Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences for the knowledge gained from this project include educators, researchers and students who are interested in adolescent risk behavior. Specifically, those with an interest in adolescent risk behavior in the context of personal identity development, ethnic/cultural identity development, and prevention programs. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? I have mentored approximately two graduate students and two undergraduate students in theory, research method/design, and data analysis as a direct result of the activities associated with this project. In addition, approximately 100 middle school and high schools educators received professional development training as part of the evaluation study of LSCI. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The findings from this research have been disseminated to other researchers and educators primarily through peer-reviewed publications. Over the course of the 5-year project, six reports were published in peer-reviewed journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Adolescence (ages 10-17) and emerging adulthood (ages 18-25) are characterized by heightened risk for engaging in health compromising behavior and experiencing emotional difficulties. Approximately 13% of 8th graders and 36% of 12th graders in the U.S. reported using marijuana in the last year, with 22.1% of 8th graders and 62% of 12th graders reporting alcohol use in the past year. Rates of use are even higher in emerging adulthood with over 44% of college students reporting binge drinking in the past two weeks. At the same time, approximately 28.5% of high school students report feeling sad or hopeless on most days. Given the costs to society, it is important for researchers and practitioners in the social sciences to conduct research to better understand the causes of risky behavior and emotional difficulties if something is to be done to reduce the harmful consequences. The benefit of this research is that the findings can both inform and improve existing community-based efforts to prevent harmful consequences. The knowledge gained from this project has important implications/impacts for high school and college programs that seek to reduce risky and health-compromising behaviors among students. The results suggest that these programs should focus on helping the adolescents and emerging adults explore their sense of personal, ethnic and moral identity in a systematic way. Encouraging exploration that is systematic and meaningful would motivate students to consolidate a healthy sense of identity and reduce negative feelings or health compromising behaviors (e.g., alcohol and drug use). This is particularly relevant for those students who are experiencing a prolonged sense of confusion, or feel that they are “drifting.” At the same time, other research conducted during this project found that youth development organizations and educational institutions can help by training educators and youth development specialists in targeted crisis intervention skills. The results of these studies showed that training improves the attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors of adults, which can result in improved relationships with students. Objective 1. To better understand adolescent and emerging adult risk-taking behavior by examining the role of parental attachment, communication, and socialization practices, its influence on the relational, psychosocial, and spiritual development of youth, and the decision to engage in risky and harmful behaviors. Research activities for objective 1 primarily involved participation in an ad hoc research consortium called the Multi-site University Study of Identity and Culture (MUSIC). The consortium included researchers, myself included, from across the U.S. who were able to collect data from over 10,000 college students from across the country. Approximately 30 colleges and universities participated in the study, which began in 2008. The survey included questions on personal and ethnic identity, religiousness and spirituality, parent-child relationships, risky and health-compromising behaviors, and subjective well-being. Six separate reports were published based on the results of studies that primarily focused on the relationship between personal and moral identity and both externalizing and internalizing problems of emerging adults. Findings demonstrated that the development of a positive sense of personal and moral identity are negatively related to substance abuse and other health-compromising behaviors. Furthermore, the development of a positive sense of identity is not a unitary process, but requires the consolation of a variety of psychosocial processes. In general, college students were less likely to engage in risky behaviors when their psychological well-being was characterized by a sense of autonomy, mastery, personal growth, positive relationships with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. This is in contrast to aspects of well-being that focus on a sense of happiness or engaging in personally expressive activities. Likewise, in a separate report, results showed that emerging adults were less likely to engage in risky behavior, and were more psychosocially healthy, if their sense of identity was characterized by personal exploration into one’s goals in life and meaningful personal commitments to one’s future. Another study focused on the association between personal identity and moral identity and how each would predict college student mental health, risky behaviors, and psychological well-being. Results showed that emerging adults with a stronger sense of personal identity and moral identity were lower on symptoms of anxiety and depression and levels of hazardous alcohol use, and higher on self-esteem and meaning-in-life. Furthermore, the relationship between identity and health outcomes was stronger when both personal identity and moral identity were high. The results suggest that although personal identity and moral identity were correlated with one another, they each