This study examined interparental conflict as a linear and curvilinear predictor of subsequent changes in adolescents' negative emotional reactivity and cortisol functioning during family conflict and, in turn, their psychological difficulties. In addition, adolescents' negative emotional reactivity and cortisol functioning during family conflict…

This study reaffirms our previous work documenting a higher number of Emergency Department (ED) visits by adolescent females with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as compared to adolescent males with ASD, as well as significantly more ED visits by older adolescents than younger adolescents with ASD. Combined externalizing and internalizing…

The present study investigated regulatory self-efficacy (RSE) as a predictor of friendship and adolescent alcohol intoxication and as a moderator of peer socialization processes related to alcohol intoxication. The longitudinal sample included 457 Italian adolescents (262 females and 195 males) ranging in age of 14 to 20 years (M = 16.1 years of…

Although excessive video gaming has been linked to a range of psychological problems in young people, there have been few systematic attempts to conceptualize problem gaming using established psychological theory. The aim of this study was to examine problematic game use (PGU) using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A two-wave, six-month…

This study examined the relations between behavioral inhibition, Big Five personality traits, and anxiety disorder symptoms in non-clinical children (n = 147) and clinically anxious children (n = 45) aged 6-13 years. Parents completed the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire-Short Form, the Big Five Questionnaire for Children, and the Screen for…

The present study examined the joint development of substance use and externalizing problems in early and middle adolescence. First, it was tested whether the relevant groups found in previous studies i.e., those with an early onset, a late onset, and no onset or low levels of risk behavior could be identified, while using a developmental model of…

Given that depression is a debilitating disorder, it is critical that we advance our understanding about the aetiology of this disorder. This study investigated both traditional (temperament and parenting) and novel (emotion regulation strategy) risk factors associated with adolescent depression. Forty-four adolescents (12-16 years; 64% females)…

The goal of this study was to examine initial levels and rates of change in the intensity and breadth of participation in organized activities during the adolescent years, and how these participation practices were related to youth outcomes in later adolescence. The main objectives were (a) to examine growth curves of intensity and breadth of…

Examined the nonmedical utilization rates of selected substances among an adolescent population of students (N=2,036). Analysis of psychosocial variables indicated that age at first use; frequency of use of marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes; and amount of available spending money were significant predictors of drug use. (LLL)

A survey of 1,482 high school students in spring and fall 1986 resulted in confirmation of the Problem Behavior Theory as a predictor of drinking and driving among adolescents. Environmental, behavioral, and demographic factors account for 50 percent of the variance in drinking and driving. (SK)

Adolescent coital activity and the attendant risk of pregnancy is a problem with far-reaching implications. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of family variables on adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive practices. More specifically, the research question was: Could a set of parent-adolescent interpersonal variables be…

Surveyed 99 adolescents to quantify the behavioral cues used to identify their peers as depressed. The results indicated that social isolation was an important component of adolescents' concepts of depression among their peers. Subjects felt that there was a higher frequency of alcohol and marijuana use among depressed peers. (JAC)

Examined the link between delinquency and school behaviors separately for 267 African-American and 269 White males at risk for delinquency. Class absenteeism was related to higher incidence of minor and serious delinquency, and for African Americans, poor grades and dropping out were predictive of both types of delinquency. (SLD)

Assessed the theoretical and practical utility of adolescent alcohol expectancies against demographic/background variables in the prediction of adolescent drinking (N=1,580). Results showed that expectancies equalled and added to the predictive power of the background variables. Adolescents who drank in a social manner expected alcohol to enhance…

Experimental research has firmly established the role of expectancies in determining the behavioral consequences of alcohol consumption. To ascertain whether these alcohol expectancies derive from direct pharmacological experience with alcohol or from nonpharmacological, social-learning factors, an adolescent expectancy questionnaire was…