Emerging adulthood is a unique developmental period from late adolescence to late 20s during which individuals experience a multitude of developmental transitions and are at an increased risk for internalizing symptoms. Parent emotion socialization in childhood can also contribute to risk for internalizing symptoms and is shaped by parent gender and sociocultural context. Rurality is a sociocultural context that has implications for parenting, but less research has explored how parent emotion socialization varies by rurality. The present study examined maternal and paternal emotion socialization in relation to rurality and emerging adult internalizing symptoms. Participants were 270 emerging adults (18-29 years old; 65.6% female) from a regional university who completed several self-report measures. Maternal and paternal emotion socialization responses did not differ by rurality but evidenced unique associations with emerging adult internalizing symptoms. Rurality did not moderate these associations. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Research investigating aggressive behavior among youth is plentiful; however, the field contains mixed findings in terms of risk factors, correlates, sequelae, and treatment response, suggesting that individuals who exhibit aggressive behaviors are heterogeneous. The current project utilized a person-centered perspective to characterize youth who differ in frequency and quality of aggressive behaviors and a variable-centered approach to validate these classes. Specifically, the aims of the current study were (a) to use latent class analysis (LCA) to identify classes of youth that are characterized by qualitatively and quantitatively different types of aggressive behaviors, and (b) to examine the external validity of the identified aggression classes in a large, prospective sample. Participants included 648 children (M = 11.42 + .92 years; 76% Caucasian) assessed at five time points between the ages of 10 and 25 as part of a longitudinal project conducted through the Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research at the University of Pittsburgh. Analyses suggest five distinct aggression profiles in the sample; individuals exhibiting (1) primarily reactive aggression, (2) primarily proactive aggression (3) mixed reactive and proactive aggression, (4) loss of control (endorsement of a subset of reactive aggression items), and (5) low reactive and proactive aggression. Classes differed in their levels of executive functioning, peer processes, lack of guilt, internalizing symptoms, and provocation to aggression. Specifically, individuals who engaged in primarily proactive, primarily reactive, or mixed aggression exhibited significantly lower ECF than individuals in the low aggression class. Individuals who engaged in mixed aggression experienced greater peer rejection, associations with deviant peers, internalizing symptoms, and lack of guilt than individuals who exhibited low aggression at specific time points. Of note, individuals who engaged in primarily proactive aggression were more likely to experience internalizing symptoms than individuals who engaged in reactive or low aggression in late childhood and early adolescence and were more likely to report lack of guilt after misbehaving than members of other aggression classes across late childhood and early adulthood. Differences among classes in terms of these variables better characterize and validate the subgroups of aggressive youth identified in the latent class analysis. The study fills gaps in the literature by identifying concurrent and prospective correlates of aggression classes and decreasing the heterogeneity found in aggression-related research by considering the qualitative and quantitative ways in which individuals differ on aggression using a dimensional approach. These findings enhance understanding of risk processes related to aggression and inform interventions that focus specifically on ameliorating deficits displayed by youth with different aggression profiles. / Psychology

Within the field of developmental psychopathology, research has repeatedly demonstrated that there are multiple complex and dynamic pathways originating in childhood that may lead to the development of internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents. However, additional research is needed that examines the unique and concurrent contributions among child-, parent-, and family-level risk and resilience factors during childhood that may be associated with internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. To address this gap, the current study utilized a person-centered approach to identify profiles of risk and resilience factors among youth in middle childhood (ages 10-12) characterized by the quality and quantity of (a) child-level factors (i.e., temperamental features, executive functioning abilities); (b) parent-level factors (i.e., parental acceptance, control, disciplinary style); and (c) family-level factors (i.e., family cohesion, conflict, organization) among a sample of 775 participants (Aim 1). The study also examined internalizing and externalizing symptom profiles in adolescence (age 16) by identifying subgroups of youth characterized by the quality and quantity of internalizing and externalizing problems within each of the identified childhood risk profiles (Aim 2). Lastly, the study investigated transitions from childhood risk profiles to adolescent symptom profiles (Aim 3). Results demonstrated that a four-class model best fit the data in regard to childhood risk profiles, with classes of youth most saliently characterized by (a) accepting parents, (b) controlling parents, (c) disengaged parents, and (d) chaotic homes. With regard to adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptom profiles, results indicated a three-class model best fit the data and included classes distinguished by the presence of (a) low symptoms, (b) moderate symptoms, and (c) high internalizing and moderate externalizing symptoms. Most youth from the four childhood risk profiles transitioned to the low symptom profile at age 16; however, youth from the chaotic home profile were more likely to transition into one of the two higher-level symptom profiles. Findings enhance our understanding of risk and resilience by identifying distinct childhood risk profiles and corresponding adolescent symptom profiles. These findings will have implications for both prevention and treatment efforts that target specific risk factors within each risk profile. / Psychology

