Discusses adolescent spiritual development using the three traditional stages in Catholic spiritual heritage (the purgative, illuminative, and unitive). Suggests specific strategies for helping young people "progress" or move to higher levels in their spirituality. (GEA)

Presented are the theoretical characteristics of social identity in early adolescence (ages 10 to 15). It is suggested that no longer is identity thought to begin with adolescence, but may have its beginnings in the preteen years. The article draws heavily on Eriksonian concepts. (Editor/KC)

Investigates the relation of autonomy to naturally occurring social interactions in two studies: the first investigated college students' interactions with parents, and the second examined interactions across all relationships. Autonomy was significantly related to more positive and naturally occurring interaction, whereas control related more to…

This study examines development along Perry's intellectual and ethical scale among three successive graduating classes of students identified as gifted and talented in mathematics and science. Perry posits that intellectual development proceeds from a basic dualism through nine stages ("positions") and culminates with a sense of personal identify…

There has been abundant research examining how early life experiences affect achievement. In this article, we investigate the transition from elementary to junior high school at a developmental stage where numerous changes have an impact on students. Using nationally representative survey data, we found no differences in academic achievement…

Delinquency intervention and research have undergone changes in recent years. One new line of research has been aimed at mapping out juvenile criminal careers. Findings from this research suggest that involvement in technically delinquent activity may be a transitory, developmental phenomenon related to adolescence. Youth appear to be increasingly…

The goal of this research synthesis is to evaluate the validity of the claim that there are fundamental limitations on the ability of adolescents to engage in critical thinking. Critical thinking is defined as an analytic, focused cognitive activity aimed at understanding phenomena at a root rather than a superficial level; a type of thinking…

The Teenage Health Teaching Modules (THTM) program is a health education curriculum for adolescents. Each THTM module frames an adolescent health task emphasizing development of self-assessment, communication, decision making, health advocacy, and self-management. This module presents a discussion on the special physical and mental characteristics…

The purpose of this paper is to disconfirm Piaget's theory of an invariant sequence of intellectual maturation for all youths in all cultures. The author's view is that the kinds and sequences of human development vary greatly, depending on the cultural milieu. The author derives 36 propositions from Piaget's theory, dismisses 5 of them as…

Issues in studying pubertal events are examined, including whether puberty is best characterized as a social construction or a physical event, whether early adolescence is a transitional or distinct life period, life events associated with puberty, boundaries of early adolescence, and possible models for studying pubertal change. (Author/BW)

The issue of whether or not early adolescence is a transitional or stable period of development may be dependent on our ability to describe ways in which early adolescents are quantitatively and qualitatively different from when they were children and how these early adolescent characteristics are forerunners to the more elaborate constructs of…

Ascertained whether high levels of stress at different periods of development were related to an external locus of control. Externals and internals completed the Life Events Scale. Data indicated that stress, for females in preschool and pubescent years and males in elementary and pubescent years, is related to externality. (Author/BEF)

The author presents information related to brain growth and intellectual capacity. Work on early adolescent (ages 10 to 15) brain growth, its effect on cognitive development, and the implications that such research has on the capacities of early adolescents to learn are discussed. (Editor/KC)

Offers a detailed examination of both external and internal assets that middle school students may have, and discusses those that can be significantly affected by middle schools. Describes what successful middle schools do, and discusses teacher training and positive youth development. (SR)

Describes the evolution of adolescence as a developmental stage and several psychological approaches to adolescent development. The discussion covers the need for adolescent literature to address physical, social, and emotional issues, and the need for librarians and teachers to be aware of the available literature. (29 references) (CLB)