Given the research about the decrease in age of coming out and the established need for support during young adolescents' sexual development, it is clear that programming targeted to middle grades LGBTQ youth is both essential and widely lacking. Interventions such as staff development and training, in-class curriculum, support groups,…

Developmental, gender, and academic domain differences in causal attributions and the influence of attributions on classroom engagement were explored longitudinally in 115 African American adolescents. In Grades 8 and 11, adolescents reported attributions for success and failure in math, English and writing, and science. In Grade 11, English and…

The authors used a dynamic systems theoretical approach to examine intraindividual variability in emotional responses during the transitional period of adolescence. Longitudinal diary data were collected regarding conflicts between 17 teenage girls and their mothers over a period of a year. The results revealed a reversed u-shaped relation between…

Developmental science rests on describing, explaining, and optimizing intraindividual changes and, hence, empirically requires longitudinal research. Problems of missing data arise in most longitudinal studies, thus creating challenges for interpreting the substance and structure of intraindividual change. Using a sample of reports of longitudinal…

Using data from 8th grade participants in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, factor analytic procedures were used to explore a model of active, engaged citizenship, termed Civic Identity/Civic Engagement (CICE). We identified a higher order factor model in which CICE is a second-order latent variable that is comprised of several…

This guide presents a data-driven, research-based process--referred to as the "school-community forum process"--for increasing youth voice, promoting resilience, strengthening adult-youth connections, and ultimately, for improving schools. It uses a "student listening circle"--a special type of focus group involving eight to…

Teenagers, and many preteens, can't get away from their hormone-filled bodies; therefore, they spend lots of time during school contending with issues of sexuality--from profound questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to more mundane issues such as whom a particularly cute classmate will choose to sit next to in English. Like it or…

Despite increased focus on the effects of organized activities on youth development, there is currently no consensus about the best way to assess various dimensions of involvement. This article explores the complexities of assessing involvement and focuses specifically on the following organized activity dimensions: (a) breadth, (b) intensity, (c)…

The GO-GIRL Program is a unique project, characterized by its ability to bring together pivotal elements within a youth-intervention program and foster collaboration between university and local communities in large and moderate-size urban areas through service learning. Designed to bolster the social-skill development, educational outcomes, and…

Constance Flanagan and Peter Levine survey research on civic engagement among U.S. adolescents and young adults. Civic engagement, they say, is important both for the functioning of democracies and for the growth and maturation it encourages in young adults, but opportunities for civic engagement are not evenly distributed by social class or race…

Background: Depressive disorders are experienced by 3-5% of the adolescent population at any point of time. They adversely affect adolescent development in a range of areas and greatly increase risk for suicide. The present study investigated the effectiveness of a universal intervention designed to reduce depressive symptoms among students…

Adolescent participation in extracurricular activities is associated with numerous positive outcomes, yet the mechanisms underlying this relationship are largely unknown. This study had two goals: to investigate the association between participation in extracurricular activities and indicators of positive and negative development for Australian…

How do social services professionals identify and design supportive environments that promote the positive development of LGBT youth? Although there are extraordinary examples of individuals and programs that exist for the purpose of supporting LGBT youth and fostering their development, the work of documenting and empirically analyzing what works…

Antipathetic relationships, or relationships based on mutual dislike, have received less attention than other aspects of children's peer relations. The present meta-analytic review summarizes the existing literature (26 studies consisting of over 23,000 children and adolescents) to illuminate the prevalence of antipathetic relationships and their…

Scholars in the field of African American family studies recognize the influence of gender on socialization. However, few studies investigate how gender influences the racial and ethnic socialization of African American youth. To examine the role of gender (both caregiver and adolescent) in socialization practices, data were obtained from 218…