Examines the relationship between teenage premarital paternity, child support enforcement, and delinquency. The non-random data were gathered from the Marian County, Indiana District Attorney's Office and Juvenile Court. Suggests that the early establishment of paternity should be pursued and that child support enforcement strategies should…

Critical factors in the behavior of Chicano gang youth are family disintegration, cultural dissolution, abusive family relationships, and histories of interpersonal violence. Specific treatment modalities (individual, family, group) are discussed, and the importance of a multimodal approach is emphasized. Case studies highlight family dynamics and…

Based on a records analysis, the rural youth at increased risk for reentering emergency shelters were adolescent females living in a step-family or female-headed household. Older children reentering care were unlikely to return home. Community-based services are needed to prevent the ongoing cycle of children in emergency shelters and subsequent…

Investigated potential correlations between personal, family, and educational background factors and unplanned teen pregnancy. Significant differences among respondents were related to family relationships, race/ethnicity, and sexuality education. Findings provide information for family science researchers, family life educators, health personnel,…

Describes guiding theory behind cognitive-behavioral interventions with youth, such as therapeutic posture, an important cognitive distinction, and specific treatment goal. On basis of review of literature, nature of cognitive functioning, treatments, and outcome of treatment studies are described and examined for aggression, anxiety, depression,…

Examined individual behavioral characteristics and family patterns of 102 middle-class dropout youths. Found that adolescents had variety of disorders, most notably substance abuse disorders, conduct disorders, and adjustment disorders. Many had been victimized through physical abuse, sexual abuse, and chronic family dysfunction. Parental…

Getting tough on youthful offenders has been a 1990s political slogan. Unfortunately, many reforms of the juvenile-justice and education systems fail to foster understanding between those systems' creators and the youth they serve. Viewing these systems through the eyes of several young people confers important lessons. Contains 21 references.…

Attempts to identify the psychological characteristics that predispose certain children to run away and to survive, often for long periods, on the streets of South Africa. Examines vulnerability and resilience as well as social conditions that mediate the psychological predisposition to become a street child. (Author/GCP)

Interviews with 158 urban, low income, Mexican American 10th-graders found that a family-related event was the most difficult recent life-event stressor; the most commonly used coping strategies were family social support, self-reliance, and behavioral avoidance; and coping was most helpful in dealing with school-related stressors. (Contains 33…

Articles in this theme issue counter the myths of youth violence and probe the realities in school, the community, and the juvenile justice system. Most articles highlight the situations of urban youth of color. Alternative perspectives are presented, including some consideration of the situation of young women and girls, and some artwork and…

Single-case design methodology is evaluated for its effect on treatment outcomes. Participants were juvenile delinquents treated by probation officers with social work degrees in Israel. A quasi-experimental design used measures of the functioning of participants in several settings as dependent variables. Results are presented and discussed. (EMK)

Using a socio-ecological perspective, examines the influences of adolescents' social networks, personal resources, and environmental risks on adolescents' behavior problems across three samples of youth (N=155). Findings show that social support can operate as a protective agent or as a risk factor, depending on other characteristics of subsystems…

Describes the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (YFA) program designed to help eliminate problems of urban youth, and analyzes the YFA with a focus on problems associated with female-headed, urban, black families. A summary of research is provided followed by a discussion of the conceptual model used as a basis for the program and an…

Reviews research on friendships of delinquents and nondelinquents. Contrasting theories and research have pointed to both the distinctiveness of delinquent friendships and the commonality with normal friendships. Greater conflict, poorer attachment quality, lesser ability to repair relationships, cognitive distortions, and poorer social-cognitive…

Proposes a risk/protective theoretical perspective grounded in ecological and developmental contextualist theories. Principles extrapolated from the theory are illustrated with the success of Wisconsin Youth Futures, a campus/community partnership that has built 18 community coalitions to promote positive youth development and prevent behavior…