The population of multiracial youth in the United States is expected to grow in the coming decades (exceeding 11% by 2060). In this article, we aim to convince child development researchers who do not usually examine race and ethnicity in their work to consider multiracial youth. We describe ways in which youth from more than one racial background…

For children and youth, summertime presents a unique break from the traditional structure, resources, and support systems that exist during the school year. For some students, this time involves opportunities to engage in fun and enriching activities and programs, while others face additional challenges as they lose a variety of supports,…

More youth live in poverty and poor youth comprise a larger share of the youth population than was the case a decade ago. This article first provides a descriptive analysis of children in poverty; examining the incidence of poverty among children by selected demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic characteristics with a particular focus on…

Using data from the Monitoring the Future study, this article presents historical trends in U.S. high school seniors' work values across 30 years (1976-2005). Adolescents across three decades highly valued most aspects of work examined. Recent cohorts showed declines in the importance of work, values for job security, and various potential…

Richard Settersten and Barbara Ray examine the lengthening transition to adulthood over the past several decades, as well as the challenges the new schedule poses for young people, families, and society. The authors begin with a brief history of becoming an adult, noting that the schedule that youth follow to arrive at adulthood changes to meet…

The National Capital Region (NCR) is home to more than one-and-a-half million children and youth (ages birth through 24 years). Although the NCR is known as a place with a highly transient population, if history is any guide, many of these young people will remain in this region and fundamentally shape the quality of life--not only for themselves,…

This study examines development along Perry's intellectual and ethical scale among three successive graduating classes of students identified as gifted and talented in mathematics and science. Perry posits that intellectual development proceeds from a basic dualism through nine stages ("positions") and culminates with a sense of personal identify…

This study examined whether students who either had higher levels of cross-racial interaction during college or had same institution peers with higher average levels tend to report significantly larger developmental gains than their counterparts report. Unlike previous quantitative studies that tested cross-racial interaction using single-level…

Examined factor structure of the emotional Autonomy Scale (EAS) in 3 samples of adolescents, with each sample consisting of 3 racial/ethnic groups. Found that the EAS exhibited poor construct validity and behaved quite differently for different grade and ethnic groups. Suggested that the most credible solution may be to reexamine the conceptual…

This "Call to Action" serves as a reminder that underage drinking has serious social costs and tragic consequences, demonstrating the importance of prevention. Underage alcohol use is not inevitable, and schools, parents, and other adults are not powerless to stop it. The latest research demonstrates a compelling need to address alcohol use early,…

The "rush to adulthood" is defined by precocious events that place excessive demands on youth who are not adequately prepared for the responsibilities of adulthood. This study investigates the influence of community disadvantage, family, and race on adolescent precocious life events and depressive symptoms in the transition to adulthood. The…

The purpose of this project was to gain a better understanding of dimensions of trust and inter-relationships between those dimensions during the adolescent years. Drawing from survey data collected at the beginning and end of a semester in eighty middle- and high-school social studies classes, relationships were assessed between: social trust,…

Whether adolescents from immigrant and ethnic minority families will make a successful transition to adulthood hinges on their educational achievement, their acquisition of employable skills and abilities, and their physical and mental health. This article focuses on the extent to which diverse adolescents are prepared for adulthood according to…