Youth & Society current issue

Unraveling the Immigrant Paradox: Academic Engagement and Disengagement Among Recently Arrived Immigrant Youth

Suarez-Orozco, C., Rhodes, J., Milburn, M. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:45:31 PST

Many studies have pointed to a troubling phenomenon known as the "immigrant paradox." Despite an initial advantage length of residence in the United States appears to be associated with declining academic achievement and aspirations. To date, this line of research has taken a largely cross-sectional approach, comparing first, second, and third generations. The Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study (LISA) combines longitudinal, interdisciplinary, and comparative approaches to document the patterns of adaptation of 408 recently arrived immigrant origin youth from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico over the course of five years. Here, we present data that demonstrate patterns of academic engagement and achievement of these youths over time, as well as a structural equations model (SEM) that sheds light on the factors contributing to these patterns. These data suggest that supportive relationships significantly mediate the academic engagement and outcomes of immigrant youth. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Victimizing the Children of Immigrants: Latino and Asian American Student Victimization

Peguero, A. A. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:45:31 PST

Recent demographic changes have supported the emerging research on one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population: the children of immigrants. Because victimization adversely affects youth development, understanding the victimization of the children of immigrants are of special interest because they are part of this country’s future—its parents, its labor force, and its voters. In addition, segmented assimilation theory guides this study’s examination about the victimization that the children of Latino and Asian American immigrants endure in U.S. public schools. Analyses, which draw from the restricted-use Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, indeed reveal some important results. For instance, first-generation immigrant students are afraid of the schools they attend. Furthermore, Latino third-plus generation immigrant students have increased risk of victimization by violence at school. This article also discusses the importance of understanding the schooling of the children of immigrants in the U.S. educational system.

Consequences of Being Bullied: Results From a Longitudinal Assessment of Bullying Victimization in a Multisite Sample of American Students

Esbensen, F.-A., Carson, D. C. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:45:31 PST

Bullying victimization is part of the adolescent experience in most societies, yet little is known about its consequences. In this article we utilize a multisite, longitudinal data set to examine the effects of being bullied. We also explore definitional and measurement issues that confound this line of research. While some researchers have relied on a single/generic item to measure bullying, others have focused on behaviorally specific items. In addition, most prior research on bullying has relied on cross-sectional data, thereby restricting researchers’ ability to examine the consequences of prior victimization. Using three waves of data, we create a typology of victimization (nonvictims, intermittent victims, and repeat victims) that allows us to establish correct temporal ordering to examining the effects of victimization on subsequent attitudes. Importantly, we assess the consequences of bullying victimization using both a single-item indicator and a composite measure consisting of behaviorally specific questions.

Ethnic Minority Youth in Youth Programs: Feelings of Safety, Relationships With Adult Staff, and Perceptions of Learning Social Skills

Lee, S.-A, Borden, L. M., Serido, J., Perkins, D. F. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:45:31 PST

The authors examine perceptions that young people hold regarding their participation in community-based youth programs. Specifically, this study assesses young people’s sense of psychological safety, their relationships with adult staff, their learning of social skills, and how different ethnic groups experience these factors. Data for the study come from a national evaluation study of youth programs. Participants in this study include 272 White, 100 Asian or Pacific Islander, 61 African American, and 57 Hispanic youth. The results indicate that African American youth are more likely to feel psychologically safe and to have positive relationships with adult staff compared to the other youth. In addition, with the exception of African American youth, the associations between feeling safe and having positive relationships with adult staff and perception of learning social skills were significantly related. The possible explanations of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Body Size and Social Self-Image Among Adolescent African American Girls: The Moderating Influence of Family Racial Socialization

Granberg, E. M., Gordon Simons, L., Simons, R. L. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:45:31 PST

Social psychologists have amassed a large body of work demonstrating that overweight African American adolescent girls have generally positive self-images, particularly when compared with overweight females from other racial and ethnic groups. Some scholars have proposed that elements of African American social experience may contribute to the maintenance of these positive self-views. The article evaluates these arguments using data drawn from a panel study of socioeconomically diverse African American adolescent girls living in Iowa and Georgia. The article analyzes the relationship between body size and social self-image over three waves of data, starting when the girls were 10 years of age and concluding when they were approximately 14. The findings show that heavier respondents hold less positive social self-images; however, the findings also show that being raised in a family that practices racial socialization moderates this relationship.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Weight Perceptions and Weight Control Behaviors Among Adolescent Females

Haff, D. R. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:45:31 PST

Using data from the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, this study examined select sociodemographic and psychosocial correlates of weight perceptions and weight control behaviors among Black, Hispanic and White females (n = 6,089). Results showed little difference across ethnic groups for perceptions of body weight with slightly over 50%, 30% and 12% describing their weight as about right, overweight, or underweight, respectively. There was striking discordance between weight perception and reported weight gain or loss among White girls. Regression analysis showed indicators of depression and feeling unsafe predictive of weight loss behaviors across all groups while GPA and forced sex were significant for Whites and Hispanics. Television watching and physical exertion were not significant. Findings suggest prevention of depression and victimization as the principal means of reducing maladaptive weight control behaviors across all ethnic groups and surveillance for inappropriate weight loss behaviors among White and Hispanic girls with higher GPA’s

Call for Ad Hoc Reviewers

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:45:31 PST