Coping research has neglected the study of the reciprocal links between parents' and adolescents' coping behaviors and the potential influence of parental support for the development of adolescent autonomy. This study, therefore, analyzed the coping behaviors of fathers, mothers, and children (53% females) in 196 families who participated in a…

The persistent underachievement among African American boys has led to increased empirical inquiry, yet little research considers within-group variation in achievement nor positive youth characteristics that help explain positive achievement outcomes. This study conceptualized culturally-based factors (racial pride and religiosity) as adolescent…

During adolescence, peer groups present an important venue for socializing school-related behaviors such as academic achievement and school engagement. While a significant body of research emphasizes the link between a youth's immediate peer group and academic outcomes, the current manuscript expands on this idea, proposing that, in addition to…

Shape and weight concerns among overweight pre-adolescents heighten risk for eating disorders and weight gain. Treatment and prevention efforts require consideration of psychosocial factors that co-occur with these concerns. This study involved 200 overweight pre-adolescents, aged 7-12 years (M age = 9.8; SD = 1.4), presenting for family-based…

The understanding of positive development across adolescence rests on having a valid and equivalent measure of this construct across the breadth of this period of life. Does the Positive Youth Development (PYD) construct based on the Five Cs model have satisfactory psychometric properties for such longitudinal measurement invariance? Using…

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,…

This article responds to recent calls for a focus on successful development in young people and examination of its developmental precursors, in order to identify potentially modifiable targets for interventions. The current study examined child and adolescent precursors of positive functioning in emerging adulthood, including individual…

Using a variant of the ecological-transactional model and developmental theories of delinquency on a nationally representative sample of adolescents, the current study explored the ecological predictors of violent victimization, perpetration, and both for three different developmental stages during adolescence. We examined the relative influence…

Studies with adults of social dominance orientation (SDO), a preference for inequality among social groups, have found correlations with various prejudices and support for discriminatory practices. This study explores the construct among adolescents at an age when they are beginning to recognize the social groups in their environment, particularly…

This longitudinal study tested the "influence of involvement" and "selection" hypotheses for the association between religious versus non-religious activity involvement and two salient indicators of adolescent psychosocial adjustment (substance use and academic achievement). Participants included 3,993 Canadian adolescents…

The current study explored specific aspects of sports and individuals on 4 domains of the self-system (physical competence and physical appearance self-concept, global physical and general self-esteem). Participants were 351 adolescents (M[subscript age] = 13.45, SD = 1.25 years, males n = 132) recruited from elite sports and regular school…

This study examines individual and partner characteristics associated with the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) in young adult relationships with opposite sex partners. Using data from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined 1,275 young adults' heterosexual romantic relationships.…

This paper uses an ecological perspective to explore the risk factors associated with bullying behaviors among a representative sample of adolescents aged 11-14 (n = 9816, mean = 12.88, s = 0.9814). Data derived from the "Health Behavior in School Children: WHO Cross-National Survey" were used to model the relationship between bullying and media…

Internalizing and externalizing problems differ by musical tastes. A high school-based sample of 4159 adolescents, representative of Dutch youth aged 12 to 16, reported on their personal and social characteristics, music preferences and social-psychological functioning, measured with the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Cluster analysis on their music…

Examined the relative importance of possible risk and protective factors for the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of 508 families with adolescent children. Results show the importance of the individual attributes of the adolescent for internalizing problems, but their lesser importance for the development of…