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The use of observed scores to represent constructs in cross-lagged panel mediation models (CLPMs) can result in inaccurate effect estimates of these constructs (Cole & Maxwell, 2003; Little, 2013)....

Although previous studies have extensively investigated the cross-sectional relationship between social engagement and depressive symptoms in late life, longitudinal studies have produced mixed results. Furthermore, studies on the associations between these two concepts among aging African Americans are few. Using a sample of 1688 older African Americans adults from waves 1 and 7 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (60% women; Average age = 77 years), the present study investigates the longitudinal associations between social engagement (an index from scores on visiting friends and family, attending religious services, attending religious services, participating in group activities, and going out for enjoyment) and depressive symptoms across seven years. Structural equation modeling was used to test cross-lagged relationships between the variables. Findings suggest that social engagement at baseline significantly predicted subsequent depressive symptoms and social engagement. Depressive symptoms at baseline, however, were not significantly associated with subsequent social engagement. These findings suggest that low social engagement in older African Americans is directly associated with increased depressive symptoms over time, but not vice versa. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the barriers of social engagement for older African Americans and its effects on their mental health.

Introduction Although an extensive body of work has shown that family functioning is linked to adolescent outcomes, less is known about how the family affects school outcomes and vice versa. The present longitudinal study tested reciprocal relationships between the family environment and school engagement during the middle school years. Methods A cross-lagged latent model tested these effects in 378 Turkish youth (53.7% males; M = 11.73, SD = 0.53) evaluated annually (Waves 1, 2, and 3) in grades 6 through 8. Results Findings showed the family environment positively predicted developmental changes in school engagement at each time point (β range = 0.18 to 0.24); school engagement also positively predicted developmental changes in the family environment (β range = 0.12 to 0.28). Follow-up multigroup tests by age, sex, and family structure showed that the reciprocal links between the family environment and school engagement were invariant. Conclusions Study findings supported reciprocal longitudinal links between developmental changes of the family environment and school engagement. They extend previous research by highlighting the continued importance of the home environment on developmental changes in academic performance in adolescents, and thus, inform parents, educators, and policymakers on the relevance of the family in promoting academic engagement and achievement in adolescence.

Introduction There is a dearth of research on examining the longitudinal effects of cultural family processes on adolescent hopelessness, and the mechanisms through which the effects happen. Hence, the present study examined the relationship among parental (paternal and maternal) sacrifices, filial piety and adolescent hopelessness in the Chinese context. Methods The study was based on a three-wave longitudinal data from a sample of 1569 Chinese adolescents (Time 1: mean age = 13.15 ± .92 years; 50.8% girls). The adolescents were invited to fill out a questionnaire containing measurements of studied variables thrice, at an interval of one year. Results The results of cross-lagged panel analysis indicated that maternal sacrifice was associated with filial piety, which in turn was linked with hopelessness among Chinese adolescents. Moreover, there was bidirectional effects of adolescent hopelessness at earlier time point on paternal and maternal sacrifice at later time point via filial piety. Conclusions The study showed that maternal sacrifice serves as a protective factor that reduces adolescents’ sense of hopelessness via the development of filial piety. At the same time, the bidirectional indirect effects of filial piety on the relationship between parental sacrifice and adolescent hopelessness also alert family researchers and youth practitioners on the child effects on parental behavior in Chinese families. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Purpose Appetitive behaviours have been associated with body mass index (BMI). However, existing data were largely derived from cross-sectional studies and cannot provide insight into the direction of associations. We aimed to explore the bidirectionality of these associations in school-age children. Methods Participants are from the Generation XXI birth cohort, assessed at both 7 and 10 years of age (n = 4264; twins excluded). The Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) was used to measure appetitive behaviours (8 subscales). Anthropometrics were measured and WHO BMI z-score was calculated. Cross-lagged analyses were performed to compare the magnitude and direction of the associations (behaviours at 7 years to BMI z-score at 10 years and the reverse) (covariates: child’s sex, physical exercise, maternal age and education; plus BMI z-score at age 7 or, in the reverse direction, the subscale score). Results In cross-lagged analyses, appetitive behaviours at 10 years of age (apart from emotional undereating) were shown to be reactive to the child BMI z-score at 7 years of age. Only slowness in eating was significantly related to subsequent BMI. However, the strongest association was from the child BMI z-score to the behaviour (βstandardized = − 0.028 compared with βstandardized = − 0.103, likelihood ratio test p

