Youth & Society recent issues

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

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Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:45:31 PST

Peer and Parent Influences on School Engagement Among Early Adolescents

Simons-Morton, B., Rusan Chen, — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:43:15 PDT

Students who are not motivated and do not try to do well are unlikely to achieve consistent with their abilities. This research assesses the relationships over time between school engagement and parenting practices and peer affiliation among sixth to ninth graders using latent growth models. Participants included 2,453 students recruited from seven public middle schools who were assessed five times between fall of sixth and ninth grades as part of a program evaluation study. School engagement and adjustment declined somewhat, whereas substance use, conduct problems, and problem-behaving friends increased and authoritative parenting practices declined. The significant, positive, over-time associations between school engagement and parent involvement, expectations, and monitoring were fully mediated by growth in problem-behaving friends. School adjustment mediated the relationship between school engagement and parent expectations. Findings suggest that authoritative parenting practices may foster school engagement directly and indirectly by discouraging affiliation with problem-behaving friends and facilitating school adjustment.

Mapping a Process of Negotiated Identity Among Incarcerated Male Juvenile Offenders

Abrams, L. S., Hyun, A. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:43:15 PDT

Building on theories of youth identity transitions, this study maps a process of negotiated identity among incarcerated young men. Data are drawn from ethnographic study of three juvenile correctional institutions and longitudinal semistructured interviews with facility residents. Cross-case analysis of 10 cases that finds youth offenders adapted to the correctional world either with ease or difficulty depending on their professed criminal identifications and their ability to locate a sense of personal power within the institution. Youth also employed a set of strategies to contend with treatment discourses challenging them to reexamine their prior selves and envision alternative future identity possibilities. These strategies shape three identified patterns of identity transition: "self synthesis," "situational self-transformation," and "self-preservation." The findings highlight youths' efforts to retain a positive view of the self in response to challenges to professed identities and reveal various styles of identity transitions occurring in involuntary institutional contexts.

A Test of Social Disorganization Theory in High-Risk Urban Neighborhoods

Kingston, B., Huizinga, D., Elliott, D. S. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:43:15 PDT

Although there is a growing body of research based on social disorganization theory that relates the neighborhood context to juvenile crime and delinquency, it is unknown whether neighborhood social processes operate in a similar way across all types of disadvantaged neighborhoods. It is possible that some social processes are unique to economically depressed areas. This research attempts to explain theoretically and test empirically the relationships between neighborhood social structure, social processes, delinquent opportunity structures, and rates of adolescent delinquency among structurally disadvantaged neighborhoods. The hypotheses are tested using neighborhood-level parent and youth data from 44 Denver neighborhoods. A series of regression models are constructed to estimate the effects of the neighborhood on rates of delinquency. The results show that for this high-risk sample the most consistent predictor of rates of problem behavior is youths' perceptions of limited opportunities for the future.

Risk and Protective Factors for Depressive Symptoms in Urban African American Adolescents

Tandon, D. S., Solomon, B. S. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:43:15 PDT

There is limited understanding of risk and protective factors associated with depression among African American adolescents living in impoverished, urban settings. A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify a range of risk and protective factors associated with depressive symptoms among low-income urban African American adolescents. The sample (n = 467) comprised African American adolescents from three high-poverty urban neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. A self-administered read aloud survey completed by adolescents assessed depressive symptoms as well as various individual- and environmental-level risk and protective factors. Multivariate analyses indicated that female gender, living with an adult with a substance abuse problem, greater exposure to physical violence, and greater peer delinquency were associated with higher depressive symptoms. Greater home assets and self-awareness were associated with lower depressive symptoms. Future interventions to prevent and treat depression among urban African American adolescents should focus on minimizing their risk factors while enhancing those factors found to be protective.

