The Journal of Early Adolescence

Bammel, Alexandra C.; Johnson, Kimberly A.; Peters, Roger H.; Nunez, Narina L.

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241265460

Our study examined co-occurring substance use and major depressive disorders among justice-involved adolescents to inform behavioral health services planning within U.S. criminal justice systems. We used data from the 2015–2017 administrations of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey of non-institutionalized U.S. individuals aged 12 and older, to yield a national sample of 41,579 adolescents. Rates of co-occurring disorders were 4.5 times higher among justice-involved adolescents than non-justice-involved adolescents, with 6.3% of justice-involved adolescents meeting criteria for co-occurring disorders in the past year compared to 1.2% of non-justice-involved adolescents. Justice involvement was associated with greater substance use treatment but not mental health treatment. High rates of co-occurring disorders among justice-involved adolescents suggest the criminal justice system to be a unique opportunity for treatment engagement. The integrated mental health and substance use treatment needs of justice-involved adolescents with co-occurring disorders should be prioritized.

Shum, Christopher; Dockray, Samantha; McMahon, Jennifer

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241231918

During early adolescence, individuals can refine their use of cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy while experiencing instability of psychological well-being through changes to positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction. This scoping review aimed to identify and summarise the key findings from studies that have examined early adolescent cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology, this review yielded 63 studies; 58 studies found a positive relationship between cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being. Most studies that examined age found no association between the frequency of reappraisal use and age. Findings connected to sex differences and contrasts between discrete emotions were inconsistent. The positive association between cognitive reappraisal and well-being indicates that cognitive reappraisal should be actively promoted in youth contexts. Future research should specify the direction of this relationship, how it develops and how effective the relationship is across sexes and discrete emotions.

Yoo, Changmin

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241271341

This study aimed to identify the patterns of ego-resilience trajectories among multicultural early adolescents in South Korea. A total of 1635 participants (50.8% female students; mean ages 9.98–13.97 years) were analyzed, and five latent classes were identified: mid increasing, mid decreasing, low maintaining, mid maintaining, and high increasing. Individual, family, and school factors were examined to identify their associations with ego-resilience trajectory patterns. Results showed that being male, having high self-esteem, and experiencing high levels of acculturation were associated with higher ego-resilience. In addition, the absence of neglect and higher income were related to higher ego-resilience. Support from family, peers, and teachers was found to be positively associated with ego-resilience development. These results indicate that interventions to develop ego-resilience among multicultural early adolescents should consider the individual, family, and school factors associated with the different trajectory patterns of ego-resilience.

Bocskor, Ákos

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241281981

The paper investigates gender differences in coolness dynamics among early and middle adolescents in a Hungarian panel dataset, which followed students from grade 5 (age 11–12) to grade 8 (age 14–15). Drawing on Gender Prototypicality Theory, we expected significantly different gendered patterns in the association between coolness and various forms of aggression, academic performance, physical attractiveness, BMI, and two forms of risk behavior (smoking, drinking). However, our multilevel models showed that behaviors traditionally considered masculine tended to be associated with coolness for both sexes, but in particular for girls. Some traditionally masculine behaviors (such as verbal aggression, smoking, or lower GPA) tended to be more strongly or only associated with status among girls. On the other hand, while physical attractiveness was associated with status for both sexes, this association was stronger among boys. Cultural and contextual explanations, as well as policy implications, are also discussed.

Alawie, Fatima; Olivier, Elizabeth; Dupéré, Véronique

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316231224812

The study explores whether physical activity (PA) in early adolescence limits the risk of internalizing and externalizing problems in youth with difficult temperaments, from low-income families, or exposed to impaired family functioning. Participants (N = 1312; 53% girls) were drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD). Results revealed that difficult temperament was associated with subsequent symptoms of anxiety among youth with low PA levels. Impaired family functioning was associated with higher levels of subsequent physical aggressivity among youth with high levels of PA. These results highlight the complex role of PA in different aspects of adjustment and the importance of the quality of PA contexts in young adolescents exposed to family adversity.

Moreta-Herrera, Rodrigo; Oriol-Granado, Xavier; González, Mònica; Rodas, Jose A.

