Resources

Adolescence to Adulthood

Attachment Security, Environmental Adversity, and Fast Life History Behavioral Profiles in Human Adolescents

September 23, 2024

The current study seeks to explore caregiver–child attachment as an internal mental state in the calibration and modulation of life history strategies.

Using Critical Race Mixed Methodology to Explore African American College Students’ Experiences with Racial Microaggressions

August 14, 2024

This article advances the use of mixed methods in higher education research to better understand the racialized experiences of African American college students and demonstrate how Critical Race Mixed Methodology can be used to integrate quantitative and qualitative findings.

My Friends Made Me Do It: Peer Influences and Different Types of Vaping in Adolescence

August 8, 2024

Vaping is one of the most common forms of substance use among adolescents. Social influences play a key role in the decision to use substances and frequency of use during adolescence, and vaping is no exception. Using a sample of 891 adolescents, we explored whether the frequency of vaping nicotine and the frequency of vaping marijuana at age 17 were related to concurrent reports of resistance to peer influence, perceptions of friends vaping, and perceptions of classmates vaping.

Amplifying Youth Voices through Critical Literacy and Positive Youth Development: The Potential of University-Community Partnerships

July 17, 2024

This book explores the transformative power of critical literacy in fostering youth engagement through university-community partnerships. It is based on a six-year study by The Literacy and Community Initiative (LCI) at North Carolina State University.

Adolescent Boys’ Aggressive Responses to Perceived Threats to Their Gender Typicality

July 15, 2024

When adult men are made to feel gender-atypical, they often lash out with aggression, particularly when they are pressured (vs. autonomously motivated) to be gender-typical. This article examines the development of this phenomenon.

Adolescent Life Disruption Due to COVID-19

June 26, 2024

This brief outlines the findings from “How adolescents’ lives were disrupted over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal investigation in 12 cultural groups in 9 nations from March 2020 to July 2022” in the journal Development and Psychopathology. The authors investigate the extent to which adolescents’ lives were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the factors that caused these disruptions.

Taking John Schulenberg’s “Long View” on Successful Transitions to Adulthood: Associations with Adult Substance Use

June 6, 2024

Can positive transitions into young adulthood at age 25 prevent problematic substance use at age 31, even in the context of childhood adverse family environments, conduct problems, and adolescent substance use? The authors lean on John Schulenberg’s developmental framework to examine this question.

Longitudinal Associations Between Positive Parenting and Youths’ Engagement in Sexting Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Filial Self-Efficacy Beliefs

May 31, 2024

Youths who enter emerging adulthood with a background of familial relations grounded in positive parent-child interactions are better equipped to cope with transitional stressors, to voice effectively their opinions with parents, and to resist engaging in risky activities. The study reveals filial self-efficacy beliefs as central to the benefits conveyed to teens by parents in reducing their sexting behaviors.

Bidirectional Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Self-Efficacy and Child Rule-Breaking Behaviours: A Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Study

May 30, 2024

Previous research shown that parental self-efficacy plays a protective role for children’s rule-breaking behaviours (i.e., parent-driven process), but rule-breaking also can reduce parents’ parental self-efficacy over-time (i.e., child-driven process). This study delves into the bidirectional longitudianl associations between parental self-efficacy and children’s rule-breaking behaviors.

The Role of Family Relationships on Adolescents’ Development and Adjustment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

May 10, 2024

This systematic review examined two research questions with 189 articles published from 2020-2022: (1) How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted families with adolescents, including broader family functioning, family relationship qualities, and parenting? and (2) How has the pandemic or pandemic-related stressors interacted with family functioning, family relationships, and parenting of adolescents to impact adolescent well-being and adjustment?

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Peer Relationships of Adolescents Around the World: A Rapid Systematic Review

April 29, 2024

The main objective of this rapid systematic review was to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted peer relationships for adolescents (10-25 years of age) around the globe.

Impulsivity Profiles Across Five Harmonized Longitudinal Childhood Preventive Interventions and Associations with Adult Outcomes

April 26, 2024

Overall, our study helps to inform understanding of the developmental course and
prognosis of impulsivity, as well as adding to collaborative efforts linking data across multiple studies to better inform understanding of
developmental processes.

Parents’ Learning Support and School Attitudes in Relation to Adolescent Academic Identity and School Performance in Nine Countries

March 22, 2024

This study investigated relations among parental education, parents’ attitudes toward their adolescents’ school, parental support for learning at home, and adolescents’ academic identity and school performance over time and in different national contexts.

