Linking classmate autonomy support with prosocial behavior in Chinese left-behind adolescents: The moderating role of self-esteem and grit

Framed in a positive youth development framework, the current study examines the association of classmate autonomy support with prosocial behavior in Chinese left-behind adolescents (i.e., adolescents who remain immobile in original regions when one or both of their parents have migrated to find work). Moreover, this study investigates whether left-behind adolescents' individual differences in self-esteem and grit moderated this association. To address these research aims, we examined these associations across two independent samples of left-behind adolescents [Study 1 (exploratory): N = 333, Mage = 13.16, SD = 1.67; 48.3% girls; Study 2 (confirmatory): N = 246, Mage = 15.78, SD = 1.50; 53.6% girls] recruited from different regions of mainland China. Study 1 showed that classmate autonomy support was positively correlated with prosocial behavior; self-esteem and grit moderated this association: for adolescents with low self-esteem, high grit was an important protective factor, fostering the positive association between classmate autonomy support and prosocial behavior. Furthermore, Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1 but also exhibited that, for adolescents with high self-esteem, high grit significantly buffered against the negative effect of low classmate autonomy support on adolescents' prosocial behavior. Taken together, the current study suggests that classmate autonomy support plays a crucial role in facilitating left-behind youths' prosocial behavior, and this association is differentiated by adolescents' self-esteem and grit

Immigrant and Refugee Adolescents’ Resilient Adaptation: Who does well and why?

Η ανθεκτική προσαρμογή των νέων μεταναστών και προσφύγων στις κοινωνίες υποδοχής είναι σημαντική για την ευζωία των νέων και την ευημερία των κοινωνιών υποδοχής. Ωστόσο, παρατηρείται σημαντική ποικιλομορφία στην προσαρμογή τους. Το κεντρικό ερώτημα, που εξετάζεται σε αυτό το άρθρο, είναι: "Ποιος από τους νέους μετανάστες και πρόσφυγες τα πάει καλά και γιατί;". Για να απαντήσουμε σε αυτό το ερώτημα, παρουσιάζουμε ένα ολοκληρωμένο μοντέλο για την κατανόηση της ανθεκτικότητας των νέων μεταναστών, το οποίο ενσωματώνει αναπτυξιακές, πολιτισμικές και κοινωνικές ψυχολογικές οπτικές. Αυτό το εννοιολογικό πλαίσιο για την ανθεκτικότητα πλαισιώνει την έρευνα στη βάση δύο βασικών ερωτημάτων: Πρώτον, τι δημιουργεί προκλήσεις για την προσαρμογή των νέων μεταναστών; Δεύτερον, ποιοι πόροι προστατεύουν τη θετική τους προσαρμογή; Κατά συνέπεια, παρουσιάζουμε επιστημονικά στοιχεία σχετικά με την επίδραση στη θετική τους προσαρμογή των προκλήσεων, που σχετίζονται με τη μετανάστευση, και των πόρων σε επίπεδο ατομικό και πλαισίου. Τα υπάρχοντα στοιχεία δείχνουν, ότι η εστίαση στα δυνατά σημεία και την ανθεκτικότητα αντί για τις αδυναμίες και τα ψυχολογικά συμπτώματα των νέων μεταναστών και προσφύγων μπορεί να έχει σημαντικές επιπτώσεις στη μεταναστευτική πολιτική και πράξη.Resilient adaptation of immigrant and refugee youth in receiving societies is consequential for the wellbeing of the youth and the prosperity of the receiving societies. Yet there is significant diversity in their adaptation. The central question addressed in this article is: “Who among immigrant and refugee youth do well and why?” To address this question, we present an integrative model for conceptualizing immigrant-youth resilience, which integrates developmental, acculturation, and social psychological perspectives. This resilience framework frames research on the basis of two key questions: First, what challenges immigrant youths’ adaptation? Second, what resources protect their positive adaptation? Accordingly, we present scientific evidence regarding the influence of immigration-specific challenges and contextual and individual-level resources on their positive adaptation. Extant evidence suggests that focusing on strengths and resilience, instead of on weaknesses and psychological symptoms, among immigrant and refugee youth may have significant implications for policy and practice