The Relational Consequences of Interpersonal Violence (IPV) for Adolescent Mothers

Kulkarni, S. J. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:43:15 PDT

Relationships are known to be vitally important for development, particularly in adolescence. Transcripts of semistructured interviews of 24 adolescent mothers who had experienced interpersonal violence (IPV) were analyzed to explore the effects of IPV on their important relationships. Mothers described feelings of loneliness and isolation; fears about trusting others; early and sometimes overwhelming family responsibilities; and disconnection from potential family support, as well as relationships with protective adults. These narratives captured during a critical developmental juncture reveal the influence that IPV has on young mothers' most important relationships and some of the attendant relational processes within these relationships. Findings suggest that shifting focus to the health of these relationships opens up innovative avenues for intervention with adolescent mothers.

Youth Sports Participation and Attitudes Toward Societal Competition, Concern for Material Items, and the Consequences of Manipulative Advertising

Denham, B. E. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:43:15 PDT

Grounded in social cognitive theory, this study examines how a combination of personal, behavioral and environmental factors among youth populations correspond with attitudes toward competition, concern for material items, and the effects of advertising practices in the United States. Of particular interest was whether school-sponsored sports participation appeared to influence respondent attitudes. Drawing on data gathered from high school seniors in the 2005 Monitoring the Future study (N = 2,579), ordinary least squares (OLS) and ordinal logistic regression analyses revealed greater support for societal competition, material items, and persuasive advertising appeals among men, those who socialized the most with friends, and those who participated the most in school-sponsored sports. In addition to sex and socializing with friends, controls included race, exposure to print media, and participation in recreational sports.

When a Parent Goes Off to War: Exploring the Issues Faced by Adolescents and Their Families

Mmari, K., Roche, K. M., Sudhinaraset, M., Blum, R. — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:06 PDT

The objectives of this study were (1) to explore the consequences of parental deployment for adolescents and their families and (2) to identify potential strategies that may help adolescents cope with a parent's deployment. Eleven focus groups were conducted among adolescents in military families, military parents, and school personnel in military-impacted schools at five military bases. Findings reveal that one of the most prominent sources of stress for families is adjusting and readjusting to new roles and responsibilities. Notably, this stress was primarily felt after the deployed parent returned. School personnel also commented that many teachers and counselors are not prepared to deal with deployment issues among the military students. These findings suggest that parents need to be better prepared to handle the stresses after a deployed parent returns. School personnel also need special training, and military-impacted schools need to offer additional opportunities for students to discuss deployment issues.

Dealing With Disadvantage: Resilience and the Social Capital of Young People's Networks

Bottrell, D. — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:06 PDT

This article analyzes how peer and extended networks provide young people with support and resources for dealing with disadvantage. Centering girls' accounts of growing up in the Glebe public housing estate, the difficulties they face, their critiques and aspirations are interpreted as resilience, supported by the social capital of their networks. However, the girls' accounts also explicate youth resistances to school and inevitable trouble through participation in the broader local youth network, raising questions for conceptualizations of social capital. Conflicting orientations of the networks are analyzed in terms of bonding and bridging forms of social capital. However, in specific contexts of school and community, the interrelations of social and cultural capital suggest the significance of recognition as a mechanism for differentiation of young people and for effecting marginalization and privilege.

Facing the Future: Barriers and Resources in Work and Family Plans of At-Risk Israeli Youth

Gali Cinamon, R., Hason, I. — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:06 PDT

This study examines 15 at-risk Israeli youngsters' work and family plans and the perceived barriers and resources influencing the realization of those plans. In-depth interviews analyzed by Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) demonstrate the complexity of the future awaiting these youths. Participants perceive work mainly as a means of obtaining money and only consider a limited range of occupations as being available to them. Their vision of their future family focuses mainly on their providing a safe place for their children and providing food and stability. They view themselves as being both their own major resource and chief barrier to the realization of future plans. Other resources comprise social support and the ability to cut themselves off from their past, including original family and childhood friends. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

In Preparation for Adulthood: Exploring Civic Participation and Social Trust Among Young Minorities

Kelly, D. C. — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:06 PDT

The inclusion of minorities in the civic affairs of society is critical. Research indicates many of today's youth are less likely to engage in meaningful civic activities and more likely to experience social exclusion because of disparities in educational settings, economic disadvantages, and health disparities. This phenomenon is more likely to occur in communities overcome by crime, drug dealing, and other indicators of diminished quality of life, where there is greater anonymity and suspicion among neighbors and less trust. Social trust is a significant trait for adulthood because social trust promotes individuals' actively engaging in society and seeing themselves as valued members of their communities. Secondary data from the CIRCLE National Youth Survey, comprising 1,000 youths between ages 15 and 25 years, show that youth who trust in others and trust in government are more likely to participate in community service, voting, and political volunteerism, even among young minorities.

