Trust, forgiveness, and peace: The influence of adolescent social identity in a setting of intergroup conflict

Following the signing of peace agreements, post-accord societies often remain deeply divided across group lines. There is a need to identify antecedents of youth’s support for peace and establish more constructive intergroup relations. This article explored the effect of out-group trust, intergroup forgiveness, and social identity on support for the peace process among youth from the historic majority and minority communities in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The sample comprised 667 adolescents (49% male; M = 15.74, SD = 1.99 years old) across two time points. The results from the structural equation model suggested that out-group trust was related to intergroup forgiveness over time, while forgiveness related to later support for the peace process. Strength of in-group social identity differentially moderated how out-group trust and intergroup forgiveness related to later support for peace among youth from the conflict-related groups (i.e., Protestants and Catholics). Implications for consolidating peace in Northern Ireland are discussed, which may be relevant to other settings affected by intergroup conflict.

Validation of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory in younger adults

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) in younger adults. Participants were 212 younger adults age M = 22 (range = 17–53) years. They completed a demographic information questionnaire and self-report measures: the GAI, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7 (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9), the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and the Worry Behaviors Inventory (WBI). Data from the GAI were collected at two time points, one week apart, and data from other self-report measures were collected once via Qualtrics, an online survey platform. The internal consistency and test–retest score reliability of the GAI were excellent. It had good congruent validity with other anxiety measures, limited divergent validity with depression measures, and sound convergent validity with worry measures. The GAI showed good discrimination between probable cases and noncases of generalized anxiety disorder (participants who scored ⩾8 on the GAD-7) and its optimal cutoff score for probable cases of GAD was ⩾12. A unidimensional component structure of the GAI best fit this study’s data. This study has provided preliminary evidence that the GAI is reliable and valid for use in an Australian sample of younger adults.

Parent emotional regulation: A meta-analytic review of its association with parenting and child adjustment

We conducted a meta-analytic review of 53 studies published between 2000 and 2020 to quantify associations of parents’ emotion regulation with parenting behavior and children’s emotion regulation and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Twelve meta-analyses, which included between 4 to 22 effect sizes ( N from 345 to 3609), were conducted to summarize associations of parent emotion regulation with positive or negative parenting behaviors and child outcomes of emotion regulation, difficulties in emotion regulation, internalizing symptoms, or externalizing behavior. Given the range of behavioral parent emotion regulation measures used across studies, effect sizes for parent emotion regulation strategy use ( skill) were analyzed separately from effect sizes for parents’ difficulties with emotion regulation. Summary effect sizes ranged from |.08| to |.28| for relations of parent emotion regulation skill with parenting behaviors and children’s adjustment. Summary effect sizes ranged from |.03| to |.42| for relations of parent emotion regulation difficulties with parenting behaviors and children’s adjustment. In general, parents with better emotion regulation skill or fewer difficulties are higher in positive parenting behaviors and have children with better emotion regulation and fewer internalizing symptoms. Evidence was less clear-cut for child externalizing behaviors. Significant effect size heterogeneity was observed in most analyses, and study characteristics (measures, child age, parent gender, sampling, and region where the study was conducted) were examined as moderators. Measures used, child age, and participant risk status moderated effect size in some analyses.

Subjective perceptions of age-related gains buffer negative associations of perceived age-related losses with health, well-being, and engagement

People reflect on their own aging, and this subjective awareness has an influence on developmental outcomes. Scholars have recently operationalized subjective aging in terms of awareness of age-related change (AARC), which captures awareness of both gains and losses. We examined associations of AARC-gains and AARC-losses with physical functioning, subjective well-being, and engagement with life (enjoyable activities and sense of purpose). Importantly, we extended previous research by not only assessing main effects of gains and losses but also testing their interaction. We hypothesized that awareness of losses would be more weakly negatively associated with health and well-being among those who possessed higher awareness of gains. A total of 399 older participants aged 65 to 91 (235 women and 164 men) were recruited via Prime Panels crowd-sourcing platform to complete an online questionnaire. Greater AARC-losses was associated with poorer health, lower subjective well-being, and lower sense of purpose. AARC-gains was associated with better outcomes in general, and moderated associations of AARC-losses with physical functioning, subjective well-being, and sense of purpose (but not engagement in leisure activities). Consistent with predictions, moderation effects showed that negative associations of AARC-losses with the outcomes were weaker among those who reported higher AARC-gains. Results provided some support for a role of AARC-gains in buffering negative effects of AARC-losses on developmental outcomes.

Examining honesty–humility and cheating behaviors across younger and older adults

Self-report research indicates that dishonesty decreases across adulthood; however, behavioral measures of dishonesty have yet to be examined across younger and older adults. The present study examined younger and older adults’ cheating behaviors in relation to their self-reported honesty–humility. Younger ( N = 112) and older adults ( N = 85) completed a matrix task where they had the opportunity to falsely inflate their performance. Participants also completed the self-report measure of honesty–humility from the HEXACO-PI-R. Older adults were significantly less likely to cheat and had higher ratings of honesty–humility compared to younger adults. Greater honesty–humility predicted lower cheating behavior. These results demonstrate that older adults show greater rates of honesty and humility compared to younger adults using both behavioral and self-report methods.

