Biomedical subjects

David L DuBois

Publications and source records attributed to David L DuBois.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Youth reactions to participation in psychological assessment procedures.

This study investigates self-reported positive and negative reactions of youth to psychological assessment procedures. A community sample (COM) reported reactions to completing a self-report questionnaire of negative emotional states. A clinical sample (CL) reported reactions both to completion of the questionnaire and to a clinical intake. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) supported distinct, relatively independent positive and negative reactions for both samples. Participants reported significantly greater positive than negative reactions. Developmental and gender differences indicated that girls reported greater positive reactions than boys and that younger children reported greater positive and negative reactions than adolescents. The CL reported greater positive reactions to the clinical intake relative to completing the questionnaire. Discussion focuses on increasing understanding of youth reactions to psychological assessments and potential implications for research and clinical practice.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Investigation of profiles of risk factors for adolescent psychopathology: a person-centered approach.

Latent variable mixture modeling was used to identify subgroups of adolescents with distinct profiles of risk factors from individual, family, peer, and broader contextual domains. Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Four-class models provided the most theoretically meaningful solutions for both 7th (n = 907; 48% boys) and 11th (n = 1039; 51% boys) graders. The 4-class solution for 7th graders included low risk (LR; 66%), socioeconomic disadvantage (SD; 19%), peer high risk (PHR; 9%), and family high risk (FHR; 6%) groups. Similarly, the 4-class model for 11th graders included LR (32%), SD (43%), high risk (HR; 21%), and FHR (4%) groups. Subgroup membership predicted reported levels of depressive symptoms and conduct problems both concurrently and over time. Strengths and potential limitations of using latent variable mixture modeling to investigate risk profiles for adolescent psychopathology are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Characteristics of natural mentoring relationships and adolescent adjustment: evidence from a national study.

This research investigated characteristics of natural mentoring relationships (mentor role, frequency of contact, closeness, duration) as predictors of adjustment outcomes among older adolescents and young adults (N = 2,053) in the Add Health study. Outcomes were assessed in the domains of education/work, problem behavior, psychological well-being, and physical health. Mentoring relationships with persons in roles outside of the family predicted greater likelihood of favorable outcomes in all domains except psychological well-being, relative to mentoring relationships with family members. Greater reported closeness in relationships was predictive of several favorable outcomes, particularly those in the domain of psychological well-being. These findings indicate that strategies to promote mentoring of adolescents may be more effective if particular categories of adults are targeted and an effort is made to cultivate relationships with strong emotional bonds. Editors' Strategic Implications: These data suggest that the cultivation of natural (especially non-familial) mentoring relationships during adolescence may be a promising strategy for prevention and health promotion. This study is impressive due to its large, nationally representative sample, the examination of relationship characteristics and multiple mentors, and the links to a variety of outcomes (controlling for earlier functioning). School officials and mentoring programs must consider how to capitalize on - and promote - naturally occurring mentor relationships.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Natural mentoring relationships and adolescent health: evidence from a national study.

OBJECTIVES: We used nationally representative data to examine the impact of natural (or informal) mentoring relationships on health-related outcomes among older adolescents and young adults. METHODS: We examined outcomes from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health as a function of whether or not respondents reported a mentoring relationship. Logistic regression was used with control for demographic variables, previous level of functioning, and individual and environmental risk. RESULTS: Respondents who reported a mentoring relationship were more likely to exhibit favorable outcomes relating to education/work (completing high school, college attendance, working >/= 10 hours a week), reduced problem behavior (gang membership, hurting others in physical fights, risk taking), psychological well-being (heightened self-esteem, life satisfaction), and health (physical activity level, birth control use). However, effects of exposure to individual and environmental risk factors generally were larger in magnitude than protective effects associated with mentoring. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a broad and multifaceted impact of mentoring relationships on adolescent health. However, mentoring relationships alone are not enough to meet the needs of at-risk youths and therefore should be incorporated into more comprehensive interventions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

The healthy pursuit of self-esteem: comment on and alternative to the Crocker and Park (2004) formulation.

J. Crocker and L. E. Park (2004) proposed both (a) that the importance of self-esteem lies more in how people strive for it rather than whether it is high or low and (b) that the benefits of pursuing self-esteem are of a limited, short-term nature and are outweighed by the significant costs that entail for functioning in multiple areas. The authors review research that raises questions about the validity of each of these assumptions. They conclude that findings are more consistent with a view in which (a) high self-esteem, or at least the avoidance of low self-esteem, is an important factor contributing to overall health and well-being and (b) the pursuit of self-esteem, when directed toward adaptive ends, can be instrumental in promoting long-term outcomes that are of value to both individuals and society. They also describe an integrative theoretical framework that encompasses both of these possibilities.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

Bias in self-perceptions and internalizing and externalizing problems in adjustment during early adolescence: a prospective investigation.

