Validating the Structure of Proximal and Distal Factors within the Sexual Minority Adolescent Stress Inventory

Minority stress theory is a model for understanding health disparities among sexual minorities. Methods for assessing minority stress among youth included only adult measures until the development of the Sexual Minority Adolescent Stress Inventory (SMASI). The SMASI appears to be a robust scale in its ability to measure global and specific minority stressors among adolescents; however, it does not measure domain level constructs of proximal and distal stress, which are integral features of the underlying theory. This study tests the psychometric defensibility of including these domain-level factors within the SMASI. Results provide evidence for the structural validity of the proximal and distal domains within the SMASI’s measurement model and suggest this updated model has more informational value than the original model for capturing minority stress

Cognitive Processes Related to Memory Capacity Explain Nearly All of the Variance in Language Test Performance in School-Age Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder

The purpose of this study was to investigate the dimensionality of the cognitive processes related to memory capacity and language ability and to assess the magnitude of the relationships among these processes in children developing typically (TD) and children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Participants were 234 children between the ages of 7;0 and 11;11 (117 TD and 117 DLD) who were propensity matched on age, sex, mother education and family income. Latent variables created from cognitive processing tasks and standardized measures of comprehension and production of lexical and sentential aspects of language were tested with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural regression. A five-factor CFA model that included the constructs of Fluid Intelligence, Controlled Attention, Working Memory, Long-Term Memory for Language Knowledge and Language Ability yielded better fit statistics than two four-factor nested models. The four cognitive abilities accounted for more than 92% of the variance in the language measures. A structural regression model indicated that the relationship between working memory and language ability was significantly greater for the TD group than the DLD group. These results are consistent with a broad conceptualization of the nature of language impairment in older, school-age children as encompassing a dynamic system in which cognitive abilities account for nearly all of the variance in linguistic abilities

Associations Between Older Siblings\u27 Substance Use and Younger Siblings\u27 Substance Use Intentions: Indirect Effects Via Substance Use Expectations

Objective We examined the direct and indirect effects of older siblings\u27 substance use behaviors (I.e., cannabis and e-cigarettes) on younger siblings\u27 later substance use intentions via their substance use expectations. Material and methods Data were collected from 682 families (N=2,046) with two adolescent siblings (older siblings: M age = 15.67 years, 51% female; younger siblings: M age = 13.14years, 48% female) and one parent (M age = 45.15 yeras; 85% female). Participants completed annual online surveys at two occasions. Older siblings reported on their cannabis and e-cigarette use frequencies (Time 1) and younger siblings reported on their substance use expectations (Time 1) and Intentions (Time 1 and 2); parents reported on adolescents\u27 sociodemographic characteristics and their own substance use (Time 2). Results Structural equation modeling results suggested that older siblings\u27 cannabis and e-cigarette use was indirectly related to younger siblings\u27 later intentions to use these substances through their positive expectations about substances, after accounting for younger siblings\u27 earlier intentions to use substances and control variables including parents\u27 and friends\u27 use. There were no significant direct relations between older siblings\u27 cannabis or e-cigarette use and younger siblings\u27 intentions to use them. Conclusions Findings indicate that older siblings are critical and unique socialization agents of younger siblings\u27 expectations and intentions to use substances. Intervention and prevention programs that target adolescents\u27 substance use should consider the ways in which siblings shape each other\u27s substance use

Sibling Influences on Adolescent Alcohol Use During the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Shutdown

