Peer Acceptance and Friendship as Predictors of Early Adolescents’ Adjustment Across the Middle School Transition

This study examines several aspects of adolescents’ pretransition peer relationships as predictors of their adjustment to middle school. Participants were 365 students (175 boys; 99% Caucasian) involved in the Time 1 (the spring of fifth grade) and Time 2 (the fall of sixth grade) assessments. Adolescents completed measures that assessed peer acceptance, number of friends, the quality of a specific mutual friendship, loneliness, depression, self-esteem, and involvement in school. Academic achievement and absentee data were obtained from student files. Regression analyses indicated that the pretransition peer variables predicted posttransition loneliness, self-esteem, school involvement, and academic achievement. The patterns of prediction varied slightly for each adjustment variable, with the most robust relationship being between peer acceptance and achievement. Results of repeated-measures MANOVAs indicated no differential changes in adjustment across time by gender. Implications for including a peer component in programs that prepare students for the middle school transition are discussed

Peer Acceptance and Friendship as Predictors of Early Adolescents\u27 Adjustment Across the Middle School Transition

This study examines several aspects of adolescents\u27 pretransition peer relationships as predictors of their adjustment to middle school. Participants were 365 students (175 boys; 99% Caucasian) involved in the Time 1 (the spring of fifth grade) and Time 2 (the fall of sixth grade) assessments. Adolescents completed measures that assessed peer acceptance, number of friends, the quality of a specific mutual friendship, loneliness, depression, self-esteem, and involvement in school. Academic achievement and absentee data were obtained from student files. Regression analyses indicated that the pretransition peer variables predicted posttransition loneliness, self-esteem, school involvement, and academic achievement. The patterns of prediction varied slightly for each adjustment variable, with the most robust relationship being between peer acceptance and achievement. Results of repeated-measures MANOVAs indicated no differential changes in adjustment across time by gender. Implications for including a peer component in programs that prepare students for the middle school transition are discussed

Developmentally Sensitive Implementation of Core Elements of Evidence-Based Treatments: Practical Strategies for Youth With Internalizing Disorders

MANY TREATMENT APPROACHES for psychological disorders among children and adolescents are downward extensions of adult treatment models. According to Barrett (2000), when treatments for childhood disorders are based on cognitive behavioral models of adult disorders, clinicians may make inaccurate assumptions, such as viewing children as “little adults,” thereby failing to adjust treatment terminology for children and ignoring contextual factors such as families and peers. Subscribing to adult models may also result in a lack of awareness of research findings in the field of developmental psychology (e.g., cognitive abilities, social skills, emotion regulation) and, consequently, implementation of treatment strategies in a similar manner across levels of development (e.g., assuming all children possess the same level of meta-cognitive skills). As Kingery and colleagues (2006) emphasize, simply utilizing a treatment that has been developed for youth is not sufficient. Particularly when implementing manual-based CBT for youth with internalizing disorders, clinicians must be knowledgeable, creative, and flexible, taking each child’s individual cognitive, social, and emotional skills into consideration to provide the most developmentally appropriate intervention

Developmentally Sensitive Implementation of Core Elements of Evidence-Based Treatments: Practical Strategies for Youth With Internalizing Disorders

MANY TREATMENT APPROACHES for psychological disorders among children and adolescents are downward extensions of adult treatment models. According to Barrett (2000), when treatments for childhood disorders are based on cognitive behavioral models of adult disorders, clinicians may make inaccurate assumptions, such as viewing children as “little adults,” thereby failing to adjust treatment terminology for children and ignoring contextual factors such as families and peers. Subscribing to adult models may also result in a lack of awareness of research findings in the field of developmental psychology (e.g., cognitive abilities, social skills, emotion regulation) and, consequently, implementation of treatment strategies in a similar manner across levels of development (e.g., assuming all children possess the same level of meta-cognitive skills). As Kingery and colleagues (2006) emphasize, simply utilizing a treatment that has been developed for youth is not sufficient. Particularly when implementing manual-based CBT for youth with internalizing disorders, clinicians must be knowledgeable, creative, and flexible, taking each child’s individual cognitive, social, and emotional skills into consideration to provide the most developmentally appropriate intervention

Dispositional Mindfulness Predicting Psychological Adjustment Among College Students: The Role of Rumination and Gender

Objective: This study examined rumination as a mediator of the relationship between dispositional mindfulness (DM) and depression, loneliness, and anxiety, while considering gender as a moderator of these mediation models. Participants: Three hundred and nineteen undergraduate students (49.5% female; M = 18.90 years) participated with data collected from January 2018 to April 2019. Methods: Self-report measures of DM, rumination, symptoms of anxiety and depression, loneliness, and social support were completed. Results: Males scored significantly higher than females on DM, while females scored significantly higher than males on rumination and psychological distress. Rumination mediated the relationship between DM and all adjustment variables. The mediation model predicting depression was moderated by gender, showing stronger effects for females than males. Conclusion: Results support rumination as a mechanism underlying the association between DM and psychological adjustment and suggest that targeting both DM and rumination could maximize the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for college students’ well-being

Treating Internalizing Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Core Techniques and Strategies

Identifying 13 core techniques and strategies that cut across all available evidence-based treatments for child and adolescent mood and anxiety disorders, this book provides theoretical rationales, step-by-step implementation guidelines, and rich clinical examples. Therapists can flexibly draw from these elements to tailor interventions to specific clients, or can use the book as an instructive companion to any treatment manual. Coverage includes exposure tasks, cognitive strategies, problem solving, modeling, relaxation, psychoeducation, social skills training, praise and rewards, activity scheduling, self-monitoring, goal setting, homework, and maintenance and relapse prevention.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/fac_monographs/1288/thumbnail.jp

Changes in Psychological Inflexibility as a Potential Mediator of Longitudinal Links Between College Students’ Sleep Problems and Depressive Symptoms

Background: Sleep problems and depressive symptoms, including suicidal ideation, are strongly associated among undergraduate students. Although upwards of 60% of college students report sleep problems, the mechanisms through which sleep might be linked with students\u27 depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation in particular, would benefit from further clarification. Drawing upon a contextual behavioral science perspective, the current study sought to examine how changes in psychological flexibility/inflexibility might act as potential mediators between changes in college students’ sleep quality and depressive symptoms, including suicidal ideation. Methods: The longitudinal (baseline and 2-month follow-up) online sample of 385 undergraduates (M = 20.0, SD = 1.6) was collected through a multi-site study during the Spring semester of 2019. Results: Analyses using the PROCESS macro to examine potential mediation mechanisms suggested that residual increases in sleep disturbance (assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) were associated with residual increases in global psychological inflexibility (assessed with the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory), which, in turn, were associated with residual increases in both depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation (assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) over the two months of the study. Subsequent analyses (i.e., secondary models) examining specific dimensions of inflexibility as possible mechanisms of change in depressive symptoms suggested that residual change in self-as-content, fusion, lack of contact with values, and inaction each helped to explain the links between changes in sleep disturbance and depressive symptoms. In contrast, only changes in fusion helped to explain the association between changes in sleep disturbance and suicidal ideation. Conclusions: Undergraduates\u27 sleep disturbance was a significant predictor of their depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation via changes in their levels of psychological inflexibility. In addition to addressing students\u27 sleep problems directly, it appears to be advantageous to decrease students’ levels of psychological inflexibility to attenuate the potential association between mental health problems and sleep disturbances typically experienced during college