Anna Lichtwarck-Aschoff

Parental alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and alcohol-specific attitudes, alcohol-specific communication, and adolescent excessive alcohol use and alcohol-related problems: An indirect path model

Alcohol-specific parent-child communication has often been studied in relation to regular alcohol use of adolescents. However, it might be as important to focus on adolescent problematic alcohol use. In addition, the way parents communicate with their children about alcohol might depend on their own (problematic) drinking behaviors. Therefore, the current study examined the direct effects of parental alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and parental alcohol-specific attitudes on adolescent excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems later in life. It also looked at indirect effects via alcohol-specific communication. The sample consisted of 428 Dutch families including fathers, mothers and adolescents from two age groups (13 and 15 years old) at T1, who have been surveyed annually for 5 years. We tested the model with structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that parental alcohol-related problems were positively associated with communication about alcohol, which in turn was related with less excessive adolescent drinking and alcohol-related problems. Lenient parental attitudes about alcohol and parental alcohol-related problems were directly related to more excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems in adolescents. In conclusion, alcohol-specific communication intervenes in the relationship between parental alcohol-related problems and adolescent excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems. This indicates that in family alcohol interventions targeted at youth alcohol use, parental alcohol-related problems should be taken into account.

Parental alcohol-specific rules and alcohol use from early adolescence to young adulthood

BACKGROUND   Several studies stress the importance of alcohol-specific rules during adolescence to prevent them from drinking early and heavily. However, most studies have short follow-up periods and do not cover the relevant developmental period in which direct parental control diminishes and adolescent alcohol use increases. The current study aimed to provide a developmental perspective on the link between alcohol-specific rules and alcohol use from early adolescence until early adulthood in the Netherlands. METHODS   The sample consisted of 428 Dutch families including fathers, mothers and adolescents from 2 age groups (13 and 15 years old) at Time 1 (T1), who have been surveyed annually for 6 years. To address the effect of alcohol-specific rules on adolescent alcohol use over time, a latent growth curve analytic approach with time-varying covariates was employed. RESULTS   Over time, adolescent alcohol use increased, whereas alcohol-specific rules decreased. Most importantly, however, the lagged paths of alcohol-specific rules consistently predicted subsequent alcohol use across the 6 assessments for both younger and older siblings. Thus, strict alcohol-specific rules at a certain point in time were related to a lower intensity of adolescent alcohol use a year later. CONCLUSIONS   Although parents turn somewhat less strict in alcohol-specific rules over time, and adolescent alcohol use increases over time, the specific rules parents set remain important in restraining the alcohol use of their adolescent offspring. Thus, parents should and can feel confident about their parenting capabilities, and they should maintain being strict to prevent their offspring from drinking.

A Model of Socioemotional Flexibility at Three Time Scales

The construct of flexibility has been a focus for research and theory for over 100 years. However, flexibility has not been consistently or adequately defined, leading to obstacles in the interpretation of past research and progress toward enhanced theory. We present a model of socioemotional flexibility—and its counterpart rigidity—at three time scales using dynamic systems modeling. At the real-time scale (micro), moment-to-moment fluctuations in affect are identified as dynamic flexibility. At the next higher meso-time scale, adaptive adjustments to changes in context are characterized as reactive flexibility. At the macro scale is flexibility that occurs across months or years, reflecting flexibility due to developmental or life transitions. Implications of the model and suggestions for future research are discussed.

A neurofeedback video game (MindLight) to prevent anxiety in children

BackgroundChildhood anxiety is a global mental health concern. Interventions are needed that are effective, but also cost less, are more accessible and engage children long enough to build emotional resilience skills through practice. MethodsThe present randomized controlled study aimed to examine the prevention effects of a neurofeedback video game, MindLight, developed based on evidence-based practices with anxious youth. Over 750 children (7-13 years old) in elementary schools were screened for elevated anxiety; 136 selected children were randomly assigned to play Mindlight or a control game. Self- and parent-reported anxiety was assessed at pre-, post-intervention and 3-month follow up. Results/conclusionsIntent-to-treat analyses revealed an overall significant reduction in child- and parent-reported anxiety, but the magnitude of improvements did not differ between conditions. Future research comparing MindLight to cognitive-behavioral interventions is suggested, as well as testing a range of specific (e.g., exposure) and non-specific (e.g., expectations, motivation) therapeutic factors as mediators of outcomes.

Adolescent Girls' Perceptions of Daily Conflicts with Their Mothers: Within-Conflict Sequences and Their Relationship to Autonomy.

This article reports on a 1-year diary study of conflicts between seventeen 15-year-old girls and their mothers assessing (a) within-conflict sequences according to the emotional processes related to a girl’s level of self-assertion and perceived control and (b) the relationship between these within-conflict sequences and the level of autonomy. Based on principles of the self-regulation theory and emotion-appraisal literature, three within-conflict scenarios were hypothesized. The withdrawal and pursuit scenario came out as occurring significantly above chance level. Investigating the girls’ individual conflict episodes revealed a positive association between the level of autonomy and the percentage of the pursuit scenario. Results are discussed in terms of the link between day-to-day conflict interactions and the long-term development of autonomy.