Relationships of Social Context and Identity to Problem Behavior Among High-Risk Hispanic Adolescents

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:06 PDT

The present study was designed to examine (a) family and school functioning and (b) personal and ethnic identity are associated with conduct problems, drug use, and sexual risk taking in a sample of 227 high-risk Hispanic adolescents. Adolescents participated in the study with their primary parents, who were mostly mothers. Adolescents completed measures of family and school functioning, personal and ethnic identity, conduct problems, and drug use. Parents completed measures of family functioning and adolescent conduct problems. Results indicated that school functioning and personal identity confusion are related to alcohol use, illicit drug use, and sexual risk taking indirectly through adolescent reports of conduct problems. Adolescent reports of family functioning are related to alcohol use, illicit drug use, and sexual risk taking through school functioning and conduct problems. Results are discussed in terms of the problem behavior syndrome and in terms of the finding of relative independence of contextual and identity variables vis-à-vis conduct problems, substance use, and sexual risk taking.

Emotional Reactions to Stress Among Adolescent Boys and Girls: An Examination of the Mediating Mechanisms Proposed by General Strain Theory

Sigfusdottir, I.-D., Silver, E. — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:06 PDT

This study examines the effects of negative life events on anger and depressed mood among a sample of 7,758 Icelandic adolescents, measured as part of the National Survey of Icelandic Adolescents (Thorlindsson, Sigfusdottir, Bernburg, & Halldorsson, 1998). Using multiple linear regression and multinomial logit regression, we find that (a) girls and boys tend to experience different negative life events, (b) negative life events are associated with comparable levels of anger among boys and girls, (c) negative life events predict depressed mood more strongly among girls than among boys, and (d) conflict with family and friends predicts anger and depressed mood more strongly than other negative life events among boys and girls. These results raise questions about the role of anger and depressed mood in explaining gender differences in stress-related delinquent behavior.

Recruiting Urban Latina Adolescents and Their Families: Challenges and Lessons Learned in Suicide Attempts Research

Zayas, L. H., Hausmann-Stabile, C., Pilat, A. M. — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:06 PDT

Recruiting research samples within vulnerable populations can be challenging, especially due to geographic dispersal and the services accessed, as well as hesitation related to legal status and stigma. Public health, however, requires sustained recruitment efforts. We describe challenges and solutions in recruiting urban adolescent Latinas who had attempted suicide. Procedures for recruitment and human subject protections were established, yet logistic obstacles emerged. Program directors failed to support the research; therapists were slow to identify subjects and to meet inclusionary criteria; numbers of prospective participants were lower than originally calculated; girls and parents were hard to reach; and interview appointments were missed. From challenges came solutions: to use fewer agencies, do better participant surveillance, monitor staff participation, and build rapport and relationships with staff. In-service research training to develop agency research infrastructure generated support among providers and administrators. Our experience may be helpful to other researchers conducting studies with similar populations.

Call for Ad Hoc Reviewers

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:06 PDT

Strengthening Student Voice Initiatives in High Schools: An Examination of the Supports Needed for School-Based Youth-Adult Partnerships

Mitra, D. L. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:55:48 PST

School environments offer a particularly difficult setting for fostering youth-adult partnerships because of the sharp power and status distinctions among students, teachers, and administrators. Drawing on interview and observational data examining 13 student-voice initiatives in northern California, this research examines the type of supports that can enable the development of strong school-based youth-adult partnerships. The data demonstrate that efforts to reshape student roles face great resistance and require intentional effort on the part of adults and youth to sustain partnerships. Specifically, the institutional constraints of schools required extra attention to fostering more equitable relationships between youth and adults within school walls, establishing the legitimacy of these new relationships through the completion of specific and yet meaningful objectives established by the partnership, and finding sufficient time to engage in the work of building these partnerships.

Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Among Adolescents: The Influence of Bonds to Family and School

Ford, J. A. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:55:48 PST

There has been a tremendous increase in the prevalence of nonmedical prescription drug use among adolescents in recent years. Research now indicates that the prevalence of nonmedical prescription drug use is greater than the prevalence of other illicit drug use, excluding marijuana. Despite these recent trends, there is a dearth of research in the social sciences on this issue. Furthermore, existing research on this topic is largely atheoretical. Using the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a nationally representative survey of persons age 12 and older, the current study examines the impact of social bonds to family and school on nonmedical prescription drug use among adolescents. The findings provide support for social control theory. Adolescents with strong bonds to family and school are less likely to report nonmedical prescription drug use. Important implications and future research needs are discussed.

The Protective and Risk Effects of Parents and Peers on Substance Use, Attitudes, and Behaviors of Mexican and Mexican American Female and Male Adolescents

Parsai, M., Voisine, S., Marsiglia, F. F., Kulis, S., Nieri, T. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:55:48 PST

This study explores the extent to which parental and peer behaviors and norms may affect substance use, personal antidrug norms, and intentions to use drugs in a group of Mexican heritage preadolescents in the Southwest United States, and whether these parental and peer influences differ according to gender. Secondary data from a randomized trial of a drug prevention program were used. The sample consisted of 2,733 adolescents. The outcomes were recent alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, personal antidrug norms, and intentions to use drugs. In this study, peer variables were more consistently related to the outcomes than parent variables, with the exception of parental injunctive norms, which were the most predictive parent factor. Recommendations are provided to further study the protective processes that are maintained through the transition into adolescence and acculturation as a foundation for the design of resiliency-focused prevention interventions.

Governing Adolescent Drinking

Jarvinen, M., Ostergaard, J. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:55:48 PST

This article examines the relationship between the drinking habits of Danish adolescents and the upbringing ideals and alcohol rules of their parents. It is based on three different data sets: a survey of 2,000 Danish young people born in 1989, a survey with the parents of these young people, and two waves of focus group interviews (in all 28) with adolescents aged 14 to 16. The study demonstrates that there is a sharp contrast between the views of the adolescents and the findings from the two surveys. Although the young people themselves are of the opinion that parental control has no positive effect and that drinking habits within reasonable limits can best be developed through trial and error, the survey data reveal a strong relationship between parents' attitudes and rules and their children's binge drinking. The more lenient the parents' attitudes and rules are, the more the children tend to binge drink.

The Effects of Religion and Gender on Well-Being, Substance Use, and Academic Engagement Among Rural Adolescents

Milot, A. S., Ludden, A. B. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:55:48 PST

The effects of religious attendance, religious importance, and gender on well-being, substance use, and academic engagement were examined among early adolescents (N = 683) from rural schools. Results indicated that females viewed religion as more important than males, although the frequency of religious attendance did not differ for males and females. Hierarchical regression results revealed that religious importance was a more prominent protective factor than attendance against substance use even after accounting for parental support; however, no links were found between religiosity and depression or self-esteem. Adolescents who reported that religion was important in their lives reported lower school misbehavior and higher motivation, although those with high religious attendance had higher grades. Interaction effects indicated that religious importance was particularly salient for males compared to females in terms of enhanced school bonding and self-efficacy.

The Relationships Between Emerging Adults' Expressed Desire to Marry and Frequency of Participation in Risk-Taking Behaviors

Willoughby, B. J., Dworkin, J. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:55:48 PST

The impact that desire to marry has on risk-taking behaviors during emerging adulthood is examined in the current investigation using nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Looking both at the simple relationships between desire to marry and risk-taking behaviors, as well as the possible predictive power desire to marry could have on binge drinking, marijuana use, and sexual behaviors, data revealed that attitudes toward marriage may be an important component of emerging adulthood and risk-taking research. Results indicate that desire to marry was predictive of several risk-taking behaviors for both men and women even after controlling for other known predictors of risk-taking. Implications for future research are discussed.