Susan Branje | Utrecht University (original) (raw)

Papers by Susan Branje

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2013

Background: It is well documented that friends' externalizing problems and negative parent-child ... more Background: It is well documented that friends' externalizing problems and negative parent-child interactions predict externalizing problems in adolescence, but relatively little is known about the role of siblings. This four-wave, multi-informant study investigated linkages of siblings' externalizing problems and sibling-adolescent negative interactions on adolescents' externalizing problems, while examining and controlling for similar linkages with friends and parents. Methods: Questionnaire data on externalizing problems and negative interactions were annually collected from 497 Dutch adolescents (M = 13.03 years, SD = 0.52, at baseline), as well as their siblings, mothers, fathers, and friends. Results: Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed modest unique longitudinal paths from sibling externalizing problems to adolescent externalizing problems, for male and female adolescents, and for same-sex and mixed-sex sibling dyads, but only from older to younger siblings. Moreover, these paths were above and beyond significant paths from mother-adolescent negative interaction and friend externalizing problems to adolescent externalizing problems, 1 year later. No cross-lagged paths existed between sibling-adolescent negative interaction and adolescent externalizing problems. Conclusions: Taken together, it appears that especially older sibling externalizing problems may be a unique social risk factor for adolescent externalizing problems, equal in strength to significant parents' and friends' risk factors.

In this study, it was expected that personality change would be related to parents' concerns in v... more In this study, it was expected that personality change would be related to parents' concerns in various domains of midlife functioning. Personality was found to be moderately stable, but small but reliable change was also found. Fathers' change in personality was uniquely related to their life satisfaction, work stress and perceptions of the level of their adolescent children's internalising problems, but not to perceived partner support. By comparison, mothers' change in personality was only uniquely related to their life satisfaction. These results suggest that personality change in midlife is associated with the successful adaptation to midlife concerns. This pattern is consistent with social investment theories of personality development, though cross-lagged longitudinal research is needed to substantiate this conclusion.

Journal of Adolescence, 1999

In this paper, an heuristic model of the personality characteristics of adolescents and the suppo... more In this paper, an heuristic model of the personality characteristics of adolescents and the supportive dimensions of interactions, relationships and groups is presented. The model takes the concept of developmental tasks as its starting point and it is assumed that developmental tasks can be characterized in terms of four modalities: intentions, behaviour, cognitions and affect. The same four modalities can also be used to characterize dimensions of personality and aspects of interactional and relational support. The results of several empirical studies are presented to illustrate the model. Together, these studies present a transactional picture of the personality of adolescents and their relationships in which personality and relationships influence each other and jointly determine psychosocial functioning.

Journal of Early Adolescence, 2007

This study aimed to generalize and extend research on identity styles among early adolescents in ... more This study aimed to generalize and extend research on identity styles among early adolescents in the Netherlands. The study investigated associations between perceived parent-adolescent relations and identity-processing styles among 13-year-old adolescents and the role identity styles played in mediating relationships between parent-adolescent relations and the identity commitments early adolescents held and the levels of self-regulation they exercised. Associations between perceived parent-adolescent relations and a normative style were positive and those with a diffuse-avoidant style were negative. Parental information solicitation was related to informationstyle scores. All three styles were related to identity commitments and selfregulation. Linkages with the normative style were positive and those with the diffuse-avoidant style negative. An informational identity style was associated positively with commitment but negatively with self-regulation. The relationship between adolescents' perceptions of open parental communication and their levels of identity commitment was partially mediated by a normative style. The role parent-adolescent relations may play in developing identity processes and self-regulation during early adolescence is considered.

