This paper outlines a qualitative research tool designed to explore personal identity formation as described by Erik Erikson and offers self-reflective and anonymous evaluative comments made by college students after completing this task. Subjects compiled a list of 200 myths, customs, fables, rituals, and beliefs from their family of origin and…

Adolescents struggle to establish their own identities and become independent in making the transition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescent alienation can result from changes in family structure from traditional two-parent families to one-parent families, decreased family stability, increased mobility of society, population increases,…

Thos paper discusses myths about adolescent psychopathology, including the beliefs that psychopathology is a normal state in adolescence; that adolescents grow out of their psychopathology; and that with regard to psychopathology, adolescents are either like adults or like children. Key features of adolescent development are summarized, the life…

As a result of the Holocaust, many survivors developed long term psychosocial impairment known as the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by depression, anxiety, hypocondriasis, inability to concentrate or to express anger, nightmares, insomnia, obsessive thoughts, guilt, mistrust, and alienation. The literature in this…

Frequent mood changes in adolescents are often attributed to the influence of shifting hormone levels. The presence and magnitude of menstrual-related mood changes in adolescent women were examined in 10th and 11th grade females (N=158) who completed the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ). Self-reports of the onset date for the next two…

Using data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project, this longitudinal study investigated the predictive validity of different dimensions of observed parent behavior on adolescent externalizing (aggression, hostility) and internalizing (depression, anxiety) problems over a 2-year period. In addition, the study examined how observer ratings…

In late adolescence and early adulthood, an ideally developing woman learns to cope with the world outside her family of origin and acquires a sense of identity that is stable and largely positive. Individuals with severe early trauma may have difficulty completing adolescence. Incest is one childhood trauma that can either be mastered in late…

In order to understand the psychological meaning of menarche it is necessary to examine cultural beliefs, socialization, and actual experience. A sample of 641 fifth to twelfth grade girls, 40% of whom were premenarcheal, completed a modified version of the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ). Half of the sample completed the MDQ according…

Research has suggested that the incidence of loneliness peaks at adolescence and decreases with age. Changes in the determinants of loneliness during adolescence were investigated for grade 8, grade 11, and university students. Subjects (N=410) completed a written questionnaire which included ten items from the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the…

Although adolescence is generally recognized as a period of dramatic change, the issue of whether it is also a time of stress and disturbance is still controversial. To examine the impact of pubertal development on adolescents, data were used from a 5-year longitudinal study of white males and females. A variety of self-concept, behavioral, value,…

The relationship between very early menarche and depression was studied in a sample of 488 girls (336 sixth graders and 152 seventh graders), less than 10 percent of whom were very early maturers. Very early menarche was associated with higher levels of depression than was more normative development. (SLD)

Contemporary research on test anxiety shows that there are a number of sources of such anxiety: expectations of parents or teachers; association of grades with personal worth; fear of alienating parents, family, or friends; a feeling of lack of control over one's life. This paper discusses these sources of test anxiety, reviews some of the…

Dramatic accounts of adolescent turmoil may confuse psychopathology with normal development if derived from the study of clinical populations. To compare the development of normal adolescents, 108 students aged 17-22 from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Western Samoa were studied. Results of three different personality measures…

In this study, 375 adolescents from the junior high and high school of a Midwestern, semi-rural community were surveyed to investigate: (1) developmental and gender differences in strategies that adolescents use to cope with family, school, and peer stressors; and (2) the relation between coping strategies and outcome. The students were divided…

An interactional model explaining predisposition to hyperactivity asserts that being identified, diagnosed, and treated as hyperactive is a function of biological factors, early health and temperament, family characteristics, and the quality of the home environment. A longitudinal study involving 367 subjects, aged 17-18, tested the interactional…