Do You See What I See? Longitudinal Associations Between Mothers’ and Adolescents’ Perceptions of Their Relationship and Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms

This 6-year community study examined how discrepancies in mothers’ and adolescents’ perceptions of their relationship were longitudinally associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms, and vice versa. 497 adolescents (57% boys, Mage T1 = 13.03, SDage = 0.46) and their mothers reported in 6 annual waves on conflict and warmth in the mother-adolescent relationship and adolescents reported on their depressive and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) symptoms. Latent Congruence Models suggested that both adolescent depressive and GAD symptoms significantly predicted higher levels of conflict as well as stronger discrepancies in perceptions of conflict 1-year later. In turn, higher levels of conflict significantly predicted both adolescent depressive and GAD symptoms 1-year later. For warmth, lower levels significantly predicted adolescent depressive symptoms 1-year later. Concluding, these findings suggest (1) more systematic evidence for longitudinal associations between conflict than warmth in the mother-adolescent relationship and adolescent internalizing symptoms; (2) support for a transactional model, including support for both interpersonal scar or symptom-driven effects (concerning both levels of and mother-adolescent discrepancies in conflict) and interpersonal risk or relationship-driven effects (concerning levels of both conflict and warmth); (3) longitudinal effects from adolescent internalizing symptoms to mother-adolescent discrepancies, but not vice versa; and (4) strong consistency in patterns of findings across both adolescent depressive and GAD symptoms, with few differential longitudinal associations with aspects of mother-adolescent relationship quality. Thereby, this study provides a more nuanced understanding of the direction of effects between adolescent internalizing symptoms and both levels of and discrepancies in mothers’ and adolescents’ perceptions of their relationship

Resilience during a Great Economic Recession: Social and Personal Resources for Youth’s Positive Adaptation in the School Context

Introduction Greece was hit particularly hard by the latest economic recession. Method Using a quasi-experimental design, we examined whether and how psychosocial resources promoted and/or protected youth's school adjustment (academic achievement, school engagement, and conduct) and psychological well-being (absence of emotional symptoms) during the economic crisis. We focused on three family resources (family economic well-being, parental education, and school involvement) and one personal resource (self-efficacy). Data were collected with multiple methods and informants. We compared two cohorts of adolescents, closely matched through Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting, who lived in the same neighborhoods, one before (2005; N = 1057; age M = 12.7 years) and the other during (2013; N = 1052; age M = 12.6 years) the economic recession. Results Variable- and person-focused analyses revealed that in the context of the economic recession parental education and parental school involvement promoted and/or protected youth's school adjustment, and families' economic wellbeing was linked to both externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Another key finding is that youth who exhibited positive adaptation during the economic crisis were equally well adjusted as youth who were well adjusted before the economic crisis, even though they had fewer resources. Finally, youth with more adequate psychosocial resources were able to keep the same high level of adaptation during the crisis as well-adjusted youth had before the crisis. The findings were robust regarding variations in gender and immigrant status. Conclusion The results suggest that psychosocial resources are important in understanding the diversity in youth's school adjustment and well-being during a major economic crisis

The brief self-control scale: Dimensionality and psychometric properties in Greek young adults

This study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of the Greek version of Brief Self-control Scale (BSCS). This scale is used for the assessing of self-control, which is the ability to control one’s emotions and desires–especially in demanding situations-in order to have more important long-term benefits. Data were collected from a sample of Greek-speaking university students from two different universities (N = 251, M age = 19.86, SD = 2.58, 47% female). A series of CFAs were conducted to compare different potential factor structures that have been proposed in the literature. The results indicate that the revised shortened 7-items BSCS in Greek, as indicated in previous research too, displays a two-factor structure (impulse-control and self-discipline) and these factors show acceptable internal reliability. Also, item factor loadings, thresholds, and intercepts were invariant across females and males (strong measurement invariance). Means of bivariate latent correlations of the BSCS with depression, anxiety, stress, conscientiousness and satisfaction with life were investigated. This study shows that the Greek BSCS is a promising short tool for research on youth’s self-control

