Lela Rankin Williams

Reciprocal Relations between Parenting and Adjustment in a Sample of Juvenile Offenders.

The over-time reciprocal links between parenting and adolescent adjustment were examined in a sample of 1,354 serious adolescent offenders followed for 3 years (16 years of age at baseline, SD = 1.14). Parallel processing growth curve models provided independent estimates of the impact of parenting on adolescent functioning as well as the impact of adolescent functioning on parenting. Positive adolescent development was facilitated by high parental warmth and low parental hostility. Parental monitoring predicted less problematic behavior, but less positive functioning as well. Predictably, parents became warmer and less hostile in response to positive adolescent development, and less warm in response to problematic adolescent functioning. Parental monitoring declined when adolescents exhibited either positive or problematic functioning.

Early temperament, propensity for risk-taking and adolescent substance-related problems: A prospective multi-method investigation

One hundred thirty seven adolescents (M=15.3 yrs, SD=1.0 yr, n=72 girls) were recruited into temperament groups when they were 4 months of age based on reactivity to novel auditory/visual stimuli (Fox, Henderson, Rubin, Calkins, & Schmidt, 2001). Behavioral inhibition was observed across infancy (14 and 24 months). Additionally, self-reported substance-related problems and behavioral risk-taking was assessed during adolescence. High behavioral inhibition increased risk for substance-related problems among boys, whereas high behavioral inhibition protected against substance-related problems among girls, B=-1.18, SE=.48, 95% CI=-2.13 to -.24; p<.05. Additionally, high behavioral inhibition protected lower risk-taking children from adolescent substance-related problems whereas high behavioral inhibition increased risk for substance-related problems among higher risk-taking children, B=.04, SE=.02, 95% CI=.00 to .08. Findings from this prospective, multi-informant, longitudinal study suggest that risk-taking and gender may interact with temperamental traits to place adolescents at differential risk for substance-related related behavior problems.

Youth participation in qualitative research: Challenges and possibilities

Research often excludes youth participants, omitting their social and psychological realities, undermining their rights to participate and benefit from research, and weakening the validity of research. Researchers may be discouraged from including youth due to logistical (e.g. gaining access) or ethical (e.g. coercion risks based on developmental level) concerns. Increased discussion is needed around appropriate methods to use with child and youth participants that manage challenges related to developmental capacities, legal status, power differentials, and unpredictable aspects of qualitative research. This paper pools experiences of six researchers, describing solutions we have developed in studies employing varied qualitative methodologies with varied vulnerable youth subpopulations. We detail successful approaches to access, compensation, consent, assent, and confidentiality. Social work researchers are wellsuited to navigate the challenges, and we share our examples with the aim of facilitating increased youth participation in research.

Identification of emotional facial expressions among behaviorally inhibited adolescents with lifetime anxiety disorders

The current study examined differences in emotion expression identification between adolescents characterised with behavioural inhibition (BI) in childhood with and without a lifetime history of anxiety disorder. Participants were originally assessed for BI during toddlerhood and for social reticence during childhood. During adolescence, participants returned to the laboratory and completed a facial emotion identification task and a clinical psychiatric interview. Results revealed that behaviorally inhibited adolescents with a lifetime history of anxiety disorder displayed a lower threshold for identifying fear relative to anger emotion expressions compared to non-anxious behaviorally inhibited adolescents and non-inhibited adolescents with or without anxiety. These findings were specific to behaviorally inhibited adolescents with a lifetime history of social anxiety disorder. Thus, adolescents with a history of both BI and anxiety, specifically social anxiety, are more likely to differ from other adolescents in their identification of fearful facial expressions. This offers further evidence that perturbations in the processing of emotional stimuli may underlie the aetiology of anxiety disorders.

“She Posted It on Facebook” Mexican American Adolescents’ Experiences With Technology and Romantic Relationship Conflict

We examined experiences with technology and dating conflict among Mexican American (MA) adolescents (ages 15-17 years) using mixed qualitative methodologies. Focus groups, divided by three levels of acculturation and gender (N = 20), and videotaped observations of couples (N = 34), found that technology (i.e., cell phones, social media) afforded adolescents increased visibility of their partners’ day-to-day peer interactions. Feelings of romantic jealousy resulted in text message harassment and the expectation of immediate technology-facilitated contact. Females were more flirtatious as well as emotionally affected by jealousy resulting from social media sites, and males set rules regarding other-sex texting. Social media was particularly salient among more highly acculturated youth. Online spaces offered an opportunity for outside parties to observe unhealthy relationships and to offer support.

