Civic developmental theory anticipates connections between normative developmental competencies and civic engagement, but little previous research has directly studied such links. The current study sought to contribute to civic development theory by examining associations between emotional and sociocognitive competencies (empathy, emotion regulation, prosocial moral reasoning, future-orientation) and civic engagement (volunteering, informal helping, political behaviors and beliefs, environmental behaviors, social responsibility values, civic skills). Data came from a geographically and racially diverse sample of 2467 youth (M = 13.4, Range: 8-20 years, 56% female). The results indicated that empathy and future-orientation significantly predicted nearly all forms of civic engagement, whereas emotion regulation and prosocial moral reasoning were uniquely associated with specific forms of civic engagement. Exploratory multi-group models indicated that empathy and emotion regulation were more strongly associated with civic engagement among younger youth and prosocial moral reasoning and future-orientation were more strongly related to civic engagement among older youth. The findings help to advance developmental theory of youth civic engagement.

Food-related parenting behaviors have the potential to impact youth eating behaviors and nutrition knowledge. The present study examined associations between parental behaviors specific to eating (i.e., rules, solicitation, and the creation of a health-focused home environment) and specific unhealthy eating behaviors prevalent during adolescence. Additional analyses examined whether such associations were explained by adolescent nutrition knowledge. A total of 145 adolescents ( M = 14.48, SD = 1.75 years) and their mothers ( M = 43.52, SD = 6.76 years) completed questionnaires as part of a larger study investigating parent-adolescent communication. Mothers' food-related parenting behaviors were not directly associated with adolescents' engagement in unhealthy eating behaviors. However, more parental rules were associated with greater adolescent nutrition knowledge. In addition, mothers' creation of a health-focused home environment was indirectly associated with less fast food consumption through greater adolescent nutrition knowledge. Implications and future directions are discussed.

The development of civically engaged citizens is vital for democratic societies. Although several studies have explored children and adolescents' conceptualizations of civic engagement, less is known about youths' understanding of the individual skills and attributes best suited for civic action. The current study utilized a Q-sort methodology to explore the types of character strengths children and adolescents (n = 87; M age = 13, 9-19, 52% female) assigned to people who engage in different types of civic activities. Participants sorted 12 character strengths (amazed, creative, forgiving, futureminded, generous, grateful, humble, joyful, leader, purposeful, responsible, and thrifty) into five categories ranging from "most like" to "least like" based on their perceptions of individuals engaged in four distinct civic activities: volunteering, voting, protesting, and engaging in environmental or conservation behaviors. Youth not only differentially applied certain character strengths to individuals engaged in distinct civic activities but also identified a set of character strengths (future-minded, leader, purposeful, and responsible) as core to multiple forms of civic engagement. Results provide new insights into youths' budding conceptualization of the individual characteristics, attributes,

The current study examined demographic and civic behavior correlates of observed messages concerning civic duty coded from dyadic, semistructured interactions between 160 adolescents (M age = 14.42, range = 12-18) and their parents (144 mothers, 52 fathers). Anecdotal statements are provided to illustrate the eight themes that emerged within parentadolescent civic discussion. Three themes concerned community and political involvement-community service, voting, and other standard political involvement (e.g., keeping up with current events)-and five themes concerned informal civic duties-be productive (e.g., working and becoming educated), follow regulations, help others, respect country, and respect others. In mixed-effect logistic regression models, coding categories were differentially associated with parent and adolescent demographic characteristics and parent-reported civic behavior.

Although parental knowledge of youth behavior is associated with less adolescent engagement in problem behaviors, many adolescents keep their engagement in various activities secret from their parents. However, less research has examined why youth keep secrets about their engagement in problematic activities. The current study examined adolescents’ reasons for keeping secrets from their parents regarding their engagement in problematic and multifaceted behaviors (alcohol use, risky cyber behaviors, problematic peer associations, and romantic behaviors), as well as the role of parental rules and youth age and gender on adolescents’ secrecy reasons. Participants were 161 parent-adolescent dyads (Adolescent Mage = 14.42, SD = 1.73, range = 12–18, 82% white, 60% female). The current study utilized a sample of adolescents who reported both engaging in the specific behavior and reported keeping secrets from their parents regarding their engagement in the behavior. Results demonstrate that adolescents’ reasons for secrecy differed across various forms of problematic and multifaceted behaviors. Additionally, both individual characteristics (adolescent gender and age) and parental rules (parent and teen report) were associated with adolescents’ secrecy reasoning. However, the pattern of these associations varied depending on the type of behaviors adolescents were keeping secret from their parents.