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Popular belief holds that sexual behavior is evaluated more liberally for males than females. However, the assessment of this “sexual double standard” is controversial. Therefore, we investigated measurement equivalence of commonly used items to assess sexual double standards in previous research. Based on established measurement equivalence, we investigated whether adolescents endorsed a sexual double standard. Using data from 455 adolescents ( Mage = 14.51, SD = 0.64), confirmatory factor analyzes showed that the sexual double standard concept was measurement equivalent across sex, and partly across evaluations of the same and opposite sex. Factor analyzes demonstrated that there was not one, but two sexual double standards. Male adolescents evaluated male sexual behavior more liberally than female sexual behavior, but female adolescents evaluated female sexual behavior more liberally than male sexual behavior. This contradicts the traditional notion of the existence of one sexual double standard that favors male and suppresses female sexuality.

The present study investigated (1) how social relationships with teachers and peers and self-esteem of students with social–emotional and behavioral difficulties (SEBD) in inclusive regular education (regular schools) and students with SEBD in exclusive special education (special schools) develop over time in comparison with each other and in comparison with their typically developing peers and (2) whether factors—present before students with SEBD received special education services—predicted social–emotional development in either educational setting. Thirty-six students with SEBD in regular schools, 15 students with SEBD in special schools, and 1,270 typically developing peers participated. We collected data when students with SEBD resided in regular education without additional support, and we followed the development of students with SEBD for 1.5 years with three additional measurements in either school setting. Data of typically developing peers were collected when they resided in a classroom of a participating student with SEBD. Using Bayesian statistics, we found that students with SEBD in special schools had more conflictual relationships with their teachers than typically developing peers, but these relationships improved over time. Students with SEBD in regular schools were less accepted among peers than typically developing students and peer acceptance was stable over time for all three groups. Self-esteem and development in self-esteem over time did not differ between groups. The current study shows that students with SEBD show different developmental trajectories in regular or special schools and that it is difficult to predict their social–emotional development by factors present before students with SEBD received special education services.

It is often unrealistic to assume normally distributed latent traits in the measurement of health outcomes. If normality is violated, the item response theory (IRT) models that are used to calibrate questionnaires may yield parameter estimates that are biased. Recently, IRT models were developed for dealing with specific deviations from normality, such as zero-inflation (“excess zeros”) and skewness. However, these models have not yet been evaluated under conditions representative of item bank development for health outcomes, characterized by a large number of polytomous items. A simulation study was performed to compare the bias in parameter estimates of the graded response model (GRM), polytomous extensions of the zero-inflated mixture IRT (ZIM-GRM), and Davidian Curve IRT (DC-GRM). In the case of zero-inflation, the GRM showed high bias overestimating discrimination parameters and yielding estimates of threshold parameters that were too high and too close to one another, while ZIM-GRM showed no bias. In the case of skewness, the GRM and DC-GRM showed little bias with the GRM showing slightly better results. Consequences for the development of health outcome measures are discussed.

Two-level Mokken scale analysis is a generalization of Mokken scale analysis for multi-rater data. The bias of estimated scalability coefficients for two-level Mokken scale analysis, the bias of their estimated standard errors, and the coverage of the confidence intervals has been investigated, under various testing conditions. It was found that the estimated scalability coefficients were unbiased in all tested conditions. For estimating standard errors, the delta method and the cluster bootstrap were compared. The cluster bootstrap structurally underestimated the standard errors of the scalability coefficients, with low coverage values. Except for unequal numbers of raters across subjects and small sets of items, the delta method standard error estimates had negligible bias and good coverage. Post hoc simulations showed that the cluster bootstrap does not correctly reproduce the sampling distribution of the scalability coefficients, and an adapted procedure was suggested. In addition, the delta method standard errors can be slightly improved if the harmonic mean is used for unequal numbers of raters per subject rather than the arithmetic mean.

This mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis sheds more light on the role parenting practices play in children’s adjustment after war exposure. Specifically, we quantitatively examined how war exposure shapes parenting behavior, and whether parenting behavior explains some of the well-known associations between war exposure and children’s adjustment. In addition, we meta-synthesized the qualitative evidence answering when and why parenting practices might change for war-affected families. We searched nine electronic databases and contacted experts in the field for relevant studies published until March 2018, identifying 4,147 unique publications that were further screened by title and abstract, resulting in 158 publications being fully screened. By running a meta-analytic structural equation model (MASEM) with 38 quantitative studies (N = 54,372, Mage = 12.00, SDage = 3.54), we found that war-exposed parents showed less warmth and more harshness towards their children, which partly mediated the association between war exposure and child adjustment, i.e., more post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression and anxiety, social problems, externalizing behavior, and lower positive outcomes. War exposure was not associated with parents’ exercise of behavioral control. Through meta-synthesizing ten qualitative studies (N = 1,042, age range = 0-18), we found that the nature of war-related trauma affected parenting differently. That is, parents showed harshness, hostility, inconsistency and less warmth in highly dangerous settings, and more warmth and overprotection when only living under threat. We conclude that it is not only how much but also what families have seen that shape parenting in times of war.

Reliability is usually estimated for a test score, but it can also be estimated for item scores. Item-score reliability can be useful to assess the item’s contribution to the test score’s reliability, for identifying unreliable scores in aberrant item-score patterns in person-fit analysis, and for selecting the most reliable item from a test to use as a single-item measure. Four methods were discussed for estimating item-score reliability: the Molenaar–Sijtsma method (method MS), Guttman’s method [Formula: see text], the latent class reliability coefficient (method LCRC), and the correction for attenuation (method CA). A simulation study was used to compare the methods with respect to median bias, variability (interquartile range [IQR]), and percentage of outliers. The simulation study consisted of six conditions: standard, polytomous items, unequal [Formula: see text] parameters, two-dimensional data, long test, and small sample size. Methods MS and CA were the most accurate. Method LCRC showed almost unbiased results, but large variability. Method [Formula: see text] consistently underestimated item-score reliabilty, but showed a smaller IQR than the other methods.

The present experimental study examined whether a different focus during a pre-task planning observation task affects learners’ subsequent oral task performance. Forty-eight ninth-grade students learning German as a foreign language were randomly assigned to two different planning conditions: video observations with a focus on language (FonL) and video observations with a focus on content (FonC). With a communicative oral task we measured the effects on oral task performance, in terms of attempted (accurate) use of the target structure and complexity, in terms of number of words, subordination and coordination. In addition we investigated whether there was a trade-off between attempted (accurate) use of the target structure and complexity. Results showed that the focus of the observations at the pre-task stage did indeed lead to different outcomes: students in the language condition used the grammatical target structure more often and more accurately, whereas students of the content condition generated more coordinate and subordinate clauses. Trade-offs were found between attempted (accurate) use of the target structure and the use of subordinate clauses. These findings imply that, depending on the purposes of the lesson, the observation of peer-model videos with different planning foci can be effectively used to promote (accurate) use of targeted grammatical structures and improve complexity during subsequent task performance.

The present study examined the link between financial problems and delinquency in adolescents and young adults ( N = 1,258). Using three measurement waves that covered a time span of 6 years, we conducted cross-lagged panel analyses. Overall, we found evidence that financial problems increase the risk of delinquency, and vice versa. Effects of delinquency on financial problems were larger than the other way around. In addition, a longer term (6 year) effect of delinquency on financial problems was found, whereas this effect was not found for financial problems to delinquency. Gender and age did not moderate the financial problem–delinquency link, suggesting that the bidirectional effect between financial problems and delinquency applies to adolescent and young adult males and females. Finally, we found some evidence to suggest that the indirect effects became stronger over time.

