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In recent years, academic and public attention has increasingly focused on the issue of men's preoccupation with body image and the increasing incidence of eating disorders among men. Although most of this focus has been on young and adult males, media discourse has tended to extend explanations for men's aspirations for social body ideals to explanations for eating disorders in young boys. In this article, we take a critical look at the way the boys/body image/eating disorder nexus has been represented in some of the mainstream media. In particular, we propose that the boys/body image/eating disorder nexus has been constituted as a truth that tends to underplay the complexity of the relationship between eating disorders and boys' dissatisfaction with their bodies, as recognized by researchers and health practitioners, and as evident from our own study of preteen boys diagnosed with an eating disorder. In this article, we use interviews with the six boys and their mothers collected for our study to construct short family biographies. These biographies are used to illustrate the complexity of the boys' experience of an eating disorder and to trouble the certainty with which the media discourse explaining boys' eating disorders is constituted.

Early age‐of‐onset delinquency and substance use confer a major risk for continued criminality, alcohol and drug abuse, and other serious difficulties throughout the life course. Our objective is to examine the developmental roots of preteen delinquency and substance use. By using nationally representative longitudinal data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (N= 13,221), we examine the influence of early childhood developmental and family risks on latent pathways of antisocial tendencies from 3 to 7 years of age, and the influence of those pathways on property crime and substance use by 11 years of age. We identified a normative, nonantisocial pathway; a pathway marked by oppositional behavior and fighting; a pathway marked by impulsivity and inattention; and a rare pathway characterized by a wide range of antisocial tendencies. Children with developmental and family risks that emerged by 3 years of age—specifically difficult infant temperament, low cognitive ability, weak parental closeness, and disadvantaged family background—face increased odds of antisocial tendencies. Minimal overlap is found between the risk factors for early antisocial tendencies and those for preteen delinquency. Children on an antisocial pathway are more likely to engage in preteen delinquency and substance use by 11 years of age even after accounting for early life risk factors.

PurposeThe present research aims to focus on sibling effects and birth order on preteen children's perceptions of influence in family purchase decision making. It also aims to examine the accuracy of children's perceived influence as compared to their parents. These areas have received little attention from consumer behavior researchers and, although there is research on sibling effects from broader sociological and psychological perspectives, there is very little empirical research from a marketing perspective. This research seeks to begin to fill that gap.Design/methodology/approachA key methodological contribution of the paper is that data were collected from triads as opposed to the more common dyadic mother/child data. Surveys were used to collect the data. Subjects, which consisted of children and their parents, were recruited through an elementary school in a mid‐sized city in the southeastern USA. A total of 184 triads were approached to participate and 94 completed the surveys from each member of the triad were received. Data were analyzed using SPSS and four a priori hypotheses were tested. Theoretically the paper draws from research on sibling effects.FindingsThe paper finds that preteens in the study perceived they had significant influence on purchase decisions. Key results of interest include the finding that the mere presence of siblings weakened the perception of influence, yet interestingly, results indicate that later‐born/only children have more influence on certain purchases than firstborns. In addition, results indicate that preteens felt they have more influence on purchases that are intended for their use as opposed to purchases that are for family use. Parents also felt that children have more influence on purchases for the child, but parents did not perceive the levels to be as high as their children did.Research limitations/implicationsIf later‐borns and only children have more influence and as such get their way more often, does this affect their ability to be competent adult consumers? Are there more instances of compulsive shopping and other decision‐making problems because they have become accustomed to getting what they want? In addition, if children overestimate influence, is it because they are not yet able to fully understand persuasion and the use of influence? From a public policy perspective there have often been concerns raised about children's ability to deal with influence, and if very subtle forms of influence are used, children may not be equipped to recognize these attempts and as a result may be more susceptible to them.Originality/valueResearch examining sibling effects on children's perceived influence is virtually non‐existent. According to Commuri and Gentry, who conducted a thorough review of research in family decision making, sibling influence has not been systematically examined in consumer research. Research in this area is important as marketers seek to fully understand the impact children have on family purchase decisions, the roles children play in the decision‐making process, and the factors affecting children's degree of influence.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine motivations for young consumers' internet use, how these motivations relate to children's privacy concerns and, subsequently, children's willingness to disclose personally identifiable information.Design/methodology/approachThe strengths of three common internet usage motives (information seeking, entertainment, and socializing) in predicting disclosure behavior are examined via survey research with a sample of children aged 10‐12.FindingsTwo of the motives – information seeking and socializing – are found to influence privacy concerns, which in turn, are shown to affect willingness to disclose information. Information‐seeking motivations were positively related to privacy concerns, while socializing motivations were negatively related to privacy concerns. Direct incentives are also found to increase disclosure.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that the uses and gratifications theory is useful for understanding children's privacy behaviors relating to information seeking and socializing motivations. Combining this with the varying levels of interactivity of websites that might satisfy various motives helps researchers begin to understand how particular motives may lead to increases or decreases in risky behavior; in this case, preteen disclosure of personal information.