play a unique role in predicting mental and behavioral health outcomes. Thus, health outcomes might be improved through activities that strengthen both personal and moral identity. Objective 2. To study the implementation of effective strengths based prevention programs designed to improve intergenerational family relationship and parenting practices, promote healthy psychosocial development, and reduce risky or troubling behaviors among children and youth. Research activities for objective 2 primarily involved the analysis of data collected from an evaluation of a training program for middle school and high school educators. Approximately 100 educators were trained in Life Space Crisis Intervention, a skill-based technique to address acute crises among adolescents. Educators were assessed before training and again at the end of the academic year. A group of 68 educators from a local school district who was not offered the training were included as a comparison group. The comparison group educators were only assessed once to avoid pre-test effects. Outcomes for students were evaluated based on a survey of all 9th grade students in the high school. Results suggest that crisis intervention training can positively impact the attitudes and behaviors of educators. Trained educators were less likely to attribute causes of student misbehavior to a negative family-environment, were less likely to respond to student misbehavior is negative emotional reactions, were more likely to express a desire to help students in crisis, and, ultimately, were less likely to refer students out of the classroom for misbehavior. No significant changes in behaviors were noted from the 9th grade students; perhaps due to the low rates of behavioral problems reported during the pre-test. Overall, the results suggest that the attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors of adults should be included in the design and implementation of youth development training programs to ensure the fidelity of program implementation.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Hardy, S. A., Francis, S. W., Zamboanga, B. L., Kim, S. Y., Anderson, S. G., & Forthun, L. F. (2013). The roles of identity formation and moral identity in college student mental health, health risk behaviors, and psychological well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69 (4), 364-382.
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Progress 10/01/11 to 09/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The outcomes and findings from the research covered in this CRIS project have been disseminated primarily through professional publications and presentations. The results of research activities that focused on Objective 1 (to better understand adolescent and emerging adult risk-taking behavior) were recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Psychology and Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology (publication year 2013). The results for research activities that focused on Objective 2 (evaluation of strengthens-based prevention programs) were presented at the 2012 conference of the National Council on Family Relations and the 2012 annual conference of the Extension Professional Associations of Florida. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Research activities that focused on Objective 1 have continued to explore correlates of behavioral and mental health outcomes among emerging adults. In one study, my colleagues and I explored the association between personal identity and moral identity and how each would predict college student mental health, risky behaviors, and psychological well-being. Results showed that emerging adults with a stronger sense of personal identity and moral identity were lower on symptoms of anxiety and depression and levels of hazardous alcohol use, and higher on self-esteem and meaning-in-life. Furthermore, the relationship between identity and health outcomes was stronger when both personal identity and moral identity were high. The results suggest that although personal identity and moral identity were correlated with one another, they each play a unique role in predicting mental and behavioral health outcomes. Thus, health outcomes might be improved through activities that strengthen self and moral identity. In another study, first and second generation immigrant college students were asked to complete a questionnaire to ascertain the extent to which acculturation and self-identity were related. The results showed that across ethnic groups, college students who had engaged in a period of personal identity exploration reported the greatest endorsement of both heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications. On the other hand, college students who had not engaged in a period of personal identity exploration reported the lowest endorsement of both heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications. The results suggest that biculturalism - an agentic approach to exploring both heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications - is most likely to occur among individuals who have purposefully explored personal identity alternatives. This task would be doubly important for immigrants who must define themselves within two cultural worlds. Research activities for Objective 2 have focused on the preliminary analysis of evaluation data from the Grandfamily Resilience and Sustainability (GRandS) project funded by NIFA Children, Youth and Families At-Risk Sustainable Community Grant. Findings suggest that as a result of participation in GRandS programmatic activities, grandparents had a better understanding of positive discipline and positive parenting practices. Additionally, grandparents reported an increase in family strengths and better communication. They were more willing to use positive communication with family members, and they had a better understanding of the importance of listening and rephrasing during communication. Finally, grandparents reported that they have become more aware of mental health, legal aid services, and support groups in the community.