Secondary outcomes of a school-based universal resiliency training for adolescents: a cluster randomized controlled trial

BackgroundThe study investigated the long-term effectiveness of the adolescent cognitive behavioral resiliency training Op Volle Kracht (OVK) on the secondary outcomes: anxiety symptoms, hopelessness, happiness, life satisfaction, optimism, coping, self-efficacy, and school functioning. In addition, the study analyzed whether the secondary outcomes moderated the intervention effect on depressive symptoms.MethodsA two-condition (intervention and control) cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted. All adolescents in the 8th grade were eligible to participate, unless they, or their parents, declined their participation. Schools were the unit of randomization. Missing data were imputed and intent to treat analyses were conducted. The results were analyzed using Latent Growth Curve Modeling across the 24-months follow-up period.ResultsThe total sample consisted of 1341 adolescents (Mage = 13.91, SD =0.55, 47.3% girls, 83.1% Dutch ethnicity). The intervention and control condition consisted of 634 adolescents from 4 schools and 707 adolescents from 5 schools, respectively. OVK did not have an effect on depression, anxiety, hopelessness, happiness, and life satisfaction, but promoted cognitive coping over the course of the follow-up period. OVK showed small iatrogenic effects on optimism, active coping, social self-efficacy and school grades directly post intervention, but these effects disappeared during the follow-up period. Finally, none of the outcome variables moderated the intervention effect on depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThe universal resiliency training OVK was not effective in this Dutch sample. Implications for research and practice were discussed.Trial registration numberNTR2879

Alcohol-specific parenting, adolescent alcohol use and the mediating effect of adolescent alcohol-related cognitions

Objectives : Previous research indicated that alcohol-specific parenting is an important precursor of adolescent alcohol use, but failed to define the underlying mechanism. Based on social cognitive theory, alcohol-related cognitions such as alcohol refusal self-efficacy and alcohol-related expectancies were hypothesised to mediate this link. Design : A cross-sectional survey included 1349 mothers and their sixth grade (11–12 years old) adolescent offspring. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the association between alcohol-specific parenting and adolescent alcohol use, mediated by adolescent alcohol-related cognitions. Main outcome measures : Adolescent alcohol use, drinking refusal self-efficacy and alcohol expectancies. Results : The associations between frequency of communication, maternal alcohol use and adolescent alcohol use were mediated by negative alcohol-related expectancies. The associations between quality of communication, rules and disclosure and adolescent alcohol use were mediated by self-efficacy. Conclusions : The present study provides a first indication that the underlying mechanism of the association between the most important alcohol-specific parenting practices and adolescent alcohol use can be contributed to the mediating effect of alcohol-refusal self-efficacy.

Do Conflict Resolution and Recovery Predict the Survival of Adolescents' Romantic Relationships?

Numerous studies have shown that being able to resolve and recover from conflicts is of key importance for relationship satisfaction and stability in adults. Less is known about the importance of these relationship dynamics in adolescent romantic relationships. Therefore, this study investigated whether conflict resolution and recovery predict breakups in middle adolescent couples. Couples who are able to resolve and recover from conflict were expected to demonstrate a lower probability of breaking up. In total, 80 adolescent couples (M age = 15.48, SD = 1.16) participated in a 4-wave prospective questionnaire and observational study, with one year between measurements. In addition to self-report measures, adolescents were observed in real-time during conflicts with their partners. Multilevel Proportional Hazard analyses revealed that, contrary to the hypothesis, conflict resolution and conflict recovery did not predict the likelihood of breakup. Survival differences were not attributable to conflict resolution or conflict recovery. More research is needed to consider the unique relationship factors of adolescent romantic relationships to determine why some relationships survive while others do not.

Imitation of snack food intake among normal-weight and overweight children

This study investigated whether social modeling of palatable food intake might partially be explained by the direct imitation of a peer reaching for snack food and further, assessed the role of the childrens own weight status on their likelihood of imitation during the social interaction. Real-time observations during a 10-min play situation in which 68 participants (27.9% overweight) interacted with normal-weight confederates (instructed peers) were conducted. Childrens imitated and non-imitated responses to the confederates food picking movements were compared using a paired sample t-test. In addition, the pattern of likelihood of imitation was tested using multilevel proportional hazard models in a survival analysis framework. Children were more likely to eat after observing a peer reaching for snack food than without such a cue [t(67) = 5.69, P < 0.0001]. Moreover, findings suggest that children may display different imitation responses during a social interaction based on their weight status (HR = 2.6, P = 0.03, 95% CI = 1.09–6.20). Overweight children were almost twice as likely to imitate, whereas normal-weight children had a smaller chance to imitate at the end of the interaction. Further, the mean difference in the likelihood of imitation suggest that overweight children might be less likely to imitate in the beginning of the interaction than normal-weight children. The findings provide preliminary evidence that childrens imitation food picking movements may partly contribute to social modeling effects on palatable food intake. That is, a peer reaching for food is likely to trigger childrens snack intake. However, the influence of others on food intake is a complex process that might be explained by different theoretical perspectives.

Multilevel Simultaneous Component Analysis for studying intra-individual variability and inter-individual similarities

In psychology, the distinction between traits and states has become commonplace for a long time: Whereas traits pertain to person features that are relatively stable and consistent, states refer to person features that fluctuate across time, for example as a result of situational influences. For instance, Allport and Odbert (1936) provided an extensive list of trait and state terms to characterize personality and personal behavior. The trait terms describe permanent, consistent dispositions and were considered to ‘symbolize most clearly “real” traits of personality’ (Allport & Odbert, 1936, p. 26). The state terms describe ‘Temporary Moods or Activities’. They were not considered to symbolize personality, and were merely included for the sake of completeness.