Using logitudinal data from self-reports and observer ratings of family interaction regarding 76 adolescent girls and their parents, this research investigated the effects of parental warmth and supportiveness on adolescents' depressed affect, attitudes about sexuality, peer influence, and sexual experience. The results indicated that girls with more emotionally distant parents were more likely to manifest symptoms of depression. Depressed affect, in turn, was associated with sexually permissive attitudes and having sexually active friends. Although there was a weak direct effect of Time 1 depressed affect on Time 2 sexual experience, the predominant influence on adolescent girls' sexual activity at Year 2 was their perception that their friends were sexually active during the previous year. The authors concluded that the effects of peer influence were due, in part, to the influence of the emotional climate of the girls' families.

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Using three waves of longitudinal data from 73 adolescent girls and 79 adolescent boys and their parents, this research investigated the effects of early tobacco and alcohol use on adolescent sexual behaviors 2 years later. The results indicated that when controlling for physical maturation, all of the effects of early tobacco and alcohol use at Year 1 on adolescents' sexual activity during Year 3 were mediated by their effects on adolescents' sexual attitudes and peer associations during Year 2. The findings suggest that the relationship between age-related deviant behaviors and sexual activity is largely due to the effects of early transitions to such behaviors on peer associations.

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The stigma associated with serious mental illnesses causes a huge burden on patients, their families, and society. In October 2012, in Taiwan, schizophrenia was renamed to reduce the stigma associated with this disease. The aim of this study was to compare the differences of public stigma, self-stigma, and social distance associated with schizophrenia between old and new name of schizophrenia in medical students. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 180 medical students of Taipei Medical University from October 2014 to February 2015. In total, 123 complete questionnaires were included in this study. Participants completed the modified attribution questionnaire, the perceived psychiatric stigma scale, and modified social distance scale to assess public stigma, self-stigma, and social distance, respectively. We also collected basic demographic data and previous experience of contact with people with mental illness. In total, 52 and 71 of the first- and fourth-year medical students, respectively, participated in the study. Among them, there were 51 females and 72 males. A significant difference in age was observed between the first- and fourth-year groups (20.2 ± 1.7 years vs. 22.7 ± 0.9 years, p < 0.001). After renaming schizophrenia, we noted significant differences in the scores in the modified attribution questionnaire, the perceived psychiatric stigma scale, and the modified social distance scale in all participants and the fourth-year students, respectively. Female gender (Beta = 0.230, p = 0.018) was significantly associated with the difference in the score of the modified attribution questionnaire after name change. The difference in the score of the perceived psychiatric stigma scale after the name change (Beta = 0.277, p = 0.004) and age (Beta = −0.186, p = 0.049) were significantly associated with the difference in the score of the modified social distance scale after name change. In conclusion, renaming was associated with the changes in the scores of the modified attribution questionnaire, the perceived psychiatric stigma scale, and the modified social distance scale toward individuals with schizophrenia in medical students of one Taiwan university. Further studies with large sample sizes, diverse participant backgrounds, and that monitor the subsequent behavioral changes are warranted.