Journal of Research on Adolescence最新文献

The pandemic contributed to an ongoing youth mental health crisis, though mental health burdens are disproportionately distributed within youth populations. The objective of this study was to identify latent trajectories of youth suicide risk during the COVID-19 pandemic and examine differential risk by demographic subgroups. We leverage a national crisis dataset (n = 6741 youth in crisis) and employ latent Markov models and multinomial logistic regression to identify suicide risk classes and model within-person suicide risk trajectories from pre-pandemic to the extended pandemic response period (2019–2022) among a cohort of young people (ages 24 and younger). This analysis identified three suicide risk classes: low risk (sample ranges from 4831 to 5199 texters across periods), high risk (sample ranges from 1246 to 1030 texters across periods), and very high risk (sample ranges from 664 to 506 texters across periods). Overall, suicide risk declined during the pandemic (e.g., low risk class +5.4 percentage points). Yet, person-centered results emphasize variable risk for younger youth, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth, and Black/African American youth across pandemic periods. Specifically, younger youth (i.e., 13 and under) were associated with 50% higher odds than youth 18–24 years to transition from low to very high (OR: 1.50, CI: 1.05–2.15) and 93% higher odds to transition from very high to low risk (OR: 1.93, CI: 1.44–2.61). TGD youth were associated with the highest odds of transitioning to high-risk classes during the early pandemic (OR_{Low_VeryHigh}: 1.79, CI: 1.33–2.41), compared to girls/women. Black/African American youth were associated with 122% higher odds of transitioning to very high risk during the extended pandemic period (OR: 2.22, CI: 1.24–3.97), compared to White youth. Gender identity, race, and age were significantly associated with changing suicide risk among youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results emphasize the immediate and prolonged need for effective suicide risk reduction efforts among young people.

Adolescence is crucial for shaping social behavior, with peers influencing popularity and likability. While some adolescents use bullying to gain popularity, prosocial behavior often underlies likability. Yet, little is known about bistrategic control, where youth combine aggression and prosocial actions. This study used a multilevel person-centered approach to identify latent profiles based on peer-reported bullying, prosocial behavior, popularity, and likability, examined differences in bystander behavior, social status goals, and insecurity, and further explored how these individual-level profiles differ across classrooms and align with classroom-level bullying and prosocial social status norms. Data from 6379 Slovenian adolescents in 328 classes revealed five profiles: Unpopular bullies, Popular bullies, Bistrategic, Prosocial, and Uninvolved. At the classroom level, two distinct profiles emerged, differing in the prevalence of Uninvolved, Prosocial, Bistrategic, and Popular bully students.

Adolescent romantic experiences are socially normative and serve important social and developmental functions. Despite the well-established concurrent link between romantic involvement and internalizing symptoms in heterosexual adolescents, limited and mixed evidence exists on the directionality of this association. Research on this topic in sexually diverse adolescents is scarce. We sought to clarify how changes in relationship status and internalizing symptoms predict each other over time, and how these associations vary by sexual orientation, gender, and age. We provided a novel examination of these associations separately for initially single and romantically involved adolescents. In this longitudinal study, 1136 demographically diverse adolescents (M_age = 15.3 years, range_age = 13–19 years; 55.3% Hispanic/Latine) from local public high schools reported their relationship status and internalizing symptoms in four waves of surveys (August 2017–June 2019). We found that entering into a romantic relationship predicted lower internalizing symptoms for adolescents who were gay, lesbian, or not sure about their sexual orientation (but not for heterosexual or bisexual adolescents), highlighting the protective functions of romantic relationships for certain sexually diverse youth. We also found that higher internalizing symptoms predicted a greater likelihood of entering into a romantic relationship among initially single adolescents. Breakups and internalizing symptoms did not predict each other over time. Gender and age did not moderate any associations. These findings contribute to our understanding of the longitudinal associations between changes in relationship status and mental health and inform how adults should counsel youth on romantic relationships. Researchers should further elucidate the complex interplay between adolescent romantic relationships and mental health, especially for sexually and gender diverse youth.

