Participation in discretionary activities during adolescence may facilitate the development of social networks that recruit youth into adult civic life or provide risky contexts that promote alcohol problems. Using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study, latent class analysis was used to identify adolescents' patterns of civic engagement, alcohol…

Although there is a well-known link between adverse experiences and suicidal ideation, there has been little study of the effects of recent adverse experiences on suicidal ideation in teenagers. This study examined the association between recent adverse experiences and suicidal ideation in a sample of 740 at-risk 16-year-old youth in the LONGSCAN…

We investigated whether (a) short and irregular sleep are related to aggressive behavior in early adolescence and (b) whether they moderate the relation between interparental conflict and aggressive behavior. 176 early adolescents (mean age 11.6 years, 89 girls) reported their bed and wake times on weekdays and on weekends and their aggressive…

Within the framework of problem behavior theory, the purpose of this study was to examine risk behavior profiles of typical and atypical adolescents and the differential outcomes of well-beings for these individuals in the United States. Based on the data from the survey of Health Behavior of School-Aged Children by World Health Organization,…

In a sample of 1252 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.00 years), this study examined the direct relations between gratitude and adolescents' suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. This study also examined indirect relations between gratitude and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts via two self-system beliefs--coping efficacy and self-esteem.…

Given increased sexual risk-taking among youth with mental health problems, this study sought to understand the developmental trajectory of sexual self-esteem (SSE) among this vulnerable population and how it is impacted by sexual experiences. Participants were 185 adolescents who attended therapeutic/alternative schools in southern New England.…

The well-documented higher rates of depression among sexual minority youth are increasingly viewed by developmentalists as a byproduct of the stigmatization of sexual minority status in American society and of the negative impact this stigma has on the processes associated with depression. This study attempted to spur future research by testing…

Past research on parentification suggests that adopting adult responsibilities to the point at which the child plays a parental role places children at risk for poor mental and behavioral health outcomes. Since family relations are particularly important in Mexican culture, two hypotheses were posed to examine the indirect effects of…

We examined identity development as a moderator of the relation between peer group pressure and control and adolescents' engagement in risk behaviors. Participants (n = 1070; M[subscript age] = 15.45 years) completed a self-report measure of "identity exploration", the degree to which they have explored a variety of self-relevant values, beliefs…

Attitudes towards the body have been largely overlooked as a potential risk factor for adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) despite theorizing that a negative body image may play a critical role in the development of this behavior. The current study used structural equation modeling to evaluate the fit of a theoretical model specifying body…

The coping strategies used by adolescents to deal with stress may have implications for the development of depression and suicidal ideation. This study examined coping categories and specific coping behaviors used by adolescents to assess the relation of coping to depression and suicidal ideation. In hierarchical regression models, the specific…

Substance use is increasing among youth in South Africa, and may be contributing to transmission of HIV. As parental death often leaves youth with altered emotional and physical resources, substance use may be greater among orphaned adolescents. Utilizing data from a household survey of 15-24 year old South Africans (n = 11,904), multivariable…

This study compares referrals for mental health services among high school students randomized to two means of referral to mental health services: referral via systematic identification through a brief mental health screening procedure (n = 365) or referral via the usual process of identification by school personnel, parents, or students…

Disclosure and lying to mothers and fathers about different activities, as defined within social domain theory, were examined as a function of Latino family values in 109 Puerto Rican lower socioeconomic status middle adolescents (M = 15.58 years, SD = 1.18) living in the United States. Questionnaires revealed that teens sometimes disclosed to…

Several risk factors, including female sex, racial minority status, and family poverty, have been implicated in adolescents' depression. The present study focused on the role of one specific aspect of adolescents' ecological context, interactions with adults, in depressive symptomology. We examined the relationship between perceived support from…