Showing papers in "Journal of Youth and Adolescence in 1986"
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between negative events and disorder was moderated by gender, the types of events experienced, and anticipated change in the psychosocial environment, highlighting the importance of the use of standardized and psychometrically sound measures of life events, social support, and psychological disorder.
Abstract: Relationships among major life events, perceived social support, and psychological disorder were assessed in a sample of older adolescents. Negative life events and satisfaction with social support were significantly and independently related to a range of psychological symptoms. Further, the relationship between negative events and disorder was moderated by gender, the types of events experienced, and anticipated change in the psychosocial environment. The importance of the use of standardized and psychometrically sound measures of life events, social support, and psychological disorder is highlighted.
205 citations
TL;DR: Subject report of friend behavior is a stronger correlate, of adolescent behavior than friend report of Friend behavior, but the two sources for measuring friend behavior produce the same correlations with subject behavior when using longitudinal designs and controlling for prior subject behavior.
Abstract: The principles that behavior is strongly influenced by the behavior of friends, and that people select each other to be friends on the basis of common characteristics, are based in large part on the many studies of adolescents that found the behavior of friends to be similar. In most of these studies, subjects were asked to describe, the behavior of their friends, and this information was then related to subjects' reports of their own behavior. The research on adolescent smoking and drinking described in this paper departs from that tradition by including friend reports of friend behavior so that results based on the different sources for measuring friend behavior can be compared. Subject report of friend behavior is a stronger correlate, of adolescent behavior than friend report of friend behavior, but the two sources for measuring friend behavior produce the same correlations with subject behavior when using longitudinal designs and controlling for prior subject behavior. The findings are discussed in the context of theoretical and methodological considerations of peer influence and selection.
142 citations
TL;DR: As predicted, older students showed greater future extension and the more cognitively advanced students proved better able to project a set of events into the distant future, but neither the older, nor the more Cognitively advanced, students projected a greater number or a more consistent set of future events than did their respective counterparts.
Abstract: Several theorists have suggested that the observed changes in adolescent future-time perspective are due to the emergence of formal-operations reasoning [e. g., T. J. Cottle and S. Klineberg (1974),The Present of Things Future, Free Press-Macmillan, New York; P. Fraisse (1963),The Psychology of Time, Harper & Row, New York; H. Hartmann (1958),Ego Psychology and the Problem of Adaptation, International Universities Press, New York; J. Piaget (1968),Six Psychological Studies, Vintage Book, New York]. Using a cross-sectional sample of 60 Caucasian adolescents, the present study was designed to examine this hypostatized interrelation. Data obtained through individual interviews provide only limited support for a cognitive hypothesis. As predicted, older students showed greater future extension and the more cognitively advanced students proved better able to project a set of events into the distant future. However, neither the older, nor the more cognitively advanced, students projected a greater number or a more consistent set of future events than did their respective counterparts. Moreover, analysis of the types of events projected obtained significance only for grade level. The findings are discussed from a contextualist perspective, within which consideration is given to the influence of experiential and life-span status factors.
136 citations
TL;DR: Self-evaluation of popularity was related to girls' global self-esteem, while evaluation of school performance was more important for boys, and parent and peer relationships did not vary as a function of age for either sex.
Abstract: The global self-esteem of adolescents was examined in relation to two aspects of their daily lives: (a) the perceived quality of their relationships with parents and peers; and (b) their self-evaluation in the areas of school, popularity, and athletics. The quality of relationships with parents made significant contributions to the explained variance in self-esteem of both boys and girls. The quality of peer relationships made a significant additional contribution for girls but not boys. The importance of parent and peer relationships to self-esteem did not vary as a function of age for either sex. Self-evaluation of popularity was related to girls' global self-esteem, while evaluation of school performance was more important for boys.
99 citations
TL;DR: While parents were rated as more important than friends overall, problems were more frequently discussed with close friends, and several areas of possible parent-peer conflict were also identified.
