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Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- List of contributors -- Preface -- 1 Adolescent development: Putting Europe on the map -- 1. Boundaries of adolescence -- 2. Europe: An old continent and an emergent reality -- 3. Cross-cultural comparisons of adolescent development -- 4. Globalization of adolescent research -- 5. Conclusion -- 2 Theories of adolescence -- 1. Developmental theories: Their role in the history of adolescent psychology -- 2. Four classical types of theory on adolescence -- 3. Integrative approaches -- 4. Contextualist theories -- 5. Conclusion -- 3 Pubertal maturation -- 1. Somatic changes -- 2. Psychosocial aspects of pubertal maturation -- 3. Conclusion -- 4 Emotion, affect, and loneliness in adolescence -- 1. Adolescent emotions -- 2. Adolescent loneliness and solitude -- 3. Integrating research on adolescent loneliness and solitude: A European research program -- 4. Socio-cultural differences in loneliness -- 5. Conclusion -- 5 Cognitive development in adolescence: Thinking freed from concrete constraints -- 1. New cognitive skills in the transition from childhood to adolescence -- 2. Cognitive analysis of developmental domains in adolescence -- 3. In search of explanations and theoretical frameworks -- 4. Conclusion -- 6 Self-concept, self-esteem and identity -- Introduction -- 1. Self-concept and self-esteem -- 2. Identity -- 3. Conclusion -- 7 Moral development in adolescence: How to integrate personal and social values? -- 1. Assessment methods and general stages -- 2. Sequential aspects of the general stages -- 3. Context variabilities and differentiation between several rule systems -- 4. Inter-individual differences -- 5. Conclusion -- 8 The many faces of adolescent autonomy: Parent-adolescent conflict, behavioral decision-making, and emotional distancing

AbstractThe present study builds on the child‐by‐environment model and examines the joint contribution of intra‐individual characteristics (i.e., self‐esteem and shyness) and peer experiences (i.e., social acceptance, victimization, friendship quantity, and friendship quality) in the association with loneliness. A total of 884 adolescents (Mage = 15.80; 68 percent female) participated in this multi‐informant study. Results indicated that, in addition to self‐esteem and shyness, being poorly accepted by peers, being victimized, lacking friends, and experiencing poor‐quality friendships each contributed independently to the experience of loneliness. Further, friendship quantity and quality mediated the relation between the two intra‐individual characteristics and loneliness. Finally, a significant interaction was found between self‐esteem and social acceptance in predicting loneliness. The present study highlights the importance of investigating the joint effects of inter‐individual experiences and intra‐individual characteristics in examining loneliness. Suggestions to elaborate the child‐by‐environment model in loneliness research are discussed, and clinical implications are outlined.

This study investigated the role of two dimensions of parental separation anxiety—Anxiety about Adolescent Distancing (AAD) and Comfort with Secure Base Role (CSBR)—and parental maladaptive perfectionism in the prediction of psychologically controlling parenting. In a sample of middle adolescents and their parents (N=677), it was found that parents' AAD scores and maladaptive perfectionism were positively related to psychological control, whereas parents' CSBR scores were negatively related to psychological control. Further, psychological control served as an intervening variable in the links between parent characteristics and adolescent well‐being. These findings suggest that two qualitatively different types of psychological control may exist: one originating from parents' separation anxiety and another originating from parents' maladaptive perfectionist standards.

AbstractThis study examined the intervening role of empathy in the relations between identity styles (i.e., information‐oriented, normative, and diffuse‐avoidant styles), and inter‐personal behaviors (i.e., prosocial behavior, self‐ and other‐oriented helping, and physical and relational aggression). In a sample of 341 emerging adults, it was found that an information‐oriented style relates to a more adaptive pattern of interpersonal behaviors whereas a normative or a diffuse‐avoidant identity style relate to a more maladaptive pattern of interpersonal behaviors. Empathy played an intervening role between the information‐oriented style and interpersonal behavior, and between the diffuse‐avoidant style and interpersonal behavior. However, empathy did not intervene between the normative style and interpersonal behavior. Implications for future research are discussed.

