François Poulin

Peer relations across contexts: Individual-network homophily and network inclusion in and after school

Peer relations across 2 contexts (in school and after school) were examined for 577 participants, approximately 12 years old, from 3 middle schools in Milan, Italy. The primary research questions were: Do peer networks from different contexts uniquely contribute to explaining variance in individual behavior? Do measures of peer preference and peer network inclusion across contexts uniquely contribute to explaining individual depressive symptoms? Structural equation models showed that both the in-school and the after-school peer networks uniquely contributed to explaining variance in 2 types of individual problem behavior (in-school problem behavior, after-school delinquency), and that similarity with the 2 peer networks varied according to behaviors specific to each context and across gender. Finally, both in-school and after-school peer network inclusion contributed to explaining variance in depressive symptoms, after controlling for classroom peer preference.

Adolescent Substance Use With Friends: Moderating and Mediating Effects of Parental Monitoring and Peer Activity Contexts

The influence of using substances with friends on future individual use was examined in the context of parental monitoring rules and the ecology of peer activities. A 1-year longitudinal study design included a combined sample of North Italian and French Canadian adolescents (N = 285, 53% girls, M = 14.25 years). Data analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling and multiple regression analyses. As expected, the covariation between parental monitoring and adolescent substance use was mediated by co-use with friends. Moreover, the relation between substance use with friends and individual substance use was moderated by parental monitoring rules and the peer activity context. Specifically, the relation between substance co-use with friends and individual substance use was stronger when the level of parental monitoring rules was low and when friends spent their time together primarily in unstructured contexts such as on the street or in park settings. These findings underline the importance of adults’ use of rules to monitor adolescents prone to substance use, and the role of context in facilitating or reducing peer influence.

Intensity of Participation in Organized Youth Activities during the High School Years: Longitudinal Associations with Adjustment.

The goal of this study was to explore the longitudinal associations between youth activity participation and adjustment over the high school years by examining (a) correlations between participation and adjustment growth curves, and (b) bidirectional links between participation and adjustment from one year to the next. Participation was operationalized as the total number of hours spent in sports, performance and fine arts, and youth clubs over a school year. Indicators of adjustment included school grades, alcohol use, and depressive symptoms. Youth (n = 362; mean age = 13.38, SD = 0.42; 59% girls) were surveyed annually from grades 7 to 10 using questionnaires and phone interviews. Growth curve results revealed that: (a) sports were positively associated with alcohol use; (b) performance and fine arts were negatively linked to depressive symptoms, and (c) youth clubs were positively associated with school grades, and negatively linked to alcohol use and depressive symptoms. The bidirectional analyses revealed few significant links from one year to the next, with the exception of performance and fine arts and grades.

The Role of Parents in Young Adolescents' Competence With Peers: An Observational Study of Advice Giving and Intrusiveness

Young adolescents who encounter difficulties with peers can consult with their parents to help solve these problems. In this context, this study examines the contribution of adolescents’ disclosure, parental advice giving, and parental intrusiveness into adolescents’ social and behavioral adjustment. Young adolescents (N = 93; 49% girls; mean age = 12.9) and their parents took part in a problem-solving task in which adolescent disclosure, parental advice giving, and intrusiveness where observed. Several indicators of social and behavioral adjustment were measured concurrently and 1 year later by using adolescents’ self-reports and teacher ratings. Results indicated that adolescent disclosure and advice giving were associated with adjustment, whereas intrusiveness was concurrently and longitudinally associated with maladjustment.

Bidirectional Influences between Maternal and Paternal Parenting and Children's Disruptive Behaviour from Kindergarten to Grade 2.

Empirical evidence suggests that childrens disruptive behaviour (CDB) and quality of parenting influence one another bidirectionally. However, few studies have considered the separate contribution of the mother–child and father–child relationships to disruptive behaviours within a longitudinal context. Against this background, the reciprocal influence between CDB and five dimensions of maternal and paternal parenting was examined from kindergarten through grade 2 in a community sample of 644 children. These relationships were investigated using cross-lagged panel correlation and reciprocal effect analysis. Differences and similarities emerged in the direction of effects linking maternal and paternal parenting and CDB. At school entry, a reciprocal parent–child influence was evident for mothers only. However, as children grew older, a unidirectional effect from CDB to parenting was noted for both fathers and mothers. Implications for future research focusing on the link between CDB and the parent–child relationship are discussed.