Abstract: In this study 175 older adolescents (83 males, 92 females) nominated their parents, particularly their mothers, then friends of the same sex, as people most important in their lives. While parents were rated as more important than friends overall, problems were more frequently discussed with close friends. Using a matched sampling design, the adolescents' own mothers, fathers, and a close friend of the same sex also responded to a scale where parents' or friends' opinions might be sought as part of adolescent decision making. As predicted, parents were perceived as most important in certain “future-oriented” areas, whereas for “current” decisions, friends' opinions were more valued. Several areas of possible parent-peer conflict were also identified.
97 citations
TL;DR: The present study examined adolescents' actual and perceived weights in relation to why adolescents think they weigh what they do, where adolescents obtain weight control information, and adolescents' weight locus of control.
Abstract: The present study examined adolescents' actual and perceived weights in relation to why adolescents think they weigh what they do, where adolescents obtain weight control information, and adolescents' weight locus of control. The study was conducted in a Midwestern high school, based on information obtaind from 194 freshmen. Thirty percent of the adolescents perceived their weight category inaccurately when compared to their actual weight and height. One-third of those who were thin, one-half of those who were normal weight, and two-thirds of those who were heavy had been exercising during the past six months to control or lose weight. Six percent of the thin, 41% of the normal weight, and 56% of the heavy students had dieted within the past six months to control or lose weight. The leading sources of weight control information were television, family, friends, and magazines. Teachers were identified as sources of information by less than 10% of the students. Mother, family, and friends were identified as those most helpful in adolescents' attempts to lose weight. Significant chi-square differences were found between weight locus of control orientations and actual and perceived weight categories. Finally, a multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze adolescents' perceptions of weighing what they do. Eat too much vs too little and exercise too much vs too little were the two reasons identified that were statistically significant. The information obtained from this study may be useful in designing and implementing weight control and nutritional programs for adolescents. For many of the adolescents, their perceptions were different from reality.
96 citations
TL;DR: Compared to a group of students who are much less gifted, the highly gifted students perceive themselves as less popular, but no differences were found in self-esteem, depression, or the incidence of discipline problems.
Abstract: Perceptions of self-esteem, locus of control, popularity, depression (or unhappiness), and discipline problems as indices of social and emotional adjustment were investigated in highly verbally or mathematically talented adolescents. Compared to a group of students who are much less gifted, the highly gifted students perceive themselves as less popular, but no differences were found in self-esteem, depression, or the incidence of discipline problems. The gifted students reported greater internal locus of control. Comparisons between the highly mathematically talented students and the highly verbally talented students suggested that the students in the latter group perceive themselves as less popular. Within both the gifted and comparison groups, there were also slight indications that higher verbal ability may be related to some social and emotional problems.
92 citations
TL;DR: Differences in the BDI scores were observed between female and male adolescents, with females scoring significantly higher than males, however, none of the variables included in the questionnaire had a differential effect on the B DI scores of either male or female adolescents.
Abstract: The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the potential differences between male and female adolescents in their performance on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as a function of demographic variables and variables related to their living conditions. Three hundred and twelve adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 completed the BDI and a questionnaire dealing with the variables mentioned above. All adolescents were from the Western Quebec area and were registered at De l'Ile High School (Hull) or at L'Erabliere High School (Gatineau). Differences in the BDI scores were observed between female and male adolescents, with females scoring significantly higher than males. However, none of the variables included in the questionnaire had a differential effect on the BDI scores of either male or female adolescents. The results are discussed in light of their relationship with some adjustment factors in adolescence.
63 citations
TL;DR: Accelerated students differed minimally from the college-aged groups, and not at all from high-ability age mates, on all of the measures, a finding contrary to the expectation that skipping high school is likely to be deleterious to one's adjustment.
