Journal of Research on Adolescence最新文献

Despite the growing body of research on cyber dating violence, a comprehensive understanding of gender differences in cyber-violent behaviors across developmental stages remains limited. The main purpose of this meta-analytic review was to estimate the direction and magnitude of gender differences in cyber dating violence perpetration and victimization by synthesizing results from various studies. The second purpose of this study was to examine the effect of potential moderators (i.e., continent, age, grade level, time frame, method of survey administration, the metric of the outcome, study design, publication status, and publication year) on these differences. Various databases were used to identify relevant studies, including PubMed, Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, PsycINFO, ERIC, and ProQuest. Eighty-one individual studies with a total sample of 70,233 participants, ranging in age from 10 to 30 years (M = 18.94), were included based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria in the present study. Most studies were conducted in North America and Europe with the largest proportions from the United States and Spain. Results indicated that there were no statistically significant gender differences (women vs. men; girls vs. boys) in perpetration and victimization of cyber dating violence. Moderator analyses showed that grade level and sample age were statistically significant moderators of gender differences in cyber dating violence victimization. However, other moderators (continent, time frame, method of survey administration, the metric of the outcome, study design, publication status, and publication year) were not statistically significant. This study contributes to understanding gender differences in cyber-violent behaviors during adolescence and emerging adulthood and highlights the importance of some moderators when developing targeted prevention and intervention strategies.

The study examined the intergenerational transmission of aggressive conflict resolution toward intimate partners from Generation 1 (G1) parents during Generation 2's adolescence to both G2 and their partners (G2 partner), and the potential spillover effects from G2 and G2 partner's aggressive conflict resolution to G2's harsh and inconsistent parental discipline towards Generation 3 (G3) children. Using data from the Research on Adolescent Development and Relationships (RADAR) project, G1, G2 (51.5% girls; M_age = 14.82 in mid-adolescence, M_age = 29.66 in parenthood), and later G2's partner and G3 were followed from G2's adolescence to adulthood. The sample comprised 1178 G1–G2 dyads, including 222 G1–G2–G3 triads. Path analyses provided evidence for (1) intergenerational transmission, that is, G1's aggressive conflict resolution in G2's mid-adolescence weakly predicted G2's aggressive conflict resolution in G2's adulthood and (2) spillover effects, that is, G2's aggressive conflict resolution predicted G2's harsh and inconsistent discipline toward G3 children. Most of the intergenerational transmission and spillover relations did not differ across G1 and G2 gender. Overall, the findings highlight the intergenerational transmission of aggressive conflict resolution towards intimate partners and its subsequent relation with harsh and inconsistent discipline. Future prevention could target both parental figures in G1 and G2 to disrupt the cycle of aggressive conflict resolution and prevent problematic discipline practices.

While adolescent pregnancy is widely recognized as a marker of early-life disadvantage, less is known about its long-term occupational consequences. This study examines the relationship between adolescent pregnancy experiences and precarious employment in adulthood, distinguishing between three pregnancy outcomes: abortion, miscarriage, and live birth. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we estimate school-fixed effects regression models to assess whether adolescent pregnancy is associated with greater labor market precarity. To examine underlying mechanisms, we employ multivariate bootstrap mediation analysis to test the mediating roles of educational attainment, incarceration history, and depressive symptoms. Findings indicate that all pregnancy outcomes are linked to increased risk of precarious employment, with educational attainment emerging as a consistent mediator across all outcomes—accounting for 28.2% of the total effect for live birth, 15.4% for miscarriage, and 14.1% for abortion. Incarceration significantly mediates the association for live birth (16.8%) and miscarriage (17.0%), but not abortion. Depressive symptoms have a relatively smaller overall impact, mediating 13.7% of the effect for abortion only. These results underscore the importance of disaggregating adolescent pregnancy experiences and identifying key mechanisms to better understand how early reproductive events shape labor market inequality across the life course. Findings point to the need for targeted, outcome-specific interventions that support continued education, reduce criminal justice exposure, and address mental health to mitigate long-term employment precarity among adolescent pregnancy survivors.

This study examined the role of contextual factors in shaping adolescents' social–emotional learning (SEL) using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018. The sample included 292,466 15-year-old adolescents across 42 countries or economies (18 low- and 24 high-context economies). Network analysis highlighted stress resilience, cooperation, perseverance, and curiosity as pivotal skills of SEL, with stress resilience emerging as central. The results further indicated significant cultural variations in how contextual factors would affect students' SEL: In high-context cultures (where communication relies heavily on implicit and situational cues), teacher–student relationships played a more central role, while in low-context cultures (where communication tends to be explicit and direct), sense of school belonging was prioritized. These results underscored the need for culturally responsive SEL programs, tailored to specific cultural dynamics, to support optimal skill development.

Historically marginalized adolescents experience environmental stressors that contribute to psychological distress and compromised academic outcomes. Prior research highlights the role of a positive school climate and school engagement in promoting both academic achievement and psychological well-being. Building on this work, we propose school engagement may mediate relationships between stressful life events (SLEs) and campus climate on academic achievement and psychological distress. In a sample of 293 historically marginalized adolescents (81.2% Latine), path analyses showed mediation between campus climate, SLEs, and psychological distress via school engagement. Additionally, school engagement partially mediated the link between SLEs and academic achievement. Multiple regression analyses revealed school-related challenges were associated with lower school engagement, more psychological distress, and lower academic achievement. These findings highlight the critical role of school engagement in shaping both academic and psychological outcomes. Implications for equity-focused initiatives are discussed.

