Showing papers in "Journal of Research on Adolescence in 2002"

Youth Civic Engagement in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract: We enter the 21st century contending with the end of the Cold War's legacy of political uncertainty, expecting youth to play a significant part in the search for new principles that will bring about stability in the world political order. In forging the future, youth will have to collaborate with adults, but on terms more fitting of the historical circumstances that lie ahead than those of the past. This was the framework adopted by a group of social scientists who held several discussions to reflect on the issues and opportunities that bear on youth's civic engagement and development in the century that has just opened. The present article describes the results of those conversations, starting with the issue of defining civic competence, and the finding that an expansive definition is needed to match the real-world circumstances that affect its development for youth internationally. Specific conditions, such as globalization, information – communication technology, and immigration, are emphasized as forces that affect youth and need to be taken into account by educators and policy makers. In this regard, responsibilities of schools, government, the commercial sector, and community organizations are outlined. Each is viewed as a potential constructive force for promoting engagement insofar as youth's strengths are recognized and focus is placed on building on youth's proven capacities. As always, it is youth’s task to make history in the future and society's obligation to provide youth with sufficient resources and an honest basis for hope in carrying out this task. The authors' policy recommendations are founded on this reciprocal relation that binds the youth generation with its elders in the common task of preserving, while transforming, society for the good of humanity.

Coping with Family Conflict and Economic Strain: The Adolescent Perspective

Abstract: This study tested two models of family economic problems and adolescent psychological adjustment Using adolescents’ survey data and information regarding school lunch program enrollment, the associations among family SES, perceived economic strain, family conflict, and coping responses were examined in a sample of 364 adolescents from rural New England Two theoretical models were tested using structural equation modeling — one tested coping as a mediator of the stress – psychopathology relation and the other tested coping as a moderator Results revealed that family economic hardship was related to aggression and anxiety/depression primarily through two proximal stressors: perceived economic strain and conflict among family members Family conflict partially mediated the relation between economic strain and adolescent adjustment, and coping further mediated the relation between family conflict and adjustment These analyses identified two types of coping that were associated with fewer anxiety/depression and aggression problems in the face of these stressors — primary and secondary control coping Although primary and secondary control coping were associated with fewer adjustment problems, youth who were experiencing higher amounts of stress tended to use less of these potentially helpful coping strategies and used more of the potentially detrimental disengagement coping The models did not differ according to the age or gender of the adolescents, nor whether they lived with two parents or fewer No support was found for coping as a moderator of stress Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research involving coping with economic stressors are reviewed

Sexual Orientation Identity Formation among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths: Multiple Patterns of Milestone Experiences

Abstract: This study examined variations in “coming out” for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths (N= 72), ages 16 to 27. To indicate the timing and sequence of developmental stages, the respondents reported the ages at which they had completed 10 milestone events involving self-awareness, sexual experiences, and disclosure to others, and also reported on current immersion in gay/lesbian/bisexual social networks. Cluster analysis identified five patterns of experiences. Three groups had generally early trajectories, two of which had specific delays in either sexual activity or disclosure. Two other clusters had relatively late trajectories, one of which also reported the lowest levels of gay/lesbian/bisexual social immersion. Comfort with sexual orientation was greatest in persons with early patterns and lowest within the group with late trajectories and limited gay/lesbian/bisexual social immersion.

Adolescent Health and Well‐Being in the Twenty‐First Century: A Global Perspective

Abstract: Adolescence is a critical developmental period with long-term implications for the health and well-being of the individual and for society as a whole. The most significant factors to adolescents' health are found in their environments, and in the choices and opportunities for health-enhancing or health-compromising behaviors that these contexts present (e.g., exposure to violence, supportive families). Inadequate contexts represent a failure to invest in and protect adolescents, a choice to alienate rather than integrate them into society. This article describes a number of societal trends, including growing poverty and income disparities, government instability, the changing health-care system, the spread of HIV/AIDS, increased migration and urbanization, changing family and cultural contexts, and new information technology. The health implications of these trends for the well-being of adolescents in the 21st century are contemplated.

Changes in Adolescents' Interpersonal Experiences: Are They Being Prepared for Adult Relationships in the Twenty‐First Century?

Abstract: Trends across nations suggest that adulthood in the future will require greater social versatility, including abilities to function in relationships that are less scripted by community norms and that bridge multiple social worlds. This article assesses whether current changes in adolescents' interpersonal experience are likely to give them the social resources and competencies they will need. Changes in families are making them smaller, more diverse in social capital, and more responsive to adolescents. Changes in adolescents' nonfamily experience include more time in institutional settings; more involvement with peers; and more cycles of developing (and ending) relationships with a heterogeneous set of adults, friends, and, for many, romantic partners. The analysis suggests that these changes will provide many youth with greater opportunities to develop the more versatile interpersonal resources required in the future, but that many adolescents will have restricted opportunities to acquire these resources.

