Suchergebnisse

1. Beyond the stereotypes : what kind of problem is teenage parenting? -- 2. The American context : sex, marriage, work, and poverty -- 3. Resilient processes : gaining strength from challenge and support -- 4. Pathways to adulthood : school and work -- 5. Life as a working mother : Teressa and Charise -- 6. Welfare benefits for inner-city adolescent mothers : supporting early adult development -- 7. Living on welfare : Mialisa, Helen, and Vivian -- 8. Resilient relationships : men as fathers and partners -- 9. Relationships that hurt : escaping domestic violence -- 10. Adolescent mothers as co-parents : the effects of maternal care, grandmothers' involvement, and day-care experiences on child competence and problem behaviors -- 11. Building a rock to stand on : policies that enhance competence for transition to early adulthood.

The first edition of Growing Up Fast attempted to counter the stereotype of poor, minority adolescent mothers and describe the diversity of their educational, work, parenting, and relationship experiences. The volume followed a strengths-based approach to understanding why some mothers appeared resilient to the stresses of early parenting, compared to their peers, and what obstacles undermine resiliency for some of these young women. We hear their stories in their own words. We also see how many disadvantaged mothers go on to succeed in school, work, and parenting while avoiding many of the ri.

Early adulthood is a critical period during which real-world adjustment sets the stage for lifelong well-being. However, little is known about how the emotional quality of parental relationships may help or hinder adjustment. This longitudinal study investigated (a) changes in mother and father emotional support and psychological control during early adulthood, (b) whether such changes predicted young adults' educational and occupational adjustment, and (c) whether these associations occurred indirectly through young adults' depressive and anxiety symptoms. Participants were 240 youth assessed at four time points over a 6-year period. Multilevel modeling showed that on average, parental emotional support increased and psychological control decreased over time. Latent growth curve mediation analyses revealed significant direct associations between parental emotional support and psychological control and adjustment outcomes as well as indirect effects through mental health symptoms. Findings particularly highlight the negative effects of parental psychological control on young adults' academic and occupational adjustment.

Peer victimization has been linked concurrently and over time with multiple adjustment problems. However, the reasons for this multi‐finality in victimization are not well understood. The current study examines social‐cognitive processes (hostile attributions, social perspective awareness, and interpersonal skills) as mediators of the relations between subtypes of peer victimization (relational, physical) and depression and anxiety, social withdrawal, and physical aggression in early adolescence. The overall pattern of associations among subtypes of victimization, social‐cognitive processes, and adjustment converged with expectations that victimization biases adolescents' cognitions about peers in conflict situations and skills relating to peers. In turn, these cognitions and skills differentially compromised their ability to regulate diverse emotions or limit reticent behaviors in response to peer threats. Modest gender differences in these associations were found.

While research shows that low levels of social acceptance and elevated body dissatisfaction increase risks for depressive symptoms among both girls and boys, little is known about protective factors that can mediate these risks. We test the hypothesis that positive team sports involvement mediates the effects of these risks on depression in a cross‐sectional study involving a diverse group of 449 Canadian students (49.7% girls) recruited from grades 8 to 10. Findings showed that positive team sports involvement partially mediated risks for depressive symptoms for both boys and girls. Implications for community‐ and school‐based sports programs are discussed.

This longitudinal study investigated how changes in peer victimization were associated with changes in internalizing symptoms among 662 adolescents across a 4‐year period. The moderating effects of initial levels of father, mother, and friend emotional support on this association were also examined. Gender and age group differences (early adolescent group aged 12–15 years; late adolescent group aged 16–18 years) were tested. Increases in physical and relational victimization were related to increases in internalizing symptoms. Friend emotional support was more protective in reducing internalizing symptoms for adolescent males than adolescent females in both the early and late adolescent groups. Gender differences also moderated the effects of mother and father emotional support.

Purpose in life and mastery over one's environment are important assets for positive youth development but little is known about how they change or interact during the transition to young adulthood, or how they may be moderated by support from relationships. The current study examines longitudinal associations between purpose in life and mastery in a sample of Canadian youth (N = 662) ages 18 to 29 across three biennial waves of data. Purpose in life and mastery were reciprocally associated within and across time, suggesting that these assets develop in tandem. However, emotional support from friends and romantic partners also moderated the associations. Specifically, the reciprocal association were significant for youth with high levels of friend and romantic partner support, but not for youth with low levels of support. Father and mother emotional support did not moderate the pathways. Findings highlight the importance of peer and romantic partner emotional support in cultivating youth's sense of purpose in life and mastery during the transition to young adulthood.

AbstractThis prospective, longitudinal study examines individual differences in two conceptually related but empirically distinct domains of social‐cognitive competence (cognitive interpretive understanding and interpersonal perspective co‐ordination) as moderators of the relation between peer rejection and neglect and behavioral and emotional problems in grades 2 and 3. As expected, peer rejection and neglect increased risks for behavioral and emotional problems whereas interpretive understanding (understanding of mental states) and perspective co‐ordination (awareness of others' emotions and motives) reduced risks for aggressive, disruptive, inattentive, and anxious, sad, withdrawn behaviors. Assumptions that awareness of others' perspectives bestows consistent benefits for children experiencing peer problems were challenged. Unexpectedly, rejection and neglect increased risks for behavioral and emotional problems for children who demonstrated average and high levels of perspective co‐ordination. More advanced perspective co‐ordination may heighten children's sensitivity to peer relationship problems and result in general maladjustment, both concurrently and over time. Less advanced perspective co‐ordination may also be responsible for the 'optimistic bias' that has been noted in aggressive children.