Prosocial reasoning and emotions in young offenders and non-offenders / Razonamiento prosocial y emociones en adolescentes delincuentes y no delincuentes

The aim of this study was to analyse the cognitive processes (prosocial moral reasoning, perspective taking) and emotional processes (empathic concern, emotional instability, state-trait anger) which interact in predicting aggressive behaviour and prosocial behaviour of adolescents who have committed a crime and those who have not, for the purpose of establishing the predictor variables in both groups. Participants were 440 adolescents, 220 of them young offenders residing in four youth detention centres in Valencia, in which they were serving court sentences (67.3% men and 32.7% women). The other 220 were enrolled in public and private schools within the metropolitan area of Valencia (65.9% men and 34.1% women). The two subsamples were equated in age (15-18 years) and sex, controlling the representation of social classes. Prosocial moral reasoning, empathy, emotional instability, state-trait anger, prosocial behaviour, and physical and verbal aggression were assessed. Hierarchical regression analyses show the differential weight of positive emotions (empathic concern) and negative emotions (emotional instability and anger) in relation to prosocial moral reasoning in predicting aggressive behaviour in adolescents, especially offenders. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention and re-education oriented to social reinsertion of young offenders (AU)

El objetivo de este estudio ha sido analizar los procesos cognitivos (razonamiento moral prosocial, toma de perspectiva) y los procesos emocionales (preocupación empática, inestabilidad emocional, ira estado-rasgo) que interactúan en la predicción de la conducta agresiva y de la conducta prosocial de los adolescentes que han delinquido y los que no, con la finalidad de establecer las variables predictoras en ambos grupos. La muestra constaba de 440 adolescentes, 220 de los cuales eran adolescentes infractores internos en cuatro centros de menores de la Comunidad Valenciana, en los que estaban cumpliendo medidas judiciales (67.3% varones y 32.7% mujeres) y los 220 restantes estaban escolarizados en centros públicos y concertados dentro del área metropolitana de Valencia (65.9% varones y 34.1% mujeres). Se equipararon las dos submuestras en edad (15-18 años) y sexo, controlando la representación de las clases sociales. Se evaluó el razonamiento moral prosocial, la empatía, la inestabilidad emocional, la ira estado-rasgo, la conducta prosocial y la agresividad física y verbal. Los análisis de regresión jerárquica realizados muestran el peso diferencial de las emociones positivas (preocupación empática) y negativas (inestabilidad emocional e ira) en relación con el razonamiento moral prosocial en la predicción de la conducta agresiva de los adolescentes, especialmente los infractores. Se comentan los resultados en cuanto a sus implicaciones para la prevención y la reeducación orientada a la reinserción social de los jóvenes infractores (AU)

Effects of parenting practices through deviant peers on nonviolent and violent antisocial behaviours in middle- and late-adolescence / Los efectos de las prácticas parentales a través de compañeros desviados en los comportamientos antisociales no violentes y violentos en la adolescencia media y tardía

The aim of the current study was to analyse in two age cohorts the presence of mediation effects of parenting practices (i.e., parental knowledge, parental support, parent-adolescent conflict) through deviant peers on youth antisocial behaviour (i.e., nonviolent antisocial behaviour, violent behaviour). The final sample was subdivided in a younger group (n = 377), aged 14 to 16 (M = 15.27, SD = 0.72), 45.9% males, and an older group (n = 206), aged 17 to 19 (M = 17.30, SD = 0.54), 48.5% males. The structural equation modelling results indicated significant mediation effects for both age cohorts. Family factors presented more influence for younger adolescents, whereas deviant peers showed more influence for older adolescents. The findings also indicated the reciprocal influence of selection and socialisation processes suggesting the need of early interventions for preventing the development of antisocial behaviour (AU)

