Explores a particular aspect of adolescents' literacy development: their growth in the interpretation and appreciation of literature. Examines how decisions about the goals of literature instruction and the kinds of literature selected can create difficulties for maturing readers. Suggests some instructional approaches that support the development…

This study examined whether and which types of voluntary service might facilitate adolescents' civic development. Analyses showed that social-cause service participation was positively related to concern for social issues, future unconventional civic intentions, and future intended service. Findings suggest a developmental connection between…

Attachment theory is used as the theoretical base to understand the impact that rejection of relationship connections can have on the development of gay and lesbian adolescents. Developmental challenges for gay and lesbian youth are addressed as are the frequent failure of families and schools to provide continuity of secure caregiving to these…

This study compared articulatory movements of 30 adolescents (12-16 years) and 30 young adults. Trajectory variability, especially lip trajectories, was higher for the adolescents. Adolescents also had significantly longer movement durations, lower velocities, smaller displacements, and greater variability on these measures than young adults. No…

Notes that the middle school years can be difficult for young adolescents as they face new and challenging developmental tasks. Provides a brief overview of Robert Havighurst's developmental theory. Proposes developmental tasks specifically for ten- to fifteen-year-olds in increasingly diverse schools and society. (PM)

Discusses a study of moral types (autonomous vs. heteronomous) based on Kohlberg's theory of moral development in order to establish cross-cultural validity. The sample included kibbutz-educated Israeli adolescents. Compares results to studies of adolescents in the United States, Turkey, Taiwan, and the Bahamas. Israeli subject were most likely to…

Examined body image satisfaction in Turkish adolescents. Findings from 269 female and 286 male secondary school students revealed that males were more satisfied with their bodies than were females, early-maturing males and late-maturing females had higher levels of body image satisfaction, and participants in physical activities were more…

Examined preference of occupational environments of 65 Black adolescents by administering Holland's Self-Directed Search-E. Nearly 74 percent of subjects recorded Social as their highest or second highest code. Results suggest that Blacks' inclination toward Social occupational environments begins as early as junior high school, and that Blacks…

Analyzed the development of control orientation in 127 adolescents of 11-13 years and the relation between control orientation and mothers' child rearing practices. Results showed differential relations between child rearing practices and locus of control. Perceived internality increased and chance control decreased in early adolescence. (RJC)

Reasons adolescents are attracted to socially disvalued media contents are explored by reviewing research on media use. The role of the school as a generating context for both delinquency and popular cultural dispositions is emphasized, and a theory of media delinquency is proposed. (SLD)

Discusses the role of young adult literature written from an authentic black cultural perspective in helping black young adults achieve the skills and knowledge they require to succeed in this society. Examples of relevant titles are given in the genres of realistic fiction, biography, autobiography, and folklore. (Contains 35 references.) (LRW)

Used psychological tests to examine the effects of early childhood experiences on interaction patterns that have resulted from East and West German children growing up in different social contexts. Subjects were 140 East and West German adolescents. Found that West German adolescents showed more prosocial tendencies and had stronger emotion-based…

Analyzes treasured possessions and their meanings in adolescence, including their relation to those treasured during early life and their relation to self-identity. Subjects were 14- to 18-year-old high school students (n=249). Results showed that males' most treasured possessions embodied enjoyment and instrumental meanings, whereas females'…

As an undergraduate at Williams College, G. Stanley Hall learned a theistic developmental psychology from Mark Hopkins. As president of Clark University, Hall initiated a program of questionnaires that contributed to a scientific vision of childhood and adolescence. Hall treated this vision as a moral philosophy. (BC)

Presents arguments against lab dissection in the science classroom. Author discusses adult negative memories associated with earlier school dissections. Asserts that, for the early adolescent, dissection may be mingled with messages pertaining to sex, excretion, identity, and privacy. Suggests that dissection arouses a feeling of "defilement": a…