Adolescent Research Review最新文献

Sexting is considered a practice of sending, receiving, and forwarding sexually explicit content through electronic devices. Given a lack of research distinguishing the characteristics of different forms of sexting, this systematic review aimed to analyze studies of the characteristics that might influence individuals’ engagement in consensual and non-consensual sexting behavior. This systematic review was conducted using three online databases (EBSCOhost, PubMed, and Web of Science). The search resulted in the extraction of 709 articles, of which 39 were considered eligible for inclusion. One study also was identified by a manual search, which resulted in a final sample of 40 articles published between 2012 and 2021. The results show that male adolescents are more likely to engage in both forms of sexting. Adolescents with some Big Five Personality traits (i.e., who score higher on conscientiousness, extroversion, and openness), spend more time online and are in a stable relationship were positively associated with consensual sexting. Adolescents who lack control and are more aggressive were more likely to engage in non-consensual sexting. This systematic review also revealed that there is insufficient research on the subject, mainly regarding non-consensual sexting and characteristics of who perpetrates this behavior.

Peers, particularly in-school peers, shape adolescent health behaviors. Yet little is known about in-school peers and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. This systematic review examined studies of sociometric school-based adolescent peer-friendship networks and associations with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. A search across five databases identified fifteen eligible studies. Studies were mainly longitudinal (n=13), from two countries (USA and China), of adolescents aged 11-19 at baseline, mostly balanced in gender (46%-56% girls), and from middle/high schools ranging in size (n=348-13482). Studies assessed 1) network structure and 2) exposure to friends’ self-injury and suicidality. Friends’ self-injurious thoughts and behaviors were associated with adolescents’ own similar behaviors, but there was limited evidence for socialization and selection. Sociality and network density were negatively associated with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, whereas isolation and intransitivity were positively associated. While study heterogeneity made it difficult to draw further conclusions about specific network metrics (e.g., centrality, reciprocity), studies indicate overall that peers matter for these behaviors across adolescent development (e.g., early to late adolescence). Like other adolescent behaviors, the structure of how youth are connected to peers also relates to self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. Future work should examine these processes over the course of adolescent development.

Adolescents in aftercare services who are transitioning from out-of-home care, also called care leavers, face more challenges in their lives, and engage in more risk behaviors, than their peers. However, no previous reviews have comprehensively addressed this issue to identify future research needs. The aim of this systematic review was to gather, assess, and synthesize previous studies concerning care leavers’ high-risk behavior. The search was conducted in six databases, with sixteen articles included in the final review. The selected research highlighted five forms of high-risk behavior: substance abuse, delinquency, sexual behavior, irresponsible use of money, and self-destructive behavior. The incidence of high-risk behavior among care leavers varied noticeably between the studies. Some of the studies reported significant connections between high-risk behavior and gender, race, reason(s) for placement, and the form and number of placements. The synthesized findings revealed a fragmented, limited view of care leavers’ high-risk behavior that highlighted substance abuse and delinquency. The development of adolescents, particularly care leavers, includes multiple factors that have either a conducive or protecting effect for high-risk behavior. Comprehensive research regarding care leavers’ high-risk behavior, including the associated factors, is needed to better support healthy development and success in transitioning to independent living.

Children’s peer relationships are crucial for their social-emotional development, mental and physical health. To identify effective strategies to facilitate peer relationships among 8–14-year-olds, a systematic review of intervention programs was conducted. Electronic databases ERIC, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Collection Library and grey literature sources were searched for intervention studies with general or clinical populations published between 2000 and 2020. Interventions had to assess quantity or quality of peer relationships as an outcome measure, thus focusing on helping children to establish more positive relationships or improving their self-reported relationship quality. Sixty-five papers were identified and grouped into universal prevention programs, selective interventions for typically developing children and indicated interventions for children with clinical diagnosis. Prevention programs and interventions for typically developing children facilitated peer relationships by targeting mental wellbeing and self-concepts. Clinical interventions focused on social-emotional skills, symptoms and peer behaviors. Successful programs showed a close alignment of methods and targeted program effects. Practitioners should also be aware of realistic goals for each population. Programs for a general population showed potential to decrease loneliness, whereas clinical populations achieved high increases in play dates, peer acceptance and sociometric status.

A resurgent climate of nationalism, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia in many parts of the world has drawn attention to the risk of bullying victimization among racial, ethnic and/or religious minority youth. However, no attempt has yet been made to synthesize the literature on this topic to derive better understanding and guide future prevention and intervention efforts. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature on individual, school, family, and community -level factors and outcomes associated with racist bullying victimization. Systematic searches of EBSCOhost, Scopus, ASSIA and Web of Science databases identified 73 articles that included quantitative and qualitative analyses on this topic. Overall, this review found that negative stereotypes and discrimination operating in school and community contexts put racial/ethnic minority, immigrant, and refugee youth at an increased risk of racist bullying victimization. The review also found that racist bullying victimization is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes including poor mental health, lower academic engagement, and an increased risk of involvement in delinquent behaviours, especially among older pupils. The review identified several gaps in the research, including the lack of adequate theorization and the infrequent consideration of potential mediators and moderators. Finally, the review outlined future directions, such as the need to study how intergroup processes influence racist bullying victimization.