Objective: To examine the bidirectional associations between adolescent siblings\u27 alcohol use before and during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 and whether youths\u27 stress about missed social connections (i.e., social disruption stress) moderated these associations. Method: The sample consisted of 682 families (2,046 participants) with two adolescent siblings (older siblings: Mage = 15.67 years, 51% female; younger siblings: Mage = 13.14 years, 48% female) and one parent (Mage = 45.15 years; 85% female) from five Midwestern U.S. states. Siblings reported on their own drinking and social disruption stress before and during the onset of the pandemic via online surveys. Results: Accounting for younger siblings\u27 earlier drinking and other confounders, older siblings\u27 prepandemic drinking predicted a greater likelihood of younger siblings\u27 drinking during the Spring 2020 pandemic shutdown. This assocation was not moderated by younger siblings\u27 social disruption stress. The association between younger siblings\u27 prepandemic drinking and older siblings\u27 drinking during the shutdown was moderated by older siblings\u27 social disruption stress. Specifically, younger siblings\u27 earlier drinking was more strongly related to older siblings\u27 drinking during the shutdown if older siblings reported more social disruption stress. Conclusions: Siblings are important socialization agents of alcohol use during adolescence. Sibling interventions may be particularly salient during times of stress and isolation when youths\u27 social interactions with peers may be limited

Changes in Family Chaos and Family Relationships During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From a Longitudinal Study

The purpose of this article was to explore how family chaos, parenting processes, parent–child relationship qualities, and sibling relationship qualities changed before versus the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included one parent and two adolescent-aged children from 682 families (2,046 participants). Parents and youth participating in an ongoing longitudinal study in five Midwestern states in the United States completed an additional web-based assessment of family processes and family relationship qualities during the May–June 2020 pandemic-related shutdowns. A series of two-wave latent change score models indicated that family chaos increased with the onset of pandemic-related shutdowns and that the level of chaos within a family during the shutdowns had implications for changes in several parenting processes and family relationship qualities. Specifically, higher levels of family chaos during the pandemic mitigated observed increases in parental knowledge and were associated with declines in parental autonomy granting. Family chaos during pandemic-related shutdowns also was associated with increases in maternal–child conflict, paternal–child conflict, and sibling conflict as well as decreases in paternal–child intimacy, sibling intimacy, and sibling disclosure. Overall, consistent with a family stress perspective, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased strain and commotion within many households, and these changes had implications for multiple family relationships

Discounting of Food and Water in Rats Shows Trait- And State-Like Characteristics

Delay discounting is the loss in value of an outcome as a function of its delay. The present study focused on examining a trait-like characteristic of delay discounting in a preclinical animal model. Specifically, we were interested in whether there was a positive relation between discounting of 2 different outcomes in rats. That is, would rats that discount delayed food steeply also discount delayed water steeply? In addition, we examined how session-to-session variability in discounting could be attributed to differences between subjects (trait variability) and to differences within subjects (state variability). Finally, we measured discounting from early- to mid-adulthood, allowing us to examine changes in discounting as a function of age. Overall, we found a moderate, positive correlation between discounting of food and discounting of water in rats, providing further evidence that the relative consistency with which individuals discount different outcomes is a trait-like characteristic. In addition, we found a high degree of within-subject variability in discounting, indicating strong state-like differences from session to session. Finally, overall, discounting decreased as a function of age; however, individual-subject data showed variability in how discounting changed across time. Overall, our results show that differences in delay discounting between individuals reflect variability in both trait- and state-like characteristics

Direct and Indirect Effects of Maternal and Sibling Intimacy on Adolescents\u27 Volunteering Via Social Responsibility Values: A Longitudinal Study

This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of maternal and sibling relational intimacy on adolescents\u27 volunteering behaviors via their social responsibility values. Participants included two adolescents (50% female; M age = 1 year) and one parent (85% female; M age = 45 years) from 682 families (N = 2046) from an ongoing longitudinal study. Adolescents self-reported their intimacy with mothers and siblings (Time 1), social responsibility values (Time 1), and volunteering (Times 1 and 2); parents reported on sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., gender, birth order, and family income). Results from a structural equation model indicated that after accounting for adolescents\u27 earlier volunteering, both maternal and sibling intimacy were indirectly related to greater volunteering via social responsibility values. There were no significant direct effects from maternal or sibling intimacy to adolescents\u27 volunteering. Results indicate that both mothers and siblings are important in socializing prosocial and civic values and behaviors during adolescence