Secure parental attachment and healthy levels of separation-individuation have been consistently linked to greater college student adjustment. The present study proposes that the relation between parental attachment and college adjustment is mediated by healthy separation-individuation. The authors gathered data on maternal and paternal…

One hundred fifty-five college students, enrolled in course on adolescent development, completed a specially designed questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the semester assessing their attitudes toward contemporary adolescents and about their own memories of their adolescence. Participants changed their stereotyped beliefs on views of…

This chapter discusses several ways in which the media may serve as a positive force in young women's sexual health and development through the information and models they provide and the opportunities they offer for validation and self-expression. (Contains 1 table.)

There are similarities and differences in the concept of respect as it develops in American children and adolescents whose families came from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and the Philippines. In addition, respect has different effects on adjustment, relationships, and achievement at home and at school, depending on whether cultural groups…

This study examines the cultural and contextual factors that influence Latino participation in youth programs. Although youth programs are increasingly recognized for their positive influences, little is known about the factors that influence a young person's decision to participate. In this study, 67 Latino youth were asked about the reasons…

To make the transition to adulthood, youth must learn to function in the complex and unpredictable "real world" of adult life. This is an intensive case study of an urban arts program that sought to provide youth with experiences that prepared them for the real world of arts careers. We conducted 75 interviews with 12 youth and their adult leader…

Although low levels of stressful life experiences are considered to be a normal part of development, higher levels can constitute a threat to the well-being and healthy development of children and adolescents. Adolescents are exposed to increased rates of stressful life experiences and there is some evidence that increases in stressors account, at…

A group of exceptionally gifted adolescents between the ages of 14 and 25 were each treated in individual psychotherapy over the course of a number of years. They were referred for symptoms of anxiety, depression, self-destructive behavior, and underachievement. Each phase of their gifted development was accompanied by particular anxieties and…

In this chapter, the authors attempt not only to discern aspects that relate to age, place, and the amount of time devoted to playing computer games in adolescence, but also to study content characteristics of their attitudes such as: the developmental dynamic in the change of their genre preferences in computer games, changes in factors that…

This volume is the first in a set of two to be published as the National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE) yearbook for 2008. Planning for the volumes began more than five years ago, when the Society's Board of Directors expressed an interest in taking steps to encourage a more expansive, robust, and inclusive dialogue about education in…

Does success in school protect teenagers from drug use? Does drug use impair scholastic success? This book tackles a key issue in adolescent development and health--the education-drug use connection. The authors examine the links and likely causal connections between educational experiences, delinquent behavior, and adolescent use of tobacco,…

Background: Research has consistently documented a relationship between phonological short-term memory skills (STM) and specific language impairment (SLI). This study reports on the development of phonological STM abilities over 3 years in 80 young adolescents with a history of SLI, investigating the nature of the relationship between phonological…

Adolescents across the five years of high school (169 females and 164 males) completed a survey that identified occupational status aspirations and expectations coded into six types-- realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, or conventional--according to the RIASEC model (Holland, 1997). As the focus of the study was to explore…

Adolescence is marked by change and renegotiation in almost every arena--biological, social, and cognitive development; identity development; changes in peer relations and friendships; a renegotiation of family relationships, especially the parent-adolescent relationship; and school transitions. Further, for African Americans, adolescence is also…

From sexual name-calling and grabbing to sexual threats, Iowa high school students face situations in their schools that fit traditional definitions of sexual harassment. This report details a first-of-its-kind study of 503 Iowa high school students. Incidents that could be described as harassment are common in Iowa high schools: 19 percent of…