Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology

Diamond, Lisa M.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_1pmid: 14710457

As psychological research on sexual-minority (i.e., nonheterosexual) adolescents has increased over the past 20 years, it has become increasingly segregated from research on mainstream heterosexual youths, as if the knowledge gleaned from each population had nothing to offer our understanding of the other. To the contrary, understanding of both populations would be greatly improved by integrating investigations of sexual-minority issues into mainstream psychological research on adolescents. I outline 4 weaknesses in contemporary research on sexual-minority youth that stem from-and perpetuate-its historical isolation from mainstream developmental research: misspecification of the populations under study, lack of attention to within-group diversity, failure to test alternative explanations for-and moderators of -"sexual-minority effects," and insufficient attention to the underlying processes and mechanisms through which sexual-minority effects operate. Correcting these weaknesses has important implications for future research on how same-sex and other-sex sexuality shape adolescent psychosocial development and clinical child and adolescent problems.

Russell, Stephen T.; Consolacion, Theodora B.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_2pmid: 14710458

Research on adolescent same-sex sexuality has focused almost exclusively on risk in the lives of self-identified lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. The attention to same-sex self identity may obscure heterogeneity in same-sex romance (attractions and relationships) and thus may inaccurately characterize sexual-minority youth as more different than heterosexual youth in terms of emotional health risk. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the nexus of romantic attractions and relationships among contemporary U.S. adolescents, linking experiences of romance to indicators of emotional health. We conclude that broadening the scope of inquiry beyond binaries of identity (that is, gay vs. straight) provides the opportunity to more fully understand the health and well-being of all adolescents.

Savin-Williams, Ritch C.; Ream, Geoffrey L.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_3pmid: 14710459

The purpose of this study was to provide data addressing Diamond's (this issue) 4 problem areas in sexual orientation research by comparing gay, bisexual, and questioning male youth who report attempting suicide with those who do not. Secondary analyses were conducted with 2 datasets, 1 with a gay support group (n = 51) and the other with online youth (n = 681). Reported suicide attempts ranged from 39% among support-group youth, to 25% among Internet gay support group youth, to 9% among Internet non-support group youth. Sexual orientation, behavior, and identity did not predict suicidal attempt status, but suicide attempters experienced higher levels of both generic life stressors (low self-esteem, substance use, victimization) and gay-related stressors, particularly those directly related to visible (femininity) and behavioral (gay sex) aspects of their sexual identity. Support-group attendance was related to higher levels of suicidality and life stressors, as well as certain resiliency factors. Results suggest that there exists a minority of sexual-minority youth who are at risk but that it would be inappropriate to characterize the entire population as such.

Striepe, Meg I.; Tolman, Deborah L.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_4pmid: 14710460

Little attention has been given to how femininity and masculinity ideologies impact sexual-identity development. Differentiating violations of conventional femininity and masculinity ideologies as part of an overt process of sexual-identity development in sexual-minority adolescents suggested the possibility of a parallel process among heterosexual adolescents. Based on feminist theory and analysis of heterosexual adolescents narratives about relationships, the importance of negotiating femininity and masculinity ideologies as part of sexual-identity development for all adolescents is described.

Goldfried, Marvin R.; Bell, Alissa C.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_5pmid: 14710461

The mainstream psychology literature has historically failed to include individuals with nonheterosexual sexual orientations in its study of many areas, including adolescent development, sexual development, psychotherapy, couple relationships, aging, suicide, and substance abuse. The articles contained in this issue make clear that knowledge of human behavior will be more complete when research designs are expanded to reflect more accurately the diversity of sexual orientations and sexual expressions. Furthermore, when sexuality is categorized into a rigidly defined group like lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), it constrains the ways in which individuals might otherwise think about it. Knowledge of human behavior will be advanced more effectively when the field of psychology integrates people of diverse and complex sexualities into its research and studies the mediators and moderators associated with this diversity.

