Associations between Adolescent Alcohol Use and Neurocognitive Functioning in Young Adulthood.

This study examined the associations between excessive alcohol intake during adolescence and neurocognitive functioning in young adulthood and whether these relations varied by sex. Participants were working-class Chilean adolescents ( = 692; 16.0 years; 54.

Iron supplementation given to nonanemic infants: neurocognitive functioning at 16 years.

Objective: There is concern that high iron uptake during the critical period of early brain development carries potential risks, especially for nonanemic infants. This study examined the neurocognitive functioning of 16-year-olds who were nonanemic as infants and received iron supplementation.

Methods: We studied 562 Chilean adolescents ( 16.

Iron Deficiency in Infancy and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and ADHD Symptoms in Childhood and Adolescence.

Objective: To determine whether iron deficiency in infancy is associated with sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) or attention-deficit/hyperactive-impulsive (AD-HI) symptoms in childhood and adolescence, and whether such behaviors contribute concurrently and predictively to lower verbal and mathematical abilities.

Method: Chilean children ( = 959; 50% male, of Spanish or indigenous descent from working-class backgrounds) were rated by mothers for SCT or AD-HI symptoms at ages 5, 10, and 16 years. Children completed standardized tests assessing verbal and mathematical abilities at ages 5, 10, and 16.

Sensitive periods for psychosocial risk in childhood and adolescence and cardiometabolic outcomes in young adulthood.

Greater psychosocial risk in childhood and adolescence predicts poorer cardiometabolic outcomes in adulthood. We assessed whether the timing of psychosocial risk from infancy through adolescence predicts cardiometabolic outcomes in young adulthood. Young adults and their mothers participated in a longitudinal study beginning in infancy in Santiago, Chile (N = 1040).

Adolescent Internalizing, Externalizing, and Social Problems Following Iron Deficiency at 12-18 Months: The Role of Maternal Responsiveness.

This study tested whether maternal responsiveness moderated or mediated pathways from iron deficiency (ID) at 12-18 months to adolescent behavior problems. Participants were part of a large Chilean cohort (N = 933). Iron status was assessed at 12 and 18 months.

The Impact of Refugee Mothers' Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress, and Depression on Their Children's Adjustment.

The mechanisms linking refugee parents' trauma onto their children's functioning are not well understood. The current study sought to identify how Somali refugee mothers' past trauma and current mental health impact their children's psychosocial adjustment. One hundred and ninety-eight Somali mothers (M age = 39 years) and their children (M age = 10 years; 56% male) were studied.

Risk and protective factors for sexual and dating violence victimization: a longitudinal, prospective study of Latino and African American adolescents.

Teen dating violence and sexual victimization are serious public health concerns. Although research has highlighted the correlates and consequences of such abuse, little is known about early antecedents. The current study sought to identify the risk and protective factors evident in early adolescence that are associated with sexual and dating violence victimization in late adolescence.

High Educational Aspirations Among Pregnant Adolescents Are Related to Pregnancy Unwantedness and Subsequent Parenting Stress and Inadequacy.

On the basis of theories of maternal identity development, role conflict, and childbearing motivation, the authors tested whether high educational aspirations among pregnant adolescents are related to the unwantedness of the pregnancy and whether pregnancy unwantedness leads to subsequent parenting stress and inadequacy. Longitudinal data from 100 first-time-pregnant, unmarried Latina adolescents (M age = 17.3 years) were analyzed.

Sibling Caretaking Among Mexican American Youth: Conditions That Promote and Hinder Personal and School Success.

This study examined how Mexican American youths' extent of sibling caretaking is related to their personal and school adjustment, and whether mothers' gender-role attitudes and youths' familistic beliefs moderate these associations. One hundred and ninety-five Mexican American youth ( age 14.8 years; 64% girls) and their mothers participated in the study.

Stress in Latino families following an adolescent's childbearing: effects on family relationships and siblings.

This study examined how increased stress in Latino families following an adolescent's childbearing impacts family relationships and the adolescent's siblings. Participants were 243 Mexican American youth (mean age: 13.7 years; 62% girls), or 121 youth who had a pregnant adolescent sister and 122 youth who had an adolescent sister who had never been pregnant.

Adolescents' Pregnancy Intentions, Wantedness, and Regret: Cross-Lagged Relations With Mental Health and Harsh Parenting.

The authors used cross-lagged analyses to examine the across-time influences on and consequences of adolescents' pregnancy intentions, wantedness, and regret. One hundred pregnant Latina adolescents were studied during pregnancy and at 6 and 12 months postpartum. The results revealed 4 main findings: (a) similar to what has been found in adult women, adolescents' lower prenatal pregnancy intendedness and wantedness predicted initial difficulties in parenting; (b) frequent depression symptoms predicted subsequent lower pregnancy intendedness and wantedness; (c) adolescents' poor mental health and harsh parenting of their child predicted subsequent higher childbearing regret, and (d) high childbearing regret and parenting stress were reciprocally related across time.

Effects of Adolescent Childbearing on Latino Siblings: Changes in Family Dynamics and Feelings Toward the Teen Mother.

Latinos have had the highest teenage birthrate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States for the past 15 years, yet little is known about how Latino families are affected by a teenage daughter's childbearing. In-depth interviews were conducted with 32 Mexican American younger siblings of parenting teens to discern how their sister's childbearing had affected them and their families. The most commonly reported negative effects were increased family stress and conflict, more arguments with the parenting older sister, and less time spent with family members.

The younger siblings of childbearing adolescents: parenting influences on their academic and social-emotional adjustment.