Adolescent parents are at risk for poorer school-related outcomes relative to their non-parenting peers. In part, poorer academic outcomes may reflect adolescents' need to balance multiple roles within systems that are unaccommodating to their unique needs. Concomitantly, adolescent parents hold cultural and familial assets that can help them achieve positive school-related outcomes (i.e., school belonging, aspirations, and expectations) despite experiences of marginalization. The current study explores the relationship between adolescent parents' reports of stigma (e.g., negative treatment due to their parenting status) and their school-related outcomes; it will also test whether social support and ethnic-racial identity (ERI) serve as protective factors in these associations. To address our study goals, we employed cross-sectional data from a sample of adolescents who were parents or expecting a child (M_age = 16.87, SD = 1.30; n = 303 girls; n = 74 boys). Our results revealed that ERI, but not social support, moderated the negative effect of stigma on students' school belonging and academic expectations. High levels of ERI buffered the negative effect of stigma on students' reports of school belonging. However, the negative effect of stigma on students' academic expectations was only significant in the context of high ERI. Results highlight the importance of addressing adolescent parent stigma in schools while also demonstrating that ERI may have a differential effect on diverse academic outcomes.

Adolescents employ diverse coping strategies to navigate racial-ethnic discrimination, yet research often overlooks how these strategies co-occur. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 African American, Latinx, and Asian American high school students living in the southeastern United States (55% girls, 45% boys; M_age = 16.03), exploring their responses to various forms of discrimination (e.g., interpersonal, vicarious, online) and perpetrators (e.g., peers, teachers, authority figures). Using ideal-type analysis, a qualitative method that identifies patterns by grouping individuals based on shared characteristics, four coping profiles were identified: Move-Oners (n = 11), who primarily rely on ignoring, distraction, and minimization; Shift-and-Persisters (n = 6), who exhibit more internal strategies such as cognitive reframing and maintaining a future-oriented approach rather than confrontation; Mildly Engaged Copers (n = 8), who balance selective confrontation with more passive strategies; and Flexible Advocates (n = 8), who frequently confront perpetrators and engage in broader advocacy. Demographic trends revealed that older adolescents and girls were more likely to be Flexible Advocates, while boys and Asian American participants were more likely to be Move-Oners. Findings underscore the need for a more nuanced understanding of how adolescents respond to discrimination, and implications for future research are discussed.

Asian Americans are often stereotyped as model minorities—hardworking (achievement aspect) and unaffected by socioeconomic barriers (mobility aspect). However, the impact of these stereotypes on mental health remains unclear. This study is the first to examine longitudinally how internalizing these stereotypes relates to mental health, as moderated by grade point average (GPA), parental education, and household income among Asian American subgroups. Using a three-wave panel study of 610 Filipino and Korean American youth (M_age._Wave2 = 16 years; 52% female), findings reveal that each aspect of the stereotype has distinct impacts on mental health, with variations by ethnicity, academic performance, and family socioeconomic status. These results contribute to identifying profiles of youth at risk for mental health challenges and guiding targeted mental health interventions for minoritized youth.

Despite known disparities in both adverse experiences and well-being between LGBTQ+ and cisgender/heterosexual youth, research on how LGBTQ+ youth may differently regulate negative emotions and cope with adverse experiences is scant. In a sample of 459 12- to 17-year-old Canadian adolescents, we tested whether emotion regulation capacities and the use of specific regulation strategies differently affected LGBTQ+ v. cisgender/heterosexual youth's well-being and/or differently moderated the association between adverse experiences and well-being. Additionally, we examined developmental differences in these associations between early and middle adolescence. Having effective emotion regulation and a tendency to use engagement strategies over disengagement strategies were associated with better well-being for both LGBTQ+ and cisgender/heterosexual youth. However, they only buffered the association between adverse experiences and well-being for cisgender/heterosexual youth, not for LGBTQ+ youth. No significant developmental differences were detected. This may suggest that although having effective emotion regulation and using engagement v. disengagement strategies confer similar promotive effects on well-being across youth, they do not protect LGBTQ+ youth from the negative effects of adverse experience the way they do for cisgender/heterosexual youth.

