Discrepancies in Perceived Friendship Intimacy as a Predictor of Adolescent Alcohol Use

Adolescent friendships have traditionally been defined as involving a reciprocal intimate bond, but little research has examined the implications of the lack of affection reciprocity for adolescent positive adjustment. Further, past research suggests that self-and peer- reported intimacy are only modestly correlated, indicating meaningful variability in affection reciprocity within adolescent friendships. Friendships that lack affection reciprocity may be conflict-ridden and imbalanced, leading to adolescent maladaptive outcomes including alcohol use and negative affect. The current study examined the effects of affectionately discrepant friendships in a sample of 94 adolescents. Results indicate that affective discrepancies friendships are psychologically meaningful and within adolescent friendships can be differentiated from (non-discrepant) high intimacy friendships. The lack of affection reciprocity places adolescent at risk for imbalanced friendships and negative affect, although these effects differ for by gender. Moreover, post-hoc analyses suggest that these friendships may be at greater risk for dissolution over time. Lastly, the results of the current study indicate that friendship quality may be captured more fully as a dyadic construct by taking into account both reporters of the friendship. Implications and future directions are discussed

The intersection of racial-ethnic socialization and adolescence: A closer examination at stage-salient issues

The literature on parental racial–ethnic socialization (RES) has established the multiple protective effects of RES on developmental outcomes. Although the majority of this literature examines RES processes in adolescence, with the exception of identity processes this literature has not specifically tackled how these messages intersect with specific adolescent developmental processes. We review the literature on RES processes in non‐White adolescents with a focus on the parent–adolescent relationship, risk‐taking behaviors, romantic relationships, and different contexts (i.e., extracurricular, work, and social media settings). We propose that developmental science needs to account for how parental RES may not only change in adolescence, but in particular responds to the perceived risks associated with this developmental period and interacts with normative developmental tasks and milestones

Ethnic Differences Among Adolescents Beginning Treatment for Depression

Abstract: This study examines ethnic/racial differences at the start of treatment among participants in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). African American and Latino youth were compared to Caucasian youth on symptom presentation and cognitive variables associated with depression. Contrary to hypothesis, there were no significant differences in symptom presentation as measured by the interviewbased items of the Children's Depression Rating Scale -Revised (CDRS-R). However, African American and Latino youth were both rated as demonstrating more severe symptoms on the observational items of the CDRS-R compared to Caucasian youth. In terms of cognitive variables associated with depression, African Americans reported fewer negative cognitive biases compared to Caucasians, but cognitive biases were significantly correlated with depression severity across ethnic groups

Parent-child cultural value gaps and depressive symptoms among Mexican American youth

Abstract: Cultural value gaps between Mexican American parents and their children are hypothesized to place youth at risk for poor mental health outcomes. While most studies examine these gaps on broad measures of acculturation, the present study examined value gaps in affiliative obedience, a cultural value that has at its core the belief that respect and deference must be shown to parents and adults. The present study hypothesized that adolescents would exhibit greater depressive symptoms when youth demonstrated lower levels of affiliative obedience than their mothers. Moreover, we examined whether gender, nativity status, and age predicted cultural value gaps and moderated the relationship between gaps and depressive symptoms. These questions were evaluated in a school-based sample of 159 Mexican American families whose children were either US born (n = 82) or foreign-born (n = 77). Twenty-five percent of the sample demonstrated a cultural value gap where youth endorsed lower levels of affiliative obedience than their parents, and this group reported the greatest depressive symptoms. Age moderated this relationship, and the greatest association between cultural value gaps and depression was found among the older group of early adolescents

Predicting Longitudinal Changes in Familism in an Emerging Immigrant Context

Familism is a core Latinx value that emphasizes deference to family and prioritizing family over the self, and is typically examined as a predictor of positive psychosocial outcomes in Latinx youth and their families (Stein et al., 2014). Few studies have examined predictors of familism in Latinx youth, with the majority of work focusing on how familism contributes to adjustment, psychopathology, and well-being (Hernández & Bámaca, 2016). The few studies that have explored this association have found that ethnic identity (e.g., affect toward one’s ethnic group, perceptions of others’ views of their group) and family processes are two factors that play a significant role in predicting familism values (Carlo, White, Streit, Knight, & Zeiders, 2017; Stein, Rivas-Drake, & Camacho, 2016). This relation has been established through cross-sectional as well as longitudinal studies; however, research that has examined longitudinal associations has typically been conducted in traditional immigrant destinations (i.e., California, Kiang & Fuligni, 2009; Arizona, Knight et al., 2014). Additionally, no studies to our knowledge have examined how familism develops or changes across time in relation to core ethnic identity processes (i.e., public and private regard) and familial experiences (i.e., familial support). How cultural and familial processes intersect with familism values may differ in emerging immigrant communities, as these communities lack the cultural resources present in established destinations (Stamps & Bohon, 2010). This study extends past research by testing the longitudinal associations between familism values, and ethnic identity and family processes within an emerging immigrant context.University of North Carolina at GreensboroUpdate citation details during checkdate report - RO

Longitudinal links between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic‐racial discrimination, and ethnic‐racial pride in Mexican American youth

This paper used cross-lagged panel models to test the longitudinal interplay between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic-racial discrimination, and ethnic-racial pride across 5th to 11th grade among Mexican American youth (N = 674, Mage  = 10.86; 72% born in the United States; 50% girls; Wave 1 collected 2006-2008). Maternal cultural socialization predicted increases in subsequent youth ethnic-racial pride, and youth ethnic-racial pride prompted greater maternal cultural socialization. However, peer ethnic-racial discrimination was associated with subsequent decreases in ethnic-racial pride. The magnitude of these associations was consistent across 5th to 11th grades suggesting that maternal cultural socialization messages are necessary to maintain ethnic-racial pride across adolescence, thus families must continually support the development of ethnic-racial pride in their youth to counter the effects of discrimination