El objetivo de este estudio ha sido analizar en dos grupos de edad la presencia de los efectos de mediación de las prácticas parentales (es decir, el conocimiento y el apoyo parentales y el conflicto padresadolescente) por medio de compañeros desviados en el comportamiento antisocial de los jóvenes (es decir, comportamiento antisocial no violento y el comportamiento violento). La muestra final se dividió en un grupo más joven (n = 377), con edades entre 14 y 16 años (M = 15.27, DT = 0.72), el 45.9% de los cuales eran varones, y un grupo más mayor (n = 206), de edades comprendidas entre 17 y 19 años (M = 17.30, DT = 0.54), el 48.5% varones. Los resultados del modelado de ecuaciones estructurales indicaban que había efectos mediadores para ambos grupos de edad. Los factores familiares influían más en los adolescentes más jóvenes mientras que los compañeros desviados influían más en los adolescentes mayores. Los resultados también pusieron de manifiesto la influencia recíproca de los procesos de selección y socialización, lo que indicaba la necesidad de intervenciones tempranas con el fin de evitar que se desarrollara el comportamiento antisocial (AU)

Lonely Too Long: Redefining and Reforming Juvenile Solitary Confinement.

Solitary confinement is a frequently used penal tool in all fifty states against all types of offenders. However, since its development in the 1800s, solitary confinement has been found to have damaging psychological effects. Juvenile inmates in particular suffer the greatest psychological damage from solitary confinement because their brains are still in a developmental state. This has led many to propose various reforms that would either end or limit the use of solitary confinement for those under the age of eighteen. However, new neurological studies on brain development show that inmates between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five also suffer similar psychological harms and therefore should be included in these reforms. Pulling from these new neurological studies, this Note proposes federal legislation that would limit the use of solitary confinement for inmates under the age of twenty-five.

Validity and reliability of the Cyber-aggression Questionnaire for Adolescents (CYBA) / Validez y fiabilidad del Cuestionario de Ciberagresión para Adolescentes (CYBA)

Cybercrime is a growing and worrisome problem, particularly when it involves minors. Cyber-aggression among adolescents in particular can result in negative legal and psychological consequences for people involved. Therefore, it is important to have instruments to detect these incidents early and understand the problem to propose effective measures for prevention and treatment. This paper aims to design a new self-report, the Cyber-Aggression Questionnaire for Adolescents (CYBA), to evaluate the extent to which the respondent conducts aggressions through a mobile phone or the internet and analyse the factorial and criterion validity and reliability of their scores in a sample of adolescents from Asturias, Spain. The CYBA was administered to 3,148 youth aged between 12 and 18 years old along with three self-reports to measure aggression at school, impulsivity, and empathy. Regarding factorial validity, the model that best represents the structure of the CYBA consists of three factors (Impersonation, Visual-sexual Cyber-aggression, and Verbal Cyber-aggression and Exclusion) and four additional indicators of Visual Cyber-aggression-Teasing/Happy Slapping. Regarding criterion validity, the score on the CYBA correlates positively with aggression at school and impulsivity and negatively with empathy. That is the way cyber-aggression correlates with these three variables, according to previous empirical evidence. The reliability of the scores on each item and factor of the CYBA are adequate. Therefore, the CYBA offers a valid and reliable measure of cyber-aggression in adolescents (AU)