Childhood maltreatment mediates the effect of the genetic background on psychosis risk in young adults

Childhood maltreatment (CM) and genetic vulnerability are both risk factors for psychosis, but the relations between them are not fully understood. Guided by the recent identification of genetic risk to CM, this study investigates the hypothesis that genetic risk to schizophrenia also increases the risk of CM and thus impacts psychosis risk. The relationship between schizophrenia polygenetic risk, CM, and psychotic-like experiences (PLE) was investigated in participants from the Utrecht Cannabis Cohort (N = 1262) and replicated in the independent IMAGEN cohort (N = 1740). Schizophrenia polygenic risk score (SZ-PRS) were calculated from the most recent GWAS. The relationship between CM, PRS, and PLE was first investigated using multivariate linear regression. Next, mediation of CM in the pathway linking SZ-PRS and PLE was examined by structural equation modeling, while adjusting for a set of potential mediators including cannabis use, smoking, and neuroticism. In agreement with previous studies, PLE were strongly associated with SZ-PRS (B = 0.190, p = 0.009) and CM (B = 0.575, p < 0.001). Novel was that CM was also significantly associated with SZ-PRS (B = 0.171, p = 0.001), and substantially mediated the effects of SZ-PRS on PLE (proportion mediated = 29.9%, p = 0.001). In the replication cohort, the analyses yielded similar results, confirming equally strong mediation by CM (proportion mediated = 34.7%, p = 0.009). Our results suggest that CM acts as a mediator in the causal pathway linking SZ-PRS and psychosis risk. These findings open new perspectives on the relations between genetic and environmental risks and warrant further studies into potential interventions to reduce psychosis risk in vulnerable people

Childhood maltreatment mediates the effect of the genetic background on psychosis risk in young adults

Childhood maltreatment (CM) and genetic vulnerability are both risk factors for psychosis, but the relations between them are not fully understood. Guided by the recent identification of genetic risk to CM, this study investigates the hypothesis that genetic risk to schizophrenia also increases the risk of CM and thus impacts psychosis risk. The relationship between schizophrenia polygenetic risk, CM, and psychotic-like experiences (PLE) was investigated in participants from the Utrecht Cannabis Cohort (N = 1262) and replicated in the independent IMAGEN cohort (N = 1740). Schizophrenia polygenic risk score (SZ-PRS) were calculated from the most recent GWAS. The relationship between CM, PRS, and PLE was first investigated using multivariate linear regression. Next, mediation of CM in the pathway linking SZ-PRS and PLE was examined by structural equation modeling, while adjusting for a set of potential mediators including cannabis use, smoking, and neuroticism. In agreement with previous studies, PLE were strongly associated with SZ-PRS (B = 0.190, p = 0.009) and CM (B = 0.575, p

The perceived vulnerability to disease scale: Cross‐cultural measurement invariance and associations with fear of COVID‐19 across 16 countries

Using cross‐sectional data from N = 4274 young adults across 16 countries during the COVID‐19 pandemic, we examined the cross‐cultural measurement invariance of the perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD) scale and tested the hypothesis that the association between PVD and fear of COVID‐19 is stronger under high disease threat [that is, absence of COVID‐19 vaccination, living in a country with lower Human Development Index (HDI) or higher COVID‐19 mortality]. Results supported a bi‐factor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling model where items loaded on a global PVD factor, and on the sub‐factors of Perceived Infectability and Germ Aversion. However, cross‐national invariance could only be obtained on the configural level with a reduced version of the PVD scale (PVD‐r), suggesting that the concept of PVD may vary across nations. Moreover, higher PVD‐r was consistently associated with greater fear of COVID‐19 across all levels of disease threat, but this association was especially pronounced among individuals with a COVID‐19 vaccine, and in contexts where COVID‐19 mortality was high. The present research brought clarity into the dimensionality of the PVD measure, discussed its suitability and limitations for cross‐cultural research, and highlighted the pandemic‐related conditions under which higher PVD is most likely to go along with psychologically maladaptive outcomes, such as fear of COVID‐19