Innovation Research and Training

Abstract One consistent source of socialization of gender and sexuality for youth is entertainment screen media. This chapter summarizes recent conclusions from content analyses on the representation of gender and sexuality in entertainment screen media popular among and created for youth. In terms of gender, (1) male characters outnumber female characters, (2) female characters are supposed to care about their appearance and be sexy, whereas male characters are supposed to be large and muscular, (3) male characters are more likely to be physically aggressive, whereas female characters are more likely to be relationally aggressive, (4) male characters are more likely to portray science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers and hobbies, whereas female characters are more likely to portray careers and interests in humanities and the arts, and (5) male characters are more likely to be leaders than female characters. In terms of sexuality, (1) sexual talk and behaviors are frequent, (2) heterosexual relationships are assumed and naturalized, (3) many sexual interactions conform to a “heterosexual script” wherein female characters are supposed to assume responsibility for sexual interactions, whereas male characters are sex-obsessed, and (4) sex is portrayed in mainly recreational ways. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sustained effects of a web-based program for parents of adolescents designed to help them engage in media mediation and high-quality parent-adolescent communication about sex, relationships, and media. A randomized control trial was conducted with parent-adolescent pairs (n=375 pairs). Adolescents were in 7th-9th grade. Pairs were randomly assigned to either the intervention Media Aware Parent or active control (medically accurate adolescent sexual health information). This study analyzed the impact of Media Aware Parent 6 months after pretest. Several outcomes significant at one-month posttest were sustained at 6 months, including enhanced parents’ media-related cognitions (e.g. media skepticism) and adolescent awareness of family media rules. Parents’ reports of restrictive media mediation and adolescents’ reports of their parent engaging in supportive parenting, which were not significant at posttest, emerged as significant at 6 months, signifying that the program resulted in changes in parent behavior and the parent-adolescent relationship over time. The impact of the program on parent-adolescent communication quality and adolescent sexual health and media-related outcomes diminished over time, suggesting the need for program boosters to encourage parents to continue engaging in high-quality conversations with their adolescent children about sex, relationships, and media.

Abstract In the current study, we sought to determine the effects of parent visits on a range of psychological outcomes among children of incarcerated parents. Drawing on data from the Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents Enhancement Demonstration Project, a recent, large‐scale evaluation of mentoring programme practices, we hypothesized that ongoing contact would lead to an improved parent–child relationship which, in turn, would promote a range of psychosocial outcomes in children. Results of a structural equation model (n = 228) revealed a significant positive association between child's frequency of visits with their incarcerated parent and child–parent relationship quality, which in turn, was significantly associated with the child's life purpose and depression/loneliness. Findings from the current study shed light on the importance of children's visits with their incarcerated parent for later psychological outcomes.

Media Aware Parent is an interactive, web-based program designed to equip parents to communicate with their adolescent child about sexual health and media by enhancing parental communication and media mediation skills, as well as provide them with medically-accurate sexual health knowledge. In a small feasibility study, 56 parents of 7th and 8th graders in the United States were randomly assigned to complete a prototype of Media Aware Parent or receive online resources about adolescent sexual health. Results indicated that after using the program, participants in the intervention group discussed more new sexual health topics with their child and also had stronger beliefs in the importance of parent-adolescent communication (PAC) about sexual health when compared to the control group.

Mentoring is modestly effective for youth with a chronic illness or physical disability; however, program effectiveness may be enhanced when mentors and mentees are matched on shared interests and experiences. To test this hypothesis, mentees were randomly assigned to having a mentor with or without visual impairment (VI). Results showed that mentors without VI were younger and more likely to work or be educated in a helping profession and less likely to have a fixed mindset and extremely high positive expectations than mentors with VI. The main analyses on match outcomes showed that mentors with VI had significantly fewer and shorter match meetings, had a weaker relationship with their mentees, and were more likely to end their match prematurely. Mentor age, helping profession background, and fixed mindset were confounds in several analyses and reduced the significance of the relationship between VI group and match meeting quantity. The only relationship that remained significant controlling for covariates showed that matches including a mentor with VI were significantly more likely to end in premature closure than matches including a mentor without VI. Implications of the findings for future research and program practices related to matching were discussed.

Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with type I diabetes (T1D) often struggle with illness management. Although diabetes camps have been shown to improve blood sugar control among campers, the effect of the camp experience on counselors’ diabetes self-management has never been studied. In addition to the camp environment, it was hypothesized that peer factors among counselors, such as diabetes role modeling, would positively influence diabetes self-care behaviors and that counselors would be able to select diabetes role models based on these appropriate self-management behaviors. Counselors with T1D working at 2 summer camps were recruited to participate. Participants completed questionnaires including the Diabetes Behavior Rate Scale (DBRS) and a peer-assessment form in which participants were asked to nominate friends and diabetes role models, and to assign a role model score for each counselor. Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), a measure of blood sugar control, was obtained pre- and post-camp. Thirty-three participants completed the study. The average HbA1c score decreased 0.4% (p < .01) over the 6 to 10 weeks of camp indicating improved metabolic control at camp. The number of nominations for diabetes role model was associated with diabetes self-care (r = 0.351, p = 0.027). Diabetes role model scores were not associated with diabetes self-care (r = 0.272, p = 0.074). There was no correlation between HbA1c and diabetes self-care. The findings suggest that the camp counselor role is a potential target for intervention to promote positive outcomes for AYA with T1D. Lessons learned from how AYA with diabetes support one another at camp can be applied to community-based interventions for youth with T1D or other chronic illnesses.