Understanding psychosocial factors that affect the academic achievement of Hispanic adolescents remains a nationwide priority in the United States. Extending previous studies of the stressful effects of perceived discrimination, this year-long longitudinal study examined the correlates of perceived ethnic in-group rejection, coping strategies and fatalistic beliefs, on depressive symptoms, grades, and college aspirations of 2,214 Hispanic adolescents (54 % female) in Southern California. Based on the transactional model of stress and coping and on self-perception theory, structural equation models revealed that high perceived intragroup rejection (10th grade) and low levels of active coping (11th grade) were associated with depressive symptoms in 11th grade. Also, depressive symptoms partially mediated the link between intragroup rejection and both academic outcomes. Avoidant coping strategies (e.g., watching TV) also predicted depressive symptoms and were positively related to fatalism. In addition, fatalism was negatively related to grades and aspiration to attend college. The findings suggest the need to help adolescents find adequate outlets for communication and to create awareness about the potential effects of intragroup rejection.

No abstract

Few empirical studies have focused on young children's happiness (high positive affect and low negative affect) and specifically whether it is related to adult wellbeing. Adult well-being indices (e.g., life satisfaction, workplace hope, and optimism) may have developmental roots in early affect. In the 28-year Fullerton Longitudinal Study (N = 129) we examined positive affect and negative affect as independent constructs during infancy (parent report) and adolescence (self-report) to determine their relationship to global adult life satisfaction (self-report). In addition, we tested the generalizability of the effects of positive and negative affect in relation to domain-specific adult well-being constructs (i.e., workplace hope and optimism), which hold utility for concurrent and prospective well-being. Structural equation modeling revealed that positive affect during infancy and adolescence each uniquely predicted adult life satisfaction. In a separate model for a subsample of employed adults, infant positive affect showed significant positive associations with workplace hope and optimism. Neither infant nor adolescent negative affect predicted any adult well-being outcomes. Our results highlight the need for more developmental studies examining the relationship between children's positive and negative affect and long-term well-being.

Recent advances in positive youth development theory and research explicate complex associations between adaptive functioning and risk behavior, acknowledging that high levels of both co-occur in the lives of some adolescents. However, evidence on nuanced overlapping developmental trajectories of adaptive functioning and risk has been limited to 1 sample of youth and a single conceptualization of adaptive functioning. We build on prior work by utilizing a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents (N = 1,665) followed from 7th grade until after high school and using a measure of adaptive functioning that was validated in a secondary sample of older adolescents (N = 93). In using dual trajectory growth mixture modeling to investigate links between developmental trajectories of adaptive functioning and delinquency and substance use, respectively, results provided evidence of heterogeneity in the overlap between adaptive functioning and risk trajectories. Males were more likely to be in the highest adaptive functioning group as well as the most at-risk delinquency class. The magnitude of negative associations between adaptive functioning and both risk behaviors decreased at Wave 3, indicating a decoupling of adaptive functioning and risk as youth aged. These findings converge in underscoring the need to generate a cohesive theory that specifies factors that promote adaptive functioning and risk in concert.