Doyle, Kathryn Wilcox; Wolchik, Sharlene A.; Dawson-McClure, Spring R.; Sandler, Irwin N.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_6pmid: 14710462

This study examined whether positive events mitigated the relation between negative events and maladjustment in samples of children and adolescents experiencing family transitions. The study examined this relation in two samples, used multiple reporters of maladjustment, and employed "tailor-made" checklists to measure events. The first sample included 86 stepfamilies with adolescents 10 to 17 years of age. The second sample included 171 divorced families with children 8 to 15 years of age. Evidence that positive events are protective for children and adolescents experiencing high levels of negative events was found across the 2 samples and across mother and child report of adjustment. These findings have implications for theory and intervention development.

Nangle, Douglas W.; Erdley, Cynthia A.; Newman, Julie E.; Mason, Craig A.; Carpenter, Erika M.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_7pmid: 14710463

A mediational model positing that the effects of popularity on children's loneliness and depression are passed through indexes of friendship experiences was tested using structural equation modeling. Children (193 3rd through 6th graders) completed a battery of sociometric and self-report questionnaires from which measures of popularity, multiple friendship dimensions (i.e., quantity and quality of best and good friendships), and loneliness and depression were derived. Confirmation of a slightly modified model supported the mediational hypothesis. Although popularity exerted no direct impact on the adjustment indexes, it strongly influenced friendship, which, in turn, affected depression through its strong association with loneliness. It appears that popularity is important for setting the stage for relationship development, but that it is dyadic friendship experiences that most directly influence feelings of loneliness and depression.

Andrews, Judy A.; Tildesley, Elizabeth; Hops, Hyman; Duncan, Susan C.; Severson, Herbert H.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_8pmid: 14710464

This study describes the lifetime prevalence and future intentions related to trying cigarettes, chewing tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants of students in the 1st through 7th grade. This article also describes the identification of these substances by children in the 1st through 3rd grade. Participants were 1,075 1st through 5th graders within a school district in western Oregon who were followed for 3 years. Across most substances, prevalence and intentions increased with grade, with a moderate increase between 3rd and 4th grade and a larger increase between 5th and 6th grade. Boys were more likely than girls to identify alcohol and cigarettes and were more likely than girls to report trying chewing tobacco. In addition, 3rd-grade boys were more likely to identify marijuana and, in the early grades, alcohol. Boys were also more likely than girls to intend to use tobacco and drink alcohol when older. For alcohol and cigarettes, intention was related to subsequent trying of the substance, suggesting that intention may be an early warning sign of subsequent substance use.

Williams, Susan Craven; Lochman, John E.; Phillips, Nancy C.; Barry, Tammy D.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_9pmid: 14710465

This study examined physiological and social-cognitive correlates of aggression in an in vivo laboratory provocation situation. Fifty-one male participants (ages 9 to 13) were selected based on teacher aggression screenings, ranging from normative to high levels. A provocation was induced by the experimenter communicating a threat from an unseen "peer" in the laboratory. Bivariate linear regression analyses showed that aggression significantly predicted heart rate at both pre- and postinduction, and aggression significantly predicted attributions of intent following the provocation. Results indicated that aggression was a significant predictor of changes in hostile attribution and heart rate following the threat induction. A positive correlation also was found between heart rate change and attribution change. The findings suggest that both physiological and social-cognitive processes should be addressed in clinical interventions with aggressive children.

Oxford, Mary; Cavell, Timothy A.; Hughes, Jan N.

doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_10pmid: 14710466

We replicated and extended Wootton, Frick, Shelton, and Silverthorn's (1997) finding that children's callous/unemotional (C/U) traits moderated the association between poor parenting and children's externalizing problems. C/U traits were indexed (a) as dichotomous scores (D-C/U) above or below a cut score on the original C/U subscale and (b) as continuous scores (C-C/U-R) on the revised C/U subscale. Results did not support a moderating role for D-C/U scores, but significant interactions were found between C-C/U-R scores and poor parenting when predicting teachers and peers ratings of externalizing behavior. Poor parenting was unrelated to problem behavior in children with relatively high C-C/U-R scores.