Cognitive distortions are an important focus in many investigations and treatments of externalizing problem behavior, such as antisocial, delinquent, and aggressive behavior. Yet the overall strength of the association between cognitive distortions and externalizing behavior is unknown. Furthermore, it is unknown whether interventions can effectively reduce cognitive distortions and subsequently externalizing behavior. To fill these gaps, we conducted a meta-analysis of 71 studies on 20,685 participants. RESULTS showed a medium to large effect size (d =.70) for the association between cognitive distortions and externalizing behavior. Interventions had a small effect (d =.27) on reducing cognitive distortions. In a subset of intervention studies that incorporated both cognitive distortions and externalizing behavior, however, neither cognitive distortions nor externalizing behavior were effectively reduced. Hence, although cognitive distortions are substantially linked to externalizing behavior and interventions can reduce cognitive distortions, a subsequent reduction in externalizing behavior remains to be demonstrated. Keywords: Juvenile justice Language: en

In current Western society, children are often lavished with inflated praise (e.g., “You made an incredibly beautiful drawing!”). Inflated praise is often given in an attempt to raise children’s self-esteem. An experiment (Study 1) and naturalistic study (Study 2) found that adults are especially inclined to give inflated praise to children with low self-esteem. This inclination may backfire, however. Inflated praise might convey to children that they should continue to meet very high standards—a message that might discourage children with low self-esteem from taking on challenges. Another experiment (Study 3) found that inflated praise decreases challenge seeking in children with low self-esteem and has the opposite effect on children with high self-esteem. These findings show that inflated praise, although well intended, may cause children with low self-esteem to avoid crucial learning experiences.

Person-centered analyses were used to identify relationship profiles based on seventh graders’ perceptions of relationships with three of their teachers (homeroom teacher, teacher of the easiest subject, teacher of the hardest subject). Furthermore, we investigated whether students’ characteristics (gender and academic track) could explain relationship profile membership and how these relationship profiles were associated with students’ school engagement. Students ( N = 899, 47.8% girls) reported about their relationships (closeness, conflict) with their teachers. Students and their homeroom teachers reported about students’ behavioral and emotional engagement. Four relationship profiles were found: a no risk profile (high closeness, low conflict with all three teachers), two single risk profiles (low closeness, high conflict with only one teacher), and one multiple risk profile (high conflict with all three teachers). Furthermore, boys were underrepresented in the no risk profile. Finally, students in the no risk profile tended to be more behaviorally and emotional engaged.

Some adolescents may be more likely to be influenced by parents and peers in their development of externalizing behavior than others. Recent research indicates that sensory processing sensitivity may underlie such differences in sensitivity to environmental influences, and specifically that individuals with higher sensory processing sensitivity may be similarly highly reactive to both negative and positive social contexts. Data from a two-wave, two-year longitudinal questionnaire study with 177 adolescents ( M age = 13.34 years, SD age = 1.05) were used to test the hypothesis that the associations between negative relationship quality with parents and best friend and later increased adolescents’ externalizing behavior and between support from parents and best friend and later decreased adolescents’ externalizing behavior would be stronger for adolescents with higher sensory processing sensitivity. Our hypothesis was partly confirmed, with results showing that a stronger negative relationship quality with best friend was only predictive of a subsequent increase in externalizing behavior for adolescents who scored higher on sensory processing sensitivity. More research is needed to investigate whether sensory processing sensitivity functions as a trait that is associated with increased sensitivity to environmental stimuli regardless of valence, especially in the context of negative and positive social exposures such as peer and parent environments.

Purpose: To synthesize evidence of parenting program effects on disruptive child behavior in China and compare three program approaches: behavioral, relational, and cognitive. Methods: We searched five databases (four English and one Chinese) and identified 45 studies; 29 studies were included in a multilevel meta-analysis (92 effect sizes; total Ntotal = 3,892; Mchild age = 6.12 years). Results: We found large overall effects on reduced disruptive child behavior ( d = −1.28, 95% CI [−1.86, −0.70], p < .001), reduced harsh and inconsistent parenting ( d = −1.70, 95% CI [−2.91, −0.49], p Conclusions: Parenting programs for disruptive child behavior can effectively support Chinese families, especially those adopting a behavioral approach.

