Describes the benefits of including the ninth grade within the 3-year multi-age group setting within a Montessori farm school. Notes how seventh, eighth, and ninth grades work together in one family cluster, allowing 15-year-olds to avoid the pecking order of the high school freshman year while developing personal leadership, confidence, and a…

Investigated the relationships between parental separation anxiety and adolescent identity development in a longitudinal study of first-year college students and seniors. Found that mothers' need to provide security influenced their adolescents' identity achievement, while father's anxiety about distancing had negative and positive consequences…

The effects of fathers' absence from the home on their children's educational aptitude and achievement were studied for about 9,000 Swedish children from grade 6 to age 21 years, 15 percent of whom lived only with their mothers. Low achievement in the mathematical and technical spheres characterized those with no father in the home. (SLD)

Context analysis of 10 adolescent novels revealed that the primary female characters of pre-1971 novels attempted only low-level tasks which involved self-concern and peer relationships. The primary female characters in post-1980 novels attempted tasks of practical and abstract skills that involved planning for the future. (BB)

Discusses historical precedents for studying life stage. Discusses current conceptualizations of adolescent and young adulthood. Explains why such views of life stage progression are antiquated. Demonstrates the need for theorists to include a new life stage, created by changes brought about by our postmodern society. (JS)

Relationships between parental behaviors and adolescent self-esteem were analyzed for 40 male and 50 female early adolescents from multiple settings. Increasing individuation in self-esteem regulation occurs during adolescent development; adolescents of higher levels of ego development evaluate themselves more independently of parental feedback…

Homosexual middle schoolers are at risk of dropping out because of frequent discriminatory practices by teachers and students. After defining homosexuality, the article discusses homosexual adolescents and their developmental issues, noting implications and strategies for middle schools. Los Angeles' Project 10, which addresses the needs of…

The articles in this special issue take a "uses and gratifications" approach that emphasizes that people make choices about the media they choose and that they differ in their interpretations of media content. The articles integrate this approach with developmental perspectives on adolescence. (SLD)

Proposes developmental approach to smoking education and prevention for children and adolescents. Reviews literature concerning most appropriate agent, content, and presentation of antismoking education for different ages, concluding that best agents for young children are parents and best agents for pre/early adolescents are peers. For…

Examines development of the concept of commitment in relation to adolescents' choice of a career and romantic partner. Subjects were 163 male and female ninth graders, twelfth graders, and college juniors from public and private schools. Findings support the proposition that the concept of commitment is affected by grade, gender, and type of…

Families were interviewed and participated in a social interaction task. Results indicated that married mothers of adolescents generated more conflicts than did divorced mothers, and adolescents from married families exhibited more positive communication than did adolescents from divorced families. There was a greater trend toward harmonious…

As part of a longitudinal study of psychosocial development, 148 girls and 130 boys were administered a questionnaire about a close friend in their eighth grade school year. The subjects began the study in the sixth grade. Findings on intimacy and emotional closeness are discussed concerning gender socialization and friendship. (SLD)

The relationship between very early menarche and depression was studied in a sample of 488 girls (336 sixth graders and 152 seventh graders), less than 10 percent of whom were very early maturers. Very early menarche was associated with higher levels of depression than was more normative development. (SLD)

Adolescents have no prepared, appreciated, approved place in society, so they tackle identity formation and development of self-worth and self-efficacy on their own. Society must change its view that youth are troubled or harmful and instead provide opportunities for meaningful roles for adolescents, particularly those without many years of formal…