Journal of Youth and Adolescence (J YOUTH ADOLESCENCE)

Publications in this journal

• Article: At-Home Environment, Out-of-Home Environment, Snacks and Sweetened Beverages Intake in Preadolescence, Early and Mid-Adolescence: The Interplay Between Environment and Self-Regulation

  Aleksandra Luszczynska • John B. F. de Wit • Emely de Vet •, Anna Januszewicz • Natalia Liszewska • Fiona Johnson • Michelle Pratt •, Tania Gaspar • Margarida Gaspar de Matos • F. Marijn Stok
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Abstract Obesity-related behaviors, such as intake of snacks and sweetened beverages (SSB), are assumed to result from the interplay between environmental factors and adolescents’ ability to self-regulate their eating behaviors. The empirical evidence supporting this assumption is missing. This study investigated the relationships between perceptions of at-home and out-of-home food environment (including SSB accessibility, parental, and peers’ social pressure to reduce intake of SSB), nutrition self-regulatory strategies (controlling temptations and suppression), and SSB intake. In particular, we hypothesized that these associations would differ across the stages of preadolescence, early and mid-adolescence. Self-reported data were collected from 2,764 adolescents (10–17 years old; 49 % girls) from 24 schools in the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Path analysis indicated that direct associations between peers’ social influence and SSB intake increased with age. Direct negative associations between at-home and out-of-home accessibility and SSB intake as well as direct positive associations between parental pressure and intake become significantly weaker with age. Accessibility was related negatively to self-regulation, whereas higher social pressure was associated with higher self-regulation. The effects of the environmental factors were mediated by self-regulation. Quantitative and qualitative differences in self-regulation were observed across the stages of adolescence. The associations between the use of self-regulatory strategies and lower SSB intake become significantly stronger with age. In preadolescence, SSB intake was regulated by means of strategies that aimed at direct actions toward tempting food. In contrast, early and mid-adolescents controlled their SSB intake by means of a combination of self-regulatory strategies focusing on direct actions toward tempting food and strategies focusing on changing the psychological meaning of tempting food.
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 01/2013;
• Article: Meda Chesney-Lind & Nikki Jones (Eds.): Fighting for Girls: New Perspectives on Gender and Violence

  Helen LaCrosse Levesque
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 05/2012; 40(4):502-505.
• Article: Kate C. McLean & Monisha Pasupathi (eds.): Narrative Development in Adolescence: Creating the Storied Self

  Prathiba Nagabhushan
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 05/2012; 40(6):756-758.
• Article: Michael Bitz, Manga High: Literacy, Identity, and Coming of Age in an Urban High School

  James Bucky Carter
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 05/2012; 39(1):100-102.
• Article: A Prospective Study of Mexican American Adolescents’ Academic Success: Considering Family and Individual Factors

  Mark W. Roosa, Megan O’Donnell, Heining Cham, Nancy A. Gonzales, Katherine H. Zeiders, Jenn-Yun Tein, George P. Knight, Adriana Umaña-Taylor
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Mexican American youth are at greater risk of school failure than their peers. To identify factors that may contribute to academic success in this population, this study examined the prospective relationships from 5th grade to 7th grade of family (i.e., human capital [a parent with at least a high school education], residential stability, academically and occupationally positive family role models, and family structure) and individual characteristics (i.e., externalizing symptoms, bilingualism, gender, and immigrant status) to the academic performance of 749 Mexican American early adolescents (average age=10.4years and 48.7% were girls in 5th grade) from economically and culturally diverse families as these youth made the transition to junior high school. Results indicated that while controlling for prior academic performance, human capital and positive family role models assessed when adolescents were in 5th grade positively related to academic performance in 7th grade. Further, being a girl also was related to greater 7th grade academic success, whereas externalizing symptoms were negatively related to 7th grade academic performance. No other variables in the model were significantly and prospectively related to 7th grade academic performance. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed. KeywordsAcademic performance–Bilingualism–Human capital–Mental health–Mexican Americans–Role models
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 41(3):307-319.
• Article: Richard Lerner: The Good Teen: Rescuing Adolescence from the Myths of the Storm and Stress Years

  Jessica Sue Jackson-McLain
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 39(7):843-846.
• Article: Mark D. Regnerus: Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers

  Stacy Davidson
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 40(6):752-755.
• Article: The Journal of Youth and Adolescence at 40

  Roger J. R. Levesque
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 40(1):1-2.
• Article: Les B. Whitbeck: Mental Health and Emerging Adulthood Among Homeless Young People

  Alexa Sardina
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 39(5):575-578.
• Article: Ann Hagell and Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent (eds), Children Who Commit Acts of Serious Interpersonal Violence: Messages for Best Practice

  Tyler Lambert
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 39(4):428-430.
• Article: R.A. Buford, Living Through the Hoop: High School Basketball, Race and the American Dream

  Gary Sailes
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 38(1):137-138.
• Article: Christian Smith, Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults

  Mark Molter
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 39(1):96-99.
• Article: Profiles of a Developmental Asset: Youth Purpose as a Context for Hope and Well-Being

