Interpersonal relationships during adolescence can be powerful avenues for personal development. As school is a universal context for youth, positive teacher-student relationships (TSRs) are one potential source for such developmentally promotive relationships. Unfortunately, research has shown a decline in the quality of teacher-student…

Leadership and developmental scholars have highlighted the need to enhance youth leadership skills. Yet, research that explains youths' perceptions of how and when role models influences their leadership growth processes is limited. To address these gaps and begin to develop an understanding of youths' perspectives, we employed a qualitative,…

Interview, survey, and academic transcript data with a diverse sample of first-generation college (FGC) and continuing generation college (CGC) premedical intended emerging adults are analyzed to study academic outcomes and any differences in the availability and use of social capital the first year of college. CGC students know many people with…

Previous research has linked stress to adverse mental health outcomes among Latino adolescents living in the United States. The mechanism through which this process operates continues to be explored, especially in regions of the country where Latin American immigrants and their children have only recently begun to migrate. Our study aimed to…

We examined narrative processes of identity development as they related to desistance from delinquent behavior in a sample of vulnerable adolescents. Building on a robust theoretical and empirical foundation in the field of narrative identity, we examined processes of meaning-making and agency in relation to desistance. Thirty-one adolescents were…

Emerging evidence suggests that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth experience disparate treatment in schools that may result in criminal sanctions. In an effort to understand the pathways that push youth out of schools, we conducted focus groups with youth (n = 31) from Arizona, California, and Georgia, and…

The present study demonstrates the processes by which 12 young women working in four production chain factories in China shape their own lives--their developmental trajectories--during the period following their entry into factory work. One-on-one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in August, 2005, as part of an evaluation…

Guided by an ecological framework, this study explored ethnic socialization practices from the perspective of Southeast Asian American adolescents. Defined as a multidimensional construct that is conceptually distinct from racial socialization, ethnic socialization involves parents' communication to children about their ethnic heritage. The…

Career development theories suggest that social-contextual experiences are influential in individuals' career interests, aspirations, and skill development and may be a source of gender and ethnic differences in certain career fields. In this mixed methods study, we examine the supportive and obstructive career-related experiences of 13 men and 13…