In Sweden, as in many other European countries, poor neighborhoods with ethnically diverse inhabitants and high crime rates have grown up around big cities in the last decades. We hypothesized that, compared with adolescents in advantaged neighborhoods, adolescents in disadvantaged neighborhoods would perceive their schools as relatively safe, due…

The purpose of the current study was to examine features of adolescent reading comprehension trajectories and make within-person and between-person analyses of growth that occurs during the high school grades. Racial and socioeconomic group differences of the adolescent reading trajectories were also investigated and compared. This examination…

Background: Data are limited regarding the prevalence of substance use among adolescents in rural and ethnically diverse communities. This study examined rates and sociodemographic correlates of lifetime substance use among adolescents in Mississippi, a rural state that is the poorest in the country (21.3% poverty rate) and has the largest…

Background: While there is considerable evidence of income gradients in child and adolescent behaviour problems, evidence relating to children and young people's emotional difficulties is more mixed. Older studies reported no income differentials, while recent reports suggest that adolescents from low-income families are more likely to experience…

This study explored the use of social comparison appraisals in adolescents' lives with particular reference to enhancement appraisals which can be used to counter threats to the self. Social comparison theory has been increasingly used in quantitative research to understand the processes through which societal messages about appearance influence…

Examined the social composition of an unselected sample of 282 English 8- to 16-year olds involved in intensive training in football, swimming, tennis, and gymnastics. Found that working-class children and those from single-parent families were underrepresented in all sports. Concluded that financial considerations and difficulties in accessing…

Kohlberg's moral dilemmas were used to determine levels of moral reasoning among 115 adolescents representing urban middle class and lower class, kibbutz-born and Youth Aliyah (disadvantaged urban youth educated in the kibbutz), Moslem and Christian groups in Israel. (Author/DB)

Compares differences between adolescent and older mothers on tests of infant motor, cognitive, social and language development; and first- and second-year abilities. Older mothers were better at predicting emergence of infant behaviors and first-year behaviors. There was no difference between groups in predicting second-year behaviors. (Author/BB)

Provides data on behavioral problems and competencies, identifies differences related to demographic variables, and compares normal children and those referred for professional help. Parents' responses to Child Behavior Checklist items reveal significant differences in socioeconomic status, children's age and referral status. Behavioral problems…

The neuropsychological status and neuromotor performance of adolescent boys from lower-middle-class social environments who were detained as juvenile delinquents were compared to those of nondelinquent lower- and upper-middle-class controls. Principal aims were to investigate relationships between delinquency and learning disabilities,…

Objective: The aims of the study were to examine weight concerns, dieting and eating behaviours in a group of Israeli-Arab schoolgirls as compared with Israeli-Jewish schoolgirls, as well as to investigate the reliability of the Arabic (Palestinian) version of the eating disorder inventory-2 (EDI-2). Method: The sample consisted of 2548 Israeli…

The relationship between career maturity and self-concepts of 252 sixth-grade black males was investigated. Results indicated relatively weak-positive relationships between career maturity and self-concepts. Significant career maturity differences were found. However, self-concepts of the three groups were not statistically significantly…

Examined variations in adolescent time use within Europe and their relation to culture, focusing on organization of free time, most frequent leisure activities, and resulting emotional states. Found that European adolescents spent free time in a range of activities, including electronic media, computer games, playing musical instruments, reading,…

The personal possibilities that 15-year-olds in Australia and Singapore perceived in relation to their career and leisure pursuits were examined. The extent to which both awareness of options and a consideration of multiple options for self were associated with culture, gender, and class was considered. (Author/MLW)

Used the experience sampling method to examine Indian adolescents' use of free time. Found that adolescents' free time use was influenced by both tradition and modernization, and varied according to social class, urban versus rural setting, and gender. Concluded that youth activities continue to reflect the sociocultural and historical nature of…