Previous studies have suggested that cognitive reappraisal, which is an effective emotion regulation strategy, enhances decentering. On the other hand, other studies have implied the reverse in regard to this relationship: that decentering supports cognitive reappraisal. However, these possibilities have not yet been examined empirically. In the present study, we investigated the causal relationship between decentering and cognitive reappraisal by conducting two wave cross-lagged analysis. One hundred and thirty-eight Japanese university students responded to a questionnaire comprising measures of decentering and cognitive reappraisal tendency; the questionnaire was administered on two occasions, with an interval of one month. Cross-lagged analysis indicated the positive effect of cognitive reappraisal on decentering; however, the reverse possibility, that decentering influences cognitive reappraisal, was not significant. These results suggested that habitual use of cognitive reappraisal fosters decentering.

Moral disengagement (MD) has been positively associated with antisocial behavior (AB) in sport. However, the longitudinal associations between MD and AB are unexamined to date. Adopting a three-wave cross-lagged panel design, the authors examined the reciprocal relations between MD and two forms of AB (i.e., toward opponents and teammates) across a competitive season with a sample of 407 team-sport athletes (Mage = 15.7 years) from Canada. Using structural equation modeling, the authors found strong positive autoregressive effects for MD and both forms of AB across both time periods. They also identified strong positive synchronous correlations between MD and both types of AB at each time point. Finally, cross-lagged effects were only found between MD and AB toward opponents; effects from MD to AB toward opponents were stronger than the reciprocal effects. These findings contribute important knowledge on the regulation of AB in sport.

This study documented the etiology contributions between anxiety symptoms (AS) and depressive symptoms (DS) from ages 6–12 years. Teachers assessed AS and DS in 1112 twins at 5 time points. A genetic cross-lagged model was used to estimate genetic/environmental contributions to cross-sectional, cross-age and cross-lag associations. The variance in AS and DS was largely time-specific and more genetic in nature for DS than for AS. Previous DS predicted subsequent DS better than cross-lag or previous common effects, and AS up to age 9 better than previous AS or previous common effects. Thereafter, previous AS predicted subsequent AS. All predictions involved both genetic and unique environment. Suppression effects were found and, when controlled, AS marginally predicted DS from age 7 onward through genetic influences. AS and DS are associated throughout childhood. DS are more stable than AS, and more central to both subsequent AS and DS. AS marginally contribute to subsequent DS.

Background and objectives. Major negative life-events including bereavement can precipitate perceived positive life-changes, termed posttraumatic growth (PTG). While traditionally considered an adaptive phenomenon, it has been suggested that PTG represents a maladaptive coping response similar to cognitive avoidance. To clarify the function of PTG, it is crucial to establish concurrent and longitudinal associations of PTG with post-event mental health problems. Yet, longitudinal studies on this topic are scarce. The present study fills this gap in knowledge. Design. A two-wave longitudinal survey was conducted. Methods. Four-hundred and twelve bereaved adults (87.6% women) filled out scales assessing PTG and symptoms of depression, anxiety, prolonged grief, and posttraumatic stress at baseline and 6 months later. Results. The baseline concurrent relationships between all symptom levels and PTG were curvilinear (inverted U-shape). Cross-lagged analyses demonstrated that symptom levels did not predict levels of PTG 6 months later, or vice versa. Conclusions. Findings suggest PTG after loss has no substantive negative or positive effects on mental health. Development of specific treatments to increase PTG after bereavement therefore appears premature.

Longitudinal designs provide a strong inferential basis for uncovering reciprocal effects or causality between variables. For this analytic purpose, a cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) has been widely used in medical research, but the use of the CLPM has recently been criticized in methodological literature because parameter estimates in the CLPM conflate between-person and within-person processes. The aim of this study is to present some alternative models of the CLPM that can be used to examine reciprocal effects, and to illustrate potential consequences of ignoring the issue. A literature search, case studies, and simulation studies are used for this. We examined more than 300 medical papers published since 2009 that applied cross-lagged longitudinal models, finding that in all studies only a single model (typically, the CLPM) was performed and potential alternative models were not considered to test reciprocal effects. In 49% of the studies, only two time points were used, which makes it impossible to test such alternative models. Case studies and simulation studies showed that the CLPM often has worse model fit and markedly different estimates of cross-lagged parameters than alternative models, suggesting that research that relies on the CLPM only may draw erroneous conclusions regarding the presence, predominance, and sign of reciprocal effects as well as about causality.