This study investigated the relationship between teacher support, internalizing symptoms, and academic achievement in a sample of English Language Learners (ELLs) and non-English Language Learners (non-ELLs). Participants were middle school students from a culturally and linguistically diverse suburban school district. Linear regressions were used to examine mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation models of teacher support on internalizing symptoms and academic achievement. The results showed that increased teacher support was related to higher classroom grades, particularly for non-ELLs, and decreased internalizing symptoms for both ELLs and non-ELLs. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. / School Psychology

Social media engagement has become a critical part of adolescent social interactions, making it important to examine individual differences in motivations for social media engagement as well as associated adjustment outcomes. Additionally, much of the extant research focuses on how much time adolescents spend on social media; researchers have only recently begun to differentiate specific social media behaviors and their varied role in adolescent development (e.g., Valkenberg & Peter, 2011). Based on recent research, I investigated four social media behaviors: self-disclosure, self-presentation, lurking, and social monitoring, along with social media engagement in terms of time and frequency. Based on hormonal activation theory (Forbes & Dahl, 2010), I focused on pubertal and social goal correlates of individual differences in social media engagement among adolescents. I also examined positive (prosocial support) and negative (peer victimization, internalizing problems) adjustment associated with social media engagement. Participants were 426 public school students (54.2% female, 73.6% Caucasian, mean age = 12.91, SD = .92) from sixth (N = 152), seventh (N = 142), and eighth (N = 132) grades who completed self-reported survey measures during their Health classes. Adolescents used more passive (lurking, social monitoring) than active social media (self-disclosure, self-presentation) behaviors. Girls reported more social media engagement than boys, and older adolescents reported more social media engagement than younger adolescents. Pubertal timing was not associated with social media engagement; instead, social goals (i.e., popularity goals and preference goals) were strongly associated with adolescents’ social media use. Social media engagement was reliably associated with adolescent adjustment. Self-presentation may function as a double-edged sword, promoting peer prosocial support but also increasing the risk for peer victimization and internalizing problems. Self-disclosure was uniquely associated with an increased risk of peer victimization, and lurking was uniquely associated with internalizing problems. Social monitoring was not uniquely associated with any of the adjustment outcomes. Contrary to previous literature (e.g., Kross et al., 2013), the amount of time spent on social media was not uniquely associated with any adjustment outcomes after social media behaviors were controlled, suggesting the importance of examining what adolescents are doing with that time. Unexpectedly, the frequency of social media use (a measure less often considered in the literature) appeared to be uniquely associated with more adaptive adjustment. The association between social media engagement and adjustment was stronger for girls than for boys (particularly for peer victimization). Findings extend previous research demonstrating the importance of considering specific social media behaviors in adolescent development. Future research should longitudinally examine the role of social media engagement on adolescent adjustment. Additionally, multi-method approaches (e.g., observational data collection, peer nominations) should be utilized to better understand the role of social media engagement on adolescent development. Finally, future research should examine different social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, Fortnite, Snapchat) and adolescent adjustment. / Psychology

No description available.

Studies examining neighborhood effects on adolescent outcomes have indicated that adolescents growing up in low-income neighborhoods are at higher risk of developing internalizing and externalizing behaviors. However, knowledge of the long-term effects of neighborhood disadvantages on internalizing and externalizing behaviors and the involved mechanisms across adolescence is limited. Using family life course theory and the cumulative advantage/disadvantage perspective, this study examined how community disadvantages in early adolescence accumulate over time to influence later internalizing and externalizing behaviors and the protective effects of subjective appraisals of social support by adolescents and their primary caregivers. I estimated a two-level growth curve model using three waves of data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Results indicated subjective appraisals of social support by both adolescents and caregivers played a protective role to buffer the negative effects of community disadvantages on internalizing and externalizing behaviors across adolescence. These results provide insight for the development of intervention programs at both family and government levels to improve adolescent outcomes. / Ph. D.

Shyness is highly related to internalizing problems. However, not all shy children develop serious internalizing problems (IP). The aim of the current study was to identify the endogenous factors that might contribute to the resilience process from a self-regulation perspective. Participants included 73 children (33 boys; 40girls) who visited the lab at 6 and 9 years of age. Shyness, attentional control (AC), inhibitory control (IC), frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry were measured at both 6 and 9 years using age appropriate questionnaires and tasks. Results indicated that age 6 shyness did not directly predict age 9 IP; instead it indirectly predicted IP through age 9 shyness. Neither AC, IC, frontal EEG asymmetry, nor the stability of frontal EEG asymmetry moderated the association between age 6 shyness and age 9 IP. However, there was a positive concurrent association between shyness and IP at 9 years. In addition, AC and IC moderated the shyness-IP association at age 9. Shyness was significantly associated with IP only when children had low AC or IC, but not when children had high AC or IC. / Master of Science / Shyness is highly related to internalizing problems. However, not all shy children develop serious internalizing problems (IP). The aim of the current study was to identify the within-individual factors that might protect children away from having IP from a self-regulation perspective. Participants included 73 children (33 boys; 40girls) who visited the lab at 6 and 9 years of age. Shyness, attentional control (AC), inhibitory control (IC), frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry were measured at both 6 and 9 years using age appropriate questionnaires and tasks. Results indicated that children who are shy at 6 years old may not have IP at 9 years old. Instead children who are shy at 6 years old tend to be shy at 9 years old. And those who are shy at 9 years old are more likely to have IP at the same period of time. Neither AC, IC, frontal EEG asymmetry, nor the stability of frontal EEG asymmetry affect the direction or degree of the association between age 6 shyness and age 9 IP. In addition, AC and IC affect the concurrent shyness-IP association at age 9. Shyness was significantly associated with IP only when children had low AC or IC, but not when children had high AC or IC.

