2-091 - Ambulatory Assessment of Adolescents’ Externalizing, Capturing Teen Risks In-Situ

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

This symposium highlights three cutting-edge ambulatory assessment studies focused on unraveling adolescents’ problem behavior “in vivo.” Each conducted in a different country- together they seek to disentangle adolescents’ risks for problematic experiences in day-to-day life. The first study makes use of peer-nominated aggression indices to explore links between daily variation in provoking and pro-social events among Canadian adolescents. Findings show that individual differences in victimization experiences are linked to affective responses to both provocations and prosocial events, with victims displaying poorer affective responding. The second study examines links between externalizing symptoms and technology use in a large sample of US adolescents, exploring longitudinal and daily links between tech use and problems. In a thorough examination of plausible ties, the authors show little support for the notion that tech engagement is associated with youth conduct or inattention/hyperactivity problems. The third study explores relations between moment-to-moment stressful experiences and adolescent risk taking in a sample of at-risk adolescents in Australia. Findings show links between different EF dimensions and youths’ momentary likelihood of engaging in risk behavior. Further, individual differences in emotional control condition the link between experience of a stressor and subsequent risk taking. Youth lower in emotional control are more likely to “act out” with risk-taking after a stressful experience. An internationally recognized scholar in problem behaviors who boasts extensive experience in ambulatory assessment research will discuss pitfalls and potential solutions to challenges in assessing youth externalizing, and will explore common themes across findings, speaking to implications for scholars and policy makers.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chair

• Kathryn Modecki, Griffith University

Discussant

• Andrea M Hussong, UNC-CH

Individual Presentations

• Adolescents’ Everyday Experiences of Provoking and Prosocial Events: Links to Peer-Nominated Victimization and Daily Mood - Presenting Author: Melanie Dirks, McGill University; Non-Presenting Author: Kristina McDonald, University of Alabama; Non-Presenting Author: Alison Farrell-Reeves, McGill University; Non-Presenting Author: Stephen Ungvary, SKIM Market Research; Non-Presenting Author: Carolyn E. Gibson, Drury University; Non-Presenting Author: Joo Young Yang, University of Alabama; Non-Presenting Author: Jenna Reardanz, University of Alabama

• Technology Use and Adolescents’ Mental Health Symptoms: Little Evidence of Longitudinal or Daily Linkages - Presenting Author: Michaeline Jensen, University of North Carolina Greensboro; Non-Presenting Author: Madeleine George, University of Texas at Dallas; Non-Presenting Author: Michael Russell, Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University; Non-Presenting Author: Candice L. Odgers, University of California, Irvine

• Capturing Real-World Risk-Taking with ESM: Links with Executive Function Among Low-SES Youth - Presenting Author: Kathryn Modecki, Griffith University; Non-Presenting Author: Bep Uink, Murdoch University; Non-Presenting Author: B. L. Barber, Griffith University; Non-Presenting Author: Helen Correia, Murdoch University