school and their children also are more likely to be placed in foster care due to abuse or neglect (Hoffman, 2006). Furthermore, 50% of 21-year-old men aging out of foster care report they have gotten someone pregnant, compared to 19% of their peers not involved in foster care (Courtney et al., 2007). Youth in or at-risk for foster care (YFC) report limited knowledge about, access to, and use of condoms; ambivalent attitudes toward …

Using Focus Group In The Development Of Unipa Emotional Autonomy Inventory, Maria Grazia Lo Cricchio, Alida Lo Coco, Sonia Ingoglia, Francesca Liga, Rodan Di Maria, Cristiano Inguglia, Pasquale Musso

The Qualitative Report

Focus groups were used in order to develop a new measure of adolescents' emotional autonomy from parents. The procedure started from an in depth analysis of the literature concerning the construct and a definition of the dimensions which characterize it. Following our idea of the construct, we developed a list of 60 items, getting some of them from existing instruments. Twenty-four adolescents participated in the focus group discussions about the adequacy of the items to measure emotional autonomy. Following their feedbacks a second version of the list with 59 items was presented in a focus group with experts in the …

African American Young People's Views Of Youth Participation And Its Implications For Addressing Community Problems, Isabelle M. Elisha

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Youth participation has been brought to the forefront of scholarly concerns by a growing interest in the positive effects of youth participation on developmental outcomes. However, few studies have investigated within group variations in African American young people’s views of civic participation. The present study examined African American early adolescents’ perceptions of youth participation in resolving community problems. Using a written protocol instrument with open-ended questions, the present study elicited diverse narratives from thirty-one 11-14 year old African American adolescents in order to address within-group variations in their experiences with youth participation and their understanding of racial discrimination. Participants described …

Prosocial Reward Learning In Children And Adolescents, Youngbin Kwak, Scott A. Huettel

Psychological and Brain Sciences Faculty Publication Series

Adolescence is a period of increased sensitivity to social contexts. To evaluate how social context sensitivity changes over development—and influences reward learning—we investigated how children and adolescents perceive and integrate rewards for oneself and others during a dynamic risky decision-making task. Children and adolescents (N = 75, 8–16 years) performed the Social Gambling Task (SGT, Kwak et al., 2014) and completed a set of questionnaires measuring other-regarding behavior. In the SGT, participants choose amongst four card decks that have different payout structures for oneself and for a charity. We examined patterns of choices, overall decision strategies, and how …

A Concurrent And Longitudinal Examination Of A Bio-Neuropsychosocial Model For Predicting Medical Adherence And Responsibility In Youth With Spina Bifida, Alexandra Psihogios

Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this multi-source, multi-method study was to examine biological, neuropsychological, and social (i.e., family dynamics and social adjustment) predictors of medical adherence and responsibility in a pediatric spina bifida (SB) sample.

Methods: One hundred forty youth with SB (53.6% female; M age = 11.40 at Time 1) and their caregivers participated in two study time points (Time 2 occurred two years after Time 1). Youth and their caregivers completed several questionnaires regarding medical self-management, family functioning, child social adjustment, and child executive functioning. Teachers completed a parallel measure of child executive functioning. Children completed a brief battery …

Observed Racial Socialization And Maternal Positive Emotions In African American Mother-Adolescent Dyadic Discussions About Racial Discrimination, Mia A. Smith-Bynum, Riana E. Anderson, Breanna L. Davis, Marisa Franco

Counseling and Psychological Services Faculty Publications

This study examined patterns of: (1) racial socialization messages in dyadic discussions between 111 African American mothers and adolescents (M age = 15.50) and (2) mothers’ positive emotions displayed during the discussion. Mothers gave more total racial socialization responses to a hypothetical dilemma involving potential mistreatment by a White teacher than a dilemma involving rude treatment by a White salesperson. Mothers displayed more advocacy on behalf of their adolescents in response to the teacher dilemma than to the salesperson dilemma. Mothers displayed consistent emotional support of adolescents’ problem solving across both dilemmas but lower warmth in response to the …

Romantic Relationship Experiences From Late Adolescence To Young Adulthood: The Role Of Older Siblings In Mexican-Origin Families, Lorey A. Wheeler, Sarah E. Killoren, Shawn D. Whiteman, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Susan M. Mchale, Adriana J. Umana-Taylor

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Youth's experiences with romantic relationships during adolescence and young adulthood have far reaching implications for future relationships, health, and well-being; yet, although scholars have examined potential peer and parent influences, we know little about the role of siblings in youth's romantic relationships. Accordingly, this study examined the prospective longitudinal links between Mexican-origin older and younger siblings' romantic relationship experiences and variation by sibling structural and relationship characteristics (i.e., sibling age and gender similarity, younger siblings' modeling) and cultural values (i.e., younger siblings' familism values). Data from 246 Mexican-origin families with older (M = 20.65 years; SD = 1.57; 50% …