Journal of Adolescence, 2009

The present study examines the role of similarity in music preferences in the formation and disco... more The present study examines the role of similarity in music preferences in the formation and discontinuation of friendships over a 1-year period. Questionnaire data were gathered from 283 Dutch same-sex mutual best friends (mean age ¼ 12.97) in two waves with a 1-year interval. Results show consistent evidence for high similarity in specific music dimensions among friends at both waves. Moderate similarity was found in the overall patterning of preferences for music genres at both waves, even after controlling for similarity in social background. Specific music similarity in more non-mainstream music dimensions and overall music similarity at Wave 1 were related to selecting a new friend at Wave 2. However, similarity in music preferences was not related to the discontinuation of an existing friendship at Wave 2. Thus, results suggest that similarity in music preferences is related to friendship formation, and not to friendship discontinuation. r

European Journal of Personality, 2006

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2004

Background: Siblings may support each other, but also reveal fierce rivalry and mutual aggression... more Background: Siblings may support each other, but also reveal fierce rivalry and mutual aggression. Supportive sibling relationships have been linked to the development of psychosocial competence of children. In the present longitudinal study, we will focus on the development of perceived support in sibling dyads and on the influence of sibling support and sibling problem behavior on psychosocial adjustment in adolescence. Method: In a three-wave longitudinal sample of 285 Dutch families with two adolescent children (11-to 15-year-olds), these two siblings judged the support perceived from each other. In addition, they themselves and their parents judged their internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. The relation of sibling support and sibling problem behavior with internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors was examined while controlling for support from parents and friends and, over time, controlling for the autoregressive effects of problem behavior. Results: Support perceived from a sibling is mostly negatively related to externalizing problems; sibling problem behavior is strongly related to internalizing problems. Differential developmental trajectories of adolescents' adjustment are associated with siblings' support and problem behavior. Conclusion: The results indicate that adolescents' relationships with both older and younger siblings are characterized by modeling processes.

Journal of Personality, 2003

The present study investigated whether personality judgments involve different processes in a fam... more The present study investigated whether personality judgments involve different processes in a family setting than in a nonfamily setting. We used the Social Relations Model to distinguish the effects of perceiver, target, perceiver-target relationship, and family on personality judgments. Family members of families with adolescents judged their own and the other members' Big Five factors. Judgments were found to depend on the relevance of personality factors within the family setting: Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were judged most consistently. Large relationship variance indicated that parents adjust their judgments to the target family member; large perceiver variance indicated that adolescents judge family members' personalities rather similarly. However, a comparison of self- and other-judgments showed adolescents' judgments to be no more related to their self-perceptions than parents' judgments. We concluded that the relevance of personality factors may differ on specific tasks within a setting.

Journal of Early Adolescence, 2008

Fax number +31(0)30-2537731 Susan J. T. Branje: telephone number +31(0)30-2534039, email address:... more Fax number +31(0)30-2537731 Susan J. T. Branje: telephone number +31(0)30-2534039, email address: s.branje@uu.nl Wim H. J. Meeus: telephone number +31(0)30-2534890, email address: w.meeus@uu.nl Adolescent and Parent Conflict Resolution 2 Abstract

Personal Relationships, 2007

A 2-wave longitudinal study among 678 early and 317 middle adolescents investigated the applicabi... more A 2-wave longitudinal study among 678 early and 317 middle adolescents investigated the applicability of Rusbult’s investment model to adolescent best friendships and tested its usefulness in predicting friendship stability. Results showed that satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and investments predict commitment in friendships, both concurrently and over time. Furthermore, investment model variables predicted friendship stability and, among stable friendships, predicted the tendency to switch best friends. Commitment mediated the effects of satisfaction, investment, and alternatives on tendency to switch. As expected, gender and age differences were found in that alternatives were more important for older adolescents and associations among model variables were stronger for girls. Overall, the investment model proved useful in predicting commitment and stability in adolescents’ best friendships.

Developmental Psychology, 2009

This 4-wave study among 309 Dutch adolescents and their parents examined changes in adolescent di... more This 4-wave study among 309 Dutch adolescents and their parents examined changes in adolescent disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control and their links with the development of delinquent activities. Annually, adolescents and both parents reported on adolescent disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control, and adolescents reported on delinquent activities and parental support. Latent growth curve analyses revealed a linear decline in parental control between ages 13 and 16. Adolescent disclosure decreased gradually in adolescent reports and showed an L-shaped pattern in father reports and a V-shaped pattern in mother reports. A stronger increase in delinquent activities was related to a stronger decrease in disclosure in mother and adolescent reports and to lower levels of disclosure in father reports. The linkages between levels of disclosure and delinquent activities were stronger in families with high parental support than in families with lower support. Furthermore, in lower parental support families, a stronger decrease in paternal control was related to a stronger increase in delinquent activities. In high parental support families, however, a stronger decrease in adolescent-reported parental control was related to a less strong increase in delinquent activities.

