Relations of contraceptive behavior, problem behaviors, and health-protective behaviors were examined in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of sexually active adolescents. Findings demonstrate substantial organization among adolescent health and problem behaviors and suggest that contraceptive behavior should be conceptualized…

Offers a preliminary report on a project that integrates adolescent development and spiritual principles in a holistic approach to delinquent youth. In this approach, young people are taught five virtues: trust, power, purpose, mastery, and self-sacrifice. Argues that the spiritual component is necessary to meet the needs of young people. (RJM)

Provides suggestions to help early childhood teachers work more effectively with teenage parents and become significant adults in teenage parents' lives. Suggestions include fostering positive identification and addressing individual teenager needs. Presents Erikson's stages of psychosocial development as a basis for recommendations to develop…

Presents a spiritually based view of needs and potentials of children and youth, from birth through age 21, based on works of Rudolf Steiner, Sri Aurobindo Ghose, and Hazrat Inayat Khan. Focuses on their common vision of the true nature of human beings, the course of human growth, and the desired functions of child rearing and education.…

Explores gender and ethnicity in relation to Marcia's (1980) model of identity development, based on the centrality of crisis and commitment in the formation of adult identity during the college years. Suggests that Marcia's model does not adequately account for the centrality of relationship to female development, nor the importance of…

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)

Summarizes five research projects concerned with the education of artistically talented students. Projects include interviews, surveys, case studies, comparative studies, and a drawing ability test. Concludes with a look at future directions for research. (MJP)

Reports on a study of 120 (60 boys, 60 girls) middle school students in Bophuthatswana on the relation of academic achievement to self-concept and locus of control. Finds that measures of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism are related negatively to school achievement. (CFR)

The paper reviews demographic and health status data for Hispanic communities and relates them to the role of culture in health care, recommending that health promotion programs focus on specific community data, understand the impact of culture and language, develop powerful outreach, and team up with community-based organizations. (SM)

Examined the relationship between students' stress and social support in junior high school and the same students' psychological distress and school performance two years later. Stress and support variables predicted subsequent psychological distress. Stresses, but not supports, predicted subsequent school performance. (BC)

Extends previous research on the theory of ego identity formation of E. Erikson by investigating the role of several factors in the psychosocial development of university professors. A survey of 623 Canadian academics supports Eriksonian ideas about childhood superego formation and psychosocial crises experienced during adolescence. (SLD)

Discusses approaches to providing sexual knowledge to adolescents, emphasizing the restricted information approach advocated by the religious and political "Far Right." Presents examples of the limiting of sexual information at federal, state, and local levels; discusses the role of health educators in assuring adolescents the right to learn about…

Security of attachment and level of individuation from parents and peers was examined among 42 undergraduates with a history of suicidality, 42 undergraduates with depression, and 42 undergraduate controls. Suicidal students had the least security of attachment, the least degree of individuation, and the highest incidence of parental…

Examined discrepancies in mothers' and adolescents' perceptions of decision making and behavioral autonomy. Discrepancies in decision-making judgments led to a high level of conflict. Discrepancies between adolescents' desire for and mothers' granting of autonomy led to a high conflict level and adolescent adjustment difficulties. (BC)

Using data for 192 males and 462 females (432 whites, 97 African Americans 64 Hispanic Americans, and 61 Asian Americans) in Los Angeles County (California), this study confirmed that during adolescence, agency-related orientation predicts heightened self-esteem for males and communal orientation predicts heightened self-esteem for females at…