In contrast to the focus on short-term, extrinsic goals in our society (e.g., wealth, prestige), positive youth development scholars have highlighted the need for parents and schools to help youths cultivate and plan for long-term, intrinsic, and meaningful goals (i.e., envisioning a meaningful future), arguing that envisioning a meaningful future…

A longitudinal sample of 3,454 urban and rural school students in grades 6 through 8 at baseline was used to examine developmental changes in peer factors and their influence on marijuana initiation. Friends' drug-related behaviors, rather then attitudes, were more strongly related to respondents' likelihood of initiating drug use. (TJH)

Suburban high school seniors planning to attend universities, as well as parents, high school guidance counselors, and teachers at both the high school and college levels are the intended audience for this guide. It seeks to provide incoming freshmen with "everything you need to know about the first-year college experience" in a lively and…

A program for improving adolescents' decision-making skills to reduce the number of inappropriate behavioral choices related to wellness is described. The targeted population consisted of seventh and tenth grade students in a rural, middle class community. Data from local law enforcement records and school-based program referrals supported…

Group counseling has been shown to be an efficient use of a school counselor's time and an effective tool for working with students. In process groups, the emphasis is on the process of growth and interaction. Counselors face obstacles they must overcome in order to organize effective group counseling programs in secondary schools. Gaining staff…

During the past 20 years, much has been written on the ethnic/racial identity development of adults. Recently, attention toward adolescents' ethnic identity development has increased; to explicate this new research, a model of ethnic identity development proposed by Phinney (1989) is explored here. The model classifies adolescents into one of four…

Discusses how experiential education can address the developmental needs of gay and lesbian youth; describes a successful Outward Bound program developed for gay and lesbian youth; and explores reasons why educators and program administrators must be proactive in developing programs for this specialized population. (LP)

Two studies conducted with 244 academically gifted seventh graders and 1,996 high school students indicate that specific content knowledge taught during a short time does not increase Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, but that educational experience over 5 years does relate to development of abilities measured by the SAT. (SLD)