Prison-based dog training programs (DTPs) aim to improve successful rehabilitation after detention. However, empirical evidence for their effectiveness is lacking. To evaluate the effectiveness of a DTP—Dutch Cell Dogs (DCD)—on externalizing behavior, stress, self-esteem, empathy, and treatment motivation, a pilot study with a Multiple Case Experimental Design in six adolescents residing in a juvenile justice center (JJC) was conducted. Results did not provide convincing evidence for DCD’s effectiveness. Further research is needed to determine whether and for whom DCD could be a useful addition to regular JJC programming.

Background/Context Teachers and educational professionals can draw on (informal) networks to foster their professional development. Moreover, a growing number of studies have shown that teachers use social networking sites (SNSs), such as Twitter, to keep up to date with the latest news on education and share resources with colleagues. Additionally, social capital can help to explain potential benefits of networking and has already been used to better understand professional development. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The aim of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the informal networking of educators in SNSs. To achieve this goal, we first indicate how the concept of social capital can be used to assess communication flows within SNSs. Then, we consider social networking metrics and question whether they are as relevant in an online realm. Next, we argue for an adjusted brokerage index, namely the social brokerage index (SBI), which can help to shed light on how brokerage positions are shaped by different people within SNSs. Finally, we provide empirical data from six educational hashtag conversations on Twitter to test the relevance and applicability of the SBI. Research Design Using Twitter data from six (international) hashtag conversations between teachers and educational professionals, we apply social network analysis methods to assess the potential formation of social capital. In applying this method to the Twitter conversations in question, we first collected data on the Twitter users who contributed to the applicable hashtag conversation. Subsequently, we built directed unweighted one-mode networks based on mentions, and replies matrices. Second, we computed the in-degree, out-degree, and overall degree centrality metrics of all users (nodes) taking part in the applicable hashtag discussions. Additionally, we also determined users’ brokerage positions, which is another indicator for social capital formation within networks. Questioning the relevance of these metrics in the context of SNSs, we propose the SBI, which departs from previous work that has largely been framed by considerations around general account characteristics (follower/following ratio), general communication patterns (retweet/mention ratio), or in-degree metrics. Conclusions/Recommendations Based on our findings, we believe that our proposed SBI has added value to the analyses of network behavior beyond the scope of Twitter. More specifically, the SBI could help to understand what type of discussions draw what type of participants and thereby shed more light on how SNSs contribute to social capital formation among teachers and educational professionals.

In recent years, there has been increased attention for the position of adolescents and young adults in the justice system. The Netherlands implemented the Act on Adolescent Criminal Law in 2014, making it possible to sentence young adults up to the age of 23 at the time of the offence as juveniles. This article addresses the most recent Dutch reforms in order to identify key challenges to consider when accommodating young adults in the justice system. It is aimed to highlight the important lessons to be learned from the Dutch experience with a flexible approach to sentencing adolescents and young adults.

The subject of this study is an integrative theory of the conscience. According to this theory, conscience is operationalised as a regulatory function of one’s own behaviour and identity, resulting from an interplay of empathy, self-conscious emotions such as guilt and shame, and moral reasoning. This study aimed to evaluate conscience in an adult forensic psychiatric sample by assessing the underlying factors proposed by Schalkwijk. Offenders ( n = 48) appeared to show less affective but not less cognitive empathy, less identification with others, less personal distress in seeing others’ suffering, less shame and shame-proneness, and lower levels of moral reasoning than non-offenders ( n = 50). In coping with self-conscious emotions, offenders used the same amount of externalising coping strategies, but fewer internalising coping strategies.

This qualitative study explores the youth-initiated mentoring (YIM) approach for youth at risk for out-of-home placement. In this approach, a youth nominates someone from within their social network, and positions this person as a YIM to function as an ally for the youth and as a partner for parents and professional caregivers. Through interviews with six youth, six YIMs, and seven parents ( N = 19), we examined the positioning of a YIM and sustainability. The results indicated that attitudes from participants toward asking someone or being asked to become a YIM varied from enthusiastic to cautious. Participants reported increased contact intensity and relationship quality. Two parents did not experience YIM as beneficial. Most participants expected that the YIM–mentee relationship lasts after professional care terminates. The results reveal that YIM is experienced as an ally, but it also has the potential to increase relational conflicts between social network members.

