Adolescence is characterized by increasing incidence of health risk behaviors, including experimentation with drugs and alcohol. To fill the gap in our understanding of the associations between risky decision-making and health risk behaviors, we investigated associations between laboratory-based risky decision-making using the Stoplight task and…

This study examined the relationships between youth and parental sensation-seeking, peer influence, parental monitoring and youth risk involvement in adolescence using structural equation modeling. Beginning in Grade 6, longitudinal data were collected from 543 students over 3 years. Youth sensation-seeking in Grade 6 contributed to risk…

Research indicates that peer and maternal bonds play important but sometimes contrasting roles in the outcomes of children. Less is known about attachment bonds to these 2 reference groups in young adults. Using a sample of 351 participants (18 to 20 years of age), the research integrated two theoretical traditions: attachment theory and theory of…

Longitudinal data are used to examine whether effects of early child care are amplified and/or attenuated by later parenting. Analyses tested these interactions using parenting as both a categorical and continuous variable to balance power and flexibility in testing moderation. The most consistent finding was that maternal sensitivity during…

This study aimed to explore the role of school engagement and the mediation effect of acculturation in predicting 1.5 and second-generation migrant adolescents' mental health and risk behaviors. Participants included 448 seventh to tenth grade Israeli students (mean age 14.50, 53% boys): 128 non-Jewish 1.5 generation migrant adolescents (children…

The purpose of the present study was to examine longitudinal associations among maternal responsiveness, self-regulation, and behavioral adjustment in adolescents. The authors used structural equation modeling to test a model that demonstrates that the effects of early cumulative risk on behavioral problems is mediated by maternal responsiveness…

Parent-child acculturation discrepancy has been considered a risk factor for child maladjustment. The current study examined parent-child acculturation discrepancy as an ongoing risk factor for delinquency, through the mediating pathway of parental knowledge of the child's daily experiences relating to contact with deviant peers. Participants were…

The current study investigated the longitudinal transactional association among paternal and maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing and externalizing difficulties. Data were collected on preschool- to adolescent-age youth via a total of six assessments. The sample (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD]…

While previous research has examined the school-to-work transition of noncollege-bound youth, most have considered how a limited set of variables relate to job attainment at a single point in time. This exploratory study extended beyond the identification of constructs associated with obtaining a job to investigate how several factors, collected…

Traffic crashes remain an important cause of injury and death among young people. The aim of the current study was to examine whether adolescents' viewing of particular television genres predicted later risky driving. Data were collected with a two-wave panel survey (N = 426); structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships…

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among U.S. Army soldiers. Suicide-related ideation, which is associated with suicide attempts and suicide, can cause considerable distress. In a sample of 1,663 recently redeployed soldiers, we used factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test the associations between combat exposure, unit…

Violence, risky sexual behaviors, and substance use are critical targets for improved health behavior. Prior research has linked levels of exposure to rap music with a range of undesirable health behaviors. Contemporary research has also found health-enhancing and other "positive" correlations with rap music exposure. The present study examined…

Parent-child acculturation discrepancy is a risk factor in the development of children in immigrant families. Using a longitudinal sample of Chinese immigrant families, the authors of the current study examined how unsupportive parenting and parent-child sense of alienation sequentially mediate the relationship between parent-child acculturation…

In scientific literature, early pubertal timing emerges as a risk factor of adolescents' drinking, whereas alcohol-specific rules (the degree to which parents permit their children to consume alcohol in various situations) showed to protect against adolescents' drinking. This study investigated whether alcohol-specific rules mediate and/or…

To understand one developmental process, it is often helpful to investigate its relations with other developmental processes. Statistical methods that model development in multiple processes simultaneously over time include latent growth curve models with time-varying covariates, multivariate latent growth curve models, and dual trajectory models.…