Two risk factors for anxiety and depression in adolescence were examined: co-rumination, which occurs when friends excessively talk about problems; and psychological inflexibility, which occurs when one avoids negative feelings and fails to act on values. I hypothesized that psychological inflexibility would exacerbate the effect of co-rumination on adolescent anxiety and depression. Participants were 167 adolescents (Mage = 14.60 years, SD = 1.3; 65.7% cisgender males) who completed standard measures as part of an online survey. Results indicated no moderation effect, but there were main effects of co-rumination and psychological inflexibility on depression symptoms. Co-rumination may relate to higher depression symptoms by reinforcing a focus on stressors. Adolescents exhibiting psychological inflexibility may exacerbate symptoms by avoiding growth opportunities and perseverating on negative emotions. Results call for more research on co-rumination and psychological inflexibility as well as clinical interventions. Limitations include using cross-sectional, self-report methodology.

<p dir="ltr">Timing and time perception is essential to humans, whose lives and biology are organized around clocks. From the simple give-and-take of conversation to understanding cause and effect, individuals rely on accurate time perception to successfully complete tasks and organize their lives. However, accurate time perception is vulnerable to all manner of influence, from both internal and external sources, including affect. A robust body of literature suggests that negative affect is positively associated with time dilation, or subjective lengthening of time, whereas positive affect is positively associated with time constriction, or subjective shortening of time. Collectively, these are known as time distortion, which has been preliminarily linked to increased impairment in anxiety, depression, and BPD. However, this literature features two key limitations. First, researchers have mostly examined time perception as an objective measure, through the use of measures such as the temporal bisection tasks, which limits our understanding of the subjective experience of time distortion and how it may contribute to psychopathology. Second, across studies, time perception is most often studied as an outcome, rather than examining the role of time perception in predicting affective change, i.e., contextualizing the role of time distortion in clinically-relevant research questions. The current project aimed to address these gaps in the literature through two studies which examined (1) the roles of brief affect and time perception manipulations on affective change and subjective time perception in an online study (Study 1) and (2) the effect of a longer time perception manipulation on affective change during an in-person experimental protocol (Study 2).</p><p dir="ltr">Across studies, participants included a community-based sample of U.S. adults over age 18 and two separate undergraduate samples recruited from introductory psychology courses at Purdue University. In Study 1, the final sample size exceeded 750 and was comprised of community-based and undergraduate participants. Online participants reported on dispositional levels of clinical measures [e.g., rumination, borderline personality disorder (BPD) features] and then completed an experimental protocol with brief mood and time perception manipulations while repeatedly reporting on their negative affect. Results suggested that the time perception manipulation was not effective, but that across the protocol, negative affect rose and positive affect decreased. Further, participants reported overall that time seemed to be passing by slower than usual during the protocol. These findings informed the design of Study 2, which lengthened the time perception manipulation and eliminated the mood induction component in order to address the more basic question of whether time perception manipulation influences mood, particularly during neutral cognitive tasks.</p><p dir="ltr">One hundred and twenty-seven undergraduate participants completed Study 2. As in Study 1, participants filled out self-report surveys about dispositional symptoms of psychopathology (e.g., rumination, emotion dysregulation, and symptoms associated with BPD, depression, and anxiety) before completing an experimental protocol which included a manipulated clock (accelerated or control clock), three runs of a modified Erkisen flanker task, and repeated measures of negative and positive affect. Primary results suggested that the time perception manipulation was successful but that the influence of time distortion was more nuanced than hypothesized. Specifically, individuals with elevated clinical symptoms exhibited lower rating of negative and positive affect levels in the accelerated clock condition, compared to individuals endorsing low symptoms, who reported higher positive affect and higher negative affect in the accelerated clock condition.</p><p dir="ltr">Altogether, the results across studies highlight the complexity of time perception in influencing affect and help provide foundational information regarding the empirical convergence between cognitive and clinical phenomena.</p>