In this case study, we reflect on the process of carrying out a longitudinal study to investigate the dynamics of people's subjective views of themselves in relation to their learning and use of the target language during a study-abroad experience. We do so through our own first use of Q methodology. This narrative account takes the readers from…

Students' different educational pathways were examined in relation to their disengagement during adolescence. The participants were Icelandic youth (N = 832) who were followed from age 14 to 22. Based on their academic achievement at age 15 and educational attainment at age 22 they were classified into groups that took expected versus unexpected…

Increasing bodies of evidence suggest that keeping secrets may be detrimental to well-being and adjustment, whereas confiding secrets may alleviate the detriments of secrecy and benefit well-being and adjustment. However, few studies have addressed the consequences of keeping and confiding secrets simultaneously, and even fewer have done so…

Using a longitudinal, prospective adoption design, the authors of this study examined the effects of the environment (adoptive parents' depressive symptoms and responsiveness) and genetic liability of maternal depression (inferred by birth mothers' major depressive disorder [MDD]) on the development of fussiness in adopted children between 9 and…

The present study investigated the relationships between adolescents' online communication and compulsive Internet use, depression, and loneliness. The study had a 2-wave longitudinal design with an interval of 6 months. The sample consisted of 663 students, 318 male and 345 female, ages 12 to 15 years. Questionnaires were administered in a…

We examine the effects of job displacement, an involuntary event associated with socioeconomic and psychological decline, on social participation. Using more than 45 years of panel data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, we find that job displacement is associated with significant, long-term lower probabilities of subsequent involvement with…

This study utilized a dynamic cumulative family risk model to explain changes in adolescent functioning. We used a person-centered approach to detect patterns of academic, emotional, and behavioral functioning and the stability of these patterns using two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 10,173). Four adjustment…

Longitudinal data concerning fear responses in 30 boys and 30 girls observed from ages one month to 8 1/2 years suggest that in males--but not in females--a predisposition to a particular level of fearfulness is set by events that occurred before 6 months of age. (Author/MG)

Many adolescents experiment with marijuana; the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 46% of high school seniors have tried this drug at some time. Pushing boundaries is what young people do, and some researchers believe that trying marijuana is a normal part of growing up. RAND Corporation researchers have revisited Shedler and Block's…

Although alcoholism is a focus of public concern and scientific interest, knowledge of the long-term patterns of alcohol abuse is only fragmentary. Subjects in a four-year followup study were alcoholics initially treated at special alcoholism treatment centers funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. These centers were…

Describes the results of four longitudinal studies of adolescent development that focus on coping styles, maturity of defenses, adaptation to school environments, and predictors of educational and occupational attainment. Implications are discussed in terms of linking adolescence with other phases of development. (Author/SS)

Athletic programs in the public schools and colleges are often justified by assertions that competitive team sports build character and sportsmanship for participants and spectators, and that sports reinforce such school and community ideals as the virtues of competition, patriotism, and the desirability of healthy living. Spectator behavior at…

Examined the role of difficult temperament or behavioral style and tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use in the 133 subjects of the New York Longitudinal Study. Results indicated that the possession of difficult temperamental characteristics at age five and in early adulthood are associated with drug use in young adulthood. (JAC)

Focused on mental health and protective factors in early adolescence. Significant relations between coping strategies and mental health were found, which are different according to gender: girls invest in more social relations, negative feelings, and consumption habits; boys often use sense of humor, or practice a hobby or sport. (JBJ)