Journal of Adolescence

This study examined how social media use related to sleep quality, self‐esteem, anxiety and depression in 467 Scottish adolescents. We measured overall social media use, nighttime‐specific social media use, emotional investment in social media, sleep quality, self‐esteem and levels of anxiety and depression. Adolescents who used social media more – both overall and at night – and those who were more emotionally invested in social media experienced poorer sleep quality, lower self‐esteem and higher levels of anxiety and depression. Nighttime‐specific social media use predicted poorer sleep quality after controlling for anxiety, depression and self‐esteem. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that social media use is related to various aspects of wellbeing in adolescents. In addition, our results indicate that nighttime‐specific social media use and emotional investment in social media are two important factors that merit further investigation in relation to adolescent sleep and wellbeing.

Although the concept of school engagement figures prominently in most school dropout theories, there has been little empirical research conducted on its nature and course and, more importantly, the association with dropout. Information on the natural development of school engagement would greatly benefit those interested in preventing student alienation during adolescence. Using a longitudinal sample of 11,827 French‐Canadian high school students, we tested behavioral, affective, cognitive indices of engagement both separately and as a global construct. We then assessed their contribution as prospective predictors of school dropout using factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Global engagement reliably predicted school dropout. Among its three specific dimensions, only behavioral engagement made a significant contribution in the prediction equation. Our findings confirm the robustness of the overall multidimensional construct of school engagement, which reflects both cognitive and psychosocial characteristics, and underscore the importance attributed to basic participation and compliance issues in reliably estimating risk of not completing basic schooling during adolescence.

The importance of stress in the understanding of adolescent health and well‐being is widely documented. The measurement of adolescent stress has however been subjected to sufficient methodological and conceptual criticism in recent times to warrant a concerted re‐evaluation of the exercise. This study sought information on the nature of adolescent stressors, building on a previous instrument developed by the first author to ask adolescents themselves to inform the development of a pool of new items reflecting stressor experience and to advise on the wording of these items to comprehensively assess that experience. This pool of items was then administered as a self‐reported questionnaire to a large sample of school‐age adolescents (N>1000) together with a scale to assess the intensity of distress arising from stressor occurrence. Principal components analysis of the questionnaire yielded 10 internally reliable dimensions of adolescent stress, the nature of which were consistent with the available literature on adolescent stressor experience. Scales constructed from this PCA related positively to measures of anxiety and depression, and negatively to a measure of self‐esteem, suggesting that they were valid measures of adolescent stress. Test–retest reliability was good for all scales. The resultant Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ) is therefore suggested to have potential for the measurement of adolescent stress in both research and clinical contexts.

The developmental tasks associated with adolescence pose a unique set of stressors and strains. Included in the normative tasks of adolescence are developing an identity, differentiating from the family while still staying connected, and fitting into a peer group. The adolescent's adaptation to these and other, often competing demands is achieved through the process of coping which involves cognitive and behavioral strategies directed at eliminating or reducing demands, redefining demands so as to make them more manageable, increasing resources for dealing with demands, and/or managing the tension which is felt as a result of experiencing demands. In this paper, individual coping theory and family stress theory are reviewed to provide a theoretical foundation for assessing adolescent coping. In addition, the development and testing of an adolescent self‐report coping inventory, Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences (A‐COPE) is presented. Gender differences in coping style are presented and discussed. These coping patterns were validated against criterion indices of adolescents' use of cigarettes, liquor, and marijuana using data from a longitudinal study of 505 families with adolescents. The findings are discussed in terms of coping theory and measurement and in terms of adolescent development and substance use.

This study examined the mental health literacy of a group of adolescents, with particular reference to their ability to recognize symptoms of depression in their peers. Respondents were 202 Australian adolescents (122 males, 80 females) aged 15–17 years. Their mental health literacy was examined through a questionnaire that presented them with five scenarios of young people. Respondents showed a mixed ability to correctly recognize and label depression, although they were able to differentiate depressed and non‐depressed scenarios in terms of severity and expected recovery time. Results are discussed in light of findings from adult mental health literacy and clinical implications.

This study explored ethnic identity and self‐esteem among 1062 Mexican‐origin adolescents who were attending one of three schools, which varied in their ethnic composition (i.e., predominately Latino, predominately non‐Latino, and balanced Latino/non‐Latino). Significant relationships emerged between ethnic identity and self‐esteem among adolescents in all school settings. Furthermore, controlling for generation and maternal education, adolescents attending the predominately non‐Latino school reported significantly higher levels of ethnic identity than adolescents in the other schools. Consistent with ecological theory, these findings challenge researchers to design future studies in ways such that multiple layers of context and their influence on development can be examined.

The role of parental communication and instruction concerning sexual behaviour were studied in a community‐based sample of 1083 youth aged 13–17 (mean age of 15 years; 51% girls, 49% White). The Youth Asset Survey was administered along with items measuring demographics and youth risk behaviours. After controlling for demographic factors, multivariate analysis revealed that youth were much less likely to have initiated sexual intercourse if their parents taught them to say no, set clear rules, talked about what is right and wrong and about delaying sexual activity. If youth were sexually active, they were more likely to use birth control if taught at home about delaying sexual activity and about birth control. Having only one sexual partner was associated with having an adult role model who supports abstinence, being taught at home about birth control, and being taught at home how to say no. If parents reported talking with youth about birth control and sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention, youth were significantly more likely to use birth control. Our conclusion is that parents have the opportunity and ability to influence their children's sexual behaviour decisions.

The associations between pubertal timing, sexual activity and self‐reported depression were analysed in a population sample of 17,082 girls and 15,922 boys aged 14–16 as a par of a classroom survey. Pubertal timing was assessed by age at onset of menstruation (menarche) or ejaculations (oigarche). Sexual experiences elicited included kissing, light petting, heavy petting and intercourse. Self‐reported depression was measured by the 13‐item Beck Depression Inventory. Among girls, self‐reported depression was associated with early puberty and intimate sexual relationship. Among boys depression was associated with very early and late puberty and experience of intercourse. Early puberty is a risk factor for self‐reported depression. Intimate sexual relationships in middle adolescent are likely to indicate problems in adolescent development rather than successful adolescent passage.