Abstract: The questionnaire responses of 24 markedly accelerated young students were compared with those of 24 regular-aged university students, 23 National Merit Scholars, and 27 students who had qualified for acceleration but instead elected to participate in high school. Measures included the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, California Psychological Inventory, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Accelerated students differed minimally from the college-aged groups, and not at all from high-ability age mates, on all of the measures, a finding contrary to the expectation that skipping high school is likely to be deleterious to one's adjustment. Both groups of normal-aged college students were more socially assertive. The accelerated students were less conforming and conventional than the others, but mean differences were small and not indicative of admustment difficulties. The study provides no basis for concern about the typical psychological and social adjustment of accelerated students.
53 citations
TL;DR: Results suggest that the concept of introspectiveness may increase the understanding of several important aspects of this developmental period.
Abstract: This study introduces a measure of introspectiveness for adolescents aged 12–18 and investigates its association with several aspects of adolescent development. Introspectiveness—the tendency to deveote diffuse attention to thoughts and feelings about the self—increased during adolescence, and may be stimulated by discontinuities associated with adolescent development, other kinds of discontinuities, and parental introspectiveness. Also, introspectiveness was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms, and may help explain the increase in symptom reporting during this developmental period. Highly introspective adolescents participated in more artistic activities and spent more time alone than those low on introspectiveness. Finally, highly introspective college students chose self-oriented academic majors, which may have implications for future occupational development. Together these results suggest that the concept of introspectiveness may increase our understanding of several important aspects of this developmental period.
46 citations
TL;DR: Findings support Heatherington's idea that children may be better off in a stable family where parents are divorced than in an intact family with much parental discord.
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of family structure (parents together or not) and parental discord (ratings of the happiness of the marriage of biological parents) on the self-esteem of 199 female undergraduates. Family structure and happiness ratings were substantially related, with those separated rated as less happy. Self-esteem was significantly related to parental happiness, even with family structure controlled, but not to family structure with parental happiness controlled. With the sample divided into three groups (happy-together, unhappy-together, and separated) ANOVA showed a significant effect for group, with the unhappy-together group showing significantly lower self-esteem than the happy-together group, and the separated group intermediate. Parental discord thus appears to lower the selfesteem of daughters, whereas separation of parents does not. These findings support Heatherington's idea that children may be better off in a stable family where parents are divorced than in an intact family with much parental discord.
TL;DR: Examination of the model paths suggest that the environment dominated by competitive academic achievement, routine handling of discipline, and unpredictable supervision is also conservative and unlikely to offer legitimate opportunities to girls with gender-egalitarian orientation.
Abstract: This study compares two high schools serving the same community and compares student bodies with similar background characteristics. The purpose is to examine how control/strain variables predict delinquency in two distinct school contexts. It was found that minor delinquency occurred more often in the environment dominated by competitive academic achievement, routine handling of discipline, and unpredictable supervision. Examination of the model paths suggest that this environment is also conservative and unlikely to offer legitimate opportunities to girls with gender-egalitarian orientation. The school context characterized by a broader definition of success, more specialized discipline, and predictable supervision promotes stronger bonds with its students and lower levels of delinquency for both genders.
TL;DR: The findings suggest that the two measures may be (a) assessing relatively distinct forms of ego identity, or (b) that the ego-identity construct as measured by the process (exploration) and outcome (commitment) dimensions needs further theoretical examination.
Abstract: Convergent-divergent validity and reliability estimates for clinical interview and self-report measures of ego identity were obtained. Twenty-three males and 25 females completed an extended version of the Ego Identity Interview [H. D. Grotevant, W. Thorebecke, and M. C. Meyer (1982) “An Extension of Marcia's Identity Status Interview into the Interpersonal Domain,”Journal of Youth and Adolescence 11: 33–48] and the extended version of the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status [H. D. Grotevant and G. R. Adams (1984) “Development of an Objective Measure to Assess Ego-Identity in Adolescence: Validation and Replication,”Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 13: 419–438]. While the two measures were expected to converge, little convergence was observed. The findings suggest that the two measures may be (a) assessing relatively distinct forms of ego identity, or (b) that the ego-identity construct as measured by the process (exploration) and outcome (commitment) dimensions needs further theoretical examination.
