Associations between adversity in the family of origin and hair cortisol concentration in adulthood.

The current study examined associations between parental adversities as experienced in adolescence and hair cortisol concentration (HCC) 26 years later (n = 47). Specifically, bivariate correlations and linear regressions were used to examine harsh parenting as well as parental economic pressure, emotional distress, and body mass index (BMI) when their adolescent was between 15 and 16 years old (parent average age 43). HCC was measured when the adolescent was an adult (average 42 years old), at a similar age to when their parent(s) first participated in the study. We also assessed their economic pressure, emotional distress, obesity, and perceived stress in adulthood. For results across generations, parental economic pressure experienced during adolescence was significantly related to HCC when these adolescents were adults. None of the adult economic pressure, emotional distress, BMI, and perceived stress variables were associated with their HCC. Interestingly, there were significant associations among adult perceived stress, economic pressure, emotional distress, and obesity. Thus, the association between parental economic pressure and adult HCC is independent of adult adversities. Results highlight early economic adversity as a possible childhood stressor that has implications throughout the life course.

The Role of Resilience in the Impact of Family Economic Adversity on Youth Emotional Distress over Time.

Previous research has highlighted the enduring negative impact of family economic adversity on youth emotional well-being. However, the longitudinal mechanism underlying the link between economic adversity and emotional distress is less explored. The present study examined the longitudinal pathway of parent economic adversity, and parent and adolescent emotional distress at age 16, parental support at age 21, youth self-esteem and mastery at age 23, and adult emotional distress at age 27. Data came from the Family Transitions Project (N = 441, 57% female), a 30-year study of families from the rural Midwest. Structural equation models revealed that economic adversity exerted a long-term negative influence on adult emotional well-being through parent and adolescent emotional distress and youth self-esteem and mastery. Additionally, parental support was associated with adult emotional distress through youth self-esteem and mastery. The current study advances our understanding of youth emotional well-being by suggesting a longitudinal family process and resilience pathways from adolescence to early adulthood.

The intergenerational transmission of economic adversity, BMI, and emotional distress from adolescence to middle adulthood.

The present study examined the intergenerational transmission of economic adversity, as well as physical and mental health across generations. Specifically, we examined the effects of parental economic adversity, body mass index (BMI), and emotional distress during the child's adolescence on their economic adversity, BMI, and emotional distress in middle adulthood. The study included 366 Generation 1 (G1) mothers and fathers and their adolescents (Generation 2; G2) in middle adulthood. G1 behavior was examined when G2 was 16 years old and G2 behavior was assessed at Age 42. In line with aspects of the family stress model, economic hardship was related to economic pressure, which in turn was related to emotional distress for both G1 and G2. For each generation, economic pressure was also associated with BMI. There was also evidence of the intergenerational transmission of economic hardship, BMI, and emotional distress from G1 to G2. Finally, the intergenerational transmission of economic adversity in the family of origin to adult health outcomes was explained by these same health behaviors of the first generation. Results suggest that economic adversity and parental health behaviors as experienced in adolescence have long-term economic and health consequences into middle adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Spirituality and Religious Engagement, Community Involvement, Outness, and Family Support: Influence on LGBT+ Muslim Well-Being.

The current study utilized data from the Social Justice Sexuality Project to investigate influences on psychological well-being of LGBT+ Muslims (N = 75) in the United States. Specifically, path analyses were used to examine the association between spiritual and religious engagement, LGBT community involvement, outness, and family support with psychological well-being. Control variables included lifespan Islam involvement, age, income, and the age at which the participant came out to themselves. Findings illustrate spiritual and religious engagement, outness, and income were all positively related to psychological well-being. Moreover, individuals who had converted to Islam but were not raised in the faith had significantly lower psychological well-being than those who had a consistent experience with Islam from their childhood until the time of the study. The present investigation provides critical contributions to the study of gender and sexual minorities in the United States and the experiences of currently practicing LGBT+ Muslims and those who were raised Muslim. Clinical implications and future research suggestions are discussed.

Intergenerational Continuity of Psychological Violence: Intimate Partner Relationships and Harsh Parenting.