New Perspectives (NP) aims to prevent persistent criminal behavior. We examined the long-term effectiveness of NP and whether the effects were moderated by demographic and delinquency factors. At-risk youth aged 12 to 19 years were randomly assigned to the intervention group (NP, n = 47) or care as usual (CAU, n = 54). Official and self-report data were collected to assess recidivism. NP was not more effective in reducing delinquency levels and recidivism than CAU. Also, no moderator effects were found. The overall null effects are discussed, including further research and policy implications.

This study investigated how students’ ethnic pride was related to variation in ethnic composition between classrooms as well as within the same classroom over time. Predictions derived from optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT) were tested among 13- to 14-year-old ethnic majority and minority students ( N = 1,123). Lending support to ODT, a curvilinear relation between the share of same-ethnicity classmates and students’ ethnic pride was found in a cross-sectional analysis, with ethnic pride peaking in classrooms with approximately 50% same-ethnicity classmates. In line with ODT, longitudinal analyses revealed ethnic pride decreased for students who moved away from a share of 50% same-ethnicity classmates. Contrary to ODT, however, ethnic pride also decreased for students who moved closer to this point of optimal distinctiveness.

This study examined whether Dutch children reared in families headed by female same-sex parents differ in civic competence from Dutch children reared by opposite-sex parents. The participants, drawn from a national sample, included 32 children (11-13 years old) parented by female same-sex couples who were matched on demographic characteristics with 32 same-aged children parented by opposite-sex couples. The comparison revealed that children raised by female same-sex parents scored significantly higher on several civic competencies, specifically on attitudes concerning acting democratically, dealing with conflicts, and dealing with differences. These results suggest that growing up in a nontraditional family may be associated with a greater appreciation of diversity and the development of good citizenship.

Because there has been little research on focus on form during the post-task phase in task-based language teaching, this experimental study investigates the effects of task repetition after having directed learners’ attention to form during the main task. The study comprises two interventions, where each consisted of a task with a focus on a particular language structure. Forty-eight ninth-grade students learning German as a foreign language were randomly assigned to two conditions: one group repeated a similar task (R); the other group did not (NR). The first intervention targeted the German dative case after a preposition; the second German comparatives. Pretests, immediate and delayed posttests measured metalinguistic knowledge, written and oral accuracy as well as oral fluency. Results showed that on written accuracy and metalinguistic knowledge, the R condition outperformed the NR condition on both structures. No significant differences between conditions were found on oral accuracy and fluency.

OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy of child cognitive-behavioral therapy (CCBT) versus family CBT (FCBT) in anxiety-disordered youth with high and low comorbid ADHD symptoms.METHOD:Youth with anxiety disorders (n = 123, aged 8-18) were classified in four groups according to (a) the type of CBT received (child vs. family) and (b) their comorbid ADHD symptoms, measured with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Attention Problems syndrome scale level (normal vs. [sub]clinical). Severity of anxiety disorders was assessed with Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Child and Parent (ADIS-C/P) version and anxiety symptoms via a 71-item anxiety symptom questionnaire, the Screen for Child Anxiety and Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED-71), before and after CBT, and at 3 months and 1-year follow-ups.RESULTS:Based on the severity of anxiety disorders, children with high ADHD symptoms profit more from FCBT than CCBT in the long term. For children low on ADHD symptoms, and for anxiety symptoms and attention problems, no differences between CCBT and FCBT occurred.CONCLUSION:Family involvement seems a valuable addition to CBT for children with comorbid anxiety and ADHD symptoms.

A well-known approach in computerized mastery testing is to combine the Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT) stopping rule with item selection to maximize Fisher information at the mastery threshold. This article proposes a new approach in which a time limit is defined for the test and examinees’ response times are considered in both item selection and test termination. Item selection is performed by maximizing Fisher information per time unit, rather than Fisher information itself. The test is terminated once the SPRT makes a classification decision, the time limit is exceeded, or there is no remaining item that has a high enough probability of being answered before the time limit. In a simulation study, the new procedure showed a substantial reduction in average testing time while slightly improving classification accuracy compared with the original method. In addition, the new procedure reduced the percentage of examinees who exceeded the time limit.

