This prospective, longitudinal study investigated the moderating role of pubertal timing on reciprocal links between adolescent appraisals of parent-child relationship quality and girls' (N = 1,335) and boys' (N = 1,203) cigarette and alcohol use across a 12-month period. Reciprocal effects were found between parent-child relations and on-time…

Previous research has demonstrated that adults with high functioning autism (HFA)/Asperger syndrome (AS) judge others as having as much knowledge about their inner mental states as they do. The current study examined whether this pattern also applies to adolescents with HFA/AS because typically developing adolescents, in contrast to younger…

This study examines the longitudinal effects of childhood community contexts on young adult outcomes. The study uses a sample of 14,000 adolescents (52% female) derived from the 1990 US Census and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Addhealth). The study examines whether community and family environments exert separate and/or…

Stereotypes about teenagers typically result in negative views of young people and contribute to the age-old idea that every new generation of teenagers is somehow inferior to previous ones. One of the reasons for the prevalence of inaccurate stereotypes about teenagers in Canada is that people have not been having very many national conversations…

The purpose of this study was to explore how passion was manifested among gifted and talent youth selected from a larger longitudinal study of child and adolescent development. The gifted sample included 25 high school and college students who were selected because they were in a gifted program in elementary school. The talent sample included 41…

The transition to high school and the freshman year experience is challenging for most students. This study examined the issues that are often problematic and can prevent many early adolescent learners from thriving during their first year of high school. The literature review focuses on three strands salient to this study: early adolescent…

Important loss (death) in individuals' life may cause various kinds of bereavement reactions. Most of the individuals cope with bereavement effects in various ways and they adapt themselves to the new situation. On the other hand, some individuals may have problems in coping with and analyzing bereavement period effects caused by loss. Parent loss…

Young people who are leaving the foster care and juvenile justice systems often experience a difficult transition to adulthood that is characterized by a number of troubling outcomes, including poverty, low levels of education and employment, and housing instability. While some services are available for these populations, there is little evidence…

An American sociologist who grew up in the Netherlands, Amy Schalet digs deep into cultural values about adolescent sexuality to explain the reasons for the vast disparities between American and Dutch sexual health indicators. This article reviews the book's key conclusions and discusses their implications for parents, educators, and policy…

A 15-year phenomenological case study of an exceptional female from age 15 through 30 was focused on exploring the subjective experience of development during adolescence and young adulthood, with attention to how giftedness and context interacted. The main focus became her response to trauma, which was revealed early in the study. Data, including…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs focused on older youth--specifically, youth in middle and high school--can help participants successfully navigate their adolescence and learn new skills well into their teens. OST programs can also help prepare older youth for a variety of new roles that they will assume as they enter college and the workforce.…

This book paints a portrait of adolescent psychology in 4 major regions: Africa/the Middle East, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Featuring 24 revised and updated chapters from the "International Encyclopedia of Adolescence" (2007), readers are introduced to the way the majority of the world's adolescents actually live. Most contributors…

The mass media rank among the most important socialization agents influencing the health behaviors of today's youth, with some researchers estimating that youth spend 33-50% of their waking hours with some form of media (Strasburger and Wilson 2002). The impact of the media on health and the large amount of time adolescents spend with media make…

Since Kanner's first account of children with autism, there has been extensive research into the presentation of and interventions for Autistic Disorder. However, only a small proportion of this literature has focused on the progress of individuals with autism as they move from childhood and adolescence into adulthood. This paper is a critical…

An exploratory qualitative study of 16 disadvantaged youth in 5 countries suggests that making both precocious and developmentally appropriate contributions to their families' well-being is advantageous to adolescents coping with chronic adversity. All youth were known to be doing well (as identified by community advisors) and showed patterns of…