Patterns of Singlehood, Cohabitation, and Marriage in Early Adulthood in Relation to Well-Being in Established Adulthood

March 6, 2024

In a cohort followed from late adolescence until established adulthood, this study examined how singlehood, cohabitation, and marriage at different ages are related to well-being at age 34.

Adolescents’ Relationships with Parents and Romantic Partners in Eight Countries

February 13, 2024

This study examines how parent-adolescent conflicts, attachment, positive parenting, and communication are related to adolescents’ romantic relationship quality, satisfaction, conflicts, and management. Results stress the relevance of parent-adolescent conflicts and attachment as factors connected to how adolescents experience romantic relationships.

How Adolescents’ Lives were Disrupted Over the Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Investigation in 12 Cultural Groups in 9 Nations from March 2020 to July 2022

January 26, 2024

To answer these questions about how much adolescents’ lives were disrupted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic or what risk factors predicted such disruption 1,080 adolescents in 9 nations were surveyed 5 times from March 2020 to July 2022, with findings presented in this article. Collectively, the findings provide new insights that policymakers can use to prevent the disruption of adolescents’ lives in future pandemics.

Beyond Parental Wealth: Grandparental Wealth and the Transition to Adulthood

December 14, 2023

This study considers the multigenerational consequences of wealth transmission for the transition to young adulthood.

The Developmental Trends of Parental Self-Efficacy and Adolescents’ Rule-Breaking Behaviors in the Italian Context: A 7-Wave Latent Growth Curve Study

November 16, 2023

Parental self-efficacy (PSE) captures parents’ beliefs in their ability to perform the parenting role successfully and to handle pivotal issues of specific developmental periods. This study examined the developmental trends of PSE among Italian mothers and fathers over seven waves as well as the longitudinal associations between PSE and rule-breaking behaviors during late adolescence.

Developmental Trajectories of Parental Self-Efficacy as Children Transition to Adolescence in Nine Countries: Latent Growth Curve Analyses

November 13, 2023

This study examined parental self-efficacy among mothers and fathers over 3.5 years during children’s transition into adolescence, and whether the level and developmental trajectory of parental self-efficacy varied by cultural group. Data were drawn from three waves of the Parenting Across Cultures (PAC) project, a large-scale longitudinal, cross-cultural study, across nine countries (12 ethnic/cultural groups). Results suggest that declines in parental self-efficacy documented in previous research are culturally influenced.

Development of Primal World Beliefs

November 2, 2023

Primal world beliefs (“primals”) capture individuals’ basic understanding of what sort of world this is. How do children develop beliefs about the nature of the world?

Re-Envisioning the Culture of Undergraduate Biology Education to Foster Black Student Success: A Clarion Call

October 31, 2023

This paper presents an argument for why there is a need to re-envision the underlying culture of undergraduate biology education to ensure the success, retention, and matriculation of Black students.

Adolescents’ Perceived Changes in Internalizing Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Father Internalizing Symptoms and Parent Support in Germany and Slovakia

October 24, 2023

This study examined the relation between adolescents’ perceived changes in internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and four different family and peer relationships in Germany and Slovakia. In both countries, we found that higher levels of father internalizing symptoms exacerbated the relation between pandemic disruption and increases in pandemic-related adolescent internalizing symptoms. Similarly, parental support buffered the relation between adolescent perceptions of COVID-19 disruption and increases in the adolescents’ internalizing symptoms.

Intraindividual Variability in Parental Acceptance-Rejection Predicts Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms Across Childhood/Adolescence in Nine Countries.

September 26, 2023

Parenting that is high in rejection and low in acceptance is associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems in children and adolescents. Findings show that more variability over time in experiences of parental acceptance/rejection predicts internalizing and externalizing symptoms as children transition into adolescence, and this effect is present across multiple diverse samples.

Intergenerational Effects of a Family Cash Transfer on the Home Environment

August 22, 2023

A family cash transfer in childhood that had long-term effects on individual functioning did not impact the home environment of participants who became parents. Rather, parents in both groups were providing home environments generally conducive to their children’s growth and development.

Co-Development of Internalizing Symptoms and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy in Adolescence: Time-Varying Effects of COVID-19-Related Stress and Social Support

August 8, 2023

Using data from surveys of Italian adolescents, researchers looked at the pattern of adolescent coping from just before the pandemic started and then for two more years. As adolescents reported feeling more stress about the pandemic, they reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression, and reported feeling less capable of coping with negative emotions. The findings are important for informing interventions to strengthen coping strategies for adolescents during stressful community-wide events.

