The roles of internal locus of control and neighborhood affluence in predicting the continuity of negative self-feelings from adolescence to young adulthood.

The present study examines the moderating effect of locus of control on the continuity in negative self-feelings from adolescence to young adulthood. We use longitudinal data of 1296 respondents from adolescence (11-13 years old) to young adulthood (20-24 years old). Using interaction effects in linear regression with robust standard errors we find that those with an internal locus of control experience stronger continuity in negative self-feelings from adolescence to young adulthood. Furthermore, based on both self-reported and objective measures of neighborhood status, internal locus of control increases the continuity in negative self-feelings in the transition to adulthood in disadvantaged neighborhoods but not in advantaged neighborhoods. Thus, locus of control acts as a maladaptive mechanism in less affluent neighborhoods. This result demonstrates the importance of considering both the individual social psychological and the contextual sociological perspectives when investigating the role of internal locus of control on the perpetuation of negative self-feelings.

Socio-environmental factors associated with pubertal development in female adolescents: the role of prepubertal tobacco and alcohol use.

PURPOSE: Alcohol administered to laboratory animals has been shown to suppress puberty-related hormones and delay puberty by interfering with ovarian development and function. The effects of early substance use on human pubertal development are relatively unexplored. METHODS: This cross-sectional study of 3,106 female adolescents, aged 11-21 years, evaluated the association between prepubertal alcohol and tobacco use and the onset of puberty. Ages at initial breast development, body hair growth, and menarche were self-reported. Prepubertal alcohol and tobacco use were defined as the age at first use before the age of pubertal development and accompanied by regular use. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between substance use and delayed puberty, defined as lack of breast development by the age of 13 years. RESULTS: Unadjusted models indicated prepubertal tobacco use was associated with a longer time required for breast development (HR = 0.74; 95% CI, 0.65-0.85) and body hair growth (HR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71-0.93). Prepubertal alcohol use was associated with late breast development (HR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.57-0.88). The direction of the observed associations remained consistent after adjusting for covariates, but the magnitude of effects were attenuated and the upper bound of the 95% CIs exceeded the null value. Girls who used alcohol before puberty had four times the odds of having delayed puberty (OR = 3.99; 95% CI, 1.94-8.21) as compared with nonusers. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the endocrine-disrupting effects of alcohol and tobacco use may alter the timing of pubertal development. These cross-sectional findings warrant further investigation.

Mediating Mechanisms for the Intergenerational Transmission of Constructive Parenting: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

Based on a prospective longitudinal panel data set that was collected at three developmental stages-early adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood- this study investigates marital satisfaction and educational attainment as mediating mechanisms as well as gender's moderating effect for the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting (N = 1,560). The results show that perceived satisfying experiences with parents during early adolescence are positively related to marital satisfaction and educational attainment in young adulthood, which, in turn, are positively related to individuals' utilization of constructive parenting in middle adulthood. The two mediating mechanisms account for most of the direct effect of the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting. Furthermore, the mediating effect of marital relationship is stronger for current fathers than for mothers because of a stronger association between marital satisfaction and constructive parenting for men. The implications are discussed.

Self-referent constructs and medical sociology: in search of an integrative framework.

A theoretical framework centering on four classes of self-referent constructs is offered as a device for integrating the diverse areas constituting medical sociology. Guidance by this framework sensitizes the researcher to the occurrence of parallel processes in adjacent disciplines, facilitates recognition of the etiological significance of findings from other disciplines for explaining medical sociological phenomena, and encourages transactions between sociology and medical sociology whereby each informs and is informed by the other.