OBJECTIVE: This prospective, longitudinal investigation examined psychological violence across generations. We examined how parent psychological violence experienced during adolescence influenced the stability of one's own intimate partner psychological violence perpetration across time and how psychological violence is related to harsh parenting in adulthood. METHOD: Data came from 193 parents and their adolescent who participated from adolescence through adulthood. Parental psychological violence was assessed in early adolescence. Partner violence was assessed in late adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood. Harsh parenting to their offspring was assessed in adulthood. RESULTS: Parent psychological violence in early adolescence was associated with one's own intimate partner psychological violence in late adolescence. Partner psychological violence was stable from emerging adulthood to adulthood. Moreover, parental violence was also related to their own harsh parenting in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that children exposed to parental psychological violence during adolescence may have greater difficulty developing acceptable behaviors in their own romantic relationships over time, as well as parenting their own child in adulthood. Findings highlight the importance for clinicians and policy makers to develop and utilize effective educational and preventive interventions designed toward not only adolescent behaviors, but also that of the parent. Understanding how the family environment impacts current and long-term functioning is important in helping stop the cycle of violence across generations.

The Association between Household Food Insecurity and Body Mass Index: A Prospective Growth Curve Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between food insecurity and body mass index (BMI) from early adolescence to adulthood. STUDY DESIGN: Growth curve analyses were performed. Sex differences were examined by conducting the analyses separately by sex. Ten data points were examined over a 16-year period from age 15 to 31 years. Data were obtained from the Family Transitions Project, a longitudinal study of 559 adolescents and their families that was initiated in 1989 in the Midwest. Primarily rural, non-Hispanic whites were selected based on the economic farm crisis. We examined participants from adolescence to adulthood from 1991 through 2007. Measures included a 2-item food insecurity construct and BMI as indicated by self-reported height and weight from adolescence through middle adulthood. These associations were analyzed using prospective growth curve modeling. RESULTS: Our analyses indicated a general increase in BMI with age, whereas food insecurity declined over time. Higher levels of food insecurity at age 15 years led to a more rapid increase in BMI. Finally, a positive relationship was found between the changes in food insecurity and BMI over time. These associations held only for females. CONCLUSION: Our results argue for increasing access to food during key developmental periods such as early adolescence, which could help reduce the long-term implications for health, particularly BMI in girls.

The Association of Harsh Parenting, Parent-Child Communication, and Parental Alcohol Use With Male Alcohol Use Into Emerging Adulthood.

PURPOSE: This study investigates the association between mother and father harsh parenting, and parent-child communication, and parental alcohol use on males' alcohol use from early adolescence into emerging adulthood. METHODS: Data come from the Iowa Youth and Families Project, a prospective 28-year longitudinal study of rural Midwestern youth and their families. Mother and father harsh parenting, parent-child communication, and alcohol use were assessed at time 1 when males were in early adolescence (13 years old, n = 215). Target male alcohol use was assessed at time 2 during late adolescence (18 and 19 years old, n = 206, 96% follow-up rate), and at time 3 in emerging adulthood (23 and 25 years old, n = 197, 92% follow-up rate). RESULTS: Results obtained from structural equation modeling using Mplus, version 7, statistical software indicated that father harsh parenting in early adolescence was directly associated with alcohol use in emerging adulthood. Mother communication was negatively associated while father alcohol use was positively associated with adolescent alcohol use in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Alcohol use in late adolescence was significantly related to alcohol use in emerging adulthood. CONCLUSION: This study offers unique insights into how mother- and father-son dyads differ in communication and parenting styles, as well as how these associations influence adolescent male alcohol use continuing into emerging adulthood. Multiple informants utilized in the current study provide a more complex understanding of how each parent uniquely contributes to the role of their adolescent's alcohol use in late adolescence into emerging adulthood.

Lower levels of maternal capital in early life predict offspring obesity in adulthood.

