Empathy and executive functions (EFs) are multimodal constructs that enable individuals to cope with their environment. Both abilities develop throughout childhood and are known to contribute to social behavior and academic performance in young adolescents. Notably, mentalizing and EF activate shared frontotemporal brain areas, which in previous…

Some researchers indicate that the transition to high school deflects adolescent developmental trajectories. Others assert that it provides a new possibility for the promotion of adolescents' socioemotional well-being. One critical view missing in such claims is that individual variabilities interact with environmental influences. We employed the…

Identity formation is a key developmental task in adolescence. Although many adolescents in modern societies face issues of identity, there are substantial individual differences in identity exploration and commitment. Little is known about the origins of these individual differences. The current study investigated the genetic and environmental…

We investigated adolescent responsibility across 2 developmental contexts, home and an afterschool program. Longitudinal data were collected from 355 ethnically diverse 11-20-year-old adolescents (M = 15.49; 55.9% female) in 14 project-based programs. Youth rated their responsibility in the program and at home at 4 time points; parents and leaders…

This longitudinal study aimed to differentiate between acculturative and developmental processes by (a) comparing levels and change rates in victimization among ethnic German immigrants and native German adolescents in Germany and Russian Jewish immigrants in Israel, and (b) testing whether interindividual differences in victimization among…

The stability of callous-unemotional (CU) traits and both individual and contextual factors that influence this stability have been studied in community adolescent samples but not to great extent in adolescents who have been arrested. We estimated the developmental changes in CU traits measured over the course of 36 months (6-month intervals)…

Behavioral activation that is associated with incentive-reward motivation increases in adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood. This quadratic developmental pattern is generally supported by behavioral and experimental neuroscience findings. It is suggested that a focus on changes in dopamine neurotransmission is informative in…

Adolescence is a period of radical normative changes and increased risk for substance use, mood disorders, and physical injury. Researchers have proposed that increases in reward sensitivity (i.e., sensitivity of the behavioral approach system [BAS]) and/or increases in reactivity to all emotional stimuli (i.e., reward and threat sensitivities)…

Consistent with social neuroscience perspectives on adolescent development, previous cross-sectional research has found diverging mean age-related trends for sensation seeking and impulsivity during adolescence. The present study uses longitudinal data on 7,640 youth from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth Children and Young Adults, a…

Stage-environment fit theory was used to examine the reciprocal lagged relations between family management practices and early adolescent problem behavior during the middle school years. In addition, the potential moderating roles of family structure and of gender were explored. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to describe patterns of growth…

Describes a theory of cognition which posits specialized structural systems (SSSs) that enable individuals to represent and understand domains of knowledge. Three test batteries assessed 12-16 year olds' abilities to think combinatorially, form hypotheses, design experiments, and construct models or theories. Suggests that the results of tests…

Investigated interpersonal understanding in friendship reasoning of 97 children at ages 9, 12, and 15 years. Results support theories of the cumulative nature of the development of friendship reasoning. (RJC)

Examined the extent to which risk factors for concurrent binge drinking in adolescence can predict changes during transition to young adulthood. Found that being male, possessing low self-efficacy, and drinking primarily "to get drunk" were unconditional risk factors for increased binge drinking over time. Other adolescent risk factors…