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This study aimed to identify profiles of achievement goal orientations and transitions between these profiles among adolescents from different socioeconomic backgrounds before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. A sample of 1268 adolescents (51.7% females; Mage = 14.87; SDage = 0.39) participated in four waves of data collection: One took place pre-pandemic (at the start of 9th grade) and three took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Latent transition analyses revealed four profiles of achievement goal orientations at each study wave: moderately motivated, success-oriented, mastery-oriented, and unmotivated. Most adolescents remained in the same profile or transitioned to a similar one across subsequent study waves. However, some more substantive, mostly unfavourable patterns of transitions between the profiles were also observed, especially among highly motivated adolescents. The latter patterns coincided with pandemic-related online learning periods. Results also showed a large motivational disadvantage among students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, which was particularly pronounced before the pandemic, but remained salient throughout the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shift in the parent-child relationship during the transition to adulthood presumes that emerging adults progress toward financial self-sufficiency. Research indicates that financial parenting contributes to success in this transition, and these effects extend beyond the financial domain. Nevertheless, there is a lack of theory-based tools to measure relevant financial parenting aspects. By applying the six dimensions of interpersonal behaviors outlined in the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the current study develops a scale targeting the interpersonal style of financial parenting. To validate the scale, it also tests seven preregistered hypotheses predicting internal structure and associations with relevant external variables in a sample of 600 emerging adults (Mage =24.94, SDage = 3.03, range 19–29 years; 52.3% women). The sample, diverse occupational status characteristics, was recruited from an online survey panel using the controlled quota sampling strategy. While study results provide modest evidence for a hypothesized six-factor structure and advocate instead for a more parsimonious two-dimensional one, results provide evidence for the new scale's convergent, discriminant, criterion, and incremental validity. This is the first study that brings SDT into family financial socialization research and opens a new line of research on family financial socialization, achievement of financial self-sufficiency, and emerging adults' wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grade vs. test discrepancies and social biases in grading are complex phenomena shaped by the interplay of student characteristics, teacher behaviors, curricular elements, and the school environment. Despite this complexity, research examining how these phenomena vary across schools and in relation to school and curriculum-specific characteristics remains limited. This study delves into the discrepancy between grades and standardized math and national language test scores within a cohort of 18,812 8th-grade students in Lithuania nested in 418 schools. Multilevel regression analysis unveiled a pattern: female students were over-graded, whereas those from low socioeconomic backgrounds and those with special educational needs were consistently under-graded. Biases related to gender and special education needs varied significantly across schools, and the effects were linked to school characteristics. There were both similarities and differences in patterns for math and national language grading bias. • Studies grading bias associated with school and student background characteristics. • Uses archival achievement data on 18,812 8th-grade students nested in 418 Lithuanian schools. • Uses multilevel models to investigate the variability of social bias in grading across schools and subjects. • Identifies links between general and social bias in grading and school characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded in the family stress model and recent studies on cognitive effects of poverty, the current study examines how family material conditions relate to identity-relevant information processing among adolescents via family economic strain, family financial conflicts, and parenting behaviors. Data for the study come from the first wave of a longitudinal study on the development of adolescent goals in the context of socio-economic inequalities. The sample includes 1,268 adolescents (51.7% females; M = 14.87; SD = 0.39) attending 36 gymnasiums. Findings reveal that the family economic situation contributes to how adolescents process identity-relevant information, but these effects are primarily indirect. Specifically, better family material conditions are associated with more supportive parental engagement in their children's identity-relevant decisions, which in turn is associated with higher levels of the information-oriented identity processing style. Poorer family material conditions, economic pressures, and conflicts are associated with parental interference and a lack of engagement, which in turn is associated with higher levels of diffuse-avoidant identity style. The identity styles themselves are known predictors for a wide array of outcomes. Therefore, our findings suggest that countering the adverse effects of socio-economic inequality may be crucial to break a self-perpetuation cycle of socio-economic adversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from financial dependence on one's parents to financial self-sufficiency is one of the most relevant transitions during emerging adulthood. It is