Background: Mid-adolescence is an important phase of self-development in various domains including academics as well as for changes in the neural mechanisms underlying the self-concept. Students' academic self-concept (ASC) is affected by educational achievements and social others (such as teachers and peers). To what extent these external…

Life storytelling is a key method for developing the self, and family storytelling is an important setting for parents and adolescents to jointly make sense of adolescent experiences. Early adolescence is a key time for building a clearer sense of self. We studied mother scaffolding and adolescent meaning-making as adolescents recounted turning…

The study investigated age-related trends in moral identity goal characteristics, as proposed in previous research (Krettenauer, 2022a), by modifying the Self-Importance of Moral Identity Questionnaire (Aquino & Reed, 2002). Internally and externally motivated moral identity was assessed on varying levels of abstractness for promotion…

Social gaming--online gameplay involving digital interactions with others--is a common form of social media use among adolescents. Research on this topic has neglected the social aspect of gaming and the potential role of social gaming in adolescent development. In this article, we define social gaming, drawing on interdisciplinary theories to…

This study explored how mentoring begins and the benefits provided for African American sexual and/or gender minority (SGM) youth. Participants were mentors and mentees living in three Mid-Atlantic cities. Mentees (ages 15-21, n = 14) identified as African American; cisgender male, transgender female, or non-binary assigned male; and had sexual…

Identity research focuses on multiple processes capturing how adolescents form and maintain a sense of self. However, identity content (the "what" of identity) might impact associations between identity and the association with well-being. We examined this potential role of content (i.e., valence and life domain) in two studies, focusing…

Identity development is theorized to be a cornerstone of adolescence. An abundance of evidence has documented the significance of specific social identities (e.g., ethnic-racial or sexual identity) in the adjustment of adolescents. Research has found that youth who have explored their social identities and have more positive views of their social…

Digital flourishing refers to the positive perceptions of digital communication use in five dimensions: connectedness, positive social comparison, authentic self-presentation, civil participation, and self-control. This three-wave panel study among 1081 Slovenian adolescents (M[subscript age] = 15.34 years, 53.8% boys, 80.7% ethnic majority)…

Possible selves is a theory of self-concept and behaviour motivation. Methods of exploring possible selves have focused on interviews and questionnaires. This article introduces the Possible Me Tree model and explains how the model was adapted and used for research. The Possible Me Tree model was implemented with young people between 17 and 18…

This mixed methods study investigates conceptions of gender both in and outside of the media among a sample of 11- and 12-year-olds. Data from a quantitative survey and qualitative writing responses were collected and analyzed from 54 sixth graders at a U.S public elementary school. Results show that the majority held inclusive views of gender,…

This study investigates the influence of church mentoring on the psychosocial development of adolescents from immigrant and ethnic minority backgrounds. Framed within ecological systems and sociocultural theories, it examines mentoring processes in fostering positive youth development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen…

Achieving adequate integration and success at school in the post-compulsory stages involving situations where there is a risk of social exclusion is a real identity challenge for adolescents. In this research, we used a convenience sampling and selected two high schools located in Areas in Need of Social Transformation in Seville (southern Spain).…

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) youth and young adults (YYAs) have poorer mental health outcomes than their cisgender, heterosexual peers in large part due to multilevel stigmatization and minority stress. This was exacerbated by psychological stressors stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic;…

This four-wave longitudinal study among 698 Chinese early adolescents explored (1) how personal identity coherence and confusion develop; and (2) whether parenting style and peer relationships (i.e., close friend relationships and peer preference) were related to personal identity development. Participants (M[subscript age] = 11.39 yrs.,…

Despite the surging anonymous social media use among adolescents living in non-Western countries, such as Turkey, existing studies have been conducted in a Western context and do not provide a holistic understanding of adolescents' lived experiences of anonymous social networking site (SNS) interactions. As a result, Turkish adolescents aged 12-15…