Purpose: This study examined the construct validity and reliability of a therapeutic alliance measure (Children’s Alliance Questionnaire [CAQ]) for children with psychosocial and/or behavioral problems, receiving therapeutic residential care or day care in the Netherlands. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis of a one-factor model “therapeutic alliance” was conducted on two samples of 115 and 116 children, aged 4–14 years. Reliability analysis and concurrent validity were examined. Results: Results showed a good fit to the data, indicating construct validity of the measures. Cronbach’s α reliability coefficients were good for both alliance measures. Concurrent validity was supported by significant relations between the alliance scale and positive group climate (Group Climate Instrument for Children [GCIC]) and treatment motivation (Adolescent Treatment Motivation Questionnaire). No correlations with negative group climate (GCIC) were found. Discussion: The CAQ can be used as an assessment tool for therapeutic alliance within both residential treatment and therapeutic day care settings for children.

This study examined the influence of adolescent psychiatric disorder on young adult recidivism and compared findings with earlier studies of juvenile recidivism. Logistic regression analysis examined subsequent adulthood recidivism (through age 23 years) by disorder profile, adjusting for prior offense severity and background variables, in 340 Alabama juveniles referred to juvenile justice agencies (probation and detention). Youths with comorbid internalizing and disruptive behavior disorder had a sixfold increased risk for young adult recidivism compared with nondisordered counterparts. Comorbid internalizing disorder likely is a marker for the severity of a youth’s disruptive behavior disorder; similarly, offending that continues into adulthood likely betokens a more serious course of offending behavior. The severity underlying disorder and offending behavior is probably the common link between them. To prevent reoffending into adulthood, the mental health needs of juvenile justice youths’ internalizing and externalizing problems should be addressed.

Item does not contain fulltext Introducing instruments to structure risk assessment has been shown to improve agreement between probation professionals about the assessment of offenders' risks and needs. The subsequent decisions about intervention plans, however, are to a large extent still unstructured. This article addresses the question of whether probation officers agree about intervention plans and whether agreement differs between experienced and less experienced probation officers. A group of 44 Dutch probation officers wrote intervention plans for four cases in which the risk and needs assessment was given. Results showed that the overall agreement about the intervention plan is poor. Looking at the different domains of an intervention plan, agreement about the advice on the sanction, conditions, criminogenic needs to be addressed, and programs is fair. On all other domains (instructions, control, intensity of supervision, and goals), agreement is poor. Experience of the probation officers did not influence the agreement about the intervention plans substantially.

Objectives: We evaluated a new attachment-oriented intervention aimed at improving parental mind-mindedness, promoting positive parent–child relationships, and reducing child psychopathology in families with adopted children. Method: The sample consisted of 20 families with adopted children (2–5 years of age). After the pretest, the intervention was conducted, followed by a posttest, 6 months later. Results: Positive medium-to-large changes between pretest and posttest were found in children’s insecure attachments to their mothers, disorganized attachments to both their parents and conduct problems. Finally, mothers who had spent more time with their adopted children perceived less peer problems in their children after the intervention. Conclusion: Basic Trust is a promising intervention for improving parent–child relationships in adoptive families and decreasing attachment and conduct problems.