important to have an instrument able to assess emerging adults' financial capabilities and to detect its change over time. The current article aims to collect international evidence of the Financial Identity Scale (FIS) validity and reliability. Cross-sectional data collected from 2,501 emerging adults aged 18–25 and belonging to three different countries—U.S. (n = 1,535), Italy (n = 485), and Lithuania (n = 481)—were adopted to test score structure validity, generalizability, sensitivity to difference, criterion-related validity, and internal consistency. Instead, four-wave longitudinal data, available for the American sample only (n = 1,900), were adopted to test FIS structural stability and sensitivity to change. As recommended by the contemporary view of validity, different structural equation models were performed. Findings suggest that FIS scores are valid and reliable. The implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focuses on the role of family support to young adult children during COVID‐19 in ameliorating the negative financial impact of the pandemic. Guided by the Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory of stress and coping, we conceptualize the negative financial impact due to COVID‐19 as a source of financial stress that would be associated with lower levels of both financial wellbeing and positive outlook of young adults. We rely on data collected from a multinational sample of young adults (ages 18–30) from six countries (China, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, US; N = 2102) over a 3‐month period (July 2020–September 2020). We tested the potential effects of two types of support (i.e., parental financial support and family emotional support) using path analysis. While we find a consistent positive association between family emotional support and both financial wellbeing and positive outlook, we also find a consistent negative association between parental financial support and financial wellbeing, and a nonsignificant or negative association (Lithuania only) with a positive outlook. The significant interaction between COVID‐19 financial impact and family emotional support on young adults' positive outlook reveals that the benefit of family emotional support is more evident when the negative financial impact is low or moderate. We discuss the implications of these findings in assisting young adults to cope with financial disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging adults are especially vulnerable as they experience its financial impact as a source of stress. We tested a model of psychological resilience among emerging adults (18–25 years) during the pandemic from six Western countries (Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and United States) using online survey data collected between May and September 2020. Framed in the conservation of resources theory, we examined the association between financial loss and financial well-being and the moderating role of psychological resilience in the association. Using path analysis, we found a direct negative association between financial loss and financial well-being, a direct positive association between psychological resilience and financial well-being, but no evidence of moderation. We discuss the findings in the context of continuing global economic uncertainty and the support needed to foster adult independence and financial well-being of emerging adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In adolescence, the formation of personal identity and values may be intertwined, since values are among the main issues considered when building one's identity. This study examined how sociocognitive strategies used in the process of identity formation were related with adoption of prodiversity and proequality values, which are critically important for socially diverse contemporary societies. Participants were 916 adolescents (51.4% females, Mage  = 15.65, SDage  = 0.73 at baseline) involved in a three-wave longitudinal study with annual assessments. The results of cross-lagged analyses suggest that more rational and deliberate processing of self-relevant information is related to stronger adoption of prodiversity and proequality values over time. In turn, endorsement of prodiversity and proequality values is related to more rational and deliberate processing of self-relevant issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing research findings still do not provide a clear understanding of the links between adolescent school experience and their identity formation. To address this gap, we analyzed the dynamic links between adolescent school experiences and identity formation by exploring the cross-lagged associations between school engagement, school burnout and identity processing styles (information-oriented, normative and diffuse-avoidant) over a 2-year period during middle-to-late adolescence. The sample of this school-based study included 916 adolescents (51.4% females) in the 9th to 12th grades from diverse socio-economic and family backgrounds. The results from the cross-lagged analyses with three time points revealed that (a) school engagement positively predicted information-oriented identity processing over a 2-year period; (b) school burnout positively predicted the reliance on normative and diffuse-avoidant identity styles across the three measurements; (c) the effects were stable over the three time points and across different gender, grade, and socio-economic status groups. The unidirectional effects identified in our study support the general prediction that active engagement in learning at school can serve as a resource for adolescent identity formation, while school burnout, in contrast, can hinder the formation of adolescent identity. This points to the importance of taking developmental identity-related needs of adolescents into account when planning the school curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Studies trajectories of math achievement in middle school students thru Covid-19 pandemic. • Uses archival data collected between 2020 and 2022 on 17,685 students nested in 460 schools. • Applies growth mixture modeling and identifies seven trajectories. • Reveals substantial heterogeneity unobserved in previous studies. • Examines the effect of student background characteristics on trajectory group membership. The study aimed to uncover the potential heterogeneity and its predictors in middle school students' math achievement during the Covid-19 pandemic. The data covered yearly math grade point averages in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade and national test scores for a cohort of 17,685 Lithuanian students (49.1% females). Growth mixture modeling showed that between 2020 and 2022, most students showed a slight normative decline in their math achievement. Still, a few distinct subgroups have demonstrated either a steep decline or a slow to a rapid increase in their math grades, while almost one-third consistently underperformed in math. The findings reveal substantial heterogeneity in students' results during the pandemic. Understanding these differential patterns can help target pandemic-related educational recovery efforts more accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost two decades ago Arnett (1994, 1997, 2001) suggested that, from the perspective of youth, becoming an adult is not achieved through a series of role changes, such as getting married or starting a long-time career, but rather through acquisition of individual character qualities, such as ability to accept responsibility for the consequences of one's actions, making independent decisions, and becoming financially independent. This sparked a debate among social scientists on whether the "traditional" markers of adulthood (e.g., marriage, leaving parental home) were still important. One limitation to the line of Ar-nett's research is that most of it has been conducted using the USA white student samples. Similar research employing the same instruments, but conducted in different cultures or ethnic groups, showed that criteria for adulthood can vary cross-culturally (e.g., Nelson, Badger, & Wu, 2004). These evidences suggest that cross-cultural generalizations regarding the criteria of adulthood may be limited and, therefore, it is important to evaluate which criteria are perceived by youth as defining adulthood in a particular cultural context. The goal of this study was threefold: to examine the conceptions defining an adult person by Lithuanian emerging adults according to Arnett's list of adult criteria, to evaluate gender differences in these conceptions, and to evaluate how the popularity of these criteria differ from the views of youth living in other Western industrialized countries. Arnett's questionnaire on markers of adulthood (2001) was administered to a sample of 434 (age M = 22.5, SD = 1.91) emerging adults. Accepting responsibility for the consequences of one's actions was viewed as the most necessary criterion for becoming an adult. Being capable of caring for children was the next most highly endorsed criterion for both women and men. The next most important criteria were "avoid drunk driving" (87.1%), "avoid committing petty crimes like vandalism and shoplifting" (82.9%), "decide on personal beliefs and values independently of parents or other influences" (82.0%), "become capable of keeping family physically safe (men)" (81.8%), "if a man, become capable of supporting a family financially" (81.3%), "if a woman, become capable of running a household" (80.2%) and "financially independent from parents" (79.5%). Role transitions, on the other hand, were endorsed only by about a third of the study participants. Taken together, the results suggest that becoming an adult among Lithuanian emerging adults, similarly to other Western countries, is perceived primarily as the acquisition of certain character qualities rather than going through role changes. However, contrary to Arnett's findings with the US samples, capacities to maintain family responsibilities seem to be more important than achieving independence and self-sufficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the current study is to evaluate the relationships between externalizing and internalizing problems, partner and work commitment, and the achievement of adult character qualities. A sample of 241 Lithuanian emerging adults participated in the study (mean age 22.22, SD = 2.91, 198 women and 43 men). Participants filled an internet-based questionnaire which consisted of Arnett's questionnaire on adulthood criteria, additional questions on achieving these criteria, and the Adult Self-report questionnaire which measures internalizing and externalizing problems. Both partner and work commitments were found to be negatively related to anxiety / depression problems, and commitment to work was positively related to intrusive behavior. Achievement of independence was negatively related with anxiety / depression and withdrawal problems. The effect of commitment to work and to partner on anxiety / depression and the effect of commitment to partner on withdrawal was suppressed when it was controlled for achieving independence. Commitment to work positively predicts a more intrusive behavior even when achieving adult character qualities is taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the online data collection method to survey adolescents about their psychological characteristics in a follow up-longitudinal study on positive youth development in order to test the psychometric equivalence of two assessment methods. 