  Anthony L. Burrow, Amanda C. O’Dell, Patrick L. Hill
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: While having a purpose in life has been theorized as a developmental asset, the extent to which adolescents cultivate a meaningful sense of direction is not well understood. In the present study, cluster analysis was used to classify adolescents by levels of purpose exploration and commitment. The sample (N=318; 55% female) consisted of youth aged 14–18 and was predominantly White/non-Hispanic (76.3%). Results supported four meaningful yet distinguishable profiles of youth purpose that are largely consistent with theories on identity formation: Achieved, Foreclosed, Uncommitted, and Diffused. Hypothesized linkages with affect and hope were established across the profiles such that positive emotions and goal-directed thinking were most apparent among Achieved and Foreclosed youth and least apparent among Diffused and Uncommitted youth. Overall, findings demonstrate the inherent complexity in adolescents’ engagement with purpose and suggest a correspondence between stronger commitments to purpose and youths’ sense of personal agency and well-being. KeywordsPurpose-Adolescents-Identity-Positive youth development
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 39(11):1265-1273.
• Article: Pubertal Effects on Adjustment in Girls: Moving from Demonstrating Effects to Identifying Pathways

  Julia A. Graber, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Michelle P. Warren
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The present investigation examines mediated pathways from pubertal development to changes in depressive affect and aggression. Participants were 100 white girls who were between the ages of 10 and 14 (M=12.13, SD=.80); girls were from well-educated, middle- to upper-middle class families, and attended private schools in a major northeastern urban area. Three aspects of pubertal development were examined: (a) estradiol categories tapping gonadal maturation; (b) dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels indicating adrenal maturation; and (c) pubertal timing (early vs. other). Three potential mediators were also examined: emotional arousal, attention difficulties, and negative life events. Tests of mediated models indicated that early pubertal timing predicted higher emotional arousal which subsequently predicted increased depressive affect. Negative life events, and possibly attention difficulties, mediated the associations of both estradiol category and DHEAS with aggression. These findings highlight the potential for more intensive investigation of gonadal and adrenal processes in explaining affective changes at puberty.
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 35(3):391-401.
• Article: Vulnerability to Friends’ Suicide Influence: The Moderating Effects of Gender and Adolescent Depression

  Ruth X. Liu
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: This paper examines whether severity of depression reduces or intensifies the relationship between friends’ suicide attempt and adolescent's own attempt to commit suicide, and whether there are gender differences in this interrelationship. Using logistic regression and data from a nationally representative sample of adolescents studied at 2 points in time, this study yielded significant findings. First, friends’ suicide attempt and adolescent depression each predicts adolescent's own attempt to commit suicide, and these effects are similar for both boys and girls. Second, highly depressed adolescents are less likely than low- or nondepressed adolescents to attempt suicide when their friends attempt suicide, and this relationship is observed mainly among adolescent boys. Finally, for adolescent girls, depression reduces the relationship between friends’ suicidal attempt and adolescent's own attempt but this effect is not statistically significant. These results are discussed in light of their theoretical importance and policy implications.
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 35(3):454-464.
• Article: Brian K. Barber (ed): Adolescents and War: How Youth Deal with Political Violence

  Samantha Blair
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 39(8):977-979.
• Article: Ryan Moore: Sells Like Teen Spirit: Music Youth Culture and Social Crisis

  Douglas N. Evans
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 39(4):434-435.
• Article: Parents’ Self-efficacy Beliefs and Their Children’s Psychosocial Adaptation During Adolescence

  Patrizia Steca, Marta Bassi, Gian Vittorio Caprara, Antonella Delle Fave
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Research has shown that parents’ perceived parental self-efficacy (PSE) plays a pivotal role in promoting their children’s successful adjustment. In this study, we further explored this issue by comparing psychosocial adaptation in children of parents with high and low PSE during adolescence. One hundred and thirty Italian teenagers (55 males and 75 females) and one of their parents (101 mothers and 29 fathers) participated in the research. Data were collected at T1 (adolescents’ mean age=13.6) and T2 (mean age=17.5). Parents reported their PSE at T1. At T1 and T2, adolescents reported their perceived academic self-efficacy, aggressive and violent conducts, well-being, and perceived quality of their relationships with parents. At T2, they were also administered questions by using Experience Sampling Method to assess their quality of experience in daily life. As hypothesized, adolescents with high PSE parents reported higher competence, freedom and well-being in learning activities as well as in family and peer interactions. They also reported fewer problematic aspects and more daily opportunities for optimal experience. Findings pointed to the stability of adolescents’ psychosocial adaptation and highlighted possible directions in future research. KeywordsAdolescence–Optimal experience–Parental perceived self-efficacy–Psychosocial adaptation
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 40(3):320-331.
• Article: The Interplay of Early Adolescents’ Depressive Symptoms, Aggression and Perceived Parental Rejection: A Four-Year Community Study

  William W. Hale, Inge VanderValk, Joyce Akse, Wim Meeus
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: This study of early adolescents from the general population examined the direction of effects adolescents’ depressive symptoms, aggression, and perceived parental rejection have on one another in a longitudinal study. Over a four-year period, data were collected yearly from 940 early adolescents (50.6% boys and 49.4% girls) who completed self-report questionnaires of depressive symptoms, aggressive behaviors, and perceived parental rejection. The longitudinal relationships of adolescent reported depressive symptoms, aggression, and perceived parental rejection were tested in multi-group structural equation models. The findings of this study demonstrate that adolescents’ depressive symptoms, aggression, and perceived parental rejection can be viewed as two unidirectional effects models that work in tandem: adolescents’ depressive symptoms longitudinally predicting perceived parental rejection and, in turn, perceived parental rejection longitudinally predicting adolescents’ aggression. Additionally, the strength of these effects diminished as the adolescents grew older and the effects were similar for both adolescent boys and girls.
  Journal of Youth and Adolescence 04/2012; 37(8):928-940.