BACKGROUND: As of 2013, 65% of the world's population lived in countries where overweight/obesity kills more people than being underweight. Evolutionary perspectives provide a holistic understanding of both how and why obesity develops and its long-term implications. AIM: To test whether the maternal capital hypothesis, an evolutionary perspective, is viable for explaining the development of obesity in adulthood. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Restricted-use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; n = 11 403) was analysed using logistic regressions. The sample included adolescents and their biological mothers. RESULTS: The odds of obesity in adulthood increased by 22% for every standard deviation increase in lack of maternal capital (Exp (B) = 1.22, p < .001). That is, individuals whose mothers were young, of an ethnic minority and had short breastfeeding durations were more likely to be obese in adulthood, even after controlling for other factors in infancy, adolescence and adulthood. The results showed that those whose mothers had lower capital were more prone to later life disease (specifically, obesity). CONCLUSION: The maternal capital perspective is useful for explaining how and why early life characteristics (including maternal resources) predict obesity in adulthood. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Harsh Parenting and Food Insecurity in Adolescence: The Association With Emerging Adult Obesity.

PURPOSE: As the first study of its kind, the overall purpose of this article was to examine the relationships and interactions between harsh parenting (HP) and food insecurity (FI) in adolescence on the development of overweight/obesity (OW/OB) in emerging adulthood. METHODS: Data came from the Iowa Youth and Families Project, a longitudinal study of 451 adolescent youth and their families that began in 1989 in the rural Midwest. Adolescents were aged 13 years at the initial assessment, and weight status in emerging adulthood was measured 10 years later at age 23. RESULTS: Experiencing HP in adolescence predicted greater odds of OW/OB at 23 years old. Higher body mass indexes of the adolescent and his or her father in adolescence also increased the odds of being OW/OB at 23 years. Having parents with higher levels of education lowered the odds of being OW/OB in emerging adulthood. Finally, females who experienced high levels of FI and HP in adolescence had higher odds of OW/OB at 23 years in comparison to males. CONCLUSIONS: HP, in combination with FI in adolescence, predicted OW/OB for females in emerging adulthood but not for males. This study contributes to an understanding of the interplay between multiple influences in adolescence: namely, parenting and economic influences. Assessing antecedents to OW/OB in emerging adulthood via multiple pathways provides a more complex understanding of how and why adolescents turn into OW/OB adults.

Harsh Parenting, Deviant Peers, Adolescent Risky Behavior: Understanding the Meditational Effect of Attitudes and Intentions.

Although research supports the influence of parents and peers on adolescent risky behavior, less is known about mechanisms proposed to explain this relation. This study examined the influence of adolescent attitudes and intentions about such behaviors. Prospective, longitudinal data came from rural youth who participated throughout adolescence (n= 451). Observed harsh parenting and relationship with deviant peers was assessed in early adolescence, attitudes and intentions were measured during middle adolescence, and risky behavior was assessed in late adolescence. Results indicated that parenting and deviant peers was related to engagement in tobacco use, alcohol use, and risky sexual behaviors. Moreover, attitudes and intentions mediated this relationship even after parent use and adolescent early involvement in these behaviors were taken into account.

"He said they'd deport me": factors influencing domestic violence help-seeking practices among Latina immigrants.

Significant developments have been made in research on domestic violence experienced by women as well as on the practical front of the services women seek and receive when living with partner abuse. Yet, most of the studies that explore the experiences of victims of partner abuse in the United States have focused on nonimmigrant White women. The current study aims to contribute to the literature by exploring Latina immigrant victims' experiences with domestic violence service outreach in the Midwest. This exploratory study used one-on-one interviews and a focus group to identify the challenges faced by 10 Latina victims of partner abuse who had previously contacted an antiviolence organization in Iowa and had used its services. Findings demonstrate that immigration status and the inability to understand domestic violence within given cultural norms are major barriers keeping Latina victims from seeking help from formal advocacy agencies. Other impediments include feeling shame, isolation, along with the lack of bilingual service providers in mainstream institutions and, the lack of knowledge about resources among newcomers. We end with recommendations for research and practice.

Understanding adolescent and family influences on intimate partner psychological violence during emerging adulthood and adulthood.

