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The internet constitutes an important platform for parents to find information. How online information searching is linked to parental self-efficacy (PSE)--defined as parents' perceptions about their abilities to have a positive impact on their children--is still unknown. This two-wave study examined cross-lagged associations between PSE and parents' online information searching, as well as the prospective effect of perceived information overload on PSE and online information searching. Moreover, we examined whether these associations differed depending on the online context (governmental-run or nongovernmental-run websites). We used a sample of 214 parents of children (equal number of boys and girls) <4 years (85% of the parents were mothers and 93% were born in Sweden), who completed an online survey twice, 1 year apart. The results showed that parents who felt more efficacious at T1 reported a decrease in online information searching over time. The frequency of parents online searching, however, did not predict changes in PSE. In addition, the effects of information overload depended on the type of websites parents used. Among parents who used both types of websites to search for information, higher information overload was linked with increases in information searching and decreases in PSE over time. The results suggest that perceptions of low self-efficacy and feelings of overload might motivate parents to use the internet more to search for information.

To understand whose parenting (mothers vs. fathers) and which type of parenting (warmth vs. hostility) is more important in predicting adolescent aggression, this study applied dominance analysis to evaluate the relative importance of four different parenting dimensions (maternal hostility, paternal hostility, maternal warmth, and paternal warmth). Four waves of adolescent-reported longitudinal data from the PROSPER project (N = 626, 52% adolescent girls, 89% White rural, age 12 to 15) were used to investigate longitudinal change in the relative importance of these dimensions over time. Findings reveal that at most ages, maternal hostility was relatively more important than both paternal hostility and maternal warmth in predicting adolescent aggression among adolescent girls and boys. However, paternal parenting was more important for boys at specific ages. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for interventions and further research on parenting.

This study using PROSPER data (N = 977, age 11.5-age 15) investigated the longitudinal within-family associations between parent reported parental monitoring and adolescent aggression. Importantly, this study is the first one to examine parent gender and adolescent gender differences on these within-family associations. Results differed between mothers and fathers. There was a negative, bidirectional within-family association between maternal monitoring and adolescent aggression, such that more maternal monitoring than usual was associated with fewer adolescent aggressive behavior problems than usual within the same family, and vice versa. In contrast, during mid-adolescence, a positive, bidirectional within-family association between paternal monitoring and adolescent males' aggression was found, such that more paternal monitoring than usual was related to more adolescent males' aggression than usual within the same family, and vice versa. Practical implications on intervention strategies are discussed.

How do we challenge anti-Black racism within the social work curriculum? As a requirement of all BSW and MSW programs, Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE) coursework provides students with foundational knowledge about human development that is essential to theory-driven social work practice. Traditionally, conceptions of human development center the experiences of white, heterosexual, cis-gender young people and label other identities as "divergent" or "diverse," thereby devaluing the lived experiences of marginalized populations and reducing disparities to a misjudged application of "equal opportunity." Centering the tenets of critical race theory (CRT) within HBSE course curricula enables us to examine the impact of race and racism upon human development and to challenge anti-Black racism. This article will expand commonly used frameworks (e.g., ecological systems theory, life course theory) to consider how CRT helps us understand the impact of race and racism on human development, and specifically on the development of Black youth. We explore recent frameworks that center Black youth's experiences and highlight the impact of racial stress and trauma on development from infancy to adolescence. Five social work educators of an MSW HBSE course offer examples of class activities and assignments that enabled students to apply CRT to HBSE topics.

Few longitudinal studies examine how "changes" in parent-child relationships are associated with changes in youth internalizing problems. In this longitudinal study, we investigated how developmental trends (linear change) and year-to-year lability (within-person fluctuations) in parental warmth and hostility across Grades 6 to 8 predict youth internalizing problems in Grade 9 (N = 618) and whether these linkages differ for boys and girls. Developmental trends (greater decreases in warmth and increases in hostility) were associated with more youth internalizing problems. Greater year-to-year lability (more fluctuations) in father hostility and warmth were also associated with more internalizing problems. Greater lability in mother warmth was associated with more internalizing problems for girls only. The strongest effects of lability on internalizing problems were found for youth with the highest lability scores. This study underscores the importance of differentiating developmental trends from lability in parent-child relationships, both of which may be important for youth internalizing problems.

Emerging adults (EAs) are at high risk for mental health challenges and frequently reach out to their parents for support. Yet little is known about how parents help emerging adults manage and cope with daily stressors and which strategies help and which hinder EA mental health. In this cross‐sectional pilot study of students at a 2‐ and 4‐year college (ages 18–25, N = 680, mean age = 19.0), we extend models of dyadic coping from intimate relationships to the parent‐emerging adult relationship and test whether six specific parent strategies to help emerging adults manage stress are associated with EA mental health. Emerging adults with parents who provided problem and emotion‐focused supportive dyadic coping, delegated dyadic coping, and common/joint dyadic coping reported fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as higher levels of psychological well‐being. In contrast, college‐attending emerging adults who reported higher levels of parent‐provided negative dyadic coping reported higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower psychological well‐being. Parent‐emerging adult dyadic coping is a fruitful area for future research and intervention development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with family systems theory, we examined patterns of hostile interactions within families and their associations with externalizing problems among early-adolescent children. Using hostility scores based on observational data of six dyadic interactions during a triadic interaction (n = 462; i.e., child-to-mother, mother-to-child, child-to-father, father-to-child, mother-to-father, father-to-mother)--latent profile analysis supported three distinct profiles of hostility. The "low/moderate hostile" profile included families with the lowest levels of hostility across dyads; families in the "mutual parent-child hostile" profile scored higher on parent-child hostility, but lower on interparental hostility; the "hostile parent" profile showed higher levels of parent-to-child and interparental hostility, but lower child-to-parent hostility. Concerning links to youth outcomes, youth in the "mutual parent-child hostile" profile reported the highest level of externalizing problems, both concurrently and longitudinally. These results point to the importance of examining larger family patterns of hostility to fully understand the association between family hostility and youth adjustment.

