It is the position of the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the College and University Physical Education Council (CUPEC) that all colleges and universities uphold a physical activity instructional program for students as a strong and integral part of the academic curriculum. Bombarded by popular culture, newfound…

This paper starts from the idea that children learn and construct gendered identities within local communities of masculinity and femininity practice, including peer communities. The data presented come from an ESRC-funded study of tomboy identities, which investigated the enabling and constraining factors for girls in taking up and maintaining…

As part of the effort to reduce cigarette smoking--the single most preventable cause of death in the society--researchers have tried for over half a century to identify effective school-based anti-tobacco education that can discourage tobacco use among children and adolescents. Unfortunately, deaf and hard of hearing young people have been largely…

Youth from single-parent families report lower educational aspirations than those from two-parent families. This study explored the influence of background factors (gender, grade, parental education and SES), parental involvement with education, academic self-concept, and peer influences on educational aspirations. The participants were Canadian…

The current study expands upon body image research to examine how gender, self-esteem, social support, teasing, and family, friend, and media pressures relate to body image and eating-related attitudes and behaviors among male and female adolescents (N = 177). Results indicated that adolescents were dissatisfied with their current bodies: males…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current situations of condom using behavior and its related factors among college students in Taiwan. There were two phases in the study. In phase I, 50 students from one college in the eastern, southern, middle and northern parts of Taiwan were selected to form a focus group, and were interviewed…

Currently, a disjuncture exists between the economic literature on young children's outcomes from early education or child care and the literature on schooling outcomes of older children and adolescents. Peer effects have been found to be both theoretically important and empirically significant in school settings, yet the effects of peers have not…

This study examined the impact of conversations with mothers and peers on adolescents' beliefs about gender roles, their career plans, and their plans for managing work and family responsibilities. Approximately 1,000 twelfth grade students, evenly divided by gender, were interviewed. Results concerning children's beliefs about gender roles…

This research reports on an ethnographic study of Marquesas Islanders and their concepts of violent and aggressive behavior. The study interviewed six mothers about their children's behavior at three stages of early life: (1) infants and toddlers; (2) school-aged children; and (3) adolescents. Analysis of the research suggests that violence is…

This paper reports on a year-long qualitative study of two elementary classrooms in a suburban community near Cincinnati (Ohio). The classes were very homogeneous racially with no students of Hispanic, African-American, Asian, or Pacific Island descent in either class. Interviews, classroom observations and participation, and analysis of student's…

Young people are concerned with making and keeping friends, and they invest a great deal of energy in group social life to do so. This book charts the interactions of young people both in and out of school and the role of peers and friends in strengthening social attachments and in establishing social identities. It describes how social identities…

Two questions serve as the focus in this study on factors affecting perception of femininity among pre-adolescent girls: (1) What are the meanings that girls themselves invested in gender and feminity? and (2) Through what social processes do girls negotiate meanings of gender and femininity? Researchers used a participant-observation study in…

Although the problems of high-risk youth are well known and raise widespread concern, few alternative educations exist to help troubled youth who are poor. This book describes various peer-group programs to rehabilitate high-risk youth. Following the introduction, chapter 1 describes the goals, stages, and techniques of peer-group programs.…

In light of college students' high level of knowledge about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and their persistence in engaging in risky sexual behaviors, this paper reviews the current literature on college students' level of AIDS knowledge, their patterns of behavior, factors essential in designing effective AIDS education programs, and…

High school is an important time in an adolescent's life, during which the influence of peers can be both positive and negative. Using data from a national longitudinal study, high school students' peer groups and the relationship between the values of peer groups with whom students associated in high school and a broad range of educational…