Sexual Minorities and Loneliness: Exploring Sexuality through Social Media and Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Supports.

We examined online and offline social supports for sexual minority adolescents, underscoring the understudied developmental period of early adolescence and the mental outcome of loneliness. Stemming from a larger study in the northeast U.S.

Longitudinal Associations Between Pet Relationship Quality and Socio-Emotional Functioning in Early Adolescence.

Adolescence is a key developmental period for socio-emotional skills, and companion animal relationships may be one potential source of emotional support and resilience during this time. This study used longitudinal data from 940 pet-owning adolescents, collected over four time points, from youth in the Northeastern United States. We assessed whether pet relationship quality (indexed by relationship satisfaction, companionship, and emotional disclosure) predicted trajectories of loneliness, social anxiety, and depression.

Association Between Social Media Use and Substance Use Among Middle and High School-Aged Youth.

: The purpose of our study was to identify whether different aspects of social media use were associated with substance use among middle- and high school-aged youth. : Participants were recruited from four Northeast U.S.

Conceptualizing the Role of Racial-Ethnic Identity in U.S. Adolescent Social Technology Use and Well-Being.

Adolescent development and wellbeing now involve how the use of social technologies (e.g., social media and other online spaces) impact daily life.

Innovating Novel Online Social Spaces with Diverse Middle School Girls: Ideation and Collaboration in a Synchronous Virtual Design Workshop.

Leveraging social media as a domain of high relevance in the lives of most young adolescents, we led a synchronous virtual design workshop with 17 ethnically diverse, and geographically-dispersed middle school girls (aged 11-14) to co-create novel ICT experiences. Our participatory workshop centered on social media innovation, collaboration, and computational design. We present the culminating design ideas of novel online social spaces, focused on positive experiences for adolescent girls, produced in small-groups, and a thematic analysis of the idea generation and collaboration processes.

The role of parents, other adults, peers and informal learning communities in shaping positive social media use in adolesent girls.

Purpose: This study aims to introduce the concept of communities of social media practice where more experienced users provide guidance to female novice users, enacting a form of legitimate peripheral participation to "onboard" newcomers.

Design/methodology/approach: Through surveys with 968 early adolescents (average age was 13), the authors quantitatively explored sources and types of guidance for young social media users, popularity of conversation themes related to this guidance and how these conversations are associated with positive social media engagement. The authors qualitatively documented a case study of how a summer workshop of 17 students promotes positive social media use through a community of practice.

Social Media Friends From Afterschool are Associated With Positive Youth Development in Digital Settings.

Positive youth development has been extensively documented in contexts such as the family, school, and afterschool. Emerging theory and research indicate that digital contexts such as social media may also be venues through which young people develop skills and attributes associated with the 5 Cs model of positive youth development and thriving. This research attempted to understand if and how middle school youth's in-person and online networks connect, and if they do connect, do these connections relate to engaging in beliefs and behaviors associated with PYD.

Examining Early Adolescent Positive and Negative Social Technology Behaviors and Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Public concerns of how frequently adolescents used screens during the pandemic shutdowns fueled the need to research whether these behaviors were conducive or detrimental to their wellbeing. The aims of this longitudinal survey study of 586 middle school students in the Northeast U.S.

Associations between Pet Care Responsibility, Companion Animal Interactions, and Family Relationships during COVID-19.

For families with children during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to explore how both youth and parents view their roles with regard to the shared caretaking of pets. While most human-animal interaction studies examine adult or early childhood samples, our focus was on adolescent development. We present findings from a U.

From Regulating Emotions to Less Lonely Screen Time: Parents' Qualitative Perspectives of the Benefits and Challenges of Adolescent Pet Companionship.

Adolescence is a prime developmental period to explore human-pet relationships, particularly given that teens are often relying less on their families, and more on other attachment figures such as peers and pets. However, most research on pet companionship is conducted with adults and young children. Moreover, lived experiences around having pets in households with adolescents are underexplored, particularly from parents' perspectives.

Same-Sex Attraction Disclosure and Sexual Communication Topics within Families.

Few studies compare family communication about sex and relationships for sexual minority youth versus hetero-sexual teenagers. Further, existing studies often focus on mothers, overlooking fathers and extended family. Our survey of 952 adolescents aged 14-21 included 115 adolescents disclosing non-heterosexual attraction.

Associations of early social media initiation on digital behaviors and the moderating role of limiting use.

Little is known about the effects of social media initiation on digital behaviors from middle childhood to early adolescence, a critical developmental period marked by peer influence and inaugural access to mobile devices. Participants from middle schools in the Northeast U.S.

Young Sexual Minority Adolescent Experiences of Self-expression and Isolation on Social Media: Cross-sectional Survey Study.