Hobbies And Organized Activities: Correlates Of Participation And Relations With Psychosocial Adjustment Among Young Adolescent Girls, Davia Steinberg Steinberg

Wayne State University Theses

Recent research has linked participation in organized activities to better psychosocial adjustment in youth including academic achievement, increased peer competence, and better mental health (Fredricks & Eccles, 2006). Although such benefits have been reported among youth from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, lower-income and ethnic minority youth have less access to organized activities (Quane & Rankin, 2006). The current study is among the first to explore whether more accessible forms of activity engagement, hobbies, confer similar benefits. I examine involvement in organized activities and hobbies among a sample of urban, mostly African American (73%) youth.

Results indicate that hobbies represent …

Delinquency, Depression, Religiosity, And Social Support In The Prediction Of Substance Use: Findings From Add Health, Nicholas Francesco Heimpel

Departmental Honors Projects

Delinquency, depression, religiosity, and social support have been demonstrated to relate to substance use in adolescence. We examined relations between these factors and substance use (cigarette use, marijuana use, frequency of intoxication using alcohol, and lifetime substance use) using the National Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (ADD Health), a large-scale nationally representative epidemiological study (N = 6504). Our results suggested that: 1) in simple correlations, delinquency and depression appeared to be related to higher levels of all forms of substance use, whereas religiosity and social support appeared to be inversely related with all forms of substance use, 2) in …

Bullying Intervention In Adolescence: The Intersection Of Legislation, Policies, And Behavioral Change, Susan M. Swearer, Meredith Martin, Marc Brackett, Raul A. Palacios Ii

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article reviews current research on bullying during adolescence. The complexity of bullying behaviors during the adolescent time period are discussed and a review of the developmental literature on adolescence provides suggestions for why current bullying prevention and intervention programs are less effective for this age group. Current anti-bullying policies and legislation are reviewed under a framework of adolescent brain development and the development of consequential thinking. Suggestions for implementing social-emotional learning programming during the adolescent period are provided and a novel approach using social media is presented. In order to effectively combat bullying during this developmental period, programming must …

Development Of Cognitive Vulnerability For Depression In Youth: Sex, Emotional Maltreatment, And Depression Predict Negative Cognitive Style, Jessica R. Technow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hopelessness theory is a prominent cognitive theory of depression that has been shown to predict depression in youth. However, research has yet to elucidate normative mean-level development of the cognitive risk factor in hopelessness theory from childhood through adolescence. The current study utilized a multi-wave design and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses to examine mean-level negative cognitive style growth and stability in late childhood, early adolescence, and mid-late adolescence. Participant sex, emotional maltreatment, and major depression were also tested as predictors of negative cognitive style. For three years, youth (N = 681, ages 7-18 at baseline) were assessed every 1.5 …

Evaluation Of The Intervention Efficacy Of Lions Quest Skills For Adolescence, Jennifer Lee Switzer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adolescence is characterized as a time of impulsivity, emotional decision-making, and peer influence; thus, interventions targeting the development of effective psychosocial skills are imperative. Improved psychosocial functioning can equip adolescents for successfully overcoming future life challenges. There are few studies that have examined how adolescents' psychosocial skills could be improved in the context of substance abuse prevention program participation. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in psychosocial skills in a group of adolescents who participated in 2 of 10 Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence (Lions Quest SFA) programs being used in central Virginia middle schools. This study …

The Role Of Religiosity In The Development Of Obesity From Adolescence To Adulthood, Trini Gene Rangel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The development of obesity from adolescence to adulthood is not well understood, nor does the research support a multidimensional approach for this understanding. Studies have described primarily cross-sectional bivariate relationships between combinations of obesity, religiosity, depression, and social support, but it is still not known whether there is a relationship between adolescent religiosity, depression, and social support in the development of adult obesity or whether depression and social support mediate the religiosity-obesity relationship. The dynamic, multidimensional, functional model of wellness presented by Hawks was the basis for the spiritual, social, emotional, and physical interactions proposed in this study. The research …

Prevalence Of Marijuana And Other Substance Use Before And After Washington State’S Change From Legal Medical Marijuana To Legal Medical And Non-Medical Marijuana: Cohort Comparisons In A Sample Of Adolescents, W. Alex Mason, Charles B. Fleming, Jay L. Ringle, Koren Hanson, Thomas J. Gross, Kevin P. Haggerty

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background—A growing number of states have new legislation extending prior legalization of medical marijuana by allowing non-medical marijuana use for adults. The potential influence of this change in legislation on adolescent marijuana and other substance use (e.g., spillover or substitution effects) is uncertain. We capitalize on an ongoing study to explore the prevalence of marijuana and other substance use in two cohorts of adolescents who experienced the non-medical marijuana law change in Washington State at different ages.

