This study focused on support and conflict in parent-child relationships and dyadic friendships as predictors of behavior problems in early adolescence (n = 182; M age = 12.9 years, 51% female, 45% African American, 74% two-parent homes). Support and conflict in one relationship context were hypothesized to moderate the effects of experiences in the other relationship context. Adolescent-report...

The current study examined conflict resolution strategies parents and adolescents use when discussing a disagreement and how these strategies relate to adolescent depression. A global, observational coding system was used to investigate the specific engaging (i.e., active listening, autonomy promoting and expressing, and relational) and disengaging (i.e., hostile, controlling, and withdrawal) s...

BACKGROUND Dating violence is a relevant current social and public health problem, not only due to adolescents exposure to risk of physical and mental injury, but also because it's at this age that romantic relationships begin with the possibility of these patterns of interaction to be perpetuated throughout life. The aim of this study is to characterize behaviours of violence and to identify t...

Adolescents' behavior is often a matter of concern, given their increased likelihood of enacting antisocial behaviors, which cause disruptions in the social order and are potentially harmful for the adolescents themselves and for the people around them. In this six-wave longitudinal study we sought to examine the interplay among maternal empathy, multiple indicators of mother-adolescent relatio...

Although most adopted children are well adjusted, research has consistently found that adopted adolescents are at an increased risk for externalizing behaviors. The present investigation tested a model whereby parent-adolescent negative emotionality traits, adolescent conflict, and adoption status contribute to adolescent externalizing behaviors. The study included 616 families with at least on...

The link between treatment techniques and long-term treatment outcome was examined in an empirically supported family-based treatment for adolescent drug abuse. Observational ratings of therapist interventions were used to predict outcomes at 6 and 12 months posttreatment for 63 families receiving multidimensional family therapy. Greater use of in-session family-focused techniques predicted red...

BACKGROUND Adolescents are developmentally in a period of transition-from children cared for by their parents to young adults capable of self-care, independent judgment, and self-directed problem solving. We wished to develop a behavioral contract for adolescent diabetes management that addresses some negotiable points of conflict within the parent-child relationship regarding self-monitoring a...