The intergenerational transmission of violence directed toward intimate partners has been documented for the past three decades. Overall, the literature shows that violence in the family of origin leads to violence in the family of destination. However, this predominately cross-sectional or retrospective literature is limited by self-selection, endogeneity, and reporter biases as it has not been able to assess how individual and family behaviors simultaneously experienced during adolescence influence intimate partner violence throughout adulthood. The present study used data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project (IYFP; N = 392; 52 % Female), a multi-method, multi-trait prospective approach, to overcome this limitation. We focused on psychological intimate partner violence in both emerging adulthood (19-23 years) and adulthood (27-31 years), and include self and partner ratings of violence as well as observational data in a sample of rural non-Hispanic white families. Controlling for a host of individual risk factors as well as interparental psychological violence from adolescence (14-15 years), the results show that exposure to parent-to-child psychological violence during adolescence is a key predictor of intimate partner violence throughout adulthood. In addition, negative emotionality and the number of sexual partners in adolescence predicted intimate partner violence in both emerging adulthood and adulthood. Exposure to family stress was associated positively with intimate partner violence in adulthood but not in emerging adulthood, whereas academic difficulties were found to increase violence in emerging adulthood only. Unlike previous research, results did not support a direct effect of interparental psychological violence on psychological violence in the next generation. Gender differences were found only in emerging adulthood. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of the current literature and future directions.

The impact of collective efficacy on risks for adolescents' perpetration of dating violence.

Given prevalence rates and negative consequences that adolescents' perpetration of dating violence may have on an individual's well-being and future relationships, it is imperative to explore factors that may increase or reduce its occurrence. Thus, we aimed to identify how multiple contextual risk factors (individual, family, schools, and neighborhoods) were related to adolescents' perpetration of dating violence over a 6 year period. Then, we assessed how neighborhood collective efficacy, an important predictor of urban youths' well-being, buffered the relationship between each of the risk factors and adolescents' perpetration of dating violence. Three waves of data from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study were used (N = 765; Ages 16-20 at Wave 3). The sample is 53 % female, 42 % African-American, and 53 % Hispanic. For the total sample, drug and alcohol use, low parental monitoring, academic difficulties, and involvement with antisocial peers were significant early risk factors for perpetration of dating violence in late adolescence. Risk factors also varied by adolescents' race and sex. Finally, perceived neighborhood collective efficacy buffered the relationship between early academic difficulties and later perpetration of dating violence for Hispanic males. These results imply that multiple systems should be addressed in dating violence prevention programs.

Undocumented Latina networks and responses to domestic violence in a new immigrant gateway: toward a place-specific analysis.

New immigrant gateways differ significantly from areas of established settlement, with repercussions for domestic violence situations. Through interviews and a focus group with undocumented Latinas, we examine one specific area of such difference, that of formal and informal networks. These networks affect women's ability to seek and obtain help and procure their overall well-being. Findings suggest that the incorporation of Latinas into new gateways entails a reconfiguration of social ties and an increased level of isolation that renders immigrant women particularly vulnerable and ill-equipped to respond to domestic violence situations. We examine the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

Predictors and pathways to civic involvement in emerging adulthood: neighborhood, family, and school influences.

Understanding the developmental precursors to civic involvement in emerging adulthood is important to help cultivate and sustain youth's civic involvement. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory of human development and social capital theory, this study examined the pathways that link childhood neighborhood attributes, changes in family and school social capital during adolescence, and civic involvement in emerging adulthood. Three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 7,209, 54 % female, 63 % white, 18 % African-American, 11 % Hispanic) and multi-level models were used to examine the research questions set forth in this study. Findings revealed that increases in family and school social capital during adolescence had direct influences on emerging adult's civic involvement 7 years later. The effect of childhood neighborhood attributes was only weakly mediated by family and school social capital. However, the expression of family and school influences on emerging adult's civic involvement was found to differ by neighborhood groups, gender, and race. These results help to illustrate the importance of examining multi-contextual as well as demographic influences on civic involvement in emerging adulthood. In addition, the results from this study can inform efforts to strengthen the theory of adolescent civic involvement and policies on how to educate youth and communities on civic involvement and its benefits.

Variation in late adolescents' reports of dating violence perpetration: a dyadic analysis.

This study begins to fill the methodological gap in the dating violence literature by using hierarchical linear modeling to: (a) examine whether partners agree on reports of their experiences with violence in their relationship; and (b) identify factors that may explain differences in these reports. Data from the Relationship Dimensions Survey, a survey given to 214 late adolescent dating couples were utilized. Results indicated that there was significant variation in the report of dating violence perpetration and in the gender effect across couples, but not within couples. These differences were explained by individual- and relationship-related characteristics, including physical abuse from a parent during childhood, and for males' perpetration only, whether they drank alcohol. Implications for violence prevention are discussed.