Objective This prospective study explored bidirectional associations between attachment quality towards mother, father, and peers and disordered eating among a large population-based sample of boys and girls in the transition from preadolescence to adolescence. Specifically, we examined whether insecure attachment relationships emerged as a risk factor for or as an outcome of disordered eating. Method A population-based sample of 904 adolescent girls and boys was assessed four times, at baseline (T1; Mage = 10.8 years) and at 2-, 4-, and 6-year follow-up (T2, T3, and T4). Prospective data were analyzed using cross-lagged panel models for each attachment figure (i.e., mother, father, peers) in a multigroup design to compare genders. Results Better attachment to the mother led to less pronounced disturbed eating in girls across the entire age range and in boys across two time periods. In girls, more pronounced disordered eating at T3 predicted worse attachment to the mother at T4 and better attachment to the father at T1 predicted less disturbed eating at T2. In boys, disordered eating at T1 predicted better attachment to the father at T2. Concerning peer attachment, better attachment at T1 predicted disordered eating at T2, in boys only. No other significant cross-lagged effects emerged. Discussion These findings highlight the differential and gender-specific contribution of attachment figures to the development of disordered eating in adolescence. Programs aimed at improving communication and trust in the relationship with parents might be promising in the prevention of disordered eating and the subsequent deterioration of parent-child attachment relationships.

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In a recent study, Kerr and Wilson (2018) claim to provide a failed test of the Gateway Belief Model (GBM) using a cross-lagged panel analysis with 356 college students. Although we applaud the authors’ effort to extend scholarly work on the GBM, we point out several mischaracterizations of our work and present evidence that contradicts their findings.

Research on the relationship between perfectionism and heavy work investment is all cross-sectional. It mainly considers these constructs as unidimensional, neglecting to examine possible relationships among these constructs' sub-dimensions. Thus, there is a lack of evidence supporting the predictive role of different perfectionism dimensions (perfectionistic concerns and strivings) in heavy work investment dimensions such as workaholism and work engagement. The current study addressed this gap by examining these relationships with two cross-lagged panel models (CLPM). Results based on 431 (T1) and 213 (T2) workers supported the predictive role of perfectionistic concerns at T1 on two T2 workaholism sub-dimensions of working excessively and working compulsively. Perfectionistic strivings at T1 also predicted three sub-dimensions of work engagement at T2: vigor, dedication, and absorption. Practical implications of these positive and negative aspects of perfectionism might suggest managers assess workers' perfectionism and to hire individuals high in perfectionistic strivings because it could be a predictor of work engagement. In contrast, they should try to mitigate workers' perfectionistic concerns tendencies by taking a more regulatory role to encourage employees to not overinvest in perfecting their work to their detriment. Study limitations and future directions for research are discussed.

Purpose Past 30-day tobacco and marijuana use commonly occur among adolescents. It is unclear whether use of one product precedes the other, especially given the new climate surrounding marijuana legalization and the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes. Methods Six-panel cross-lagged regression models, with six months between each panel/Wave (2014–17), were used to model stability paths, bi-directional paths, and comorbid paths (i.e., correlations) between past 30-day use of marijuana and tobacco products. Data were derived from three cohorts of adolescents (n = 3907; weighted N = 461,069) in 6th, 8th, and 10th grades at baseline. Results Few bidirectional relationships between past 30-day tobacco and marijuana use were observed in early adolescence (6th grade). During the middle adolescence developmental period (8th grade), past 30-day marijuana use was prospectively associated with greater risk of past 30-day tobacco use. In late adolescence (10th grade), increased odds of past 30-day marijuana use given prior past 30-day e-cigarette use, and vice versa, were observed. For all cohorts, stability paths were common, especially for past 30-day marijuana use. Comorbid use was common in middle adolescence (8th grade) but small in magnitude. Conclusions This is the first study to longitudinally situate comorbid, past 30-day use of tobacco and marijuana and simultaneously examine bi-directional past 30-day use of these products for adolescents. Marijuana use more often and more strongly predicted subsequent tobacco use than the reverse, especially during middle adolescence (13–15 years old). Marijuana use should be considered when creating interventions that address adolescent e-cigarette use in the U.S.