1030 participants (17-19 years old) completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires in schools (505 boys and 525 girls), 132 (28 boys and 104 girls) completed Internet-based questionnaires, and 47 (15 boys 32 girls) completed both, measuring positive development indicators. The findings suggest that adolescents report less socially desirable behaviour and active citizenship in Internet-based questionnaires, but generally Internet-based administration does not have any differences in the means values of positive development indicators as compared to paper-and-pencil administration. Internet-based questionnaires have higher or similar internal consistencies as compared with paper-and-pencil questionnaires and are highly correlated with each other when administered using Internet-based and paper-and-pencil assessment. There is no interaction effect of the Internet versus paper-and-pencil assessment and the sex of adolescents on the positive development indicators. Limitations of this study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Adolescence is a period of various physical, cognitive activities, emotional and social alterations, which need additional bodily resources and naturally good and sufficient sleep for renewing these resources. However, increased requirements in school, new social interests, biological alterations make adolescents' sleep not sufficiently long and qualitative enough, so achievements at school and the quality of life generally suffer. There are a lot of researches on this topic in foreign countries, but we couldn't find any in Lithuania. Little research, both in Lithuania and abroad, has been done on personality and sleep quality relations in adolescence and on how personality traits can be related to sleep quality, how this relation can be affected by sleep-related behaviour. Purpose. To evaluate the relationship of personality features to sleep quality and sleep-related behaviour in older schoolchildren. The research involved 88 boys and 124 girls from two Kaunas schools. Methods. A questionnaire was prepared to evaluate sleep quality. It contained 31 questions concerning various sleep quality aspects. Four indices (troubles in falling asleep, night rest satisfaction, daytime fatigue, habit to sleep in the daytime) were selected after a factor analysis. Additionally, 12 questions concerning sleep-related behaviour were asked, from which four indices (use of psychoactive substances, sport, PC games and watching TV, relaxation activity before sleep) were constructed after factor analysis and used in this study. The NEO PI-R questionnaire was used to measure personality traits. Results. In boys and girls, neuroticism is related with the difficulties of falling asleep and less satisfaction with night's rest independently of sleep-related behaviour. Girls' openness to experience is related to daytime fatigue, and their extraversion and smaller agreeableness are related with difficulties of falling asleep, but this association is affected by the use of psychoactive substances. Boys' conscientiousness is related to daytime sleeping, but this relation is affected by engaging in sport activities. Girls' engagement in the activities that help relax before sleep is related to their higher conscientiousness, higher agreeableness, more frequent difficulties with falling asleep and daytime sleeping. Boys' extraversion, openness, agreeableness and sleep quality are not related to each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young adulthood (18–30 years old) is a crucial period due to its developmental tasks such as career establishment and financial independence. However, young adults' relative lack of resources makes them vulnerable to employment disruptions (job loss and income loss), which may have both immediate and long-term effects on their financial wellbeing and mental health. The economic impact of COVID-19 restrictions resulted in an increase in unemployment and a decrease in income worldwide, especially for young adults. This study examined to what extent and how job loss and income loss due to the pandemic influenced young adults' perception of their present financial wellbeing, future financial wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing by using cross-sectional survey data collected from six countries (China, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and the United States). Results showed that the impact of income loss and job loss on all three types of wellbeing were mediated by young adults' negative perception of the COVID-19 lockdown restriction (i.e., perceived as a misfortune). Cross-country differences existed in the key variables. The association between employment disruptions, young adults' perception of the COVID-19 lockdown restriction, and wellbeing were equivalent across countries except China. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this two-wave longitudinal study was to analyze reciprocal associations between identity styles (i.e., socio-cognitive strategies that individuals adopt in processing, structuring, utilizing, and revising self-relevant information) and civic engagement in adolescence. Participants were 1,308 high school students (9-11 grades; 52.9% girls). Findings of cross-lagged models indicated reciprocal associations between identity styles and civic engagement. Specifically, each identity style (i.e., information-oriented, normative, and diffuse-avoidant) predicted changes in later levels of civic engagement, and civic engagement lessened later reliance on one of three identity styles (i.e., the diffuse-avoidant style). Therefore, effects of identity on civic engagement were stronger than effects of civic engagement on identity. From a practical perspective, these findings underline that interventions aimed at facilitating reliance on various identity styles are likely to have effects also on civic participation and civic experiences are likely to reduce adolescents' avoidance of identity issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]