Background: Early adolescent years are marked by pervasive self- and peer-regulation regarding gender and sexuality norms, which can affect the mental well-being of sexual minority youth. During this developmental period, social media use is also emerging as a dominant mode of communication with peers, allowing for both risk and resilient behaviors that can impact well-being.

Objective: This exploratory study aims to examine how sexual minorities in middle school use social media, who they are connected to and for what purposes, and the associations between these behaviors and mental well-being compared with their heterosexual peers.

Psychosocial correlates of posttraumatic growth among U.S. young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the prolonged nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between posttraumatic growth (PTG) among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and their psychosocial characteristics, specifically: distress tolerance; resilience; family connectedness; depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms; and COVID-19-related worry. The study utilized data from 805 U.S.

Prototyping for Social Wellbeing with Early Social Media Users: Belonging, Experimentation, and Self-Care.

Many 10-14 year olds are at the early stages of using social media, habits they develop on popular platforms can have lasting effects on their socio-emotional wellbeing. We led a remote innovation workshop with 23 middle schoolers on digital wellbeing, identity exploration, and computational concepts related to social computing. This workshop was a unique opportunity to reflect on emergent habits, discuss them with peers, and imagine oneself as an ICT innovator.

Companion Animal Relationships and Adolescent Loneliness during COVID-19.

The pandemic associated with the emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is an unprecedented historical event with the potential to significantly impact adolescent loneliness. This study aimed to explore the role of companion animals and attachment to pets in the context of the pandemic. We used longitudinal quantitative survey data collected prior to and during the pandemic to assess the role of pets in predicting adolescent loneliness.

Early Adolescent Social Media-Related Body Dissatisfaction: Associations with Depressive Symptoms, Social Anxiety, Peers, and Celebrities.

Objective: It is critical to examine the powerful socializing effects of networked media on early adolescents when social media use, body self-consciousness, and social comparisons are at their peak.

Method: Using 2 subsamples (N = 374 and N = 396) of those aged 11 to 14 years from a larger survey sample of 700 middle school participants in the Northeast United States, we conducted a cross-sectional pilot survey using brief, descriptive body dissatisfaction measures directly related to social media use.

Results: Within our body dissatisfaction subsample, 19% reported dissatisfaction to body image issues.

Quantity, Content, and Context Matter: Associations Among Social Technology Use and Sleep Habits in Early Adolescents.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the associations of social technology access and content, bedtime behaviors, parental phone restrictions, and timing and duration of sleep on school nights in early adolescents.

Methods: Adolescents (aged 11-15 years, n = 772) in the Northeast U.S.

Social and Behavioral Health Factors Associated with Violent and Mature Gaming in Early Adolescence.

We examined how risk level of video games, measured by maturity and violence level, was associated with behavioral health, social impacts, and online social interactions. School-based surveys in two different cohorts assessed self-reported gaming behaviors, health, and social media use. For Study 1, our 700 participants were 52% female and 48% White (mean age 12.

A Larger Ecology of Family Sexuality Communication: Extended Family Perspectives on Relationships, Sexual Orientation, and Positive Aspects of Sex.

Extended family can be a resource for conversations about sex, but extended family perspectives have been largely left out of existing research. The present study investigates how extended family, such as aunts and uncles, siblings and cousins, perceive communication with teens in their families about sex. A thematic analysis was conducted with data from interviews in the U.

Youth Perspectives on Sexuality Communication With Parents and Extended Family.

Objective: To explore extended-family sexuality communication and compare it with parent sexuality communication.

Background: Family communication about sex can protect teens from sexual risk behavior. However, most studies on this topic focus exclusively on the parent-teen dyad; few capture the broader context of teens' family communication.

Digital Life and Youth Well-being, Social Connectedness, Empathy, and Narcissism.

Youth well-being, social connectedness, and personality traits, such as empathy and narcissism, are at the crux of concerns often raised about the impacts of digital life. Understanding known impacts, and research gaps, in these areas is an important first step toward supporting media use that contributes positively to youth's happiness, life satisfaction, and prosocial attitudes and behaviors. By examining existing work addressing these issues across domains, we found that a complex interplay of individual factors, type of digital media engagement, and experiences in media contexts informs outcomes related to well-being, social connectedness, empathy, and narcissism.

Protective effects of middle school comprehensive sex education with family involvement.

Background: School-based comprehensive sex education programs can reduce early adolescents' risky sexual behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a 3-year comprehensive sex education program in delaying vaginal sex for middle school students and whether the family component of the intervention contributes to its effectiveness.

Methods: This longitudinal evaluation followed a cohort of 6th graders (N = 2453) through the end of 8th grade.

How have researchers studied multiracial populations? A content and methodological review of 20 years of research.

The U.S. Census shows that the racial-ethnic makeup of over 9 million people (2.