This study examines depression among Latter-day Saint teens, particularly how religiosity and the parent–child relationship are associated with depressive symptomology. Although there is an abundance of research on adolescent depression and on adolescent religiosity, there is less research addressing the connection between the two. The research questions include: Does religiosity among Latter-day Saint teens reduce their rates of depression? What aspects of religiosity affect depression most significantly? How does religious coping influence depression? How does the parent–child relationship affect depression rates among Latter-day Saint teens? Being a sexual minority and living in Utah were related to higher levels of depression. Greater depression was also associated with more anxiety and poorer physical health. Authoritative parenting by fathers was associated with lower depression for daughters but not sons. Finally, feeling abandoned by God was related to higher depression, while peer support at church was associated with lower depression.

Erikson (1950) contends that the physical changes associated with puberty serve as a catalyst for adolescents to question childhood identifications and to consolidate these with current self-conceptions, personal ideologies, interpersonal values, and future aspirations. Erikson describes the adolescent identity crisis as the developmental period when identity development becomes salient. For males, pubertal changes have implications for sexual identity development and self-perceptions of masculinity, which are aspects of the identity exploration and integration process that occurs during adolescence. This study is an examination of the impact of age, grade, and physical development on male identity development. A purposive sample of 173 Anglo-American male participants in Grades 6 through 12 completed the Petersen Development Scale and The Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS) in their homes. Statistical analyses revealed that physical development shared more variability (20% explained) with the identity measure than either age (8.3%) or grade (4.2%). Advanced physical development correlates with lower Foreclosure scores and higher Moratorium and Achievement scores. These findings are consistent with Erikson’s life span theory of psychosocial development.

This study examined perceptions of paternal involvement among adolescent males and their fathers across three levels of the adolescent’s pubertal development. A purposive sample of adolescent males (n = 173) and their fathers (n = 122) completed self-report measures of pubertal development (adolescent’s self ratings, fathers’ ratings of their son’s development), paternal support, and involvement. Fathers and sons were similar in their assessments of the sons’ pubertal development. Perceptions of Companionship, General Support, Satisfaction, Sustained Contact, and Time Together did not differ across three levels of development (pre-, transitional-, and post-pubertal development). Physical Affection was the only measure of paternal involvement that differed (decreased) across the three levels of pubertal development. These findings suggest that fathers’ involvement with their adolescent sons is not globally affected by pubertal development.

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