Differences in approaches used to deliver school-based mental health and wellbeing programs may be a key consideration for program effectiveness, yet this has not been considered in reviews and meta-analyses to date. Consistent with previous research, this systematic review of 47 studies found that wellbeing programs delivered in schools tended to show small effect sizes for mental health and wellbeing outcomes with effects often not sustained. The review considered the influence of various program factors on effectiveness, and consistent with previous findings, program-based factors like theoretical framework, program length, and session duration did not show reliable patterns for influencing effectiveness. In contrast, pedagogical factors aimed at increasing participant engagement (e.g., using student-centred and active learning approaches), appear more closely linked to improved mental health and wellbeing outcomes. This review has shown that universal programs can be effective in producing better mental health and wellbeing outcomes in secondary school settings when participant engagement is maximised.

The measurement tools of school bullying vary, and an instructive study identifying how to select the proper tool is needed. Based on the PRISMA, quantitative research literature on school bullying published from 1978 to 2021 through multiple online databases (i.e., WoS, ScienceDirect, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ERIC, and CNKI) were searched. After conducting additional searches, a total of 75 tools were obtained. The specific content and psychometric properties (provided by original and follow-up studies) were then analyzed. Regarding the measurement content, 16 tools provided a definition of bullying, and 14 tools simultaneously measured all three components of “intention to harm”, “repetition”, and “power imbalance”. For the control of subjective explanatory bias, 19 tools present bullying-related terms to participants. As a key part of bullying measurement, a timeframe was set in 52 tools, ranging from “past month” to “past year”. Concerning the measurement method, 73 tools administer the measures by self-report, and peer-report (n = 8) and teacher-report (n = 5) are applied by some tools. Regarding psychometric properties, existing instruments demonstrated satisfactory in terms of internal consistency reliability (n = 75) but showed limitations due to their lack of content readability, criterion validity, and measurement invariance. In combination with specific research purposes, future research can select instruments based on the consideration of definition, components, terms, timeframe, reporter and the improving of the psychometric properties of tools.

College students have poorer mental health than their peers. Their poorer health conditions seem to be caused by the greater number of stressors to which they are exposed, which can increase the risk of the onset of mental disorders. The pandemic has been an additional stressor that may have further compromised the mental health of college students and changed their lifestyles with important consequences for their well-being. Although research has recognized the impact of COVID-19 on college students, only longitudinal studies can improve knowledge on this topic. This review summarizes the data from 17 longitudinal studies examining changes in mental health and lifestyle among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to improve understanding of the effects of the outbreak on this population. Following PRISMA statements, the following databases were searched PubMed, EBSCO, SCOPUS and Web of Science. The overall sample included 20,108 students. The results show an increase in anxiety, mood disorders, alcohol use, sedentary behavior, and Internet use and a decrease in physical activity. Female students and sexual and gender minority youth reported poorer mental health conditions. Further research is needed to clarify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable subgroups of college students.

Social norms are shared rules indicating whether a behavior is typical or desirable among one’s reference group. While social norms play a role in shaping peer violence, the evidence of the strength of this influence is mixed. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on the relationship between social norms and peer violence and identifies the strategies and outcomes of social norms interventions. Five databases were searched, identifying only seven studies: three focused on the empirical relationship between social norms and peer violence, and four on social norms interventions on peer violence. The strength of the influence of social norms on peer violence depends on individual-level characteristics and the type and degree of violence. Social norms lack a unified definition and are not by themselves a critical factor in reducing peer violence. This research contributes to clarifying the current and future role of social norms in preventing peer violence.

Future orientation is a key developmental task, and studies demonstrate that future-oriented adolescents display better adjustment. However, the state of evidence regarding the influence of future orientation within Latinx adolescent development specifically as well as the ways in which future orientation have been measured in studies of Latinx adolescents is unknown. A scoping review was conducted to a) assess how future orientation constructs have been operationalized in studies of Latinx youth and b) examine the effects of future orientation constructs in their academic achievement, risk behavior engagement, mental health, and health-promotive behaviors. The search yielded 2700 records, and 31 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed for full-text review. The studies examined dimensions of future orientation via a wide range of constructs as opposed to global future orientation. Additionally, future orientation constructs were promotive factors, buffers of risk, and key mechanisms in associations between Latinx youth’s cultural milieu and adjustment. This review underscores the need for greater consensus in the conceptualization of future orientation to improve its measurement, further research to discern the effects of future orientation constructs over the course of Latinx adolescents’ development, as well as studies that examine how future orientation constructs influence adjustment within their unique sociocultural contexts.