Though often discussed as a discrete event, puberty comprises one segment of a larger developmental continuum and is notable for rapid transformation across a multitude of domains. While an earlier timing of puberty relative to peers stands as one of the most well-replicated antecedents of adolescent difficulties for girls, findings have been less…

As young people transition through childhood to adolescence, they often face developmental challenges that can impede their quest to become flourishing, healthy adults. While both males and females experience difficulties, there are certain risk factors to which males are more susceptible. Compared with females, males tend to be more likely to…

This article illuminates the current status of our understanding regarding the academic and social-emotional needs of gifted, early adolescent females in the United States. A synthesis of both theoretical and empirical studies addresses two foundational questions. First, how do we describe the unique population of gifted, female, adolescent…

In "The Haunting," "The Changeover," and "The Tricksters," Margaret Mahy fuses supernatural iconography of witchcraft and magic with images of ordinary and domestic adolescence. This article argues that Mahy's "fantastic realism" illuminates aspects of female teenage experience through a blend of myth, fairy tale, folklore and history, as well as…

Discusses teenage pregnancy, parenthood, and intervention programs in Canada. Focuses on the issues facing young women from severely disorganized backgrounds whose children are at-risk for developmental delay, emotional disturbance, maltreatment, and neglect. (RJC)

Reviews selected articles from medical and psychological literature that focus on special issues for diabetic woman during preadolescence, adolescence, and adulthood. Makes recommendations for behavioral interventions with diabetic women in regard to sick role adjustment, peer conformity pressures, eating disorders, sexuality, and pregnancy.…

This paper presents a review of 25 sources on school-based eating disorder prevention programs for pre-adolescents and adolescents. The sources used to collect the information include Search ERIC database, PsycINFO, InterScience, and Expanded Academic. A review of the literature concluded that the most effective method of implementing a…

This descriptive study analyzed the portrayal of females as protagonists in adolescent literature published 1989-1993. A review of literature showed that 85 percent of main characters in stories for young children were male and that sexism still existed in books for young people. For this study the literature survey instrument used in the initial…

Addresses the issue of pregnancy in adolescent girls from a psychiatric viewpoint. Explores why adolescent girls become pregnant; how pregnancy affects the adolescent's emotional process; pregnant adolescents becoming emotional/physical "at-risk" cases; and which factors affect the birth-delivery process. Discusses how sex education can help…

Discusses studies about the role of athletics in high school students' lives. Examines the criteria for social status for both male and female students. Explores the types of activities students want to be remembered for, the current basis for popularity, and the importance of the dual role of student athletes. (Author/JS)

During adolescence, students become increasingly vulnerable to academic underperformance caused by negative reactions to their awareness of ability impugning stereotypes about one's group, a phenomenon known as stereotype threat. Although stereotype-related underperformance can occur early in development, it is during adolescence that it is seen…

Research shows that adolescent girls face developmental issues and need camp programming providing involvement with trusted adults, community service opportunities, safe places, and avoidance of loneliness. In other research, race was more important than gender in leisure choices, with blacks having smaller, less influential, peer groups than…

Research on girls' development has found that girls see the world that coheres through human relationships rather than through systems of rules, and that 12 or 13 is a watershed age for girls, a time of "central relational crisis." As their bodies enter the physiological transformations that culminate in womanhood, they face an onslaught…

Erikson marked adolescence for the prime developmental task of identity achievement. An examination of 31 mothers, aged 25 to 45, revealed that foreclosure of identity development was the norm for this sample in adolescence and that, for those who had achieved identity, the subsequent status change was related to the liberating influences of…

This book emphasizes female adolescents' healthy development within a psychoanalytic frame of reference for what is normative, that also indicates the boundaries of and transitions to what is deviant. The book's 12 articles relate to 3 general topics. The two articles in part 1 of the book, which addresses biological issues, are "Female…