Nancy L. Galambos

Parents Do Matter: Trajectories of Change in Externalizing and Internalizing Problems in Early Adolescence

This study examined the relative influence of three parenting behaviors (support, behavioral control, and psychological control) and deviant peers on trajectories of externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence. A white, working-to-middle-class sample of adolescents and their mothers and fathers in two-earner families participated in a 32-year longitudinal study (N = 109 families). The study began when the adolescents were in sixth grade (M age = 11.5 years). Analyses showed that parents firm behavioral control seemed to halt the upward trajectory in externalizing problems among adolescents with deviant peers. Initial levels of internalizing problems were higher among adolescents with parents who reported lower levels of behavioral control and among adolescents with deviant peers. This study suggests that parenting exerts an important influence in adolescents lives and may do so even in the face of potentially negative peer influence.

Depression, Self-Esteem, and Anger in Emerging Adulthood: Seven-Year Trajectories.

This study used a school-based community sample (N=920) to examine trajectories of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and expressed anger in the critical years of emerging adulthood (ages 18-25). Using data from 5 waves, the authors discovered that multilevel models indicated that, on average, depressive symptoms and expressed anger declined, whereas self-esteem increased. Between-persons predictors of variability in trajectories included gender (gender gaps in depressive symptoms and self-esteem narrowed), parents education, and conflict with parents (depressive symptoms and expressed anger improved fastest in participants with highly educated parents and in those with higher conflict). Across time, increases in social support and marriage were associated with increased psychological well-being, whereas longer periods of unemployment were connected with higher depression and lower self-esteem. Emerging adulthood is a time of improving psychological well-being, but individual trajectories depend on specific individual and family characteristics as well as role changes.

Gender differences in and risk factors for depression in adolescence: A 4-year longitudinal study

The current study used longitudinal data (N 1/4 1322; 648 males, 674 females) from adolescents ages 12 to 19 years (in 1994) to investigate gender differences in and risk factors for depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes (MDEs). The sample had participated in three waves of Canada’s National Population Health Survey (1994, 1996, and 1998). Results showed that although there was not a statistically significant increase in depressive symptoms in early adolescence, there was a robust gender difference in the levels of depressive symptoms and the prevalence of MDE, with girls more affected than boys. Over time, decreases in social support and increases in smoking were both linked to increases in depressive symptoms. Moreover, youth who smoked and who were free from major depression in 1994 were 1.4 times more likely to report a MDE in 1996 or 1998. To be effective, prevention and treatment programmes for depression may also need to address risks such as poor social support and smoking, as these risk factors may serve to maintain depressive symptoms over time.

Body Dissatisfaction of Adolescent Girls and Boys: Risk and Resource Factors.

The objective of this study was to identify risk and resource factors related to body dissatisfaction for girls and boys in early adolescence. Participants were 91 girls and 79 boys in Grades 7 and 10 who were participants in the second wave of a 3-year longitudinal study of adolescents psychosocial maturity. Separate hierarchical regressions were conducted for girls and boys. Three risk factors for girls body dissatisfaction were identified: weight (higher body mass index), greater figure management, and being teased about appearance. For boys, being teased was the only significant risk factor. Perceived mother acceptance and father acceptance were the only significant resource factors for girls. No resource factors were significant for boys. Resource factors did not evidence protective effects (i.e., moderate effects of significant risks) against body dissatisfaction for girls or for boys. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research that has linked body dissatisfaction to disordered eating.

The Attitudes Toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA): A study of reliability and validity

This study describes the development of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA), an instrument based on the short form of the Spence-Helmreich Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS). The AWSA has been tested in four samples of adolescents. Internal consistency estimates and test-retest stability indicated high reliability. Hypotheses formulated to test the construct validity of the scale were largely supported. AWSA permits the examination of how boys and girls attitudes toward women influence the life paths that adolescent girls begin to pursue.

