Buffer or Brake? The Role of Sexuality-Specific Parenting in Adolescents’ Sexualized Media Consumption and Sexual Development

One main source of sexual socialization lies within family interactions. Especially sexuality-specific parenting may determine adolescents’ sexual development—adolescents’ sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior, sexualized media consumption and permissive sexual attitudes—to a significant extent, but different ideas exist about how this works. In this longitudinal study, we examined two hypotheses on how sexuality-specific parenting—parenting aimed specifically at children’s sexual attitudes and behaviors—relates to adolescents’ sexual development. A first buffer hypothesis states that parents’ instructive media discussions with their children—called instructive mediation—buffers the effect of sexualized media consumption on adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior and, vice versa, the effect of adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior on sexualized media consumption. A second brake hypothesis states that parents, by communicating love-and-respect oriented sexual norms, slow down adolescents’ development toward increased sexualized media use, permissive sexual attitudes, and sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior. Using four-wave longitudinal data from 514 Dutch adolescents aged 13–16 years (49.8% female), we found evidence to support a brake effect. More frequent parental communication of love-and-respect oriented sexual norms was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes and, for boys, with less advanced sexual behavior and a less rapid increase in sexual risk behavior. Parents’ instructive mediation regarding adolescents’ sexualized media consumption was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes at baseline, but only for girls. No systematic evidence emerged for a buffer effect of parents’ instructive mediation. In conclusion, although our data seem to suggest that parent–child communication about sex is oftentimes “after the fact”, we also find that more directive parental communication that conveys love-and-respect oriented sexual norms brake adolescents’ move toward sexual maturity

Маркетинговий менеджмент як регулятор торгівлі

У статті розглянуто актуальний стан і можливості покращення макроекономічної ситуації в Україні шляхом використання маркетингового менеджменту як регулятора внутрішніх резервів активізації торгівлі та споживання.В статье рассмотрены актуальное состояние и возможности улучшения макроэкономической ситуации в Украине путем использования маркетингового менеджмента как регулятора внутренних резервов активизации торговли и потребления.In the article the actual condition and the ways of macroeconomic situation in Ukraine improvement by usage of marketing management as an internal trade and consumption reserves regulator are considered

A Dose of Nature:Two three-level meta-analyses of the beneficial effects of exposure to nature on children's self-regulation

There is growing evidence that exposure to nature, as opposed to a built environment, is associated with better health. Specifically in children, more exposure to nature seems to be associated with better cognitive, affective, and behavioral self-regulation. Because studies are scattered over different scientific disciplines, it is difficult to create a coherent overview of empirical findings. We therefore conducted two meta-analyses on the effect of exposure to nature on self-regulation of schoolchildren (Mage = 7.84 years; SD = 2.46). Our 3-level meta-analyses showed small, but significant positive overall associations of nature with self-regulation in both correlational (15 studies, r = .10; p < .001) and (quasi-) experimental (16 studies, d = .15; p < .01) studies. Moderation analyses revealed no differential associations based on most sample or study characteristics. However, in correlational studies the type of instrument used to measure exposure to nature (index score of nature vs. parent-reported exposure) significantly moderated the association between nature and self-regulation. Stronger associations were found when exposure to nature was assessed via parent-reports than via an index such as by a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Our findings suggest that nature may be a promising tool in stimulating children's self-regulation, and possibly preventing child psychopathology. However, our overview also shows that we are in need of more rigorous experimental studies, using theoretically based conceptualizations of nature, and validated measures of nature and its putative outcomes

Parenting behaviors that shape child compliance: A multilevel meta-analysis

Background What are the parenting behaviors that shape child compliance? Most research on parent-child interactions relies on correlational research or evaluations of “package deal” interventions that manipulate many aspects of parenting at the same time. Neither approach allows for identifying the specific parenting behaviors that shape child compliance. To overcome this, we systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed available evidence on the effects of experimentally manipulated, discrete parenting behaviors—a niche in parent-child interaction research that contributes unique information on the specific parenting behaviors that shape child behavior. Methods We identified studies by systematically searching databases and through contacting experts. Nineteen studies (75 effect sizes) on four discrete parenting behaviors were included: praise, verbal reprimands, time-out, and ignore. In multilevel models, we tested for each parenting behavior whether it increased child compliance, including both observed and parent-reported measures of child compliance. Results Providing “time-out” for noncompliance robustly increased both observed and parent-reported child compliance (ds = 0.84–1.72; 95% CI 0.30 to 2.54). The same holds for briefly ignoring the child after non-compliance (ds = 0.36–1.77; 95% CI 0.04 to 2.90). When observed and parent-reported outcomes were combined, but not when they were examined separately, verbal reprimands also increased child compliance (d = 0.72; 95% CI 0.26 to 1.19). Praise did not increase child compliance (ds = –0.27–1.19; 95% CI –2.04 to 1.59). Conclusion Our findings suggest that of the discrete parenting behaviors that are experimentally studied in multiple trials, especially time-out and ignore, and to some extent verbal reprimands, shape child compliance