Study Objective: To test whether sleep duration on school nights differs between adolescents in Australia and the United States and, if so, whether this difference is explained by cultural differences in school start time, parental involvement in setting bedtimes, and extracurricular commitments. Participants: Three hundred eighty-five adolescents aged 13 to 18 years (M = 15.57, SD = 0.95; 60% male) from Australia and 302 adolescents aged 13 to 19 years (M = 16.03, SD = 1.19; 35% male) from the United States. Methods: Adolescents completed the School Sleep Habits Survey during class time, followed by an 8-day sleep diary. Results: After controlling for age and gender, Australian adolescents obtained an average of 47 minutes more sleep per school night than those in the United States. Australian adolescents were more likely to have a parent-set bedtime (17.5% vs. 6.8%), have a later school start time (8:32 a.m. vs. 7:45 a.m.), and spend less time per day on extracurricular commitments (1 h 37 min vs. 2 h 41 min) than their U.S. peers. The mediating factors of parent-set bedtimes, later school start times, and less time spent on extracurricular activities were significantly associated with more total sleep. Conclusions: In addition to biological factors, extrinsic cultural factors significantly affect adolescent sleep. The present study highlights the importance of a cross-cultural, ecological approach and the impact of early school start times, lack of parental limit setting around bedtimes, and extracurricular load in limiting adolescent sleep. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The aim of this study was to investigate whether stigmatization was associated with psychological adjustment in adolescents from planned lesbian families and, if so, to examine whether individual and interpersonal promotive factors influenced this association. Seventy-eight adolescents (39 girls, 39 boys; mean age = 17.05 years) completed an online questionnaire about psychological health problems and life satisfaction. In addition, information was obtained about androgynous personality traits (an individual factor) of the adolescents. The adolescents were also queried about family compatibility and peer group fit (two interpersonal factors). Hierarchical multiple-regression analyses revealed that stigmatization was associated with more psychological health problems and less life satisfaction, but family compatibility and peer group fit ameliorated this. These findings suggest that stigmatization has a negative impact on the psychological adjustment of adolescents with same-sex parents. Interpersonal promotive factors decrease the strength of this association.

This article focuses on the influence of male role models on the lives of adolescents (N = 78) in the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study. Half of the adolescents had male role models; those with and those without male role models had similar scores on the feminine and masculine scales of the Bem Sex Role Inventory, as well as on the trait subscales of the State-Trait Personality Inventory (anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity) and the Child Behavior Checklist (internalizing, externalizing, and total problem behavior). A positive association was found between feminine gender role traits and curiosity, and a negative correlation between this trait and internalizing problem behavior; these associations were independent of the gender of the adolescents and the presence of male role models. In sum, the absence of male role models did not adversely affect the psychological adjustment of adolescents reared by lesbian mothers.

This study examined which dynamic risk factors for recidivism play an important role during adolescence. The sample consisted of 13,613 American juveniles who had committed a criminal offense. The results showed that the importance of almost all dynamic risk factors, both in the social environment domain (school, family, relationships) and in the individual domain (attitude, skills, aggressiveness), decreased as juveniles grew older. Therefore, the potential effect of an intervention aimed at these factors will also decrease as juveniles grow older. The relative importance of the risk factors also changed: In early adolescence, risk factors in the family domain showed the strongest association with recidivism, whereas in late adolescence risk factors in the attitude, relationships, and school domain were more strongly related to recidivism. These results suggest that the focus of an intervention needs to be attuned to the age of the juvenile to achieve the maximum potential effect on recidivism. © 2012 The Author(s).

The first aim of the present study was to examine associations between different aspects of adolescent friendship relations (i.e., frequency of contact with friends, trust in friends, and perceived friends' deviance) on one hand, and adolescent problem behavior and self-esteem on the other hand. The second aim was to determine whether the findings hold for adolescents from three different ethnic groups and for boys and girls. A sample of 508 Dutch, Turkish, and Moroccan adolescents living in the Netherlands filled in a battery of questionnaires at school. Having contact with deviant friends was the strongest contributor to both aggressive and delinquent problem behavior. Trust in friends was the strongest contributor to self-esteem. In general, gender differences were more pronounced than differences among the ethnic groups.

Literacy interventions in the family context have great potential to promote reading development in children. However, the results of meta-analyses indicate that family-based approaches tend not to be as effective as expected. Although the effectiveness of family literacy interventions can be assumed to hinge largely on the quality of their implementation in families, this aspect has attracted surprisingly little research attention to date. This article identifies, analyses, and discusses aspects of implementation quality that may enhance or diminish the effectiveness of family literacy interventions. Data from two evaluation studies of programmes for kindergarten- and school-age children were used to examine three types of implementation variables (intensity and quality of parent-child activities; support and training provided for parents; participation). The results indicate possibilities for how implementation quality in all three areas can be improved. Implications for future family literacy programmes as well as for evaluation and implementation studies are discussed.

