This mixed methods study examines life purposes of Finnish adolescents (N = 843) at the end of their basic education. Purpose is understood as a long-term intention to accomplish something of meaning to the self, which also contributes to society. The research showed that, despite problem talk about adolescents' mental health, Finnish adolescents…

Longitudinal study of associations between family-level emotion socialization and adolescent adjustment is limited. When American children (53.5% girls) were in second grade (N = 213; M[subscript age] = 7.98; data collected 2002-2003), mothers and fathers (79.8% of mothers and 74.2% of fathers were White) reported on their reactions to children's…

This four-wave longitudinal study among 698 Chinese early adolescents explored (1) how personal identity coherence and confusion develop; and (2) whether parenting style and peer relationships (i.e., close friend relationships and peer preference) were related to personal identity development. Participants (M[subscript age] = 11.39 yrs.,…

Emotional availability of parents plays a crucial role in the psychological well-being and development of adolescents. However, previous studies have primarily focused on assessing maternal emotional availability. The Lum Emotional Availability of Parents (LEAP) scale was developed, considering both mothers' and fathers' emotional availability.…

The benefits of afterschool activity participation for youth development are well-documented. An interesting question dominating this field is whether there is a threshold at which point participating in too many activities (breadth) and spending too much time in those activities (intensity) is negatively associated with desirable outcomes. Using…

The purpose of this collaborative action research project was to examine eighth- and ninth-grade female (assigned at birth) students' perspectives of their singing voice when implementing a practitioner/researcher designed curriculum titled "Supporting Adolescent Female Vocal Development: Teaching Anatomy and Physiology in the Middle School…

The developmental shifts encountered by boys during adolescence can have long-term implications for mental health. This paper describes a holistic approach to wellbeing and development (the On Queenslea Drive, or OQD, program), which draws upon a traditional Rites of Passage framework to support the development of boys during this period. This…

Peers are central in shaping adolescents' development across various domains. This research examined patterns of peer system resources and liabilities, and their association with academic adjustment. A person-centred approach, Latent Profile Analysis, was used to classify students into groups based on characteristics of the peer system: friendship…

This study examines the process and outcome of a life design group intervention with grade 9 students. In a sample of 139 participants (91 girls and 48 boys), a quasi-experimental design was applied to analyse the intervention's effectiveness at fostering vocational identity, career adaptability and career decision-making self-efficacy. Seventy…

Background: Despite extensive research examining features of adolescents' ego-identity development, little research has demonstrated patterns of ego-identity development and its relationship with various individual and environmental factors that are theoretically important for identity development. Objective: The current study investigated…

Biology, a living science, is known as a balance and complement among other branches of science. Just like the science of biology, biology as a course also plays a very important role among other courses at all school types and grades. It is thought that the adults of the future should not be deprived of knowledge in the field of biology and…

This study examined associations between perceived popularity trajectories and changes in proactive and reactive aggression in middle adolescence. The sample included 1,374 adolescents from 5 cohorts who were followed from Grade 7 to Grade 9 (49% males, M[subscript age] = 12.67 years, SD = 0.67). Popularity trajectories were identified based on…

This article examines the extent to which normative beliefs on acculturation constitute (a) individual resources and risk factors for adolescents facing developmental tasks and (b) institutional norms that define developmental milieus in secondary schools. To what extent do egalitarianism, multiculturalism, assimilationism, and segregationism help…

Confidence, character, competence, and connection (i.e., the 4 Cs) have been acknowledged as desired characteristics of positive youth development (PYD)-based programs. Based on the 4 Cs framework, an online tool called Project SCORE! has been designed to help coaches, parents, or other stakeholders facilitate PYD through a specific set of…

Intellectual engagement (IE) refers to enjoyment of intellectual activities and is proposed as causal for knowledge acquisition. The role of IE for cognitive development was examined utilizing 2-year longitudinal data from 112 ninth graders (average baseline age: 14.7 years). Higher baseline IE predicted higher baseline crystallized ability but…