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2009

The current study examined the moderating role of conflict resolution on the association between ... more The current study examined the moderating role of conflict resolution on the association between parent-adolescent conflicts and adolescent problematic adjustment. Participants were 1313 Dutch early and middle adolescents who completed measures on conflict frequency, conflict resolution with parents, and internalizing and externalizing adjustment problems. Using a person-centered approach, five types of adolescents could be distinguished that were characterized by different patterns of conflict resolution. These types meaningfully differed in conflict frequency with parents and adjustment problems. Furthermore, these types moderated the relation between conflict frequency and externalizing problems and internalizing problems. When withdrawal was the only strategy used to resolve conflicts with parents, conflict frequency was more strongly related to externalizing problems, but when withdrawal was used in combination with other styles, conflict frequency was more strongly related to internalizing problems.

Journal of Adolescence, 2010

Recent research has identified adolescent disclosure to parents as a powerful predictor of adoles... more Recent research has identified adolescent disclosure to parents as a powerful predictor of adolescent adjustment. We propose, however, that the common operationalization of adolescent disclosure incorporates the two separate constructs of disclosure and secrecy, and predicted that the disclosure-adjustment link can largely be explained by the unique contribution of secrecy from parents. A four-wave survey study among 309 adolescents tested these predictions. Factor analyses confirmed that disclosure and secrecy should be distinguished as two separate constructs. Moreover, in cross-lagged path analyses, only secrecy was a longitudinal predictor of adolescent internalizing (i.e., depression) and externalizing (i.e., delinquency) problems, disclosure was not. Secrecy consistently contributed to the longitudinal prediction of delinquency from early to middle adolescence, whereas it contributed to the prediction of depression only in early adolescence. Findings thus attest the importance of distinguishing between disclosure and secrecy and suggest that the disclosure-adjustment link may actually reflect a secrecy-maladjustment link. Ó

Journal of Personality, 2010

ABSTRACT The current study focuses on the emergence of friendship networks among just-acquainted ... more ABSTRACT The current study focuses on the emergence of friendship networks among just-acquainted individuals, investigating the effects of Big Five personality traits on friendship selection processes. Sociometric nominations and self-ratings on personality traits were gathered from 205 late adolescents (mean age=19 years) at 5 time points during the first year of university. SIENA, a novel multilevel statistical procedure for social network analysis, was used to examine effects of Big Five traits on friendship selection. Results indicated that friendship networks between just-acquainted individuals became increasingly more cohesive within the first 3 months and then stabilized. Whereas individuals high on Extraversion tended to select more friends than those low on this trait, individuals high on Agreeableness tended to be selected more as friends. In addition, individuals tended to select friends with similar levels of Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Openness.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2009

The authors examined associations of perceived similarity, actual similarity, and peer-rated simi... more The authors examined associations of perceived similarity, actual similarity, and peer-rated similarity in personality with friendship intensity during the acquaintanceship process in a naturalistic setting. Selfand peer-rated personality data were gathered from undergraduates (mean age ϭ 18.9) at 5 time points during the first year of university using a round-robin design. Whereas perceived similarity and peer-rated similarity in personality were concurrently associated with more friendship intensity for just-acquainted individuals, actual similarity in personality was not. Further, bidirectional cross-lagged associations between perceived similarity and friendship intensity were found. Peer-rated similarity was also associated with increases in friendship intensity, and this association was mediated by communication frequency. These results indicate that specific types of similarity in personality are differentially associated with friendship intensity during early phases of acquaintanceship in a real-life setting. Further, insight was provided in the direction of causality between similarity and attraction: Perceived and peer-rated similarity seem to breed friendship intensity, whereas friendship intensity seems to breed perceived similarity only. Finally, peers' expectations seem to affect individuals' communicative behaviors, which in turn affect friendship formation.