TL;DR: Correlational analyses indicated that perceptions of personal coping capabilities are associated with high event desirability, high frequency of occurrence, stable causes, and decreased ability of others to be of help in coping.
Abstract: Multidimensional scaling analysis was used to examine adolescents' cognitive appraisals of major and daily stressful events. The desirability of events was the only salient feature for early adolescents. Middle and late adolescents also appraised events in terms of their desirability; in addition, the amount of impact that events exerted on their lives and the generality of the causes of events were salient dimensions for these age groups. These results suggest increased complexity with age in adolescents' cognitive appraisals of stressful events. Correlational analyses also indicated that perceptions of personal coping capabilities are associated with high event desirability, high frequency of occurrence, stable causes, and decreased ability of others to be of help in coping.
TL;DR: The results indicated that the learning disabled subjects, due to years of failing at school tasks, were unable to develop a sense of industry and competence, and among nonadjudicated youths, learning disability was not found to be significantly associated with juvenile delinquency.
Abstract: Using a developmental perspective, this study contrasted learning and nonlearning disabled adolescents on three variables: Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, self-concept, and delinquent behavior. It was predicted that learning disabled adolescents would show significantly less resolution of Erikson's fourth state, "industry versus inferiority," manifest lower overall self-concept, and report more delinquent behavior than their nondisabled peers. The results indicated that the learning disabled subjects, due to years of failing at school tasks, were unable to develop a sense of industry and competence. While these adolescents felt unpopular and inferior about their academic skills, the overall self-concept of the learning disabled sample was not significantly different than that of the comparison subjects. Finally, among nonadjudicated youths, learning disability was not found to be significantly associated with juvenile delinquency. Taken together, the results of this study show the utility of a developmental framework for a better understanding of the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents with learning handicaps.
TL;DR: The relation between Loevinger's measure of ego development and moral development as indexed by Rest's Defining Issues Test was examined in a sample of 517 adolescents and sex differences in ego development were in favor of females.
Abstract: The relation between Loevinger's measure of ego development and moral development as indexed by Rest's Defining Issues Test was examined in a sample of 517 adolescents between 12 and 21 years of age. Major increases in moral capacity were found at the Conformist and Conscientious levels of ego development. Low positive correlations between ego level and moral capacity were reported for young adolescents but not for older ones. The development indices of age and grade were compared. Both ego and moral development seemed more closely related to grade level than to age. Socioeconomic status predicted acceleration in ego development at the rate of one half an ego level over middle to late adolescence. This effect persisted at university. Students of higher socioeconomic background attained developmental levels one to two years before their contemporaries of low socioeconomic status. Sex differences in ego development were in favor of females.
TL;DR: The study demonstrates that if adolescent drinking and driving is to be prevented, careful attention must be paid to ways that it is learned and maintained.
Abstract: A social-learning model [R. C. Akers, M. D. Krohn, L. Lanza-Koduce, and M. Radosevich (1979), “Social Learning and Deviant Behavior: A Specific Test of a General Theory,”American Sociology Review, 44: 636–655] was tested for its ability to explain why adolescents drive under the influence of alcohol and ride with drinking drivers. Data were gathered from a survey of 1,082 high school students. Findings indicate that all five subsets of the model are significant determinants of adolescent driving under the influence and riding with drinking drivers. The study demonstrates that if adolescent drinking and driving is to be prevented, careful attention must be paid to ways that it is learned and maintained.
TL;DR: Both moral and political development were significantly related to conflict resolution scores in peer but not in authority context, corroborate an interpretation that considers peer communicative relations of mutual respect and cooperation as a primary path to mature stages of social reasoning.
