Examined ethnicity, gender, and grade as potential mediating factors of early adolescent identity development. Administered Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status to 367 seventh- and eighth-graders. Results showed instrument appropriate for use with early adolescents. Females and older students were more developmentally sophisticated…

Reports a study that examined the relationship between 10th graders' identity development and leisure activity participation. Surveys and interviews indicated that different leisure activities could have beneficial or detrimental effects on identity formation. The relationship between leisure and identity development depended on gender and the…

Describes the different preferences in learning styles of adolescents based on the pioneering work on values development done by Kohlberg and Gilligan. Focuses on learning preferences of males and females and values research and its role in learning. Offers recommendations of middle-level academic and cocurricular planners. (RJM)

Examines older adolescents (N=167) perceived levels of attachment to parents and peers, along with their self-image. Results indicate that attachment to parents continues to remain strong into late adolescence for both males and females. Females had stronger attachment to peers whereas males had higher levels of self-image. (RJM)

The self-concept construct has been used to explain behaviors across a diverse array of situations, and the attainment of a positive self-concept has been posited as a desirable goal in developmental psychology. The purposes of this study were to examine age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self-concept during the preadolescence to…

Later marriage ages, longer life expectancy, higher divorce rates, and the feminization of poverty will all figure in the economic future of modern girls. Values about work, marriage, and motherhood are in flux during adolescence, and the messages they receive are often contradictory. Steps must be taken to educate girls to make clearheaded and…

Establishment of identity represents a normative developmental crisis at adolescence. It is commonly speculated that adopted adolescents find resolution of the identity crisis especially difficult. Some theorists and researchers suggest that adoptees who search for information about their birth heritage have failed to make satisfactory progress…

Girls who reject boy-girl social relations as the central concern of adolescence are best served by girls' schools where they can develop a complex sense of self including both risk taking and caring qualities. A study confirming that single sex schools promote girls' intellectual and leadership development is cited. (MJL)

Adolescence is a critical time for the development of self-identity; a time which often changes enthusiastic and assertive 8- and 9-year-old girls into 11- and 12-year-old girls with poor self-images and little faith in their abilities. To better understand this process, this study investigated the relationship between hope and general…

This paper describes a study that examined the relationship between two forms of adolescent narcissism and indicators of self-worth (positive adjustment and psychopathology) in a sample of 561 adolescents. School structure, academic performance, and school participation were also examined and mental health functioning was assessed by measures of…

Studied the relationship between academic motivation and occupational aspiration in 560 Nigerian secondary school students. Data from the Academic Motivation Questionnaire and the Employment Aspiration Questionnaire suggested that academic motivation and occupational aspiration seemed to complement each other. Both motivation and aspiration were…

A number of interacting factors are discussed which significantly influence the development and expression of adolescent sexuality, including: (1) biological development; (2) societal trends; (3) psychological aspects; (4) familial patterns; and (5) historical and political influences. Adolescent cognitive development and psychoanalytic theories…

The shaping of human motor development is demonstrated by the orderly sequence of events which occur throughout the individual's development process. Muscular strength and proficiency in gross motor skills improve with advancing chronological age throughout childhood and adolescence, with sex differences in performance tending to favor males. (JN)

Examined gender differences and whether self-esteem and locus of control change during the high school years. Longitudinal analysis of students (N=174) indicated a significant main effect for gender, with lower self-esteem scores for girls. Locus of control was influenced by grade and an interaction between grade and gender. (RJM)

This 3-year longitudinal study examined depressed affect during early adolescence. Variable-centered analyses yielded general stability in depressed affect for both boys and girls. Person-centered analysis revealed five patterns of depressed affect, with gender differences only in smaller subgroups that showed patterns of change in depressed…