Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

Emerging adulthood is proposed as a new conception of development for the period from the late teens through the twenties, with a focus on ages 18-25. A theoretical background is presented. Then evidence is provided to support the idea that emerging adulthood is a distinct period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explorations. How emerging adulthood differs from adolescence and young adulthood is explained. Finally, a cultural context for the idea of emerging adulthood is outlined, and it is specified that emerging adulthood exists only in cultures that allow young people a prolonged period of independent role exploration during the late teens and twenties.

/pdf/emerging-adulthood-a-theory-of-development-from-the-late-48n8l4n0g7.pdf

Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties.

It is hypothesized that collective efficacy, defined as social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good, is linked to reduced violence. This hypothesis was tested on a 1995 survey of 8782 residents of 343 neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois. Multilevel analyses showed that a measure of collective efficacy yields a high between-neighborhood reliability and is negatively associated with variations in violence, when individual-level characteristics, measurement error, and prior violence are controlled. Associations of concentrated disadvantage and residential instability with violence are largely mediated by collective efficacy.

Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy

Emerging adulthood is proposed as a new conception of development for the period from the late teens through the twenties, with a focus on ages 18-25. A theoretical background is presented, Then evidence is provided to support the idea that emerging adulthood is a distinct period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explorations. How emerging adulthood differs from adolescence and young adulthood is explained. Finally, a cultural context for the idea of emerging adulthood is outlined, and it is specified that emerging adulthood exists only in cultures that allow young people a prolonged period of independent role. exploration during the late teens and twenties.

http://personal.tcu.edu/pwitt/emerging%20adults.pdf

A Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties

So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to

Human biochemical genetics

Diversity in Developmental Trajectories Across Adolescence: Neighborhood Influences

A 30-year longitudinal study of 1758 predominantly Black inner-city children born in Baltimore Maryland (US) in 1960-65 investigated the impact of maternal age at delivery on selected adult outcomes at ages 27-33 years. The Pathways to Adulthood Study a component of the Johns Hopkins Collaborative Perinatal Study confirmed that maternal age at birth is significantly associated with the childs self-sufficient outcomes in adulthood in terms of graduation from high school (p < 0.01) financial independence of public assistance (p < 0.05) and delay of first birth until age 20 or older (p < 0.001). These effects persisted even after adjustment for poverty at birth sex race maternal education and parity. Overall children with the oldest mothers (age 25 or over at delivery) had the most favorable outcomes while those with the youngest mothers (under age 20) had the least favorable outcomes. 62% of children of teen mothers compared with 72% of those with mothers aged 25 or older completed high school; 72% and 78% of these children respectively were independent of public assistance as adults. Finally the proportions of children who became teen parents themselves in these two age groups were 68% and 79% respectively. 22% of the daughters and 6% of sons of the oldest mothers compared with 38% of the daughters and 18% of the sons of teen mothers became teenage parents. These findings are consistent with an intergenerational life course model of development.

Adolescent Childbearing Revisited: The Age of Inner-city Mothers at Delivery Is a Determinant of Their Children's Self-sufficiency at Age 27 to 33

Policy implications in studying neighborhoods

Neighborhood Poverty: Context and Consequences for Children, Volume I, and Neighborhood Poverty: Policy Implications in Studying Neighborhoods, Volume II. Jeanne BrooksGunn, Greg J. Duncan, & J. Lawrence Aber (Eds.). New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 1997. 334 pp. and 238 pp. ISBNs 0-8154-145-9 and 0-87154-146-7. $49.95 and $39.95 cloth. This two-volume study of the effects of poor urban neighborhoods on families makes a stimulating contribution to related theory, research, public policies, and programs. Its emphasis on human development in an ecological context is part of a welcome and growing trend. See, for example, Phyllis Moen, Glen H. Elder, and Kurt Luscher (1955), and Greg J. Duncan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn (1977). The contents of the present volumes are so rich that it is impossible to do justice to them here. Volume I is chiefly a report and discussion of large, multidisciplinary studies of neighborhood and family influences on the cognitive, behavioral, and educational outcomes of children and adolescents at various stages of their development. It also includes chapters on conceptual issues and implications of findings for federal policies. Volume II explores theories about poverty, urban ecology, research methods, public policies, and programs at state and local levels. These books were developed under the auspices of the Social Science Research Council. Further funding was provided by a number of foundations. The project's goal was to establish a research program to improve understanding of the causes and consequences of persistent, concentrated poverty and to build a base for the design and implementation of better policies and programs. The multidisciplinary research group of social scientists came from a variety of universities. The undertaking was sparked by the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979) and by W. J. Wilson's book (1987) on the severe effects of urban poverty on neighborhoods. The group, in an extensive review of past research, concluded that the research showed only weak and inconsistent evidence of the effects of neighborhood composition on individual outcomes. It decided, therefore, to attempt to develop new theory, concepts, methods, and empirical findings that would guide further research. A variety of analyses of six existing data sets were carried out. Three of these sets included national, longitudinal data-the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, and the Infant Health and Development Program. The other three sets were more local in nature. All included Black, White, and Hispanic participants. Census data provided information about neighborhoods, including socioeconomic levels of the population, ethnic diversity, rates of male joblessness, and "family concentration." Important information not available included community resources such as schools and social services. Rates of crime and housing characteristics also were not provided. The authors comment at length on the inadequacy of census tract data for a true understanding of neighborhoods. However, the data were the best available. Family, child, and adolescent information from the various data sets was variable, but generally included demographic characteristics, family headship, family income, and maternal education and hours of employment. Some of the sets also provided information about the learning environment of the home and levels of maternal warmth, coping behaviors, depression, and social support. Information about child development outcomes differed by data set. These sets included various measures of intelligence and educational and psychosocial behaviors of children at different ages. The authors discuss deficiencies in these data and recommend ways to improve them. Results of multiple regression analysis are presented in exquisite detail in numerous tables and graphs. A summary of findings shows that neighborhood conditions often are significant predictors of aspects of child development. …

Neighborhood Poverty. Context and Consequences for Children. Volume I.

SummaryA combination of genetic and environmental factors is thought to contribute to age of menarche. Adolescent athletes and dancers are much more likely to have a delayed menarche than are non-athletes. To examine the possible differential influence of heredity and environmental factors on menarcheal age, 350 adolescent dancers and non-dancers and their mothers were surveyed. The dancers had a later age of menarche than did the comparison group; their mothers did not differ with respect to menarcheal age, suggesting that delayed menarche in athletes is not solely due to genetic selection as inferred by maternal menarcheal age. Maternal menarcheal age was the best predictor of menarcheal age in the comparison sample, while leanness was in the dance sample.

Jeanne Brooks-Gunn

Papers

Diversity in Developmental Trajectories Across Adolescence: Neighborhood Influences

Adolescent Childbearing Revisited: The Age of Inner-city Mothers at Delivery Is a Determinant of Their Children's Self-sufficiency at Age 27 to 33

Policy implications in studying neighborhoods

Neighborhood Poverty. Context and Consequences for Children. Volume I.

Mother-daughter differences in menarcheal age in adolescent girls attending national dance company schools and non-dancers.