282 research outputs found
Examining secondary school choice processes as a predictor of adjustment after the school transition
The secondary school transition is an important moment in adolescents' lives. Taking a prospective approach, the present study examined whether educational identity regarding a secondary school choice and own and parental expectations during the last year of primary school predicted post-transition school and psychological adjustment in Dutch adolescents (N = 314, Mage = 11.58). Additionally, the study qualitatively examined the reasons adolescents gave for their school choice, and linked these reasons to exploration behavior and post-transition adjustment. Identity processes and expectations predicted adjustment. Adolescents mostly reported multiple reasons for their school choice, with educational, practical, and social aspects of secondary schools appearing most important. The number of reasons mentioned was associated with pre-transition exploration behavior
Longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and quality of romantic relationships in late adolescence
The Formation of Party Preference in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: How and When Does It Occur in the Multiparty Context of the Netherlands?
Who am I?:Studying autobiographical reasoning, identity commitment and exploration processes, and narrative content in unison
Identity research focuses on multiple processes capturing how adolescents form and maintain a sense of self. However, identity content (the “what” of identity) might impact associations between identity and the association with well-being. We examined this potential role of content (i.e., valence and life domain) in two studies, focusing on autobiographical reasoning in written narratives (i.e., self-event connections), educational identity commitment and exploration processes, and measures of general and domain-specific functioning. Study 1 (N = 180, Mage = 14.7) and Study 2 (N = 160, Mage = 13.1) provided little evidence for the hypothesized role of identity content, but moderation analyses in Study 1 showed that self-event connections were more strongly related to life satisfaction in narratives about relational events than other events. These findings suggest a more fine-grained approach is needed to capture the role of identity content
The future is present in the past: A meta-analysis on the longitudinal associations of parent–adolescent relationships with peer and romantic relationships
Positive peer and romantic relationships are crucial for adolescents' positive adjustment and relationships with parents lay the foundation for these relationships. This longitudinal meta-analysis examined how parent–adolescent relationships continue into later peer and romantic relationships. Included longitudinal studies (k = 54 involving peer relationships, k = 38 involving romantic relationships) contained demographically diverse samples from predominantly Western cultural contexts. Multilevel meta-regressions indicated that supportive and negative parent–adolescent relationships were associated with supportive and negative future peer and romantic relationships. Meta-analytic structural equation modeling (k = 54) indicated that supportive parent–adolescent relationships unidirectionally predicted supportive and negative peer relationships, while negative parent–adolescent relationships were bidirectionally associated with supportive and negative peer relationships. Maintaining mutually supportive relationships with parents may help adolescents to develop positive social relationships
Resilience, well-being and informal and formal support in multi-problem families during the Covid-19 pandemic
BACKGROUND: The Covid-19 pandemic may have had negative effects on youth and parental mental health, especially in high-risk populations such as multi-problem families (i.e., families that experience problems in multiple domains, such as mental health and social network problems). Using one to four assessments during all phases of the Covid-19 pandemic up until January 2022, we examined the associations between pandemic-related stress and mental health (resilience and well-being) of youth and parents from multi-problem families. We also investigated whether experienced informal (i.e., youth informal mentoring) and formal support (i.e., therapist support) served as protective factors in this association. METHODS: A total of 92 youth aged 10–19 years (46.7% girls; mean age 16.00 years) and 78 parents (79.5% female; mean age 47.17 years) filled in one to four questionnaires between March 2020 and January 2022. Multi-level analyses were conducted to account for the nested structure of the data. RESULTS: For youth, pandemic-related stress was associated with lower well-being, but not with resilience. Perceived support from both mentors and therapists was positively associated with youth mental health. Furthermore, high perceived therapist support protected youth from the negative effect of pandemic-related stress on resilience. For parents, pandemic-related stress was not related to mental health, irrespective of therapist support. Yet, therapist support was directly and positively associated with parental mental health. CONCLUSIONS: Youth from multi-problem families who experience pandemic-related stress are at risk of (elevated) mental health problems during the pandemic, specifically if they have no or weak therapist support. The mental health of parents, however, was minimally affected by pandemic-related stress, indicating strength and flexibility. Youth and parents who experienced support during the pandemic reported higher levels of resilience and well-being, demonstrating the importance of support for individuals’ mental health during stressful times such as a pandemic. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13034-022-00542-2
Needs of youth and parents from multi-problem families in the search for Youth-initiated mentors
Personality development across adolescence and young adulthood:The role of life transitions and self-concept clarity
Personality develops across the lifespan, but most development occurs in adolescence and young adulthood. Life transitions to new social roles may be important drivers of mean-level personality development. The present study examined mean-level personality development in adolescence and young adulthood, and the role of the transition to tertiary education and working life therein in a sample of Dutch young people that were followed across 14 years (N = 497, Age(W1) = 13.03 years). We explored whether young people's self-concept clarity moderated these associations. Our hypotheses and analytical plan were pre-registered. Findings from Latent Growth Models showed support for maturation in personality across adolescence and young adulthood, but not a maturity dip. Having the role of employee was associated with higher conscientiousness, but no associations were found of the transition to tertiary education and the transition to work with mean-level development of any of the personality traits. Self-concept clarity did not moderate the role of transitions in mean-level personality development. Our findings suggest that socialization effects may not explain associations between life transitions and personality development in adolescence and young adulthood
Childhood predictors and adult life success of adolescent delinquency abstainers
While much is known about adolescent delinquency, considerably less attention has been given to adolescent delinquency abstention. Understanding how or why some adolescents manage to abstain from delinquency during adolescence is informative for understanding and preventing adolescent (minor) delinquency. Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (N = 411 males) to compare abstainers, self-report delinquents and convicted delinquents we found five childhood factors (ages 8-10) that predicted adolescent abstention (ages 10-18). First, we find that adolescent abstainers possess characteristics opposite to those of convicted delinquents (namely, abstainers are high on honesty, conformity and family income). However, we also found that abstainers also share some childhood characteristics with convicted delinquents (namely, low popularity and low school achievement). A latent class analysis indicated that the mixed factors predicting abstention can be accounted for by two groups of abstainers: an adaptive group characterized by high honesty, and a maladaptive group characterized by low popularity and low school achievement. Further, validation of these two types of abstainers using data collected at age 48 suggested that adaptive abstainers outperform all other adolescents in general life success, whereas maladaptive abstainers only fare better than delinquent adolescents in terms of lower substance use and delinquency later in life
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