Adolescent overweight and obesity: links to food insecurity and individual, maternal, and family stressors.

PURPOSE: A high proportion of adolescents living in low-income households in the United States are overweight or obese, food insecure, or exposed to high levels of individual, maternal, and family stressors. The aim of this paper was to identify the associations of food insecurity and the aforementioned stressors with an adolescent's propensity to be overweight or obese. We hypothesized that individual, maternal, and family stressors may exacerbate the relationship between food insecurity and adolescent overweight/obesity. METHODS: The sample included 1011 adolescents aged 10 to 15 years and their mothers in families with incomes below 200% of the poverty line from Wave 1 of the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study (Three-City Study). RESULTS: A series of logistic regressions predicted the probability of an adolescent being overweight or obese. Overall, higher levels of individual stressors increased the probability of being overweight or obese for adolescents, whereas there was no direct association between food insecurity, maternal, or family stressors and overweight or obesity. The interaction of food insecurity and maternal stressors was significantly linked to the probability of being overweight or obese; more specifically, an increase in maternal stressors amplified a food insecure adolescent's probability of being overweight or obese. CONCLUSIONS: Policies addressing adolescent obesity should consider the benefits to reducing the individual stressors facing low-income adolescents and, for food insecure adolescents, the benefits to reducing their mothers' stressors.

Food insecurity is not associated with childhood obesity as assessed using multiple measures of obesity.

There has been extensive previous research examining the connection between obesity and food insecurity, 2 serious nutrition challenges facing low-income children in the US. All of this work used BMI to categorize a child as obese. Although BMI is one way to categorize the obesity status of a child, other measures have not been used to understand the connection between food insecurity and obesity. In response, this study used multiple measures of obesity taken from the 2001 to 2004 NHANES. The sample included 2516 children between the ages of 8 and 17 y in households with annual incomes <200% of the poverty line. Within this sample, 36.6% of children were in food-insecure households. The prevalence of obesity depended on the measure employed (BMI, waist circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, trunk fat mass, body fat), with prevalence rates ranging from 15.4 to 44.8%. Logistic regression models estimated the probability of a child being obese using multiple measures of obesity conditional on food-insecurity status and other covariates. The results indicated that food-insecure children were no more likely to be obese than their food-secure counterparts across all measures of obesity. This relationship held after controlling for other factors and examining subpopulations based on race/ethnicity, gender, and race/ethnicity and gender. These results suggest that efforts to alleviate food insecurity and childhood obesity will work independently.

A Bioecological Analysis of Risk and Protective Factors Associated With Early Sexual Intercourse of Young Adolescents.

Microsystem risk and protective factors associated with early sexual intercourse among low-income adolescents were assessed using bioecological theory and a risk and resiliency framework. Waves 1 and 2 of Welfare, Children and Families: A Three-City Study were used (N=984, 10-14 years). Findings showed age, gender, race, two-parent households, separated households, households where the mother formed a union between waves, transitioning onto welfare between waves, and delinquency increased the odds that adolescents were sexually active. Protective factors for early sexual activity included maternal education and father involvement. Risk factors for early sexual debut were age, gender, race, two-parent households, separated households, and delinquency. A protective factor for early sexual debut was maternal education. Findings differed by gender, race, and race*gender. Policy implications include increasing social and human capital among low-income mothers to promote family stability and providing diversified sexual education programs due to gender differences.

Family stressors and child obesity.

Child obesity is a public health priority with numerous and complex causes. This study focuses on factors within the family, namely stressful experiences, which may be associated with child obesity. We examine data from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for children in two age groups: 5-11 and 12-17 years old. Results from an ordered probit regression model of child weight categorizations (healthy weight, overweight, obese) indicate positive associations between a range of family stressors (lack of cognitive stimulation and emotional support in the household among younger children, and mental and physical health problems and financial strain in the household among older children) and child overweight and obesity. We discuss how public policies that reduce family stressors may, in turn, help reduce child obesity.