Familias: Preparando la Nueva Generación: A Randomized Control Trial Testing the Effects on Positive Parenting Practices.

Objectives: This article reports the effects of a culturally grounded parenting intervention to strengthen positive parenting practices. Method: The intervention was designed and tested with primarily Mexican origin parents in a large urban setting of the southwestern United States using an ecodevelopmental approach. Parents (N = 393) were randomly assigned three treatment conditions: (1) a parenting and youth intervention, (2) a youth only intervention, or (3) a control group. A measurement model for positive parenting was first evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis, followed by structural equation modeling to estimate the effects of the intervention on positive parenting (i.e., baseline to follow-up). Results: As hypothesized, parents in the intervention group reported higher rates of positive parenting compared to parents in youth-only condition. Conclusion: The results are promising and add to growing evidence that interventions tailored to the cultural characteristics and environments of parents and their children can strengthen positive parenting.

Young drivers' perceptions of culpability of sleep-deprived versus drinking drivers.

INTRODUCTION Sleep-deprived driving can be as dangerous as alcohol-impaired driving, however, little is known about attitudes toward sleep-deprived drivers. This study examined the extent to which young drivers regard sleep-deprived compared to drinking drivers as culpable for a crash, and how their perceptions of driving while in these conditions differ. METHOD University student participants (N=295; M=20.4years, SD=1.3; 81% women) were randomly assigned to read one of five fatal motor-vehicle crash scenarios, which differed by aspects of the drivers condition. Culpability ratings for the drinking driver were higher than those for the sleep-deprived driver. RESULTS Qualitative findings revealed that driving while sleep-deprived was viewed as understandable, and driving after drinking was viewed as definitely wrong. The dangers of sleep-deprived driving remain under-recognized.

Mexican American adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence programs: Recommendations for effective program design and implementation

Although promising dating violence programs have emerged, little is known about their effectiveness for Mexican American youth, a vulnerable and understudied population. The purpose of this study was: (1) to offer culturally-grounded recommendations towards the development of effective Teen Dating Violence (TDV) programs and/or the modification of existing programs, and (2) to identify potential barriers to Mexican American youth’s participation in TDV programs. Using the perspectives of Mexican American youth (15 to 17 years old) and a phenomenological study design, focus groups (N = 14) were conducted that were homogeneous by gender and level of acculturation (low/bicultural/high). Youth provided recommendations for program design (i.e. Design it to explore between-group and within-group cultural variability, Design it to be broad in scope, and Keep it positive) and program implementation (i.e. Make the program fun and non-threatening, and Involve peers, couples, and individuals) within the context of acculturation. Adolescents’ suggestion of a program delivered in smaller groups that support sharing within peer relationships may stem from a desire for intimacy within close relationships – re-creating a sense of familismo. Teen dating violence programs best meets the needs of Mexican American adolescents by including programmatic components that are grounded in personalized cultural values.

Efficacy of a Culturally Based Parenting Intervention: Strengthening Open Communication Between Mexican-Heritage Parents and Adolescent Children

This article presents the results of an initial efficacy trial of a parenting intervention, Familias: Preparando la Nueva Generación (FPNG), used to strengthen parenting practices, specifically, open family communication. Using community-based participatory research, including stakeholder involvement, the FPNG curriculum was developed, evaluated for feasibility, and revised to complement the classroom-based keepin’ it REAL youth substance-use prevention program. FPNG focuses on family influences that characterize Mexican-heritage youth and families, including the impact of acculturation. The 9 middle schools were block-randomized into 3 groups: parents and youth (PY), youth only (Y), and control (C) conditions. Parents of 7th grade youth (N = 393, 82.8% mothers) completed self-report surveys at baseline and immediately following the intervention. Structural equation model analyses confirmed that PY parents reported significantly greater levels of open family communication at the follow-up compared with Y parents; C parents were not significantly different from Y parents at follow-up. The inclusion of parents in adolescent-focused preventive interventions might increase the effect size of an original and efficacious youth prevention intervention.

“I Hear You”: Using Focus Groups to Give Voice to Adolescent Girls' Experiences with Violence

Focus groups are used in social science to understand social problems. This article presents focus groups for adolescent girls in a school setting, by two social work researchers, on the subjects of girl fighting and dating violence. The article discusses planning (agency collaboration and decisions about the structure of the group and recruitment of participants), using group work skills to create a safe environment that encourages discussion of diverse opinions, and disseminating relevant findings to school personnel that will prevent or intervene in the problem.