Intra‐ and Interpersonal Factors and Adolescent Wellbeing During COVID‐19 in Three Countries

June 26, 2023

COVID-19 has altered adolescents’ opportunities for developing and strengthening interpersonal skills and proficiencies. Using data from adolescents in Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom, we examined the relation between internalizing symptoms assessed pre-pandemic or when pandemic-related restrictions were lifted and associated internalizing symptoms during a subsequent restrictive pandemic period.

Emotion-Related Self-Regulation Profiles in Early Adolescence: A Cross-National Study

June 20, 2023

Researchers studying predictors of adolescents’ adjustment have increasingly focused on temperamental characteristics of self-regulation (e.g., effortful control – EC) and negative emotionality (NE). This study contributed to understanding how different configurations of specific dimensions of NE and EC were associated with aggressive and prosocial behaviors and if these associations differed across genders and three different countries, two of which have seldom been examined.

Kindergarten Conduct Problems are Associated with Monetized Outcomes in Adolescence and Adulthood

May 31, 2023

Researchers examined whether kindergarten conduct problems among mostly population-representative samples of children were associated with increased criminal and related costs across adolescence and adulthood, as well as government and medical services costs in adulthood.

Predicting Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes Across Cultures: A Machine Learning Approach

April 25, 2023

This study demonstrates how data- and theory-driven methods can be integrated to identify the most important preadolescent risk factors in predicting adolescent mental health.

Day-to-day Variation in Adolescent Food Insecurity

April 1, 2023

Food insecurity among adolescents is not static but varies from day to day. This daily variation is greater for economically disadvantaged youth.

Co-Regulation: What It Is and Why it Matters

March 2, 2023

Short video on co-regulation, the interactive process by which caring adults (1) provide warm supportive relationships, (2) promote self-regulation through coaching, modeling, and feedback, and (3) structure supportive environments.

An International Perspective on Parenting and Family Influences on Adolescents and Young Adults

January 9, 2023

In the APA Handbook of Adolescent and Young Adult Development, Jen Lansford and co-authors discuss how parents and their adolescent and young adult offspring observe and participate in parent–offspring interactions in their communities and hold expectations about their own relationships derived in part from culturally shaped expectations.

Plea Tracking in the Durham County District Attorney’s Office

January 6, 2023

The purpose of this report is to highlight the insights from our first year that we can glean from plea tracking, describe the cases managed in the Durham Office, and draw attention to any emerging patterns in case characteristics and prosecutorial discretion.

State-Level Legal and Sociodemographic Correlates of Child Marriage Rates in the United States

January 5, 2023

Although there is a breadth of knowledge on child marriage in many low- and middle-income countries, little research and policy discussion exists surrounding child marriage within the United States. Using administrative data from several sources, this study examines how a range of different state-level variables, including political lean, academic performance, median household income, religiosity, population density, minimum age requirements and other state laws, such as parental and judicial consent, and median distance to an abortion clinic are related to variation in child marriage rates across states.

Predicting Child Aggression: The Role of Parent and Child Endorsement of Reactive Aggression Across 13 Cultural Groups in 9 Nations

December 24, 2022

Parent and child endorsement of reactive aggression both predict the emergence of child aggression, but they are rarely studied together and in longitudinal contexts. The present study does so by examining the unique predictive effects of parent and child endorsement of reactive aggression at age 8 on child aggression at age 9 in 1456 children from 13 cultural groups in 9 nations.

Gun violence among young adults with a juvenile crime record in North Carolina: Implications for firearm restrictions based on age and risk

September 30, 2022

The prevalence of arrests for crimes involving guns among young adults in North Carolina with a gun-disqualifying felony record acquired before age 18 suggests that the federal gun prohibitor conferred by a felony record is not highly effective as currently implemented in this population. From a risk-based perspective, these restrictions appear to be justified; better implementation and enforcement may improve their effectiveness.

Predictors of Problematic Adult Alcohol, Cannabis, and Other Substance Use: A Longitudinal Study of Two Samples

August 12, 2022

This study examined whether a key set of adolescent and early adulthood risk factors predicts problematic alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use in established adulthood. Externalizing behaviors and prior substance use in early adulthood were consistent predictors of problematic alcohol and cannabis misuse in established adulthood across samples.

Intergenerational effects of the Fast Track intervention on the home environment: A randomized control trial

July 27, 2022

This study examined whether the childhood intervention program called Fast Track improves family life into the second generation.

Adult Criminal Outcomes of Juvenile Justice Involvement.