Proliferation of the 'porn-chic' styled woman or girl in postfeminist media underpins contemporary debates about the effects of 'sexualizing' media on girls. Policy reports and popular books frame such media as a significant cause of harm, positioning girls as highly susceptible to
their 'sexualizing' representations. However, what is absent from this literature and current debates are the perspectives of preteen girls themselves. In this article we contribute to the debates by reporting on a three-year empirical study of how 71 'tween' girls in New Zealand make sense
of the popular culture they encounter in their everyday lives. We argue that our analytic focus on diversity, complexity and contradiction in participants' responses to popular representations of femininity counters many of the claims made about the 'sexualization' of preteen girls in the
above literature, in particular, that preteen girls lack the skills to critically engage with the media and will emulate the 'sexualized' styles of advertising and celebrity culture. However, our analysis also illustrates that participants can be both 'critical' readers and 'feel
bad' about themselves in response to the same images. It is, we suggest, attention to the multiplicity and variability of participants' responses that enables us to account for both 'agency' and media influence in ways that do not simply reinscribe girls as 'passive victims' of a 'sexualized'
media and thus takes us beyond the active/passive binary.

Parenting young children is a challenge, and dealing with difficult or problem behavior can set up an atmosphere of tension and strife. Parenting Difficult Children provides a method of removing that tension with specific strategies for parents of children age three to twelve who are exhibiting difficult or common negative behaviors.

This article examines online gaming practices of 7‐ to 11‐year‐olds in home settings in the United States. Based on observations and interviews with children and parents, the analysis considers the specificity of preteen experiences within domestic settings. Employing a socio‐cultural approach, the article analyses ways online gaming is strongly shaped by specific social and developmental factors that relate specifically to preteens. Children's online gaming is analysed as a form of independent entertainment time that reflects limitations experienced by preteens in this study as well as developmental characteristics of this age range. Further, the analysis indicates that gaming practices of preteens are embedded in wider transmedia play practices.

Purpose.To describe youth smoking-related attitudes and evaluate the effects of parental factors on child adoption of positive attitudes about smoking.Design.This study used baseline and 20-month data from a family-based smoking-prevention study (82.9% completed both surveys).Setting.Telephone recruitment from two health maintenance organizations.Subjects.Children aged 10 to 12 years and one parent of each child (n = 418 families) were randomly assigned to a frequent assessment cohort (12.5% of participants).Intervention.Families received a mailed smoking-prevention packet (parent handbook, videotape about youth smoking, comic book, pen, and stickers), outreach telephone counselor calls to the parent, a newsletter, and medical record prompts for providers to deliver smoking-prevention messages to parents and children.Measures.Demographics, tobacco status, attitudes about smoking (Teenage Attitudes and Practices Survey), family discussions about tobacco, family cohesiveness (family support and togetherness), parent involvement, parent monitoring, and parenting confidence.Results.One-third of the children endorsed beliefs that they could smoke without becoming addicted, and 8% to 10% endorsed beliefs on the benefits of smoking. Children's positive attitudes about smoking were associated with lower family cohesiveness (p = .01). Parental use of tobacco was the only significant predictor of children's positive attitudes about tobacco at 20 months (p = .03).Conclusions.Children as young as 10 years underestimate addictive properties of smoking, which may place them at risk for future smoking. Parental use of tobacco and family cohesiveness are important factors in the formulation of preteen attitudes about smoking.