Los ciberdelitos constituyen un problema creciente y preocupante, sobre todo si están involucrados menores. Las ciberagresiones en adolescentes, en concreto, pueden generar consecuencias legales y psicológicas muy negativas para los implicados. Es importante, por tanto, disponer de instrumentos que permitan detectar precozmente estos hechos, así como comprender el problema de cara a plantear medidas eficaces para su prevención y tratamiento. El objetivo de este trabajo es diseñar un nuevo autoinforme, denominado Cuestionario de Ciberagresión para Adolescentes (CYBA), para evaluar en qué medida el informante ejerce agresiones a través del teléfono móvil o Internet y analizar la validez factorial y de criterio y la fiabilidad de sus puntuaciones en una muestra de adolescentes de Asturias (España). Para ello, se aplicó el CYBA a 3.148 jóvenes de 12 a 18 años, junto con tres autoinformes para medir agresión escolar offline, impulsividad y empatía. Respecto a la validez factorial, el modelo que mejor representa la estructura del CYBA es el compuesto por tres factores (suplantación, ciberagresión visual-sexual y ciberagresión verbal/exclusión) y otros cuatro indicadores de ciberagresión visual-burlas/happy slapping. Respecto a la validez de criterio, la puntuación en el CYBA correlaciona de manera positiva con agresión escolar offline e impulsividad y negativa con empatía, tres variables con las que la evidencia empírica previa indica que correlaciona la ciberagresión. La fiabilidad de las puntuaciones en cada ítem y factor del CYBA son adecuadas. Por todo ello, se concluye que el CYBA ofrece una medida válida y fiable de ciberagresión en adolescentes (AU)

Apego romántico en adolescentes maltratados en su niñez / Romantic attachment of adolescents abuse in childhood

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The aim of this study was to examine whether maltreatment experiences in childhood influence romantic attachment style in adolescence. The study included 54 adolescent who had suffered serious family maltreatment, who were separated from their biological families and were in residential care, 63 adolescents who had suffered moderated maltreatment and who were living with their biological families under treatment, and 139 nonmaltreated adolescents. Results indicated that those who have been maltreated during childhood show greater use of avoidance romantic attachment strategy. However, no differences were found in the anxious dimension of attachment. Results are discussed in relation to the normative trends of the attachment models and attachment styles identified in adolescence, and according to the available evidence on the relationship between child maltreatment and romantic attachment styles in this developmental stage. Also, some implications for the therapeutic interventions with maltreated adolescents in their childhood are discussed (AU)

Return of separated children: the impact of Dutch policies.

In many European countries, both the voluntary and the forced return of rejected asylum seekers are problematic. In the case of separated children, the difficulties seem to be even greater. In the Netherlands, many of these children disappear from the reception centres for unknown destinations, instead of returning to their home country. The new, stricter return policies adopted by the Dutch government in recent years have not (yet) changed this situation.In an explorative study of separated children aged between 15 and 18, the implementation and results of these policies were studied. The impact of the activities designed to promote voluntary return appeared to be very limited. Most separated young people did not want to consider return and did not take any action in this regard. Forced return rarely constituted a viable alternative. These findings may be explained by several factors. Among other things, considerations pertaining to personal security, family circumstances, and structural conditions in the countries of origin influence both the attitudes and behaviours of separated children, and host government policies. Moreover, many children were not willing to discuss their return with the youth care workers who were supposed to discuss and promote a voluntary return with them. The fact that most of the young people were allowed to stay in the reception centres until their eighteenth birthday enabled them to postpone making a final decision. A forced return was hindered by such obstacles as the absence of documents and the lack of appropriate care in the country of origin. More insight into the backgrounds of separated children and the (im)possibilities regarding their return seems necessary to be able to design more effective return policies.

Consequences of black exceptionalism? Interracial unions with blacks, depressive symptoms, and relationship satisfaction.

Using data from Wave 4 (2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 7,466), we examine potential consequences of black exceptionalism in the context of interracial relationships among nonblack respondents. While increasing racial diversity and climbing rates of interracial unions have fostered the notion that racial boundaries within the United States are fading, our results add to the accumulating evidence that racial/ethnic boundaries persist in U.S. society. Results suggest that among non-Black respondents there is more stigma and disapproval attached to relationships with Blacks than there are to relationships with members of other racial/ethnic groups. Specifically, our results indicate that nonblack individuals with black partners have significantly more depressive symptoms and less relationship satisfaction than their counterparts with nonblack partners, regardless of respondent race and whether the nonblack partner is the same versus a different race from the respondent. Further, the relationship between partner race and depressive symptoms is partially and significantly mediated by relationship satisfaction.

