This study assessed how schools, neighborhoods, nuclear families, and friendship groups jointly contribute to positive change during early adolescence. Analyses showed that the four context indices modestly intercorrelated at the individual student level, but clustered more tightly at the school and neighborhood levels. Joint influence of all four…

Examines the values of eleven to sixteen year olds (111 girls and 133 boys) in terms of their philosophies of life, fears, and underlying values. Finds that girls focus on relationships with family, friends, and boys; while activities like sports are the main focus for boys. Includes references. (CMK)

Reviews etiology and prevention literatures, exploring relationships between problem and positive youth behaviors, commonalities among predictors, and implications for prevention. Risky/unhealthy/antisocial behaviors, poor mental health, and poor academic achievement are highly prevalent, posing critical dilemmas for adults. All behaviors are…

Reviews relevant research to examine risk factors and behaviors associated with adolescent aggression and violence. Adolescent aggression and violence develop and manifest within a complex constellation of factors (individual, family, school/academic, peer-related, community and neighborhood, and situational). Different risk factors are more…

Explored the relationship between familial factors and behavior outcomes in Latino adolescents using a youth development framework. Surveys of 446 youth within an urban community indicated that higher levels of parental monitoring and familial connectedness consistently related to less problem behavior involvement. Sociocultural encouragement…

Notes that children and adolescents appear to suffer the most detrimental effects of homelessness. Discusses the problems faced by homeless youth and the educational systems that must respond to them, including causes and demographics of homelessness, detrimental effects of shelters, the victimization of homeless adolescents, and educational and…

Uses metaphor of the dance to suggest reciprocity, harmony, and a mutual exchange of leadership as key components of adolescent-adult relationships. Suggests that adolescents have high expectations of adult's character and competencies; therefore, teachers should elicit the highest values and behaviors from their students. (KDFB)

Argues that American society is homophobic. Claims that one of the negative consequences gay/lesbian youth face when living in a homophobic environment is the internalized belief that acceptance is based upon how well one can hide one's identity. Explores some of the dimensions of the gay/lesbian developmental process. (RJM)

Examined key components of the "New Look" at adolescent imaginary audience and personal fable constructs. Found that only the invulnerability and omnipotence subscales of the New Personal Fable Scale were highly related. Boys were found to believe more strongly in their own uniqueness, invulnerability, and omnipotence than were girls.…

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…