Psychological capital (PsyCap) is a higher-order construct comprising hope, efficacy, optimism, and resiliency, which has attracted more and more attention from both academics and practitioners. Despite promising progress made in the PsyCap literature, the underlying mechanisms linking PsyCap to organizational outcomes still need more investigation utilizing longitudinal research design. Moreover, the reciprocal relationships between PsyCap and positive affect require more attention. Therefore, we aim to test the central role of positive affect in the relationships between PsyCap and affective organizational commitment (AOC) on one hand and organizational citizenship behaviour toward organization (OCBO) on the other hand as well as the reciprocal relationships between PsyCap and positive affect in this study. A three-wave longitudinal survey was conducted using a cross-lagged panel design with a one-month time lag between two consecutive waves. Panel data was collected from 208 workers in Beijing, China. The results support the hypothesis that positive affect serves as a mediator in the relationships between PsyCap and OCBO. Moreover, we also find some support for a reciprocal relationship between PsyCap and positive affect. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.

Rapid economic growth in Korean society has widened the social and educational gaps among children. This study examines the reciprocal relationship between academic resilience and emotional engagement and the effect of participation in Korea's Educational Welfare Priority Project from a longitudinal perspective. Elementary and middle schools were studied for three years (2015–2017), with 820 students involved in the first year, 911 in the second, and 837 in the third. The results show that academic resilience predicted emotional engagement at a later time point only for project participants, but emotional engagement did not predict academic resilience. This study reveals the importance of psychological resources, such as academic resilience, for disadvantaged students and has implications for educational welfare policies.

Loneliness and depression have similar psychological features but are theoretically and statistically distinct (Hawkley et al., 2008). Most research has examined a unidirectional relationship between loneliness and depression (Cacioppo et al., 2006). Cacioppo et al. (2010), however, found that loneliness predicted subsequent depression, but depression did not predict subsequent loneliness. We extended this work by examining the reciprocal relationship between loneliness and depression in 1,560 healthy adults (ages ranging from 18-95 years at baseline) from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project using cross-lagged panel analysis across three time points. Depression more strongly predicted subsequent loneliness (βs= 0.16 and 0.23, p < .05) than vice versa. These findings are consistent with the cognitive discrepancy theory, suggesting that affective processing, like depression, can negatively impact one’s perception of their social environment (Burholt & Scharf, 2014). Our findings highlight the need for increased longitudinal research examining the relationships among indices of well-being across adulthood.

Informed by theoretical frameworks and related literature concerning intrinsic motivation, favorability, motivational interference, and time management, the current study uses cross-lagged panel models to investigate the longitudinal relations among homework intrinsic motivation, favorability, time management, and math achievement, using data from 1450 Chinese 8th graders over two time points. Results indicated there were positive reciprocal influences of intrinsic motivation and favorability; higher prior intrinsic motivation led to higher subsequent favorability, and higher prior favorability led to higher subsequent intrinsic motivation. Additionally, higher prior time management resulted in higher subsequent intrinsic motivation, favorability, and math achievement. Finally, our study suggests that measuring favorability could be a complementary approach to investigate motivational conflicts in the field of motivational interference.

