Identity formation is a fundamental developmental process that has significant consequences for youth adjustment during adolescence and beyond. This article presents evidence indicating that ethnic-racial identity, specifically, is an important developmental competency on which prevention science should focus in the interest of promoting positive…

Secondary schools are well placed to avert radicalization processes toward extremism because such trajectories often begin in adolescence. Adolescents are in the process of forming their identities, and most adolescents are idealistic, which makes them susceptible to groups that passionately pursue utopian visions. To avert the path toward…

Introduction: The rising prevalence of depression and anxiety among adolescents is a public health concern. Early adolescence is a key developmental period to reduce risks for internalizing symptoms through primary prevention programs, yet additional research is needed on modifiable factors, such as coping skills, to target to mitigate risk…

Background: Adolescent alcohol use continues to be a critical public health problem with both short- and long-term negative health consequences. Defining oneself in terms of alcohol, a drinking-related identity, has been shown to predict high levels of alcohol use. Because adolescence is the developmental period during which identity development…

The current study focused on the relationship between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms on the threshold of adolescence. We aimed to investigate the role of body dissatisfaction in gender differences in depressive symptoms, as well as the impact of social support from peers and parents. Mediation and moderation analyses were based on…

The middle school and early high school years are a time of significant development, including an increasing ability to envision oneself in the future. Little is known about how adolescents' future-oriented self-concept (i.e., possible selves) differs across grade levels, although this knowledge may aid in establishing rapport with students and…

In this chapter, we present a brief review of the developmental literature linking healthy adjustment to five core competencies: (1) positive sense of self, (2) self-control, (3) decision-making skills, (4) a moral system of belief, and (5) prosocial connectedness. A central premise of this chapter and the rest of the volume is that promoting…

Adolescent suicide is thought by many experts to be the second leading cause of dath among adolescents. The present strategies being used, which attempt to prevent these suicides by treatment during adolescence, do not seem to be working. This study therefore examined the development of self-concept and coping strategies during childhood in an…

This document contains 24 papers. Keynote addresses were given on the topics of autonomy for deaf adolescents and parent-adolescent dialogue. A section titled "Demographic Profiles of Deaf Adolescents in America" compares students in special schools with mainstreamed students. A section on "Family Intervention and Parent…