Making sense of adolescent decision-making: challenge and reality.

Few topics in pediatric bioethics are as vexing as decision-making. Decision-making in pediatrics presents challenges for children, parents, and physicians alike. The related, yet distinct, concepts of assent and consent are central to pediatric decision-making. Although informed consent is largely regarded as a worthwhile adult principle, assent has been, and continues to be, mired in debate. Controversial subjects include a meaningful definition of assent; how old children should be to assent; who should be included in the assent process; parental permission; how to resolve disputes between children and their parents; the relationship between assent and consent; the quantity and quality of information to disclose to children and their families; how much and what information children desire and need; the necessity and methods for assessing both children's understanding of disclosed information and of the assent process itself; reconciling ethical and legal attitudes toward assent; and finally, an effective, practical, and realistically applicable decision-making model.

Family transitions and juvenile delinquency.

There is a large body of research that shows children from non-intact homes show higher rates of juvenile delinquency than children from intact homes, partially due to weaker parental control and supervision in non-intact homes. What has not been adequately addressed in the research is the influence of changes in family structure among individual adolescents over time on delinquent offending. Using the first and third waves of the National Youth Study, we assess the effect of family structure changes on changes in delinquent offending between waves through the intermediate process of changes in family time and parental attachment. Although prior research has documented adolescents in broken homes are more delinquent than youth in intact homes, the process of family dissolution is not associated with concurrent increases in offending. In contrast, family formation through marriage or cohabitation is associated with simultaneous increases in offending. Changes in family time and parental attachment account for a portion of the family formation effect on delinquency, and prior parental attachment and juvenile offending significantly condition the effect of family formation on offending.

"Use" them or "lose" them: engaging Liberia's disconnected youth through socio-political integration .

The war that ravaged Liberia between 1989 and 2003 had myriad causes and belligerents, but there can be little question of the demographic cohort that provided the manpower for the war machine: youth. Young, disconnected Liberians became easy recruits to the conflict's warring factions as they sought a sense of importance and independence away from the cultural background that marginalized them. Building on qualitative field research in Liberia, this article bridges its primary case study with theory and secondary data, to examine the threat of post-war re-marginalization and disengagement of youth in the country. The article argues that economic reintegration programmes have not addressed issues of youth empowerment directly enough, and that targeted political and social engagement strategies from a vertical and horizontal integration perspective would be more effective in the re-engagement of youth in civilian life.

Mother abuse: a matter of youth justice, child welfare or domestic violence?

International evidence suggests that in advanced welfare states the abuse of parents, most particularly mothers, by their (most frequently male) adolescent children is increasingly prevalent. In the United Kingdom, however, child-to-mother abuse remains one of the most under-acknowledged and under-researched forms of family violence. Although it is an issue shrouded in silence, stigma, and shame, the authors' work in the youth justice sphere, focusing on interventions to deal with anti-social behaviour, suggests that adolescent violence toward mothers is a topical and prevalent issue. We identify different ways of conceptualizing it in the policy realms of youth justice, child welfare, and domestic violence. The behaviour of both child/young person and mother is constructed in ways which inform the assignment of blame and responsibility. The paper highlights the silence that surrounds the issue in both the policy and wider academic spheres, hiding the failure of service providers to respond to this very destructive form of intimate interpersonal violence.

Tackling tensions and ambivalences: Armenian girls' diasporic identities in Russia.

Research on diasporic youth identities in the British and American context has stressed hybridity, heterogeneity and multiplicity. This paper draws upon ethnographic research undertaken with Armenian girls to explore some of the tensions and ambivalences of negotiating diasporic identities in the Russian context. Diasporic identities are constructed through gender, and this paper illustrates how research participants negotiate their identities in relation to both belonging to the Armenian community and wider Russian society. At the same time, this paper examines how research participants draw differently on diasporic identifications in order to overcome tensions and ambivalences in their everyday lives. The paper shows that research participants are not inclined to reject their cultural roots in favor of new hybrid identities, but are able to recognize and appropriate different cultures in their identity negotiations.

