As a persistent public health problem affecting thousands of adolescents every year, teen dating violence has been studied extensively. However, gaps remain in the knowledge on what adolescents think ...about seeking help for violence in a dating relationship and how these attitudes might change over time. This study adopts a longitudinal person-oriented approach to explore configurations of help-seeking preferences in a sample of rural adolescents (
N
at wave 1 = 580,
M
age
= 13 years,
SD
= 1.48; 52.7% female; 46.6% African American, 39.4% White, 14% Hispanic and other minorities), surveyed annually for four years, with each assessment approximately 12 months apart. Latent class analyses uncovered variation in adolescents’ willingness to disclose dating violence, captured by six groups: (a)
Multi-help-seekers
(19%), (b)
Reluctant help-seekers
(15%), (c)
Selective help-seekers
(16%), (d)
Parent confidants
(11%), (e)
Friends confidants
(22%), and (f)
Moderate help-seekers
(17%). Follow-up analyses revealed that select sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, and family income) were unevenly distributed among the identified groups, pointing to the need to account for individual and contextual influences in understanding heterogeneity in help-seeking attitudes. Latent transition models further showed that although individual membership in latent classes was generally stable between middle and high school, transitions between help-seeking classes were common as well. The article concludes by discussing these findings in the context of further research and programming to promote help-seeking among developing adolescents, including targeted strategies to address the needs of adolescents who think differently about disclosing dating abuse.
This study examines differences in psychological adjustment in a sample of rural adolescents who have been exposed to family violence. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 580 adolescents ...and their primary caregivers. The results revealed that over two thirds of the study participants (68.8%) had been exposed to violence in their families. As hypothesized, cluster analysis identified several profiles among adolescents, distinguished by their psychological and emotional functioning: well adjusted (46.2%), moderately adjusted (44.3%), and struggling (9.5%). Discriminant function analysis confirmed the groupings and revealed that family functioning was among the most influential factors explaining adjustment differences. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) further showed that adolescents from each of the three adjustment profiles reported significantly different levels of family social support, parental involvement, and perceived neighborhood safety. Overall, the results confirm heterogeneity of adolescent adaptation in the aftermath of family violence and provide insights into family and neighborhood factors that account for variability in adolescents’ reactions to violence. Implications for future research and practical interventions are discussed.
There is a need to identify meaningful measures of the right to participate that embrace both heterogeneity among children and the diverse contexts in which participation is realized. To date, the ...literature that combines contextual and personal variation in participation is limited. Using a person-oriented approach, this study explored heterogeneity among children in relation to their perception of participation in four domains – home, school, local community and the country. The data came from a representative sample of 10- and 12-year old students (
N
= 2339) in schools in Albania who participated in the 3rd wave of the International Survey of Children’s Well-being. Latent profile analyses identified four groups of students, based on their participatory preferences along two dimensions of participation - perceived decision-making and respect. Two overall patterns emerged: (a) students whose endorsement of participation was consistent across all domains but varied in intensity (high level of endorsement vs. moderate) and (b) students whose endorsement of participation varied both across domains and levels of intensity (low vs. moderate vs. high). As expected, profiles defined by greater participation differed on a number of demographic characteristics (e.g., higher proportion of girls, greater proportion of students from families with higher socio-economic status). However, contrary to expectations, many profiles were not consistently related to children’s subjective well-being or satisfaction with life domains. The importance of these findings for targeted initiatives to promote participation among children in transitioning states is discussed.
Although neighborhood context is a well-recognized factor in the well-being of children and families, little systematic research exists to guide inquiries into the intersection of neighborhood social ...processes and child and family well-being. Moreover, despite the increased popularity of neighborhood effects research over the last several decades, crucial questions around the debate on how to align research findings with tangible experiences for children and families remain open. This article reviews selected studies that linked neighborhood factors to specific domains of child and family well-being: parenting, safety, health, and educational outcomes. By focusing on neighborliness, a particular form of neighboring, the study aims to shift the focus from macrolevel indicators of neighborhood context, to a more dynamic set of attributes that characterize neighborhood life, with the hope of inspiring others to build upon the findings and begin to translate the conclusions to meaningful policies and programs.