Publications
- Schwartz, S. J., Kim, S. Y., Whitbourne, S. K., Zamboanga, B. L., Weisskirch, R. S., Forthun, L. F., Vazsonyi, A. T., Beyers, W., & Luyckx, K. (2012, November 12). Converging identities: Dimensions of acculturation and personal identity status among immigrant college students. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/a0030753
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Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The outcomes and findings from the research covered in this CRIS project have been disseminated primarily through professional publications. The results of research activities that focused on Objective 1 (to better understand adolescent and emerging adult risk-taking behavior) were recently published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence and Applied Developmental Science. The results of research activities that focus on Objective 2 (evaluation of strengthens-based prevention programs) were recently published in the journal, Professional Development in Education. Knowledge gained from research activities for this reporting period have also contributed to my outside consulting services that support the development, implementation, and evaluation of prevention programs targeting at-risk youth. PARTICIPANTS: Cooperators: David Diehl, Ph.D., University of Florida, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences; Rosemary Barnett, Ph.D., University of Florida, Family, Department of Youth, and Community Sciences; Seth Schwartz, Ph.D., University of Miami, Center for Family Studies. Additional collaborators include partners in the Multi University Study of Identity and Culture (under the direction of Dr. Schwartz), a survey of over 10,000 college students from 30 colleges and universities from across the U.S. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Research activities that focused on Objective 1 have continued to explore correlates of risk-taking behavior among emerging adults. Research published this year reported that there are differential effects of well-being on the risky behavior of emerging adult college students. In general, college students were less likely to engage in risky behaviors when their psychological well-being was characterized by a sense of autonomy, mastery, personal growth, positive relationships with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. This is in contrast to aspects of well-being that focus on a sense of happiness or engaging in personally expressive activities. In a separate study published this year, the identity development of emerging adult college students was examined in-depth to identify clusters of identity attributes that are related to both healthy development and risky behavior. Results showed that emerging adults were less likely to engage in risky behavior, and were more psychosocially health, if their sense of identity was characterized by personal exploration into one's goals in life and meaningful personal commitments to one's future. Current research focused on Objective 1 is examining well-being, identity, and risky behavior in the context of the emerging adult's relationship with her or his parents; specifically in relationship to parental nurturance, respect, and control. Additionally, current research includes the examination of the benefits of religiosity and spirituality on family and individual well-being. Research activities that focused on Objective 2 have further contributed to an understanding of the characteristics of effective prevention programs for children and youth. In a recent project focused on process/formative evaluation of local United Ways who had developed strategies for strengthening families in the community, data analysis demonstrated that successful programs were marked by strong community partnerships, organizational buy-in, and a strengths-based approach to strengthening families. One strengths-based approach, the Community Cafe, was evaluated using the Concept Mapping approach (Trochim, 1989). Participants and stakeholders identified the benefits of participation in the Community Cafe and the benefits were analyzed using Concept Systems software. Analysis yielded 8 clusters of benefits which were closely related to the guiding principles of the Community Cafe approach. Follow-up analyses found that most of the clusters were rated by participants and stakeholders as both important and achievable. The results have implications for the development of a quantitative survey that would be useful in gathering further evidence of the success of the Community Cafe as a strengths-based approach to building strong families.
Publications
- Schwartz, S.J., Luyckx, K., Soenens, B., Beyers, W., Zamboanga, B.L., Forthun, L.F., Hardy, S.A., Vazsonyi, A.T., Ham, L.S., Kim, S.Y., Whitbourne, S.K., & Waterman, A.S. (2011). Examining the light and dark sides of emerging adults identity: A study of identity status differences in positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 839-859.
