Erik Jan de Wilde

Negative life events and depressive symptoms in late adolescence: Bonding and cognitive coping as vulnerability factors?

The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of parental bonding and cognitive coping in the relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms in adolescence. A sample of 1310 adolescents attending an intermediate vocational education school filled out a questionnaire. Adolescents with a poor parental bonding relationship seemed to be more vulnerable to depressive symptoms in the face of adverse life events than adolescents with more optimal bonding styles. Cognitive coping strategies seemed to play an even more important role. The use of self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, positive refocusing, and positive reappraisal appeared to be related to depressive symptoms. In addition, self-blame, rumination, and positive reappraisal seemed to have a moderating role in the relationship between the amount of stress experienced and depressive symptoms. Developing prevention and intervention programs aimed at the formation of optimal bonding relationships and teaching adolescents adaptive cognitive coping strategies seems advisable.

Feeling Fat Rather than Being Fat May Be Associated with Psychological Well-Being in Young Dutch Adolescents

PURPOSE To contribute to a further exploration of the association of psychosocial well-being with overweight and weight perception among young Dutch adolescents. METHODS Data from the ongoing Rotterdam Youth Health Monitor were used from 1,923 9-10-year-olds and 3,841 12-13-year-olds. The association of mental health indicators with weight status based on self-report and measured height and weight was studied with logistic regression analyses in both age groups cross-sectionally. Additional longitudinal analyses were conducted among the 787 pupils for whom follow-up data were available. Interactions with gender and ethnic background were explored. Among the 12-13-year-olds, the role of weight perception was also studied. RESULTS We found that 9-10-year-old obese boys scored more favourably on social anxiety than nonoverweight boys. Among 12-13-year-olds body weight perception, rather than self-reported or measured weight status was associated with mental health indicators. Mental health indicators at age 9-10 years did not predict self-reported weight status at age 12-13 or change in weight status between 9-10 and 12-13 years, nor did weight status at age 9-10 years predict later mental health indicators or change in these indicators. CONCLUSIONS This study provides no evidence that overweight does coincide with less favorable psychological well-being in young adolescents. In 12-13-year-old adolescents, feeling overweight, rather than being overweight, appears to be important.

Discrepancies Between Parent-Child Reports of Internalizing Problems Among Preadolescent Children: Relationships with Gender, Ethnic Background, and Future Internalizing Problems

In a multiethnic community sample of 1,170 preadolescent children, it was investigated whether discrepancies in parent-child reports of internalizing problems are related with gender, ethnic background (Dutch, Surinamese/ Antillean, Moroccan, Turkish, Other) and with future internalizing problems. No significant differences in discrepancy scores between boys and girls were found. Parent-child disagreement of internalizing problems varied across ethnic groups, with significant differences among children from Surinamese/ Antillean (children reporting more internalizing problems than their parents) and Turkish background (parents reporting more internalizing problems than their children). Disagreement between parents and their preadolescent child significantly contributed to the prediction of self-reported internalizing problems in early adolescence. For the early identification of internalizing problems, it is recommended to include both parent and child self-reports as part of routine health examinations in the setting of preventive youth health care because when parents underreport problems relative to their child, this can predict future internalizing problems.

Confirmatory factor analysis and factorial invariance analysis of the adolescent self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: how important are method effects and minor factors?

OBJECTIVES. This study examined the factor structure of the self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, paying special attention to the number of factors and to negative effects of reverse-worded items and minor factors within the subscales on model fit. Furthermore, factorial invariance across gender, age, level of education, and ethnicity was investigated. DESIGN. Data were obtained from the Youth Health Monitor Rotterdam, a community-based health surveillance system. METHODS. The sample consisted of 11,881 pupils of 11-16 years old. Next to the original five-factor model, a factor model with the number of factors based on parallel analysis and scree test was investigated. Confirmatory factor analysis for ordered-categorical measures was applied to examine the goodness-of-fit and factorial invariance of the factor models. RESULTS. After allowing reverse-worded items to cross-load on the prosocial behaviour factor and adding error correlations, a good fit to the data was found for the original five-factor model (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity-inattention, peer problems, prosocial behaviour) and a model with four factors (emotional symptoms and peer problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity-inattention, prosocial behaviour). Factorial invariance across gender, age, level of education, and ethnicity was found for the final five- and four-factor model, except for the prosocial factor of the four-factor model that showed partial invariance across gender. Conclusions. While support was found for both models, the final five-factor model is theoretically more plausible and gained additional support as the original scales emotional problems and peer problems showed different relations with gender, educational level, and ethnicity.

The facilitation of important personal goals through exercise

In a sample of 1,287 adolescents, it appeared that weekly exercise facilitates a variety of goals: particularly those related to being or remaining healthy, feeling relaxed, not being bored, feeling physically good, not being stressed, and attaining high achievements were endorsed. Sedentary and active adolescents reported a similar order of 10 specific goals with respect to the likelihood of being positively influenced by exercise. The frequency of reported facilitation for each of the goals, however, was higher among the active adolescents. This suggests that the more exercise is incorporated in daily life, the more it can be regarded as an integral part of the personal goal structure.