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241240109

This study investigates the role of Positive Affect as a predictor of Psychological Well-Being in 43,653 12-year-old children from 29 countries, using a Structural Equation Model. The model’s potential gender and nationality equivalences were also examined. Data was sourced from the International Child Well-Being Survey. The ‘happy’ item was found to be the most effective in capturing the Positive Affect construct, with Psychological Well-Being showing moderately high levels. A strong positive correlation was observed between Positive Affect and Psychological Well-Being, with Positive Affect explaining 70.1% of the variance in Psychological Well-Being. The model proved invariant at the metric level across countries and at the strict level between genders. In conclusion, Positive Affect is a significant predictor of Psychological Well-Being, though cultural factors contributed to country-specific variations.

Fisher, Sycarah; Hsu, Wei-Wen; Zapolski, Tamika C. B.; Malone, Celeste; Caldwell, Brianna; Barnes-Najor, Jessica

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241277963

Adolescent substance use is a top national public health concern with approximately 50% of youth having tried an illicit substance by the end of high school. The transition to high school is a critical point for substance use initiation. Despite this fact, there is relatively limited research looking at factors that can protect students from substance use initiation during this transition. The present study examines the protective effect of parental factors on the substance use initiation of youth. Participants included 1554 participants (57% female) who were predominately White (80%). The results indicated that parental support and involvement reduced the likelihood of substance use initiation during the transition from eighth to ninth grade. More frequent conversations regarding parental disapproval about drugs, however, was associated with substance use initiation or maintenance of substance use across time. Findings contribute to our understanding of protective factors for substance use initiation.

Daley, Samantha G.; Heckman, Michelle E.; Rosen, Rebecca L.; Sari, Halil I.

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241230517

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in dramatic changes to the experiences of school for young people around the world as youth and adults navigated changes to instructional format and means of engaging in teaching and learning. School connectedness during the pandemic served a potentially protective role for adolescents during this uncertain time. In this study, we investigate students’ (n = 64) experiences of connectedness with their teachers and peers and examine how students’ perceptions of belonging relate to their science self-efficacy. We draw on mixed-methods with students at two middle schools using dramatically different instructional approaches. These multiple data sources provide insight into the importance of building and sustaining relationships and connectedness for students’ self-efficacy, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Connectedness to one’s science teacher was the strongest predictor of science self-efficacy, and qualitative data describe how connectedness was fostered even when typical approaches were unavailable.

Izenstark, Dina; Bang, Janet Y.; Tu, Kelly M.; Maynard, Natalee

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241240111

Parent-child conversations are impacted by environmental setting. Yet, few studies have considered where mothers and early adolescent youth prefer to have conversations about daily stressors. This study examines where mothers and youth prefer to have conversations about daily stressors, differences in preference based on demographic variables, and why certain environmental settings are preferred. One hundred youth (M = 11.04, 53% boys) and their mothers participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that youth preferred to communicate in their bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room, whereas mothers preferred the kitchen, their child’s bedroom, and the car. Using thematic analysis, we found that participants preferred communicating in physically and psychologically comfortable environments, private locations that were away from others, and that they relied on bedtime and mealtime routines to engage in regular conversations. Findings suggest that the place mothers and youth converse matters and may meaningfully impact parent-child conversations about daily stressors.

Aral, Tuğçe; Juang, Linda P.; Schwarzenthal, Miriam; Schachner, Maja K.; Adams, Byron G.

2024 The Journal of Early Adolescence

doi: 10.1177/02724316241251401

This study explored the separate and interacting relations of family (cultural pluralism, promotion of mistrust) and school (equal treatment, intercultural learning) ethnic-racial socialization with cultural (heritage culture and German) identity among adolescents of immigrant descent. Analyses were based on survey data from 311 early to mid-adolescents in Germany (Mage = 13.85, SD = 1.82). Higher family cultural pluralism and intercultural learning at school were related to higher heritage culture identity, while higher equal treatment at school was related to lower heritage culture identity. Higher intercultural learning and equal treatment at school were related to higher German identity. Family promotion of mistrust had no direct relation to heritage culture or German identity. The interaction of family promotion of mistrust and equal treatment at school had relations to heritage culture but not to German identity. These findings expand our understanding of the complementary roles of family and school for supporting cultural identity development.