Abstract: Adolescents' understanding of societal conflict and of compromise resolution in the context of peer and authority relations was investigated. Six conflict stories were prepared for three social issues. Each issue included two similar stories that were counterbalanced for presentation in peer or authority context. The adolescents—ages 11, 13, 15, and 17—were asked to develop dialogues by continuing conversations from the stories with the aim of resolving the conflict. Responses were categorized on a 3-point scale: (1) noncompromise, (2) routine compromise, and (3) constructive compromise. In addition, one moral and one political dilemma were presented in order to relate conflict resolution to moral and political development. The major findings were an increase in frequency of constructive compromise with age and in peer vs authority context. Further, both moral and political development were significantly related to conflict resolution scores in peer but not in authority context. Results corroborate an interpretation that considers peer communicative relations of mutual respect and cooperation as a primary path to mature stages of social reasoning.
TL;DR: JH/MS is primarily a stressful environment for students who are vulnerable on entry, and generally students without major ES malajustment patterns continue to perform well after their entry to secondary school.
Abstract: An assessment of the stress of junior high/middle school (JH/MS) can be made by comparing overall behavior and academic student patterns in JH/MS with those in elementary school (ES), and by evaluating the differential educational consequences experienced by JH/MS students who had varying degrees of maladjustment in ES. Specific numeric data indicate that the environment is far more open, combative, frightening, impersonal, and academically taxing in JH/MS than in the ES. Partly as a result, suspensions, unexcused absenteeism, and grade failure occur at a much greater overall rate in JH/MS. Also, the immediate aftermath of these school adversities is significantly more deleterious in JH/MS than in ES. An analysis of the differential outcome data reveals that JH/MS students who had prominent ES maladjustments have a 5-13-fold greater rate of grade failure, suspension, and undue absenteeism than do students without such ES difficulties, and that generally students without major ES malajustment patterns continue to perform well after their entry to secondary school. In effect, then, JH/MS is primarily a stressful environment for students who are vulnerable on entry.
TL;DR: This study investigated those few lackluster achievers as could be identified, using loose criteria, in a college-level program of academic acceleration, and found underachieving females evidenced greater maturity than their counterparts.
Abstract: This study investigated those few lackluster achievers as could be identified, using loose criteria, in a college-level program of academic acceleration. They evidenced, on college transcripts, significant differences from high-achieving students of comparable ability. Underachieving males appeared less psychologically mature and appeared to suffer more internal conflict than achieving males, but underachieving females evidenced greater maturity than their counterparts.
TL;DR: The findings suggest that, among the teens who became pregnant, motivation to use contraceptives may be the key factor and education about the availability and mode of contraceptive use is essential.
Abstract: This study reports findings from interviews with three groups of black teenagers: child bearers (n=136), terminators (n=92), and contraceptors (never been pregnant,n=151). The focus of this research is to describe the differences between these three groups of teenagers in an attempt to identify factors that may best differentiate the groups. The findings suggest that, among the teens who became pregnant, motivation to use contraceptives may be the key factor. More than 86% of these teens knew about contraceptives at the time they became pregnant and nearly three-quarters knew where to obtain contraceptives. However, only 16% of teens who became pregnant reported to be using a contraceptive at the time they became pregnant. Education about the availability and mode of contraceptive use is essential.
TL;DR: Study results seemed to confirm suggestions in the literature that drug use has become a normal, predictable form of behavior that accompanies adolescent development and Psychopathological factors were found to be important in cases of severe drug-using behavior.
Abstract: Trends and patterns of adolescent drug use were examined through consideration of over 125 psychosocial correlates with drug use and nonuse. A sample of 480 urban high-school students was given personal interviews and a survey questionnaire that included several psychological scales and test batteries. A severity of drug use index was also employed in order to clarify the role of various causal factors at differential levels of drug-use severity. Study results seemed to confirm suggestions in the literature that drug use has become a normal, predictable form of behavior that accompanies adolescent development. Psychopathological factors were found to be important in cases of severe drug-using behavior. The role of current, larger social structural factors in adolescent drug use is discussed, along with the programming and policy implications that stem from the multileveled structure of drug use.