Background Limited research has confirmed the effects of adolescents’ interactions with parents on adolescents’ engagement in relational aggression. Youth reporting insecure attachment with parents are more likely to be involved in Relational aggression, while the positive association of Relational aggression with emotions such as friendship jealousy and anxiety are well-documented. However, little is known about the longitudinal association between parental attachment and Relational aggression. Objective The current study expands upon previous research by investigating the short-term longitudinal associations between father and mother attachment (i.e., dependency, availability) and relational aggression, with friendship jealousy and anxiety as potential mediators of this association based on the theoretical framework of General Aggression Model. Participants The sample consisted of 2207 Greek adolescents (52.8 % girls) attending the three junior high school grades. Methods Participants completed a self-report questionnaire at two different time points with a six-month interval during the school year. Results Results showed that that higher T1 father dependency (β = 0.14) and availability (β = 0.11), and lower mother dependency (β = −0.12) and availability (β = −0.11) were associated with higher relational aggression at T2. Further, the effects of T1 father availability (β = − 0.02), mother availability (β = −0.04), mother dependency (β = −0.03) to T2 relational aggression through friendship jealousy were significant. Finally, the effects of T1 father availability (β = −0.03), father dependency (β = −0.02), mother availability (β = −0.03), mother dependency (β = −0.02) to T2 relational aggression via anxiety were also significant. Conclusions These findings provide an understanding of the relational aggression during adolescence by emphasizing the role of both social parameters and affective characteristics of the perpetrators.

The ability to regulate negative emotions plays a central role in children's psychosocial (mal-)adjustment. As different contextual demands require the utilization of different strategies, the development of a large and diverse repertoire of emotion regulation (ER) strategies is an important developmental task. This two-wave longitudinal study with 101 preschoolers (wave 1: 3–6 years, M = 5.19, SD = 0.84, 46.5% girls; wave 2: 5–8 years, M = 6.69, SD = 0.85, 46.4% girls) investigated the bidirectional association of children's ER repertoire and problem behavior, operationalized by hyperactivity/attention problems (HAP) and emotional problems (EP). Latent cross-lagged panel analyses indicated that children's size of ER repertoire did not predict HAP, but that HAP negatively predicted the later size of ER repertoire. In contrast, the diversity of available ER strategies negatively predicted later HAP. For EP, no cross-lagged effects could be detected.

Cross-lagged panel correlation (CLPC) analysis has been used to identify causal relationships between mathematical creativity and mathematical aptitude. For this study, 480 8th standard students were selected through a random cluster technique from 9 intermediate and high schools of Varanasi, India. Mathematical creativity and mathematical aptitude tests were administered twice, 4 months apart. The CLPC analysis uncovered a significant relationship between mathematical creativity and mathematical aptitude. It appears that mathematical creativity was a cause of mathematical aptitude, rather than the converse (i.e., higher mathematical creativity leading to higher mathematical aptitude). Limitations and future directions are outlined.

Social stigma has deleterious effects on psychological well-being. Emerging empirical evidences suggest that resilience is an adaptive mindset that generally enables people to survive and thrive in adversity. The current study used a three-wave longitudinal data to examine the potential bidirectional association between perceived stigmatization and resilience. Children of parents living with HIV (n = 195) were assessed at the baseline and followed up for 12 months with 6-month intervals. Cross-lagged panel analyses were performed in the study. The findings showed that the autoregressive effects were stable for perceived stigmatization and resilience, suggesting stable individual differences over time. The cross-lagged effects indicated that perceived stigmatization negatively predicted the level of resilience. However, resilience did not predict perceived stigmatization during the study time. The study suggests a robust longitudinal effect of perceived stigmatization on resilience. The potential bidirectional association between perceived stigmatization and resilience should be examined in the future studies.

There is a gap in the literature concerning the temporal course, and the bidirectional nature, of the relationship between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic stress symptoms. This longitudinal study investigated PTG and posttraumatic stress in individuals directly exposed to the 2011 Oslo bombing ( N = 240). To investigate the relationships between PTG and posttraumatic stress 10 (T1) and 22 (T2) months after the bombing, a cross-lagged autoregressive model was applied. High levels of PTG at T1 were associated with high levels of posttraumatic stress at T2. Furthermore, high levels of posttraumatic stress at T1 were associated with high levels of PTG at T2. The association between PTG and stress declined from 10 to 22 months and was not significant after 22 months. These findings indicate that PTG may be both a consequence and antecedent of posttraumatic stress.

We examine the widely popular social phenomenon of “selfies” (self-portraits uploaded and shared in social media) in terms of the observed positive relationship between this individualistic form of social media usage and narcissism. We conducted a cross-lagged analysis of a two-wave, representative panel survey to understand whether narcissists take selfies as an outlet for maintaining their positive self-views (the self-selection hypothesis), or if by taking selfies' users would increase their level of narcissism (the media effect hypothesis). The findings, however, are consistent with both hypotheses, suggesting a self-reinforcement effect: whereas narcissist individuals take selfies more frequently over time, this increase in selfie production raises subsequent levels of narcissism.