The longitudinal associations between perfectionism and academic achievement across adolescence

The directionality and longitudinal course between perfectionism and academic achievement throughout adolescence remains unclear as most studies rely on cross-sectional or short-term data and many examine these associations in university students who do not represent the full spectrum of learners. Moreover, most studies are hampered by their reliance on student-reported grades. We rectified these issues by examining the longitudinal relation between self-reported perfectionism and teacher-rated academic achievement (grade point average) in a sample of 604 Canadian adolescents followed prospectively from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Using path analysis, results demonstrated a positive relation between academic achievement and perfectionism. In particular, academic achievement positively predicted self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) at every time point. Academic achievement also positively predicted socially prescribed perfectionism across every time point. At no time point did either form of perfectionism predict academic achievement, highlighting that perfectionism is more likely an outcome of academic achievement, rather than an antecedent. Results also demonstrated that the cross-lagged effect from academic achievement to SOP was stronger at the transition from middle school to high school compared to pathways in all subsequent years. Overall, such findings imply that adolescents who experience academic success are more likely to experience increases in levels of perfectionism, which may increase their vulnerability to stress.

Big news stories and longitudinal data collection: A prominent child sexual abuse case negatively affects parents’ attitudes toward male caregivers

Consumption of news media can influence attitudes toward specific groups, but the influence of news media on longitudinal data collection has not yet been researched. We present a method to index media attention on a specific topic, as well as a case study on a big child sexual abuse (CSA) story and its effect on parents’ attitudes toward male childcare professionals in a longitudinal study with fathers and mothers of 207 Dutch families. Questionnaire data on attitudes toward gender-differentiated parenting were collected in four annual waves between 2010 and 2014. NexisUni® Academic database was used to index articles on CSA to chart patterns of media attention before and during that time span. There was an immediate increase in media attention, the amount of articles on CSA doubled, as well as a prolonged increase in attention which culminated during the second wave of the study. In the first wave, 97 of the families participated before the CSA case became known, and 110 participated afterward. Parents who participated after the first news about the case came out reported a more negative attitude toward hiring a male babysitter than those who participated before it. This effect was stronger for mothers. The negative effect on attitude endured during the subsequent waves for all fathers and for those mothers who participated before the news broke. Findings indicate that big news stories influence attitudes that lasts over time and can therefore influence longitudinal data. Further analysis suggests that the influence of news stories is gendered, as mothers showed a recovery in their attitudes over time while fathers did not. We recommend further research on the effect of news on attitude and behavioral measures in longitudinal research.

Gender differences in inhibitory control as assessed on simple delay tasks in early childhood: A meta-analysis

Bjorklund and Kipp (1996) hypothesized that due to selection processes operative during human evolution, females have an inborn advantage over males in the ability to suppress inappropriate responses on tasks in the behavioral and social domains. To test this hypothesis, a meta-analysis was conducted on gender differences on simple delay tasks in which the participant is required to wait for a “go” signal before making an approach response to an enticing stimulus. The meta-analysis was performed on 113 effect sizes derived from 102 studies of 21,378 children who ranged in age from 1 year to 9 years and who lived in at least 15 countries. As hypothesized, girls exceeded boys in delay ability, with the gender differences being small in magnitude (Hedges’ g = .25–.26). The female advantage in delay ability held for both U.S. and non-U.S. samples of children. Further analyses found that girls outperformed boys on each of four simple delay tasks. Although the magnitude of the gender difference on the individual simple delay tasks did not differ as a function of age, the age ranges covered were narrow. Discussion focuses on two issues: (a) whether gender differences in delay ability can be explained by a factor other than inhibitory control and (b) whether parental socialization processes can explain the gender differences in delay ability. The evidence reviewed does not provide substantial support for either of these possibilities.

Depicting emotions for a male or for a female audience: Do children adapt the content of their drawings to the audience gender?

When depicting emotions, children have been shown to alter the content of their drawings (e.g., number and types of expressive cues) depending on the characteristics of the audience (i.e., age, familiarity, and authority). However, no study has yet investigated the influence of the audience gender on children’s depiction of emotions in their drawings. This study examined whether drawing for a male versus for a female audience have an impact on the number and type of emotional information children use to depict sadness, anger, and fear. Children aged 7 ( N = 92) and 9 ( N = 126) were asked to draw a figure and then to produce three drawings of a person, to depict three emotions (sadness, anger, fear). Children were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions: they were instructed either to draw with no explicit mention of an audience (control condition) or to draw so that the depicted emotion would be recognized by a male (male audience condition) or by a female (female audience condition). A content analysis was conducted on children’s drawings, revealing the use of seven types of graphic cues for each emotion. We found numerous differences between the three conditions relative to the type of cues used by children to depict emotions, particularly for anger and fear and particularly at the age of 7. Overall, children used facial cues more frequently for a female audience and contextual cues more frequently for a male audience. These results are discussed in terms of their implications in clinical, educational, and therapeutic settings.

Introduction to the special section on loneliness across the life span

We provide an overview of the topics included in the special section of the International Journal of Behavioral Development on Loneliness Across the Life Span. We highlight the use of a life span approach to understanding loneliness and the different methodological approaches adopted by researchers. This special issue contributes toward the development of a holistic research agenda addressing loneliness across the life course and away from a focus solely upon specific age groups such as adolescents, young adults, or older adults who have been the focus of most loneliness research until comparatively recently.