This study examined key components of the "New Look" at the imaginary audience and personal fable constructs. Toward this end, data from four samples of Belgian high school students (N= 1,458) were analyzed. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses failed to confirm that the measures associated with the New Look theory, the New Imaginary Audience Scale, and the New Personal Fable Scale (NPFS), tapped a common underlying construct. Only the invulnerability and omnipotence subscales of the NPFS proved to be highly related. In line with the New Look theory, boys were found to believe more strongly in their own uniqueness, invulnerability, and omnipotence than were girls. Higher scores on the invulnerability and omnipotence subscales were associated with lower levels of depression and loneliness. Finally, each aspect of the personal fable seemed to have its own specific role in the process of separation – individuation. Implications of these findings for the New Look theory of the imaginary audience and the personal fable are discussed. Suggestions for future research are put forth, with particular emphasis on the role of the invulnerability/omnipotence complex in adolescent development and behavior and on the family resemblances among the various aspects of the personal fable.

The developmental interplay between identity and adjustment was examined in a seven‐wave longitudinal study of 428 European female college students (Mage=18.8 years) over a period of 3 years, with semi‐annual measurement waves each year. Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) was used to identify developmental typologies of both identity formation (i.e., dimensions of commitment and exploration) and adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms and self‐esteem). Four trajectory classes emerged for identity, three of which had been suggested earlier in the literature (Josselson, 1996): Pathmakers, Guardians, and Searchers. The fourth trajectory class was labeled Consolidators and consisted of individuals characterized by a strong focus on strengthening their current identity commitments, at the expense of a thorough exploration of alternative options. Three trajectory classes were identified for adjustment: Optimal Adjustment, Moderate Adjustment, and Stable Maladjustment. Each of the four identity trajectory classes was associated with a specific profile of adjustment, with the Searchers showing the poorest profile and the Pathmakers and Consolidators the most positive profile. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are outlined.

AbstractThis study investigated the associations among psychologically controlling parenting, relational aggression, friendship quality, and loneliness during adolescence. A model was proposed in which relational aggression plays an intervening role in the relations between both parental psychological control and friendship outcomes. In a sample comprised of middle adolescents and their parents, process analyses revealed that psychological control (indexed by parent and adolescent reports) positively predicted adolescents' self‐reported relational aggression that, in turn, negatively predicted friendship quality and positively predicted loneliness. The model held for both mothers and fathers and was not moderated by adolescent gender. The discussion focuses on possible mechanisms explaining the relations among psychological control, relational aggression, and friendship outcomes.

This study extends previous gene‐by‐environment (G × E) research through design and methodological advances and examines alternative hypotheses of diathesis stress, vantage sensitivity, and differential susceptibility. In a sample of 984 adolescents and their parents, we examined whether effects of parental support, proactive, punitive, harsh punitive, and psychological control on externalizing problem behavior are moderated by adolescents' genotype for the dopamine transporter (DAT1) or receptor D4 (DRD4) gene. Results provided evidence for main effects of parenting behavior and DRD4, and multiple interaction effects of which one survived Bonferroni correction. Adolescents carrying a long DRD4 variant were more susceptible to the effects of parental proactive control on aggression, for better and for worse. Critical considerations were made regarding the complexity of G × E research.

The aims of this study were (1) to examine relations between baseline levels of loneliness and momentary affect and perceptions of company, and (2) to test responses to perceived social threat and lowered reward response to positive stimuli in relation to loneliness in adolescents. Data were collected among 278 adolescents (Mage = 14.19, 59% girls) by using the experience sampling method. Baseline loneliness was related to affect and appraisals of company. Findings revealed greater responses to social threat, in that adolescents with higher levels of baseline loneliness were more negatively affected by negative company. For the lowered reward response, we found opposite effects: adolescents high on loneliness were more positively affected by positive company.