The younger siblings of childbearing adolescents have poorer school outcomes and exhibit more internalizing and externalizing problems compared to their peers without a childbearing sister. We test a model where living with an adolescent childbearing sister constitutes a major family stressor that disrupts mothers' parenting and well-being, and through which, adversely affect youths' adjustment. Data came from 243 Latino younger siblings (62% female, M age 13.

Children's experiences after the unintended birth of a sibling.

This study examines whether children with a younger sibling whose birth was unintended experience larger declines in the quality of their home environment and larger increases in behavioral problems than children whose younger sibling's birth was intended. We use data from the NLSY79 to estimate cross-lag regression models that assess changes in the home environment and children's behavioral problems after the birth of a sibling (intended or unintended). Results are consistent with our hypotheses, finding that, indeed, unintended births have negative spillover effects.

Family dynamics across pregnant Latina adolescents' transition to parenthood.

Growth curve models were conducted on assessments of family functioning at four time points from the third-trimester of pregnancy through the first year postpartum for 96 Latino families in which an adolescent daughter was pregnant. Results indicated significant family-level change following an adolescent's childbearing, though there were notable differences between family members in their perceptions of family functioning. Family conflict, as perceived by parenting teens, increased in the latter half of the first year after an initial decline, and family companionship (as rated by mothers and siblings) decreased.

Links between sisters' sexual and dating victimization: the roles of neighborhood crime and parental controls.

This study examined the extent to which a sister's prior sexual and dating victimization is a risk factor for young women being similarly victimized and the possible factors underlying a co-occurrence. The sample involved 122 young adult Latina or African American sister pairs (244 women; ages 16-25) who resided in low-income, urban neighborhoods. Results indicated that women whose sisters had been victimized had increased risk of victimization even after controlling for neighborhood crime, parental controls, age and race-ethnicity (odds ratios were 4.

How an adolescent's childbearing affects siblings' pregnancy risk: a qualitative study of Mexican American youths.

Context: The siblings of teenage parents are known to be at very high risk of teenage pregnancy, but little is known about how an older sister's childbearing affects a younger sibling's risk. Understanding these influences could help address the very high rates of pregnancy and childbearing among Latino adolescents.

Methods: From 2005 through 2007, a sample of 41 Mexican American 12-18-year-olds from southern California completed in-depth interviews about how an older sister's teenage childbearing had affected them.

Children's Provision of Family Caregiving: Benefit or Burden?

Despite the high numbers of children who provide care to family members in industrialized countries, relatively little is known about the impact of caregiving on children's development. In this article, issues related to children's caregiving, including a discussion of who provides care, the costs and benefits of caring, and directions for future research are reviewed. This review is intended to stimulate further study of this issue, particularly in clarifying who is most vulnerable to caregiving burden and understanding how caregiving affects children's lives and development.

Youths' Caretaking of Their Adolescent Sisters' Children: Results From Two Longitudinal Studies.

The extent and experiences of youths' caretaking of their adolescent sisters' children have been assessed in two longitudinal studies. The first study examines the caretaking patterns of 132 Latino and African American youth during middle and late adolescence. The second study involves 110 Latino youth whose teenage sister has recently given birth.

Mexican American Adolescents' Family Caregiving: Selection Effects and Longitudinal Associations With Adjustment.

One hundred ten Mexican American adolescents (12 - 17 years) who provide infant care for their older sisters were studied to determine the effects of family caregiving responsibilities on adolescents' adjustment. Controlling for prior adjustment and family context factors, providing many hours of caregiving predicted an increase in youths' school absences and disciplinary problems. Frequent conflict surrounding caregiving was associated with increased stress and depression and lower school grades.

Home and parenting resources available to siblings depending on their birth intention status.

This study examines the differential availability of family and parenting resources to children depending on their birth planning status. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data were analyzed, 3,134 mothers and their 5,890 children (M = 7.1 years, range = 1 month-14.

Association between adolescent pregnancy and a family history of teenage births.

Context: The extent to which young women's risk of adolescent pregnancy is associated with having a mother who was a teenage parent, a sister who was a teenage parent or both is not known.

Methods: A sample of 127 Latina and black adolescent females completed in-depth surveys at three time points between 1994 and 2000. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine whether socioeconomic factors, mothers' parenting characteristics and certain sibling relationship qualities explain the association between a family history of teenage births and young women's risk of pregnancy.

Longitudinal pathways linking family factors and sibling relationship qualities to adolescent substance use and sexual risk behaviors.

This 3-wave, 5-year longitudinal study tested the contributions of family contextual factors and sibling relationship qualities to younger siblings' substance use, sexual risk behaviors, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease. More than 220 non-White families participated (67% Latino and 33% African American), all of which involved a younger sibling (133 girls and 89 boys; mean age = 13.6 years at Time 1) and an older sister (mean age = 17 years at Time 1).

Mothers' differential treatment of their adolescent childbearing and nonchildbearing children: contrasts between and within families.

This study examined mothers' differential treatment of adolescent sibling pairs in 2 family contexts: families with and without an adolescent childbearing daughter. Results based on mothers' ratings and children's ratings revealed that the mothers of childbearing daughters treated all of their children less affectionately than did the mothers of nonchildbearing adolescents. In families with a childbearing daughter, mothers expected a brighter future for and treated their never-pregnant daughter(s) more favorably than their childbearing daughter, and mothers' harsh treatment toward their children was correlated with high financial stress, excessive time spent caring for their daughter's child, and younger children's sexual behavior and drug and alcohol use.