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…

Motivation to learn foreign languages is a significant determinant of successful language acquisition. The subject has been widely researched in the past, and since the early 1990s a great deal of empirical research related to the classroom environment has been proposed to expand theory into everyday classroom practice. I present an empirical,…

The aim was firstly to determine if peers and parents had a different impact on the personality development of the adolescent. A second aim was to determine if gender played a role in this regard. An empirical investigation was carried out involving 98 learners from Grades 8 to 11 (53 boys and 55 girls). The respondents completed instruments…

This study examined 2 samples of adolescents and mothers using a child-based design (Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development [NEAD] project, N = 395 families) and a parent-based design (Twin Moms [TM] project, N = 236 twin family pairs) to compare genetic and environmental influences on mothering. For both samples, the same measures of…

Examined cross-generational influences of adolescent parenthood on psychosocial functioning with a random sample of adolescent mothers in state care due to child abuse/neglect in their family of origin. Found that participants whose main parenting figure was an adolescent parent reported higher parenting stress and lower educational attainment…

Examined 11th graders' perceived relationships with older sibling in the context of adolescent-parent and adolescent-peer relationships. Found that relationships with older siblings were similar to relationships with parents and peers. Positive sibling relationships contributed to emotional and school-related support beyond the contribution of…

Examined conceptions of parenting among middle-class African American parents of early adolescents. Found that parents strongly endorsed setting firm limits. Mothers rated limiting adolescents' behavior as more important than permitting or encouraging independence. Mothers of younger adolescent females viewed limits as more important than mothers…

Compares relationships in adoptive and non-adoptive families (N=253) containing late-adolescents and examines family member roles in preventing adolescents' psychosocial risk. Results suggest a different relational configuration between family types. The father/child relationship and the mother/child relationship play different roles in preventing…

Security of attachment and level of individuation from parents and peers was examined among 42 undergraduates with a history of suicidality, 42 undergraduates with depression, and 42 undergraduate controls. Suicidal students had the least security of attachment, the least degree of individuation, and the highest incidence of parental…

Noting that during adolescence the importance of feeling intimate or close to a relationship partner (mothers, fathers, or friends) increases and that closeness to parents is associated with positive adolescent outcomes, this study examined how features of adolescent relationships are related to adolescents' experience of subjective closeness in…

Examines the relationship between parental bonding and mental health in healthy adolescents. Results, based on 847 Israeli high school students, show that those who reported high care and low control (optimal bonding) reported less distress, better general well-being, and better social support than did all other groups. (RJM)

An Icelandic study examined the relation between parenting style and adolescent substance use at age 14 and longitudinally from 14 to 17 years. Findings indicated that adolescents who characterized their parents as authoritative were more protected against substance use than adolescents who perceived their parents as neglectful, both concurrently…

One goal of a longitudinal study of stepfamilies, divorced maternal custody families, and nondivorced families was to assess similarities and differences between family members' interactions at the dyadic and triadic levels across time. Observers' ratings of videotaped spouse-to-spouse, parent-to-child, and child-to-parent behaviors during both…

Investigated effects of acculturation on psychological well-being of 588 immigrant 11- to 20-year-olds in Finland. Found that most indices of well-being were negatively related to perceived discrimination, and some were positively related to second-language proficiency. Adolescents' experiences of parental support and adherence to traditional…

A longitudinal study of stepfamilies, divorced maternal custody families, and nondivorced families was conducted to assess the competence of mothers in different family structures, examine stepfather-stepchild relationships compared to relationships between nondivorced biological fathers and their children, see how relationships changed over time…