Method—Participants were 8^th graders enrolled in targeted Tacoma, Washington public schools and recruited in two consecutive annual cohorts. The analysis …

The Effect Of Peer Presence On Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviors, Kelly E. Daniel

Honors College Theses

The emergence of risk-taking in adolescence, which can have life altering implications such as teenage pregnancy, car accidents, or drug overdoses, has been attributed to several different aspects of development including increased reward sensitivity and immature cognitive control contingent on motivation. Recent psychological research also indicates that adolescent risk-taking increases in the presence of peers. It remains unclear, however, whether this peer effect on risk-taking is attributable to amplified reward sensitivity or is a more general effect of experimenter expectancy and social desirability. This study builds upon this research using a computerized risk-taking task with stimuli that illustrate the probabilities …

Depression Intervention Programs In Low-Income High Schools, Gopika Hari

Undergraduate Research Posters

It is estimated that 2.6 million adolescents suffer from major depressive episodes each year. Research has noted that symptoms in youth have become indicators of mental health complications later in life. Studies reveal that low income is a risk factor for depression and that socioeconomically-disadvantaged teenagers are more than twice as likely to develop mental illnesses. Only roughly 25% of children with mental illnesses receive adequate help and 80% of these resources come from schools. This study focuses on establishing the importance of depression intervention programs in low-income high schools and on designing novel guidelines for effective protocols. A compilation …

Teen Perceptions Of Cell Phone And Internet Sexual Messaging: Trends And Predictors, David Gregg

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to propose and test a predictive model for high school sexting in order to better understand influences and characteristics that contribute most to one’s decision to sext. Sexting was defined as either sending or receiving photos, videos, or text messages that contained full nudity, partial nudity, sexual requests, or comments of a sexual nature. Rates and typical recipients of sexual content were also examined in this study. A sample of 314 high school students in an urban area of Southeast Michigan were surveyed. Males were found to more frequently report engaging in nearly …

The Multidimensional Bullying Victimization Scale: Development And Validation, Shannon Marie Harbin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One in three middle and high school students are victims of bullying (National Educational Association, 2012). The prevalence of bullying has increased over the past 10 years by approximately 25% (Nation Center of Education Statistics, 2013) and is now considered a public health concern. Published measures of bullying lack breadth and/or psychometric support. The present study created a psychometrically sound measure assessing bully victimization in adolescents. This measure examines three dimensions of bullying: direct, indirect, and evaluative. Items were generated based on information collected from student focus groups, as well as previously published measures and themes within recently published literature. …

Longitudinal Examination Of Family Violence, Posttraumatic Stress, Social Skills, And Aggression : An Exploratory Analysis, Shawn Wilson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Aggression in adolescence is associated with many negative outcomes both during adolescence and later in adulthood. In order to properly prevent and treat aggression, it is important to understand what factors are associated with the development of aggression. This study examined how exposure to family violence, posttraumatic stress, and social skills were related to both parent- and adolescent-rated aggressive behavior. This study was comprised of two components. First, a series of mediation models were examined using structural equation modeling. Second, exploratory analyses of the moderating effects of adolescent race and gender were conducted using multiple regression. The sample consisted of …

The Role Of Stressors And Academic Competence In Adolescent Depression By Race, Ishani Ravindra Deo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether adolescents’ perceptions of academic competence serve as a mediator of the relationship between various kinds of stressful experiences and depression symptoms. Additionally, we hypothesized that the utility of this model would change with adolescents’ race. Methods: The sample consisted of 260 adolescents, approximately half of whom were African American (N = 141) and half of whom were European American (N = 119). Measures were administered to participants at a single time point via in-school questionnaires, and the resulting data were analyzed both for mediation and with moderated path analyses. Results: …

Social Media Usage And Subjective Well-Being In Middle School Students, Kimberly R. Hutcheson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

With more people using social media platforms at younger ages, it is imperative to understand the relationship between social media use and subjective well-being. Previous research regarding young adults and their use of social media has shown inconclusive results concerning frequency of social media use and well-being. The current study focused on a younger adolescent population and on their motivations for posting on social media as opposed to their general frequency of use. Thirty seven middle school students took an online survey asking questions regarding frequency of social media use, motivations for use, self esteem, life satisfaction, and source of …