Public Policy Relevance Statement
Neighborhoods play a significant role in the well-being of children and families. Research has shown that neighborhood social processes have direct and indirect effects on how children are parented, on child and family health and safety, and on children's educational outcomes. Although research on neighborhood effects has increased in the recent past, there is still much to learn.
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This study combined a person-oriented approach with a psychosocial framework of help-seeking to examine factors associated with the intent to disclose dating violence among developing adolescents. ...Data came from adolescents in middle and high school in a rural area in the southeastern United States, who were surveyed annually for 4 years ( N wave 1 = 580; M age = 13 years, SD = 1.48; 52.7% female; 49% Black, 39% White, 11% Hispanic, or other minorities). Results confirm expectations that intraindividual (adolescent views on violence and safety); interindividual (peer and family dynamics); positional (gender, having a supportive adult); and ideological factors are all significant predictors of patterns in help-seeking attitudes. However, predictive relevance of some factors varied across help-seeking groups and data collection periods, supporting the differential effects hypothesis. For example, while greater friend social support increased the odds of belonging to “friend confidants,” it simultaneously decreased the odds of being a member of “parent confidants” and “moderate help-seekers” groups. Additionally, the influence of family functioning tended to decrease over time, eventually losing its explanatory value at Wave 4. The article concludes by discussing how integration of a person-centered methodological approach with a robust theoretical foundation advances our understanding of variability in adolescents’ responses to dating violence. Consideration of diversity in adolescent intentions to react to interpersonal violence is discussed further in the context of policy and practice to enhance protective options and prevent or minimize harm. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
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•A short version of FAD demonstrates compliance with current validity standards.•The brief measure can be used across stakeholders and time.•Some indicators display measurement variance both within ...and across stakeholders.•Theoretical and practical implications of the identified differences are discussed.
Family functioning is a key construct in research and practice involving children and youth. Given that multi-informant assessment of this construct is considered a best practice in research and clinical settings, ensuring measurement invariance of family functioning instruments is an important consideration for family science scholars and practitioners who increasingly use multiple groups or longitudinal designs in investigating family dynamics. Yet, studies involving family functioning provide limited reports of psychometric properties of key or contextual measures. This study used multigroup confirmatory factor analyses to examine measurement invariance of a short version of the McMaster Family Assessment device using data from caregivers (N = 479) and adolescents (N = 571) collected at two periods four years apart. Results revealed that configural and metric invariance of a short version of the family functioning measure hold both across groups (caregivers and adolescents) and time, thus providing the foundation for using this instrument to assess family functioning with different populations and at different time periods. However, evidence of only partial scalar invariance indicated that group comparisons might be biased. The article concludes with implications for family science scholars and practitioners, including caution in using mean scores to compare perceptions of family functioning across different populations, such as caregivers and adolescents.
Research is mixed on the current state of democratic consolidation in transitioning states and whether young people are prepared to help sustain a culture of democracy. This study draws on the ...Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competencies for Democratic Culture and the framework of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study to explore patterns of democratic orientation among adolescents in Albania and Belarus (
N
= 711). Latent profile analyses identified five groups of democratically oriented adolescents in both states: (a)
All-around
citizens, (b)
Idealistic and Disengaged
, (c)
Duty-oriented
, (d)
Diversity Enthusiasts
and (e)
Alienated
. Results further revealed that profiles were unevenly distributed between the two countries and that profile membership was differentially related to adolescents’ perceptions of school climate and their intentions to participate in civic and political life. The article concludes with a discussion of how consideration of heterogeneity within democratically-competent youth can inform efforts to promote a culture of democracy in transitioning societies.
To reduce or eliminate persisting gender disparities that continue to prevent full enjoyment of human rights (including the right to health), a high-priority, conceptually coherent plan of action is ...needed to enhance respect for the human rights of women and girls. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) can serve as a blueprint with which to frame a comprehensive legal policy that guarantees political, civil, and economic rights for all women. At the core of the treaty is the fundamental principle that women's rights are human rights. CEDAW is a tangible tool that has made a difference in the lives of thousands of women across the world. However, CEDAW is not only an international instrument to protect women around the world. It is also a set of ideas that could affect every woman in America. Must we wait still another decade for an honest and informed public discussion of its merits? More than three decades after the United States signed CEDAW, it is time for Senate action to ratify the treaty and to implement it in both domestic and foreign policy. Copyright American Psychological Association
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