By using a two-wave panel design, the present study aimed at studying longitudinally the relation between business travel and work–family conflict (WFC) as well as the reciprocal relationships among WFC, emotional exhaustion, and psychological health complaints. The study was conducted in a large Norwegian oil and gas company (n = 1702), and the company’s business travel database was utilized to examine business travel. The results showed a positive cross-lagged relation between business travel and WFC. In addition, WFC predicted emotional exhaustion over time, whereas emotional exhaustion predicted psychological health complaints over time. Reversed influences also existed, supporting our hypotheses on reciprocal relations. The longitudinal design of the current study makes an important contribution to the research on business travel and employees’ psychological health.

The present study explores the causal link between school climate, school violence, and a school’s general academic performance over time using a school-level, cross-lagged panel autoregressive modeling design. We hypothesized that reductions in school violence and climate improvement would lead to schools’ overall improved academic performance. School-level secondary analysis of the California Healthy Kids Survey was conducted at three points in time. Findings offer credible evidence that a school’s overall improvement in academic performance is a central causal factor in reducing violence and enhancing a school’s climate. In the discussion, we suggest that when strong efforts to improve academics are taken, schools may tend to include issues of climate and victimization as part of those academic reform efforts.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between authentic leadership and team climate across 22 months. More specifically, three alternative causation models (normal, reversed, reciprocal) were tested. Design/methodology/approach – The longitudinal study was conducted among 265 Finnish municipal employees (87.5 per cent women, mean age 48.4 years). The participants completed a questionnaire three times: at baseline (T1), about 14 months after baseline (T2) and about eight months after the second questionnaire (T3). Findings – The cross-lagged analyses based on structural equation modelling lent support to the reversed causation model more than the normal causation and reciprocal models. More specifically, team climate at T2 predicted authentic leadership across eight months at T3. Thus the study suggests that positive team climate (i.e. vision, participation safety, task orientation, and support for innovation) may foster authentic leadership in the long term and not vice versa. Practical/implications – The findings suggest that − besides improving team climate and authentic leadership themselves – team climate should be improved in order to enable authentic leadership to develop and flourish. It is important to emphasize that in forming the team climate employees are active agents and not passive targets. Originality/value – The study is among the first to test different causal models regarding authentic leadership and team climate. From the theoretical viewpoint, the findings suggest that follower-centric theories of leadership merit greater attention in the future.

This study investigated the longitudinal relation between therapeutic alliance and treatment motivation in a sample of 174 adolescents receiving residential treatment in the Netherlands. Structural equation modeling with a cross-lagged panel design was used to examine the relation between therapeutic alliance and treatment motivation up to 9 months of treatment. Results revealed that autoregressive associations between initial therapeutic alliance and alliance at subsequent time points were significant, whereas for treatment motivation a significant association was found after 6 months, but not after 9 months. Results also showed that a higher level of therapeutic alliance after 3 months was predictive of a higher level of treatment motivation after 6 months. Furthermore, a higher level of therapeutic alliance after 6 months was predictive of a higher level of treatment motivation after 9 months. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.

Aggressive ideations can be defined as thoughts, daydreams or fantasies of harming another. They feature in theoretical models of aggressive behaviour causation and are used in violence risk assessments. Little is known, however, about long term relations between aggressive ideations, aggressive behaviour and related variables such as self-control. We examined cross-lagged associations between these variables in the most recent two waves of the Zurich project on social development (z-proso) when the participants were aged 15 and 17. We found that aggressive ideations were highly stable across this time span. The only significant cross-lagged effects were between aggressive behaviour at age 15 and self-control and aggressive ideations at age 17. Results are consistent with the strength model of self-control in which changes in specific self-controlled behaviour can produce generalised changes in self-control. They are also consistent with the hypothesis that aggressive ideations are more a reaction to or a reflection of shared causes with, rather than a cause of, aggressive behaviour. Future studies should aim to integrate measurements across short and long time scales in order to further understand the causal interactions between aggressive ideations and behaviours as they play out across at the state and trait level.