March 10, 2022

Juvenile justice involvement was associated with increased risk of adult criminality, with residential services associated with highest risk. Juvenile justice involvement may catalyze rather than deter from adult offending.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Maladaptive Parenting and its Impact on Child Mental Health: Examining Cross-Cultural Mediating Pathways and Moderating Protective Factors

January 5, 2022

Using a sample of 1338 families from 12 cultural groups in 9 nations, we examined whether retrospectively remembered Generation 1 (G1) parent rejecting behaviors were passed to Generation 2 (G2 parents), whether such intergenerational transmission led to higher Generation 3 (G3 child) externalizing and internalizing behavior at age 13, and whether such intergenerational transmission could be interrupted by parent participation in parenting programs or family income increases of > 5%.

Pre-Pandemic Psychological and Behavioral Predictors of Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nine Countries

December 13, 2021

Across countries, adolescents’ internalizing problems pre-pandemic predicted increased internalizing during the pandemic, and poorer well-being pre-pandemic predicted increased externalizing and substance use during the pandemic.

Culture and Social Change in Mothers’ and Fathers’ Individualism, Collectivism and Parenting Attitudes

November 30, 2021

Historically, individualism vs. collectivism has been a main organizing framework for understanding cultural differences in family life. This study examines parents in nine countries to understand their individualism, collectivism and parenting attitudes. They found parenting attitudes are predicted by a range of sociodemographic factors.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on substance use among adults without children, parents, and adolescents

October 16, 2021

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol and illicit substance use among adults without children, parents, and adolescents was investigated through two studies with five samples from independent ongoing U.S. longitudinal studies.

Development of individuals’ own and perceptions of peers’ substance use from early adolescence to adulthood

September 1, 2021

This study evaluated how individuals’ own substance use and their perception of peers’ substance use predict each other across development from early adolescence to middle adulthood.

Lower neural value signaling in the prefrontal cortex is related to childhood family income and depressive symptomatology during adolescence

April 1, 2021

Lower family income during childhood is related to increased rates of adolescent depression, though the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.

Parenting Across Cultures from Childhood to Adolescence: Development in Nine Countries

February 25, 2021

Edited by Jennifer Lansford and Drew Rothenberg with Marc Bornstein, this book shares findings from a study of parents and children in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the United States. Each chapter is authored by a contributor native to the country examined. Together, the chapters provide a global understanding of parenting across cultures.

Getting Tough? The Effects of Discretionary Principal Discipline on Student Outcomes

February 1, 2021

Nationwide, school principals are given wide discretion to use disciplinary tools like suspension and expulsion to create a safe learning environment.

Raising the bar for college admission: North Carolina’s increase in minimum math course requirements

July 1, 2019

Charles T. Clotfelter, Steven W. Hemelt, Helen F. Ladd Education Finance and Policy (2019) 14 (3): 492–521. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00258

Impact of a Neuroscience-Based Health Education Course on High School Students’ Health Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors.

October 1, 2018

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the potential of an innovative high school neuroscience-based health course for implementation feasibility and impact on student outcomes.

Predicting Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration From Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood

August 23, 2018

Saint-Eloi Cadely et al. found longitudinal patterns for the perpetration of both psychological and physical intimate partner violence (IPV), including actively and minimally aggressive patterns.

Multifaceted Aid for Low-Income Students and College Outcomes: Evidence From North Carolina

August 10, 2017

We study the evolution of a campus-based aid program for low-income students that began with grant-heavy financial aid and later added a suite of nonfinancial supports.

Evaluation of a Public Awareness Campaign to Prevent High School Dropout

June 29, 2016

Many advocacy organizations devote time and resources to increasing community awareness and educating the public in an effort to gain support for their issue.

Substance Use and Abuse in Durham County 2014

February 3, 2014

According to the North Carolina (N.C.) Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, approximately 18,000 adults and 1,000 children in Durham County abused or were addicted to illegal drugs, prescription medications, or alcohol in 2012(1). Substance abuse not only impacts the individual and his/her family, but also the community.

Mental Health Outreach Program (MHOP) Evaluation Report

January 1, 2012

This report summarizes preliminary findings associated with the MHOP program that began in Durham County in January of 2011.

America’s Promise Alliance: 10 Indicators of Academic Achievement and Youth Success

July 1, 2011

Approximately one quarter of U.S. students do not graduate from high school with their peers. Failing to complete high school severely limits opportunities for employment and future financial stability. High school dropouts earn lower wages through their lifetime and work for fewer years.1 The costs to society of high school dropouts are also high and…