Adultification, protection, and stereotyping of Black girls and their associated sexual and reproductive health risks are understudied concepts that are challenging to measure. This study developed and validated the Risk, Adultification, Messaging, and Protection Scale (RAMPS), designed to assess the relationship between sexual development, adultification, messaging, and protection, which are constructs of the Becoming a Sexual Black Woman framework. Preliminary items were derived from qualitative interviews with Black girls aged 9–18 years old. Adolescent responses (N = 575) to the RAMPS were subjected to several analyses to evaluate the measure's psychometric properties. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) guided by the Becoming a Sexual Black Woman theory were used to test item fit; correlations between the refined measures and theoretically relevant measures were examined for validity; and measurement invariance of the RAMPS was evaluated across three age groups. CFA demonstrated a strong fit for a 3-factor model. The interpretation of the measure was fully invariant across age groups. Findings indicated that the RAMPS represents a valid framework for measuring factors impacting Black girls' sexual development. The final 12-item measure demonstrated respectable to very good internal consistency—adultification (α = .81, very good), protection (α = .76, respectable), messaging (α = .78, respectable), and total protection (α = .80, very good). This paper presents psychometric information about the RAMPS and the full set of items. The next steps will be to validate the measure within a larger sample and to explore its correlation with sexually transmitted infections and HIV risk.

To advance understanding of the relations between social class and adolescent development, the current study examined the extent to which both objective SES (i.e., parental education level, qualified for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch; FRPL) and adolescents' perceptions of their subjective SES (i.e., subjective social status (SSS), social class identity) influenced educational outcomes via social interactions with peers and psychological well-being across the first 2 years of high school. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of adolescents in the Southwest U.S. and included 724 adolescents who completed annual surveys in 9th and 10th grade. In total, 40% were White, 33% Latino/a/x, 9% Asian, 6% Black, and 12% biracial/multiracial. Slightly more than half (54%) of participants were female, and 39% were from families deemed economically disadvantaged based on student eligibility for FRPL. Results of structural equation modeling analyses indicated evidence of multi-mediation, such that higher SSS and social class identity in the 9th grade were associated with fewer social struggles, which in turn were linked to better psychological well-being and higher school engagement, which was associated with higher grades at the end of 10th grade. Sensitivity analyses confirmed evidence of mediation, controlling for course grades in 9th grade. The study findings highlight adolescents' subjective perceptions of SES as meaningful, distinct forces in their social and academic lives, positioning this dimension of identity as a critical lens for understanding how inequality shapes youth development.

Parents influence their children's media habits, yet parenting research has lagged behind the growing influence of social media. This study characterized how parents perceive and implement social media-specific strategies with early adolescents. A total of 102 parents of adolescents (ages 12–15), recruited from primary care clinics and online advertisements, completed baseline assessments, including parent–child interaction tasks and qualitative interviews. Parents completed 15 daily diary assessments of their social media-specific parenting strategies, including: communication, limit-setting, co-use, technical mediation, and monitoring. Quantitative results indicate nearly two-thirds of parents (64.8%) used at least four of the five strategies, with communication being the most frequent. Nearly all parents (96.6%) communicated with their adolescent about social media at least once during the 15-day study period, and the majority also reported using limit-setting (85.2%), co-use (84.1%), and nontechnical monitoring (71.6%), with a smaller proportion (44.3%) using technical mediation. Results of the parent–child interaction task indicate that parents discussed more risks of social media than benefits with their adolescents, and that teens were more likely to engage when parents provided a rationale for their viewpoints and encouraged teens to share their own perspectives. Qualitative results highlighted the range of strategies parents use and provided insight into how strategies were implemented. Overall, findings underscored the diversity and complexity of social media-specific parenting strategies.