Elizabeth I. Johnson

Estimating the “Impact” of Out‐of‐Home Placement on Child Well‐Being: Approaching the Problem of Selection Bias

This study used data on 2,453 children aged 4-17 from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and 5 analytic methods that adjust for selection factors to estimate the impact of out-of-home placement on childrens cognitive skills and behavior problems. Methods included ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and residualized change, simple change, difference-in-difference, and fixed effects models. Models were estimated using the full sample and a matched sample generated by propensity scoring. Although results from the unmatched OLS and residualized change models suggested that out-of-home placement is associated with increased child behavior problems, estimates from models that more rigorously adjust for selection bias indicated that placement has little effect on childrens cognitive skills or behavior problems.

Seeing the Destination but Not the Path: Effects of Socioeconomic Disadvantage on School-focused Possible Self Content and Linked Behavioral Strategies

Low-income children perform better in school when school-focused future identities are a salient aspect of their possible self for the coming year and these school-focused future identities are linked to behavioral strategies (Oyserman et al., 2006). Hierarchical linear modeling of data from a four-state low-income neighborhood sample of eighth-graders suggests two central consequences of family and neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation on childrens school-focused possible identities and strategies. First, higher neighborhood disadvantage is associated with greater salience of school in childrens possible self for the coming year. Second, disadvantage clouds the path to school-success; controlling for salience of school-focused possible identities, children living in lower socioeconomic status families and boys living in more economically disadvantaged neighborhoods were less likely to have strategies to attain their school-focused possible identities. The influence of family socioeconomic status was seen particularly with regard to strategies to attain academic success and teacher engagement aspects of school-focused identities.

Mood and personality-based models of substance use.

Mood and personality-based vulnerabilities have been extensively examined in patients with substance use disorders, but their relevance as models of etiology remains to be fully investigated. The present investigation examined mood and personality-based models of substance use in a nonclinical sample of young adults. Two-hundred and twelve individuals were assessed for personality and clinical characteristics and participated in computerized ambulatory monitoring of mood states and substance use over a 1-week period. Personality factors were strong predictors of substance use frequency over the previous 30 days, as well as of substance use in daily life using ambulatory monitoring. A linear increase was also observed in the intensity of novelty seeking and antisocial personality traits as a function of the social deviance of substances used. However, mood disorder history was related only to the use of illicit drugs other than cannabis, and fluctuations in mood states did not prospectively predict daily use of substances in a manner consistent with self-medication. Moreover, there was little evidence that personality characteristics moderated relations between mood states and substance use in daily life. The relevance of results for mood and personality models of substance use etiology is discussed.

Coping With Confinement: Adolescents’ Experiences With Parental Incarceration

Theory and research suggest that parental incarceration is often a significant source of stress for children and adolescents. Understanding how young people navigate the stressors of parental incarceration can shed important light on well-being and inform intervention efforts, but little research exists on the coping strategies that young people use during and after a parent’s incarceration. Through in-depth interviews, this study explores how adolescents (n = 10) cope with parental incarceration. Results suggest that most adolescents use some combination of three strategies: deidentification from the incarcerated parent, desensitization to incarceration, and strength through control. Results reveal variability in how young people cope with parental incarceration, and underscore the importance of future research on the implications of different strategies for well-being.

Navigating Discrepancy: Youth Perspectives on Parental Reentry From Prison

Through semistructured interviews, this study explores reentry-related expectations and experiences among adolescents whose parents are or were recently incarcerated (n = 11). Results suggested a common thread of discrepancy in participants’ lives, particularly in terms of conceptions of family, salience of mature topics, and expectations for reentry. Results further suggested that youth who had multiple family members with incarceration histories were especially attuned to mature topics and that participants who were exclusively hopeful about their parents reentry either had limited contact with them prior to incarceration or had positive, transformative experiences with them during the incarceration period.

The Sexual Possible Selves and Strategies of First-Semester College Students: What Do They Hope for and Fear and How Do They Plan to Get There?

The purpose of this study was to expand research on emerging adult sexuality by examining first-semester college students’ (N = 282) possible selves and strategies related to sex, and by considering whether these varied by demographic characteristics. Students were first asked to describe what they expected and feared regarding sex and sexuality in the coming year and were then asked to articulate strategies for achieving goals and avoiding fears. Content analysis of participants’ responses to open-ended questions revealed that expected possible selves commonly discussed included abstinence, interpersonal relationships, physical/sexual health, and exploration. Fears commonly discussed included reputation, risk-taking behaviors, and rape/assault. Categorical comparisons indicated abstinence and interpersonal relationships were the most prominent foci of expected sexual possible selves (SPS) and strategies, and physical/sexual health was the most prominent focus of feared SPS and strategies. Chi-square analyses indicated significant variations in SPS, feared selves, and strategies based on sex, intercourse experience, and relationship type. Binomial logistic regression analyses indicated religiosity differences in the SPS and strategies of abstinence, explore/experiment, physical/sexual health, interpersonal relationship, and risk-taking behaviors. Implications for research and sexual health education for college-based populations are discussed.