Globalization, Societal Change, and New Technologies: What They Mean for the Future of Adolescence

Abstract: Nations around the world are undergoing rapid changes that are altering the nature of adolescence in their societies. This volume examines current trends in adolescent experience across nations, with the objective of identifying emerging problems and opportunities in adolescents' preparation for adulthood. This introduction reviews methods used by futurists and how these methods are applicable to adolescence, and provides an overview of some of the macrochanges that are shaping the societies in which adolescents of the future will live. The macrochanges considered include demographic trends, globalization, trends in government, and changes in technology. Subsequent articles in this volume examine how these and other changes are altering adolescents' transition to adult work, preparation for adult interpersonal lives, civic and community engagement, and health and well-being. The final article focuses on social policy and is followed by a conclusion with the main points and trends in the volume.

Peer Crowd Affiliation and Internalizing Distress in Childhood and Adolescence: A Longitudinal Follow-Back Study

Abstract: Concurrent and longitudinal associations between peer crowd affiliation and internalized distress were examined in a sample of 246 youth (148 girls, 98 boys). Children completed measures of depression, social anxiety, loneliness, and self-esteem when they were in grades 4 to 6 (Time 1), and again 6 years later during adolescence (grades 10 – 12; Time 2). At Time 2, adolescents also reported their self-concept and their identification with reputation-based peer crowds, including Populars, Jocks, Brains, Burnouts, Non-Conformists, and None/Average crowds. Results indicated that adolescents' report of peer crowd affiliation was concurrently associated with self-concept and levels of internalizing distress. Follow-back analyses of internalizing trajectories revealed that Populars/Jocks had experienced significant declines in internalizing distress across development, whereas Brains exhibited some increases in internalizing distress between childhood and adolescence.

Adolescents' and Mothers' Understanding of Children's Rights in the Home

Abstract: Adolescents' and mothers' understanding of children's self-determination and nurturance rights was examined in the context of the home. In individual interviews, 141 sixth, eighth, and tenth graders and their mothers responded to hypothetical vignettes in which a child story character wished to exercise a right that conflicted with parental practices. For each vignette, participants were asked to judge whether the story character should have the right in question and to provide a justification for their decision. Generally, eighth and tenth graders were more likely than their mothers to endorse requests for self-determination and less likely than their mothers to support requests for nurturance. Mothers of tenth graders were more likely to support requests for self-determination and less likely to favor adolescents' request for nurturance in the home than were mothers of sixth and eighth graders. In terms of reasoning, adolescents and mothers were more likely to consider the individuals' rights when discussing self-determination situations, whereas nurturance situations elicited responses pertaining to participants' understanding of familial roles and relationships. Furthermore, mothers' reasoning about childrenA•s rights reflected sensitivity to the developmental level of their children. The findings are discussed in terms of previous research on the development of children's understanding of rights and adolescent autonomy.

Family Processes and Problem Behaviors in Middle-Class African American Adolescents.

Abstract: This study examined the joint association between mothers’ and adolescents’ ratings of parental behavioral control and adolescents’ and observers’ ratings of mother – adolescent communication with adolescent problem behaviors in a sample of 86 middle-class African American early adolescent boys and girls (age: M= 13.08 years, SD= 1.32) and their mothers. Consistent with hypotheses, greater adolescent-rated parental behavioral control and better observer-rated mother – adolescent communication were associated with lower levels of adolescent problem behavior, as examined using structural equation modeling. Furthermore, interrelationships between age and adolescent problem behavior were partially mediated by adolescents’ reports of parental behavioral control and observers’ ratings of positive mother – adolescent communication, which both decreased with adolescents’ age. Although the sample was primarily middle class, higher socioeconomic status was associated with more positive mother – adolescent communication, as rated by observers. Problem behavior was greater among boys than girls, but the hypothesized indirect effect of gender on problem behavior through associations with parenting was not observed. The findings demonstrate the utility of conceptually distinguishing between parenting and parent – adolescent relationships, and suggest that both have unique influences on middle-class African American adolescents’ problem behavior.

Adolescence and Adult Work in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract: The transition from school to work is a story that meshes the life histories of youth and the economic and social development of societies. Drawing on reports from diverse regions of the world, this article describes the range of adolescent experiences as they encompass the completion of school and the commencement of adult work. As the 21st century begins, major threats to the preparation of youth for adult work include deficiencies in schools, hazards of the informal work sector, a lack of clear connections between school and work, and the misuse or underutilization of technology. Yet this transition is also a story of optimism, as the significance of youth for economic and social development is increasingly appreciated at the national and international levels. Accordingly, this article considers the broad policy implications of the survey and then details the lines of action that address challenges to the preparation of youth for adult work. Although many regions of the world share common challenges, the integration of youth into the 21st century world of work will depend on how each country formulates a unique response that is sensitive to its demographic profile, social institutions, cultural heritage, and economic conditions.