In several New York City neighborhoods more than 1 in 10 adults and adolescents are infected with HIV. Children in these neighborhoods are exposed both directly and indirectly to the effects of the HIV epidemic. Exploratory group interviews were conducted to discover the HIV-related concerns of adolescent and pread-olescent girls and boys living in a high-sero-prevalence neighborhood and to specify the context within which children experienced those concerns. Results indicated that explanations about HIV focusing only on transmission and transmission prevention, whether in educational or family settings, may ignore compelling concerns of youth. Both risk of HIV and loss of neighbors and relatives to HIV permeate daily life but in a way that prevents open discussion. Children are eager to talk about social and personal issues regarding HIV.

There has been a 2% to 3% increase in Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children below 11 years old. Preteens (9-12 years old) with T1D are often overlooked regarding future diabetes self-management (DSM) expectations because parents are still in the "driver's seat." The study purpose was to explore feasibility/ability to recruit and conduct a two-arm trial on reeducation, collaboration, and social support. One component of DSM was reviewed (hypoglycemia) with preteens ( n = 22) and parents ( n = 22). The experimental preteens discussed hypoglycemia management with a teen mentor and nurse educator using a human patient simulator for practice, and working collaboratively with parents. Concurrently, mothers met with a parent mentor and psychologist to discuss growth and development, and collaborative shared management. Comparison dyads discussed hypoglycemia management with a nurse. Preteens slightly improved in diabetes knowledge; the experimental arm had higher problem-solving scores. Parents in the experimental arm had higher self-efficacy scores. Findings will inform future research.

AbstractObjectiveWe explore how parental health and stress shape the rearing of preteen children in the rural Ozark Mountains.BackgroundIdentifying concerns that impact preteen parents' health and stress levels may facilitate understanding ways to promote resilience and happiness for families in underserved rural communities.MethodsUsing an interpretive phenomenological approach grounded in Lazarus's stress and coping paradigm, the current qualitative study used semistructured interviews with 20 White parents in the rural area of the Ozark Mountains who had at least one child born between 2008–2011.ResultsStudy participants' stories revealed that stressors related to parenting preteen children were rooted in stress from mental health or indirectly tied to social roles, such as occupational stress or financial constraints.ConclusionInterventions and tools need to be developed that are specific to the culture of rural areas and that focus on families as an essential part of developing resilience and happiness and mitigating the adverse effects of stress.ImplicationsInterventions focused on families need to include diverse social factors that impact family resilience and happiness and include education to increase health literacy, family supports related to improving connections between parents and their preteen children, family tax credits to reduce hardships for parents, a tool for screening parents for stress, and expansion of telehealth opportunities.

Studies examining the etiology of problematic sexual behavior (PSB) among pre-teen children often rely on identifying correlational relationships without examining potential causal mechanisms. This study describes an exploratory analysis of a potential mediational model where child sexual abuse (CSA) and child physical abuse (CPA) predict the onset of PSB through their impact on the emergence of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and self-dysregulation. The caregivers of 189 children between the ages of 3 and 11 years presenting for mental health treatment in the United States completed a battery of measures designed to assess each of the variables in the model. Cross-sectional, regression-based mediational analyses showed that the overall model performed adequately ( R = 0.33, R 2 = 0.11, F = 3.07, p = .004). CSA exerted a direct effect on PSB that was not mediated through either PTS or self-dysregulation. However, no direct effect for CPA was found. Rather, CPA exerted a significant effect on the display of self-dysregulation, which in turn was associated with PSB. These results are discussed in light of clinical implications and directions for further research.