Should the science of adolescent brain development inform public policy?

One factor that has contributed to confusion in discussions of the use of adolescent neuroscience in the development of public policies affecting young people is a blurring of three very different issues that need to be separated: (a) what science does and does not say about brain development in adolescence; (b) what neuroscience does and does not imply for the understanding of adolescent behavior; and (c) what these implications suggest for public policy. In this article, the author argues that a good deal is known about adolescent brain development, that this knowledge has in fact been useful in shaping our understanding of adolescent behavior, and that neuroscience, like behavioral science, can usefully inform policy discussions. He cautions, however, that nonexperts may be unduly swayed by neuroscience evidence and thus that such evidence should be presented with special care.

Caribbean and Filipino adolescents' and parents' perceptions of parental authority, physical punishment, and cultural values and their relation to migratory characteristics.

This article describes the perceptions of parents and adolescents of physical punishment in relation to family and migratory characteristics. Adolescents and their parents of Caribbean (n=118) and of Filipino (n=136) heritage responded to questions on their attitude toward physical discipline, their family relations, and their socio-demographic and migratory characteristics. Data analyses show that many Caribbean (78%) and Filipino (41.9%) parents perceive that they should have the right to physically punish their children, while youth disagree with this. The dissonance between parents' and their children's attitudes is related to acculturation factors due to the earlier and more intense exposure of youth to their host society. Further studies should be conducted on the impact of the divergence between parents and their youth's opinions on the actual shifts in power in the parent-child relationship, as well as on immigrant parents' discipline strategies and on the family's adaptation to the challenges of migration.

Abuso sexual infantojuvenil estudio comparativo entre el abuso sexual intrafamiliar y extrfamiliar / Infant juvenile sexual abuse comparative study between the intrafamiliar and extrafamilia sexual abuse

Se realiza un estudio observacional analítico y retrospectivo sobre una muestra de 140 casos de niños y adolescentes entre 1 mes y 19 años de edad, que sufrieron Abuso Sexual (AS), con el objeto de detectar y comparar las áreas de funcionamiento psíquico afectadas, como la existencia y tipo de expresiones psicopatológicas en los casos de AS incestuoso y no incestuoso, en estos últimos incluida la variable de perpetuación. Los menores fueron asistidos en un período comprendido entre abril de 1989 y abril de 1998 por el Equipo de Asistencia de Urgencia Interdisciplinaria del Comité de Abuso Sexual del Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad de Córdoba, Argentina. Se realizó una atención integral a partir de la aplicación de una metodología interdisciplinaria. Se incluyeron los casos en los que se pudo determinar la probabilidad de AS, el conocimiento del tipo de relación del victimario con la víctima, la consumación del abuso por un único victimario y la disponibilidad de datos registrados suficientes para caracterizar el tipo de funcionamiento psíquico. Los enfoques diagnósticos y terapéuticos utilizados fueron el Genético Dinámico Profundo de la Dra. Telma Reca y el Elaborativo-Dinámico-Interaccional de la Dra. Anny Speier para el abordaje familiar. El Diagnóstico se estableció según las Clasificaciones DSM IV (americana) y CFTMEA-R-2000 (francesa), que tienen en cuenta la dimensión multiaxial esencial en psicopatología, a fin de complementar diferentes enfoques. Se evaluaron: el grado de deterioro o incapacidad relacionable a la afectación psicopatológica según la Escala de Evaluación de la Actividad Global (EEAG) adaptada a niños (C- GAS), la relación del grupo familiar de convivencia durante la ocurrencia del AS según la Escala de Evaluación Global de la Actividad Relacional (EEGAR) y el grado de severidad del Trastorno por Estrés Postraumático según la PTSS-C-Scale. Se relacionaron las evaluaciones con variables seleccionadas.