Conclusions: Adolescents' Preparation for the Future

Abstract: The future of societies depends on their success in providing pathways whereby young people develop and prepare themselves to be contributing adults to their communities. When these pathways are well marked, stable, supported by the community, and inviting to adolescents, a society can be confident that new generations will join the ranks of adulthood well prepared. When these paths are hazardous, unpredictable, uninviting, or ill fitted to the demands of adulthood in that society, the future is insecure, both for adolescents and for society. This volume and the additional two volumes of this study group (Brown, Larson, && Saraswathi, 2002; Mortimer && Brown, 2002) suggest the following observations about the experiences of youth and how well they are being prepared for adulthood in the 21st century.

The Imaginary Audience and Personal Fable: Factor Analyses and Concurrent Validity of the "New Look" Measures.

Abstract: This study examined key components of the "New Look" at the imaginary audience and personal fable constructs. Toward this end, data from four samples of Belgian high school students (N= 1,458) were analyzed. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses failed to confirm that the measures associated with the New Look theory, the New Imaginary Audience Scale, and the New Personal Fable Scale (NPFS), tapped a common underlying construct. Only the invulnerability and omnipotence subscales of the NPFS proved to be highly related. In line with the New Look theory, boys were found to believe more strongly in their own uniqueness, invulnerability, and omnipotence than were girls. Higher scores on the invulnerability and omnipotence subscales were associated with lower levels of depression and loneliness. Finally, each aspect of the personal fable seemed to have its own specific role in the process of separation – individuation. Implications of these findings for the New Look theory of the imaginary audience and the personal fable are discussed. Suggestions for future research are put forth, with particular emphasis on the role of the invulnerability/omnipotence complex in adolescent development and behavior and on the family resemblances among the various aspects of the personal fable.

He Said, She Said: Gender Differences in Mother – Adolescent Conversations about Sexuality

Abstract: This study examined gender differences in self-reported and observed conversations about sexual issues. Fifty mother –adolescent dyads reported on their conversations about sexual issues and participated in videotaped conversations about dating and sexuality in a laboratory setting. Gender differences (more mother – daughter than mother –son) were found in the extent of sexual communication based on adolescents’ reports, but no gender differences were found based on mothers’ reports, or on observations of conversations. Aspects of laboratory interactions, however, did distinguish mother– daughter and mother – son dyads, and related to self-report measures. Girls’ reported sexuality communication frequency related to behavior in the laboratory setting. During mother – son conversations, one person usually took on the role of questioner, whereas the other did not. In contrast, there was evidence for mutuality of positive emotions for mother – daughter dyads, but not for mother – son dyads.

Social Policy Supports for Adolescence in the Twenty-First Century: Framing Questions

Abstract: Worldwide changes are altering the conditions under which adolescents prepare for adulthood and are increasing the need for thoughtful, tailored, youth policies and programs. This article offers a set of “framing questions” aimed at helping countries and communities create policies that are adapted to the particulars of a given context. These questions are presented as a means for policy makers, advocates, practitioners, researchers, community members, parents, and adolescents to formulate services, supports, and opportunities that will help adolescents become adults who are problem free, fully prepared, and fully engaged in their communities.

Adolescent Perceptions of Conflict in Interdependent and Disengaged Friendships.

Abstract: Interdependent and disengaged friendships in a middle-class sample of suburban Israeli adolescents were examined for differences in reports of conflict behavior. A total of 194 (100 females, and 94 males) close, reciprocal friends participated in a joint problem-solving task used to categorize friendships. Interdependent friends balanced closeness and individuality by cooperating on the task, whereas disengaged friends emphasized individuality by working independently on the task. In separate interviews, these friends recounted their most important conflict from the previous week. Older adolescents (M= 17.4 years) reported more conflicts over private disrespect than did younger adolescents (M= 12.7 years), whereas younger adolescents reported more conflicts over public disrespect and undependability than did older adolescents. Differences between friendship types in conflict initiation, negative affect, and relationship impact were found among older adolescents but not younger adolescents; differences in conflict resolutions were found in both age groups. In contrast to disengaged friends, interdependent friends were better able to manage conflicts in a manner that emphasized relationship harmony over individual gain.

Childhood developmental risk for teen childbearing in Britain

Abstract: Adolescence is often assumed to be the most important period of life for understanding teen childbearing risk. Developmental perspectives challenge that assumption, offering the possibility that early childhood characteristics may have unique and lasting effects on the risk for teen childbearing. This study examined family life risk factors (socioeconomic status, family stress, and parental involvement in education) and how their effects on teen childbearing risk varied, depending on the childhood age at which they were experienced. Prospective life history data from the National Child Development Study of Great Britain were used to study a birth cohort of 4,928 British women, 15.3% of who became pregnant as teens. This study demonstrated that data from early childhood significantly contribute to the understanding of teen childbearing risk.