What is needed to strengthen youth policy in the states? In this Research and Policy Report, co-authored by the Forum for Youth Investment and the National Conference of State Legislatures, learn concrete ways that states are addressing key challenges to creating better aligned and more effective youth policy. (Contains 26 notes and 2 figures.)

The primary aims of this report are to (1) identify the incidence of daily smoking at several time points during the adolescent and young adult years, including the prevalence of new daily smokers relative to repeat daily smokers; (2) identify several specific developmental patterns of smoking; and (3) examine the specific developmental patterns…

This book examines the relationship between adolescent risk-taking behaviors and health. The health-related problems of adolescents frequently are manifestations of social, economic, or behavioral factors. Following an overview (Siegal), the chapters in the first section of the book explore general and conceptual issues: (1) "Epidemiology of…

Serving as a preface for a position statement on adolescent literacy by the International Reading Association, this article argues that assigning adolescent literacy a higher priority in the literacy community's value system is an idea whose time has very nearly come. It briefly relates the content of two earlier articles published in "Reading…

This paper proposes a new framework for examining how youth use computers and the resulting impacts on their school-related attitudes and behaviors. To characterize adolescents' computing activities, a theory is borrowed from psychologists that suggests there are three basic psychological needs that youth seek to satisfy through their activities:…

The mentoring of youth by adults has been identified as one of the more promising program approaches to promoting positive youth outcomes. This synthesis examines the role that mentoring plays in helping youth develop a broad array of strengths and capacities related to: (1) education and cognitive attainment; (2) health and safety; (3) social and…

This report highlights two studies that are part of the Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The Rochester Youth Development Study and the Pittsburgh Youth Study have tracked a sample of urban males through their teenage years. These studies…

This book investigates school schedules by examining the use of time at the middle level and discussing strategies that schools may use to provide greater flexibility to the school day. Eleven specific scheduling models are presented and described. Complementing the models is a discussion of the factors that propel a school's investigation of…

Contends that the apparent psychosocial inadequacies of contemporary adolescents stem from the widespread adult attitude of relegating them to the status of minors. Recommends that the dynamic principles of adult-adolescent relationships as well as child-rearing techniques in general, draw heavily from the provisions of Maslovian psychology. (JAC)

Describes Hub Group, a short-term ward-based group therapy program for institutionalized adolescents. Backed by a behaviorally-based privilege system, Hub Group contracting methods facilitate rapid investment in group therapy and promote change. Advantages and disadvantages of including mixed levels of functioning in the same group are discussed.…

The implications of the International School Psychology Committee's Declaration of the Psychological Rights of the Child are reviewed from the perspective of the life-span developmentalist. Primary focus is on how children's rights change from conception to adolescence. A critique of previous attempts to define children's rights is included.…

Discusses Erikson's ideas on the importance of historical perspective in identity formation and values. Suggests the developmental processes at adolescence and the way in which the individual and society react and interact have implications for the transmission and nurturing of values by both individual adults and the collective society. (RC)

Reviewed literature dealing with one-parent families. Found few studies in which children living in one-parent families were interviewed about their lives. Studied 40 children, aged 12-18 years, living in middle class, urban, separated or divorced one-parent families. Highlights responses of children to four open-ended questions. (Author)

Reviews current literature on sex education and concludes that adequate community support and proven methods exist for establishing much-needed sex education programs in schools. Asserts that preservice and inservice programs for teachers and educators' willingness to address the social and human problems associated with teenage sexuality are also…

Considers the information revolution a force for social change which will transform family structure, educational modes, and increase pressure on young adolescents to grow up quickly. (Author/DB)