TL;DR: There was some indication that these correlations differed in the two exceptionally gifted groups, with the high-IQ group having divergent thinking test scores related to those of both parents, and the math-science group having Divergent thinkingtest scores related only to Those of their mothers.
Abstract: Two groups of boys and their parents (N=54) were given five divergent thinking tests as one part of a longitudinal investigation on exceptional giftedness in early adolescence. One groups of adolescents was selected because their IQs were above 150, and the other group, was selected because of their outstanding math-science abilities. Canonical and bivariate analyses indicated that there was a strong correlation between the adolescents' divergent thinking test scores and their parents' divergent thinking test scores (Rc=.55). Additionally, there was some indication that these correlations differed in the two exceptionally gifted groups, with the high-IQ group having divergent thinking test scores related to those of both parents, and the math-science group having divergent thinking test scores related only to those of their mothers. These findings are very consistent with earlier investigations on exceptionally gifted adolescents.
TL;DR: A negligible relationship between the responses of college students and their parents was revealed, and the idea that infrequent communication concerning nuclear war issues may be occurring is discussed.
Abstract: In order to assess the relationship between family members' cognitive and affective responses to nuclear war issues, 317 college students and their parents (n=559) independently completed a multifaceted questionnaire that included items concerning personal reactions, predictions, opinions, and attitudes about nuclear war. Results revealed a negligible relationship between the responses of college students and their parents, although the level of concordance between mothers and fathers was somewhat greater. Moreover, parents and students were relatively poor at predicting each others' nuclear threat attitudes, and the strength with which an attitude was endorsed did not enhance its predictability. Results are discussed with regard to heterogeneity in attitudinal and affective reactions within families, and with regard to the idea that infrequent communication concerning nuclear war issues may be occurring.
TL;DR: Results suggest that daughters of homemakers and daughters of employed women differ in their assessment of each role, and take different factors into consideration when making these assessments.
Abstract: Indicators suggest that today's female adolescents will spend a substantial part of their adult lives in the labor force. It is less clear, however, what significance these young women will give to the empolyee role and how they will integrate it with other roles they plan to fill as adults. The present study explores adolescent females' assessments of the rewards and costs of employment and parenthood, and the impact of these assessments on their plans for organizing their adult lives. Five hundred and forty-nine 11th- and 12th-grade females completed questionnaires addressing their future work and fertility plans, characteristics of their family life at present, and their assessments of how rewarding and costly the roles of employee and parent would be to them. Results suggest that daughters of homemakers and daughters of employed women differ in their assessment of each role, and take different factors into consideration when making these assessments. Both groups, however, appear to give priority to the costs of employment when considering how they want to organize their lives as adults. The implications of these assessments for young women's role expectations and future satisfaction are discussed.
TL;DR: Overall, the couples who married after conception appeared to face less severe problems than either the initially-married couples or the steady daters.
Abstract: In a middle-class, urban-clinic sample of 275, mostly Caucasian, adolescent mothers and their partners living in Utah, three groups were identified and their psychosocial characteristics were compared. Couples married at the time of conception (N=22) enjoyed more positive responses from prospective grandparents and earned more than couples not married at the time of conception. On the other hand, these initially married youths were much more likely to be high-school dropouts, which suggests limits in their lifetime earning capacities, and they were not more likely to identify one another as sources of emotional support. Couples who married between conception and delivery (N=110) reported that prospective grandparents responded less favorably to news of the pregnancy than did relatives of the initially married couples, but while their current salaries were lower, they were much more likely to be continuing with their education. Those who married after conception also had fewer antisocial and conduct disorders than young men and women who chose to continue in a dating relationship (N=29). Overall, the couples who married after conception appeared to face less severe problems than either the initially-married couples or the steady daters.