History of Family Violence, Childhood Behavior Problems, and Adolescent High-Risk Behaviors as Predictors of Girls’ Repeated Patterns of Dating Victimization in Two Developmental Periods:

This study aims to document the prevalence of repeated patterns of dating victimization and to examine, within the frameworks of an ecological model and lifestyle/routine activities theories, associations between such patterns and family, peer, and individual factors. Dating victimization in adolescence (age 15) and early adulthood (age 21) was evaluated in 443 female participants. Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that history of family violence, childhood behavior problems, and adolescent high-risk behaviors were associated with an increased risk for girls of being victimized (psychologically and/or physically/sexually) in their dating relationships, either in adolescence or early adulthood, or at both developmental periods.

Continued Bullying Victimization from Childhood to Young Adulthood: a Longitudinal Study of Mediating and Protective Factors

Bullying in schools has severe consequences for victims’ adjustment. It is unclear, however, whether victims of school bullying continue to be victimized in other contexts during adulthood. Mediating processes through which peer victimization in school increases the risk of revictimization in adulthood, as well as protective factors, also need to be explored. This study examined 1) the longitudinal association between peer victimization in school and victimization at work during young adulthood, 2) the predictive link of reactive and proactive aggression and anxious-withdrawn behavior in childhood with victimization in school and at the workplace, 3) the potential mediating role of depression symptoms, and 4) the potential protective effect of friendship support. The study included 251 participants (61% females) followed from age 12 to age 22. Participants reported about their victimization in school from ages 12 to 17 and their workplace victimization at age 22. They also reported about their depression-related thoughts and feelings and about friendship support. Teachers rated reactive and proactive aggression and anxiety-withdrawal at age 12. Structural equation modeling revealed that anxiety-withdrawal at age 12 predicted peer victimization in school, which in turn predicted later victimization at work. The latter association was partially mediated by increased depression symptoms. However, friendship support counteracted (via a main effect) the link between school victimization and subsequent depression symptoms. Bullying victims may benefit from interventions aimed at reducing depression symptoms and fostering social skills to establish supportive friendships to help avoid the generation of new interpersonal stress such as workplace victimization in adulthood.

Friendships with co-participants in organized activities: prevalence, quality, friends' characteristics, and associations with adolescents' adjustment.

The goal of this study was to provide an in-depth examination of friendships within organized activities. The prevalence of friendships with co-participants, their quality and characteristics, and their associations with adjustment were investigated. A sample of 281 (60% girls) 8th grade adolescents reported their friendships, activities, and adjustment. The results showed that 70% of youths have friends who co-participate with them. Friends in individual sports are more academically oriented whereas friends in team sports are more supportive but display higher levels of problem behavior. Finally, having friends in activities is associated with lower problem behavior and better academic functioning.

Trajectories of Annual Number of Sexual Partners from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: Individual and Family Predictors

Adolescent sexual development is not the same across the board, and can be seen as both normative as well as risky behavior, depending on factors such as age of onset and number of partners. This longitudinal study identified developmental trajectories of annual number of sexual partners from adolescence to emerging adulthood and their antecedents. From the ages of 16–22, 332 participants (60.8 % females) annually reported their number of sexual partners. Measures of adolescent and family characteristics taken at ages 13–15 were used as predictors. Group-based modeling identified four trajectory groups: the abstainers group (9.1 %), low-increasing group (30.6 %), medium-increasing group (53.0 %), and multiple-partners group (7.3 %). Multinomial logistical regressions indicated that better social competence increased chances of belonging to the multiple-partners group as compared to the abstainers and low-increasing groups, and more substance use predicted membership in the multiple-partners group as compared to the abstainers group. Moreover, females were overrepresented in the low-increasing and medium-increasing groups. These results imply a greater diversity in sexual development than proposed in the literature and highlight the importance of identifying the strengths and competencies associated with healthy sexual development along with the early risk factors.

Best friends' interactions and substance use: The role of friend pressure and unsupervised co-deviancy

Best friends exert a substantial influence on rising alcohol and marijuana use during adolescence. Two mechanisms occurring within friendship - friend pressure and unsupervised co-deviancy - may partially capture the way friends influence one another. The current study aims to: (1) examine the psychometric properties of a new instrument designed to assess pressure from a youths best friend and unsupervised co-deviancy; (2) investigate the relative contribution of these processes to alcohol and marijuana use; and (3) determine whether gender moderates these associations. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires completed by 294 Canadian youths (62% female) across two time points (ages 15-16). Principal component analysis yielded a two-factor solution corresponding to friend pressure and unsupervised co-deviancy. Logistic regressions subsequently showed that unsupervised co-deviancy was predictive of an increase in marijuana use one year later. Neither process predicted an increase in alcohol use. Results did not differ as a function of gender.