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…

The main purpose of this study is to broaden our understanding of the predictors of self-control. We test how two types of strain variables (bullying victimization and grade dissatisfaction) influence the level of self-control during adolescence using three-wave panel data collected from Korean adolescents ranging in age from 14 to 16. We…

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…

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)…

Sport is a context that provides positive developmental benefits to adolescents. However, these benefits are not distributed equally to all participants. This study examined whether the motivational constructs of attainment value and ability self-concept were related to positive developmental experiences in sport, and tested intensity of…

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)…

This study examined the effect of parental divorce on the time it took adolescents to initiate their first romantic relationships. Individual differences in temperament and pubertal development and the age of the adolescent at the time of divorce were also taken into account. Hypotheses were tested using event history analysis with a sample of…

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…

Investigated the relationship between ego identity development and obesity in adolescent girls (N=30). Subjects completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test for ego identity development. Significant differences in scores of ego identity emerged between normal weight subjects and puberty-onset obese subjects and between…

The study of the role of students' interest in their learning has seen a resurgence in the past 20 years. This chapter examines the ways in which adolescents' interests develop, differ from those of younger children, and contribute to their developing sense of self. The chapter helps to explain why many adolescents lack academic interests and how…

Used the Adolescent Prosocial Behavior Inventory to explore sixth, eighth, and tenth graders' prosocial behavior toward parents as an embedded aspect of parent/adolescent relationships. Found that mothers received more prosocial behavior than did fathers. Daughters acted more prosocially than sons. Attachment had a direct and an indirect effect…

Examined intraindividual and interindividual differences in self-esteem among 142 rural adolescents during a four-year period encompassing the transition to high school. Cluster analysis identified three distinct, divergent trajectories of self-esteem change from early to middle adolescence: (1) consistently high; (2) small increase; and (3)…

Contrasted role of ethnic labels and identity in predicting drug use among seventh graders. Found that minority students with strong ethnic pride reported less drug use/exposure than those with weak pride; ethnically proud White students reported more. Minority students who viewed themselves as consistent with their ethnic group reported more drug…