TL;DR: The findings indicate that sex role strain is greatest among adolescent females, followed by adolescent males, and adult kibbutz women are significantly more likely to focus their dissatisfaction in the area of actual role behavior rather than in terms of how they intellectually conceptualize kib butz sex roles, as is the case for adolescents and adult males.
Abstract: In spite of a commitment to equality, the kibbutz is a male-dominated society with highly differentiated sex roles. Has this gap between ideals and reality created sex role strain for kibbutz-born adolescents and adults? Previous kibbutz studies have suggested that sex role strain may be the most intense among adult kibbutz women. Based on Erik Erikson's developmental model, however, we hypothesized that adolescent females would experience significantly greater sex role strain than other kibbutz members, including adult women. Adolescent and adult males and females were tested using Loevinger's ego development test. The sex role items of the test were used to construct a new measure of sex role strain. The global index included the following submeasures: avoidance of sex role issues; expression of intellectual, emotional, or behavioral sex role conflict; and evaluative attitudes toward male roles and female roles. Significant cohort or sex differences were found on the global index and on all submeasures of sex role strain. The findings indicate that sex role strain is greatest among adolescent females, followed by adolescent males. Adult kibbutz women, however, are significantly more likely to focus their dissatisfaction in the area of actual role behavior rather than in terms of how they intellectually conceptualize kibbutz sex roles, as is the case for adolescents and adult males.
TL;DR: It was predicted, and the results confirmed, that the less structured music video segments resulted in higher level inferencing than prime-time dramas, and that young adults produced more higher-level inferences than adolescents.
Abstract: Little research has been done to examine the cognitive processes engaged by television viewing in general, and with adolescent viewers in particular. The present study examined the extent of inferencing in adolescents' and young adults' interpretations of 3-min video segments taken from prime-time drama series and from rock music videos. It was predicted, and the results confirmed, that the less structured music video segments resulted in higher level inferencing than prime-time dramas. It was also found that young adults produced more higher-level inferences than adolescents, and prime-time drama led to more fact-based responses than music video. Correlations between television inferencing and scores on the Peel Lack of Closure Test were also examined to see if inferencing from video and from written text were related. Generally, these correlations were nonsignificant, confirming the hypotheses of other researchers that video inferencing involves unique knowledge structures that warrant further investigation.
TL;DR: Girls had more to say about persons and this was expressed more in psychological terms; girls qualified and organized descriptions more than did boys, and substantial sex differences were found.
Abstract: Free-written descriptions of self and various others were obtained from 190 adolescent boys and girls. Descriptions of persons became longer, more “psychological,” and more organized over adolescence. Modes of construing persons were positively correlated across different stimulus persons. Selfdescriptions tended to be more person-centered than descriptions of others. However, more dispositional terms were ascribed to others than to the self. In contrast with previous research, substantial sex differences were found. Girls had more to say about persons and this was expressed more in psychological terms; girls qualified and organized descriptions more than did boys.
TL;DR: Two samples of insulin-dependent diabetic youths were studies in successive attempts to refine a brief patient self-report measure of general long-term adherence to a diabetic regimen, including the selfreport measure described here.
Abstract: Two samples of insulin-dependent diabetic youths were studies in successive attempts to refine a brief patient self-report measure of general long-term adherence to a diabetic regimen. Validity and reliability were assessed for both samples by measuring a number of related variables: locus of control, stressful life events, knowledge of diabetes, parent report, and glycosylated hemoglobin. Initial evidence of validity was demonstrated in a variety of criterion areas. Both reliability and validity were replicated on the second sample. Adherence is discussed as a complex multidimensional variable, the measurement of which requires several different methods, including the selfreport measure described here. Warnings about social desirability as a confounding factor were discussed, as were suggestions for other adherence measures.