- Schwartz, S.J., Waterman, A.S., Vazsonyi, A.T., Zamboanga, B.L., Whitebourne, S.K., Weisskirch, R.S., Vernon, M., Caraway, S.J., Kim, S.Y., Forthun, L.F., Donnellan, M.B., & Ham, L.S. (2011). The association of well-being with health risk behaviors among college attending young adults. Applied Developmental Science, 15, 20-36.
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Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The outcomes and findings from the research covered in this CRIS project have been disseminated primarily through professional publications and conference presentations. Some of the results of research activities that focused on Objective 1 (to better understand adolescent and emerging adult risk-taking behavior) were recently published in the American Journal of Health Behavior. Other results were presented at the annual conference of the National Council on Family Relations. Some of the results of research activities that focus on Objective 2 (evaluation of strengthens-based prevention programs) were recently published in the journal, Professional Development in Education, and as a chapter in the book, Educational psychology reader. Knowledge gained from research activities for this reporting period have also contributed to my outside consulting services that support the development, implementation, and evaluation of prevention programs targeting at-risk youth. PARTICIPANTS: Seth J. Schwartz, Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami, is a co-Investigator on research activities related to adolescent and emerging adult risk-taking behavior. He is involved in all aspects of the study. David Diehl, Assistant Professor, and Rosemary Barnett, Associate Professor, both in the department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences at the University of Florida, are co-Investigators contributing to research activities that address both risky behaviors and youth development programming. United Way Worldwide is a partner agency and is funding several of the research activities around the evaluation of strengthens-based prevention programs. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary target audience for this reporting period are researchers and educators who are interested in understanding, preventing, or intervening in the troubling behaviors of children and youth. These include those who work in higher education as well as those who work for schools and organizations that provide opportunities for children and youth to thrive in their families, schools, and communities. Knowledge gained from the research activities is regularly integrated into cooperative extension publications and programs that target children, youth, and their families. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Research activities that focused on Objective 1 have continued to explore correlates of risk-taking behavior among emerging adults. Although results are preliminary, further examination of the data continues to show that the development of a positive sense of identity and well-being are negatively related to substance abuse and other health-compromising behaviors. Future research will begin to examine these processes in the context of the emerging adult's relationship with her or his parents; specifically in relationship to parental nurturance, respect, and control. Additionally, future analyses will include aspects of individual and family religiosity and spirituality. It is hoped that these efforts will contribute to the growing literature examining the benefits of religiosity and spirituality on family functions and individual well-being. Research activities that focused on Objective 2 have further contributed to an understanding of the characteristics of effective prevention programs for children and youth. Data collection has just completed for the first phase of a project funded through the United Way Worldwide. The first phase of this work has been primarily focused on process/formative evaluation as local United Ways developed strategies for strengthening families in the community. Data analysis has demonstrated that successful community impact is marked by strong community partnerships, organizational buy-in, and a strengths-based approach to strengthening families. Evidence also demonstrates that parent engagement is an important key to success. Based on the results of the first phase of this study, two empirical manuscripts are currently be prepared for submission to appropriate refereed journals along with seven Extension-related publications.
