Suchergebnisse

The last two decades have seen a rapid acceleration of research on personality development focusing on the periods of late adolescence and young adulthood. The findings paint a picture of surprising quiescence in adolescence followed by a period of tremendous growth and change in personality traits in young adulthood. The patterns and potential reasons for these changes are discussed in the context of the Neo-Socioanalytic model of personality and the theory of emerging adulthood. The potential for convergence and collaboration between the fields of personality development and emerging adulthood is discussed.

To date, no study has investigated the relation of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with the developmental identification of the dimensions of emerging adulthood (IDEA; e.g., identity development, experimentation). Participants ( N = 832) were recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (version: '2014 - 08- 15'). Basic associations between ACEs and the IDEA were conducted as well as indirect effects between ACEs and the IDEA for endorsement of traditional adult roles and current stress. ACEs were associated with reporting lower scores on the IDEA. Specifically, higher ACEs were associated with feeling less self-focused and less likely to feel this period of life is a time of experimentation and possibilities. Conversely, higher ACEs scores were associated with increased negativity/instability. Current perceived stress fully and partially mediated the effect between ACEs and IDEA Scales. As posited by Arnett, ACEs was associated with decreased IDEA scores. Current perceived stress may be a salient mechanism between ACEs and developmental dimensions of emerging adulthood.

For adolescents with substance use problems, it is unknown whether the provision of normative feedback is a necessary active ingredient in motivational interviewing (MI). This study investigated the impact of normative feedback on adolescents' readiness to change and perceptions of MI quality. Adolescents referred for substance use disorder (SUD) assessments were randomized to MI with normative feedback (NF; MI + NF, n = 26) or MI only (MI, n = 22). There were no significant differences between the MI + NF or MI conditions with reference to changes in readiness, and although not significant, there was a decline in readiness for the overall sample. Treatment satisfaction and ratings of MI quality were generally high with no between-group differences. Post hoc analyses revealed a nonsignificant trend where race interacted with treatment condition. Larger replication studies are needed to further study the effects of NF and potential NF by participant characteristic interactions.

Very little prospective research investigates how cannabis withdrawal is associated with treatment outcomes, and this work has not used the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) thresholds for cannabis withdrawal. The sample included 110 emerging adults entering outpatient substance use treatment who were heavy cannabis users with no other drug use and limited alcohol use. We used survival analyses to predict days to first use of cannabis and logistic regression to predict whether participants were abstinent and living in the community at 3 months. Those meeting criteria for cannabis withdrawal were more likely to return to use sooner than those not meeting criteria for cannabis withdrawal. However, the presence of cannabis withdrawal was not a significant predictor of 3-month abstinence. Emerging adults with DSM-5 cannabis withdrawal may have difficulty initiating abstinence in the days following their intake assessment, implying the need for strategies to mitigate their more rapid return to cannabis use.