We investigated bias in self-perceptions of competence (relative to parent ratings) for family, school, and peer domains as predictors of adjustment problems among 139 young adolescents over a 1-year period using a prospective design. Regressions examined measures of bias at Time 1 (T1) as predictors of ratings of internalizing and externalizing problems at Time 2 (T2), controlling for T1 adjustment ratings. For the family domain, curvilinear trends were found. Follow-up analyses revealed that for this domain both negative bias (self-perceptions less favorable than parent ratings) and positive bias (self-perceptions more favorable than parent ratings) predicted greater internalizing and externalizing problems as rated by youth, parents, and teachers. For the peer domain, higher scores on the measure of bias predicted greater internalizing and externalizing problems as rated by teachers. These findings are consistent with the view that accuracy in self-perceptions of competence can have important implications across multiple domains of development.

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed2004

Do deviant peer associations mediate the contributions of self-esteem to problem behavior during early adolescence? A 2-year longitudinal study.

We investigated deviant peer associations as a mediator of the influences of general and peer-oriented self-esteem on problem behavior using data from a 2-year longitudinal study of 350 young adolescents. Measures of problem behavior included substance use (alcohol use, smoking) and antisocial behavior (fighting, stealing). Using latent growth curve modeling and covariance structure analysis, an extension of a model proposed by DuBois et al. (2002) was evaluated for each type of problem behavior. Findings revealed that lower general self-esteem and greater peer orientation in self-esteem each predicted deviant associations with peers and that deviant peer associations, in turn, were associated with higher levels and rates of change in problem behavior. Deviant peer associations mediated the associations of general and peer-oriented self-esteem with levels and rates of change in problem behavior such that direct paths from self-esteem to problem behavior generally were nonsignificant.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Testing a new model of mentoring.

Mentoring programs are effective only when mentors become significant adults in the lives of youth. Mentors who achieve this status provide support that helps youth develop important psychological and behavioral assets, such as self-esteem and the ability to cope, thus promoting healthy adjustment. These processes are evident in findings of an evaluation of outcomes in a Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: a meta-analytic review.

We used meta-analysis to review 55 evaluations of the effects of mentoring programs on youth. Overall, findings provide evidence of only a modest or small benefit of program participation for the average youth. Program effects are enhanced significantly, however, when greater numbers of both theory-based and empirically based "best practices" are utilized and when strong relationships are formed between mentors and youth. Youth from backgrounds of environmental risk and disadvantage appear most likely to benefit from participation in mentoring programs. Outcomes for youth at-risk due to personal vulnerabilities have varied substantially in relation to program characteristics, with a noteworthy potential evident for poorly implemented programs to actually have an adverse effect on such youth. Recommendations include greater adherence to guidelines for the design and implementation of effective mentoring programs as well as more in-depth assessment of relationship and contextual factors in the evaluation of programs.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Getting by with a little help from self and others: self-esteem and social support as resources during early adolescence.

Influences of social support and self-esteem on adjustment in early adolescence were investigated in a 2-year longitudinal study (N = 350). Multi-informant data (youth and parent) were used to assess both overall levels and balance in peer- versus adult-oriented sources for social support and self-esteem. Findings obtained using latent growth-curve modeling were consistent with self-esteem mediating effects of social support on both emotional and behavioral adjustment. Lack of balance in social support and self-esteem in the direction of stronger support and esteem from peer-oriented sources predicted greater levels and rates of growth in behavioral problems. Results indicate a need for process-oriented models of social support and self-esteem and sensitivity to patterning of sources for each resource relative to adaptive demands of early adolescence.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Race and gender influences on adjustment in early adolescence: investigation of an integrative model.

This research investigated an integrative model of race- and gender-related influences on adjustment during early adolescence using a sample of 350 Black and White youth. In the proposed model, prejudice/discrimination events, as well as race and gender daily hassles, contribute to a general stress context. The stress context, in turn, influences levels of emotional and behavioral problems in adjustment, with these associations mediated (in part) by intervening effects on self-esteem. Racial and gender identity similarly have positive effects on adjustment via their intermediary linkages with self-esteem. Structural equation modeling analyses provided support for all of these aspects of the model. Findings also revealed theoretically predicted differences in model parameters across race by gender subgroups. These include a direct effect of prejudice/discrimination events on emotional problems specific to Black youth and an effect of gender identity on self-esteem specific to girls. Black girls appeared to be most vulnerable to exhibiting significant adjustment difficulties as a result of the processes under investigation.

Adolescent↗