Publications
- Forthun, L.F., & McCombie, J.W.(2010). The efficacy of crisis intervention training for educators: a preliminary study from the United States. Professional Development in Education, First published on: 12 August 2010 (iFirst)
- Forthun, L.F., McCombie, J., & Payne, C. (2010). A comprehensive evaluation of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI). In G.S. Goodman (Ed), Educational psychology reader (pp. 560-580). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The findings from this research have been disseminated to other researchers and educators primarily through professional conference presentations. The results of research activities that focused on Objective 1 (to better understand adolescent and emerging adult risk-taking behavior) were submitted for presentation at two national conferences. All three proposals were accepted and will be presented during conference meetings that follow this reporting period. The results of research activities that focus on Objective 2 (evaluation of strengthens-based prevention programs) were presented at the following professional meetings: the annual conference for Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) in Washington, DC, and the National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in Atlanta, GA. Knowledge gained from research activities for this reporting period have also contributed to my outside consulting services that support the development, implementation, and evaluation of prevention programs targeting at-risk youth. PARTICIPANTS: Seth J. Schwartz, Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami, is a co-Investigator on research activities related to adolescent and emerging adult risk-taking behavior. He is involved in all aspects of the study. David Diehl, Assistant Professor, and Rosemary Barnett, Associate Professor, both in the department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences at the University of Florida, are co-Investigators contributing to research activities that address both risky behaviors and youth development programming. Caroline Payne, graduate student in the Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences at the University of Florida contributes to the research activities related to youth development programming. United Way Worldwide is a partner agency and is funding several of the research activities around the evaluation of strengthens-based prevention programs. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary target audience for this reporting period are researchers and educators who are interested in understanding, preventing, or intervening in the troubling behaviors of children and youth. These include those who work in higher education as well as those who work for schools and organizations that provide opportunities for children and youth to thrive in their families, schools, and communities. Knowledge gained from the research activities is regularly integrated into cooperative extension publications and programs that target children, youth, and their families. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Research activities that focused on Objective 1 have contributed to a better understanding/knowledge of the correlates of risk-taking behavior among emerging adults. Based on the analysis of data collected from college students at multiple universities across the U.S., my colleagues and I have gained a better understanding of how a positive sense of identity may protect against a variety of risky and health-compromising behaviors. The development of a positive sense of identity is not a unitary process, but requires the consolation of a variety of psychosocial processes. Our findings suggest that most, if not all, of the psychosocial components of identity development are required to more effectively reduce many of the risky and health compromising behaviors we examined. This knowledge has important implications/impacts for college programs that seek to reduce risky and health-compromising behaviors among students. The results suggest that these programs should focus on the multiple dimensions of positive identity development, rather than just one, by helping the emerging adults to explore identity alternatives in a systematic way. Encouraging exploration that is systematic and meaningful would motivate students to consolidate a sense of identity from among the alternatives that have been considered. This is particularly relevant for those students who are experiencing a prolonged sense of confusion, or feel that they are "drifting." Research activities that focused on Objective 2 have contributed to our understanding of the characteristics of effective prevention programs for children and youth. While data collection is on-going on an evaluation project funded through United Way Worldwide, my colleagues and I explored data from a previous project evaluation in a new way. In an evaluation of Middle School and High School educators in a rural school district in the Northeastern U.S., results suggest that crisis intervention training can positively impact the attitudes and behaviors of educators. While most evaluations tend to focus on outcomes of program on the attitudes and behaviors of youth, this evaluation showed that it is equally important to consider the impact of the program on the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of the adults who are trained. In this study, we found that trained educators were less likely to attribute causes of student misbehavior to a negative family-environment, were less likely to respond to student misbehavior is negative emotional reactions, were more likely to express a desire to help students in crisis, and, ultimately, were less likely to refer students out of the classroom for misbehavior. This information has implications/impact on schools and other youth development organizations by encouraging them to consider the educator or youth development specialist as an important participant in youth development programming. The attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors of adults should be included in the design and implementation of youth development training programs to ensure the fidelity of the programming.
Publications
- Schwartz, S. J., Forthun, L. F., Ravert, R. D., Zamboanga, B. L., Rodriguez, L., Umana-Taylor, A. J., Filton, B. J., Kim, S. Y., Rodriguez, L., Weisskirch, R. S., Vernon, M., Shneyderman, Y., Williams, M. K., Agocha, V. B., & Hudson, M. (2010; In Press). The protective role of identity consolidation against health risk behaviors in college-attending emerging adults. American Journal of Health Behavior.
- Forthun, L.F., McCombie, J., & Payne, C. (2010; In Press). A comprehensive evaluation of Life Space Crisis Intervention. In G.S. Goodman (Ed), Educational psychology reader. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
- Forthun, L.F., Payne, C., & McCombie, J. (2009). Life Space Crisis Intervention in a school setting: Final results. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 18, 51-57.
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