Family Influences on the Long Term Post-Disaster Recovery of Puerto Rican Youth

This study focused on characteristics of the family environment that may mediate the relationship between disaster exposure and the presence of symptoms that met DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for symptom count and duration for an internalizing disorder in children and youth. We also explored how parental history of mental health problems may moderate this meditational model. Approximately 18 months after Hurricane Georges hit Puerto Rico in 1998, participants were randomly selected based on a probability household sample using 1990 US Census block groups. Caregivers and children (N=1,886 dyads) were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children and other questionnaires in Spanish. Areas of the family environment assessed include parent-child relationship quality, parent-child involvement, parental monitoring, discipline, parents’ relationship quality and parental mental health. SEM models were estimated for parents and children, and by age group. For children (4–10 years old), parenting variables were related to internalizing psychopathology, but did not mediate the exposure-psychopathology relationship. Exposure had a direct relationship to internalizing psychopathology. For youth (11–17 years old), some parenting variables attenuated the relation between exposure and internalizing psychopathology. Family environment factors may play a mediational role in psychopathology post-disaster among youth, compared to an additive role for children. Hurricane exposure had a significant relation to family environment for families without parental history of mental health problems, but no influence for families with a parental history of mental health problems

Peer influence and adolescents’ school engagement

AbstractMany studies have suggested that friends have a powerful influence on school adjustment, attitudes, and behaviors. However, there is a paucity of systematic investigations on the relationship between peer influence and adolescents’ school engagement. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship by applying longitudinal analyses as well as testing indirect effects of peer influence via students’ motivational factors such as locus of control and academic expectation. Results from this study indicated that peers have an important influence on the behavior and development of adolescents. These findings are understandable in that the child's acceptance within the peer group is one of the key measures of positive/negative school experiences. Perceived support from peers can give students a sense of motivation and help students see the importance of pursuing academic success

Sociocultural Influences, Drive for Thinness, Drive for Muscularity, and Body Dissatisfaction among Korean Undergraduates

For many years, body dissatisfaction was considered a western phenomenon, and was studied mostly in Caucasian women. Recent studies, however, suggest that these issues are also present in men and in other ethnic groups. This research investigated the differential effects of various sociocultural pressures transmitted from the media, one’s parents, and one’s peers on the drives for thinness and muscularity, and body dissatisfaction among 1125 Korean college students (56% male) using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that, after controlling for body mass index and exercise, media pressures exerted the largest effects on participants’ body ideals and, in turn, body dissatisfaction across both genders (β = 0.44, and 0.30, p < 0.05, for females and males, respectively). This study’s results also indicate that there are considerable gender differences in this relationship. Specifically, the results show that parental and media pressure had significant indirect relationships with body dissatisfaction via the drive for thinness among females, while peer and media pressures had significant indirect relationships with body dissatisfaction via the drive for muscularity among males. As body dissatisfaction is known to significantly affect an individual’s mental and physical health, future research needs to identify relevant influential factors in this area, as well as the paths they have leading to increased body dissatisfaction

Quantile Regression Analysis between the After-School Exercise and the Academic Performance of Korean Middle School Students

This study deepens our understanding of the prediction and structural relationship between a student’s academic performance and his/her regular after-school exercise by estimating models based upon the quantile regression and the instrumental variable quantile regression methods, respectively. Using data on Korean middle school students, we found that negative relationships were dominant for the prediction models, whereas the relationships were reversed for the structural models, affirming the theoretical and experimental hypotheses observed in prior literature. Furthermore, we also found that the low-performing students, in terms of the academic performance, had stronger associations between the two variables than the high-performing students, overall

Body Esteem among Korean Adolescent Boys and Girls

Establishing a positive body image is a critical factor for adolescents’ physical and mental health as it leads to sustainable individual growth and development throughout their lives. Therefore, possible personality traits need to be examined for their capability as protective factors for a healthy body image. The current study examined how one internal personality trait (self-concept clarity) and three external factors (tripartite influence from media, parents, and peers) are associated with adolescents’ internalization of the thin-body ideal and body esteem in a sample of Korean adolescents (N = 1127). Self-concept clarity was identified as a powerful factor that is positively related with body esteem. The results showed that greater self-concept clarity, lower tripartite influences and thin body internalization were related to greater body esteem. Gender differences were found in the relationships between body esteem and the predictor variables. The implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed

Quantile Regression Analysis between the After-School Exercise and the Academic Performance of Korean Middle School Students

This study deepens our understanding of the prediction and structural relationship between a student’s academic performance and his/her regular after-school exercise by estimating models based upon the quantile regression and the instrumental variable quantile regression methods, respectively. Using data on Korean middle school students, we found that negative relationships were dominant for the prediction models, whereas the relationships were reversed for the structural models, affirming the theoretical and experimental hypotheses observed in prior literature. Furthermore, we also found that the low-performing students, in terms of the academic performance, had stronger associations between the two variables than the high-performing students, overall

Relations among Socially Prescribed Perfectionism, Career Stress, Mental Health, and Mindfulness in Korean College Students

Korean young adults are exposed to higher career stress than ever before, and such stress exerts a negative impact on mental health outcomes. The present study aimed to understand the mediating effect of career stress on the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and mental health using a sample of 420 Korean college students. The present study also investigated the moderating role of mindfulness in the mediated pathways across gender groups. This study’s results showed that there are considerable gender differences in this relationship. Career stress significantly mediates the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and depression and life satisfaction only for females. Study findings also indicated that the moderating effect of mindfulness was more remarkable for female students than for male students. Implications and future directions are discussed

Religious Engagement and Successful Aging among Korean Older Adults

The rate of aging is growing faster than ever. The global society must prepare adequate measures to support this imminent change. Following this social trend, research has been conducted on the quality of life of the aging population in a different fields, including gerontology. Since the idea of successful aging was conceptualised, research on the quality of life of older adults has been actively conducted. The current study aims to contribute to the aging research field by adding a factor (religious engagement) to Rowe and Kahn’s model. We utilized the longitudinal design to examine the longstanding effect of demographic, physical, social, psychological, and religious factors on life satisfaction among older Korean adults (N = 4013). Hierarchical regression analyses were employed to understand how these factors influence older adults’ life satisfaction in a nationally representative sample. Study findings indicated (a) after controlling for demographic background, all subdimensions of physical, social, psychological, and religious factors exerted a significant effect on later life satisfaction; (b) the final model showed that highly educated, regular exercise, frequent meeting with friends and family, less depressed, feeling less lonely, and higher religious engagement ultimately affected the subsequent life satisfaction of Korean older adults; (c) among different variables, psychological health and religious engagement were found to be crucial factors. The findings confirm the explanatory power of successful aging theory while providing empirical evidence that religious engagement may be an additional factor contributing to enhancing the life satisfaction of older adults

Relationship between Neuroticism, Spiritual Well-Being, and Subjective Well-Being in Korean University Students

Previous studies on mental health and quality of life have revealed that religiosity/spirituality was positively associated with indicators of well-being and personality factors. However, limited research has examined the relationship between spiritual well-being, the subfactors of the personality factor Neuroticism (i.e., anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability), and subjective well-being in a non-Western sample. The present findings revealed that the five subfactors of neuroticism did not have an equally negative or positive effect on spiritual and subjective well-being among Korean undergraduate University students. Regarding its subdimensions, vulnerability was strongly associated with spiritual well-being, while depression was closely linked to subjective well-being. Moreover, we found that spiritual well-being exerted significant effects on subjective well-being above personality factors. The significance of the findings and directions for further research have been discussed

Long-Term Effect of Physical Activity on Internalizing and Externalizing Problems and Life Satisfaction

This study examined the long-term effect of physical activity on life satisfaction from a sample of 2092 middle school students (52.5% male) in South Korea. Structural equation modeling analyses were employed to understand how various factors influence youth life satisfaction. Physical activity during physical education class had a long-term influence on life satisfaction through both internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors as mediating factors. Gender differences were found in the relationships between physical activity and life satisfaction. The current findings imply that encouraging students in early adolescence to actively engage in physical education potentially is a useful educational intervention method. Implications and future directions are discussed