Exploring parenting profiles to understand who benefits from the incredible years parenting program

Behavioral parenting programs are a theory-driven and evidence-based approach for reducing disruptive child behavior. Although these programs are effective on average, they are not equally effective in all families. Decades of moderation research has yielded very few consistent moderators, and we therefore still have little knowledge of who benefits from these programs and little understanding why some families benefit more than others. This study applied a baseline target moderation model to a parenting program, by (1) identifying parenting profiles at baseline, (2) exploring their correlations with other family characteristics and their stability, and (3) assessing whether they moderate intervention effects on child behavior. Individual participant data from four Dutch studies on the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program were used (N = 785 caregiver-child dyads). Children (58.2% boys) were at risk of disruptive behavior problems and aged between 2 and 11 years of age (M = 5.85 years; SD = 1.59). Latent profile analyses indicated three distinct baseline parenting profiles, which we labeled as follows: Low Involvement (81.4%), High Involvement (8.4%), and Harsh Parenting (10.1%). The profiles caregivers were allocated to were associated with their education, minority status, being a single caregiver, and the severity of disruptive child behavior. We found neither evidence that baseline parenting profiles changed due to participation in IY nor evidence that the profiles predicted program effects on child behavior. Our findings do not support the baseline target moderation hypothesis but raise new questions on how parenting programs may work similarly or differently for different families

In the Eye of the Beholder?

This study examined parent-observer discrepancies in assessments of negative child behavior and negative parenting behavior to shed more light on correlates with these discrepancies. Specifically, we hypothesized that informant discrepancy between observers and parents on child behavior would be larger when parents reported high levels of negative parenting (and vice versa) because high levels of these behaviors might be indicators of negative perceiver bias or patterns of family dysfunctioning. Using restricted correlated trait–models, we analyzed cross-sectional observation (coded with the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System) and survey data (Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory and Parenting Practices Interview) of 386 Dutch parentchild dyads with children aged 4–8 years (Mage = 6.21, SD = 1.33; 55.30% boys). Small associations between parent-reported and observed child and parenting behavior were found, indicating high discrepancy. In line with our hypothesis, this discrepancy was higher when parents self-reported more negative parenting or more negative child behavior. Parent-observer discrepancy on negative child behavior was also predicted by child gender. For boys parents reported higher levels of negative child behavior than were observed, but for girls parents reported lower levels of negative child behavior than were observed. These findings suggest that informant discrepancies between observers and parents might provide important information on underlying, problematic family functioning and may help to identify those families most in need of help

Титульные страницы и содержание

This study gives an overview of Project STARS (Studies on Trajectories of Adolescent Relationships and Sexuality), a four-wave longitudinal study of 1297 Dutch adolescents. First, the sample, measures and four sub-projects are described. Second, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine how key variables from the individual domain (impulsivity), parent domain (parent-adolescent relationship quality), peer domain (involvement with peers) and media domain (time spent on social networking sites), and their interactions predict changes in the experience with sexual behaviour of adolescents across time. Results showed that higher levels of impulsivity, lower quality of relation with parents, more frequent involvement with peers and more time spent on social networking sites at baseline predicted increases in sexual experience of adolescents over a subsequent 1.5-year time period. No interaction effects among the domains were found. The findings highlight the significance of a multi-domain approach to the study of adolescent sexual development

Bullying and Victimization Among Adolescents: The Role of Ethnicity and Ethnic Composition of School Class

The present study examined the relationships between ethnicity, peer-reported bullying and victimization, and whether these relationships were moderated by the ethnic composition of the school classes. Participants were 2386 adolescents (mean age: 13 years and 10 months; 51.9% boys) from 117 school classes in the Netherlands. Multilevel analyses showed that, after controlling for the ethnic composition of school class, ethnic minority adolescents were less victimized, but did not differ from the ethnic majority group members on bullying. Victimization was more prevalent in ethnically heterogeneous classes. Furthermore, the results revealed that ethnic minority adolescents bully more in ethnically heterogeneous classes. Our findings suggest that, in order to understand bullying and victimization in schools in ethnically diverse cultures, the ethnic background of adolescents and the ethnic composition of school classes should be taken into account