The current investigation examined the psychometric properties of Grasmick et al.'s self-control measure and its relationship with deviance on large, representative adolescent samples ( N = 8,417) from Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. Important findings indicate that (1) the self-control measure is multidimensional; (2) the self-control measure is tenable for males, females, five different age groups (15-, 16-, 17-, 18-, and 19-year-olds), and adolescents from four different countries; (3) deviance as assessed by the Normative Deviance Scale (NDS) can be reliably measured in different countries; (4) self-control accounts for 10 to 16 percent of the total variance explained in different types of deviance and for 20 percent in total deviance; and (5) developmental processes involving self-control and deviance are largely invariant by national context. The investigation provides further support for the multidimensional self-control measure and its relationship with deviance independent of national context.

A study is presented in which three characteristics of dyslexia were examined: (a) speed limitations in word identification, (b) sensitivity to increasing task demands, and (c) orthographic compensation. Ten students with dyslexia (10 years old) were compared to 10 chronological-age controls and 20 reading-age controls on their performance in reading. Response latencies of the students with dyslexia were slower when familiar words, letter clusters, and nonwords had to be named. A larger word-frequency effect and a larger word-length effect in the these students indicates that they have difficulty with increasing task demands. In addition, a subword-frequency effect was found to be larger in the students with dyslexia. These differences among the three groups of students are interpreted in terms of automatization. Furthermore, it is suggested that students with dyslexia may have a preference for large orthographic units, which is used as a compensatory tool in reading.

In survey data, four potential sources of measurement error can jeopardize the results: the respondents, the interviewers, the questions, and the data collection method. In the past two decades, a shift has occurred in the way survey data are collected; telephone surveys and, to a lesser degree, mail surveys are now more extensively used. This has stimulated empirical research on the influence of the data collection method on data quality. Most of these mode comparisons used univariate criteria. In this study we concentrate on the potential influence of the data collection method on two substantive structural models. A controlled field experiment was conducted in which a mail, a telephone, and a face-to-face survey were compared. Using multigroup comparisons, two substantive structural equation models (one for loneliness and one for general well-being) were compared across the different data collection methods. The different data collection methods turned out to produce significantly different covariance matrices. Subsequent analyses showed that structural models, based on these covariance matrices, also differed.

Résmné. La participation dans une enquête comme action raisonnée - Un paradigme comportemental pour la non-réponse d'enquête? La non-réponse d'enquête entame la valeur inférentielle des enquêtes par questionnaire. La non-réponse est d'ores et déjà un problème reconnu aux Etats-Unis et en Europe de l'Ouest. Pour lutter convenablement contre le problème de la non-réponse, une connaissance étendue des répondants et des non-répondants est nécessaire. Dans cet article, les auteurs décrivent une méthode pour réussir à collecter des informations aussi bien des répondants. que des non-répondants. La méthode a été développée et testée par Cialdini aux USA; nous démontrons qu'elle peut être employée avec succès aux Pays-Bas et que les résultats de Cialdini ont une validité transculturelle. D'autre part, nous démontrons que la décision de répondre ou ne pas répondre à un questionnaire d'enquête peut être partialement expliquée par la théorte de l'action raisonnée.

Modélisation de la structure de la covariance sous Windows: Une analyse multitratsmultiméthodea utilisant Amos, Eqs, et Lisrel. Cet article étudie les trois grands logiciels d'analyse de la structure de la covariance sous Windows. Le point essentiel de la comparaison réside en une analyse d'une matrice 5x5 multitraits-multiméthodes. On montre ainsi que la possibilité de différents fonctions d'ajustement et de procédures bootstrap dans les programmes actuels d'analyse de la structure de la covariances permettent une analyse fine de données à problèmes.