Social, Demographic, and Health Outcomes in the 10 Years Following Adolescent Depression

PURPOSEnLittle attention has been paid to the sociodemographic profiles of depressed youth during the vulnerable transition from adolescence to early adulthood. This study aimed to determine and describe the social, demographic, and health outcomes of adolescent depression during a 10-year period of transition into early adulthood, using a population-based cohort of Canadian teenagers.nnnMETHODSnDepression status on 1,027 adolescents aged 16-17 years was ascertained from the National Population Health Survey. Social and health outcomes (i.e., employment status, marital status, personal income, education, social support, self-perceived stress, heavy drinking, smoking, migraine headaches, adult depression, antidepressant use, self-rated health, and physical activity) were measured every 2 years until the ages of 26-27 years. Logistic regression was combined with a generalized linear mixed-model approach to determine the odds of health and social outcomes in depressed versus nondepressed adolescents.nnnRESULTSnProximal effects of adolescent depression were observed (at ages 18-19) on all outcomes with the exception of physical activity. Significant effects that persisted after 10 years included depression recurrence, higher severity of symptoms, migraine headaches, poor self-rated health, and low levels of social support. Adolescent depression did not appear to significantly affect employment status, personal income, marital status, or educational attainment.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe transition from adolescence to adulthood is a particularly vulnerable period due to educational, employment, and social changes that may be occurring. The results of this study indicate that the onset of depression during adolescence may be indicative of problems of adaptation that persist at least a decade into early adulthood.

Income Change, Parental Life Outlook and Adolescent Expectations for Job Success.

The present investigation examines the relationship between income change in the early 1980s, the outlook that parents have about their general life situation, and the extent to which adolescents expect to attain job success. In a sample of 112 West German families, correlations showed that income loss was associated with pessimistic life outlooks in fathers and mothers. The fathers pessimism was highly related to the mothers pessimism and to the adolescent daughters lower expectancy for job success. Path analytic procedures were used to model a process in which income loss leads to parental pessimism, and the fathers pessimism, in turn, leads to lowered job success expectancies among girls. The results suggest that income loss is a stressor that may disrupt family functioning. The vulnerability of the daughter and the role of the father in the socialization process are discussed.

Young Adolescents' Perceptions of the Family Environment

The physical, cognitive, and social changes associated with early adolescence may have implications for the nature of family relationships. However, little information is available regarding the family context of early adolescent development. The purpose of this study is to provide preliminary descriptive data on the family environment during early adolescence. A sample of 335 youngsters from middle to upper-middle class families were interviewed twice a year during the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Responses to selected questions were used to examine four domains of family relationships: family affect and closeness, satisfactions and dissatisfactions with the family, family time and activities, and conflict and discipline. Results indicate that overall, as perceived by young adolescents, the family environment is characterized more by harmony than by discord. Boys and girls consistently reported good to excellent relationships with their parents, with mothers emerging as particularly important sources of understanding. Boys were more likely than girls to report closeness to their fathers. Conflict between the young adolescents and their parents most often centered on issues of freedom and responsibility, although the discipline used by parents in resolving such conflicts was perceived by most of the youngsters in our sample as very fair and relatively lenient. When drawing conclusions from these data, the unique features of the sample should be kept in mind.

Does Parent-Adolescent Conflict Increase in Early Adolescence?.

This investigation assessed family perceptions of parent-adolescent conflict four times from grade 6 to the summer following grade 8. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents (n = 80 families) reported on parent-adolescent conflict in five domains: chores, appearance, politeness, finances, and substance use. Conflict over chores, appearance, and politeness decreased over 2.5 years whereas conflict over finances increased. Substance use conflict remained at relatively low levels across early adolescence. There was little evidence of sex-of-parent or sex-of-adolescent differences in levels of conflict. The results call into question the notion that there is a general increase in parent-adolescent conflict during early adolescence. Conflict in specific domains may show decreases, no change, or increases.

Trends in adolescent research for the new millennium

This article highlights several promising trends in research on adolescence and discusses the likely future course of several recent developments in adolescent research. Current trends include a focus on the transition to young adulthood, the increasing examination of the context and co-occurrence of adolescent problems, and emphasis on the resilience of adolescents in high-risk circumstances. There is a strong need for more research on the cognitive and neurocognitive gains and changes of adolescence and on positive psychosocial behaviours and outcomes for youth. We are just beginning to understand within-group differences in adolescent development, including the life experiences of minority youth, adolescents with disabilities, and homosexual adolescents. The impact of social context and social change on adolescents is also receiving more attention. Methodological approaches likely to be seen more in the future include the use of pattern-centred analyses to complement traditional variable-centred approaches and a greater appreciation for qualitative data analysis as a route to gaining insights into adolescent development. Finally, university-community partnerships are promoted as a way to solve the problems of youth and improve the probability of their healthy futures.