Taking risks is a crucial part of adolescent development, encompassing both positive (socially valued) and negative (potentially life-threatening) behaviors. While cognitive control is known to reduce harmful risk behaviors, its relationship with beneficial risk-taking remains unclear. This study investigated how multiple components of cognitive control relate to both types of risk-taking and explored learning as a potential pathway to adaptive risk-taking. We assessed 127 adolescents (ages 12–18, 65% female, 60% White) using experimental cognitive tasks, self-report measures, and an adapted balloon analog risk task. Working memory and proactive control were associated with reduced negative risk-taking (NRT) but not positive risk-taking (PRT). Effortful control showed a unique divergent pattern, being associated with both reduced NRT and increased willingness for PRT. These associations diminished with age, perhaps due to the increasing influence of external factors like opportunity and social context. Better learning in low-risk experimental conditions related to reduced real-world NRT, though this learning ability was not associated with cognitive control measures. These findings contribute to expanding our understanding of how cognitive control relates to adolescent adaptive risk-taking and open up perspectives for effective interventions.

Middle school years are a turbulent period for students to develop their adaptive academic motivation and engagement. However, a person-centered longitudinal investigation on changes in academic motivation and engagement is scarce. Through a two-wave survey with a four-month interval, this study investigated the configurations, transitions, and the predictive roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction on transitions in academic motivation and engagement profiles among 502 Chinese seventh graders (261 boys; Mean age = 12.34 at Time 1). Latent profile analysis revealed three profiles at both measurement occasions: highly motivated-and-engaged, moderately motivated-and-engaged, and demotivated-and-disengaged profiles. Latent transition analysis showed that while 61.16% of students maintained their initial profiles, 15.54% transitioned to more adaptive profiles and 24.30% shifted to less adaptive profiles. Notably, autonomy need satisfaction emerged as the protective factor preventing the highly motivated-and-engaged students from falling into the moderately motivated-and-engaged status. Implications and future research directions for middle school students' motivation and engagement are discussed.

Childhood conduct problems are associated with problematic substance use in adulthood; however, little is known about what might explain these associations outside of high-income countries where the majority of research is conducted. Data were analyzed from 4599 young people from the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort in Brazil. The exposure was conduct problems (age 11 years). Outcomes included hazardous alcohol consumption and illicit drug use (age 22 years). Mediators included police arrest (by age 18 years), gang membership (ages 18 and 22 years), and school noncompletion (by age 22 years). We performed counterfactual mediation using the parametric g-computation formula to estimate the indirect effect via all three mediators simultaneously. After adjusting for confounders (including hyperactivity problems), conduct problems were weakly associated with police arrest (OR [95% CI] = 1.45 [0.97, 2.16]) and school noncompletion (OR [95% CI] = 1.46 [1.22, 1.74]), but not with gang membership. Police arrest and gang membership were associated with illicit drug use (OR [95% CI] = 3.84 [2.46, 5.99]; OR [95% CI] = 7.78 [4.30, 14.10], respectively) and with hazardous alcohol use (OR [95% CI] = 1.60 [1.08, 2.38]; OR [95% CI] = 1.88 [1.07, 3.30]), after adjusting for confounders (including hyperactivity and emotional problems). There was no association between school noncompletion and either outcome after confounder adjustment. There was little evidence for an indirect effect of conduct problems on hazardous alcohol use and illicit drug use via all three mediators after confounder adjustment. Findings highlight the importance of school professionals being aware of the risk for school noncompletion for those with conduct problems. Additionally, programmes designed to reduce substance use in Brazil should focus on young people involved in gangs, and in the criminal justice system.

This study explored the connections among adolescents' Theory of Mind (ToM), social anhedonia, loneliness, and self-concept. Research with clinical populations shows interrelations between mainly poor ToM skills, higher loneliness, a weaker self-concept, and high levels of social anhedonia. This study extends this work by investigating their relation in a nonclinical adolescent population of 236 Canadian adolescents from ages 11–18. Results revealed that ToM negatively predicted social anhedonia, with adolescents with poorer ToM skills reporting higher levels of social anhedonia. Loneliness, but not self-concept, significantly mediated the relation between ToM and social anhedonia. Adolescents with lower ToM skills were more likely to report feelings of loneliness, which in turn predicted greater social anhedonia. Implications include support for developmentally appropriate and culturally informed interventions that promote strong social connections and loneliness reduction.

Although peer victimization is an established risk factor for behavioral problems in adolescents, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. To address this gap, this study examined whether peer victimization may be indirectly associated with behavioral problems through executive function and whether these associations may be moderated by resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in adolescents. A total of 298 Chinese adolescents (M_age = 12.88 years, SD_age = 0.69 years, 53% female) participated in this study. Participants completed questionnaires on peer victimization, executive function, and internalizing and externalizing problems. They also participated in a 3-min resting electrocardiogram recording, during which their resting RSA was measured. The results showed that exposure to peer victimization was associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents through its relation to executive function. Additionally, resting RSA moderated these relations, with the indirect associations between peer victimization and behavioral problems through executive function being stronger in adolescents with low rather than high resting RSA. Our findings highlight that poor executive function serves as a potential mechanism linking peer victimization to adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems, with this process varying by individual cardiac vagal tone.