This study analyzes how emerging adults negotiate their relation to alcohol in the context of declining youth drinking and how this relationship changes over time. The sample consists of longitudinal qualitative interview data (N = 28) with 9 boys and 19 girls aged 15 to 21. The participants were recruited through schools, social media and…

In this study, we drew on the m(ai)cro framework, which centers racism as a macrosystem, to examine how college-going emerging adults made meaning about society and themselves during the 2020 U.S. presidential election and 2021 inauguration. This period was marked by racial justice protests, a global pandemic, anti-Asian violence, and the storming…

"Closeness" between mentor and mentee is previously defined as an important indicator of relationship quality in youth mentoring, but whether this is the case in instrumental mentoring for young adults remains unclear. This is an exploratory study examining how instrumental mentoring serves young adults in their instrumental needs and…

Experiences of and exposures to violence impact older adolescents and young adults in a myriad of ways. While typically conceptualized as interpersonal, other forms of violence, namely structural and symbolic, can be harmful to development for this population. This study utilized qualitative methodologies, including ethnographic field notes and…

Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEPs) help connect youth to opportunities for career exploration, skill development, and mentorship. Despite heightened investment in SYEPs, research regarding positive impacts is limited. Most of the common SYEP evaluation strategies are rooted in deficit thinking and focus on outcomes such as reducing violent…

Authoring Action (A2) is a youth-focused, arts-based, afterschool and summer program. A2's mission is "to transform the lives of youth and the world through the power of creative writing, spoken word, visual and media arts, film-making and leadership education that promotes positive systemic change." Using in-depth interviews, this study…

Minority stressors harm sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY). This may be mitigated by promotive and protective factors and processes that manifest resilient coping. SGMY increasingly interact with information communication technologies (ICTs) to meet psychological needs, yet research often problematizes youths' ICT use, inhibiting…

This study is part of a larger Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project engaging youth of color (YOC; aged 16-24 years) in a planning a multilevel health promotion campaign for a large safety net hospital. Analyses focus on youths' conceptualizations of antiracism, and their recommendations on how to facilitate an intentionally…

In many industrialized countries, the transition into adulthood has become prolonged and complex. The consequence is that the process of identity formation within various life domains is often being delayed. This study applies a qualitative longitudinal research strategy to track the experiences of 28 young Australians as they undergo the process…

Identity and meaning are fundamental to human experience and are particularly pertinent during adolescence and times of adversity. While identity development and meaning making can be different for vulnerable young people, who experience multiple adverse life events, there is currently little evidence of how these young people construct identity…

For street children in Mumbai, gambling is mostly a social and recreational activity. This study is based on data gathered from a survey of 70 youths aged 12 to 24, two focus groups, and participant observation. It offers glimpses into various facets of their gambling, including age patterns, games played, venues, and how group and street…

Identity is the key psychological task of adolescence, with lifelong implications on health and behavior. A holistic understanding of content and process of identity development among male adolescents and emerging adults of color may lead to more effective interventions to improve health outcomes. Men aged 18 to 24 years were recruited from a…

Sex communication interventions facilitate positive sexual health outcomes with heterosexual adolescents. The same has yet to be established for male youth with same-sex attractions, behaviors, and identities. Our study describes the experiences of gay, bisexual, and queer (GBQ)-identifying adolescent males with parent-child sex communication. We…

Academic resilience reflects individuals' high levels of achievement and motivation despite the presence of stressful conditions that place them at risk for reduced performance. To understand what informs resilience, this study used narrative data from 274 Mexican-origin late adolescents/young adults (aged 19-25 years) to understand how a…

Although sexual behavior is multidimensional, little research has focused on the experience of nonintercourse behaviors for adolescents and emerging adults. This article uses open-ended coded data from a longitudinal study of college students (N = 346; M age = 18.5, 52% female, 27% Hispanic/Latino [HL], 25% non-HL European American, 23% non-HL…