Studies that distinguish parental monitoring (parent-driven behaviors) from parental knowledge often fail to find protective effects of monitoring on adolescent behavior problems. To answer whether parental monitoring is more strongly associated with adolescent behavior problems among adolescents who may need it most, this study applied group-based trajectory modeling to change in early- to mid-adolescent aggressive behavior problems and examined associations between parental monitoring with different subgroups. Three latent groups of adolescents were found: Low Aggression, Medium-Increasing Aggression, and High-Increasing Aggression. Results show that more maternal and paternal monitoring were associated with fewer adolescent aggressive behavior problems only for adolescents in the High-Increasing Group. This result suggests that parental monitoring is a protective factor against adolescent aggressive behavior problems for subgroups of adolescents who may need it most and less impactful for other adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to family systems and life course theories, periods of intense change, such as early adolescence, can disrupt stable family systems, leading to changes in family relationships. In this longitudinal study, we investigate 2 types of change in parental hostility and warmth toward their children during early adolescence (Grades 6 to 8)--developmental trends (linear declines) and lability (within-person fluctuations around developmental trends)--and their linkages to youth substance use and delinquency in Grade 9 (N = 618). We also test if the linkages between lability and youth risky behavior are moderated by youth gender. After controlling for between-person differences in level and developmental trends, we find greater lability (more fluctuations) in youth-reported parents' warmth and hostility are associated with greater youth delinquency, tobacco use, and polysubstance use initiation. The associations between youth-reported lability in mother and father hostility and polysubstance use demonstrated an inverted U shape pattern: Moderate levels of lability were associated with higher substance use but very low and high lability was associated with relatively lower rates of substance use. Many of the linkages between lability and youth delinquency were significant for girls but not boys. Fewer effects of lability on youth outcomes were found using parent reports. Developmental trends in parents' warmth and hostility were also associated with youth delinquency. Lability has unique implications for youth adjustment, yet appears to differ by youth outcome, gender, and reporter. The discussion focuses on mechanisms that might link changes in parent-youth warmth and hostility to youth risky behavior.

This longitudinal study investigates whether rural adolescents who transition to a new school in sixth grade have higher levels of risky behavior than adolescents who transition in seventh grade. Our findings indicate that later school transitions had little effect on problem behavior between sixth and ninth grades. Cross-sectional analyses found a small number of temporary effects of transition timing on problem behavior: Spending an additional year in elementary school was associated with higher levels of deviant behavior in the Fall of Grade 6 and higher levels of antisocial peer associations in Grade 8. However, transition effects were not consistent across waves and latent growth curve models found no effects of transition timing on the trajectory of problem behavior. We discuss policy implications and compare our findings with other research on transition timing. (Contains 2 tables and 3 notes.)

This study addressed (1) whether there were unique profiles of student self-reported reasons for attending school among 10th graders, (2) whether these profiles were differentially associated with late high-school dropout, and (3) whether parent characteristics differed across profiles. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (N = 15,362), five latent classes were found. The first class (49%) reported "intrinsic, identified/introjected," and "external" motivations for attending school. The second class (32%) attended for "identified/introjected" and "external" reasons, while the third class (11%) reported "intrinsic" and "identified/introjected" reasons. The final two classes reported only "identified/introjected" (5%) or "external" (4%) motivations. Individuals in the "identified/introjected" and "external" classes were at greatest risk of dropping out between 10th and 12th grade. A host of parenting characteristics differed across class, with students in the "intrinsic-identified/introjected-external" class displaying the most favorable pattern of results. Implications for dropout prevention and academic promotion programs are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

Most studies that explore parental knowledge of youths' activities utilize parents' and youths' reports separately. Using a sample of 938 rural early adolescents (53% female; 84% White), we explore congruence between mothers' and youths' perceptions of maternal knowledge and its association with youth problem behaviors (delinquency, substance use, and attitudes towards substances). Maternal overestimation of knowledge (compared to youths' ratings) was positively associated with delinquency and negatively associated with healthy drug attitudes. Significant differences in problem behaviors were found between four groups created based on mothers' and youths' level of knowledge (High Youth and Mother, High Youth/Low Mother, Low Youth/High Mother, and Low Youth and Mother). The High Youth and Mother group demonstrated less substance use and healthier drug attitudes than the Low Youth and Mother group. The Low Youth/High Mother group had significantly higher levels of substance use and delinquency than the High Youth and Mother group. Intervention implications are discussed.

The goal of this research is to examine the trajectory of school bonding over the middle school period and how factors such as gender, substance use, antisocial peers, delinquent behavior, and academic achievement affect this developmental process. Data from four waves of measurement of 2,902 adolescents are analyzed using hierarchical growth curve modeling. Results suggest that school bonding decreases in a nonlinear fashion from Grades 6 to 8. However, school bonding development varies based on interindividual differences. Boys have lower initial levels and greater decreases in school bonding than girls. Student deviant behavior, having antisocial peers, and low academic achievement are associated with lower levels of school bonding at Grade 6. Low grades and an increase in substance use are associated with a steeper decrease of school bonding over time. Increases in substance use and being male are also associated with a curvilinear pattern of school bonding. Implications for interventions are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)