Adolescents become increasingly sensitive to social evaluation. Some previous studies have related this change to pubertal development. The present longitudinal study examined the role of sociocognitive development. We investigated whether or not the transition to recursive thinking, the ability to think about (others') thoughts, would be…

A substantial percentage of students come to school with a number of stress factors from life circumstances, personal clinical attributes, and typical adolescent challenges. As a result, some students become disengaged from school, are unsuccessful, or drop out of school. School structures are not always equipped to respond to such problems. A…

This study focuses on two girls' experiences in one youth leadership organization during a period of 3 years. Relying on an embedded case study design, the authors examine the links between leadership development and programmatic structures and supports. Specifically, the development of leadership capacities are analyzed along three dimensions:…

Adolescence is a time of considerable development at the level of behaviour, cognition and the brain. This article reviews histological and brain imaging studies that have demonstrated specific changes in neural architecture during puberty and adolescence, outlining trajectories of grey and white matter development. The implications of brain…

Seventy-six late adolescents and their peer partners participated in a study that focused on possible selves tied to anticipated career, marriage, and parenthood roles. Control theory and the concept of psychosocial moratorium were integrated to explain identity construction processes. Integration of theory with concept offers explanations for…

Examines the development of work perceptions in adolescents (12 to 18 years old) from a relational-developmental perspective. From this viewpoint, adolescents' perceptions and understanding of work and related areas, such as employment and unemployment, varied across age and, to a limited extent, across levels of formal reasoning operations.…

Friendships of early adolescence are generally accepted as having special significance for psychological development. This study was conducted to examine the sources of conflict between friends during early adolescence; to assess the social-cognitive developmental level of early adolescents; and to explore the relationships among sources of…

Social identity theory (SIT) was used to investigate effects of social categorization on adolescents' intergroup behaviour. Participants displayed consistent ingroup-favouring behaviour in their ratings: the ingroup was associated to a greater extent than the outgroup with positively valued dimensions, and to a lesser extent with negatively valued…

This paper outlines a model that could address the interaction between an adolescent's social and personal environment and the impact that this interaction could have on an adolescent's social and psychological adjustment. In addition, a set of mediating variables based on an adolescent's self-concept was presented and discussed. The unique aspect…

Anecdotal reports of the protective qualities of mentoring relationships for youth are corroborated by a growing body of research. What is missing, however, is research on the processes by which mentors influence developmental outcomes. In this article, we present a conceptual model of the mentoring process along with a delineation of some of the…

Presents the results of a study where middle school students enrolled in conflict resolution training wrote essays explaining how they would respond to conflict situations. Students not receiving the training were the control group. Significant differences occurred between the training and control groups concerning knowledge of negotiation…

Defining coping as the cognitive and behavioral strategies used to deal with the demands of everyday living, this book explores the research on how young people manage a range of life problems. Following an introduction discussing the particular aspects of adolescent coping behavior, motivation, and attitudes, the book is divided into eleven…