The primary aim of this book is to integrate findings on health and illness in adolescence. The book is geared towards those in the health psychology field as well as others concerned with the issues of adolescent health. It argues the value of following a developmental approach to the study of health or illness in general, and especially for…

Television includes a substantial amount of sexual content, and TV's sexual messages are clearly an important part of adolescent sexual socialization. At a time when the nation is facing a sexual health crisis among young people, special attention needs to be paid to those media depictions that could influence how young people develop their…

Aspects of adult culture are being pushed upon adolescent girls, forcing them to cope with an adult agenda before they are developmentally prepared. Mothers want to be a source of guidance and support but this can be a frustrating endeavor. This paper provides an overview of the developmental issues of adolescent girls and offers mothers one…

The amount and type of decision-making activities available to and used by adolescents are examined. Adolescents' effectiveness in making decisions, methods they employ while doing so, and various decision-making models that may help adolescents perfect decision-making skills are discussed. (CJ)

Authors Joshua Baran and Susan Rothbaum discuss why young people join cults; involvement with spiritual groups as part of the developmental search for identity; the comforting familiarity and security offered by authoritarian spiritual groups; and the ways institutions and counselors can deal with students drawn to or leaving such groups. (AYC)

Argues that adolescents are not always psychologically mature enough to decide whether or not they need psychiatric treatment. Says that the role of the court should be to assure that adolescents receive adequate treatment, rather than to assure that they consent to treatment. (Author/GC)

Adolescents with varying combinations of pubertal delay and growth retardation were given the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire. Delay in sexual maturation by itself had no deleterious effect on self-image but growth retardation did. (Author/GK)

A new inventory for examining the first six of Erikson's psychosocial stages is described. It is concluded that the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (EPSI), a self-report questionnaire, is a useful measure for researchers interested in development from early adolescence and in mapping changes as a function of life events. (Author/GK)

A developmental dimensional model of maturing is presented that has received some transcultural and longitudinal validation. Specific principles, induced from such research and from existing psychological research more generally, provide guidelines about how to encourage healthy growth. (Author)

This annotated bibliography cites 15 references on cognitive development in adolescence and its implications for secondary school teaching. Particular attention is given to Piaget's theory of the formal operational state of thought. (SJL)

Presents logical, theoretical, and empirical arguments for a new rehabilitative agenda for juvenile justice, based on positive principles of youth development. Offers critical examination of dominant intervention paradigms within juvenile justice, compares underlying assumptions of a competency-based rehabilitative model with deficit-based…

Studied religious development in 365 adolescents from white, two-parent families participating in the Iowa Youth and Families Project. Found that farm youth had stronger ties to religious institutions and expressed stronger commitments to religious values than nonfarm youth. The correlates of religious change and continuity indicate that social…

Using longitudinal data, provides an empirical test of an identity capital model as it applies to university students' (N=170) passage toward adulthood. Results suggest that the model has merit and can be used to direct future research. The developmental-social psychological perspective provided the most useful framework for testing and building…

Outlines a new model for applying concepts from resilience research to education, prevention, and treatment. Suggests how these concepts can guide practitioners in creating more powerful interventions and in fostering positive development for all youth. Focuses on caring relationships, high expectations and positive beliefs, and opportunities for…

Examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between peer crowd affiliation and internalized distress in a sample of 246 youth. Found that adolescents' report of peer crowd affiliation was concurrently associated with self-concept and levels of internalizing distress. Follow-back analyses revealed that "Populars/Jocks" had…