Summarizes trends and recent declines in adolescent pregnancy, abortion, and adoption relinquishment. Reviews research regarding adolescent pregnancy resolution decision-making. Discusses contextual factors, such as attitudes and socialization about abortion, parenting, and adoption, and the influence of parents and partners on likelihood of…

Examined the influence of demographics and family factors on adolescent's consumption of healthy meals and fruits and vegetables. Surveys indicated that healthy eaters were more likely to: be white, Asian, and male; communicate well with parents; be monitored by their parents; live with one or both parents; spend less time at home alone; and…

Uses Lewin's field theory as a framework to appraise children's momentary state of curiosity and exploratory behavior. Discusses two levels of analysis: child-stimulus situation and child-stimulus-adult situation. Argues that a parent can be a barrier hindering a child's exploration, or a facilitator to remove barriers. (Author/SD)

Reports using data from the Denver Youth Survey to investigate the influence of family factors in predicting adolescent victimization. Results indicate that family context (particularly parental problem behavior), family involvement, adolescent social isolation from the family, and positive parenting were predictive of adolescent victimization,…

Reviews research by June Gordon, appearing in the June issue of "Teachers College Record," that explored why Asian Americans were underrepresented in the teaching profession. Major reasons that Asian Americans avoided the teaching profession were parent pressure, lack of self-confidence, fear of working in an unfamiliar environment, and…

Examined parent-child resemblance and mutual transmission of two kinds of attitudes (cultural and economic conservatism), categorizing adolescents into four levels of youth centrism. Data from Dutch adolescents, young adults, and their parents indicated that youth centrism moderated political orientation, with the four groups reacting differently…

Changes in rituals and routines between drinking and sobriety were examined in families in treatment due to paternal alcohol abuse. Information was gathered through a semistructured family interview. Recurrent disruptions of rituals and routines were found between different phases in the drinking cycle. Disruptions were found typically with regard…

Studies of families with gifted adolescents have revealed conflicting results. Adolescents, mothers, and fathers of 84 families with a gifted adolescent and of 95 families with a non-gifted adolescent evaluated their family system independently. Dependent variables were cohesion, democratic family style (adaptability), organisation, achievement…

A brief review of the social and educational context of Hong Kong shows that the publication of the "General guidelines on moral education in schools" in 1981, by the Hong Kong Education Department, marked a milestone in the development of moral education. The "Guidelines" explicitly asserted moral education as one function of schooling, whilst…

This chapter provides an expanded view of parent- adolescent sexual communication and socialization in an effort to move beyond risk perspectives toward a consideration of other important aspects of sexual socialization.

This paper examines the relative shifts in parent and peer influences on the development of boys' beliefs regarding delinquency from early to middle adolescence. The paper also explores the influence that beliefs about delinquency have on subsequent changes in these social relationships. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze six annual…

The social development model (Catalano & Hawkins, 1996) was adapted to examine the unique influence of mothers and fathers on their children's antisocial behavior. Analyses examined 325 families with sixth-grade children. Structural equation modeling was used to assess unique influences of constructs specific to mothers or fathers. Multiple-group…

This study explores the unique influence of fathers on adolescents' psychological well-being. Analyses are based on a nationally representative sample (Add Health) of students in Grades 7 through 12 living in intact homes. Results of multivariate analyses reveal that the father-adolescent relationship has an independent impact on adolescents'…

Objective: Although the death of a parent is one of the most significant stressors a child can experience, the psychiatric sequelae of parental death are not fully understood. Method: A total of 360 parent-bereaved children (ages 6-17) and their surviving parents were directly interviewed four times during the first 2 years following the death (at…

A previous study by Muris, Merckelbach, and Van Spauwen [1] demonstrated that children display emotional reasoning irrespective of their anxiety levels. That is, when estimating whether a situation is dangerous, children not only rely on objective danger information but also on their "own" anxiety-response. The present study further examined…